If it wasn’t for Swallowtail Butterfly the first track Miruku Milk would without a doubt be my favorite Chara song, its just does something to me, everytime I listen to it, its almost like I can feel what she’s saying. Its not like one of those power ballad songs, but there’s something about it that is very powerful to me. The arrangement makes me think of walking along the shoreline of a beach, I don’t know why, but the rather mellow vibe of it just strikes me in that way. Chara’s vocal performance was quite nice, I always enjoy listening to her, because I think she sung it in just the perfect way, especially those ad-libs at the end in which you could tell she really got into it. I love this.

This next one Yasashii Kimochi (Shiawase Version) Kind Feelings (Happy Version) is one of those songs I like, but I just never really listen to it, because I’m sort of half and half with it. Its not really bad, but its just one of those tracks you listen to every once in a while. It starts off a bit slow as if Chara is introducing the song and then it sort of speeds up and gets a little upbeat. I thought it was all right. Chara’s vocals were so-so with me, as they were fitting, but it just wasn’t a performance from her that really stood out. This is a decent track.

Shimashima no Bami Striped Bambi is a somewhat weird track, because I can’t really classify what it is. Its down-tempo, but its certainly not a ballad. I thought the oddness of it and the way Chara slowly sang in a way that made me feel as if she was being conspiratory was pretty unique and makes this track interesting, because despite the hoarseness its not a bad listen and picks up a tad towards the end.

This next track I am a bit on the fence with, because I don’t think I like the rather stagnant and airy flow of the arrangement or Chara’s weirdly high and somewhat grating vocal performance. However, Watashi no Namae wo Obaka-san My Name is Mrs. Stupid (what a creatively odd title)  isn’t really a bad listen and it somewhat tolerable. Hmm? I’m guessing it’ll grow on me.

I’ve always thought that Time Machine was a pretty quiet gem of a song, because I always go into it thinking I’m going to dislike it and always come out loving it all the more. Its one of those simple tracks that do so much and I really adore Chara’s vocal performance, especially when her voice gets really deep at the end when she takes the song out, its rather poignant.

I really didn’t want to like this next track Katte ni Kita It Came Selfishly, because of the psuedo-rock element it had, which wasn’t bad of course, because even though I don’t like rock I’m pretty partial to it, but at the same time the prominent dum arrangement really made me think I was going to loath Chara’s vocal performance. I didn’t like it completely, but it wasn’t bad either and I find myself weirdly drawn to this track. I’m guessing just like with Watashi no Namae wa Obaka-san it’ll grow on me.

Doko ni Itta n’ Darou Ano Baka wa Where is He Going? That idiot (I really love this title) is a pretty all right track, despite not doing much of anything and being as simple as it gets. I like the laidback nature of the arrangement and Chara’s unhurried vocal performance. It doesn’t stand out and isn’t a song I’d listen to just to listen to, but its not bad.

For some odd reason this next track Watashi wa Kawaii Hito to Iwaretai (Original Version) I Want You to Be Someone Cute is pretty much on the boring side, but even so I still find that I like it in a sense. The arrangement is pretty stagnant and is just there, but Chara’s vocal performance, though draggy, is what saves this song from being forgettable. I like the chorus.

I don’t know how or when this happened, but at one point I really didn’t like Chara’s title tracks and now I love them and they tend to be some of the best tracks on her albums. Junior Sweet is no exception and sounds pretty band and sort of jazzy to me. Chara’s vocal performance was decent, but I didn’t too much like when her voice would get high, because it made that hoarse qaulity of hers a bit grating. This is a good title track, but it is pretty long so it gets tiring after a while.

Hana no Yume A Flower’s Dream is a weird one, because its almost like it passes over you in whisper or a breeze, because I had to strain my ears just to hear Chara’s voice, which in turn sounded like a bunch of soft sighs. The arrangement is pretty languid in soothing, like a lullaby, which is basically what this track is. Its very serene and easy on the ears.

I really thought I was going to like Ai no Kizuna Love’s Bond, because its a pretty nice song and I thought that violin in the arrangement was really nice as well as Chara’s vocal performance, but after a while it just dragged and never seemed to go anywhere. Towards the end Chara started adding on these weird and unneeded ad-libs and I just stopped caring. A potentially good track gone to waste.

