Anime Insider Interview- Puffy AmiYumi

   Hey everyone! If you read the last post here, you know I'm going through some of my now defunct anime/manga magazines to post interviews from. The magazines also focused on other forms of Japanese pop culture; sometimes on alternative fashions, or music. So the first interview I'm re- posting is a small one; and isn't anime related, it's J-Pop (Japanese Pop), related. This interview will be covering the group Puffy AmiYumi,( known as Puffy in Japan). For those who think they sound familiar, this duo were the ones who sang the opening theme of the American animation, Teen Titans, and later a short running animated series that was inspired from them ran on Cartoon Network.The interview covers their opinion on the series based off them, and on America.
(Remember, I take no claim in creating these interviews; I'm just reposting them from my old magazines!)

                                                               Official Website
                  
             Magazine: Anime Insider July, 2005, Issue #22
           Interview on pg.82 by Robert Bricken and Summer Mullins

(Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. But Puffy Ami Yumi, Japan's most
 energetic duo, still find time to record a hit show for Cartoon Network- which is now
airing in Japan-release a new album, and go on a nationwide tour!
      Fresh off their recent West Coast tour and primed to launch into their East Coast dates
this August,( check www.puffyamiyumi.com for places and dates) but Ami and Yumi took a
breather to talk to Anime Insider about Hi Hi, hopping around America, and (un)healthy foods.)

                How have you both been?
Ami & Yumi -  We've been doing great!
                        
                How has making Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi been?
Ami- The live-action parts have been shot in Tokyo and it's been alot of fun!
Yumi- Cartoon Network always respects our opinions and has incorporated many
            them into the show so we feel like we're part of the creating process.
                    
              What do you think your Japanese fans will think of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi?
 Ami- It's a big surprise that the show will air in Japan. I thought it would broadcast only
           in America.
 Yumi- I hope Japanese kids will like the show as much as American kids!

              
             What's the funniest episode of Hi Hi you've seen?
 Ami- The one in which I go crazy collecting prizes in cereal boxes.
 Yumi- The episode in which Ami works at a circus to buy me a birthday gift.

             Do you have a real Puffy tour bus?
 Ami- No, we don't. It would be cool if we did!
         
             Yumi, is Ami as nice as she's portrayed in Hi Hi?
Yumi- Yes, she is! And we're a bit more complicated than the cartoon characters. [Laughs]

              Ami, is Yumi as dark as she's portrayed in Hi Hi?
Ami- Not really. It's a cartoon so they took our real personalities and emphasized them. I
          like the cartoon Yumi, though. She's pretty cool!

            Are you excited about your upcoming American tours?
Ami & Yumi- Yes, both of us and our band are very excited about the tour!

           You've done several tours in America already.What's your favorite place to visit
                                      in America?
Ami- We go to L.A., New York, and San Francisco a lot. The more I go to those places
            and get to know more about them, the more I like them.
Yumi- L.A. is my favorite place.

            What's your favorite food to eat in America?
Ami- TACO BELL!
Yumi- Chili dogs from Carnies.

            Yumi, how is your english doing?
Yumi- I stayed in L.A. for a few months to study english about two years ago but
             I don't have many chances to use my English back in Tokyo so I've forgotten
             most of what I learned! Every time I go to the U.S., many people come talk to me
             so I hope to be able to talk with them without an interpreter.

            Do you ever get sick of singing the Teen Titans theme song?
Ami- No! I always enjoy singing the song.
Yumi- Not at all!

              When can your American fans look forward to your next album?
Yumi- We're recording a new album in Japan now. We're trying to bring it to our
            American fans as soon as possible. Please look forward to it!






