Five Festive Days

Just as I experienced my first (minor) earthquake last week, I'm now currently enjoying my first Japanese snow (which isn't settling, but there's been a lot of it blowing about the place on and off all day). As a result, I'm in the mood to tell all about my Christmas, which kicked off last Friday.

Friday 22nd - Saturday 23rd December: Second Royal at Metro, Kyoto

Having become something of a fan of Halfby, I was keen to see him and the rest of the Second Royal crew celebrate the end of the year live in Kyoto, and on the night we finished our lessons for the Christmas break. Perfect timing! Well, better timing than I had when I went there. I'd never been to the club before, so to scope out the place before others arrived, I got there half an hour early. When they said it was by Keihan Marutamahi exit 2, they weren't lying - it clearly was called Metro for a reason. With music playing, but no one on the front desk, I decided to take a look inside, and walked in, no questions asked, to see a band warming up. It took a few minutes before someone came up and told me politely they weren't open until 10pm. Never mind! I went for a walk, and then met Brett at the station for the proper entry time. Being one of the first to arrive, we each got an exclusive compilation CD (plus everyone got a badge with Thames Beat written on it, which I later discovered to be a Britpop-influenced Japanese quartet). As other friends arrived, we got some drinks, got some seats and enjoyed the festive selection of tunes on offer (and I brought along my flashing Ho-Ho-Ho! Santa hat, which got some nice comments).

Then, we got a selection of live music from a number of bands who all seemed to be composed of members from each other's bands (the drummer in particular popped up for all four of them). First was Meton Milk (pictured), my favourite of the evening, offering Supercar-esque rock that had just about the most perfect sound levels I've ever heard for a live band. Next was solo guitarist Satoru Onu, who I think was singing in English, but always had a look of intense paranoia in his eyes that was somewhat offputting. Still, he got better as the tunes got more rock and roll. Then came Wednesday, perhaps the happiest two guitarists I've ever seen. Their chirpiness and constant grinning would no doubt win over X-Factor voters. They were then joined on stage by a new lead singer to become the band Rufus (see what I mean about interchangeable band members?), who were the biggest hit with the crowd thanks to their easy, sunshiney, very marketable pop-rock. Throughout the live bands, I chatted with a few of the other attendees, particularly Paul Weller fan Datsu, his girlfriend Ri, and some guy who just kept saying "I'm Crazy!".

It was also during this time that we noticed our star dancer of the evening, a middle-aged Japanese man dressed in black, who was the very definition of 'fish out of water'. He spent the entire evening in the middle of the dancefloor, his eyes apparently closed, lunging his head slowly from side to side towards those around him, sometimes getting right in their face. Sometimes, he'd even include a bizarre hand gesture. It was both hilarious and a little creepy, particularly when his moves were in the direction of the ladies, but we figured he was too out of it to be of any real threat.

It was past 1am before the DJ sets began, introduced by Second Royal M.C. O.S.A. dressed up as Santa and swigging a 1 sho bottle of sake (1.8 litres), which he would later offer up into the crowd when he hit ground level (I dutifully agreed to much appreciation). First up was Fredo, and from that instant I was sold on the Second Royal party experience. Terrific choice of tunes and exactly the kind of music I was after. Plus, I managed to grab a remix CD of his thrown out into the crowd (which didn't get released until a week or so later). By the time Halfby (pictured) came on, the crowd was smashed and sweaty, but that didn't stop some truly rambunctious behaviour. Myself and Brett ascended to a table above the crowd, and our synchronised dance moves (joined by a perspiring topless Japanese fella) drew much attention from our fellow party-goers. When a bizarre remix of Itsy-Bitsy-Teenie-Weenie-Yellow-Polka-Dot-Bikini played, my knowledge of the lyrics astounded many. Indeed, there were a great many tracks I knew, from Franz Ferdinand to Fatboy Slim, Beastie Boys to The Jam. But there were also a lot of English-language tracks the Japanese contigent knew word for word, but had never passed my ear drums before. The DJs were all terrific, but what really got the crowd going was the free-for-all nature of the event as we headed into the wee morning hours. They all intermingled with the crowd, attempting a number of stage dives (unsuccessfully), hugging, high-fiving, pointing and air-guitar-playing like crazy. It all came to an end around 5.30am, but I managed to get a brief drunken thanks from the M.C.. As I was leaving, I also stopped Halfby and fellow DJ Handsomeboy Technique for a brief chat. Halfby was elated when he found out I'd listened to his album and that he had a gaijin fan! He said that I should come to their next show in January - a very tempting invitation.

