My Favorite Things

___________ 
Music  

  • J-pop (Japanese pop music) 
  • J-rock (Japanese rock music) 
  • Hard rock of all kinds
  • Pop-rock
  • Industrial
  • Acid Jazz
  • Trance
  • Trip Hop
  • Jungle D&B
  • Grunge pop
  • Electronic/synthisized music
  • Blues
  • Punk rock
  • Funk
  • Jazz
  • Anime music
  • Instrumental movie soundtracks 
  • American/English Artists
    • The Tragically Hip 
    • White Zombie
    • Nine Inch Nails
    • Busta Rhymes
    • Smashing Pumpkins
    • Radiohead 
    • Sloan
    • Lauren Hill
    • Barenaked Ladies
    • Odds
    • U2
    • The Cure
    • The Doors
    • Creedence Clearwater
    • The Guess Who
    • Led Zepplin
    • Jimi Hendrix
    • The Beatles
    • Nirvana
    • Bob Marley
    • Guns n' Roses
    • Metallica
    • Green Day
    • Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet. 

      My Top 30 Favorite Japanese Artists
    1. GLAY
    2. L'Arc en Ciel
    3. Judy & Mary
    4. hide
    5. Globe
    6. Nanase Aikawa
    7. Kuroyume
    8. X-Japan
    9. Cocco
    10. B'z
    11. Luna Sea
    12. Chara
    13. Dir en Grey
    14. Every Little Thing
    15. The Brilliant Green
    16. Spitz
    17. Machine
    18. Dreams Come True
    19. Kohmi Hirose
    20. Mr. Children
    21. Malice Mizer
    22. Namie Amuro
    23. Siam Shade
    24. Shazna (indies)
    25. The Yellow Monkey
    26. Hysteric Blue
    27. Raphael
    28. BUCK-TICK
    29. Pierrot
    30. My Little Lover


    Other non-mainstream Japanese artists

    • Jo Hisaishi
    • Megumi Hayashibara


chou kakkoii rocker babe
- Nanase Aikawa


ultra popular Japanese pop-rock group
- GLAY



Canada's most popular rock band.
- The Tragically Hip (They really look out of place among GLAY and Nana-chan don't they?)

___________ 
Comedians 
  • Almost any Canadian comedy
    The Kids in the Hall
    Bruce McCullough
    Chris Rock
    Conan O'Brien
    Sean Cullen (from Corky & the Juice Pigs)
    Mr. Show w/ Bob & Dave
    Monty Python's Flying Circus



The Kids in the Hall - The most ingenious skit comedy troup ever formed. At least I think so.

___________ 
Food  

  • Chinese food, especially Cantonese cuisine 
  • Italian food 
  • Japanese food  (esp. Soba, Sukiyaki and various rice dishes.)
  • Ice Cream
  • Pastry (any desert made out of dough) 

___________ 
All time favorite video games  
  • Final Fantasy IV (FFII U.S.) 
  • Final Fantasy V
  • Final Fantasy VI (FFIII U.S.) 
  • Final Fantasy VII 
  • Final Fantasy VIII
  • Final Fantasy Tactics 
  • Star Control 2 
  • Crono Trigger 
  • Xenogears
  • Resident Evil 1 & 2
  • Silent Hill
  • Myst & Riven
  • Dead or Alive
  • Tekken 2 & 3 
  • Star Ocean 2
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Shogo
  • Half-Life
  • (Super) Punch-out
  • Castlevania series
    Bomberman series (an oldie, but a goodie) 
  • Super Dodgeball (another classic) 

___________ 
Literature (i.e. comics)  
  • Manga
  • The works of Rumiko Takahashi
  • Fringe and underground comics 
  • Ruben Bolling's "Tom the Dancing Bug"
  • Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" (Back when it used to be funny)
  • Shakespere
  • Philosophy
___________ 
My top 50 favorite anime  
  1. Urusei Yatsura
  2. Maison Ikkoku
  3. Mobile Police Patlabor
  4. Dr. Slump (and Arale)
  5. Neon Genesis Evangelion 
  6. Tenkuu no Escaflowne 
  7. The Crimson Pig (Porco Rosso) 
  8. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind 
  9. Laputa, Castle in the Sky 
  10. Ranma 1/2 
  11. Macross Plus 
  12. Kimagure Orange Road 
  13. Lupin III 
  14. Dragonball
  15. Kiki's Delivery Service 
  16. Slayers 
  17. Dirty Pair 
  18. City Hunter 
  19. Rurouni Kenshin
  20. Yuu Yuu Hakusho 
  21. Touch 
  22. Tonari no Totoro
  23. Pom Poko
  24. Shin Kidou Senki Gundam Wing 
  25. Irresponsible Captain Tylor
  26. Meitantei Conan
  27. Superdimensional Fortress Macross 
  28. Crayon Shin-chan 
  29. Ah! my Goddess 
  30. Fushigi no Umi no Nadia 
  31. Giant Robo
  32. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam 
  33. Vampire Princess Miyu
  34. Jojo's Bizarre Adventures
  35. Space Battleship Yamato 
  36. Ghost Sweeper Mikami
  37. D.N.A.²
  38. Gunbuster: Aim for the Top
  39. Mahou Tsukai Tai!
  40. Mobile Battleship Nadesico
  41. Yawara! Fashionable Judo Girl
  42. Slam Dunk
  43. Project A-ko
  44. Akira
  45. Akazukin Cha Cha
  46. Video Girl Ai
  47. Record of Lodoss War
  48. Saber Marionettes J
  49. Silent Möbius
  50. Space Pirate Captain Harlock
___________ 
My top 20 favorite manga series  
  1. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa
  2. Urusei Yatsura
  3. Maison Ikkoku
  4. Dr. Slump
  5. Inuyasha, Sengoku Otogi Zoushi
  6. Ranma 1/2
  7. Dragonball
  8. Meitantei Conan
  9. Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor
  10. Rumic World/Rumic Theater
  11. Jojo no Kyumyou na Bouken
  12. Rurouni Kenshin
  13. Slam Dunk
  14. Hokuto no Ken
  15. Touch
  16. Bastard!
  17. H2
  18. Lupin III
  19. City Hunter
  20. Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbou

 


Kyouko from Maison Ikkoku

 


Arale from Dr. Slump

 


Lina from Slayers

 

___________ 

If you live in Ottawa and are passionate about learning Japanese, you should definately contact OJLS, the Ottawa Japanese Language School (web site currently down). The lessons are fun, highly interactive and absorbing. The atmosphere is that of a club rather than a classroom. The teachers make it so easy to learn. The friendships I've made from attending are just as important to me as the language skills I've attained.

If you yourself are living in Ottawa and are of Japanese heritage, you may want to join with the Ottawa Japanese Community Association. I'm not Japanese myself, but I am a member involved with many of OJCA's events. If you're interested in getting involved with the local Japanese community or if you'd just like to participate in certain Japanese passtimes, contact Yvonne Terada to find out more.  

Although I haven't visited in well over three years, I am still a semi-member of the The University of Ottawa Anime Club. It's not really my kind of scene anymore, but for others it's one way to get familiar with anime if you live here. There are 6 to 8 anime clubs in Ottawa, but the U of O club was the first and probably still the biggest.

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