This has been weighing on my mind for a while, and I've been trying to formulate a post in my mind to discuss the weight of the word "Jap" but I kept putting it off. I feel that I must write about it now before I hesitate yet again.

Many people use this word primarily in its harmless original context, to shorten the word "Japanese" into "Jap". However, after World War II, this word means something quite different, especially to Japanese-Americans.

After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, there grew an intense anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States. Many white Americans posted banners on their stores to "keep Japs out" and spread propaganda messages against the Japanese, posting exaggerated comical representations of the Japanese people. American soldiers referred to them simply as "the Japs" and used that word to facilitate killing this group of people. During this time the word was used as a weapon to oppress the Japanese people living in the United States.

( images )

One infamous event in United States' history was the Japanese Internment camps in 1942 where Japanese people were rounded up into designated areas. Even United States-born people of Japanese descent and others who are only part Japanese (even Korean-Americans, since Korea was occupied at one point by the Japanese) were rounded up. People who had nothing to do with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor were thrown together and ostracized by the people they may have even supported previously.

This wasn't meant to be a lecture on why people are bad for using the word "Jap" but to spread the knowledge about how this word can carry quite negative connotations to certain people. I realize that most people who I talk to about it had no idea about this, so I'm hoping that by posting this more people will learn about the meaning of this word. So if you were to shorten the word "Japanese" please use abbreviations such as "jp" or "jpn". And please know to be especially careful when speaking to Japanese-Americans because this group of people are most badly hurt by this word. In the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, according to their dictionaries this word is considered as "derogatory" and "offensive".

For more information:

The word "Jap"

Anti-Japanese sentiment

Japanese-American internment

And if you have had no idea and used this word in the past, please do not feel bad about it. As long as you know now, right?

It has officially come--my 2 year lj anniversary! The day when I gave up lurking and decided to actually participate in fandom XD 2007 was an interesting year. I was talking about it with soeursierra, about how it had some great things (I was really glad to have done Nakatsu's Thoughts and forums that I participated in, Master Key and Tomalicious, were tons of fun for sure). There were also some difficult points that year as well, personal as well as in fandom. I had to deal with a good deal of stress at the latter part of the year, but I think it all helped me become stronger as a person. I'm glad I joined lj...it has been fun :D

Neeext! I wanted to talk about Ninkyo Helper, which means like "chivalrous helper", but also can be a part of the word ninkyodantai, which refers to the yakuza. This is basically the story about a yakuza boss who, amongst a rival yakuza boss and other assorted underlings, join the local nursing home center to take care of the elderly. The first episode introduces all of the main characters, their assorted personalities, and the transition for Tsubasa (Tsuyoshi) from initially being indifferent about his job and posing as an obasan's son, taking money from her and almost leaving her behind, to learning to care for her and taking the job at least SLIGHTLY more seriously XD It's pretty funny and interesting, from the oyaji who peed on the back of their van that they arrived in to the man who kept groping Yomogi (Meisa), with her yelling at him in yakuza language lol If the story doesn't grab you yet, then LOOK AT THE FREAKING CAST:

( More Ninkyo Helper rambling )

ALSO! I painted my room and I love it <3 Yaaay!

Oh right--and if any of you are following So You Think You Can Dance, vote for Melissa please :D:D

I also am listening to the 90's radio station and am brought back to the past with all of the music I used to listen to, so I was thinking about those chain letters that I'd get about the 90s: You were a child of the 90's if.... Some were merely about being a kid, but a LOT of it brought me back. I do identify with some of the 80's stuff since I was born in the middle of it, but I was definitely a child of the 90's. Ahh, memories...

Happy late birthday to timeslice and happy early birthday orangerobots!!

