Setting the Stage

Current System Configuration: Ruthless Oppressor and Dictator of Sapphire, Topaz and Ruby
BGM: 星空のレクイエム Hoshizora no Requiem (Starry Sky Requiem) by JAM Project. The closing theme of the last episode of SRW Original Generation: The Animation. One of JAM Project's best ballads. Mournful, solemn and passionate.
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Lemon-butter tuna, cottage cheese, lettuce and pesto dressing on whole wheat bread
Dinner: Nothing yet, it's mid-afternoon.

The reason I'm ruthlessly oppressing my three classes is that their plays are going to show in about a week's time, and none of them are even 75% complete. (This includes props, line memorization, and blocking.) Their tech rehearsals are tomorrow, and the dress rehearsals are on Thursday. All of them are going to end up cramming, which is disappointing to say the least. Nevertheless, I believe that somehow they'll pull it off. That somehow might of course involve me using a Roman flagrum to drive them, with me using espresso as fuel, or maybe it will just involve me threatening them with grades. Of course, I'm just kidding, but I really hope they actually get things done during our last few practice sessions.

Also, a message to all of my classes: Just because I'm Sapphire's advisor doesn't mean I'm playing favorites with them. The schedule was not my idea---it was Sir Arghs's. He only asked me which one I wanted to go first and which one last, and then he did the actual slot scheduling. It wasn't my intention to make Sapphire stage their play at the very end of the playfest. I just meant that they should be the last of my classes. Nevertheless, the schedule stands. Also, after seeing all three classes at their rehearsals today, the one that has progressed the most is still Topaz. The other two still need to work a lot since their plays involve more elaborate props/costumes. Also, if it might seem that I'm helping Sapphire more is because they need it more. By far their play requires the most elaborate setup, and they constantly kept coming to me for help. If you need my help, please please ask me. That's something I've been repeating since the schoolyear started, even for concerns other than the play. Also, I have done a lot of pestering to all my classes, reminding you all that "the play is so and so weeks from now." I know you have other subjects, but please remember that this is a rather large requirement. Don't waste it.

I hope, however, that you have come to know that plays are no laughing matter when you're organizing them yourselves. Directors have to contend with scriptwriters who don't meet deadlines, actors have to get the scripts right away so that they can start memorizing their lines, as well as take criticism for their stilted language and/or wooden acting. In general, everyone has to contend with everyone else who is stubborn or uninterested.

I'm not doing this to be harsh, guys. This is just the way it is. I know that the Pisay work ethic usually involves lots of cramming, but a play is not something you can cram. With that, may God bless you as your time for preparation comes to a close.
Actors, may you internalize, not just memorize, your lines.
Production, may you paint and craft and sweat your world into being.
Lights and tech people, may your timing never falter, and your power supply never get cut.
Propsmen and women, may your arms never fail you, and may your legs never buckle beneath the weight of your burden.
Directors, may you be tough but loving, firm but understanding, patient but unwavering.
And, dear students, may your plays be wonderful works of art that you will remember for the rest of your lives. I know I will.

~~~+++~~~

Now for something totally off-topic. As many of you know, my favorite musical group is a very, very obscure group of aging male and female Japanese singers---JAM (Japanese Animation Song Makers) Project. Even dedicated anime fans may not have heard of them, having heard only of bishounen bands/singers like TM Revolution, L'Arc-En-Ciel and the like.
The original JAM Project consisted of the following:
-水木一郎「アニキ」 Ichirou "Big Brother" Mizuki. If you're Filipino and you've seen Voltes V, you've definitely heard him sing before. Where, you ask? He sang the closing theme of Voltes V, "Searching for Father." He's that old. He founded JAM Project along with Hironobu Kageyama. Big Brother is now only a part-time member of JAM Project.
-影山ヒロノブ Hironobu Kageyama. Another singer you've definitely heard before. He sang the opening song to Dragonball Z, "Chala Head-Cha-La." Kageyama is in his mid-40s, if I'm not mistaken, and has been singing since he was a teenager. If you've heard the closing theme of Maskman (most likely dubbed in Tagalog---"Ang Maskman, tanod ng kapayapaan~"), you've also heard another Kageyama song. He sang the original Japanese version, "Love Soldier."
-遠藤正明　Masaaki Endou. Another popular anime song artist in Japan, but off the top of my head I can't think of any mainstream anime (meaning stuff that everybody has watched or has at least heard about) he sang for. He sang the opening theme of GaoGaiGar, though.
-松本梨香 Rika Matsumoto. I don't really know where else she sang, but I do know she's a voice actress too.
-さかもとえいぞうEizou Sakamoto. This guy I know nothing about other than that he's left JAM Project to go solo.

The current JAM Project (ver 2) has 奥井雅美 Masami Okui (She's sung quite a number of anime songs) and 福山芳樹 Yoshiki Fukuyama (the hair-metal screaming lead vocalist of the Hummingbirds best known for his role in Macross 7 as Basara Nekki's singing voice) in place of Ichirou Mizuki and Eizou Sakamoto.

JAM Project's overall sound is sort of a Japanese mix of Aerosmith and Queen. They sound very old-school compared to most Japanese artists who tend to use synthesizers a lot. What really makes me like JAM Project, however, is their tendency to use classical instrumentation and complex arrangement that makes their metal almost sound classical. I'm no music expert (I don't even know how to play an instrument other than a few simple songs on the piano), but I do know what sounds I like.

Unfortunately I can't upload stuff on this blog, but here's a review of my favorite tracks (which I burned onto a CD).
1. GONG
The opening theme of the apocalyptic finale to Super Robot Wars' Alpha Saga---SRW Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy. In my opinion, this is JAM Project at its best, combining the vocal power of metal singers with contemporary instrumentation and arrangement that almost sounds classical, this song just shines. It starts out with pounding percussion and an upbeat keyboard intro, then it segues to a mellower melody with Kageyama's crooning---then the whole song keeps picking up until it reaches a wonderful climactic yell at the end of the chorus (which is one of the best things about JAM Project) "TOWA HE!" (TO ETERNITY!) The lyrics are a bit cheesy, but hot-blooded warrior spirit is what JAM Project is all about. Similar songs are SKILL (the opening of SRW Alpha 2: The Earthseal War) and Hagane no Kyuuseishuu (Messiah of Steel, the opening of SRW Alpha Gaiden).

2. Cry for the Earth
While this song actually sounds nothing like JAM Project's usual fare (it sounds like Japanese Linkin Park), its instrumentation and vocals are superb. I never liked Linkin Park, but this song's just really cool. It sounds a lot darker and angstier than GONG, but it's still a good piece of music and shows how versatile JAM Project can be.

3. Hoshizora no Requiem (Starry Sky Requiem)
This is JAM Project's standard "ending theme" fare taken to another level. It's mellow and sad (as seen in my header for today's entry), and for most of the track the only instrumentation is a single acoustic guitar with strings (mostly violins) in the background. The bridge is just fantastic, with both the vocals and violins picking up. I wish the female singers' voices were more pronounced, but this song is still a magnificent piece.

Okay, I know it's hard to appreciate something you've never heard, let alone something you aren't interested in. But if you want to sample JAM Project's goodness and can stand listening to a song whose lyrics you can't understand (I can understand some of the lyrics, so I don't mind), feel free to ask me and I'll find a way to send 'em to you. :D

Anyway, that's about it for now.

~Be Just Or Be Dead~
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ー黒獅子アスラン