September!!

...It's on the second I'm posting this but I can't believe it's September already... I say it in practically every month since the days go past like a jetplane and I can't keep up. T_T
Although I hear that's the same for other people, especially people in the School of Art and Design like I am. Since we always have so many projects and there's never enough time to draw anything, the days go by in a flash and the next thing you know it's the end of term, end of the semester, etc. Which I'm finding now, since I have about 5 projects to go (finished about 2 previously) and there's only two more weeks until the 3rd term is over. In New Zealand we have 4 terms and 2 semesters, 2 terms in each semester dividing it in half.
But yeah, I've drabbled enough about myself now. Onto some raids!! >v<

Raid 18: CO2PENHAGEN

...Huh. It turned itself into a subscript. Anyway, CO2PENHAGEN is the world's first CO2 neutral festival!! ...Trust Denmark to do something like this. xD Which is great really. People who are conscious about the environment would be concerned about the amount of energy used up just to have a concert for a day (like myself, who is going to see Basshunter in New Zealand lol), but there's no need to worry for this event.
Held from September 4~6, it will feature art, culture, bands, and many more events. There will be people performing such as:
Dúné (yeeesss!!!)
Camille Jones
Rebound Rubies feat. Ida Aida & Lizzie
...just to name a few. And there's going to be a cycle parade! CYCLE PARADE!!! >v<

Why is Copenhagen made of such awesomeness? God I wanna live there so bad. Will be living there when I graduate, but until then must be patient...! Would also like to go to Roskilde, Køge, Århus, etc... Just jump around the islands. One day. But still love Zealand the best. It's kinda funny 'cos I live in New Zealand and am going to Zealand. It's a weird feeling.
Jeg elsker Sjælland!!

... So I'll leave it here until the next raid, which will probably be about Denmark again, 'cos nothing happens here. Seriously.

Design Week in Copenhagen

OMG yes. This makes me love Denmark more than I already do. ^_^
Raid 16: Design Week
Until the 6th September, Copenhagen is going to be covered in events showcasing designers' work, varying from furniture and technology and it's all tied in with the COP15 UN's Climate Conference with the theme being 'sustainability'. Yaay!! Danish designers are known for their amazing internationally and it's a great opportunity to showcase their work publicly, since this is the first time they're going to do it! Damn, I wish I could just fly over there and go to the events...T_T Why am I in a foreign country!!?? ...Must wait until I graduate...sigh.
But also, just the day before the book I ordered arrived at my door and can't keep my eyes off it. I finally was able to buy 'Dansk Design'!! I saw it at the bookstore and it was hideously expensive so I looked it up on the online bookstore I always go to and it was almost 30 cheaper... On top of getting a discount coupon from them by sheer coincidence, it couldn't have come at a better time. Ugghh it has so many pages, it's so overwhelmingly awesome!! >v< ...My next aim is to save up for a bracelet from Pandora. God I love Danish designed jewelry. Hoorah for Danish design!!! The next raid will be an album review for Carpark North's 2008 album 'Grateful'. I recently listened to it and it's... good! Seriously. I say that about anything Danish (since I'm horribly patriotic...for some strange reason), but Carpark North have a soft rock style that's so relaxing to listen to. And it's in English so I actually know what they're talking about!!^^ 'Cos my Danish skills are really really basic.
anyway, I'll leave it here. Until the next raid!!

Danish Film Review

As I said before (yesterday), I was planning to see the 2008 Danish film "Flammen og Citronen". And I did. It was pretty nerve racking since it took a lot of effort to get the tickets (running back and forth from school and the venue) but managed to get the tickets on the day which was amazing considering that over half the tickets were sold out from the day before. I wouldn't have guessed that so many people wanted to see it...! But got a good seat near the front so kicked back and watched the movie. So today's raid will be a film review for "Flammen og Citronen"!!