Happy belated Independence Day when the US signed their declaration to be independent from British rule! Yaay! I watched some fireworks last night and ate some apple pie. It was lovely. Also hung out and watched Anchorman--a necessity for any day dedicated to the US ;)

Also belated happy bday to the Jin of the Akinishi. Wow I haven't said his name in a while--it felt weird to type it. Anyways, he's 25...I'm almost there. JUST GIVE ME A FEW WEEKS JIN o_0

For those who didn't know, Sarah Palin, aka the ex-VP candidate for the US, resigned from her office as governor of Alaska due to aspirations to work on a more national level. Questionable? Probably. Right after this declaration was a Vanity Fair article where people who worked with Sarah Palin blasted her behavior. She may receive a good deal of the conservative vote (since she is reported to have some good conservative policies), but to bring other undecided/liberal voters to her side...? Not quite sure on that point. I for one am not convinced of her ability, so we will see.

I kind of wanted to go to Michael Jackson's memorial, but figured since it'd be on TV and the traffic would be CRAZY there, I decided to be lazy and not go. Although I will go to a county fair soooon!

/end post of random 8D

Hiroshi Tamaki, Yuriko Yoshitaka find love
Wed, June 17, 2009 (2:11am EDT)
Last season's drama series "Love Shuffle" (TBS) revolved around a group of men and women mixing and matching their relationships in an attempt to find their right mates. The experiment apparently worked out for two of the show's stars: Hiroshi Tamaki (29) and Yuriko Yoshitaka (20), who are said to now be seriously dating.

In "Love Shuffle," Tamaki played a manager at an IT company who was on the fast track due to his engagement to the president's daughter. Yoshitaka, on the other hand, played an art student undergoing psychiatric counseling. Although their characters did not end up together, the two actors hit it off and continued their dates off-screen.

Sources said that the two got along well during the show's filming, and they really started seeing each other after the series ended in March.

Tamaki's acting career has been very busy lately, particularly with starring roles in movies such as "Manatsu no Orion," "MW," and the upcoming "Nodame Cantabile" movies. Meanwhile, Yoshitaka has been establishing herself as a rising star. She received multiple Best New Actress awards for her role in last year's "Snakes and Earrings," in which she appeared nude.

Now THAT is interesting XDXD KEI AND KAIRI 0_o

( More random news )

❝who do you ship me with?❞

I think I've done something like this before too XD

I took the Johnny's compatibility quiz here and guess who I got? 赤西仁くん. HAHHAHAA *falls over*

Tutorial:

お名前: name

生年月日を記入してください : birthdate
Year Month Day

生まれた日の星座を選んでください: Star sign (Western Zodiac)
You might be able to figure it out by the dates, right? (aries, taurus, gemini, cancer, leo, virgo, libra, scorpio, sagittarius, capricorn, aquarius, pisces, in that order in the drop down box)

血液型を選んでください: bloodtype
A type, O type, B type, AB type, don't know

身長を記入してください : height (in cm)

体重を記入してください: weight (in kg)

出身地を記入してください : where you're from. Just click the last option on the drop down box if you are not from within Japan.

Then...click on the really long button. Then in the brackets, such as ＜赤西仁くん＞, this is where your guy's name is :D

Oh and some pretty pictures coming up for you, my lovely flist <3

GOKUSEN MOVIE CAMEOS OMG

( Gokusen movie trailer )

From season 1: Ishigaki Yuma (Minami), Narimiya Hiroki (Noda), and Oguri Shun (Uchiyama)
From season 2: Kamenashi Kazuya (Odagiri), Koike Teppei (Takeda), Koide Keisuke (Hyuuga), and Hayami Mocomichi (Tsuchiya)

...it's kinda funny how the only time Kuma is not in Gokusen is when it's the movie XDXD But NO SHIN! It makes me sad ;_; No Hayato either but I'm less sad about that *smacked* I also saw the crazy vice principal. Yankumi's dad is probably there too. And I THINK I saw the season one love interest (Shinohara)!! Too bad Shin isn't there to steal her away ;_; I kinda want to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 again lol

And YEY OTOMEN DRAMA! I kept that manga on the backburner but when I realized that it was greenlit for a drama this summer, I decided to read it. I wonder who the shoujo mangaka character is going to be. It's funny since this is like a shoujo manga but with a dude as the lead instead XD Kimura Ryo is playing a role but I can't recognize the name of his character. Let's hope it's not a made up role again...

