Dream car #2...?

My next door neighbour's got my dream car!!!!! And the memo pad holder is the "for hire" sign in in Hong Kong cabs! So cute!

... actually,the Smart car became my #1 dream car later...

And I had a chance to ride in one of these Minis. It was actually quite uncomfortable, while the Smart car was surprisingly nice inside!

Baton!

Got a baton from my Japanese blog friend @syo a while ago. It's until recently that I get enough people to pass it onto. (Still one short, though.) But this has been dragging on for too long. Sorry for being so late. Here it is. (Hmm... I hope I translated it right...)

"1" seems to be missing...
2. What's your name?
Black Label = alias... MC is the initial of my real name.
3. How old are you?
Old enough to have a kid or two, but inside, I'm always 16. (^_^)
5. What's your occupation?
Right now, unemployed. (Sob sob sob... ) Before, CG related.
5. What's your hobby?
Web surfing, artsy stuff, crafty stuff.
Figurines, drawing, manga, anime... Argh! I admit... I'm an otaku...
6. Preferred type of the opposite sex?
Someone not boring, easy to communicate with, has a good sense of humour, reliable and faithful (as to won't cheat).
7. Any special skills?
Forgetting. Especially limits. Other than that, giving people goose bums by making noise with my back and shoulder.
8. Any certifications?
Driver's license and Canadian passport.
9. Anything troubling you?
Waaay too many. I'm quite lost in life right now.
10. Food that you like, food that you hate.
Like = tofu, vegi, Pocky, junk food.
Hate = hot and spicy.
11. A word for the one you love.
Thanks, and sorry, I can't be your friend anymore. (Sob sob sob...)
12. With a brief introduction, name the next 5 people you'd like to pass the baton onto.
OK... in the order of agreeing to take the baton...

1. Andrew: A big fan of Gundam Seed and Destiny, who loves all anime and manga regardless of genre.
2. MJ: An ex-colleague with a delicate artistic sense. A diligent American who wishes to immigrate to Canada.
3. etruscan: An ex-classmate and ex-colleague... sorry I don't know much about him. Well, this is a chance to, isn't it? (^_^)
4. JC: An ex-colleague who is a big car fan. He likes angels, and Ghost in the Shell, and has a high potential of becoming the next Da Vincci.
5. Since I couldn't get a 5th person to say yes, this one is open. Please feel free to grab this baton if you like it. Give me a shout and I'll come visit your blog. (^_^)

Wacky martini glass

Interesting martini glass, found on Granville Island. I didn't ask, but they look dish-washer unfriendly. Doesn't seem like they can be washed at all!

Giant Chupa Chups

Actually, this is nothing new. I bought one as a party gift years ago. But of course I didn't take any pictures. And I didn't have a blog either.

They're so cool as gifts, but at over $20, it wouldn't be suitable for normal consumption, would it? You can probably kill someone with it too!

Mondo Gelato

Went to the one off Main Street at around 11 after a birthday dinner last night. Stayed till about 11:45. The place was packed! I wonder what time they close...

Bought a small bucket of Spumoni gelato to take home... whatever Spumoni is. The colour is intriging. Lime green mixed with brown. Seems to be chocolate and some kind of fruit.

Jelly Bean dispenser

Interesting jelly bean dispenser. More classy and expensive then the common gum ball machine type. A fancy gift only for those who has already got everything...

My car got broken into...

Oh~ it happened again. Right inside my garage. I knew it was too quiet for too long... They used the tow truck technique. I'm just glad that I don't have to deal with ICBC. Sigh... But at leeeeeast shut the doors pleeeease ? The light and the batteries are gonna burnt out!

I don't keep any valuables in the car so it wasn't too bad. A pair of clip-on sun glasses and a cell phone charger are all that I worry about. At the end, only 3 items went missing. A hand towel for fogged-up windows, a box of tissue paper, and a roll of toilet paper. Yup, same here. "What the heck?!?!"