The albums come to a close with the outro Setsunai Mono A Painful Thing which is a pretty slow track with a dreary arrangement and a somber vocal performance from Chara. Its short an a rather abrupt way to close the album.

Miruku
Time Machine
Doko ni Itta n’ Darou Ano Baka wa
Junior Sweet

I’m still pretty surprised that I became a fan of Chara, because she reminds me of a less dreary version of Cocco and maybe that’s why I adore her and really enjoy her music. Its just so different from nearly everything else that I listen to and its pretty refreshing. Junior Sweet is a pretty good album and I’m really not surprised that its her best selling album to date. Union will most likely always be my more preferred album from her, but this definitely ranks high especially since it boasts one of my favorite songs ever, Miruku.

I’ve liked Chara for a long time and I’ve been waiting for this single to be released since I enjoyed breaking hearts a lot, both the a-side (once I got use to it) and the b-side. The single is finally out and I’m not sure where I stand with Kataomoi Unrequited Love, I’m really not. On one side I think its a pretty nice track that’s very easy on the ears and seems to wash over you in a relaxing breeze with a somewhat solemn air and then on the other side it seems fleeting as if I can’t grasp it no matter how many times I listen to it. The arrangement was pretty nice, even if it doesn’t do much to stand out and I thought Chara’s vocal performance was fine, the hoarseness was there, but not overpowering like it sometimes tends to be. I’m partial to this, so I’m guessing at some point its going to grow on me like breaking hearts did, its an all right a-side.

Chara manages to always have b-sides that outshine her a-sides, but that’s not really the case with Genki wo Dashite Cheer Up! which is another cover from an artist named Takeuchi Mariya, which explains a lot, because this song really sounded familiar, it almost made me think she was covering one of her own songs, because the title looks familiar as well. This isn’t a bad track, its actually pretty nice, but misleading, because though the title translates to cheer up the dreary atmosphere of the song and Chara’s rather somber vocals makes you feel anything but. Its a nice listen, though her last b-side cover was more memorable. I can’t wait for the album, now.

Kataomoi

Guardians 4 (ガーディアンズ4) é um sub-grupo de pop japonês produzido pelo Up-Front Agency (UFA), distribuido pelo selo da gravadora Pony Canyon, e parte do Hello! Project. O grupo feminino idol é constituído por quatro garotas de outros famosos grupos idols da Hello! Project.

Membros

• Mitsui Aika (光井愛佳) (Morning Musume)
• Kumai Yurina (熊井友理奈) (Berryz Kobo)
• Sugaya Risako (菅谷梨沙子) (Berryz Kobo)
• Nakajima Saki (中島早貴) (°C-ute)

O Guardians 4 debutou com o single “Omakase♪Guardian” e estreiaram na 18º posição dos charts da oricon. Agora, as meninas do Guardians 4 irão lançar hoje, dia 18 de novembro, o terceiro single de sua carreira junto com o grupo Shugo Chara Egg!, intitulado “PARTY TIME / Watashi no Tamago”. A faixa  “PARTY TIME” foi usado como tema de abertura para o anime Shugo Chara Party, confiram a nova abertura do anime.

Esquerda para a direita: Akari Saho, Mizuki Fukumura e Irori Maeda

“Watashi no Tamago” foi usada como tema de abertura do anime Shugo Chara!! Doki Doki, confiram a OP do anime!

Escutem a faixa inteira do Shugo Chara Egg! – “Watashi no Tamago”.

Para quem quiser ver o primeiro photoshoot do grupo, coloquei logo abaixo

Versão Regular

Versão limitada CD+DVD

Nota 4/5.

Confiram também o “making of” de “PARTY TIME”.

Fonte: jpopmusic.com, JpopStop

Créditos: Jstation

Aqui teneis el single en DD

Chara – 片想い (2009.11.18)

(2009/11/18)　TVアニメ 『君に届け』 エンディング　Chara　-　片想い　(＋ジャケット) Tracklist 1. 片想い 2. 元気を出して 3. 片想い (instrumental) mp3:http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P7WLSOKF

Lossless：http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BL774B6X
PW：chara

Torrent mp3: http://www.mininova.org/get/3160979

Saiu o videoclipe do segundo single do novo disco da cantora japonesa Chara (nome artístico de Miwa Watabiki). O nome do novo single é “Kataomoi” e a data de lançamento é no dia 18 de Novembro de 2009. O novo álbum será lançado dia 9 de Dezembro de 2009 e também já tem nome, “Carol”.

