The 2009 Black Book of Outsourcing client experience survey investigates a subset of over 3000 Business Process Outsourcing contracts held by 800 corporate buyers of BPO.
18 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or criteria are employed specific to BPO buyers within all verticals and sectors, scored on each respective vendor and ranked per KPI.
Key Finding: Most Important Customer Satisfaction KPIs in Cross-Industry BPO Sector
Innovation, customization and reliability are the most important attributes influencing Cross-Industry BPO client satisfaction with their 2009 outsourcing providers. All three KPIs were overwhelmingly praised by the clients of HCL BPO, which captured the overall honors across all verticals and horizontal functionalities this year.
Key Finding: Vendor Dissatisfaction is uncommon in the BPO Industry Outsourcing Sector among Top Tier Ranked Suppliers
Strong dissatisfaction is uncommon among the largest and most comprehensive suppliers of BPO occurring in only 6.5% of financial and accounting clients and 8.8% of transactional services clients.
US clients are among the most satisfied with cross-industry BPO services delivery averaging 95.5% with 2009 projects delivered from North American based suppliers (US, Canada and Mexico). Stronger dissatisfaction was more commonly reported from engagements with offshore outsourcing vendors with 13.7% of all surveyed BPO clients (Philippines, India).
Key Finding: Comprehensive Services Vendor arrangements from Full Service BPO Vendors produce the Highest Satisfaction Rates
Vendors offering comprehensive BPO and ITO Services ranked highest in the overall survey by all clients. Cross industry clients showed significant preference for vendors who are capable of offering more extensive service lines once satisfied with initial projects.
HCL BPO compiled the highest rankings and client experience scores across three of the four major functional subdivisions of BPO services this year.

Companies Mentioned

HCL BPO, Convergys, TCS BPO, Quattro BPO, IBM Global, Aegis, EXL Service, Syntel, Firstsource, Transworks BPO, WNS Global, Genpact, Infosys, Interglobe IGT, Perot Systems, Softtek, Vertex, EDS, Wipro BPO, Caliber Point,

More Information:
http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2009-Top-Business-Process-Outsourcing-Vendors-Black-Book-Survey-2009-Results-31079.html

Heute kommen wir endlich mal dazu, eine schon lange geplante Rubrik zu eröffnen; den sogenannten Soundtrack Check. Wie der Name schon vermuten lässt, handelt es sich hierbei um die Vorstellung von den, extra für die jeweiligen Spiele angefertigten, Tonträgern. Die Musik hat mittlerweile einen hohen Stellenwert in der Entwicklung von Videospielen. Häufig schafft es der Soundtrack die allgemeine Atmosphäre der virtuellen Welt wiederzugeben und den Spieler somit besser eintauchen zu lassen. Ein Aspekt also, der auf unserem Blog nicht fehlen darf und durch das Inspizieren von Original SoundTracks (kurz: OSTs) wollen wir dieser Wirkung auf den Grund gehen.

Den Anfang macht der Soundtrack zu Chocobo Racing, ein Rennspiel, das 1999 für die Playstation 1 erschienen ist. Der Titel verrät, dass es sich hierbei um einen Racer von Squaresoft (Square Co.) handelt, indem viele Charaktere aus dem Final Fantasy-Universum zum Einsatz kommen. Die gleiche Methodik hat man auch beim Gestalten des Soundtracks gewählt. Der Komponist, Kenji Ito, hat sich bei 29 von den 30 Tracks an der Vorarbeit von Nobuo Uematsu bedient und sie etwas aufgepeppt bzw. für das Spiel passender gestaltet. Nobuo Uematsu selbst komponierte bisher fast alle Soundtracks der Final Fantasy-Reihe und ist eine wahre Berühmtheit, was Videospielmusik angeht. Die Strukturierung und Titelzahl beim Chocobo Racing OST gestaltet sich für Rennspiele sehr typisch. Es gibt für jeden Charakter ein Thema und noch ein weiteres für die jeweilige Strecke derer. Übrig bleiben das Opening-, sowie Ending-Theme und natürlich die üblichen Songs wie beispielsweise der Sieges- und Niederlagen-Jingle.

Jedoch ist ein Rennspiel-Soundtrack nicht gleich gut, nur weil man dem Standard folgt. Die Lieder müssen zu den Figuren passen und auch während des Rennens muss die Musik den Charme des Levels vermitteln ohne dabei nervtötend zu wirken. Ich für meinen Teil kann sagen, dass dies bei vorliegendem Beispiel absolut der Fall ist. Das könnte allerdings nicht zuletzt am hervorragendem Ausgangsmaterial liegen, welches Kenji Ito zur Verfügung stand.

Passionierten Final Fantasy-Spielern wird daher wohl sofort die Ähnlichkeit zu den Ursprungstiteln auffallen. So ist zum Beispiel aus dem Song Ancient Castle des zweiten Teils der Serie in diesem OST Golem’s Theme (#7) geworden. Genau genommen wurden vom ersten bis zum sechsten Final Fantasy-Teil gleichermaßen Titel verwendet und neu aufgelegt. Hinzu kommt der Titel FF8 Circuit (#26), welcher zuvor auf dem gleichnamigen FF-Teil noch Don’t Be Afraid hieß. Zur Verdeutlichung der Unterschiede bietet es sich an die zwei Versionen des Liedes an dieser Stelle mal zu vergleichen:

Hier, bei der FF8-Version wurde viel Wert auf ausdrucksstarke Musik gelegt. Das Lied weist orchestrale Elemente auf und wirkt somit sehr episch. Mit der Zusammenwirkung der verhältnismäßig langsamen Geschwindigkeit passt es auch perfekt zu einem Kampf-Thema, was dieser Song zweifelsohne ist. Im Gegensatz dazu steht die Interpretation von Chocobo Racing – man weiß schon nach den ersten Sekunden, dass hier viel mehr Nervenkitzel und Aufregung erzeugt werden soll. Durch die Erweiterung um ein paar Töne kommt wesentlich mehr Tempo in das Stück, was das Fahren auf der Strecke gleichermaßen unterstützen wie erschweren soll. Zudem ist dem Lied eine leichte Techno-Verwandtschaft zu unterstellen, welche den Spieler insofern beeinflusst, dass sich bei ihm unterbewusst Hektik und Aufmerksamkeit erhöhen. Es liegt also auch hier ein unglaublich passendes Stück vor (und ich kann euch versichern, die Strecke hat’s in sich), obwohl es sich um ein völlig anderes Videospielgenre handelt. Man könnte sagen: Ein Song – zwei Versionen – zwei Spiele – zwei Anwendungsorte – zwei Meisterwerke.

Allgemein ist der Soundtrack einem schnellen Musikstil zuzuordnen, weshalb der Vergleich zum Techno gar nicht weit gefehlt ist. Vor allem die musikalische Untermalung während der Rennen wurde in dieser temporeichen Art und Weise gestaltet, was wohl auf den bereits angesprochenen Effekt der Aufmerksamkeitssteigerung zurückzuführen ist. Die Charakter-Themen weisen hingen eine etwas gemäßigte Geschwindigkeit auf und spiegeln das Auftreten der Figuren den Vorstellungen entsprechend wider. So ist das Black Mage’s Theme (#10) beispielsweise sehr schaurig und vermittelt einen düsteren Eindruck. Die Grundstimmung ist hauptsächlich gedämpft und zurückhaltend, was sich durch tiefe Klänge äußert. Zwischendurch werden aufschreckend Akzente mithilfe von Höhen Tönen gesetzt – man fühlt sich also insgesamt so, als würde man durch das leere Schloss eines schwarzen Magiers wandeln und hinter jeder Ecke könnte eine Gefahr lauern.

Eine weitere Auffälligkeit des OST’ ist die Verwandtschaft zwischen den Figuren-Songs und den Liedern der dazugehörigen Strecken. Bleiben wir doch einmal beim Black Mage. Das Stück für seine Strecke trägt passender Weise den Namen House of Black (#21). Hierbei handelt es sich um eine zunächst, wie bereits erwähnt, schnellere Melodie. Zwar wurden die dumpfen, tiefen Töne aus dem Charakter-Thema beibehalten, jedoch ist das Drumherum wesentlich detailreicher und actiongeladener – es schuhuhen Geister und zusätzlich kommen leicht bizarre Tonabfolgen zum Einsatz, die womöglich die magische Aura des geheimnisvollen Ortes wiedergeben sollen. Beim Soundtrack wurde also in zweierlei Maß auf eine perfekte Abstimmung geachtet: Die Songs passen sowohl zur jeweiligen Figur bzw. Strecke, harmonieren aber dennoch auch miteinander und sorgen somit immer wieder für eine ideale Atmosphäre.

Zum Schluss möchte ich noch auf den letzten Song eingehen, denn das ist der einzig wirklich neue auf dem Album. Dieses Lied ist in vielerlei Hinsicht besonders. Da es sich über die komplette Dauer der Credits erstreckt, kommt der Titel auf eine Länge von stolzen 6 Minuten und 15 Sekunden – dass bei dieser Zeitspanne keine hibbelige Techno-Musik verwendet wird, sollte daher selbstverständlich sein. Genau das Gegenteil ist der Fall: man hat hier auf die orchestrale Unterstützung von Shiro Hamaguchi gesetzt. Der Name mag dem Durchschnitts-Deutschen wohl weniger bekannt sein, aber wer leidenschaftlich gerne Animes schaut, hat zumindest schon öfter etwas von ihm gehört. So ist z.B. die musikalische Begleitung von One Piece oder Ah! My Goddess ihm zu verdanken, auch für Square hat er schon viel fabriziert. Hiromi Ohta verleiht seiner Instrumentation eine hohe, klare Stimme, was das Stück insgesamt zu einer gefühlvollen Ballade macht – man ist beim Hören jedes Mal auf’s Neue traurig über das Beenden des Spiels. Leider muss ich auch euch nun mit dem Lied traurig stimmen, denn unser erster Soundtrack Check nimmt an dieser Stelle ein Ende. Wie er vielleicht schon bemerkt habt, ist die komplette Scheibe auf YouTube vorzufinden, also hört doch einfach mal selbst rein und erfreut euch an etwas Nostalgie.

The past couple of books I have written ‘Who Moved my Job?’ (Lulu 2008) and ‘Global Services: Moving to a Level Playing Field’ (British Computer Society 2008) have both been published under license for South Asia by Viva in Delhi.

Viva took a look at my most recent book – Talking Outsourcing (Lulu 2009) – and said they are not interested in publishing it because they don’t feel it connects to the reader in the same way as the other books I have written.

That’s fine. They have their opinion. Only I think they are wrong.

Here’s why.

I don’t think they understand that this was a book of a blog. This book is drawn from the best of my ‘Talking Outsourcing’ blog in Computing magazine, featuring blog entries from 2006 to 2009. It’s written and presented as a chronological business diary. Everything that’s going on in the world of services globalisation and outsourcing from my point of view over that three year period.

It’s worth pointing out that the British national tech magazine Computer Weekly thought so highly of my blog, they shortlisted it for blog of the year in their IT Blog Awards 2009. The launch event at London South Bank University was also very successful – take a look at the video here.

Clearly there are a lot of people involved in the hi-tech service sector in India and I am sure they would like to see this book.

It highlights the issues, the trends, the failures, and the successes of the past three years in the global hi-tech industry and India gets a fair share of that business.

Sure, it’s a book of a blog and not written with a new narrative focused on a single topic, but that’s part of the idea here. Take the content from the blog and make it work in a different way by putting it all in one place, so it can be quickly skipped through.

If you are a publisher in India and you are interested in the South Asia rights for this book then get in touch with me. I’m planning to be there in February so if you move fast we could do some personal appearances around the launch. You can reach me here…

The Ride

Whooshing gusts threaten to knock us from our bikes. Even the seagulls seek shelter from the weather in the Kano River. What a ridiculous notion it is to go on a riding adventure on such a windy day. However, it is not unusual for me to have ridiculous notions and then, perhaps more ridiculously, carry them out regardless of the weather.

The goal of this particular adventure was to ride with my wife from Numazu City following the Kano River about 10km until it met up with the Izu Hakone line at Nirayama Station. Then we would take the next 5 stations to Shuzenji for lunch and a wander around this pretty little town before back tracking our train journey and then taking a short cut ride back via the Shimoda Highway. Sort of…

Numazu’s stylish stepped river embankment disappears behind us as we make our journey from the walking bridge. My wife and I have ridden this first kilometer or so of the river a dozen times, but it isn’t until now, with my adventure eyes on, that I realize the sheer number of bridges that cross this river. Just in this short stretch alone there are four bridges behind me and two in front. The last bridges large arch peeks around the corner like a rainbow tempting us to the pot of gold.

We journey on. Following the river we wind our way around Mount Kanuki, the beginning of the Numazu Alps. Once we reach the pot of gold we are ejected from the safety of the footpath and onto the busy road for about 600 meters or so. Being Japan, riding on the road is not such a frightening predicament, with drivers ever observant and as respectful of the rider as much as we are of their vehicles.

I sneak down a side road into some suburban streets with my wife trailing. We have been down this way before some years past and could not find a way around the knob of hill that rolls into river. However, this time I have done my homework and Google Maps tells me there is a footpath that can take us around this hill. Secretly I am hoping my wife will tell me that we can not get around the hill so I can quietly boast of my discovery. She does not fail. There is a small path that takes us past an equally small plot of vegetable garden. When first we were here we thought that this might be someone’s house and my wife reminds me of this. This was why we missed this path the first time. We ride down onto the path, my wife skeptical. I am not so sure either but onwards we go and my fear of riding up to some strangers front door is alleviated by a large cemetery resting midway on the hill and path ahead leading up through a darkened coppice of vine and bushes.

Down and out of the coppice and I am met by the sight of the river ahead. On the far bank creamy brown tall grass with its bushels glowing amber in the bright sun roll like flag in the wind. I spy all this through the leafless branches in front of me. They make out a living jigsaw puzzle of the river’s scenery.

A little further, along our path is blocked again; this time by a river. This will happen a few more times along our journey. It seems that this pathway is still under construct. Signs at regular intervals inform us of our distance from the mouth of the river but occasionally the path stops dead waiting for someone to extend it.

Another brief detour off the bank and into the suburbs and then we are again back on the river bank path. I miss the entry path up the bank and turn to see my wife making her way up and waving smugly; just desserts for my earlier gloating. I follow her onto the path and as soon as I breach the top I am almost blown off my bike by the wind. To my left down the bank is a team of teenage baseball player practicing, the hollow ting of their aluminum bat hitting baseballs reminds me of bullfrogs croaking by a stream.

Further along this path we spy scatterings of people play some sort of strange game. My wife posits croquet as an explanation. However, once we ride a little closer we notice that they are playing a type of mini golf. Not the mini golf I would first imagine with the fake lawn, impossible angles and possibly a peeling cracked fiberglass bear through whose legs I must putt the ball. Rather, this game was being played on a miniature 18 hole golf course, its lawns appropriately graded and its tiny greens manicured well. What made my wife predict croquet was the player’s use of large clubs and balls the size of baseballs. As we ride we watch gaggles of elderly players happily play their mini golf along the bank, but just as this 18 hole course leaves us we are again me with a dead end and another hilly thicket.


Recovering from our brief detour onto the busy road, we reach the bank to this time see tiny farming lots down in the bank by the river. We pass late autumn harvests such as cabbage, broccoli and lettuce. This is interrupted midway by a small grove of persimmons, their orange fruit hang in contrast to the dark branches and dying leaves. It is almost a morbid sight, though beautifully so.

Perhaps this sets the mood for this section of the river. We meet another dead end. There is a darkly shaded path to my left leading into another thicket. The way is covered by a few logs. This generally would not deter me and the dirt track looks interesting. I propose to my wife that this path may join to the proper path. She looks at me, looks down at her mama cherry grandma bike, and looks back at me with patient incredulity. I apologize.

Instead I ride down the bank and onto a street while my wife takes some photos. I stop on the corner of a small farm to pee on their tomatoes. I read in a science magazine once that tomatoes thrive with a little bit of pee fertilizer. Luckily for me and the farmer I needed to go. Temporarily distracted by relief, it was some moments until I noticed that I was being watched. Turning my head to the right, I am confronted with the balding pates of four children’s heads, staked at intervals along the garden. Their pale plastic cheeks weather bleached and their vacant blue eyes scanning the garden unappreciative of my efforts to cultivate their tomatoes. A morbid stretch indeed.

Now we must negotiate a small breach between two rocky hills. This is made all the more challenging by vehicles cueing at either end, haphazardly attempting – in a very endearing, courteous Japanese way – to allow each other through the gap. It is the traditional bowing ritual artistically interpreted by cars. Add to this, bouts of driver apprehension and indecisiveness and you have the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and scoot around cars and through the gap and cycle on with ease.

We meet the path along the bank again and enjoy the scenery along the river between threatening gusts of wind. There are so many birds along this section of the river. I notice a kite lazily glide in the wind as a brace of ducks fly further down stream. A murder of crows fight the wind to reach their perch before I run my vocabulary dry of collective nouns.

A once cherry red, now a lipstick chalky pink bridge appears and we cross the river. My wife stops to take a photo of the river, it’s waters rambling over rocks and emanating from the mountains in the distance. Perhaps a sister brace of ducks – surely not the same ones I enjoyed watching fly earlier- fly over the bridge. Just as I think that this would make a great photo for my wife I feel a few drops of liquid hit my ear and head. Instinctively I touch the wet spots and look at my hand; clean but wet. I choose to ignore the origin of the drops and continue on across the river.

My wife is getting tired so I suggest we stop for morning tea. We park our bikes on top of the bank by some steps that provide a little shelter from the wind. The view is not a spectacular of nature, but the backyard of a row of houses. In front of us is a brand new two story place with fake brick walls and safely two meters above the flood line post. Divided by a small stream is a rust darkened tin hovel 30cm above the flood line with every inch of the land covered in vegetable patch. We chat about these common residential contrasts we see in Japan hypothesizing on their nature, while we sip our tea.

Refreshed, though my wife in need of a toilet break, and no tomato bush in sight, we stop at a convenience store. I leave my wife to her business while I scout ahead for the nearest train station. I find the station easily and return to the convenience store just as my wife is exiting. Leading her to my find, I proudly point out the numerous strawberry picking signs I discovered on my earlier reconnaissance. I am suddenly self-conscious, I am like a cat showing off its kill to its owner while purring with self satisfaction. Not surprisingly, my wife responds in kind as a proud cat’s owner seeing the dead finch at its front doorstep.

We ride on a little way and another role play begins. This time, my navigation is challenged once more. My wife had asked the convenience store attendant for directions earlier and apparently our route was contrary to those directions. I bristle at this wifely comment, and with bruised manliness and compensated puffed out chest I confidently reassure her of my navigation ability. With the cliché complete, I direct us straight to the station, chest swelling the closer we get; though my wife chooses not to notice.

To our right is a handsome modern library. This is one of the few modern pieces of government architecture that has not followed the modern era’s prefab cement wall credo. Instead the burnish brickwork and angular design of the building is set amidst small lush gardens in order to break up the lines. Families wander through the gardens to various entrances.

We notice a map in front of the library that suggests Shuzenji is only a few stations away. I keep silent but recall that the Google Map I checked before leaving suggested a few more stations. I also keep silent because the map has encouraged my wife to ride the rest of the way. We will deal with the truth when it is discovered.

Onwards we ride beside the unfenced rail line. On either side of the tracks are plots of farmland some bearing late harvest greens while others are bare corrugated mounds of dark volcanic soil. On my right, large Roma Tomatoes maturing on the vine can be seen through clear plastic domes; no doubt spared the natural fertilizer I gave their cousin earlier.

The path along the track ends and I turn right towards the river again. I am confused by a large tributary temporarily thinking it is the main Kano River. To be safe I emerge onto the Shimoda Highway and follow it until we reach the town of Izuagaoka and meet up again with the Kano River. To be honest on such a clear day it is impossible to get lost with the fluffy white top of Mount Fuji at our back and the arrow pointed valley at our front.

We make an attempt to ride up to the river bank path with my wife in the lead. The chilly wind almost blows her back down. She has had enough. I am proud of her. This is the longest distance she has ever ridden, and on a mama cherry to boot.

Back tracking a little way to Izuagaoka Station, we park our bikes. After a quick toilet break, I return to find my beautiful wife buying some local craft beers. I love my wife. We hop on the train, take a seat and enjoy our beers as the train runs along the tracks that dance with the river. The valley we have been traveling into begins to rapidly close in and become steeper. Only four stations later we arrive in Shuzenji.

Shuzenji

Shuzenji Station is not the town. Until this trip this was something we were disappointingly ignorant about. The sight from the station is like any other town in Japan. Bleak, dirty gray multi-storied buildings filled with restaurants, cafes, snack bars and offices bear down on the station courtyard. We waste little time here and head for the bridge across the river and the older, prettier part of Shuzenji.

Two things strike our interest just before the bridge. The first is a baker’s rack filled with drying freshwater fish, their fins shining bright yellow in the sun. My wife takes a photo before the smell sneaks upon us. The second point of interest is a strange stuffed mammal of anonymous origin wearing a miniature farmers hat with a sake bottle in one hand and the other hand is extended in some spooky carnival welcome. Its weathered pelt and apologetic eyes makes a mockery of the whole scene.


We carry on. The hike to the old part of town is longer than expected, but this gives our knees a chance to un-kink from our ride. Again we are following the Shimoda Highway. We follow the road around a corner and up a slope that parallels the Katsura River, a tributary of the Kano River.

The first sign of town is the classic modern day century post, the convenience store. Beyond this a town emerges with age blackened wooden buildings tenaciously clinging to the banks of the river as though the surrounding mountains threaten to nudge them into the icy flow below. This balancing act is an attraction in itself, and intentionally so. It seems that this town has managed to balance its natural and historical beauty with its need for tourist income. Many of the buildings such as guest houses, restaurant and souvenir shops have been built in the traditional style of the area with dark wooden features white walls and black tiled roofs. When there is a new building, in most cases, it has be built with complimentary taste, rather than some hurried fabrication slapped into place by a greedy careless developer.


The river rushes by us as we continue on. We occasionally stop to take pictures of the river and pretty little bridges that cross it. The early autumn leaves and red parapet bridges pair to contrast with the frothy while and topaz blue of the water making its way down stream.

We finally reach our goal; a foot onsen set in the middle of the river called the Tokko no Yu. This is a relatively recent renovation for the Town and the timbers are still fresh and light in colour. The onsen was based around the original hot spring that was formed, legend has it, by a monk who whacked his club against a rock and hot water came out. I don’t know about you, but I think the geological answer would have been far more fascinating.

We wander down a deck and cross a bridge, our shoes clopping on the wood as we go. This onsen was built upon a man made island of river boulders and cement, creating an attracting natural looking pool . Underneath the pagoda people sit around the hot spring feet dangling in the steamy water as the river churns past on either side.


After a quick lunch in a café nearby, we make our way to Shuzenji Temple. This Buddhist temple founded in the early Heian Period is entered by a stairway lined with yellow flowers. Your eyes are draw to the top of the stairs where the white walls support the main gate. Maple leaves blaze over the walls, their oranges and reds shifting in the wind like raging flames. Passing the gate I note to my left a massive bell set upon a stone wall and a backdrop of bamboo standing like dozens of tuning forks ready to sing to the bells melody.



There are people praying and throwing money into a box at the base of the main temple building. I don’t pray; it’s against my common sense, though I throw a little money into the box as token thanks for the beauty of the well kept grounds.

My favorite part of these temple buildings rest at the base of the roof and below the gables. Intricate wooden carvings depict picture of animals and tell stories of myth. On this temple, there is a dragon, forelegs curled up as if springing from one of the pillars as a crane flies by along a crossbeam. All of this is so intricately carved that I am awed, wonder over the time it would take to make such pieces.

From the main temple and to my right is a boulder with a large carving of a stone face grumbling out to any who would see. Perhaps it is disturbed by my lack of faith. I leave the stone simmering and head out of the temple grounds.

My wife and I cross the river at the Katsura Bridge and make our way to the Chikurin no Komichi. This beautiful little path wanders along the river. On either side of the path rises a bamboo forest that bows over the walkway like a cathedral arch. The bamboo leaves are rustling in the wind, ticking away like thousands of tiny clocks. Through this forest I glimpse the red parapets of a bridge and the motion of the water below it. We reach the bridge and admire the reddening maple leaves hanging over the river. I try to take a photo of the leaves by my camera looses focus with the flowing water below making the shot impossible for my little camera.



Standing on this bridge, elbows leaning on the parapet, I enjoy the scenery. My mind wanders over our day’s adventure, from our ride along the river to our meanderings through Shuzenji. I am distracted from my ruminations by my wife informing me that I have clumsily positioned myself between a photographer and her family. The family stood patiently the whole time while I ignorantly lounged around bridge. My cheeks redden like autumn as my wife takes my hand and leads me off the bridge.

We have run out of time for today, but there is much more to explore here. We take the bus back to the station, and then from Shuzenji station by train back to our bikes. I take us along the Shimoda Highway back through Mishima as a shortcut. The wind is not so bad along this way and we make good time home.

What started as a ridiculous notion turned into a success, regardless of the wind. We had followed two rivers and watched them change and influence their surrounds, the accumulation of which was Shuzenji, with its stilted building paying homage to the waters below. We were wind blown and tired but sometimes it’s the adversity of an adventure that contributes to the fondness of memories as well.

Blockage of EU environment chapter angers Turkey

SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ
MADRID – Hürriyet Daily News
Plans to open more negotiation chapters in the EU accession negotiations are being thwarted for political reasons and Turkish leaders are fuming. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking to the Daily News in Spain, says it’s not understandable. ‘We are criticized by the Europeans for not being fast enough, but is it because of us or them?’”

According to a Boğaziçi University and Madrid U. survey made in 5 European countries, Hadise is the most known living Turk.

Newly set Schengen Visa complaint line for Turkish citizens: 0212 324 51 88-99

TOBB and ITO will be in charge of EU Information Offices in Turkey…

WPR Blog | France, Turkey and Sarkozy’s Strategic Vision

Rapprochement between Ankara, Teheran worries Brussels

from EurActiv.com

Policymakers and influential media warned that Turkey’s developing ties with Iran could be counterproductive to the EU’s efforts to convince Teheran that it should abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

“Turkey following Atatürk’s foreign policy, not pursuing neo-Ottomanism”

by ERCAN YAVUZ

Professor Ali Arslan, a lecturer at the department of history at İstanbul University who specializes in the history of the Turkish Republic, says it is wrong to regard Turkey’s current foreign policy, which is geared toward the Middle East, as neo-Ottomanism as its current direction signifies a return to the foreign policy followed during the time of the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. “The prime minister criticizes not the Israeli state, but the Israeli government,” he says, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent remarks about Israel.

Netanyahu: Turkey not an honest mediator (Press TV)

from Yahoo news

The Israeli prime minister, angered by Turkey’s firm stance in supporting Palestinian rights, says the Muslim country is not an honest mediator.

‘Turkish Soft Power Changes Middle East’

* Interview with Sedat Laciner on Turkey’s Expanding Foreign Policy by Kaitlin MacKenzie

Q – How does Turkey’s location impact its foreign policy?

Interview with Dr. Kamer Kasim on Turkish Foreign Policy

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamer Kasim, expert at the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) and IR Lecturer at Abant Izzet Baysal University, weighs in on the importance of Turkish foreign policy in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

1.) Is Turkish foreign policy moving in a positive direction?

Turkey & Armenia: Don’t Hold Your Breath

Over at Eurasianet, Marianna Grigoryan gives a good update on how the recently-signed (though yet-to-be ratified) protocols to renew diplomatic relations between Ankara and Yerevan are progressing in Armenia. The bottom line? Very little progress is being made in getting the protocols even close to being ratified. From her piece:

Both Cyprus And The E.U.

Published: 11/17/2009

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET – Speaking at a ceremony in Lefkosa late week marking the 26th anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said that if some people are thinking that it’s ‘either Cyprus or the EU,’ Turkey’s choice will forever be the Turkish Cypriots, and everyone should understand this. What caused Cicek to say this? Must Turkey make such a choice? What did he mean by ’some people’ and ‘everyone’? It seems his messages were meant for three different audiences. The first is the European Union. Actually one can’t say now that the EU has to make a choice between Cyprus and Turkey. But the Greek Cypriot administration is always trying to take advantage of its EU membership.”

Even Germany makes up for its mistake

Yunus Arıkan: Turkey can be key to opening Copenhagen deadlock

Yunus Arıkan, spokesman for the world’s cities on climate change, has said Turkey can be a key country in ending the deadlock at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) meetings in December in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where the world will try to find a solution to climate change.

Nostalgia for the Ottomans: Disillusioned with Europe, Turkey Looks East – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

Un islam compatible avec la République

Libération (France), 13 novembre 2009, p. 25

Jean-François Bayart *

Lorsque Nicolas Sarkozy refuse l’adhésion de la Turquie au nom des “frontières naturelles” de l’Europe, chacun comprend qu’il parle de ses “frontières culturelles”. Et la culture de la Turquie est l’islam : il serait incompatible avec l’Europe, et même avec la République.

La Turquie a sa place dans une Europe politique

Libération (France), 13 novembre 2009, p. 24

Michel Rocard * et Olivier Ferrand **

On ne peut nier l’évidence : les négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne provoquent un malaise en France. Mais le malaise de qui ? L’argument serait démocratique : “les Français sont contre”, nous dit-on. Cela n’est pas aussi simple. Un sondage Ipsos, lors de l’ouverture des négociations en 2004, en avait donné la claire illustration. A la question “êtes-vous favorable à une adhésion de la Turquie ?”, la réponse est non à 56 %. Mais à la question “si la Turquie fait les efforts politiques et économiques nécessaires, est-il possible d’imaginer son adhésion dans l’avenir ?”, la réponse se renverse avec un oui à 63 %.

Turkey’s new foreign policy – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

No dia 11 de novembro, nessa avalanche de lançamentos de single, Yuna Ito não ficou de fora e também lançou seu 14º single, denominado “Let it Go”, após aproximadamente 5 meses ter lançado seu terceiro álbum, “Dream”, como vimos aqui.

A música que dá o nome ao single, “Let it Go” é tema do filme Tenshi no Koi (天使の恋) , como já adiantamos no blog, que estreou no dia 7 de novembro lá no Japão.

Esse filme contará com a Sasaki Nozomi, que, por coincidência, é a capa do novo single das Lil’B, “Tsunaida Te” (Confira a news aqui) e a personagem principal do videoclipe desse single. E como se não bastasse isso, tanto no longa quanto no clipe ela sofre, pois em Tenshi no Koi, o enredo se baseia em Rio (Sasaki), uma garota de 17 anos que se apaixona pelo professor (Shosuke Tanihara, o Takumi em Konkatsu!), de 35 anos e que sofre de uma doença terminal. Nem preciso dizer que o filme será triste, certo?

Voltemos a falar de “Let it Go”; essa música fala bastante de amor, como quase todas as outras da Yuna. O destaque vai mais pro videoclipe, que mostra a cantora com várias roupas (e bonita, como sempre), ao contrário do que foi no single anterior, “trust you”, que só mostrou ela sentada num cenário com uma árvore atrás dela, outro cenário com efeitos especiais e vários closes no rosto dela ._.

Além disso, o ritmo é bem no estilo “ballad”, aquela mesma fórmula de canção romântica+estilo pop. Pela letra, nota-se claramente que as partes têm a ver com o filme, como na parte final em que ela canta “Let it go, let it go, I know you have to go; Let it go, let it go, you’re always on my mind”.

A Yuna, desde o boom que teve quando interpretou Reira Serizawa no filme NANA, que resultou no seu debut single “ENDLESS STORY” chegar a dois Top 100 anual da Oricon (Em 2005, ficou na 20ª posição; em 2006, ficou na 85ª), não conseguiu mais obter tantas boas vendas assim, com raras exceções. Infelizmente, com “Let it Go” não será diferente, visto que, no ranking diário da Oricon, ela mal chegou aos top 10, alcançando uma 20ª posição no seu primeiro dia de vendas.

“Let it Go” virá com a música-título, que foi a música para Tenshi no Koi, e com a música b-side  “Happy Days”, que foi tema do comercial das lojas ABC Mart para divulgação dos sapatos “Hawkin’s Lady”, da Hawking Sports. O single foi lançado em duas versões: CD e CD+DVD, onde o CD conta com as duas músicas citadas acima e suas versões instrumentais, ao passo que o DVD virá com o clipe de “Let it Go” e seu making-of.

Segue abaixo informações do single e alguns vídeos.

Yuna Ito – Let it Go

CD

01. Let it Go
02. Happy Days
03. Let it Go (Instrumental)
04. Happy Days (Instrumental)

DVD

01. Let it Go
02. Making-of

Trailer de Tenshi no Koi:

PV de Let it Go:

Comerciais da ABC Mart:

Making-of dos comerciais da ABC Mart:

E é só. Até mais pessoal.

Here is the second short and finished anime I’d like to introduce. It’s called School Days.

The main characters are
Makoto Ito(伊藤 誠), a guy who is apparently pretty popular amongst girls without realizing it.

Kotonoha Katsura (桂 言葉), a very cute girl who takes the same train with Makoto to school everyday, seems to like books a lot.

Sekai Saionji (西園寺 世界), an active and cute girl who is in love with Makoto.

The story is very interesting, and there are only 12 episodes.

This anime requires no fighting actions, it’s pretty much a love story kind of thing.

It starts with Makoto and Kotonoha both being interested in each other but too shy to confess their feelings when Sekai helped to link both of them together, while Sekai is also deeply in love with Makoto. Sekai did it just because she wanted to support the one she loves.

After being with kotonaha for a while, Makoto starts to ask Sekai for skills to be with a girl, so Sekai happily accepted to teach him. When it came to sexual related problems, things seemed to become weird, Sekai allowed Makoto to do anything with her, but made it clear that it was “practice”.

As time goes by, Makoto starts to lose feelings for Kotonoha and fell in love with Sekai. He went over to Sekai’s place really late at night and confessed to her, though Sekai knew that they shouldn’t be together and felt really bad for Kotonoha, she still couldn’t stop because of how much she loved Makoto. They went to Sekai’s house and since Sekai’s mom wasn’t home cuz of work, they had sex. (Never made it clear, but according to later scenes, they apparently did it.)

So Makoto Dumped Kotonoha without letting her know for a long time.

While he was going out with Sekai, he had an affair (sex) with this other girl who also loved him very much.

Sekai’s best friend, who helped her for everything, surprisingly loves Makoto as well. But before she moved to France (she didn’t tell any one but Makoto), she wanted Makoto to love Sekai and Sekai only, and take care of her forever. She also said she will do anything Makoto wants. ( they were at Makoto’s place when she said it, and while saying it, she began to undress, well, you know what’s next)

And Makoto hade sex with four other girls in the class without Sekai knowing it and without Kotonoha even knowing that he dumped her!

The story goes on… … it gets better… …

This Anime has one of the most screwed up, most surprising, most sorrowful ending amongst all Anime.
I will not tell you what it is, but I am sure you want to find out, and you should go find out.

P.S. This Anime is based on the Visual Novel School Days, the game has over 20 endings waiting for you to discover, but the gameplay doesn’t really require any skills or controls, it’s pretty much going through a movie on your own.

And BTW, please don’t go to YouTube and search for “School days anime Ending”, because the ending wouldn’t mean anything if you haven’t seen the whole story. And, the ending wouldn’t be sad and it wouldn’t touch you if you don’t go through the complete storyline.

Hope you’ll enjoy this Anime ;D

Photography can astound me in so many ways but I think my favorite photos always end up being taken from every day life and capturing a person/people in their element. I stumbled across the site for photographer named ITO and found him to be the epitome of my photographic love, and all of his prints are available for purchase. The best ones are definitely the ones available in the banner sized posters (Pesci, Dame/Beanie).

LS엠트론 중앙연구소에서 해외 우수인력 채용을 실시하고 있습니다.

LS엠트론은 LS전선(구 LG전선)에서 부품/소재 부분과 기계부분이 분리되어 작년 7월 설립된 LS 그룹의 회사로 표면상으로는 신생 회사이나 해당분야 사업 경력은 25년 이상된 회사로 Global Company로 도약하기 위해 성장하고 있는 회사입니다.
 
해외 인력 채용을 실시하는 중앙연구소(경기도 안양 소재) 소재 기술 그룹에서는 다음과 같은 제품 및 기술에 대해 활발히 연구를 진행하고 있습니다.
 
◇ 전해동박(Electrodeposited Copper Foil)
- 전기도금을 활용한 제박(製箔) 공정 및 표면처리 공정, 슬리팅 공정으로 제작되며 회로소재 및 리튬이온전지 소재로 사용
◇ FCCL(Flexible Copper Clad Laminate의 약자로 LCD용 COF 및 연성회로기판용 소재)
    – 스퍼터링, 전기도금, 슬리팅 공정으로 제작됨
◇ Ultra capacitor
- 전기자동차 등에 사용되는 고출력 전력 저장장치로 슈퍼캐패시터라고도 불림
◇ 전자 부품 소재 및 차세대 유망분야관련 신규 Item 발굴 및 R&D
    – 전기전도성필름(ITO 등), Flexible display용 Substrate, MEMS기술 활용 신제품 등
 
이러한 연구에 보다 역량을 집중하고 미래 유망 분야 발굴 및 추진을 위하여 해외 우수 인재에 대해 적극 영입을 추진하고 있습니다.
저희 회사 담당임원이 여러분이 계신 곳으로 직접 가서 LS엠트론 회사소개, 질의응답, 1:1 면담 등을 진행코자 하오니, 관심 있는 분들의 많은 참여를 부탁드립니다.
참여를 희망하시는 분과 질문이나 의견이 있으신 분께서는 다음 연락처로 연락주시기 바랍니다.
 
      이름 : 전상현 수석연구원
      전화 : 031-688-5351 (회사), 016-715-2433(휴대전화)
      E-mail : shjeon@lsmtron.com
 
참고로 저희 회사 홈페이지는 http://www.lsmtron.co.kr 이니 한번 방문해 보시기 바랍니다.

One of my favorite JPOP artists. So good looking. Unfortunatly she is half-japanese Started in 2005-2006 and now she is the best young singer in Japan (for me). Great PV is “Loosin”, so attractive

rev 3.0: added last “Trust You” PV. Good video ideas to show Yuna in best poses and lanscapes, but somthing is missing, I don’t like it like I love “Losin’”. Maybe she got a little additional weight, don’t know In all case must see. (NB: You can receive audio-video syncronization problem with this PV, just use another codec or player, for example VLC plays in sync)

Bio: Yuna Ito (伊藤 由奈 Itō Yuna) (born September 20, 1983) is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress who is active in Japan. Ito was born to a Japanese father and a Korean-American mother in Los Angeles. Her family later moved to Oahu, Hawaii where she remained until the start of her singing career in Japan. From a young age Ito dreamed about becoming a singer, after being inspired by the powerful vocals of Mariah Carey.

In 2005, Ito was chosen to portray Reira Serizawa, the vocalist for rock band Trapnest in the film adaptation of Ai Yazawa’s popular manga series Nana. She released her debut single, “Endless Story”, under the name “Reira Starring Yuna Ito”. It debuted on the Oricon chart at the #2 position. Her second single, “Faith/Pureyes” (2006). Her third single, “Precious”, which debuted at #3 on the charts. Ito released three more singles in 2006; “Stuck on You”, “Losin’”, and “Truth”. The singles debuted at the respective numbers of #20, #19 and #10.

Ito started off 2007 with the release of her debut album Heart. Upon its release Heart topped the Oricon album chart. Heart was certified Double Platinum. In March, Ito released her seventh single, “I’m Here”. The single following “I’m Here” was “Mahaloha” (June), which was a collaboration with Micro from the band Def Tec. At the end of the year, Ito released her ninth single, “Urban Mermaid”. Her tenth single, entitled Anata ga Iru Kagiri: A World to Believe In, was released in on January 16, 2008. The song is a duet with Celine Dion.

In June 2008, Ito collaborated with popular Japanese music producer Takeshi Kobayashi (who produced music for Mr. Children, a famous Japanese band) and Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, to sing Gate, the theme song for documentary movie with the same name, Gate. Her eleventh single entitled “Miss You” was released on September 3, 2008.

Ito released an English version of new single “Koi wa Groovy x2″, entitled “groovy x2″ under the pseudonym Christine Ito. On March 31, 2009 Ima Demo Aitai Yo… feat. Spontania (今でも会いたいよ… lit. I Still Miss You?), which was the answer song to Spontania’s “Ima Demo Zutto”

Filmography:

Year  Film  Role
2005 Nana Reira Serizawa
2006 Nana 2 Reira Serizawa

Check:

PVs (some in double variants, for those who wants enchanced quality):

REIRA starring YUNA ITO – ENDLESS STORY.mpg

Precious.avi

Losin’ You.avi

Losin’ You.mpg (ench. quality)

I’m Here.avi

I’m Here.mpg (ench. quality)

Stuck on you.avi

Urban Mermaid.mpg

Mahaloha.mpg

Miss you.avi

Spontania feat. Ito Yuna – Ima Demo Zutto.avi

Yuna Ito x Celine Dion – Anata ga Iru Kagiri~A WORLD TO BELIEVE IN~.mpeg

Ito Yuna – trust you

Live videos:

Ito Yuna & Mika Nakashima – ENDLESS STORY and GLAMOROUS SKY and Talk (Japan Record Awards 2005.12.31).avi

Ito Yuna – miss you (Music Japan 080904).ts (HDTV)

Research reports released in the recent past by two top-tier global consulting firms — one by A T Kearney prepared on behalf of ‘Invest Chile / CORFO’ (the Chilean Economic Development Agency), and the other by KPMG , indicate that Latin America is rapidly becoming a preferred region for outsourcing / off-shoring.

According to both reports, the main factors that are driving this trend are:

• Geographical proximity of Central and South American countries to North America (impact: reduced travel time for client and service provider personnel)
• Compatible time-zones (impact: overlapping business hours leading to less disruptions of daily routine for client and service provider personnel)
• Common languages and cultural affinity with North America (impact: promotes quicker and stronger team cohesion between client teams and service provider teams, and smoother communications on an on-going basis)
• Lower attrition rates (impact: reduced ‘leakage’ of knowledge and expertise, resulting in better cost / benefit ratio for investments in knowledge transfer and training, and better response time)
• Improved telecommunications and other technology infrastructure (impact: reduced infrastructure risks, resulting in greater business continuity)
• Favorable business environment including political stability and tax incentives in several countries (such as the ones mentioned below) (impact: financial attractiveness, reduced geo-political risk)

As we had noted in an earlier post in this blog, these are more or less the same factors that underpin the weaknesses of destinations like India (as also China and other Asian countries), and the more aggressive players in the Central and South American region are clearly positioning their advantages in these areas as complementary to India and China. However, there continue to be concerns in a few key areas — particularly with regard to team size and scalability. In order to overcome this drawback, several countries in the region are actively working towards improving the quality and quantity of their resource pools, by focusing on education and training in technical as well as soft skills. Clearly, the more aggressive players have recognized the criticality of growing a scalable, highly skilled workforce that is adept at innovation. Other challenges include the need to change client perceptions about countries in the region as being politically unstable and their main cities as unsafe or even dangerous. In that respect, it is useful to note that recent terrorists attacks in India and the authoritarian regime in China have rendered the latter destinations less attractive.

Service providers with a global vision will benefit significantly by investing in expansion in key Latin America destinations. As regards Indian ITO and BPO shops, the future will reward those who think beyond their domestic boundaries, venture into the global arena, embrace new cultures, learn to leverage the advantages of these destinations and learn to share their knowledge and expertise. Conversely, the ones who are less open and flexible, or who are too strongly rooted in the Indian geography and/or ethos, will be relegated to the position of helpless bystanders, as they watch their market share dwindle and see their survival threatened as the domestic competition for a diminishing slice of the pie becomes even more fierce.

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The England team enjoyed another great victory at Wembley against Belarus just the other day. They have enjoyed an excellent – almost unbeaten – qualifying run to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Yet, when I look at the coaches that have guided the England team in recent years, I can’t really see a great leader since the recently deceased Bobby Robson – and he left the job back in 1990.

An Italian, Fabio Capello, currently manages the team and for most of this decade Sven-Göran Eriksson, a Swede, enjoyed the honour of leading England.

England has not had a great English coach since Robson. Why is that? To start with, the players are now a lot more cosmopolitan. They have opportunities to play with best players in the world and there is a global market for talent in football – and this applies to the management as well as the playing staff.

How come we rarely recognise this in the IT market? Why is it that we operate in a global services market in some professions and yet it’s still a discussion point when a non-local IT firm pitches for business somewhere far from their home base?

We take pride in our England football team. They are succeeding with their foreign boss. Local IT is just the same. It can be improved by collaborating and competing with foreign expertise. We are all global now.

My mum tried to take her life last Friday. Saturday the police and ambos came to her apartment and found her semi conscious. They kept her awake and brought her into a private hospital (as she has health cover). She is now on an ITO. If you’re reading this you’re aware what state and country she is in. She is still in there today (Wed) and is still wearing the same clothes that she wore since she went in. This all makes me sad and scared. I cried when she told me what she had attempted. This has been the second attempt she has made. It was an attempt at presciption overdose specifically StillNox and Diazapam.

I’m in another state and on Friday i’m going for my license. I’m what you call a late bloom driver I guess. As all of a sudden i’m in a mad dash to get my license. I have a car it’s just not in my name at the moment.

I’m back to smoking way too many smokes a day but atleast I have my sanity again.

Video footage from the launch of my new book ‘Talking Outsourcing’ is now online. Thank you to the National Outsourcing Association for promoting this book launch event, and Steria for supporting the event and making it possible:

Follow these links to view the films:

Angelica Mari Introduction & Hilary Robertson 1/2
Hilary Robertson 2/2

Philippe Legrain 1/2
Philippe Legrain 2/2

Mark Kobayashi-Hillary 1/3
Mark Kobayashi-Hillary 2/3
Mark Kobayashi-Hillary 3/3

Panel Discussion 1/3
Panel Discussion 2/3
Panel Discussion 3/3

For more information on the book, please go and visit the website here.

Versión en español después de la de inglés

English Version

I remember when I wanted to add a link to a good article in my tweets, but the majority of the URLs where too long for the space provided by Twitter. Then, I discovered the shorten URLs services like Tiny, Tr.im, or Ito (from Mexico and in Spanish). At that time I thought “This is wonderful”, but just few weeks ago, I read a tweet about information on tips for Twitter and a link.  I immediately clicked on the link to find out those tips that could help me to improve my tweets, but the link took me to a website with no tips.  At the moment, I thought, that there was a glitch within these services. Links can take you anywhere including to websites which you wish never to visit or link to a PDF that contains a computer virus.  One solution was not to open any links from anyone you don´t know, but then what is the point of these services for Twitter? Another solution is for these shorten URLs companies to add a feature to their links that if you place the cursor on the shorten URL link, it will show you the actual URL address.  What do you think?

Technology and its risks…

Versión en Español

Todavía me acuerdo de cuando quería agregar un enlace a un buen articulo en mis tweets, pero la mayoría de los enlaces eran largos para el espacio limitado de Twitter. Entonces descubrí el servicio de los acortadores de URL como Tiny, Tr.im, Ito (de Mexico y en español) y otros más.  En ese entonces pensé “Esto es maravilloso”, pero hace un par de semanas, leí un tweet sobre un sitio con consejos para Twitter que incluía un enlace abreviado a un sitio donde se suponía estaría esta información, pero este enlace me llevo a un sitio donde no estaba esta información. Entonces pensé que estos servicios tenían una falla de protección al usuario, que tal que uno de estos enlaces te lleve a sitios de internet que habrías querido nunca visitar o a un documento PDF que contenga un virus.  Una solución sería no confiar en los enlaces que ofrecen otros en Twitter, pero entonces cual sería el punto de estos servicios de acortadores? Otra solución sería que estos servicios de abreviación, incorporaran de alguna forma que cuando posicionaras el cursor sobre el enlace acortado, pues te mostrara la dirección del URL real. Que piensas de esto?

La technología y sus riesgos..

Today I want to write about a “new singer” in HK (well shes only new cause I just found out about her):

Ava!!!

Bio:
Name: 羽翹
Occupation: Hong Kong based singer, model, celebrity
What i think of her: Shes really pretty! I love her style of dress and how she is. Well kinda(she did a makeup tutorial where you could see her pimples/panda eyes)… but still very natural  i think. Natural in the way she talks (ie no fake voices when she sings and talks, its the same all the time) which is very good . I hate fake voices and they annoy me no end…people should just be themselves. Being from a new generation of HK singers, she is more multi-talented. She speaks fluent cantonese and english (though it sounds a bit fob) and can play piano. She also makes many youtube videos, so already she is expanding her viewership hehe!! So overall she seems like a solid newcomer who we can expect more things from.

The only things I can really say I dont like are: She lacks a unique voice….it sounds like a typical cute girl voice (dont get me wrong, its not bad, but as a singer she needs to stand out). This is why in Japan female singers like Koda Kumi REALLY stand out. Shes unique in her dresses (sexy instead of cute), her voice projects power (its not typical cutesy cutesy, which isnt bad since i LOVE Ai Otsuka, just many have come to imitate her style). Kinda like anita mui. Oh and her JSG performance was pretty decent, i could feel some emotion)

Secondly, her songs are…not unique. The typical kind of cantopop slow ballad for 私事公辦…from a quick listen the lyrics seem like its yet another love song. I cant blame her, its only her second song but …
港大女生 is a bit better, it feels more “badass” (like Koda kumi style) but not as powerful.  Also, these songs dont highlight any of her vocal abilities (still unknown at this point, but on JSG she was ok) but artists in the golden era had massive JSG concerts and they sang amazingly…it feels like artists these days wont get the same exposure or experience.

But these comments arent restricted to her, its to cantopop and the hk music industry as a whole. This is why I keep moving on and coming back. The limited exposure artists get is ridiculous (that and HK is incredibly small, with 1 real tv station) so even if someone is talented their career could never take off. I hope this doesnt happen to her.

Anyways shes on my support list…and im a fan now .

She has her own youtube channel called avalifechannel…she has everything from her MVs, performances, to makeup tutorials. And a xanga and yahoo hk blog

Youtube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/AVALIFECHANNEL

Xanga Blog

http://ava-yukiu.xanga.com/weblog/

Yahoo Blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/yu_kiu

羽翹彈唱 – Endless story (Yuna Ito)

羽翹 私事公辦 MV (sounds more HKish)

羽翹 港大女生 MV (the “more original song”)

羽翹 – 李香蘭 (live)

I want to say i think its amazing she even attempted this song, id consider this one of the hardest canto songs to sing. But she clearly lacks the emotion jacky puts in…that and her vocal range is obviously not as big. That said, I think its still a VERY GOOD rendition and one of the best females ones ive ever heard.

Apo Nak Dikato
(Nyanyikan ikut lagu Apa Nak Dikato – ITO Blues Gang)

Poi PD naik moto
Tongah haghi tongah paneh
Apo dayo jual burger
Apo nak dikato
Kalau boleh nak jadi tokeh hotel
Kek Toluk Komang

Pantai luas chalet banyak
Pantai awam makin kurang
Sonyi sopi tiado nelayan
Apo nak dikato
Kalau boleh nak ramai ramai
Macam kek Kelantan

Tanak nasik bogheh kampong
Masak lomak cili api
Lapangan tobang tak do lai
Apo nak dikato
Ramai oghang poi melancong
Kek Rantau Panjang

Batu Ompek Toluk Komang
Tompek oghang tabur duit
Aghi ngundi ponoh sosak
Apo nak dikato
Air laut bertambah kotor
Kek pokan Port Dickson

The British have always had a unique identity. That is what made them different from other nations. Now this is about to change. The Americanization of the Little Island continues apace even as I write this blog.The creation of the new Supreme Court was the icing on the cake. Now television cameras are to be allowed into the courts to film the Justices as they deliberate and pass judgments on ordinary mortals like us. America had Court TV. It is definitely certain that the British will set up a similar apparatus. Judges are now to become figures of fun and ridicule. Like caricatures in a Spitting image series. We will get to watch them at their best and worst. Nasty habits will be exposed for all to observe. Like the picking of noses and dozing off whilst the courts are in session.

One would have assumed that Justice was sacrosanct. Like the Holy Grail to be kept away from prying and watchful eyes. Judges will now become television stars like Judge Lance Ito who presided over the O.J Simpson trial and went on to write a bestseller and even appeared on the Larry king Show. A musical group, the dancing Itos was even named after him. Expect more Judges Akim and Judy to be paraded in front of our sitting rooms. Justice is now to be sold to the highest bidder and television stations.

Who knows? The most watched television series in the future might no longer be Coronation Street or Eastenders, but Dial a Crime starring Lord Phillips.Oh!What a public relations blunder.

Background: So the first time i heard them was in the old Naruto opening theme song, but I remember theyve got many great songs too, and the girl in the group is really cute hehe and she has a good voice!!
The guy is really lost, theyre a funny combo xD
Ok, so Kaori Mochida (the girl) is the singer and Ichiro Ito is the guitarist
Apparently Mitsuru Igarashi was the founder, producer, songwriter but he left the group in 2000.

ELT -出逢った頃のように (at a nation 2007)

ELT – Grip (was the theme for Inuyasha)

The naruto 3rd opening theme:

ELT on Utaban, trying to speak English (really funny)