I find it kind of hard to believe that i've been here for almost a month now, partly because its gone so fast, and that now it just feels like i've been here for ages. Oh well.
Anyway, so this week marked the beginning of Japanese lessons and my lab placement. The Japanese lessons are just boring, there isn't any other way to describe them. My lab work h0wever, has actually been thoroughly enjoyable. My DNA purification worked a treat, and we're well on our way to determining the role of NMA111 protein in ERAD in budding yeast (long story short, good news).
This has been a very fun weekend indeed, we went clubbing on friday night, then walked home from Sakae to here (about 2 hours), but instead of sleeping we went and queued up for the bazaar, that was supposedly amazing. So we queued up for a bout 4 hours to find it was effectively just a garage sale, I did pick up a water heater/boiler thing (no, its not a kettle) so I can now make tea.
Saturday evening, we had a cocktail party for Sarah's birthday (from Oz), which was a lot of fun. Today, me and some of the others went to Kirin beer park (beer factory, why its called a beer park I have no idea) where we got to eat malt and drink the wort, which wasn't as bad as you might think. It was a very interesting tour, explaining how they make it all etc, and we got free beer too.
This week is gonna be tough, more Japanese lessons, and the research is gonna step up another level. But on the plus side, my lab-mates have invited me drinking with them on wednesday, which will be fun, followed by clubbing on friday and saturday... obviously.
One additional note, we watched a Japanese horror film on wednesday night called "Noroi" (2005). I definately rate it as one of the best films i've ever seen. It draws you in straight away and doesn't let you go. It's about a man who investigates paranormal goings on with his cameraman, and the whole film is either footage they have shot or clips from variety shows or news broadcasts related to the story, which makes fo a very interesting narrative. The plot itself is quite complicated and you do have to pay attention to notice the details, but putting the effort in definitely pays off at the end. Which makes for a very, very disturbing end to a mystery of a film.
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Saturday, 9 October 2010
I can't be arsed counting the days anymore
Well what a fun few days this has been, I opened a post office bank account all by myself (i'm not boasting, really) re-learned English in its entirety, opened another bank account for my scholarship, and spent an hour buying a mobile phone that cost me £200, and that is definately one of the cheapest ones, though it has to be said that the contract is very cheap, only £5 a month for free texts, mails and calls to everyone else on Softbank.
After we came back from buying my phone, we came across the Ultimate Frisbee club playing on the lawn, so we joined in. Its just like normal Frisbee but you split into teams and have to pass the Frisbee to someone inside the end-zone, and you cant move while you hold the frisbee. We decided to play a game towards the end after some practice with me and 3 other newcomers to the club (along with 3 full members) in one team, and the other team was all of the university team players.
WE WON! and the best thing is I made the winning catch :D In the evening, we had a little party in the lobby, where we made sushi, had lots and lots of alcohol, and watched Japan beat Argentina 1-0.
What a glorious day it was, too bad it's gonna rain all weekend...
After we came back from buying my phone, we came across the Ultimate Frisbee club playing on the lawn, so we joined in. Its just like normal Frisbee but you split into teams and have to pass the Frisbee to someone inside the end-zone, and you cant move while you hold the frisbee. We decided to play a game towards the end after some practice with me and 3 other newcomers to the club (along with 3 full members) in one team, and the other team was all of the university team players.
WE WON! and the best thing is I made the winning catch :D In the evening, we had a little party in the lobby, where we made sushi, had lots and lots of alcohol, and watched Japan beat Argentina 1-0.
What a glorious day it was, too bad it's gonna rain all weekend...
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Japan: Days 1-12(?)
FINALLY, I have an internet connection I can use in my room! Now I can start posting again.
Lets see now, these first two(ish) weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Ive made loads of new friends and explored the city (in more ways than one). I've also done my fair share of drinking it has to be said, I think I went the first ten days drinking every night.
Ive got a really nice room here with my own en-suite, air-con unit, and even a balcony! (looking onto a main road) The dorm itself is only a 5/10 minute walk to the university and 1 or 2 from the nearest 2 Lawson's convenience stores, very convenient indeed!
