Interesting Japanese article, Japanese kissing up to China.... Options

[Mightycandy]

it's Suijen's fault
anyway, your article has little to do with 'kissing up'

Gackt is too girly..... and the fact that he cry didnt change anything. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

[Zezei]

Gackt is too girly..... and the fact that he cry didnt change anything. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

you mean feminine-looking?

oh, that image of him will soon fade after you see him in motion and hear his voice.



http://gekka-no-neko.livejournal.com/36864.html
====
Crea ~ Asian Cool Guys
Gackt was chosen as one of Crea magazine's "Cool Asian Guys" in the April issue.

I scanned the beautiful pic and translated the really short interview that accompanies it~ There's a crease down the middle because the picture was spread out across two pages~ ^^

The other "cool Asian guys"~~ Korea: Jang Dong Gun, Rain, Won Bin, Gang Dong Won, Jo Han Seon. Taiwan & Hong Kong: Vic Chou, Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue. Japan: Yuya Yagira, Mokomichi Hayami, Ryo Kase, Tatsuya Fujiwara.

I didn't read the others' interviews so I'm not sure what makes them all so cool~ XD

(IMG:http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/lynx_photo/LJ/creas1.jpg)

=====


Trust me, I don't think he has much trouble with finding a woman

==
D.T.(atrandum)写了,
@ 2006-02-17 19:25:00



现在的心情: productive
现在的音乐: KANJANI 8 - Sakura Enka

Gackt - Love Stories of the Prince interview 2006
Hehe, another (late) Valentine treat for everyone!! ^O^!! Gackt talks about some really interesting stuff here, but if you don't like his opinons, please don't bash him okay? ^~^" Constructive criticism is fine ^O^ Not like, "Gackt is such a self-righteous, egotistic, *blurp*" yah? ^O^"


INT: How are your feelings when you fall in love?
G: If I were to fall in love now, it wouldn't be passionate as in, I love you! Love! Love! Or something like that. I used to be like that though, like I would forget about the world *laughs* But...if it's like that then one can't work well. I don'think it's good for fans to see us so infatuated with love. No matter how much you like her, the best thing to do is to study each other's hearts calmly.

INT: Tell me about your flirting techniques?
G: There are men who like to flirt with women; if they see someone they like then they just have to flirt. But...a man who cannot flirt with a woman means that he wants to love her. He likes flirting as though it is a game. It's fun; it's exciting; he wants to know if women will fall for him. It's a way of checking how much charm you have. I used to feel that way. I would automatically start flirting when I meet a woman I like. The result is me waking up the next morning with her by my side in my bed *laughs* ( (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif) ) But...now that I've thought about it, people who see love as a game haven't grown that much. I understand that well now.
INT: How do you feel about women in this era?
G: If I were to meet a woman whom I feel is good, I won't hesitate walking forward at all *laughs* That kind of habit hasn't changed at all from before even now. But...women whom I feel is good have decreased, I think.
INT: Why do you think that is so?
G: Maybe it's because the more you grow up, the more you understand women. So you become more picky and more strict in criticizing them. Another thing is that good women are actually decreasing in reality. All the good women my age have all gotten married. Only a few of them are single.
INT: That's true. And what type of women you don't like at all?
G: I don't like women who look down at their own boyfriends. I don't like that the most; to be looked down at by a woman, and not given any respect. If a man can still sit there and smile, I wouldn't feel sorry for him. He's being looked down at but still allows it. I think that man should re-examine his worth.

INT: So you like women who are followers?
G: Giving respect and being a leader or a follower are not related. I don't mean that you have to give men respect because they're leaders. If we're talking about this aspect, a woman should listen to the man she loves. It's a type of trust. Like asking for someone's opinions. If you trust that person, you will feel that their opinion is good. In the act to of listening, if you look at it carefully, no one is the leader or the follower; but it's trust they have in one another.

INT: Do you think money and love are related?
G: There are men who think that if they have money, women will fall in love with them easily. There are women who think that money is the most important thing because it will make love good. But I think people who think that way are very pathetic. Say, a man likes a women; he buys her a brand name purse, and she thinks, "You buy everything for me, you're so kind!" so she agrees to date him. Buy me everything! So kind! What!? Is that how kindness is measured? People who love but have never experienced the feeling of liking someone...it's so intolerable; it aches. You can't sleep at night because you like her so goddamn much but you don't have the courage to tell her. It's so painful and you suffer. If you love but don't experience that kind of emotion, I think it's very pitiful. You can buy a brand name purse with money, but you can't buy those kinds of feelings with money. Nowadays, everything is too easy.
INT: Such as?
G: Before, there was no e-mail. If you wanted to confess to someone, you had to think about what to say. You get nervous. Nowadays, if you meet a woman you like and you're interested in her, all you have to do is ask for her e-mail address, then tap into the computer, "I like you. Please go out with me?" And press send. You don't get to see her face when she finds out that she's loved. You don't hear her voice. You don't see anything. But actually, it's really important that you do. You can find out how she feels about you by observing her face, her eyes, and her looks. But nowadays, that importance has become lost. I think it's a real shame. If you really like a woman, then you should go through some trials as to how to confess your feelings to her. If you want a good love, then you have to suffer. I think that, that is a very special type of suffering.