           

How about some old interviews? (Anime and Manga Related)

                Hey everyone! How have you been? I got a spur of the moment idea that I wanted to share.
   So, if you're like me and got into Japanese anime and manga (comics) around the mid 90's, you long timers might be aware of what I'm going to be talking about. When anime/manga got popular overseas, it had a tinier fanbase than it does now. More often than not, their was no actual official place to read interviews or watch episodes; most of it came from fansites, or fan "shrines", little websites dedicated to a single series or character. Over time, (you might find some here and there now), most of these sites were no longer updated, or the site owner decided to shut it down.
              For a while, around the late 90's and early to mid 2000's, alot of merchandise and series were released overseas, and the anime/manga fandom had a small popularity boom. Magazines in America, like Newtype U.S.A, or Anime Insider helped fans get closer to their hobbies; they had sites in their magazines on where to purchase Japanese goods, listed release dates for series, and most importantly,(to me at least), had interviews.
                 Interviews that, unless someone bothered to post, will forever be in obscurity, because as the recession hit around the mid 2000's, most of the anime companies purchasing series for the American market fell under, as did many magazines. So, as I have a few of these magazines, and they're out of print now, I thought what I could do in my free time is post some of the interviews from the issues I have. These were magazines released in the U.S.A for the North American market, but if you want to try to find them, I suggest you look in a library if you're in the U.S, or try e-bay or other places that sell second hand magazines. I might try to purchase some more magazines in my spare time, but please remember I'm doing this for fun, and might not have the cash or the time to purchase any more magazines other than what I post for now.

List of 7 new wonders of the World

List of 7 new wonders
The Amazon rainforest, Vietnam's Halong Bay and Argentina's Iguazu Falls have been named among the world's new seven wonders of nature, according to organisers of a global poll.

The other four crowned the world's natural wonders are South Korea's Jeju Island, Indonesia's Komodo, the Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River and South Africa's Table Mountain, the New7Wonders foundation said today, citing provisional results.

List of 7 new wonders as below:
- THE Amazon rainforest
- Vietnam's Halong Bay
- Argentina's Iguazu Falls
- South Korea's Jeju Island
- Indonesia's Komodo
- The Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River
 - South Africa's Table Mountain

Final results will be announced early next year, said the Swiss foundation, warning however that there may yet be changes between the provisional winners and the final list.
Sites which have failed to make the cut include Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, the Dead Sea and the US Grand Canyon.
The poll organised by Swiss foundation New7Wonders has attracted great interest, mobilising celebrities including Argentinean football star Lionel Messi calling on fans to pick his home country's Iguazu Falls.
The results come after a long consultation process lasting from December 2007 to July 2009, when world citizens were asked to put forward sites which they deemed were natural wonders.

More than a million votes were cast to trim the list of more than 440 contenders in over 220 countries down to a shortlist of 77.
The group was then further cut to the 28 finalists by a panel of experts.
Anyone in the world was then able to vote for the final seven via telephone, text messages or Internet social networks.

Founded in 2001 by filmmaker Bernard Weber in Zurich, the foundation New7Wonders is based on the same principle on which the seven ancient wonders of the world were established. That list of seven wonders was attributed to Philon of Byzantium in ancient Greece.

New7Wonders said its aim is to create a global memory by garnering participation worldwide.
But even as the natural wonders poll came to a close, the New7Wonders foundation has set its eyes on a new survey -- the top seven cities of the world.
Get more information about Halong Bay Vietnam Tours at http://halongpackagetours.blogspot.com/

Wonder of The World - Vietnam's Halong Bay

Halong Bay - one of new seven wonders of the world  is located in the northeastern part of Vietnam and constitutes part of the western bank of Bac Bo Gulf, including the sea area of Halong City and Cam Pha Town and part of Van Don island district. It abuts Cat Ba Island in the southwest. Toward the west is the shore with a 120 km-long coastline. It is located within 106o58’-107o22’ east longitude and within 20o45’- 20o50’ north latitude. The site is 1553 sq. km with 1969 islands of various sizes, of which 989 have been named.