On the University side of things, its been pretty hectic, what with all the orientations and mountains of registration paperwork last week, things are starting to settle down now, as we all start Japanese lessons on Tuesday (as monday is a national holiday).
I've also been allocated my lab! Horrah! And it's a good'un too. I'll be researching ERAD (Endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation), which is basically how your cells handle misfolded or aberrant integral membrane proteins.
I'll try my best from now on to do a post every day, including photos, to give you a tour of my life in Japan, お楽しみしてね＾＾
Lets see now, these first two(ish) weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Ive made loads of new friends and explored the city (in more ways than one). I've also done my fair share of drinking it has to be said, I think I went the first ten days drinking every night.
Ive got a really nice room here with my own en-suite, air-con unit, and even a balcony! (looking onto a main road) The dorm itself is only a 5/10 minute walk to the university and 1 or 2 from the nearest 2 Lawson's convenience stores, very convenient indeed!
On the University side of things, its been pretty hectic, what with all the orientations and mountains of registration paperwork last week, things are starting to settle down now, as we all start Japanese lessons on Tuesday (as monday is a national holiday).
I've also been allocated my lab! Horrah! And it's a good'un too. I'll be researching ERAD (Endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation), which is basically how your cells handle misfolded or aberrant integral membrane proteins.
I'll try my best from now on to do a post every day, including photos, to give you a tour of my life in Japan, お楽しみしてね＾＾
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
あばよ
Well, this will be my last post from the UK. My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go. These past few weeks have been really great fun, hanging out with the boys again, spending some family time together; but its time for me to bugger off yet again for some more adventures!
Ill be posting as soon as I can when i get to Japan with some photos and what not hopefully, and some updates. Probably sometime Thursday evening or Friday.
All that's left to say is さらば、仲間たちよ！ Catch you on the flip side.
I'll miss you all! including my 4 guitars...
Ill be posting as soon as I can when i get to Japan with some photos and what not hopefully, and some updates. Probably sometime Thursday evening or Friday.
All that's left to say is さらば、仲間たちよ！ Catch you on the flip side.
I'll miss you all! including my 4 guitars...
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
どうしようかな。。。
*SIGH*
In exactly 1 weeks time, I'll be in an airplane, somewhere over France on my way to Hong Kong (providing the flight isnt delayed...). So, the question is, what to do to fill the time between now and then?
I could just continue my run of playing old Playstation 2 games, watching terrible movies (the worst of which was probably The Human Centipede by the way, it's just wrong.) and listening to music all day.
What should I do to fill the time?
Answers on a postcard please.
In exactly 1 weeks time, I'll be in an airplane, somewhere over France on my way to Hong Kong (providing the flight isnt delayed...). So, the question is, what to do to fill the time between now and then?
I could just continue my run of playing old Playstation 2 games, watching terrible movies (the worst of which was probably The Human Centipede by the way, it's just wrong.) and listening to music all day.
What should I do to fill the time?
Answers on a postcard please.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
AntiChrist
For some unknown reason I stumbled upon the 2009 Von trier film "AntiChrist" on the internet the other day, and I finally got around to watching it last night.
It isn't as straight forward a film as the title suggests, you may have thought of something not dissimilar to the Omen for example. Instead, it is a much more subtle commentary on the more sinister side of the human psyche and religion as well as having rather misogynistic undertones.
It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a nameless couple who lose their child. This has deep psychological effects on Charlotte's character who becomes increasingly manic and sinister as her Psychologist husband tries to treat her through psychotherapy.
I'm no film critic did I really enjoy its sinister and somewhat controversial atmosphere, though I felt some of the more gory scenes were a little unnecessary.
If you are interested and would like a, frankly more educated opinion I recommend this review:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/antichrist-the-visual-theology-of-lars-von-trier
I think I enjoyed reading this almost as much as watching the film itself. Even if you don't particularly fancy watching the film I do recommend you take the time to read this.