INT: Sex and love?
G: Humans are very low when it comes to that. Nowadays, people don't search for love; they search for sex. They use sex as a way of restraining someone. The more you do it, the less worth there is. A woman who sleep with someone just because she likes him a little, I think...is so not interesting at all. There is no worth in her. No matter how many love experiences they go through, that type of people will never grow up. Teenagers like to think that if they have sex, they'll be an adult. That type of thinking is completely wrong. The same goes with men. If he only runs after sex, he will never grow up and will never know the true worth of love.
INT: When people date each other, it's only normal that they fight. What do you think about that?
G: When guys fight, all they have to do is punch each other out, then it's over. But when you fight with a woman, it's so tiring *laughs* When women get mad, they become very theoretical. I'm not saying this to look down at women but when I fight with a woman, she always talks about old things over and over again ( (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) SO TRUE). She digs back to ancient history and talks about it. If it comes to that, I would say "I'm leaving." But then she would get mad and say that she's not done talking yet, how can I leave already? I would leave because she's mad, and I don't want to talk to her. She would lash back again, saying that how can I leave when she's mad. Then I'd explain that I'm leaving because she's mad, and when people are mad they would say bad things. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to lose my feelings for her. I don't want to hate her. I'd talk to her after she calms down. Then she'd lash back again and say that she is calm! *laughs* That's what women are like.

INT: Last question, how do you feel about women who cheat?
G: There are two possible circumstances. If she cheats on me without telling the other guy that she has me, I won't blame the guy and I won't blame her. I would re-evaluate myself. I'm probably not charming enough for her, not good enough for her so she turned to someone else. But...if she tells the other guy about me and they agree to see each other, then it would be like both she and the guy is looking down at me. Then we would have to talk.



THE END.
========

[toki]

zezei.. warning for going off topic with gackt. O_O no more gackt in this thread please. if you wanna starta gackt thread please go make one in the japanese chat then..

This post has been edited by toki: Apr 10 2006, 12:19 PM

[SagaciousLuDa]

wow those pics are freakish

[Chinese DesertFo...]

Go away Zezei.

[kunomchu]

gackt isn't feminine looking. Hes f@g looking. FAGTACULAR.

[Zezei]

gackt isn't feminine looking. Hes f@g looking. FAGTACULAR.

======
gekka_no_neko(gekka_no_neko)写了,
@ 2006-04-09 21:10:00

现在的心情: busy

Crea ~ Asian Cool Guys
Gackt was chosen as one of Crea magazine's "Asian Cool Guys" in the April issue.

I scanned the beautiful pic and translated the really short interview that accompanies it~ There's a crease down the middle because the picture was spread out across two pages~ ^^

The other "cool Asian guys"~~ Korea: Jang Dong Gun, Rain, Won Bin, Gang Dong Won, Jo Han Seon. Taiwan & Hong Kong: Vic Chou, Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue. Japan: Yuya Yagira, Mokomichi Hayami, Ryo Kase, Tatsuya Fujiwara.

I didn't read the others' interviews so I'm not sure what makes them all so cool~ XD

(IMG:http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/lynx_photo/LJ/creas1.jpg)

Gackt ~ Uniting Asia with his individualized aesthetics

The first objective is to make inroads into Asia
An ambition concealed by aesthetics



This past January, Gackt enthusiastically sang in front of 8,000 fans crammed into Seoul's Olympic Park.

"The Korean fans' response? They went insane[1] (laughs). I was moved by the happy, cheerful and sad emotions they showed us."




Gackt's aesthetics in terms of new songs, vocals and staging were passionately accepted even in Korea. The contents of the Korea performance were the same as those in the Japan tour, and enormous production costs were at stake. He has released Korean language versions of his CDs in the past, and now plans are being carried out for an Asia tour in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Gackt's movement into Asia is serious. What is the true intent behind this?

"I want to unite Asia with music. It's been my hope since I started making music."


The reason he has embraced these strong feelings can be found in the environment (surroundings) of Okinawa where Gackt spent his childhood.

"I had many friends around me who were Korean, Chinese and American. And I grew up seeing their low position in Japan. Also, I have pride in myself that I am Okinawan."