O disco terá 12 faixas em sua versão normal.

Confiram o novo vídeo da cantora (antes que o Youtube delete os vídeos a pedido da Universal Records):

Talvez vocês não consigam ver porque “A incorporação foi desativada mediante solicitação”. Caso não consigam, cliquem no link.

“Kataomoi” também é o tema de encerramento do anime Kimi ni Todoke, muito bom por sinal.

Chara estará lançando mais um single no dia 18 de novembro, intitulado “Kataomoi”. A cantora que havia se divorciado do marido, o ator Asano Tadanobu (na qual esteve casada por 15 anos e tiveram 2 filhos juntos) pouco antes do lançamento do seu single anterior “Breaking Hearts”.

“Kataomoi” é o 34º single de Chara e foi usada como tema de encerramento do anime “Kimi ni Todoke”, confiram a ED do anime:

Além de “Kataomoi” e sua versão instrumental, o single também virá com a b-side “Genki wo Dashite” (cover da música de mesmo nome da cantora pop Mariya Takeuchi).

O single estará disponível em uma versão regular e mais duas limitadas A e B, a primeira incluirá um DVD contendo o PV de “Kataomoi”, sendo que a segunda incluirá um DVD com a preview do primeiro DVD do anime “Kimi ni Todoke”, que será lançado em dezembro de 2009, e tambem virá com uma jaqueta e adesivos do anime em questão.

Versão Regular

Versão Limitada A

Versão Limitada B

CD Tracklist

1. Kataomoi (片想い; Unrequited Love)
2. Genki wo Dashite (元気をだして; Cheer Up)
3. Kataomoi (instrumental)

DVD  A Tracklist

1. Kataomoi (PV)

DVD  B Tracklist

1. Kimi ni Todoke DVD Preview (「君に届け」アニメDVD (12月発売予定))

“Kataomoi” é uma musiquinha meio parada que não consegui escutar (e olha que escuto quase tudo de cantoras solos), o single anterior dela “Breaking Hearts” foi superior na minha opinião, mas também não achei grande coisa. O PV também acompanha o ritmo da música, estilo bem paradão mesmo, não gostei de ver o clipe, bem que ele poderia ser um pouco melhor.

Nota 2/5.

Fonte: JpopStop

Créditos: Jstation

Aqui teneis el nuevo PV de chara que saldra a la venta el 18 de noviembre:

MEGAupLOAD

So, the Pens wrapped up this road trip with a loss to Boston, making their record 1-3. This is about the time when all those bandwagon, fair-weathered fans will start voicing their insignificant opinions, saying things like “We’re in a slump,” and “This losing streak is awful.” Well, it’s not, so shut up.

Just because we’re not winning doesn’t mean we’re in a slump. Every team has difficulties, and every team loses. It’s hockey. But it’s the beginning of the season, and these are the first couple games we’ve lost in weeks.

Not to mention, just about every person in the Penguin organization is dying.
I’m not saying that having Malkin, Gonchar, Letang, Talbot, and TK healthy would have made us won.
Would it have helped? Absolutely.

But the healthy players and those who stepped in to play–props to them. They did what they were supposed to.

The lines for this game were scrambled just a bit:
Cooke-Crosby-Fedotenko
Kunitz-Staal-Guerin
Conner-Adams-Dupuis
Bourque-Rupp-Godard

Fedotenko on Sid’s line last year resulted in great things.

A period by period recap would be painful at this point due to the fact that the Pens were held scoreless once again.

Brooks Orpik left the game around halfway through the first and would not return. He was evaluated today, but his injury has not been made known. Our defensemen are dropping like flies.

We play New Jersey tomorrow. If Sidney Crosby is held pointless for one more game, be prepared for endless comments about him being a terrible leader and Ovechkin being the superior hockey player. Don’t care.

]]> http://hockeyheidi.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/glows-and-blows-week-5/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:40:02 +0000 Heidi http://hockeyheidi.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/glows-and-blows-week-5/

This week I had two tough fantasy match-ups, so most of my time was keeping track of my players. Thus, here’s the week’s overview:

Glows-

Canuck Alex Burrows, a winger with a punch, came out of his shell with an empty netter and shorthanded assist in a convincing win over the Minnesota Wild.

The Detroit Red Wings have delivered some great wins recently, including Chris Osgood’s 50^th shutout of his career against the Boston Bruins.