Ill leave you today with one part of that review that really made me think:
"At one point, she tells him that nature is "Satan's Church', and he puts Satan in the top position. Then, as he discovers the depths of her sense of personal evil and blame, he puts the word "me" - her ultimate fear is herself - only to cross it out again. I was reminded of Paul Ricoeur's study of Genesis, in which he ponders on the pre-existence of evil in the Garden of Eden, suggesting that we find ourselves in a world in which evil precedes us as an unnameable mystery. The symbols of the fall pervade this film, but the serpent never appears. Whatever the source of evil, it has already done its work before we enter this poisoned Eden. "
Thought provoking!
Heres some stills from the film, I do hope that i've interested some of you enough to give the film a try.
When the three beggars arrive someone must die.
It isn't as straight forward a film as the title suggests, you may have thought of something not dissimilar to the Omen for example. Instead, it is a much more subtle commentary on the more sinister side of the human psyche and religion as well as having rather misogynistic undertones.
It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a nameless couple who lose their child. This has deep psychological effects on Charlotte's character who becomes increasingly manic and sinister as her Psychologist husband tries to treat her through psychotherapy.
I'm no film critic did I really enjoy its sinister and somewhat controversial atmosphere, though I felt some of the more gory scenes were a little unnecessary.
If you are interested and would like a, frankly more educated opinion I recommend this review:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/antichrist-the-visual-theology-of-lars-von-trier
I think I enjoyed reading this almost as much as watching the film itself. Even if you don't particularly fancy watching the film I do recommend you take the time to read this.
Ill leave you today with one part of that review that really made me think:
"At one point, she tells him that nature is "Satan's Church', and he puts Satan in the top position. Then, as he discovers the depths of her sense of personal evil and blame, he puts the word "me" - her ultimate fear is herself - only to cross it out again. I was reminded of Paul Ricoeur's study of Genesis, in which he ponders on the pre-existence of evil in the Garden of Eden, suggesting that we find ourselves in a world in which evil precedes us as an unnameable mystery. The symbols of the fall pervade this film, but the serpent never appears. Whatever the source of evil, it has already done its work before we enter this poisoned Eden. "
Thought provoking!
Heres some stills from the film, I do hope that i've interested some of you enough to give the film a try.
When the three beggars arrive someone must die.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Money, it's a gas.
I had to start thinking about getting some Yen today to last me in Japan until I get my Japanese bank account up and running. The first thing I thought was WHY IS THE RATE SO BAD? It's absolutely shocking.
Just look at this, these are figures for how many Yen you could get for £1 in the recent past, leading up to now. (From http://www.x-rates.com/d/JPY/GBP/hist2010.html)
September 2007 (average): 232.2
September 2008 (average): 191.8
September 2009 (average): 149.4
September 2010 (average so far): 129.3
That's almost HALF! What a rip off.
And it's going even further down as you read this. *SIGH*
Lousy recession...
I think David Gilmour of Pink Floyd put it best:
Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil
Today
Just look at this, these are figures for how many Yen you could get for £1 in the recent past, leading up to now. (From http://www.x-rates.com/d/JPY/GBP/hist2010.html)
September 2007 (average): 232.2
September 2008 (average): 191.8
September 2009 (average): 149.4
September 2010 (average so far): 129.3
That's almost HALF! What a rip off.
And it's going even further down as you read this. *SIGH*
Lousy recession...
I think David Gilmour of Pink Floyd put it best:
Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil
Today
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
嵐の前の静けさ
I'm aware that these past few posts have been rather... lacklustre, but lets face it, I don't have an awful lot to write about these days, as i'm caught in limbo between adventures. The eye of the storm as it were.
But FEAR NOT! It will get better soon.
In other news, my accommodation for next year has finally all been sorted yay!
(In Takamine-cho, Nagoya; near the university if anyone's interested)
To pass the time, here's a dog in a lobster costume.
But FEAR NOT! It will get better soon.