Indeed, the party at Metro was one of the best nights clubbing I've ever had. The music was absolutely spot-on throughout, everyone was so nice and friendly and the atmosphere was that of jovial jubilation. And I made the front page on the website - well, at least my arm did (the Polysics sweatband was good for something after all). We made the slow trip back to Mukaijima, and slept through most of the day. We needed the energy of course for tomorrow was...


Sunday 24th December: Universal Studios Japan

Myself, Ilan, Parn, Baptiste and Neil all headed super early to Osaka to spend Christmas Eve at Japan's copy of Universal Studios. As we queued up, our excitedness reached silly six-year-old child levels as we saw the tracks of a giant rollercoaster that had not been alluded to in any promotional paraphenelia, but the anticipation subsided when it appeared unopened (it turns out the ride, Hollywood Dream, is scheduled for a Spring 2007 opening). Nevertheless, there was plenty more to keep us occupied. As the only Universal Studios veteran (and something of a theme park expert), I decided we should head to the end of the park first and then work our way back, as the queues wouldn't be so long as those for the entrance. And it seemed to pay off. So here's my attraction-by-attraction breakdown for everything we did, with a final score based on actual enjoyment versus waiting time.

Jurassic Park - as we queued, I learned the Chinese for dinosaur (konglong - which means scary dragon, but also is used to insult a woman so ugly, men flee in terror from her). We refused the ponchos, as it was rather sunny and we'd have the whole day to dry off. The actual ride was just as good as I remembered, with some impressive anamatronics. When the T-Rex appears, everyone screamed, but the final drop was truly terrifying! 9/10

Jaws - a shark adorned with a festive garland hung outside as a photo-op. I pretended to kiss the anus of a wooden frog. This was a proper ride unlike the version in Hollywood which is embedded as part of the studio tour. What a great job it'd be to be the ride tourguide! You get to chat, interact and act, weild a (fake) shotgun, sail through explosions and kill a shark! 8/10

Waterworld - it seems Coca-Cola still rules the seas in the future thanks to their ride sponsorship (with signs in English, Japanese, Thai and Chinese). Kudos to all involved, getting very wet on a cold December day. A little bizarre to see it all in Japanese, but mighty impressive stunt work and hammy comedy villains. The Kevin Costner-alike looked like he'd eaten several Christmas lunches beforehand judging by his quick-tiredness and running speed, and I could've sworn the final climatic plane crash was bigger in the States, but I guess I was just smaller. 7/10

Terminator 2: 3-D - pff! Did you really think that waiting time would scare us? Actually, we were in within an hour. The intro from the CybderDyne host was just as good in Japanese as in English, with Californian lips and teeth replaced with insincere customer subservience you see everyday here. The 3-D footage made my eyes go funny at the start, but it was soon business as usual, with Arnie and co taking out all kinds of robots and gloopy metal monsters. 8/10

E.T. Adventure - the biggest mistake of the day. This time, the waiting time was a genuine three hours or so (I lost track - but we played several rounds of 20 Questions and I phoned Jona in Hokkaido). But the real reason I wanted to go was because E.T. says your name at the end; what better opportunity to exploit foreign lack of understanding to make everyone's favourite alien say a naughty word! But which one to choose? Nothing too obvious or vile I thought, and something that might sound like a name to the untrained ear. So I decided on good old Twat! As we finally made it to the entrance, we had to tell a member of staff our name: "Um...Twat?". "Towato?" comes the reply. "Hai...T...W...". She begins to type and I can't finish, such is my attempt to stifle my sniggering. She hands me my 'passport' which we present to another member of staff before we board our 'bicycles' for the ride. The actual ride is a somewhat uninspiring chase as we try to escape robot police officers before heading into space, whereupon we use our magic to save E.T.'s homeworld and all the disgusting creatures that live there (which I pretend to shoot with my finger-gun like the grown up I am - hell, I've already pretended my name is a swear). It's like Steven Spielberg's It's A Small World After All, and I want out as soon as it's over. But then comes the moment we've all been waiting for! There's E.T. - and he calls us one by one, and then: "Meerriii Kurisumasu...TWAT". Joy and rapture! But it only slightly makes up for the rest. 4/10

