Today I spent my day with Dasha, and she helped me with one colourful thing - she dyed the ends of my hair with red hair-dye. I bought and already used this hair-dye in the USA, but now my friend did everything according to the rules, how it should be - firstly she dyed me with the brightener, then she took my red hair-dye. Yeah, I know that red ends of the hair is mainstream now, but there was no other good colour, and anyway I like it. The main thing is not to photograph yourself with duck-face. Amen.
It's almost the middle of August, so I have to prepare to school. Yesterday I checked my last year copybook and figured out, that I don't have to but new copybooks! But I had bought some in Japan, because then I hadn't known I'd had sufficient amount of copybooks. Probably, I'll use my new Japanese copybooks for exam's preparations. EXAMS!!!
Today Dasha and I have watched "Now You See Me". What a cool movie! Magic or deception? What do you prefer? A character of Mark Ruffalo is very interesting.
Seeing the title of the post, I'm sure you've remembered about a famous music producer. Before writing this post I haven't known he's Moroccan-Swedish. Well, as the song of the day, I offer a song made with his participation - "Poison" by Nicole Scherzinger.
A day before yesterday my mom and I watched an old Russian movie "Window to Paris", 1994. The film is about the Russian people having found a window leading from St. Petersburg to Paris. They found there adventures, obstacles and love. Unfortunately, the window closed one day, but there still was a hope to find another one. The film shows real life of Russia, and it hasn't changed in 20 years, actually.
Yesterday I had really a day of movies. Firstly, I watched "A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song". It's a sequel to the 2004 film "A Cinderella Story" and the 2008 sequel "Another Cinderella Story" (I've watched both), again reprising the same themes and situations but not containing any characters from the earlier movies. I just wanted to watch something easy and naive, so here coming this - classic plot. But this movie's more connected with the songs, as you can understand, whereas "Another Cinderella Story" works with the dance, and the first Cinderella Story is just a modern version of the tale.
Talking about yesterday's "A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song", so actors were sweet, songs were nice, the end was good, love, kindness, friendship.
Then I watched modern version of "Three Musketeers" starring Matthew Macfadyen, Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich and Orlando Bloom. Even though the film received negative reviews from critics, I liked it. The movie's pretty fine, a good thing to while away the evening. It was nice for me to watch Matthew Macfadyen again, I've been loving him after watching "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightley. And Mr. Lerman - what a cute guy. And Orlando Bloom - keep on remembering Keira Knightley - probably, it's my second movie after "Pirates of the Caribbean" with Orlando. And Milla Jovovich, she's not my type LOL
Finally, my last film for yesterday was "Great Expectations", 2012 with Jeremy Irvine. I remember that guy for the main role in "War Horse". The movie's based on the classic book with the same name by Charles Dickens; the story is about the orphan Pip who has grown in out-of-the-way place is about to become a real gentleman. He gets money, but from strange people; he falls in love, but in a strange girl. What about the cast, there's also unbelievable Helena Bonham Carter, amazing Ralph Fiennes and awesome Robbie Coltrane - all of them you know for what? "Harry Potter", of course. Here in the Russian Internet we call it "British communal flat". All in all, I liked the movie. I adore this kind of films basing on classics: "Pride and Prejudice", "Jane Eyre", "Anna Karenina", "Becoming Jane" (though it's not a classic novel, but a movie about a classic author), "War and Peace", and now "Three Musketeers" and "Great Expectations".
The song of the day will be a dubstep song "Drop The Other" by Emika. It's a slow beautiful song, which has been turning on and on in my head for about a week already.
I'm so
Stupid and foolish I dropped the other to be available now
Where are you to keep the confidence?
I'm so
Stupid and foolish I dropped the other to be available now
There's a time for the Diamonds - all the fans of gorgeous Marina And The Diamonds. As she promised, a big thing happened yesterday, on 8.08.2013 - the era of Electra Heart ended. It had lived exactly for 2 years - since 8.08.2011 till yesterday (BTW, the 8 of August is a day when Marilyn Monroe was buried). Marina created a character, mysterious and obvious at once; this character reminds me so much a character of one of my favourite books "The Lollipop Shoes" (or "The Girl With No Shadow" in the USA) - Zozie de l'Alba. I want to believe Marina read this book too and got inspired with it, because listening to "Teen Idle", "Seventeen" (though it's not EH) and other songs I imagine the events of the book.
