Ladies and Gentlemen! Introducing May Pang AMIN’s Winners for the ONEDAY GIVEAWAY!
For 2AM:
• mandy_huang
• kelly
For 2PM:
• mang0x13
• melissa
Congratulations to the winners! Please send your address to christina@maypang-amin.com and your poster will be on its way!
Thanks to everyone for participating! We had a lot of fun and we hope to have another one again!
Credit: Manan Vatsyayana (ABC Sport)
Congratulations Blue Samurai! Japan has won it’s fourth Asian Cup, beating Australia 1-0.
Substitute Tadanari Lee scored a left-foot volley during extra time, giving Japan their fourth Asian Cup at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
The Japanese have previously won the Asian Cup in 1992, 2000, and 2004.
This new win gives the Blue Samurai a new title as the most successful team in tournament history.
Source: ABC Sport
Crystal Kay recently announced that she will be canceling her upcoming tour. “Crystal Kay Live Tour 2011 Spin the Music” was scheduled to start February 5th and continue through out March. The singer is suspected to have acute nephritis (inflammation in the kidneys) and will be undergoing treatment.
The doctor diagnosed her with a possible case of nephritis as Crystal had not been feeling well recently. She will rest while remaining under medical observation. However, this means that she will not be able to rehearse or perform for her show. Along with her stay Crystal decided to cancel the tour so that she can focus on her recovery.
Awww poor Crystal. I was looking forward to this tour. I really hope it’s nothing serious and that she makes a speedy recover!
source: tokyograph.com
For the past few weeks, I’ve been itching to play the newly released game Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. With my Nintendo DSi out of commission for a few weeks, I couldn’t do so but just two days ago, my DSi was returned to me fixed and ready to play this new game.
Created by Shu Takumi (creator of the Ace Attorney series), Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a new detective game with an interesting plot with equally interesting gameplay. You find yourself playing as the lead character Sissel who has just woken up to realize he has actually just been killed. After realizing he’s been killed in a junkyard, a mysterious lamp explains to him that he has gained powers as a spirit called “Ghost Tricks.” Sissel is able to manipulate and move through objects and travel back in time four minutes before the death of another person and alter their fate to save them. He has one night to figure out what has happened tonight and to find out the mystery behind his own death before he disappears at dawn.
Being a fan of the Ace Attorney series, I knew I had to buy this game. It’s an interesting plot considering you’re already dead at the beginning of the game. This game requires patience and problem solving as you try to figure out the best way to save someone four minutes before their death. You also meet a large group of characters who aid you along the way. You also realize as a person dies, you are able to talk to them even after you save them. Unfortunately, the formerly deceased retain their memories of when they were once dead but this gives Sissel the advantage to gather information. You also meet a little Pomeranian named Missile who has his fair share of dying during the night while protecting his mistresses. He aids you in a great deal of ways throughout the story. As each chapter of the game progresses, the mystery of your death seemingly gets larger and larger and keeps you guessing.
I give this game an 8.5/10. It’s an amazing game that is recommended for everyone, especially those who like puzzles and mysteries.
Check out the trailer for Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective!
And we’re BACK! It’s our 3rd bi-weekly ranting! We’re sorry for the delay but Jessica Dawson, Christina Jacildo, and Lara Visconti are back and talking about some of the hottest news in Korea and Japan! Here are the topics we talked about this week:
Korea
•MBLAQ makes a comeback with ‘Cry’ and ‘Stay’
•Teen Top makes a comeback with ‘Supa Luv’
•B2ST Having a Concert
•PSY Appearance at NB2
•U-KISS wins award in Taiwan
•JoKwon and Gain Leave ‘We Got Married’
Japan
•Album sales are down, singles and DVDs sales are up
•Aqua Timez new album and Budokan concert
•Koda Kumi releases new single ‘Pop Diva’
•KAT-TUN & Akanishi Jin preparing for new releases, separately of course.
•Dance group Happiness to make debut
•Nintendo 3DS
•Ayumi Hamasaki gets married
WTF Award of the Week
•TVXQ with ‘Keep Your Head Down’
Take a listen to our ranting!
Podcast: Play in new window
I had the pleasure of being John Blackwell‘s guest at Prince’s opening night at Madison Square Garden in NYC on Dec. 18th. I sat with my friend, Billy Amendola who is the Associate Editor for Modern Drummer magazine. The night was electric as Prince had not performed in a while. His opening acts were comedian Sinbad and bass guitarist, Larry Graham (who was also part of Sly & the Family Stone.) Prince had joined Larry onstage for his last medley of songs (Everday People & I Want To Take You Higher) and you can hear the drummer beat his drums…powerful sound going through your body, you realize it is John who is playing now. It made everyone get up and dance. When it was time for Prince to do his show, the place went wild and he even had Sheila E come up and join him. Numerous stars came on stage for the encore (Whoopi Goldberg, Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx, Spike Lee and many more.) I managed to get a brief video interview with John right after the show in his dressing room with the help of Billy sitting next to me. For those who don’t know, John has been the drummer of choice for Crystal Kay and Utada Hikaru and also did I mention Justin Timberlake too?
