atfy-takizawa.com

I had a dream last night about Wordpress. I tried to login and this lady-robot voice (the one u hear in sci-fi movies) came on and…

ME : *types in password*
WP : ACCESS DENIED.
ME : *retypes password*
WP : I SAID, ACCESS DENIED. Signed out for too long.
ME : …OH BITE ME BITCH 
WP : *flashes red* Deleted all posts.
ME : !!!!!!!

omg, it was a nightmare (T_T) I kno im a total nerd for even having a dream about my blog in the first place, but hohry crappu. i would probably throw my desktop out the window if that ever happened. But yea, i took that as a sign from blog-chan that its probably getting really pissed about my midterm hiatus…  *sigh*

anyways, this is gonna make me sound even MORE like a nerd but…  ive wanted to do a post on a special book for quite some time now. I’ll be reading this text at the end of my Anthropology of Modern Japan class, but it was just so interesting that i couldnt help myself. Its called Fanning the Flames and it talks about obsessive consumerism and fan-idol relationships in modern Japan society. Which is why it is so interesting *lol*

Itd be cool if all of u could buy the book, but because there are only two chapters about fan-idol relationships (the rest of the book is about anime/sports fans) it wouldnt be really fair… so i scanned and uploaded the pdf for those of you who are actually interested in reading this.

Chapter 2 : Letters from the Heart 

I have to say that i felt really “enlightened” when i first read this chapter. For us, the fandom is a part of our every day lives. But rarely do we have scientific/academic documents that analyzes the aspects of this particular culture. After nodding and giggling to the stories and descriptions in chapter 2 (this will happen to u too!! lol), i began to see the fandom from a different perspective. While reading, we who are usually the participants in the fandom, become the observers who begin to understand why fans like ourselves behave the way they do. Most importantly, we find out why being active in a fandom is so crucially important to our fan-careers and our relationship with Takki & Tsubasa.

Of course, the down side is the fact that the chapter is mainly about an enka singer named Mori. Although the artist and music genres are completely different, the fan reactions and the methods/reasons of fan support are similar. In reference to the book (as u can tell, ive been writing WAY TOO MANY essays lately), one of my favorite lines was

「…a fan’s relationship with the star hangs by the very thread of her knowledge.」 (p. 48)

Which is ridiculously true. Because while ive been working my ass off on my midterm papers, I’ve been feeling really down and (even more) disconnected from Takki. It is the same for all of us during an extreme drought. We begin to feel  irritated, depressed, and bored when we dont know where Takki is and/or what hes doing.  

ok ok, i’ll save the rest for my final essay ::: http://www.mediafire.com/?w0jjniyynmj