In other news, my accommodation for next year has finally all been sorted yay!
(In Takamine-cho, Nagoya; near the university if anyone's interested)
To pass the time, here's a dog in a lobster costume.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Distractions
Only 2 weeks left! (Yes I am being very pedantic and counting down.)
The only preparation i've made so far is a list of things I should probably take with me, no physical work of course, that involves effort. I'll start some Japanese revision tomorrow I swear, i'm just too easily distracted.
Oh, on that note how 'bout that new Google logo? it's great isn't it? I was messing with it and forgot what I was going to search for, not quite as good as the time they had Pacman there though.
The only preparation i've made so far is a list of things I should probably take with me, no physical work of course, that involves effort. I'll start some Japanese revision tomorrow I swear, i'm just too easily distracted.
Oh, on that note how 'bout that new Google logo? it's great isn't it? I was messing with it and forgot what I was going to search for, not quite as good as the time they had Pacman there though.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
The Waiting Game
Well, i've got 18 days left before I leave for Japan, I really do hate waiting.
I keep thinking that I should do some preparation work or something, like read through my Japanese textbooks or at least the Biology stuff in Japanese we did... I just can't be bothered haha.
Oh well, it'll come around soon enough.
I look forward to being able to buy Muscat water from Lawson again, DAYUM thats a good drank. And those sausage pizza bread things too.
mmm, now i'm hungry...
On an unrelated, yet interesting note, if you have windows try this:
C:/Windows/Media/onestop.midi
I wonder why it's in there amongst all the system noises... hmm, either way its pretty funky!
Edit: In case anyone was wondering, I haven't gone mad, 'The Nunc Stans' means 'the Everlasting Now', I just thought it sounded cool. Those in the know will also recognise the nod to a song by Cynic.
I keep thinking that I should do some preparation work or something, like read through my Japanese textbooks or at least the Biology stuff in Japanese we did... I just can't be bothered haha.
Oh well, it'll come around soon enough.
I look forward to being able to buy Muscat water from Lawson again, DAYUM thats a good drank. And those sausage pizza bread things too.
mmm, now i'm hungry...
On an unrelated, yet interesting note, if you have windows try this:
C:/Windows/Media/onestop.midi
I wonder why it's in there amongst all the system noises... hmm, either way its pretty funky!
Edit: In case anyone was wondering, I haven't gone mad, 'The Nunc Stans' means 'the Everlasting Now', I just thought it sounded cool. Those in the know will also recognise the nod to a song by Cynic.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Back for the Nth time.
Well i'm back, yet again, I don't even want to know how many times i've put that.
Anyway, Rhodes was a very nice place to have a holiday, the weather was great, barely ever a cloud in the sky and the temperature was around 30oC every day. We stayed in a small family run hotel called the "Garden Hotel" in a town called Pastida. The food was great, the rooms were fine, and the swimming pool was great, what else do you need?
We did our fair share of exploring various places on the island, like Faliraki; Lindos; Rhodes for example. It was more of a lazy, takin' it easy holiday than anything else, so theres not much more I can say about it, i'll edit this post with pictures later on.What I will say is that coming home, the journey was horrible, we had a 3.50am flight so had to wait in the hotel not doing anything until the coach took us to the airport at 1am, only to find out our flight had been delayed for 2 HOURS, and departed at 5.45am instead. Those 4 hours in the airport were horribly uncomfortable. However, we got loads of legroom on the plane as we had the seats just behind the door, with no seats directly in front of us.
Now i've got just under three weeks back here in the UK before i'm off on my biggest adventure yet!
Watch this space people.
Edit: Heres some photos as promised.
The Hotel (Pastida) and its surroundings:
Lindos and its Acropolis:
The Old Quarter in Rhodes.
Anyway, Rhodes was a very nice place to have a holiday, the weather was great, barely ever a cloud in the sky and the temperature was around 30oC every day. We stayed in a small family run hotel called the "Garden Hotel" in a town called Pastida. The food was great, the rooms were fine, and the swimming pool was great, what else do you need?