Why do I know this is the end of Electra Heart Era? Just because yesterday Marina downloaded a music video for the song with the same name, where all her musics videos of the era are mixed together. It is so wonderful! The song of the day. The song of the era.
Also recently Katty Perry killed her "Candy Perry", her image of Lollipop and era of "Teenage Dream", and now everybody is waiting for her new single "Roar" and new album "Prism". So do I. Wait just 3 days. THREE DAYS TO A NEW ERA.
And, of course, you all know about honey Gaga with her forthcoming "Artpop". The lead song "Applause" will appear with the music video on 19th of August. Oh God, so many things at the same time, at the same August!
There's one more thing among the news. Now we know the new 12th Doctor! This is Peter Capaldi. I haven't watched any movie or series with him, but I'm already so happy to see him as a new main actor of Doctor Who. Yeah, sweeties, I don't like much Mett Smith as the Doctor, he hadn't even watched the series before he became a main character of it. And at least, Capaldi has eyebrows.
Well, you know the song of the day, and I've written down the lyrics.
As I promised, today my post is about Wakkanai's festival. The right title is the 53rd Wakkanai Antarctic Port Festival. It was held on the 3th of August, and approximately 1000 people were dancing 2 Japanese dances: "North Sea top dance" and "Antarctic dance". We had learnt those dances a day before the fest, but anyway we mixed up watching at other groups dancing something their own. Talking about the groups, let me explain you the organisation. People are divided for the groups: a group of Wakkanai administration, a group of the hospital, a dance band, a group of pupils and etc. We were with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Wakkanai and Russian probationers. Every group had each own name board and each own style. In the end I learnt it was kinda contest, so there even was a winner group. Moreover, a group could dance its own version of the dance. All groups were settled in a big column, we moving up and down the streets, music being around. Each dance was about an hour, we had some 10 minutes breaks. Nakai-san hold our name board, but in the end I took it away and brought by myself.
Me, Nakai and Lera
The inscription reads "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Wakkanai, Russian probationers and "Russian Terem" band".
Group of Japanese pupils
Russian street
Some of people wore really odd clothes, and it was amazing!
I adore this giraffe
~Time of awesome stories~ That day in the morning we sang at the railway station, and I met there a girl from Hong Kong and invited her to listen to our performance. She liked us and even took a photo with us. And in the evening she met us at the festival by chance! So cool! We took photos again, though my pictures of her became not so good. I asked her name, so the girl is Enjole, or Enjore, or maybe just Enjoe - I couldn't hear with those loud music. Anyway, for some reason I was glad to see her again, she's nice.
I wanted to take a photo only with her, but no - other participants decided to do it too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To sum up, I fell in love with the festival and would like to be there one more time. And more.
Me holding our name board
The interesting thing is that Wakkanai's elite participated in the fest as usual people too. They didn't need any body-guards, officials enjoyed the fest with "mere mortals". Russian authorities wouldn't do it, I'm sure.
There's a mayor of Wakkanai in the red clothes
To continue the theme of Japan, the song of the day is gonna be "Made In Japan" by Ysa Ferrer. Oh yes, it's a very old song, but it still stays cool.
My parents cannot believe I'm home for a long time. And so neither do I, because frankly speaking I'm a little bit tired travelling the world this summer. Doesn't matter how much I love to travel, anyway everything can weary. But let me tell you about my Japanese work.
In spring I was asked to join my header's band as a singer to Japan. I said yes, and I was bothered about the trip even when I was in the USA! But everything came to the conclusion, and here were we going to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Our way to Japan was pretty uneasy. I hadn't almost slept the night before, and my cat had hurt my thumb, so it was ill till the end of the travel. I went to our port town Korsakov with the headache and nervous condition. Then the sea was restless, and we were stormed a little during the sailing. But it didn't stop me from takimg photos. Actually, talking 'bout photos, I started using my camera only in the end of the travel LOL So in 5 and a half hours we came to Wakkanai.
We did a lot of performances - 36 concerts during 10 working days. Even if one performance could last 15 minutes, it was still something that took our power. We sang at the port, the airport and the railway station advertising rest in Wakkanai and the south of Sakhalin. To tell the truth, Japanese advertise the south Sakhalin more than Russian.
The most interesting performances were at open deck of the ferry. We were on our way to small island Rishiri and Rebun; and when we were sailed from Wakkanai to Rishiri and from Rebun back to Wakkanai, we sang to the afloat people. We sang very early - at 7:30 am! Also we came back to Wakkanai in the twilight, so we chanced to watch the most beautiful lavender sunset. Unfortunately, photos with that sunset I'll get only in September.