Big D guy Zdeno Chara scored his first goal of the season, finally! He continued with a Gordie Howe hat-trick, an assist and 12 penalty minutes.

Minnesota Wild’s Marek Zidlicky scored his first goal of the season, incidentally the game-winning goal.

Blows-

Blues winger David Backes is back posting five for fighting despite the loss to the Calgary Flames.

Devil Clarkson took it to Islander Tim Jackman in the first 40 seconds of their match up. Clarkson took 7 PIMs for the hits.

Avalanche D guy J-M Liles is out again with a soldier injury.  I just got him off of IR.

Damn to my idiotic (<– See what i did there? ;D) friend. Though, she may be smarter than me in some cases… But that is SOME!

So I like to really bad for doing something I like to think as ’sinful’. To me sinful is when I do something, where I make others troubled. But, knowing me, and this blog, I won’t trouble anyone for not posting! I know no-one reads it, so why feel the shame of not posting posts if I have no need to? You post posts for people to read, but if there’s no-one there, why make the extra effort to do so?

Though, to all those, who I do not know, I am truly grateful for you to come and read my blog, and listen to myself, just talking about me. I know, it’s VAIN!!

Did you know that one of liked scanlators, for manga, have a blog on WordPress. They’re called Futari-wa Pretty Anon. I think I only like them, is because they scanlate Shugo Chara! for us Shugo Chara! fans…

Okay, I think I might tag in this post.

Thank you for your time.

~yy

I was wondering if anyone on here had any GrellXSebby doujins?

I have;

The dark princess. Change!. Garnet and Onyx, and Red zone.

I did have Red butler, but i didnt like it o-o  xD

If you have any grellXsebby Grellxsomone else those will work to

Or some Grellxsomeone that are rated 16+ or under xD

Oh, yea,  any funny comics would be nice too xD

If anyone wants the doujins and comics i’v got, you can download them all here;

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmgnwumm1uy

Its got all 4 doujins and 2 comics :]

The single starts off with the a-side breaking hearts a track that I’m really having a hard time liking. I guess I just expected more, considering Chara has some incredibly unique songs, but this track is honestly nothing I haven’t heard from her before in better. The ethereal-ness of the music is nice, but Chara’s hoarse vocal performance seems to get in the way, then at certain points it sounds like she’s over-doing it a bit and that makes the song sound cluttered and its a bit distracting. I’m thinking this track will grow on me, we’ll I hope, because its not really bad.

The b-side Mamotte Agetai is just lovely and completely outshines the a-side, I’m almost surprised its a cover, because it definitely sounds like a Chara song. The arrangement just like in the a-side was ethereal and airy, so that was a nice effect, because it just added so much depth to the track, especially coupled with Chara’s hoarse vocal performance. At the start I was a bit frustrated, because Chara’s hoarse vocals were so obvious that it was distracting, but as the song went along that frustration faded an by the end I was smiling; this is such as nice song, I really love when she sings cause i love you.

Mamotte Agetai

No Algae Here!

Pond & Lake Q & A

Q: How do I control floating and bottom-growing algae in my lake? – Tom in New York

A: Whether it’s floating or submerged, algae can turn a lake into a green mess in no time. It’s unsightly, it’s sometimes stinky and in extreme cases, it can cause a fish kill. The good news is that algae can be controlled no matter what time of year. It starts with controlling the population and ends with a long-term management plan.

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand the difference between algae and weeds. The term “algae” refers to a wide range of single and multi-celled organisms that live in the water and metabolize carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis, just like plants. They differ from plants or weeds in that they don’t have true leaves, roots or stems.

In lakes and ponds, the most common varieties of algae include: Green floating algae that creates a “pea soup” appearance; Chara or Stonewort, which are a bottom-growing, seaweed-looking type that can be mistaken for weeds, and string or filamentous algae, which are actually long strings of algae connected together.

Sometimes, pond and lake owners may mistake duckweed for floating algae, but if you look very closely, you’ll find that it’s actually duckweed or watermeal. Check out this blog entry to learn more about controlling this invasive weed.

Population Check

If your pond is coated in pea soup or the bottom is carpeted in Chara or string algae, you can knock back the population with a chemical herbicide like Algae Defense®. It provides quick results and it’s formulated to get a pond under control – especially during the hot summer months. Do not use if your pond or lake is stocked with koi or goldfish. If your pond has trout, check your carbonate hardness with a water hardness test kit, like the Laguna® Quick Dip Multi-Test Strips, and make sure the carbonate hardness is above 50 parts per million (ppm) before using Algae Defense®.

