音時雨 ～Regentropfen～

Yesterday night, I baked another cheese cake, and this time, it came out pretty good!

I mean, unlike what I got before, which were basically acceptable but not very fluffy. This time, it was soft! I didn't know why, because I sifted the flour this time? Maybe, maybe not. However, I've decided to sift the flour every time in future. That is not an annoying procedure like I firstly thought. So finally, I was glad to say here, I have the confidence to bake cheese cake well (yet this time, it seemed my cake was over-baked for about 5 minutes… ^^;)!

But I still didn't get the sponge cake well baked. I didn't know why either. I sifted the flour, but it was still not fluffy at all. I remember the last time when I tried kasutera, which was generally like sponge cake but I made it well. Now, I'm guessing maybe I should mix the eggs and sugar for much longer, like what I did for kasutera, and add the flour when the egg-sugar mix is highly full of bubbles… hmmm… I'll report my trying in future if I make the sponge again…

↑ fluffy cheese cake~~

Gosh, baking isn't much easier than science experiments. lol

Also in yesterday evening, I installed the foo_scheduler plugin for my foobar player. After a few times of trying, I finally got how to work on it. So I was able to set it play until a time point, and then, foobar will run a command line that I gave it before, so windows will go to sleep. This is extremely useful for me, because I like to listen to music when I sleep. I would like to listen via computer since I have to use earphones if on digital player, and my ears get hurt. My previous music player – jetaudio – has this feature, which was why I thought there would be one for foobar, since there are so many people are making plug-in's for the open source software.

I also saw in the foo_scheduler setting window that there is an option to wake your computer from sleep/hibernation. Wow, then I might also be able to make my computer into a music alarm clock!! I haven't tried it yet, but maybe I can in this evening!!

I finally pre-ordered KOKIA's 2010 concert DVD! I saw from a blog saying that if you order it later than August 1st, you'll have to wait until August 25th for that to be sent to your home. Oh, my! I don't think I can wait that long!!! I initially wanted to order it later and find if someone who buys it is kind enough rip and upload it. But to be honest, I didn't expect too much (I still didn't find her new mini-album for "Bungaku Shoujo" OVA = =). For me myself, I do would like to keep this DVD as one of my own collection. So I pre-ordered it, with a rather higher handling fee for international shipping because KOKIA's own online shop doesn't send items overseas!!! orz

Well, at least I will have it. So I think I'm still happy.

This month is ending, and I'm also finishing my make-Noriko-Mitose-to-get-1000-plays task (her play count has already been over 1000 right now)! Sounds mad, no? :P

I've gotten a Noriko-fever since "yorlga", which was released in April. My play count of her increased quickly and it has beat Akiko Shikata's. You know? Akiko used to be in my top 8 before I reset my last.fm!! But I just fell in love with Noriko that much. I was even writing "Noriko (Mitose) > Akiko (Shikata)" as my google talk status. XD

Her songs spurred me to draw something. My first inspiration was "cercueil blanc~shiro no hitsugi~", but I found there was something very uncommon, unique and special in her songs, which I can not describe by words well; so what I'm going to draw would be a merged view from several songs of Noriko. Here, there's still one thing I want to specially mention. Before I just thought it was beautiful, but I've never loved that like this. I looped it for almost 30 times in a day, and I could still keep looping, really. I stopped because someone was asking me about the lyrics of another song, so I had to cut my loop…
…
I mean "Phill", a mini-album by Noriko Mitose under the "ORITA". For my own convenience, I just tagged them with her name. Thus, all her play counts on last.fm won't be separate.

I should write some review for Noriko soon. There is also the last piece of liner notes of "Yorlga" to be released. Maybe I will start from "Yorlga", and then talk about other songs generally. However, I'd like to give the link to "Phill" (I love track 4 the most, by the way~).

Download link (uploaded by Kami)

On this Wednesday, we finished the final course of the EAPG academic writing seminar. I like the instructor, Mr. G., and I learned a lot to improve my writing. I know I still need enough practice, but those tips/points are very helpful. At the final course, we went to have dinner together, and talked.