Raid 15: "Flammen og Citronen" Review
The summary taken from Wikipedia:
Flame & Citron (Danish: Flammen & Citronen) is a Danish Drama/Action movie from 2008. The director and co-writer of the movie is Ole Christian Madsen. The movie is based on actual events and eye-witness accounts of two of the most active resistance fighters in the Holger Danske resistance group during World War II, Bent Faurschou-Hviid (known as Flame) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (known as Citron), who both died during the war.

Because I'm really bad at summing up a description for movies. -_-; But yes, I never watch WWII themed movies since it's always depressing and I would normally rather watch something fictional but considering it's a Danish (+Czech Republic + German)film and I'm annoying patriotic about Denmark and it had good reviews, I thought I've give it a go. And it was totally worth it.
The cinematography is fantastic with interesting camera angles and character profiles. The actors who played Bent and Jørgen were amazing. They portrayed their roles very nicely with a mix of good acting and good looks (lol) and you could relate to how the characters were feeling. It's a bit weird saying that since it's based on a true story....
The soundtrack was beautifully done capturing the essence of that time. Also the fast and slow music were pieced together into the cinematography well so you didn't feel out of place and confused because of the music when watching it.
It was thrilling all the way through (as you would expect in a war themed movie)and you never knew what to expect, unless you had previously known about the event. If not, the only obvious thing was that they would eventually be killed.
It was all in Danish and German with English subtitles (which can be a pain in the ass if you know the languages or you're afraid the translation are wrong, which is how I felt). I understood some of the basic Danish and German that was spoken... Kinda. And found a real funny typo in the subs: 'Location: North Sealand' ....Sealand? Oh god. I guess it looked too similar to 'Nord Sjelland' and they got confuddled. xD Also 'Ja tak!' was translated into 'Leave us!' ...Hmm. Makes sense in context but whether it's direct is another question.
This is turning into a language critic fest so I'll leave it with a score:
9/10. Definitely. It's so good that I'm planning to buy the DVD from Ebay. And I'm really stingy with money so it's a big deal. xD

... Which reminds me, I want to buy that Dansk Design book too.

Lækker lækker lækker!

Can't get enough of Danish rap artists Nik & Jay's 2008 album "De Største". Currently listening to the remix for "Lækker" featuring LOC...! Nik & Jay are worth a listen. Although every Danish artists I've liked I've recommended... For some reason I'm really patriotic about Denmark. And I'm from New Zealand. Although my ancestors were (apparently) from there so there's a good excuse. Today's raids are on more illustrations I've done and a little bit of Kiwi celebration. ^_^

Raid 11: Denmark & Norway, YEAH!

...Strange title, yes. But I have drawn my first Hetalia manga, woohoo! And it's of Denmark and Norway. Hetalia fans that like the Scandinavian characters know that each of the Nordic countries has its own disturbingly difficult to understand Japanese dialect (Finland and Iceland's accents are mainland though). And Japan has god knows how many dialects. There are just too many. Since it's northern Europe they have dialects from the northern parts of Japan which can sometimes be incomprehensible. I looked up IbaraKing's Ibaraki-ben dictionary just so I could have Denmark say a few phrases. Thank god Norway didn't speak at all in this manga. xD
...I really do hope that one day Himaruya-sensei personifies Faroe Islands and Greenland. And also Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Raid 12: New Zealand's Big Night In
On this day until 6pm tomorrow night, New Zealand is having a telethon, since the last one 15 years ago! Watched the start of it before going off into the other room to type this up and there were performances from Gin and The Dukes! Gin is so lovely. I heard she has an opportunity to try and make it in America. She's more suited for Europe though...-_-; She has a nice dress sense though. Like Minuet.
The telethon's purpose is to help the school kids in our country get raincoats, school shoes and food so the country's aim is to raise $2,000,000 by calling/texting and donating and all of that goes to the charity that can give them these privileges. Although I can't help but think that the parents of the kids let alone the communities in our country can't even provide these things for them without having to resort to a giant telethon. On the positive side, they're doing something about it.