Oh and

( Congrats to KAT-TUN on the possible Guinness World Record! )

Upcoming dramas I am excited about: Orthros no Inu, Karei Naru Spy, Love Buffet (GUYS IT'S A TWDRAMA VERSION OF PARFAIT TIC), and I wanna check out Buzzer Beat, Otomen, and Extravagant Challenge (if this ever airs of course. I mean geez, it's SKIP BEAT IN A TW DRAMA AHHH). And just by glimpsing at the cast list for Momo Love, I REALLY want to see it too. I mean--Vanness Wu, Calvin Chen, Jiro Wang, Ken Zhu...HOLY CRAP XD

Ok I'll really stop until I leave. Maybe.

Some time has passed since I have learned about you. From then and until now I paid special attention to you. Many times you are brushed off as being in the background, but while you remain silent, you casually observe your surroundings and watch over the rest of the members. Yes you can act like a baby sometimes, but that transforms into raw passion once you hit the drums onstage. I realize that I have a friend just like you (I actually have a friend who's like Yoko too). And it makes me keep thinking that I could probably get along very well with you. Stay true to yourself and keep on working hard as Ryo says you do, and I will support you to the best of my ability. Thanks for everything, Tacchon &hearts

( cut for pretty poster )

PS: Can't wait for Orthros no Inu (or however you write it) XDXD

( Sanspo article )

( Tokyograph article (translation of Sanspo article) )

AKA Toma in new movie set to open next Spring based on the novel 'Ningen Shikkaku'. Filming begins in July. Toma's first starring movie, of course. YAY!

Oh and WTF:

( Tenchijin--New BL manga? )

( Oh and cutest thing ever: )

I received an awesome response from the other manga related post so I'm hoping against hope that I get a good response for this post as well--

Oricon: live-action manga adaptations
Sun, May 3, 2009 (4:31am EDT)
With countless popular manga series being adapted to live-action in recent years, including the "Dragonball" film that was released in Japan this past March, research firm Oricon surveyed 900 men and women between the ages of 10 and 40 with the question, "Which manga would you like to see turned into live-action?"

The most popular answer was Takehiko Inoue's basketball-themed comic "Slam Dunk," followed by Eiichiro Oda's action series "One Piece." Karuho Shiina's romance manga "Kimi ni Todoke" ranked 3rd.

Slam Dunk
One Piece
Kimi ni Todoke
Bokura ga Ita
MONSTER
Gintama
Ouran High School Host Club
Tenshi Nanka Janai
Fullmetal Alchemist
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

My question is the same--which manga would you like to see be made into a live action? Or perhaps a non-Japanese drama into a Japanese drama or the other way around. Or even--remaking an already made jdrama. And who would you cast?

I was sad when the Kimi ni Todoke rumors didn't turn out to be true, so yes that would be AWESOME if it would eventually turn into a live action :3 I also have some unrealistic dreams like Fruits Basket or Fushigi Yuugi but...a girl can dream can't she? XD

VENDY HAS PUZZLE UP. *OMGSPAZZFLAIL*

( cut for those who don't like spoilers :D )

REQUEST: Sorry to bother you all, but my Track 12 on the part2 .rar file of Puzzle did not extract correctly. I don't know which song title it is, unfortunately. Is it possible if someone could reup it for me?? *shiny eyes* EDIT: THANK YOU SO MUCH isomethyl and enshinge!! I love my f-list so much <3 *mega glomps*

I'm supposed to be doing other things, but ssshhhh... XD

I saw Monthly The Television scans where among other things they are asked what their favorite songs from Puzzle were, so I figured these might be songs to look out for on the release. Very general, sparse translation so I apologize in advance (I just glanced at these LOL):

Baru: Everything. He loves them all, no favorite
Hina: He loves them all too
Yoko: Rolling Coaster
Ryo: Puzzle. I'll give you ONE guess as to why. Hint: who contributed to this song?
Maru: Giga Majimega Faito. The recording was all energetic so he looks forward to the song XD
Yasu: Brulee. He looks forward to performing them at the concerts :D
Ohkura: Rolling Coaster and Kawaita Hana.

Okay Puzzle...come NOW!!