It was so lucky that another girl and I brought our cameras with us. So we were able to take photos. Although there were only two pictures we took that night, they were enough to keep the memory in my mind. Sometimes, only one is enough, really.

I restructured my blog back to what it looked like at the very beginning, that is, I de-used google site for non-blog contents and just linked several blogs posts as web pages…

Because I was having issues on google page, it couldn't give me the same web page width, yet what I can modify was nothing but the width parameter!! Really, google site isn't a fun place to play around. It lacks tons of customizable elements, it doesn't support javascripts and some html codes, it even not possible to own a three-column layout!

Man! I want a real web site, not a self-made wiki. I thought I'd better move back to blogger – my free heaven. I think you might know the rest story, repost, copy-paste, format, … I've got enough lessons from it, I really won't change it again! = =||

Finally, I'd like to say what just happened yesterday. I couldn't upload on wordpress or mediafire with my laptop, it gave me an "IO error", but my netbook works fine. I searched online and asked others, but the problem was not solved. I checked my hard disk, no working. I tried to update java, and finally found java itself seemed to be dead!

Had no other ways, I opened the control panel, and uninstalled some not-in-use programs just for fun, while wondering "deleting them would help my current issue". Those softwares and plugins are used for WMP to support flac, ape, and similar files. And after restart, everything worked. Uploading, java updating, and my foobar-gtalk plugin.

Funny issue, indeed. Also, WMP, I finally know how you're utterly rubbish!! OTL

Just a final reminder, I need to add proper tags to my blog posts soon…

↑ the cover of KOKIA's 2010 concert DVD, the image was made based on the song "この地球がまるいお陰で / Because the earth is round"

It IS KOKIA's birthday!! I mean, it is July 22 in Japan time. It was a bit weird for me to say "happy birthday" to KOKIA even though the actual date in where I live was one day earlier than where KOKIA lives… ^^;

And today, July 21 in Canada time, was really my KOKIA day.

In the morning, I finally went into the last period of my 1000-KOKIA-plays-in-a-row task, which means, there were only about 100 plays to go. Still in the morning, my ordered KOKIA stuff – KOKIA best collection 2 (wasabi label) – was in the mailbox already! I was so excited that I brought the package to my lab. The balance 2CD-set and "Fairy Dance" were in this collection, and I didn't have them yet. I was so lucky because when I ordered it on amazon.fr, there were only three left. Also, the price was pretty good. The collection cost me about 26 euros, plus 10 euros of shipment, I got three albums, yet it was only a little higher than only one album if I buy via yesasia.com. The more important, one album from this collection, AKIKO-KOKIA-balance, can not be purchased even on amazon.co.jp! Although it is available on anco&co shop, they don't deliver items outside of Japan (most local Japanese online stores don't, which is a shame). However, the only drawback of this purchase was the albums are all in wasabi label, which means they are not the real original Japanese version. The booklets were very similar to the Japanese ones, but the lyrics were in romaji rather than Japanese… oh, no, I'm really bad at reading Japanese in romaji, and I like Japanese, I like to see the booklets were written in Japanese… well, I think I still shouldn't complain for this, since what I got was much more than the small drawback. :P

Regardless of that I found her new song "kotonoha" yesterday, I got the "otonami book" in this morning! I thought I couldn't be able to find it so I was going to find a way to buy it. But… it just showed up (thanks to the person who shared it, and sorry, KOKIA, I couldn't buy it due to the lack of money ^^;). This piano book gave me a very gentle feeling. There were liner notes of each song, and I think I would translate them someday. The thing I want to do most, is that I need to learn playing piano, even only for this book!!

