One-year Anniversary and…

May 22nd marked my blog’s first anniversary. And I totally missed it… like most of my posts of late. For a while now, I have had plans to start a culinary section, to introduce short films, to write more diary-type entries talking about my daily life experiences (work, love, travel, etc.) as well as following up on my past endeavors (drawing comics, learning bass guitar, making alcohol at home). But not having a computer for the last 5 months and updating from my phone sucked the pleasure out of writing posts.

I’m really glad that it lasted 1 year—it’s more than most of the projects I have undertaken in the past—but I’ll use this opportunity to bid farewell to the blogosphere until I get a computer. My blog will remain online (I think), and I hope to it pick up where I left off as soon as possible. I guess the recent hiatus I went on foreboded this, but let’s consider this an end for now.

Big thanks to all who read me this last year. I should still get notices for comments posted on this blog, so feel free to drop me a line concerning any post I’ve made. I’ll also try to see to the few comments I let slip and haven’t replied to yet.

Toodles!

Photo Digest 28

The sky is narrower in Tokyo, but just as beautiful!

Pepsi Nex Zero: Episode One

Well, what do you know? The Pepsi Nex Zero commercial is now officially a series. I caught a glimpse of episode 1 while flipping through channels tonight. So for the sake of following up on my last blog, here is the second TV ad:

I never thought I’d say that about a TV ad, but I can’t wait for the next one!

…Although, if I think about it, I guess I’ve always been looking forward new Boss Coffee ads too (of which you can find a compilation here).

Pepsi Nex Zero

I’m back from 2 weeks without virtually any sleep, but I feel great. I got a lot of things done during that time. Work is back to normal. My semester is over. I find myself with a surprising amount of free time!

So today, I’m officially ending the hiatus my blog was on. I will do that by introducing a Pepsi Nex Zero commercial that has been getting many people to wish for a movie adaptation.

Let’s take a look at the 60-second version:

You can watch all cuts here.

It takes a modern look at the tale of Momotaro, the Peach boy. See this page if you want to get yourself acquainted with the story, or this Wikipedia page for a quick rundown.

The commercial features actor Shun Oguri as the hero of this eponymous tale. As of yet, the people portraying the dog, monkey and pheasant have not been revealed. Quite a lot of virtual ink has been spilt on the Internet discussing just who could be playing those 3 characters, ranging from popular idols to fashion models. The fact that Shun Oguri is such a high profile actor has definitely been giving people high hopes.

By the way, just so we’re clear: there are no plans to make it into a feature length movie. Although, from the title “Episode Zero,” we can maybe expect a follow-up ad. Then again, it’s entirely possible that the title merely comes from the name of the product and that there will be no further episode.

I decide to appreciate it for what it is: a very slick piece of art. I love the stylized version of the animals and Momotaro’s gritty look. The soundtrack is a song called Same Ol’ by The Heavy, and fits very well the universe proposed in the commercial. And the scenes on the boat with the sunset in the background are exquisite!

The question remains, though, as to whether this Momotaro offered rice cakes to his partners to recruit them. I can’t imagine any of these incarnations going for rice cakes! Hahaha!

Two-week Hiatus?

The next 2 weeks of my life are going to be filled with 2 papers to write
for university, expected overtime at work, and a business trip to the UK. So please forgive me for going even more AWOL from my blog during that time while I focus my attention on not dying of sleep deprivation. After I come out of this ordeal victorious, I intend to make long overdue updates to some sections (music, culture, etc.) and maybe change the design of my title banner.

Oh! And please let me know in the comments what food I should not miss out on while in London! ^^

***edit***
I decided to change my banner right away. It is still a work in progress, though, so it may very well change after I get back.