We lived in the flats, not in a hotel. I was settled with another singer Lera. The funny thing is that we both are afraid of insects to the death, so every time all those creatures got into our flat, our place became full of screaming.
~Time of awesome stories~
The first time a night butterfly flied into our lodging, but almost at the same time it got lost somewhere, so we couldn't see it flying and buzzing all over our flat, and it was ok. The next morning I took my backpack with the hood, and the hood had cat's ears (I bought the backpack in Sapporo - see below). So all nigh that damn butterfly was sleeping between one ear and the hood! The butterfly even left some pollen on it!
The second time we had to struggle with a big mosquito. I came out to the balcony to hang washing on a line, and that monster entered our place. Lera offered me an idea, and I used it - I vacuumed it.
Hellish insects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All the way our band was accompanied by Japanese organizers. Our constant 'curator' was Nakai, an assistant of our main organizer and sponsor Fujiwara. Nakai knows Russian very well, and English a little bit. Sometimes he asked me how some words was in English. He really became a brother to us. Also there were some guys from Wakkanai's administration which helped us: Nishimura, Sugavara and Arai. Even though Lera and I didn't know English, and the guys didn't know Russian, we laughed a lot, did many jokes, so generally had fun; the language we spoke was a mix of Russian, Japanese and English.
From left to right: Arai-san, Nakai-san,
Nishimura-san and, in fact, me.
Since my Japanese trip 3 years ago I'd known Japanese people are awesome, and now I only confirmed it. Talking about the Japanese language, since this travel I've thought about learning this language one day.
I've already mentioned Fujiwara; so he's very cool. He's been working with Sakhalin for a long time, and he wants to develop this relationship.
~Time of awesome stories~
There's a Russian restaurant in Wakkanai belonging to Fujiwara, and one day Lera wanted to visit it, and I kept her company. We came to the restaurant, and Fujiwara was there. Choosing among Russian dishes, I like pancakes, but there weren't any pancakes in the menu. Fujiwara heard I'd mentioned pancakes (he understood the Russian word "blinchiki" meaning pancakes) and made attendants cook pancakes special for me! I was shocked! Although I had to wait 80 minutes till the pancakes were ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the 29th and 30th of July we were in Sapporo. We gave a concert in Sapporo Beer (at the place it was written like "Bier". Maybe, it's German?), and then our headers tasted every kind of Sapporo beer, and that time Lera and I took cool photos with our Japanese organizers.
A guy to the right is Sugawara-san
Then in Sapporo I bought the backpack I've already written about, but my headers said it was kinda childish. I sent them to hell LOL. All Japanese guys said my backpack was kawaii (Japanese "cute"). Moreover, I bought to my friends cool socks as presents there. Extraordinary gift, isn't it? I don't remember what I bought in Sapporo else, so go to the next paragraph.
We had one day off on the 1st of August, so we dedicated it to shopping. In general, I bought a lot of sweets and a lot of small things like pens, chopsticks, copybooks... Socks. One more big thing is a purse, because I broke my previous one in the USA, and my mom likes my new purse.
On the last day we has a cruise to small islands Rishiri and Rebun, as I've written above. We had to wake up at 5 a.m., so probably it was the longest day of Japanese travel. I've written about the performance, so it's time for the islands themselves. Those islands are small, but it doesn't make them poor. Both of the islands are civilized, with good asphalt, electricity and shops on the islands everywhere (reproaching Russian Government). The first island we visited was Rishiri.
~Time of awesome stories~
The symbol of Rishiri is a chipmunk. We stopped near the shop that sold small plush chipmunks (the same as you can see at the picture of me and Nakai-san sitting on the bench with big chipmunks, but there were mini-copies). We all came into the shop, Lera and I started hanging up around plush chipmunks, thinking about buying them. In the end we decided to save money, but one man - Nishiura-san, a general manager of the ferry, who accompanied us on the islands - bought those little chipmunks to us! We were so happy!
Lera and I with big chipmunks and our mini-ones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next island is Rebun. When we got there, the weather became gloomy, but the island still stood awesome. Unfortunately, my camera's battery was low, so I couldn't take many photos. Even though our Russian organizer had told Rebun is more beautiful, I liked Rishiri more.
Also we took a part in one big event in Wakkanai - a festival, but I'll tell about it next time.
Although I haven't been in Tokyo yet, but it's a capital city of Japan, so here's the song of the day.