At last, I'd like to write down a more exciting event happened today. I found a guy who is selling KOKIA's "REAL WORLD photobook"!! Oh, MY GOD!! Due to they don't deliver items overseas, I couldn't have the chance to buy it. I thought I would never be able to have it, but the chance has just come. There were only two copies available… I have to order it soon!! I can't do it now because of some technical issues, I can only do it one week later… so… I WISH NO BODY FOUND IT AND THUS I CAN BUY IT!!

But… if I buy this, I would not have enough money to order her 2010 concert DVD, the one that is the best and the most concert-like DVD, according to KOKIA. Hmmm… I think I will still choose the photobook first, because, THIS PHOTOBOOK IS SO RARE!!!

What a day! Oh yay~

I finally dug out the pretty Tanabata (star festival) gift from KOKIA and Masumi Itou this morning – well, I didn't dig out all of it. What I got was only the first song – but this was already enough for me. Because – this song was sung by KOKIA, you see.

The new mini-album of "Bungaku Shoujo (Literature Girl)" is entitled "KOTONOHA", which means "words" in Japanese. A beautiful title, indeed.

The song is introduced by piano, KOKIA's clean voice inserts in soon after the piano, followed by the warm and smooth strings' harmony. Drums and triangle join in later, in a slow pace and echo pleasantly. The entire song was played by the simple combination of instruments, thus made it being a good fit to the world of "Bungaku Shoujo", which is very relaxing. I can find some influence of classical music from the music, and what I imagined in my mind when I listened to it was that the gentle sunlight goes through the green leaves, the room is dipped in light golden colour, the wind is sweet, and the birds are singing outside – what a pretty scene from a summer morning. ^^

Here, I have to say that it is hard to believe the combination – KOKIA plus Masumi Itou – also worked on the song "Karma", "Fate", etc. I doubt that I would know Hikaru Nanase and Masumi Itou are actually the same person under two names if I knew nothing and just listened to some tracks by each of the names (in fact I DIDN'T know, really) Or… is it true that she has multiple personality?! (jk jk… ^^;) Each of them (them, yeah, I mean the two names she is using) has obvious style that you may recognise, but there is little similarity between the two! Comparing to Hikaru Nanase's grandeur in arrangement, Masumi Ito's style is more gentle and softer… you see what I mean?

Before, I just liked KOKIA and Masumi's music, but since this song, I think I'm going into the world of "Bungaku Shoujo". I will read the novel and listen to its drama when I have time!

I hope I will like it. Well, why not? I've already liked so much from it!

KOKIA is releasing so many new works in this year! Another mini-album, "Road to Glory 〜long journey〜", will be out on August 18, 2010.

As you might have already known, song "Road to Glory" is the theme song of online game "Dragon Nest". In this album, besides it, there is another song "Daybreak", which can be seen as a kind of image based on the Dragon-Nest world. KOKIA mentioned in her blog, that this song is featured by multiple recording tracks, and the whole feeling of it will be as grand as "Road to Glory". Also, KOKIA wrote the image song as well!

She also talked about another song before in her blog. The ghost(?)-song, "Sabiatta / for little tail", which was the theme song of game "for little tail", will also be in this mini album. This song was firstly out 13 years ago, and finally they found the original recording and going to release it officially! You may read more from KOKIA's blog about this story, but briefly, the reason for them to put those songs from two games together is simple: the staff of both games were the same. The song was written in 1997, and KOKIA's debut was in 1998, so this is a song came beyond the time, and it was also a reunion of the staff members~

↑ Bass: Izumi; Percussion: Mizawa; KOKIA; Suo

↑ the original recording's hard copy!!!
*all pictures are taken from KOKIA blog~*

They got a newly recorded version of "sabiatte / for little tail", and the original version will also be included in the album. "It's so embarrassing when I listen to the old version... I was so inexperienced... I really like the new version, everything feels so good, and more mature." that KOKIA mentioned in her blog.

By the way, KOKIA also tried the online game, and she named her character "Kokio", which is more fitting for a boy -- and his birthday is... July 22, of course!