We did our fair share of exploring various places on the island, like Faliraki; Lindos; Rhodes for example. It was more of a lazy, takin' it easy holiday than anything else, so theres not much more I can say about it, i'll edit this post with pictures later on.What I will say is that coming home, the journey was horrible, we had a 3.50am flight so had to wait in the hotel not doing anything until the coach took us to the airport at 1am, only to find out our flight had been delayed for 2 HOURS, and departed at 5.45am instead. Those 4 hours in the airport were horribly uncomfortable. However, we got loads of legroom on the plane as we had the seats just behind the door, with no seats directly in front of us.
Now i've got just under three weeks back here in the UK before i'm off on my biggest adventure yet!
Watch this space people.
Edit: Heres some photos as promised.
The Hotel (Pastida) and its surroundings:
Lindos and its Acropolis:
The Old Quarter in Rhodes.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Segue Norway
I'M BACK FROM NORWAY!
OK, now that that is out of the way, I thought I would point out that I only realised a few weeks ago that "segue" is segway....
Anyway, Oslo was amazing, that's all there is to say.
I stayed at my friend Nicolai's (who I'm sure you'll remember I met in Japan last summer) flat in the centre of the city.
It is not a huge city, but it sure is expensive! I paid the equivalent of over £7 for 500ml of Guinness, and that was from a can!Honestly, however, I can't say I was that bothered as I was enjoying myself too much.
Me, Nicolai, his girlfriend YanXi, and his flatmates all went bowling on the first night, which ended in complete disgrace for me as usual because I am a horrible bowler. Another day we went to see The Expendables, which was a brilliant mindless romp, with all the big names (and norwegian subtitles).On Friday I think it was, we ended up at a Chinese Christian BBQ in a church where we gatecrashed a wedding. (Don't ask). Lots of craziness for sure! We also visited Sognsvann that day, a really nice lake and forest on the outskirts of Oslo.
I also did the standard tourist-y stuff like visiting the town hall, the habour etc. The pictures will speak for themselves. Enjoy!
Various views of Oslo from the top of the Rådhus:
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Sognsvann Lake
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vast majority of Norwegians I met, spoke perfect English as well which was useful. Another point I will make is that DAMN Oslo is expensive! also that I find it hilarious that the Norwegian word for "Orange" is "Appelsin" despite the fact that Appelsin clearly signals to english speakers ANYTHING BUT oranges. I think this is best summed up in the words of a friend of mine.
"Maybe apple is orangesin" :D
Well, thats enough out of me for the time being, i have more jetsetting to do! TO GREECE!
See you in another week!
{EDIT}
PS. After Oslo, I never want to eat brownies again.
OK, now that that is out of the way, I thought I would point out that I only realised a few weeks ago that "segue" is segway....
Anyway, Oslo was amazing, that's all there is to say.
I stayed at my friend Nicolai's (who I'm sure you'll remember I met in Japan last summer) flat in the centre of the city.
It is not a huge city, but it sure is expensive! I paid the equivalent of over £7 for 500ml of Guinness, and that was from a can!Honestly, however, I can't say I was that bothered as I was enjoying myself too much.
Me, Nicolai, his girlfriend YanXi, and his flatmates all went bowling on the first night, which ended in complete disgrace for me as usual because I am a horrible bowler. Another day we went to see The Expendables, which was a brilliant mindless romp, with all the big names (and norwegian subtitles).On Friday I think it was, we ended up at a Chinese Christian BBQ in a church where we gatecrashed a wedding. (Don't ask). Lots of craziness for sure! We also visited Sognsvann that day, a really nice lake and forest on the outskirts of Oslo.
I also did the standard tourist-y stuff like visiting the town hall, the habour etc. The pictures will speak for themselves. Enjoy!