Long-Term Strategy

Algae Defense® by Pond Logic® will solve a crisis, but to keep your pond or lake looking clean and clear, you’ll need to be proactive and develop a plan to manage the algae. The most successful approach centers on cutting off the algae’s food supply – nutrients.

Nutrients can come from a wide variety of sources, like grass clippings, twigs, trees, fish waste, yard and farm fertilizers and runoff. As these nutrients break down, they produce ammonia, which triggers the nitrogen cycle. Nitrifying bacteria surround the ammonia, turning it into nitrites and then into nitrates (nutrients) – which then feed the algae.

So, how do you reduce the nutrients in your pond?
Try these tips:

That green gunk can be controlled in your pond or lake. It just takes a little planning and some proactive management. When you see the results, it’ll be worth it!

POND TALK: When was your worst algae bloom and how did you control it?

Our friends over at viewfrommyseats.com took a look at the Northeast division today, by asking respective bloggers 5 questions about their team. Each blogger answered the same question, and I’d say some of the answers are pretty interesting. Here are our responses, and you can find the entire division here. Yesterday VFMS took a look at the Atlantic Division, check back daily for other divisions around the league.

There’s going to be an entire new look to the Northeast Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs got much bigger. The Montreal Canadiens got much smaller. The Ottawa Senators got much more dramatic. The Buffalo Sabres got to be much bigger fans of the Coyotes staying in Phoenix. And the Bruins seemed like the only ones that needed to show up to the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

So what does that mean for the upcoming season? Are the Bruins going to dominate the Division again on their way to the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference? Will the rest of the division step up and throw their weight around the Eastern Conference?

We have a great collection of bloggers around Northeast Division to give us an idea of what to expect this season. We have TheKiiid from Loge19 representing the Boston Bruins. We’ll get our Sabres perspective from David Oleksy at Die By The Blade. Fans of the Canadian teams will get their fix with PPP from Pension Plan Puppets (Maple Leafs), Kyle Roussel from All Habs (Montreal Canadiens), and Kevin Butler & Tambland from Stay Classy (Ottawa Senators). In fact, since Stay Classy can’t be trusted—we have a couple of responses from the guys.

Tomorrow we’ll give the Southeast Division the same treatment. For an entire schedule of the divisions we’re going to cover, you can find it right here (including yesterday’s Atlantic Division Roundtable). Until then, enjoy the Northeast!

1. Why is your team going to be better than they were last season?

TheKiiid (Bruins): The B’s have not made many large acquisitions this off-season, but instead they made the right ones. Last season, on paper, they were not the most talented team, but they played well together. As the Herb Brooks said, “I didn’t choose the best players, I chose the right players”. Amen brother. So what does that all mean? Well lets take a look, the B’s served Axelsson a one-way flight back to Sweden and moved Yelle’s nameplate to the visitor’s lockerroom. Furthermore, Fernandez is still floating out there in free agency even though he stated he was going to retire, Ward was traded back to tobacco row, and Kessel is still in limbo if he wants to wear the spoked B for another few seasons. Take a look at how the Bruins filled these spots. Ward was upgraded to computer salesman Derek Morris, Fernandez was more than replaced with rookie nut-bag goalie (although extremely talented and is being groomed as a starter), Tukka Rask, and Per Johan was moved overseas for former Habitant Steve Begin. Most importantly Boston will get back power forward Marco Sturm. Sturm spent the majority of the season checking out the talent in the wive’s box due to a concussion, blown-out knee, and sniffles. So effectively Sturm is like another off-season aquisition that should add, hopefully, 25+ goals this season.

Lets look at the potential lineup for Boston:

Milan Lucic – Marc Savard – Michael Ryder
Mark Recchi – Patrice Bergeron – Chuck Kobasew
Marco Sturm – Vladimir Sobotka – Blake Wheeler
Shawn Thornton – Steve Begin – Byron Bitz

Zdeno Chara – Derek Morris
Andrew Ference – Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart – Matt Hunwick

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Add in there newly resigned David Krejci (who will be missing the first few months of the season due to surgery) and hopefully a Phil Kessel with a shiny new agreement and we’ve got something going here. Not to mention you’ll have Bitz playing in his first full season (maybe Wheeler will like to physically and mentally play an entire season as well), most likely with Begin and Shawn “Deli Meat” Thorton, on the versatile fourth line. Again, Boston is able to roll four solid lines in its crowd favorite blue collar style.