The islands in Halong Bay are mainly limestone and schist islands most lying in the two main areas: the southeastern part of Bai Tu Long Bay and southwestern part of Halong Bay. These islands represent the most ancient images of a geographical site having a tectonic age of from 250 million to 280 million years. They are the result of many times of rising and lowering processes of the continent to form a karts. The process of nearly full erosion and weathering of the karts created the unique Halong Bay in the world. In a not very large area, thousands of islands with different forms look like glittering emeralds attached to the blue scarf of a virgin. The area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes and world-famous caves and is the center of Halong Bay Natural Heritage, including Halong Bay and a part of Bai Tu Long Bay.

The area is recognized as the World Natural Heritage that is the area of 434 sq. km with 775 islands. It looks like a giant triangle with Dau Go Island (in the west), Ba Ham Lake (in the south) and Cong Tay Island (in the east) as its three angle points. The nearby area is the buffer area and areas classified as national beauty spots in 1962 by the Ministry of Culture and Information.
Viewed from above, Halong Bay looks like an extremely vivid huge drawing. This is a wonderful and skilful masterpiece of the Creation and of nature that turns thousands of dumb soulless stone islands into fantastic sculptural and artistic works of various graceful shapes, both familiar and strange to human beings. Thousands of islands emerging uneven in the fanciful waves look strong and magnificent but also mild and vivid. Amidst these islands we feel as if we were astray in a petrified legendary world. There are many names given to islands according to their shapes and forms. This one looks like somebody heading toward the shore: Hon Dau Nguoi (Human Head Island); that one looks like a dragon hovering above the sea surface: Hon Rong (Dragon Island); another looks like an old man sitting fishing: Hon La Vong (La VOng Island); some look like big sails struggling amidst the wind to set off for the sea: Hon Canh Buom (Sail Island); then two islands look like a pair of chicken lovingly playing with each other above the sea: Hon Trong Mai (Male and Female Chicken Island); and amid the vast sea stands an island like a big incense burner like a ritual offering to Heaven: Hon Lu Huong (Incense Burner Island). All are so real that people are taken aback by them. Those stone islands have experienced unpredictable changes over time and they take different shapes from different angles of view. Here, we come to realize that they are not dumb inanimate things but are vivid and soulful.

Inside the stone islands are various breath-taking caves, such as Thien Cunbg, Dau Go, Sung Sot, Trinh Nu, Tam Cung and others. These are really magnificent palaces of the Creation on earth. Long ago, Hạ Long Bay has been called by the great national poet Nguyen Trai:“a wonder of the earth erected towards the high sky”. Many men of letters from all over the world have been taken aback at the grandiose scenery of Hạ Long. They seem to get puzzled and incompetent as their treasure of vocabulary is not rich enough to depict the splendor of this place.

Halong Bay is also attached to glorious pages of Vietnamese history, with famous sites such as Van Don, a bustling trade port in the 12th century, charming Bai Tho Mountain, and not very far away from here is the Bach Dang River which witnessed two famous naval battles of the Vietnam's ancestors against invaders. Also, Halong is one of the cradles of human kind with the glorious Halong culture in the late Neolithic age, discovered at such archeological sites as Dong Mang, Xinh Tho, Soi Nhụ and Thoi Gieng

Halong Bay is also home to great biodiversity with typical eco-systems like mangrove forest, coral and tropical forest. It is also home to thousands of plants and animals of numerous species, for example shrimp, fish and squid. Some species are particularly rare and can be found no where else.

With such special values, at the 18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of World Heritage held on 17 December 1994 in Thailand, Halong Bay was officially placed on the list of the World Natural Heritage. In 2000, UNESCO recognized it as the World Heritage for the second time for its geographical and geomorphologic values. This confirms the global premier value of Halong Bay.

Get more information about Halong  Bay at Halong Bay Package Tours

Showing Off Some Cross-Stitching

Hey everyone! A Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Did you have a good one? I was pretty satisfied; I bought myself a new outfit and had some cake~ Well it was a family thing more or less, but I enjoy it. ^^
         So today, I decided to finally post some of my cross stitching. This is a card holder I made, and I bought it from the Chinese brand I mentioned before,KS+. This little creation was actually my third attempt; I messed up two other card holders because I used the wrong amount of thread,haha. Well, here it is, so you can see for yourself~

                                                                          

                                                                            

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 

                                                                                

                                                                                

Little Rock, Arkansas - Chi's Chinese Express

                  Hey everyone! I haven't done a restaurant review in a while, so here we go! I went a few weeks ago to a Chinese restaurant in Chenal, called Chi's Chinese Express.There is no website, but this UrbanSpoon link has the address for their location, and this Sync Weekly post mentions another location on Shackleford Drive.
       The interior of the diner is simple, and has all the basic amenities needed for a food establishment. It was styled very simply, and reminded me of an industrial cafeteria setting, somewhat. My brother took me on a day when my appetite wasn't very big, so I ordered a side dish; it was shrimp with crab sauce and sliced wonton, I think. (Which I do recommend; it was light and held me up for a few hours without upsetting my stomach.) The place is not something for a date, or fancy get together, but Chi's does have a big and hearty menu of lo mien, dumplings, and other common Chinese take out for when you're hungry. Be advised though, it's made to go, so the preparation will take some 10-20 minutes depending on what you are ordering.

                                                                          
                                              At the table. Am not sure what it's for ~

                                                                               

                                                                                  

                                                                                

                                                                          

                                                                                

Holiday Halloween Peeps~

     Hey guys! Once again, I'm too lazy and tired to make a long post, about much of anything really, so I found the perfect thing to talk about,haha!
           So how many of you have eaten Peeps marshmallows? They are typically known for their marshmallow chicks that come out around Easter time, but they expanded to get all the major holidays in the U.S.A, lol. If you don't know what they are, here is their website. They also have a search engine on their site to see where you can purchase their products, which is a handy thing I'm noticing alot of food and beverage sites are doing. XD
           So, for a way overdue post, this was to show my discovery of their Halloween chocolate marshmallow treats, with orange colored marshmallow inside! I thought it was cute and quirky, and didn't taste bad at all! (If you have a sweet tooth like me, that is!) So here is some photos I took around Halloween of it~

                                                                              

                                                                                

                                                                                 

Boylan Soda

 Hey everyone! Today's post will be a short one, since I don't feel like writing much. If you'll look at this post, you'll see I was talking about a vintage soda brand sold in New York. Well, it looks like there are other similar brands of vintage bottle sodas, and the latest one I discovered is called Boylan Soda. (Their website is here.) Boylan soda takes pride in their brand for using pure cane sugar, and for having a natural version of their sodas available, with no preservatives and such. They also sell birch beers, and seltzers, with a beer recipe used from the founder in 1891. The website has a search so you can see where you can purchase it in your area.~ So if you're like me, and like trying flavored soda in vintage soda bottles, go give it a try!

                                                                               

                                                                                 

A Quick Post on Cross Stitching

            Hey everyone! I've been a bit stressed from school lately, and I think a blog post is in order! So how many of you like to cross stitch or do other forms of embroidery? I taught myself sometime back in grade school, and do it every so often now~ Cross stitching is probably the easiest form of embroidery you can do, but it is time consuming, and you have to have a good eye; one wrong stitch might result in taking out multiple stitches!

           Now, there are many different companies that sell embroidery items, and I bought a few from this Chinese company here, which I recommend; KS+ Art Hobby . I'm not sure on where you can purchase their items online, but I found their items in New York, in the Brooklyn Chinatown area. It was around 7th avenue, I think, in a small mall, with the shop located all the way in the back. They only stock this brand, and the unique thing I noticed was that all the items seemed to be cross stitching only.

                Over time, I will be showing some of my completed works on cross stitching, and other forms of embroidery as well. I will also talk about other companies that deal with this sort of thing; I think it's nice for people to try something new, since it's not something many people do anymore~
Well, that's all for now, have a good night!