Happy new year, everyone! I pray that your 2011 is one full of:

+ happiness - that your days will be brightened by a smile
+ success - that you will earn it in everything you do
+ discovery - find something new and worthwhile
+ peace - with others, and with yourself
+ commitment - something that will stick with you for the rest of your life
+ hope - to keep your motivation going in even the darkest of times
+ love - from your family, friends and even random strangers, and that you will have it to love in return

Take care, and God bless.

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While I'm at it, I'll throw in my happy birthdays to the two celebrities I know born on January 1: Domoto Koichi and Lee Sungmin!

Admittedly, I don't know much about Koichi beyond the fact that he's in KinKi, can sing well, does ENDLESS SHOCK (and that really cool taiko sequence!) and that neivaxx is a huge fan XD But having your birthday celebrated at Countdown every year must be exciting :D To Koichi, who is still not as known to me, perhaps I'll take the chance to learn more about you this year - I hope that this year is full of successes for you!

Whether Sungmin is being cute or being fierce, he does it well; I love him both ways. He has so many talents - acting, singing, playing instruments, dancing, martial arts - and yet he is so incredibly humble about it all. To Sungmin, who seemed to go through a lot with his image this past year: I'll be happy and love you no matter how you are, so don't be too hard on yourself! You look the best when you smile, and I hope you know that. I'm so glad that last year I took a chance and got to know Super Junior, because it is people like you who continue to inspire me. :)



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A post about Kouhaku, Countdown and the Gayo Daejuns will come soon when I actually watch the first two and more of the others, but since it's Sungmin's birthday (even though I'm late on his side) I just have to say that he was super fierce on MBC and I loved every second of it. I don't know how he does it, but I personally think his image gap is brilliant. 

A significant portion of the people in Arashi fandom were baited by a certain drama known as Hana Yori Dango - yours truly included. And while it was not Domyouji Tsukasa that won me over at the time, it was this drama that led me to the land of rainbows, sparkles and failboats. The credit, of course, can only go to one man:

Matsufab.

To be brutally honest, at first I didn't know what people saw in Jun; all I knew was that he was very popular and pretty much skyrocketed Arashi to the heights they are at now. But I thought there had to be something about him that made it worthwhile, so I stuck around and gave him a chance. And really, I think I'm glad I did.

Jun has a very interesting aura around him. His popularity makes him seem very distant and he sometimes gives off a very commanding feel (which may be a result of his DoS-ness), but take him off the stage and in a variety show and he's dorking it off with the rest of the group in a way that people wouldn't normally think is possible, just because he's so popular and seems above all the silly things they do. And yet, this is where I love him best; the fact that Jun can do these sorts of things makes him very endearing, and I love my idols dorky. This is why I think Arashi has survived and become very strong as a group - each of its members remembers the others and how critical they are to each other. (It's also why I kind of mourn the loss of AnS, but that's another story altogether.)

Aside from really sticking with the group, Jun comes up with cool ideas. When I first learned that he was the innovator of the moving stages, I really started to admire the thought he puts into Arashi's concerts. The fact that he would watch the concert footage to constantly better himself is crazy in itself, but it just shows how dedicated he is to his work and to his audience. He works hard at what he does, and even though he's not the best at it, he knows and has improved over the years. Others in his position would rest on their laurels of popularity, but not him.

And lastly, he can fail on his own terms too. The cracks in his DoS persona are absolutely hilarious (such as the scene from where I get the cap - marvelous indeed!). And he makes it a point to get along with everyone.

Happy birthday, Jun! May you love Arashi as you always do. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NINO! :D



(Yay for GMT -5.00 timing! Always late to the party, that's us XD)

So a little over a year and a half ago, I got inducted into the world of rainbows and sparkles. And at first, it wasn't for Neens. Like most people in these parts, I got Jun-baited by HYD (though I didn't really like him in that either, I just got curious and went on Wikipedia XD) and well, one thing led to another and I became an Arashi fangirl.

What was the turning point for my viewpoint on Nino? To be honest, I'm not too sure myself. It might have been his acting (or just the roles he was cast as and looked mighty fiiiiiiiiiiiiine in :D), it might have been AnS (because he snipes at everyone and I love him for it), or it might just have been his beautiful musicianship (needless to say, Niji is in my favourites XD). But in the end, my mind had settled that yes, Nino was indeed my number one.

One of my favourite episodes of AnS is the one where Higedanshaku (spelling?) goes on and Yamada Rui the 52nd complains about how his girlfriend is a huge Nino fan XD That cracked me up so much. And then Nino just went and stole the show, being the brat he is. What I love is that he might be all snarky and bratty, but in his interviews Nino reveals the other side of himself - the contemplative one, the mysterious one. It keeps me guessing, and it keeps me interested. And honestly, he comes up with good quotations in those :) Oh, and how he sang for the couples each time he went on MMA? Adorable.

Nino has pretty much become the archetype for my favourite kind of idol. When I look at my other idol fandoms I can see bits of Nino in each one, and I can't help but make that comparison. XD That's pretty much how much he's affected my state of mind. And really, I do love him for it. :D

May you continue to game on, be snarky and musical, and stay young! The 'eternally 17' moniker really fits, haha. (Seriously, his face doesn't change!)

Oh, and I forgot to tack on my gift!



I hope your ears don't bleed.