Oh and PS: enshinge--I glanced at your romaji to double-check my romanizations. Sorry!
PPS: My Harry Potter husband ;)
PPPS: Please check out the community for The Quiz Show with Yoko thequizshow!! Represent the Yoko/Eito fans yo!!
PPPPS (lol): Album version of Care and Kame's 1582 on jone_records-- I actually prefer the acoustic version of Jin's song (may be since I'm so used to it) and Kame's solo is pretty interesting! It's very dancy, so he'll probably dance a lot whenever he performs it XDXD

Ikuta Toma. Next SCP Premium Guest. Kanjani8. Performance.

*insert random keysmash and extra exclamation points* HOW I WISH THERE WAS INTERACTION DDD:  Next dream: Toma and at LEAST one of Eito in a drama together.  HEY IT COULD HAPPEN!! D:

And on the other hand--I wonder who will do his VTR message to him!! *mind swirls*

Oh and also Oguri Shun as Jun's rival on Smile...

I'll get to my drama post soon I swear D:

( PS: )

PPS: People of Eden--please vote for our next layout here :D

JUST made the connection that Yoko and his two BFFs (Toma and Aiba) will all be on that same SCP XD *is slow*

For those of you who don't check Eden regularly, here:

( Puzzle CM (unit song previews) )

Next up: Random news!

( Some updates )

I went to a couple of ratings communities and got myself stamped-

( So who did I get stamped as? )

Yaaaay!

And next on my agenda: I finally listened to the entire RESCUE single! (Keep in mind that although I like KAT-TUN I still include criticism in there~)

( RESCUE: )

( 7 Days Battle: )

( On Your Mind -Please Come Back to Me: )

I heard these songs here. And might I say that I appreciate that this single cover actually looks NICE, not like those ugly PS-ed jackets that they've seemed to have an affinity for recently. Thank goodness.

In drama news, according to this, we have Kaname Jun, Mukai Osamu, and Yamamoto Yusuke also in Maki's drama T__T DOES THIS MEAN I HAVE TO WATCH IT??!! And for Majo Saiban, we have Kato Ai, the girl who played Hikaru in IWGP and the love interest in Abunai Houkago 0_o AAAND Ishida Yuriko who was in Arigatou, Okan (I think she was a social worker?). Also--I loved going on the Toma thread in XQ because they mentioned YokoHina and how they liked them <3 Ahhh Eito/Toma love---I FEEL IT <3

Right and if there was still any doubt on the Yoko drama--

21:00 - ※4/18スタート

ザ・クイズショウ （日本テレビ系）

ドラマ

横山裕

BOO YEAH!

Aaannd... who else is totally excited about the Flat Five Flowers DVD from the 2/14 Budoukan concert??? *falls over*

/random

So with the final rounds of Spring dramas being announced, I figured I'll announce what I'll watch. As opposed to other seasons, there is not one particular drama I will definitely be following aka definitely be providing drama summaries for, but there are a few I am going to check out:

( Spring 09 )

What's everyone else going to watch?

PS: According to Cindi, Mamoru and Kenta will appear on Music Station's Minisute on 3/13 to promote the last episode of Utaoni :)

PPS: Taken from Joanna:

( meme )

idk my bff.../my thread

...I nearly forgot how to link my username DDD: Have I really forgotten LJ codes? D:

PS: It would be awesome if you can think of manga/anime characters on top of Johnny's <3

PPS: Good luck Ryo D:

 So it's Friday the 13th and almost Valentine's Day here (and Valentine's Day for you on the other side of the world) so I was just wondering...

If you were the lead in a shoujo manga (josei if you prefer), what types of guys would you wish to be the ones fighting over you?  It can be the cardinal shoujo manga leads--like the cool, quiet ones (Sano), the hotheaded mischievous types (Hikaru), the stupid but with a heart of gold types (Tamaki), etc, or could be actual celebrities (but if you mention Koreans you might have to describe them for me XD).  I've been on a shoujo manga kick and I've been just wondering.  It'd be great if you could come up with imaginary scenarios too XD

I don't know if anyone would respond to this but I'm in a discussion mood and I was pretty curious about it.  So what would your shoujo manga be like?