Dancing Gundam

Ya gotta give it to the Japanese.Wess's dancing. Short and sweet.
Magikano dance. Probably OP? Never watched Magikano...
Planetes OP. Ooooh the rockets are so funny!

Seems like the current trend is the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
ED dance.
OP dance.
Episode 12 band scene.
And then, not only dance, even drama! Episode 2 where Mikuru was recruited.
... and a comparison with the scene.

More scene recreation:
Utawarerumono #14... battle scene?
Gundou Musashi #2... another battle scene?

Cirque Du Soleil

Thanks Andrew for taking me to see Cirque Du Soleil. It was a unique and inspiring experience.

Argh the vampire is here so my brain isn't working too well. Might add some more later...

Added July 19:
The program was Varekai. So there was a story behind it. I thought it was a fallen angel or something. The character's called Varekai. Doesn't say if he's an angel or not. And he encounters all sorts of alien life forms... etc, etc. (I don't get the "rebirth" part...) Didn't know they have a variety of shows. A circus is a circus... guess I'm wrong.

The costumes were so nice~! I wonder if they pad the puffy sleeves and thighs with sponges. The performances were really well calculated. Except for the magic show, which seemed totally out of place. And a few other segments didn't quite help the story flow either. Oh well, that's only a bonus. The main thing was the acrobats, and they were impressive. Overall it was more like a concert, though. (There were life singing and music.) Somehow I still get the idea stuck in my head that, a circus should have performing exotic animals... hahaha....

Book Crossing

Thanks Crystal for the link. The concept of Book Crossing is super interesting! Basically it's sharing books, but it's got that romantic "message in a bottle" feel. And you can track a book that you set free into the wild.

Too bad I'm not a book worm. But I support the idea. Maybe I'll throw in a few old unread school books... (Not text books, but reading material.)

Loituma Girl

A bit late again... (haha I'm always late...) The famous leek-spinning-girl has finally stormed Japan.
This is the girl stared in the flash. Orihime Inoue from Bleech.
Wikipedia even has a stand alone entry called Loituma Girl!
And this is Loituma's live performance of Ievan Polkka:

This Japanese blog たまごまごごはん(Tamagotamagohan) has a list of Ievan Polkka YouTube videos that's worth checking out. Too bad the second one with George Bush has been deleted. Appearently it's gross. I wonder if it's different from this one.

This site (NewAkiba.com) also has an interesting list of videos.

Tonkatsu (fried pork chop) parfait

The Japanese (at this restaurant 清まる) are crazy!!! Using tokatsu (fried pork chop) in a dessert? That sounds so... wrong!

But, but!! Appearently it's delicious! Here's a review at とんかつパフェ by someone whose curiosity brought her to dirve hours to try out this oddity, which turn out to be a treasure. BTW, that restaurant also maks pork chop strawberry cakes.

"Hip Parade!" trading figure

Oh my god... this world is going to hell... I can't beleive someone actually came up with toys like this...

Well, it's actually called "trading torso" instead of figure. (Morbid!!! Hey shouldn't torso be between the shoulders and hip???) About 500 yen each, 65 mm tall... Whoever display these will be labeled weirdo.

Sea Otters

Watched a documentary on sea otters today. I wonder if there's such thing as land otter... hahaha... Same thing goes for sea urchin. (Land urchin?)

Lack of energy...

Can't believe it's 17 degrees today. (18 downtown.) Is it really summer? I had to wear fleece! Oh please don't tell me summer is already over for this year...

Super thin light table

It's called Lamp Sheet. Japanese product. Only 5.5 mm thick, and lights up evenly with no UV rays. Hmm... I wonder... how'd they do that?

And! There's even a mini version! It's the size of swipe card holders! Seems to be good as a flash light too?

Happy Canada Day!

My cousin went home to the States 3 weeks ago. Since this picture fits today's theme so well, I'm using it. (^_^)

It's on top of the little hill outside the Granville Island Hotel. Before the trees grew so tall, you could have a really good view of the city.