Various views of Oslo from the top of the Rådhus:
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Sognsvann Lake
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vast majority of Norwegians I met, spoke perfect English as well which was useful. Another point I will make is that DAMN Oslo is expensive! also that I find it hilarious that the Norwegian word for "Orange" is "Appelsin" despite the fact that Appelsin clearly signals to english speakers ANYTHING BUT oranges. I think this is best summed up in the words of a friend of mine.
"Maybe apple is orangesin" :D
Well, thats enough out of me for the time being, i have more jetsetting to do! TO GREECE!
See you in another week!
{EDIT}
PS. After Oslo, I never want to eat brownies again.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Jeg går til Norge
This will be my last post for a week, ill post Norway photos next tuesday, then there will be another week of absence as i'll be in Greece. Jetsetting wohoo, only without the massive amounts of money.
In other news, Iron Maiden's new album The Final Frontier, is a great album indeed, its typical maiden, some epics, some ballads, but always ROCKIN'. This album shall keep me company on my many aeroplane journeys in these next few weeks.
And so I bid you all adieu. (For a week or so :P)
In other news, Iron Maiden's new album The Final Frontier, is a great album indeed, its typical maiden, some epics, some ballads, but always ROCKIN'. This album shall keep me company on my many aeroplane journeys in these next few weeks.
And so I bid you all adieu. (For a week or so :P)
Monday, 16 August 2010
Music
If there's anything that has dominated my free time this summer, it has indeed been music. I just got my new pair of proper Sennheiser HD201 headphones (as opposed to earphones) to enable me to enjoy it all that much more.
I must say that my musical taste as diversified quite a lot since the New Year, so I now feel inclined to share some of my new found happiness with you all!
Not so much happiness in some cases, particularly this first one:
Warning: Watching from a distance (Doom Metal) I'm not entirely why I like this album, it has a lot of slower riffage, clear melodic vocals, and a rather depressing atmosphere; but it is very powerful and moving. See what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774GvRN2yKk
Alcest: Souvenirs d'autre monde (Black metal/shoegaze) Now this, I really love, its a french band spearheaded by Neige a famous black metal vocalist, whose other exploits (Lantlos/amesouers) I have also enjoyed. This type of music I've been delving into for a while now since a friend introduced me to this band, its a mixture of fast lo-fi black metal and melodic spiraling guitar passages; with vocals showing just as much diversity from tormenting black metal vocals to ethereal singing. I really do find it hard to describe this band, but as usual, you'll have to be the judge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t1XqYgukd4
Agalloch: The Mantle/ Ashes against the grain (Folk/Black/Doom metal)
Agalloch are a band I discovered while pursuing my newly found interest in metal-gaze type music (Alcest and the likes). They play a nice mix of folk and doom metal with the occasional sprinkling of black metal. They tend to use long (sometimes acoustic) musical interludes and sparse vocals, which are mostly either a rather haunting style of singing or an evil sounding growl. I really enjoy the vast sound-scapes and atmosphere they create with their music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCAsN09ZAzE
凛として時雨 (Rin toshite Shigure) (Cold rain it could be translated as)：just A moment (J-indie/rock/punk)
Now this is a very interesting album, its not your usual J-indie rock affair in the vein of AKFG and the likes. I really like the interplay of the male and female vocals here and the musicianship. The music itself is astounding I find, i'd say its a mix of Post-rock sounding rhythms to metal and standard rock riffs. The vocals however, are the most interesting part, they seem to be deliberately sung outside of the normal vocal comfort range; its hard to describe, but you'll see what I mean if you listen to them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwzsfLeieo0
On the subject of music, i'll be getting up especially early tomorrow morning (edit: this morning) because THE NEW IRON MAIDEN ALBUM IS OUT!!! From what I hear, its amazing, I can't wait to hear it. Well, good night from me, if I can sleep that is.
I must say that my musical taste as diversified quite a lot since the New Year, so I now feel inclined to share some of my new found happiness with you all!