P.S. school life is so busy recently. I need to find enough time to finish the translation of her 2009 Europe interview... ^^;

It was 7:25 already in the morning when I woke up. "Oh, god, we're going to Banff today!" I finished all "morning tasks" in an amazingly quick speed. We were going at 8 or around, you see!

However, every thing was going following our schedule. We – Dina, Harue, and me, as well as Max, our golden retriever – went to Banff for an one-day trip yesterday, that was, July 10. Now, I'll simply describe what we visited in the order of time.

#1.Lac des Arcs
This lake was our first stop. The weather was very good – not too hot, and not cold. It was just partly sunny, and was mostly cloudy. The lake looked so peaceful. Max was so excited for being outside.

#2.another lake

#3.Lake Louise
Finally, we arrived at Lake Louise. There were so many people! It also took some time to find a place to park! There were rather a large number of huge vehicles. What I thought at that time was Top Gear! I now kinda understood how they hate those caravans! (lol)

Anyway, the scenery was superb! The water was in a blue-green colour. The farther mountain still has snow accumulated on. We walked a little along the lake, and the lake was just that nice from every aspect. However, I remembered that someone has been here after a long time of hiking. Then, I was so lucky! To be honest, I don't like most kinds of exercise; hiking sounds so exhausting… ^^;

#4.Moraine Lake
Although a bunch of people think Lake Louise is very nice and famous – it is actually – I think Moraine Lake was even better! I just love the whole feeling the lake gave me: the absolute pure and blue water, the breeze, the colder weather, the high and straight pine trees, and a closer view of the snow. Really, it was much colder than Lake Louise. I wonder how high the lake is (and I am lazy to search for it…).

#5.Bow River Fall
Later, we came to the Banff Town. After a brief scrolling in the town, we arrived at the Bow River Fall. It was not a big fall, to be honest, but it was still nice – I saw a rainbow raising upon the water!

I walked along the river, enjoyed the scenery and the sound. Then I suddenly got an idea: why not take a video on my way back? Thus I switched my camera into movie mode, and started to record. Yet, I failed to hold the camera evenly, so what I got looked like in an earthquake… I was also trying not to get any others in my video, but that was not easy either. Sometimes, I even got my finger recorded because I was trying to adjust the camera… my first long time (7 min only though) video was such a big fail… ^^;

#6.Hot Spring Pleiades
There are several hot springs. We visited Pleiades because it was not too far away. But, what I saw was more like a public swimming pool… ^^; The water temperature was 40-degree-ish. If let me to make a decision, I'd rather to go to a real swimming pool in summer than the hot spring in summer days. Well… people have their own decisions…

#7.Banff Gondola
I enjoyed this part very much! We were in Sulphur Mountain at that time, and there was an aerial lift – a gondola lift, if saying more exactly. At the very beginning, I was even wondering why it was called "gondola", the boat's name from Venice!

The elevation was 2451m (I just knew from wikipedia). The view from this height was much more exciting than that from Calgary Tower! I was just wishing they could make each cable car with a glass bottom (then I guess lots of people would not take it anymore… lol).

On the top, the first sense of us was "wow, it's utterly cold!". The distant mountains were a bit foggy, and I was in my own reverie again! I was linking this view to NGE… (*get shot*) Also, finally, we found some animals! There were several goats, yet I didn't understand why goats lived at that place.

Soon after, I saw a squirrel! Different from what I often see in Calgary, which was the black squirrel, this little guy I saw was brown. I had already seen one when we just arrived at Lake Louise, but I didn't have the time to take a shot. This time, since my camera was ready to use, I took a lot of shots of him (let's assume this was a "he"). There were a few chips on the ground, and thus it also gave me time to take pictures~ (it did run very quick ^^;)

If you go up, there was a panorama view deck – and there was even colder. A lot of country flags, together with city names and direction marks, were on the wall of the deck. Firstly I didn't fully know what they are. After a few seconds' guessing, I realised those meant the way of the city it indicates. After reading the information board, I knew I was correct, yay~~ did I look silly? :P

#8-9.Administration Garden & Building
This garden was the most beautiful garden I've ever been in! It locates behind of the Banff Town administration building. Lots of flowers were blooming "insanely". My sight was full of rich colours. In one word, this garden was too beautiful to tell the feeling by pictures!