Check out the interview with John Blackwell!
After months of investigation, the prosecutor’s office in Seoul has indicted 12 Korean netizens for spreading false information online about popular rapper, Tablo, from Epik High. They also have put together a wanted list with six others who live outside Korea, including the owner of the online community that started all the scandal.
About 20 bloggers started the rumor back in November 2009 by claiming that Tablo did not really graduate from Stanford University, because they could not find his name on a list of graduates. The controversy really picked up steam in May 2010 when the online community, ‘Tajinyo’, which means “We want the truth from Tablo” in Korean, started up, followed by a second, called ‘Sangjinse’ or “The world where common sense is truth.”
Tablo fought the allegations by showing his diplomas, a Bachelor’s and Master’s in English Literature, only to have netizens claim he forged them. A group of four members from Sangjinse filed a petition with the Seoul Prosecutor’s Office in September, demanding that they launch an official investigation into the matter. The police thoroughly analyzed transcripts from both Tablo and Stanford and other evidence, and concluded that he was indeed a Stanford grad.
Tablo filed a lawsuit against 22 netizens in October, and in response Tanjinyo’s owner, user ID ‘whatbecomes’, begged for Tablo to drop the charges in exchange for their apologies. The website promptly shut down after the findings were released.
Libel in Korea is punishable by a fine, and unlike the US, does not require that the defamatory information be false, just damaging. However, this case has shown that cyber bullying is becoming a huge issue in the country and new regulations should be made. Many observers and experts believe the Tablo incident went above and beyond what is tolerable by free speech and are calling for concrete guidelines on what is considered ‘defamation’ on the internet in order to prevent future victims.
Sources: Arirang News, Korea Times
Just when you couldn’t get enough of GD and TOP playing on your earphones or at the club, Big Bang’s youngest member, Seungri is on deck to release his mini album on January 20th. The Mini Album is called “VVIP,” and teasers for the single, “어쩌라고” (What About Me), will be released on January 13th. Title tracks “VVIP” and “What About Me” were both written by Seungri as well as a majority of the songs on the album. Also expect some guest artists on this album like G-Dragon and IU. Can’t wait for this album to come out. We wish Seungri great victory with his mini album!
source: bigbang, omonatheydidnt
Japan’s top diva Ayumi Hamasaki is now officially off the market. It was announced on New years via twitter and fan club page that Hamasaki married her on screen husband, Austrian actor Manuel Schwarz.
The two first met during the filming of Hamasaki’s video “Virgin road” last August. Schwarz has also appeared as her on screen husband for 2 more videos “Love Song” and “Last Angel.” It is said that the two would frequently exchange e-mails and text messages.
On Dec 31st Hamasaki performed at her New Years Eve count down at Yoyogi Stadium but decided to wait until after the event to lets the fans know the big news. The night of January 1st, the couple held their wedding ceremony in Las Vegas with only staff members and close friends in attendance.
Here is the making of the video Virgin Road
This marriage came out of no where. I had no idea the two were even dating and the news of the wedding just caught many of us off guard. Well either way I wish them the best of luck.
source: Tokyograph.com
It’s a sad day tonight for ‘We Got Married’ viewers, especially fans of the infamous Adam Couple. 2AM’s Jo Kwon and Brown Eyed Girls Son Ga In announced on the radio Shim Shim Ta Pa, Thursday evening that they will be leaving We Got Married. Fans knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, but they didn’t expect it to be like this.
The Adam Couple has made a huge impact on We Got Married, them being the longest couple to have ever been on the show, by breaking the one-year mark. Viewers laughed and cried watching the couple grow on the show, seeing the changes in each individual. Just last week, Kwon showed some confidence by surprising Ga In with a kiss on the lips as well as a tear jerking event that would leave girls swooning and wishing their boyfriends would do the same.
It is still a mystery whether or not Kwon and Ga In are dating in real life, as they did say, if they were to date, it would be in private. This writer approves if it ever happens. And if it does happen, I’m sure the fans wouldn’t mind at all.
As a fan of the show, I would like to thank the Adam Couple for their 1 year and 3 month contribution on We Got Married. Best of luck to both on their future achievements to come. We will miss you!