Obviously the Bruins can do better than last year, after the disappointing Game 7 Eastern Conference Final loss. The same loss that almost cost theKiiid a relationship, but the injury bug had bit the B’s at the worst possible time in the season. Can the B’s take the Northeast title again? Yes, Eastern Conference? Yes. President’s Trophy? definitely, the B’s have only added talent this season, and if they can re-sign Kessel (whom will hopefully be on board mentally as well) we’ll see a dominate performance.

2. What part of your team scares the hell out of you this season?

TheKiiid (Bruins): There are two, maybe three, things that can bring Boston’s season to a crashing halt. The first, chemistry. This has been something I’ve thought about for most of this summer. Last year Boston didn’t have the best team, but they played well together. You could sense that all of the B’s were buying into Julien’s system, and furthermore seemed to get along well with each other. Look at the November 1 game against Dallas. It was like I had tickets to a Junior B game somewhere in Rose City Ontario. There were fights and large hits every few minutes. What’s the point? Each of the Bruins were sticking up for one another, even Kessel’s gloves fell off along with Savard’s. Games like that one are what bring teams together and can turn a season around. Chemistry is something that is formed in the off-season, and this year the Bruins opted out of their annual trip to Vermont and cancelled the team building weekend. How much does that matter? Hopefully not much, but with some new acquisitions this summer I’d like to see everyone buy in this year, and be mentally (and physically) ready to play each game for one another.

Second, injuries are what scare me most. Boston was somewhat lucky last year with the lack of injuries during the regular season, with the exception of Sturm, but in the playoffs it was bad. Kessel, Krejci, Recchi, and a few others were dinged up pretty bad, and I think that made the difference in the Carolina series. This year if the guys can keep their hands off the chicks from South Boston, thus avoiding mono, and avoid the injury bug, you can see a report performance of last season. I mean come on, old man Recchi had surgery to have his kidney stones removed and played the next night. Montador had his eggs scrambled pretty bad and Ward had his clock cleaned earlier in the series. I’m still convinced Chara was hurt because his puck handling skills were worse than normal, but shot was still effective.

Finally, and not that big of a deal, but I have my eye on Tim Thomas. He has a remarkable season last year culminating in a Vezina Trophy. I hope that he can still pull the same load this season and show Tuukka the ropes. If Thomas and Rask can anchor the B’s this season, the rest will take care of itself. A lot of my speculation on Thomas’ performance is media based, but it’s still relevant. He’s a bit older, however I think he has become comfortable with his style and team.

Commissionerdangle (Bruins): My initial choice for breakout player for the Bruins this year was Blake Wheeler. Blake is young, relatively inexperienced and had a rough end of the year. If Blake could couple his skill with his size and start taking the body like Bitz did last year in the playoffs I think he could have an amazing year. However, after looking at Wheeler’s numbers last year - 8th on the team in scoring as a rookie and 7th in points for a rookie in the NHL – it is tough to say that last year was not his break out year.
So I will defer to my second choice of break out player: Johnny Boychuck.

The 6’2’’, 225lb 25 year old defenseman is at the stage in his career where he can either make a big splash at camp and be on the opening night roster or fall into ‘career minor leaguer’ status. The Bruins obviously saw enough in Boychuk to trade for him last year (granted they did only give up a career minor league forward for him) and then re-sign him to a one year contract this off season.

Boychuck led all AHL defensemen in scoring last year and was tied for the team scoring lead overall with 20-46=66 in 78 Baby B’s games. Johnny has the size and skill to be a top 4 defenseman but he struggles defensively sometimes which had given him the # 6 / 7 defenseman label. I am looking for Boychuck to challenge Hunwick for a spot in the top 6 early in the year. They both are very offensive players and if Boychuck can pocket a few early in the season, he and Hunwick will be a good tandem to cycle through the B’s defensive corps.

4. We all know that watching a team for 82 games, you start to appreciate things that casual fans won’t necessarily know. Who’s the guy on your team that doesn’t get nearly the respect that he deserves?

Commissionerdangle (Bruins): Other Loge19 contributors may disagree with me – because they have other unsung favorites – but I think that Shawn Thornton does an amazing job on this team; both in the locker room and on the ice. Thornton is the ultimate 4th line scrapper. His stride is brutal and he has a tough time keeping two hands on his stick most of the time but he is always going 100% throughout every shift. As a 12 year pro (6 in the NHL) Thornton brings solid veteran experience to the Bruins locker room and won a cup with Anaheim in 2007. Oh yeah, he can also mix it up with the top fighters in the game – Chris Neil, Donald Brashear and Georges Laraque to name a few.

5. Prediction time: If you were throwing down some serious money, how do you think the final standings of the Northeast Division will shake out? More importantly, which teams do you think are going to make the playoffs from the Northeast?

1. Boston Bruins
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Montréal Canadiens
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Buffalo Sabres

According to the recent Sporting News hockey edition, the top five defensemen are:

1. Mike Green- Washington Capitals

2. Brian Rafalski- Detroit Red Wings

3. Andre Markov- Montreal Canadiens

4. Brian Campbell- Chicago Blackhawks

5. Nicklas Lidstrom-Detroit Red Wings

I’m glad to see Andre Markov as a top contender as a defender.  Last year, he was impressive despite his team’s lackluster in their performance.  Markov has been on my fantasy hockey roster for a few years,  and was a good player even before last year’s  raking in goals and penalty points.

Rafalski was one of my top D guys last year.  Not to mention he’s a hometown boy playing for his team- always a benefit when looking at players who will give their heart and sou for the fans.

Other notable defensemen in the top ten:

Dan Boyle, SJ Sharks, who posts blogs on my article site PlayerPress.com comes in at number six. He is itching to get back and ready to make the run for the Cup.

Boston Bruin captain Zdeno Chara ranks in at lucky number seven- he’s got it all.  Best pick for a fantasy team.  The media likes to illustrate his potency with terms such as “flattens” his opponent.  Gotta love that!

Which defensive player will top your list this year?

Quoted from ANN:

An early copy of the October issue of Kodansha’s Nakayoshi magazine has revealed that the new Shugo Chara Party! television program will have anime and live-action segments. (The October issue will officially ship on September 3.) The main segment of the new program will be the Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki anime, which the magazine describes as a power-up of the ongoing Shugo Chara!! Doki— anime adaptation of Peach-Pit’s Shugo Chara! manga. A new character named Rikka will appear.

The new program will also include Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi! anime shorts. Super-deformed versions of the characters Ran, Miki, and Su will star in these shorts. Shugo Chara!! Doki— director Kenji Yasuda will continue to oversee both Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi! at the Satelight anime studio.

In addition to the anime, Shugo Chara Party! will have regular appearances by the Shugo Chara Egg! female idol group as program hosts. However, the group will have a new lineup: Mizuki Fukumura as Amulet Heart, Akari Saho as Amulet Spade, and Irori Maeda as Amulet Clover. An open audition will be held for the fourth member, Amulet Diamond. The winner of the audition, which is open to unsigned girls in elementary and junior high schools, will perform as part of the group and appear on the Shugo Chara Party! program. The group will sing the theme song of Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki as well.

Source: 2ch

weeeeeeee..more shugo chara.!! ahaha..The manga has already finished yet they will be showing new Shugo Chara. I want to see this one, too.. ^__^
Btw, I like Buono! more than the Shugo Chara Egg!..

So check out this line up: Akino Arai, Yuuko Ando, Cocco, BONNIE PINK, Chara, LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, Keiko Hiraoka . What do they have in common? Well they will all be appearing at Curly Giraffe’s live on 10/21 at SHIBUYA-AX.

The show entitled, “Curly Giraffe presents “Super Session vol.3/Thank You For Being A Friend”, is a release event for his new album, “Thank You For Being A Friend”.

Ticket sales start 9/12, but if you cant’ make it you can order it on Space Shower TV on 9/4 starting at 19:00 (7PM JST) and will end on 9/8 at 01:00 (1PM JST).

Also, this will be the first time in 8 years that singer, Keiko Hiraoka will be releasing an album called, “25″ through Tower Records. It will go on sale on 11/25 and can only be obtained through Tower Records.

I wish I could go, that is an awesome line up. Curly Giraffe definitely got some of J-Pop’s best singers in the industry.

Pre-order his new album at CDJ.