The administration building was also very nice. It was in an European style, which is my favourite.

#10.Banff Town
The final stop of the one day trip was the Banff Town. We didn't spend too much time because it was already very late. We walked in the street and visited a few shops. They were all nice and cute, even though the items they sell were similar to each other. The whole town was in a European-like style as well. I really liked the feeling of the town.

Then, as the last show of the trip, we went to a sushi restaurant for dinner. It was a "kaiten-zushi; aka 'sushi-go-round'" restaurant: a toy train led many carriages where dishes of sushi and other food were on. I've only ever seen such restaurant on TV, and this was my first time to be in a real one. It was yummy! :3

Another thing I have to mention. When I was going to stop recording the sushi-train, my camera's battery was dead. Oh, what a nice timing!! Now, the battery was dead, the space on my memory stick was limited, and the trip was going to the end. Everything was perfect!
We had a nice trip really. I love this kind of trip, you go here and there by car, take pictures, and enjoy the environment. You need not to hike or walk too long. You go to lots of places and enjoy a lot, and you're not too tired after the day.

So, lesson from the trip: I have to pass my driver's licence road test as early as possible. XDD

Additional notes:
- the public photo album I took during the trip was here.
- the private photo album, which means, I was in those photos, was located at here.
- the videos I recorded were included in this play list.

Fine, now, I confess here that I was saying nuts in that post in April. I have just done a really huge site reconstruction in the passed week: I moved all my non-useless posts into a new blog, hosted on blogger. I gave my photo blog and story writing blog (not being public yet), which were also hosted on blogger, similar blog templates, to make them similar on the look. I also linked my sites in the sidebar in the form of menu button. Now, my new blog address looks more like a personal site but just a blog. I thought up a new name for it too, which was derived from a Japanese seasonal word.

Yet you may wonder: why? Didn't you just do it in April for a new My Opera account name?

That was true, but I still changed, in June 2010, and the reason was very simple: I want self-costumed stuff. What MyO lacks is not easy to add custom stuff. I know that you can not compare MyO to other professional blog services, and I really like its album service. Although you can not arrange your photos/albums as free as you can do on picasa, the overall rating for MyO for me is very high. I would like to say, My Opera is 90% perfect. I do love MyO, or I couldn't keep using it for years. MyO does not support for posting your blog to your own domain, but it is not a big deal for me, and not like wordpress, which allows you to use custom CSS only when you pay, MyO is free for CSS editing at the very beginning! Thanks to it, I learned a lot about CSS and html.

However, as I got more different services, I was trying to find a way to gather all of them into a single site. Firstly I tried to make a website – I do know some good host to do this, but I am not good at making an independent web template for it. I thought a blog service can do what I want, if only it allows you to do enough custom work. Also, I want to use a blog service that loads quickly, and allows you to post via code editor but html editor. I really do not like html editor: it always messes your stuff in pasteboard up with unwanted codes. A stable service would only be blogger – there are other kind of good services, like wordpress and livejournal, but the first one asks money from you, and the second one has annoying ads…

Because I had the experience to publish my blog to my own domain via blogger, I knew it should not be that hard to make a site-like blog via blogger. So, after a somewhat painful decision, I chose to move. At least, the result was not that depressing for me in front of the fact that I was leaving MyO. I will still use MyO to publish my drawing and cover works – I have said I love its album service!

When I was working on moving and designing a template for my new blog, I realized that it was very similar between my thoughts on "jetaudio v.s. foobar" and "MyO v.s. blogger". In both cases, the former ones are very good overall, but lacks some essential features; the latter ones are basically good though you might not think so at the very beginning, but you need to take some efforts to get them perfect to yourself.

After the somehow pain work, I would say, I will never change again (not probably, but NEVER).