And the awesome news was...

... that I was accepted in a International Trainee Program, and above all that I will be going to do my internship in SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA!!!! To tell you the truth at the time I wrote that post I still didn't know where I was going to go, we were only told at the 23rd of May. Yes, I know that today is the 9th of June... but I really took my time to digest the news. And I think I have still to fully digest them...

I really had no expections when it came to the place I was going to be send to when I arrived for my week of formation in Lisbon. However, during the week I would sometimes harbour the thought it would be cool to go to San Francisco. And guess what?! That was where I ended up. And I'm going to be there for 9 months... :)

The only thing that I'm sorry about now is that Miyavi has already gone there for his world tour... bad bad timing... :)

So, in about a month the posts are going to start to coming to you directly from the USA. I'll try to be little more consistent, to give you guys a feeling of how the things are going on across the pond and a continent. ;)

(credit to www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it/)

A year of JRock...

So, around this time last year, I first heard of Japanese Rock music... And a very interesting relationship began. I haven't felt so thrilled by music for a long time, and not only the music but the people that make the music.

I got to known Miyavi, Gackt, the Gazette, Alice Nine, Kagrra,, Sugizo (and, consequently, Luna Sea) and Yoshiki (which of course also includes X Japan) and a few others. These artists are not only appealing because of their music but also because of their visual style. For instance, I cannot imagine Miyavi without his tattoos, piercings, crazy hats and clothes. The remaining artists also have a very strong and charactheristic visual image. However, in the end their music is what remains.

Give them a chance, don't get shocked for their visuals or their stage antics (some people might feel ofended, but its fanservice; it exists because the fans want to see that kind of stuff). Go to YouTube and search them. I'll leave here some links for each of them.

Miyavi (oficial homepage; wiki)
Selfish Love
(the music/video that made me fall in love with Miyavi)
Hi No Hikari sae todokanai kono basho (ft. Sugizo)
(the latest single; link for the lyrics translation - credits to baka_neko - just in case your curious)
Ashita, Genki ni Naare

Gackt (oficial homepage; wiki)
Lust for Blood
(also the music/video that made me fall in love with Gackt)
Misty
(instrumental, have a bit of patience and wait until the music starts its worth it)
Returner -Yami no Shuuen
(the latest single)

the Gazette (oficial homepage; wiki)
Chizuru
Filth in the Beauty

Alice nine (oficial homepage; wiki)
Souen Namonaki Kimi e
(definitely my favorite from these guys :))
Q.

Kagrra, (oficial homepage; wiki)
Utakata
(the link for the lyrics translation is some posts back)
Sakebi
Satsuki

Sugizo (oficial homepage; wiki)
Synchronicity by Soundtrack
Lucifer
Kind of Blue

Luna Sea (oficial homepage; wiki)
(i don't know Luna Sea that well... this is just a glimpse; to tell you the truth I still have a lot to learn about all these artists, so search for them if what you see and hear is somewhat enjoyable for you)
Storm
I for You
Rosier

Yoshiki (oficial homepage; wiki)
Symphonic Concert Trailer
(Yoshiki is, among other things, a composer, a piano player and a drummer)
Drum solo
Unnamed Song

X Japan (oficial homepage; wiki)
I.V.
(from Saw IV soundtrack)
Art of Life
(only an excerpt, since the original is ~30 minutes long; to hear the remaining of the song follow the links that are in the description box)
X (version 1, 2)
Rusty Nail

As a bonus a music from a band composed of Yoshiki, Gackt, Sugizo and Miyavi:
S.K.I.N. - Killing you Softly
(unfortunatly something official has yet to be released)

There is a ton of other JRock and/or Visual Kei bands that I don't know. This is nothing but a small sample.

PS - It took me more than a hour to write this post. And I was stupid and lost the last few that I had written, because I logged off... So I had to re-write everything and go after the last links again...

PS2 - I had two addtional PS's but I don't remember what I wrote...

PS3 - I remembered one: It seems like I don't feel lazy to write about Japanese Rock music in English. To tell the truth it feels completely natural...

Happy Birthday DAD!!!

Uns minutos atrasado... mas pronto o que conta é a intenção...

Boa sorte na nova etapa da tua vida que estas quase a iniciar. :)

Aqui fica uma música da minha infância que me lembra o meu Pai sempre que a oiço. :) (Apesar de ser um pouco deprimente.)

10cc - I'm not in love

(credits to alaf22 @ YouTube)

PS - Não ando com grande vontade de escrever em inglês. :)

I just got the most awesome news.... :D

Eu não acredito!!! Não estava nada a contar, pensei que já se tinham esquecido de mim!!! Estou completamente histérica!!! LOL

Não há nada como a nossa Língua Mãe para expressar os nossos sentimentos!!!

deus...

Mas é sempre a mesma coisa, ainda esta semana tomei uma decisão na direcção completamente oposta. Mas, por outro lado não posso desperdiçar esta oportunidade!!! Estou completamente tola!!! :D

No entanto, não é nada de definitivo. Só ao fim da primeira semana é que vou ter a certeza, portanto só daqui a mais ou menos semana e meia é que vou dizer mesmo o que se passa...

Para ficar completamente feliz, só preciso de uma coisa...

A step forward...maybe...

Today I made a decision, well sort of, that may lead to the next step in my life. To tell you the truth I was super excited this afternoon, but in the mean time I was able to calm myself and put some sense in may own head. lol Sometimes I think I'm to much of a rationalist... :)

So it seems I may be picking on the next stream to follow. Let's see...

On the other hand...

...I knew there was a reason why I had stopped following the news...

There's so much pain in the world that sometimes it seems that you can almost touch it.

So today's topics were the aftershock of Burma's cyclone, the earthquake in China (a 7.8 in Richter scale) and situation in Lebanon. We cannot do anything against Mother Nature, except try to ease the consequences (it looks like the Chinese where quick to respond, which was good). But the wars... I do not understand them...

(I will try to post a bit more often, even if I don't have nothing special to say.)