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Showing posts from June, 2011

The Best Picture I've Ever Drawn of T.M.Revolution

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I never knew I could draw. I never showed the talent for it when I was in school. A few years ago I thought I'd try drawing again. I had the perfect inspiration: T.M.Revolution. I'm really proud of this picture. It's the best picture I've ever drawn. There's only one problem. I drew it in pencil. It's too light to scan properly. I've tried. When I scan it, it looks horrible. So I took a picture of it with my camera. Still isn't great but it's a lot better. At least I can share it now.

Poetry

I have dreams. We all do. I like to write, especially poetry. I would love to have my poetry published someday but I don't know if that will ever happen. I haven't been able to write lately. Writer's block. However, I did find some of my older poems in an old notebook. These are two of my favorites. Yes, I like shadows. Good or bad, these poems are my own work and I'm proud of them. Please don't steal them or use them without my permission. Sweet Oblivion Oh - Dark and Twisted Dweller in the Shadows Reaching through the Light that isn't there Cognizant of Things Seen and Unseen Conversing with Those that couldn't possibly be there When All that "Can't Be" Are Who's to say What's Real Lost on the Horizon of a New Day Turning into Night Until the Two are One Limitless in its Finality Finite in its Expanse The Singularity of Life Itself Raises the Awareness of What's To Be The Shadows Themselves Rise and Fall,

「V-Love☆Live」

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I realize that there are people who read my blog who aren't familiar with the Japanese acts that I write about. For those of you who aren't familiar with Versailles Philharmonic Quintet:  They are a melodic metal Visual-Kei band from Japan. (To explain Visual-Kei would take some time. In this case, just know that they wear beautiful elaborate costumes.) In Japan, they are known as Versailles. In America they are known as Versailles Philharmonic Quintet because of a naming dispute with someone who was already using the name Versailles. One other tragic note on this band. In August 2009, their original bassist, Jasmine You passed away from an undisclosed illness. He is deeply missed and has been named an eternal member of the band. Having said that -- On Saturday, June 18, Versailles was one of the bands performing at V-Love☆Live which was live streamed on YouTube. Because of the difference in time between Japan and the U.S., the concert started around 1:00 AM in my time zo

You

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Giving credit where it's due, I got the image from jkrevolution.com

西川貴教ありがとうございます。

In February of 2009 I suffered a heart attack. Needless to say, this scared me tremendously. As I lay there in the hospital for days, I did my best to calm myself by listening to music. I had my mp3 and some small speakers. The vast majority of what I listened to was T.M.Revolution. His voice calmed and soothed me. His songs cheered me. The nurses would comment often on the music I was listening to, and I, of course, would gush about how incredible Takanori Nishikawa is. Obviously I survived. I was released from the hospital after a week, I think. In my heart of hearts I honestly believe that Takanori Nishikawa -- T.M.Revolution -- helped me. Maybe I'm melodramatic. I don't know. But, to me, his music was a major factor in my recovery. He gave me hope. He gave me strength. And for that I will be forever grateful. 西川貴教ありがとうございます。

T.M.Revolution, Kimonos & Spiderman 2

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Back in 2004, I believe, Spiderman 2 debuted. Okay, I must admit here that I've not seen any of the Spiderman movies. However, there is something about 2 that peaks my interest. Sometimes when movies are released overseas, the songs on the soundtracks change. This is where things get interesting for me. The ending theme for the Japanese release of Spiderman 2 was T.M.Revolution - Web of Night. Takanori Nishikawa was in L.A. for the premier and got to walk the red carpet. As this was a formal event, he wanted to look as formal as possible as a Japanese, so he wore a kimono. If I remember right, he said that the design on his kimono was his family crest. I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong here. I've seen Takanori in several kimonos and he always looks stunning in them. And, in my humble opinion, he looked regal and elegant at the Spiderman 2 premier.

Yes, I'm Obsessing Today

If you've been following this blog at all I'm sure you've noticed that I'm a major major fan of Nishikawa Takanori, aka T.M.Revolution. You might say that I'm a bit obsessed with him -- umm, not in a creepy way. It can be difficult at times to try to follow someone who's in another country. I usually hear about events after they're over, reading about things on the web. And it can be very difficult to get CDs and DVDs. You almost have to order them from online. This is especially true if you live in the American midwest. After years of watching his television performances on YouTube, sometimes years after their original recording, I finally got to see T.M.Revolution perform live on TV. (see previous post) Here is T.M.Revolution performing his new single FLAGS on "Coming Soon!!"

A Debut of a New Day

I've got to admit that I'm feeling 100 times better than I was feeling last night. Today is so much brighter and so much better! If only the "a" key on my laptop wasn't sticking. I practically have to pound it to get it to work. *sigh* I didn't get much sleep last night. Didn't get any sleep at all until after 3:30. And I was up before 9:00 this morning. But that's okay. This morning I got to watch something that is still making me smile. I got to watch T.M.Revolution perform the TV debut of his new single FLAGS! Okay, I didn't get to see it on TV since it was in Japan. But I have a program on  my laptop called KeyholeTV. It provides live-streaming of Japanese television. And while the feed was choppy and at times got pixilated, it was of good enough quality that I could enjoy the show. It's so rare for me to get to see T.M.Revolution's television performance outside of YouTube, and I was so thrilled to get to see him debut his new

MICKEYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Everyone should know this song - even in another language!  

Depression & The Spider's Web

The darkness is calling me again. Damn, that sounds so melodramatic. All these old negative feelings are coming back to haunt me. My depression is hitting again. I should really make an appointment and get back on my meds. I should. But there aren't many mental health facilities in my area. And the one I used to go to causes me anxiety. Isn't that ironic? Not because of the staff. It's because of some of the other clients. I used to attend groups there. I hated it. I truly did. Some of the other clients got on my nerves so damn bad. I swear it was making me worse. And I really don't want to run into them again. And now I've learned that my psychiatrist has left, so they'll have to set me up with someone else. I don't want a different doctor. I want my old doctor back. So what do I do? Do I try to deal with this depression by myself? Or do I make that appointment and see a new doctor and risk running into people I'd rather not see again? --------

Takanori

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I wrote this poem for Nishikawa Takanori on April 5, 2007. I'm actually really proud of it. It's special to me. I've been hesitant to post it on the web but I'm going to take a deep breath and post this. I'm hoping that he sees this and likes it.  

Too Kawaii!!

I found these short video clips on the web. They make me smile. Hope you enjoy them! Asakura Daisuke gets startled and Nishikawa Takanori laughs -- Nishikawa Takanori shows off his skill at the piano --  

Albireo

I've got this song stuck in my head... not that I'm complaining. It's one of my favorite songs ever by one of my most favorite people in all the world:  Albireo by T.M.Revolution. Albireo is one of his older songs, released in 2004. I can't explain what it is about this song that speaks to me. It's not the lyrics themselves, exactly, since it's in Japanese and I don't speak Japanese. AIthough, having said that, when I read the translation to the lyrics, the lyrics do mean something to me. I think maybe it's just his voice when he sings it. In my humble opinion, Nishikawa Takanori  has the voice of an angel. Plus, I absolutely love the rare, hard-to-find alternate version of the video. The one commonly found on YouTube is an edit of concert footage, but there was an earlier production video. Apparently it was pulled from YouTube for copyright reasons. I have no clue why. ----------------------- T.M. Revolution Albireo {Words: Inoue Akio -- Music: