Great Teacher Onizuka!

Recently, I've been watching a lot of television shows. In fact, I finished the whole GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) drama in one day. Seems like my memory isn't as good as I thought it was; I have watched GTO back in my Primary School days and yet, I have forgotten most of it's contents. I wouldn't even remember it if Meng Xuan didn't show me the music video of the GTO theme song (it was taken directly from the drama series). But I'm glad he reminded me of the drama show; It has brought back memories of watching it with my aunt when I was still young. Surprisingly though, GTO even have a movie, which I just watched. But it wasn't as good as the drama series; most of the cast from the series wasn't there and it just didn't feel right watching Onizuka not getting into trouble with his co-workers at Seirin Academy (hopefully I didn't get the school's name wrong).

So, what's GTO about? As the name suggests, it is about this guy named Onizuka Eikichi whose one ambition in life is to become a teacher, even though, he has only graduated from a third-rate college and is also a bike gang leader. Despite not having the necessary qualifications to be a teacher, he is hired by the seemingly eccentric director of the Seirin Academy. However, he is faced with a notorious class and doubts from his fellow co-workers. Through many difficult situations, he eventually wins over the class and convinces everyone he is a great teacher.

The series has only 12 episodes and I found it a bit too short. Luckily, GTO is based on the anime of the same name and I have heard that it is better than the drama series itself. Maybe I will look into the anime...

Mighty Germans Stunned By Hardworking Croatians

A game that many Croatians will not forget.

The mighty Germans were stunned by the hardworking Croatians 2-1. Prior to the match, Germany was regarded as comfortable favorites against Croatia. And from the recent Group B matches, it seemed that Germany had too much quality not to win against Croatia, who had failed to impress during their narrow 1-0 victory over Austria. Despite scoring in the early stages of the match against Austria via a penalty, Croatia had not impress many and, in fact, frightened a few Croatia supporters with their heart-stopping defending. Austria had seemed close to scoring in a number of occasions, yet, Croatia held firm to deny Austria from getting a point out of the game, which they deserved. On the contrary, Germany had impressed in their 2-0 victory over Poland and made many believe that they could very well be this year's Euro 2008 winner. The Germans looked dangerous whenever they got the ball and they just seemed unbeatable.

Yet, Croatia were able to get away with a result that they must be delighted with. This seemed the first time in ages that Germany's defense was so deeply threatened and Croatia must be given credit for their much-deserved victory. Their passing seemed precise and such a joy to behold, especially in Germany's side of the field, and they closed down on their opponents quickly and efficiently. Ironically, their impressive display reminded me of Germany in their win against Poland; The opposing team's players didn't seem able to travel far with the ball before they find players surrounding them.

Perhaps, Germany were getting complacent and they underestimated Croatia. But after conceding the opening goal, the Germans never really seemed to get going and they began to get anxious and edgy as the match progressed. Even after a half-time talk with their coach, Joachim Löw, the Germans never seemed to be able to overturn the match, even after their late rally which resulted in a consolation goal by Podolski. This match did certainly remind me that Football is unpredictable and that no team is invincible. It would be interesting to see how Germany pick themselves up after this shocking loss. But in the meantime, I'm be rooting for the Netherlands in their match against France tomorrow morning. I wonder if France have some tricks up their sleeves against the Netherlands, considering their poor 0-0 draw against Romania...

If You Come Back To Me

Above is a recording of me playing If You Come Back To Me by Bowling For Soup. This is the first song ever that I'm playing with the guitar, so please forgive my lousy guitar playing. The recording above was somehow cut in half when I uploaded it onto imeem, my apologies on that. But from the short music clip above, you can already hear that I'm not really good with the guitar nor do I have a good voice. So I'm going to keep practising till I can do it better. I'll definitely upload a much better version of this song one day.

Football Fever

Finally, another major international football tournament. It's been quite awhile... around 2 years since the World Cup Finals actually. That wait just seemed too long. Well, fortunately, the wait is now over for Football fanatics like me. Another month or so of insufficient sleep but all that is worth it to me. Unfortunately for people living in Singapore, the free-to-air TV channels don't show the Euro 2008 Finals but by hook or by crook, I'll watch it. Even if I have to squint at the Malaysian TV channel that seems to jump every second or so. I'm not going to make another prediction though; my prediction always seem to go wrong. But I'll be rooting for Spain. The current Spainish team is just oozing with pure class. Casillas, Abiol, Puyol, Ramos, Xavi, Fabregas, Alonso, Silva, Torres, Villa. Nothing seems able to stop this team filled with superstars on paper. However, they just can't seem to bring the silverware back home. Perhaps, this will be their turn to bring the trophy back home.

Well, enough about football for now. I just liked to mention that I finally learned to play a whole song on the guitar! If You Come Back To Me by Bowling For Soup. Bowling For Soup is one of the bands I've been listening to since young and I'm just glad that the first song I've learned to play is one of their songs. Maybe I'll record myself playing the whole song but not now though. My wrist is still sore from being in the same position for so long. Perhaps, another day.

A Nice Change

Was awoken by a phone call this morning. Apparently, I was late for tuition. I took a shower and got on my way. Shockingly, it was rather cooling and there was plenty of wind when I got out of the house. Weather like this is rather rare in Singapore. It is either raining or extremely hot. Actually, thinking about this for a moment, this is the first time I felt so cooling when I'm outdoors in Singapore. It kind of reminded me of the time 2 years ago when I arrived in South Korea. I was so delighted at the nice change in weather. But when there is such a drastic change in weather, things can't be going right. Perhaps, the nice change in weather was due to global warming? What other changes would happen due to global warming? "Daremo shiranai"...

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Sunset In The Distance

Waterboys

I've just watched Waterboys again and boy, did it made me laugh. The movie held my attention for the full 1 hour 30+ minutes of its duration and it is by far, the only movie that made me laugh so long and loud (almost throughout the movie I reckon).

The movie starts off with a scene of Suzuki (acted by Satoshi Tsumabuki) taking part in a swimming competition. He ends so terribly that he thought he won the competition when in fact he was last!

As the story goes, we find out that Suzuki is the only member of the Swimming Club in Tadano Boys High School and that no one cares about swimming in the school. However, the appearance of a young and pretty new female teacher, Mrs Sakuma Megumi (acted by Kaori Manabe) changes that and hordes of students begin joining the Club just to get close to her (She was the new teacher-in-charge of Swimming).

These new members soon quit though as they discover that they were not signing up for swimming but rather, Synchronized Swimming! After this discovery, only 5 remained in the Club and with these 5 remaining members, Mrs Sakuma signs up the Club to perform during the Tadano High School Festival. However, they soon discover that Mrs Sakuma is 8 months pregnant and she leaves them just as sudden as she joined the school, leaving them to train by themselves to prepare for the Tadano High School Festival.

Through many twists and turns, the 5 members soon become close friends and together, they work hard to prepare for one of the most memorable "performance" (in my opinion actually...) of their lives.

Above is a summary of Waterboys though I missed out many things in the story too (I won't want to spoil the story for those who didn't watch it yet!). Another thing that I liked about the movie was it's Theme Song (I assume...): Gakuen Tengoku by Finger 5. It was a very lively song that just made you feel like going out into the Sun and have fun; Just perfect for a movie like Waterboys.

Hope I can encounter another movie that made me laugh as hard as Waterboys...

I Like Watching Movies

I like watching movies.

Whether it's in the comfort of my home or the comfort (or sometimes lack of it...) of the cinema. Whether it's with friends and family or alone. Irregardless of how I'm feeling, I like watching movies.

Watching movies is the only time when ordinary people (like me...) are able to experience something that they may never ever experience in their lives. May it be an unforgettable first love, going on an adventure or seeing one of the wonders of the world.

It momentarily relieves our stress and worries in this world and allows us to just sit there and enjoy ourselves for the next few hours or so.

I have to say that I enjoy watching Japanese movies. I remembered that the first Japanese movie I watched was the Waterboys. It was so hilarious that I can still remember some parts of it even till now. I hate to admit this, but I'm a sucker for Japanese Romance Movies. I'm not the type of guy who weeps after watching a really sad scene but Japanese Romance movies can really touch someone deep down in their heart. Movies like Ima, Ai Ni Yukimasu (Be With You) and Sono toki wa kare ni yoroshiku (Say Hello For Me) have really impacted me...

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Traveling On The Highway At Night

A Block Of Flats

Untitled

Stress Of The Working Class

Standing Tall

The Warm Sun

Speed

At The Cross-Junction

The Gloom