Back to the Future - a little long a wait but we got to hear all the great tracks from the trilogy's soundtrack. I got a little bored in the queue, and decided to do this (listen out at the end for Baptiste's WTFing):The actual ride was as genius as ever, and Baptiste in particular seemed to really enjoy going back in time (he previously announced his desires to become Doc Brown when he grows up, and despite little scientific grounding, he's not far off). 8/10

4-D Cinema - with only a 20 minute queue and Spider-Man closed (which Haruna has since told me is the best ride there), we said 'what the hey?' and headed off to see Shrek's 4D Adventure (4 dimensions basically meaning you wear 3D glasses, but your seat shakes and you get squirted with water). But as we were ushered in, expecting a choice of what to catch, it became clear we were going to be watching Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic instead. To be honest, I wasn't hugely disappointed - I can imagine a Shrek short would involve another bout of embarassing karaoke numbers. We stood craning our necks up at the screen for the intro that went on far too long. Once we sat down in the cinema, the actual film was quite fun, and worth it just to see Cookie Monster eat a giant U.F.C (Unidentifed Flying Cookie). In 4-D! 5/10

Aside from the attractions, we also got to see the tallest Christmas tree in Japan, we met the REAL Hello Kitty (I'm positive it was her!), I stood on a very young girl's foot (by accident, I'll have you know), my body-popping was better than someone who does it for a living (but I was hesitant to demonstrate as I wouldn't have wanted him to lose his job) I ate a very sloppy Mos Burger, and we entertained ourselves listening to a mad drunkard on the train back to Kyoto.

It was an enjoyable day out, but the main problem (excepting the inevitable queues and over-priced food, drinks and souvenirs) was that everything felt a good 15 years old, while the park was only now celebrating its 5th anniversary. As the majority of rides are based on the U.S. rides, themselves based on 20-30 year old films, it felt somewhat outdated. Even the video introductions featuring younger Spielbergs, Schwarzeneggers and, um, Thomas F. Wilsons dubbed into Japanese, were a bit old hat. Never mind, I was full of festive cheer, and ready for proper Chrimbles!


Monday 25th December: Christmas Day

I woke up around 9am, and opened my stocking in bed while listening to Christmas Carols. I also opened two presents, and ate a big breakfast while watching Peep Show and Hamish's stunning performance of 'Hey There, Panda Bear' from the Millfield Showcase (genuinely brought tears to me eyes). I then called Baptiste to check our plans for the day, and we headed out into Shijo for shopping and (what I thought was going to be) a late lunch. We met Parn and then later Haruna, and I bought a 2007 desktop calendar, then headed to Meidi-Ya store to check out the foreign foods they had in stock. Most of them were just American brand equivalents of already readily purchasable goods in Japan (do you really need US Doritos when Japanese Doritos are exactly the same?), but at least they had Marmite (and a Triforce logo). I decided to get a tin of chilli and a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels.

It had since become clear late lunch was to be supper instead, and while there was a bit of confusion assembling the rest of our party and a one hour wait before we could be seated, we finally got into the restaurant for my first yakiniku feast - two hours of all you can eat and drink, in which you barbecue platters of meat and vegetables over a charcoal grill. Yummy. It made up for a lack of a traditional Christmas roast, but a phone-call from home during our meal was a welcome treat. Absolutely stuffed, half headed home, while me, Baptiste and Neil headed to Round One for a bout of arcade gaming. I won Mario Kart GP as usual (despite forgetting how to drift), then played AfterBurner Climax (which was super-confusing and hard), before plucking up the courage to give GuitarFreaks and DrumMania both a go. Beginner modes only, but I think I've got the hang of them both and I'm itching to give them another shot. We then realised we had 10 minutes to catch our last train! Convinved we wouldn't make it in time, we decided to forgo our pass and take the different line as it had later trains, then change at Tambabashi - which thankfully turned out okay. Phew! Despite it being 1am, I stayed up to make raspberry jelly for tomorrow like a proper host would.


Tuesday 26th December: Boxing Day

This morning gave me the chance to finish opening all the lovely cards and envelopes that had been sent and for which I was most grateful. Thank you everybody! I then headed to the supermarket for provisions, and ate a little lunch while watching the Queen's Speech online. Unfortunately, today was very wet indeed, and I had invited my friends all the way out to Mukaijima in the pouring rain for food, drink, games and movies. But the weather hadn't dampened our spirits, and we gathered round anyway, snacking on chocolates, nuts, mince pies, crisps and the jelly I'd made. However, it was Baptiste's stellar crêpe-making skills that won us all over. Absolutely oishi with jam and sugar - c'etait delicieux, Monsieur Retailleau!

We then got together and played (in Japanese) the You Say We Pay Interactive DVD game Hamish had got me for Christmas. It was a lot of fun, but slightly hampered by the fact that many of the visual clues were of British television personalities, which made it exceptionally tricky for my French, Thai and Chinese opponents (the Impressions round was a disaster - only the presence of Kermit the Frog and Arnold Schwarzenegger won us any You Saw We Pay pounds; but what a crossover film that'd be!). We then watched Bad Santa, which I think got it's point across despite the (harsh) language barrier - wisely, the only phrase Ilan decided to adopt was "Are you insane?". We then braved the rain to take the train saying "Are you insane?" all the way to Shijo for a karaoke session avec Neil and his two friends. While the majority continued well into the night, I wasn't in all-nighter mood and Parn had to call home, so we left before the price was hiked up. It had been a knackering few days, but a well-earned chance to kick back and forget about work...just as typing all this up has put back my work schedule by a good few hours. Bah! I'll start properly tomorrow, right?

Wow, almost 3000 words. If only my dissertation could be about 'stuff that happened' with no analysis or research - I'd be set!

To see loads more pictures from my days out and in, visit my Flickr page.

Chrimbletide

For everyone I didn't send a Christmas card to, just print out this image (thanks to the Second Royal site for the reindeer, Willis for the pic of me at Santacon 2005 and Kyoto JR Station for the big Christmas tree), write a seasonal message on the back and pretend I sent it to you!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who sent me presents, cards and gift packages - haven't really opened any yet (of course, I will have to wait until after the Queen's speech, which will be around midnight in Japan), but I will try to convey my gratitude in some shape or form in the very near future.

Until then, Merry Christmas everybody!

Rory

Party or DIE!!!!

Just before I gear up for a heady week of partying and festive cheer starting in just a few hours time (what with it being Christmas and having a two week break from lessons), it's probably about time I gave a rundown of some of the wacky weekends I had earlier this month.

First off was the Mukaijima Gakusei Centre Year End Party, on 2nd December (a little premature for a year end party I think). I had just got back from teaching three women English in Osaka, filling in for my friend Brett who couldn't make it that weekend - and it was a very interesting, fulfilling experience I'd like to have the opportunity to try again. And the pay was excellent too! I dumped my stuff in my room, then headed to the adjacent seminar house where most of the Mukaijima residents were gathered. And a select number of non-Mukaijima Doshisha amigos had also come along (some of whom had already begun the celebrations by going on a tour of Fushimi sake breweries during the day). After a few speeches, it was food and drink time, with four chefs cooking up some yummy Japanese food has everyone nattered and mingled. Then came the entertainment, which consisted mainly of Mexican dancing and acoustic strumming. And all hosted by Mukaijima's only male Japanese resident, Katsu - dressed as a chicken. During the show, I met a fellow English person, Josy, who was friends with Dries from Doshisha. And it turns out that she studied Japanese and History at SOAS (just like me)! She was now working and living in Nara after graduating in the summer and we spent a long time chatting away about Kashiwagi-sensei, Angus Lockyer, and Messrs. Kelly, Dykes and Chu (with whom she studied Korean with). It was inspiring to meet someone at the other end of the university tunnel and it's a shame we didn't meet before. Bizarre!

The final party part was a true or false quiz about Mukaijima and Japan, and despite some vague questions and incorrect answers, I managed to win a Hello Kitty flannel. However, a quick swap with Sarah resulted in a climber's chalk sack, which played host to my beer cans for the remainer of the evening.

The party then moved into the Mukaijima basement, which was seldom used, but they did a bang-up job of converting into a proper nightclub (with lighting provided by the Japanese DJ crew), not something that happens everyday, so I made full use of it. As the party kicked off, a circle formed, and as myself and Josh busted killer moves in the middle, it looked like we swifly killed off the competition - no one dared follow in our dancesteps! Nevertheless, the grooves continued afoot, and everyone was jumping about like loons soon enough (even if the DJs couldn't mix for disco fudge). However, by midnight, many people had to call it a night, as some had trains to catch, while others had an exam the next day.

I retreated to behind the bar and despite not being officially appointed bar staff, no-one seemed to care by that point. I helped myself to the hefty selection on offer, with a raft of spirits and liquors to mix with alongside the cans of beer and Cocktail Partner, and stopped charging anyone else for drinks. I'm no expert on Japanese licensing laws, but I'm sure it's not 100% legit to sell alcohol in a makeshift bar in the basement of a student dorm - I saw myself as something of a people's champion. And when I found a bottle of cinnamon After Shock - which stunned the Japanese barflies with its 40% alcohol content - I was letting people share a taste of my sugary shot youth. It was now MY BAR!

By 3am, the only people remaining were me, Marcus (from Germany who I've karaoke'd and watched TV with many times), and the Japanese lighting and music crew. Well, I say Marcus remained, but by that point, his Japanese, English and German had all mushed into one incomprehensible slur - all I could make out was him asking for another whiskey and coke, each time with a little less whiskey, which he'd still pay for every time. After more chatting and drinking (and I drank a lot), it was time to pack it up and pack it in at 3.30am. Nighty night.

Next weekend was myself and Tal's trip to Nagoya! We met at Kyoto station after I'd sent postcards and greeting cards to the UK, and boarded our coach for the two and a half hour trip. It was cheaper and more convenient than train-hopping, even if the Shinkansen could get us there in 40 minutes flat. Plus, it was exciting going on the motorway, just to have a look at Japan from a different point of view - the road-user. On the outskirts of both cities, we were 'treated' to some of the crummiest looking hotels I've ever seen. Faux Arabian spires, castle decor, the travesty that was the Hotel London, and the uninvitingly named Hotel Charon (would you want to stay at a hotel named after the ferryman who transports dead souls to Hades?). As we approached Nagoya, we also got to see what Lenka described as the Japanese version of Las Vegas - even more hotels, gaudy pachinko parlours, comic shops with massive signs - but everything was far more...grey.

Nagoya itself is actually rather nice though. We met the whole SOAS Nagoya crew of Lenka, Mikael and Bobby at Nagoya station. Despite not being very hungry, we decided to have a look at the restaurants on the 17F floor of the station - but when we spotted an Indian restaurant called Maharaja, there was no question we had to eat there. Tal and I had only just been talking on the coach about how we would love a decent curry - lo and behold, our destiny awaits! I ordered the deluxe set which included three curries, shish kebab, tandoori chicken, salad, naan and rice. It's amazing how an appetite can develop when presented with the possibility of really lovely food. And boy was it delicious - exactly what I needed, and we all left with a spring in our step, and spicy food in our bellies.

Before heading to the gig, we took a walk around Nagoya's main shopping areas, complete with wonderful Christmas illuminations, a massive fountain and tower, another ferris wheel (it seems as much of a prerequisite of a major Japanese city as a city hall - Osaka has two!) and a bright green laser fired into the sky for apparently no reason - maybe Nagoya was dangerously below the average light pollution Japanese cities produce, or it was a Batman-esque signal for a flourescent green superhero.

We said our goodbyes to Lenka and Bobby, and met Mikael, who'd brought his American friend Matt (who's ID card photo had RAPIST written all over it - but he was too nice to be a real one) along, at the Polysics venue. Which was on the 8th floor of a department store - a little strange, but once we were inside, you wouldn't have been able to tell otherwise. There was a little confusion as to which department store at first as the shop was called Parco, but after trying Parco South and Parco West, it turned out to be at Parco East - very helpful...Despite the ticket stating it included a drink, it seemed we had merely paid for the chance to buy a drinks ticket for 500 yen, which we could then exchange for a kids size portion of beer (if kids could drink beer). We dumped our stuff in the coat room (which was a bank of lockers which could only accomodate for about a third of attendees) and decided to take our places. Undeterred by the density of the Polysics fans that had already gathered in the small cramped gigfloor, we pushed and weaved ourselves towards the front and myself and Mikael began a loud conversation about how we were on the You-You-You DVD, hoping it might get some nearby fans interested - mmmmmmm....no.

Then, soon after 7pm, the show began. No warm-up acts or introductions. Just pure Polysics -very loud and very live! The band was on top-form, Hayashi tearing up the stage with the kind of energy few humans possess. There was even some wonderful synchronised dance routines amid the chaos. The Japanese fans were moshing furiously despite barely being able to move in any direction other than up (images from Chemistry class of densley packed molecules in solid masses flashed through my mind). It got unbelievably hot and sweaty - it was not soon before I was gasping for air and realised how useful the Polysics towels and sweatbands other fans had bought were. Indeed, on the official Polysics blog, Hayashi says:

クアトロ全体が蒸し風呂＆ゆでダコ状態になった！！！！
(The whole of Quattro became a steam bath and I felt like a boiled octopus!!!!)

While I wanted to move closer to the stage, I encountered a deadlock of couples clinging tightly together in the storm - it looked as if most of the girls had fainted under the heat anyway. It didn't matter, as despite being five rows from the front, the natural height advantage gave me a clear view. I still sang, screamed and shouted along, making all sorts of the strange hand gestures one invariably does at gigs. At one point, I was pointing and resting my elbow on the shoulder of the guy in front of me...until I realised it wasn't his shoulder but his girlfriend's head.

As for the actual music, well it was brilliant as ever. Kaja Kaja Goo was something like the second song, there was a wonderful slow-stomp version of Commodoll that provided a welcome breather, and many of the tracks from Now is the Time!. While there was no Black Out Fall Out, we got to see plenty of songs that only the Japanese fans knew, including a great interlude which consisted of all the band members talking very quickly over one another. By this point, the salty sweat was blinding my eyes as if I'd just taken a dip in the ocean. I'd forced my way even closer, and Hayashi's crowd interaction reached new levels of madness - from classic stage diving to trying to stick as many of the crowd's fingers in his mouth as possible. While I didn't get the digit sucking treatment, I got arm, foot and guitar contact.

Seemingly as echausted as the band, we were still ready for the encore onslaught, and they racked up an amazing four encores, during which they spoke a little bit about the new album in the works (a new single, Catch On Everywhere, is released on 31st January) and generally catching their breath. Final song was as I hoped: You-You-You - which brought the house down. But that was far from it. After disappearing off stage briefly, this mad electronic music began. The band returned with the two male members brandishing noise-making plastic mallets and the female members armed with Polaroid cameras. They then preceded to bash the heads of the crowd a la Whack-a-Mole (I got 3 confirmed smashes in a row), while Kayo and Fumi took snaps and tossed them into the crowd. Absolutely astonishing stuff, and all wrapped up by 9pm. The Polysics blog goes on to say it was their best live show yet, and the prospect of their 10th anniversary show in March in Tokyo is a tempting one indeed.

Drenched in sweat, aching all over and pretty much knackered, we waddled out of the venue. Matt and Mikael bought Polysics t-shirts and changed into them, and while I did buy a t-shirt, sweatband and towel, I didn't want to use my new purchases on my sweaty self. So we headed out into the chill of night, which did little to help my stinky soaked situation. Refreshed after a trip to the convenience store, we toyed with the idea of heading back to Kyoto that evening, but it turned out the last coach had been at 7pm.

Mikael said we could stay at his place, but guests were strictly prohibited and it seems he lives with a bunch of childish snitches who we needed to avoid at all costs. Despite the security risks of us trying to get in earlier than we'd planned, we made a go for it anway. Matt and him scoped the area, then Matt went in and unlocked a back door. We climbed over a fence, and ninja'd to the door, removed our shoes, and hot-footed it into Mikael's room, closing the door behind us. We'd succeeded, but now it was the time for sleepy time on the floor.

We woke around 11am, and with showers prohibited because of our secret entry and no cash, we decided to get the next coach back to Kyoto (the Nagoya Robot Museum will have to wait another day). That same weekend, Tingshan was visiting from Tokyo, and before she went, I met her, Baptiste and Parn at Kyoto station for some yummy omelette soba and Calpis Chu-hai.
For Tal's view on the Polysics trip plus a few photos, click here!

Phew! If you've read all the way down to the bottom, congratulations. I plan to post a Christmas message soon, reports on some upcoming parties and outings as well as some more general thoughts and ramblings, plus more film and CD reviews, as well as casting my critical eye over an amateur stage production of a love story between a girl and Godzilla. I'm going now, bye!