Not so much happiness in some cases, particularly this first one:
Warning: Watching from a distance (Doom Metal) I'm not entirely why I like this album, it has a lot of slower riffage, clear melodic vocals, and a rather depressing atmosphere; but it is very powerful and moving. See what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774GvRN2yKk
Alcest: Souvenirs d'autre monde (Black metal/shoegaze) Now this, I really love, its a french band spearheaded by Neige a famous black metal vocalist, whose other exploits (Lantlos/amesouers) I have also enjoyed. This type of music I've been delving into for a while now since a friend introduced me to this band, its a mixture of fast lo-fi black metal and melodic spiraling guitar passages; with vocals showing just as much diversity from tormenting black metal vocals to ethereal singing. I really do find it hard to describe this band, but as usual, you'll have to be the judge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t1XqYgukd4
Agalloch: The Mantle/ Ashes against the grain (Folk/Black/Doom metal)
Agalloch are a band I discovered while pursuing my newly found interest in metal-gaze type music (Alcest and the likes). They play a nice mix of folk and doom metal with the occasional sprinkling of black metal. They tend to use long (sometimes acoustic) musical interludes and sparse vocals, which are mostly either a rather haunting style of singing or an evil sounding growl. I really enjoy the vast sound-scapes and atmosphere they create with their music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCAsN09ZAzE
凛として時雨 (Rin toshite Shigure) (Cold rain it could be translated as)：just A moment (J-indie/rock/punk)
Now this is a very interesting album, its not your usual J-indie rock affair in the vein of AKFG and the likes. I really like the interplay of the male and female vocals here and the musicianship. The music itself is astounding I find, i'd say its a mix of Post-rock sounding rhythms to metal and standard rock riffs. The vocals however, are the most interesting part, they seem to be deliberately sung outside of the normal vocal comfort range; its hard to describe, but you'll see what I mean if you listen to them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwzsfLeieo0
On the subject of music, i'll be getting up especially early tomorrow morning (edit: this morning) because THE NEW IRON MAIDEN ALBUM IS OUT!!! From what I hear, its amazing, I can't wait to hear it. Well, good night from me, if I can sleep that is.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
THE GREAT ADVENTURE BEGINS
OK, so a year later, and I'm back again, its summer, and there's not a lot to do.
Like last years Japanese adventure, I've got a more trips to make this year. First off is a week in Oslo, followed by a week in Greece, then 2 final weeks at home before my year in Japan! (which is gonna be awesome :P). I'll be posting pics from Norway and Greece, either during the trips or when I get back, it depends whether I take this laptop or not.
Lots to look forward to!
In related news i've been accepted into Nagoya university and handed in my student visa application too.
Funny story there...
I had to hand my passport into the embassy, and the guy told me to come and pick it up on Wednesday, I say OK and walk out, only to realise that my flight to Oslo is on Wednesday morning and will obviously need my passport >.< so I then had to rush back in and beg the guy to have it ready by closing time on Tuesday. So now, the day before my holiday I have to rush into London to pickup my passport in the hope that they've actually finished with it. Never a dull moment around here, no sirree.
I'll be posting pics from Norway and Greece, either during the trips or when I get back, it depends whether I take this laptop or not.
Lots to look forward to!
Like last years Japanese adventure, I've got a more trips to make this year. First off is a week in Oslo, followed by a week in Greece, then 2 final weeks at home before my year in Japan! (which is gonna be awesome :P). I'll be posting pics from Norway and Greece, either during the trips or when I get back, it depends whether I take this laptop or not.
Lots to look forward to!
In related news i've been accepted into Nagoya university and handed in my student visa application too.
Funny story there...
I had to hand my passport into the embassy, and the guy told me to come and pick it up on Wednesday, I say OK and walk out, only to realise that my flight to Oslo is on Wednesday morning and will obviously need my passport >.< so I then had to rush back in and beg the guy to have it ready by closing time on Tuesday. So now, the day before my holiday I have to rush into London to pickup my passport in the hope that they've actually finished with it. Never a dull moment around here, no sirree.
I'll be posting pics from Norway and Greece, either during the trips or when I get back, it depends whether I take this laptop or not.
Lots to look forward to!
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