So until next week, once again trying to think desperately of something to talk about. And hopefully as I get more computer savvy this blog might actually look decent soon.
Ciao ciao~

Art & Music!

A new week and July is almost over... Time sure flies. But this blog is just beginning!

Raid 6: New Illustration on Pixiv

I've put up a new illustration on the Japanese illustration site Pixiv a few days ago. The first in my viking character series, named Maja. Also was a good opportunity to practise drawing backgrounds, but unfortunately I epically failed in the grass. That's what you get for replying on brushes too much. -_-
For some reason, originals aren't as popular as the fanart I have on Pixiv, and the annoying thing is, for full view you need to register.
Also was able to snag a request illustration from an artist I admire, Mina-sama!! She's so lovely. :3 I'm currently working on the next one in the viking series.... Not sure what his name is going to be, but so far I can only think of naming him Jørgen. A really common Danish name...

Raid 7: Dúné to Release New Album

Yees!!! A rock/electro band from Denmark, I have only listened to their latest single 'Victim of the City', but it's very catchy. The only downside is that they sound a little emo-America. Like Simple Plan or whatever. But this is the kind of band that you can actually tolerate. Also the female vocalist Cecilie's voice is so hypnotising....=o=
Also they're releasing a new album on July 31 2009! Can't wait!! If you're wandering around on Youtube or Myspace, they're definitely worth a listen.

I would also like to focus more on musicians in Denmark, and hopefully might be able to find some nice artwork from there to write about. It's always exciting to write about what's happening in Denmark.
Until then~

Rambling on about current affairs, etc.

The second post for this blog is mostly about current affairs and a little mention about the Christchurch Arts Festival in New Zealand running through July and August. Three raids today:
Raid 3: Sweden Ferry Collision
Wasn't expecting it, personally. The Nordic countries seem to have their act together a lot more than other countries, but of course someone has to stuff up. Silly Sweden-face! On July 23 2009, two ferries going to Gotland managed to collide into each other because of foggy conditions. Woops. Luckily only a few were lightly injured so it's not too much of a big deal. How the hell did the vikings back in the 1st century manage not to hit into each other? ...They probably did but didn't tell anyone and said the people on board got eaten by the world serpent or the bermuda triangle was on a vacation and just happened to be there... Something ridiculous like that. And obviously I'm not the type that tells jokes well. -_-;
Meanwhile, the Danish ships are having to deal with Somalian pirates trying to hijack their ships.

Raid 4: The Japanese Being Paid to Smile?
....What? This topic actually came up for a short time on the news in New Zealand, where in Japan, people working at the train stations have a camera on top of their laptops to rate their smile which of course is aimed towards their customers. It's good for the customers as they say 'a smile is contagious' and can make them cheer up, but it would suck for the employers that have to constantly flex their muscles all for the sake of other people. I admit in a way it's a good idea since just smiling can loosen people up and make communication easier for the both of them, but the Japanese don't smile that often anyway (just being stereotypical here). Also, do people even realise how damn busy those train stations actually are? People are heading left and right and you have to brush past hundreds of passengers and the maps for the trains are so complicated it looks like a kid scribbled randomly with a crayon in different colours and called it a map. Train station are truly stressful, and I've only lived in Japan for two years to know that well. The Japanese just need to be less uptight. What's wrong with wearing a loose T-shirt and jandals to work? xD Smiling should come naturally; a camera shouldn't have to force you to.

Raid 5: Christchurch Arts Festival
The Christchurch Arts Festival doesn't happen that often so it's definitely worth a look when it actually is on. It has a variety of things to go to, from seeing orchestras, ballet, international film screenings and a massive igloo with an ice skating rink in the middle of Cathedral Square. But I'm mostly looking forward to the international films, since I'm planning to go see 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea' [崖の上のポニョ -Studio Ghibli film] and 'Flame and Citron' [Flammen & Citronen -Danish/German film]. Should be super awesome!

Those are my raids for today, and will be back next week surfing the waves of the internet to raid more information on anything and everything. Until then!