There is no connection with the recent Korean boom[2] in Japan.

"The number of people who are now interested in Korea, in actually visiting Korea and studying its language has grown thanks to the Korean boom. What could not be accomplished with politics was changed by the strength of culture. The atmosphere has become such that foreigners living in Japan can (openly) declare their roots."


The topic is politics, and the problems with the economy and its growth.

"Like Europe began using Euros as its common currency, it'd be good if Asia can use music as its common language. That's why, until that day, I intend to continue fighting to break down the walls regardless of what others may say. That's what rock (music) is all about, isn't it."


Notes:
[1] "hakkyou": become insane; get mad; go crazy; go psycho; lose one's senses.
[2] "Korean boom": The Korean boom in Japan was sparked by the drama "Winter Sonata", which aired in Japan in April-September of 2002. The lead actor, Bae Yong Joon, became very popular with Japanese women, and more Korean dramas and movies were brought over to Japan. A few tidbits: The Japan Travel Bureau announced that the number of Japanese who traveled to Korea in 2004 increased by 35.6% over 2003. The Dai-ichi Life Research Institute estimated that there was a 122.5 billion yen boost to the Japanese economy due to the Korean boom. The Seoul Plaza Hotel, which was featured in "Winter Sonata," sold 750 "Winter Sonata packages" to Japanese tourists from October 2003 through October 2004, bringing in revenues of 250 million won.


Gackt-style super art of memorizing Korean

Gackt can speak Korean fluently. It's clear that the reason he succeeds is because he even takes advantage of the small amounts of time during intermissions in the photoshoot to study. "We placed bets in a memorization contest and Gackt robbed us of 10,000 yen" (says the staff). His rate of memorizing words in a short period of time exceeds 80%.

Translator comments:

First of all, he looks so good in this pic. I went through all the 'cool Asian guys' and no one can even come close to Gackt in my eyes. ^^ I was thinking how there are people in this world who probably look at Gackt and not see what I'm seeing~ and they would look at some of these other guys and see what I'm not seeing. XD

I always love hearing him talk about his plans for uniting Asia~ I can't wait until he announces some dates for the tour. I hope things go well... It probably won't be easy for him to completely realize his visions in these other countries, so I can imagine there will be some hardships along the way. But he's strong and he will fight for it, like he always says~

The staff should've known better than to challenge Gackt to a memorization contest. XD XD

I'm starting to get that melancholy feeling again~~ because he'll be away on the fanclub trip soon....



To be x-posted to dears LJ oommunity



=
praedestinatio
2006-04-10 04:55 am UTC (链接)
Seriously, silly staff, never bet with Gackt because he won't loose!

Is it just mi or does he seem more relaxed in pictures lately?
(回复) (主题)

(无主题) - queenyouran, 2006-04-10 06:23 pm UTC
(无主题) - gekka_no_neko, 2006-04-11 02:42 am UTC

voiceofanarchy
2006-04-10 04:55 am UTC (链接)
He has such amazing motivation to make a collective identity for Asian people, it's beautiful. Even the European identity isn't that strong - there are still looser bonds between the German and the Scottish and the French and the Spanish and etc, etc, etc than the bonds between Japan, Korea, China, HK, and Taiwan. And the North American identity is growing, but still not comparable.

A friend of the Korean kid in my Japanese class (Jun) is a big fan of Gackt's, and saw one of his shows in Korea. Jun says the Japanese girls call him Bae Youn Joon because he has similar glasses, and is Korean of course.

Rain is pretty but Gackt pwns all. And seriously, is Rain going all over trying to create a greater identity for people? :P
(回复) (主题)

(无主题) - gekka_no_neko, 2006-04-11 02:44 am UTC

selinachan
2006-04-10 05:09 am UTC (链接)
Lovely. ^_^ Thank you for sharing this.♥
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(无主题) - gekka_no_neko, 2006-04-11 02:44 am UTC

_boooo
2006-04-10 05:33 am UTC (链接)
*squeeee@!*
CREA, GOOD CHOICE! ^^
Gackt is so talented, good looking, and outstanding that he's beyond comparison to any of the guys listed with him. <33 Thanks for this news!
(回复) (主题)

(无主题) - gekka_no_neko, 2006-04-11 02:45 am UTC

vanilla_girl_09
2006-04-10 06:40 am UTC (链接)
o_________O hair... pretty... guh.... *twitches and drools*

WHY! why did he have to cut his hair... NOOOOoooo.... *sobs and flails*

*cough* ok anyway... <.<;

"We placed bets in a memorization contest and Gackt robbed us of 10,000 yen" (says the staff). His rate of memorizing words in a short period of time exceeds 80%.
He does that with everything. Its gotta be a photographic memory. I only knew one person who had that, its amazing really. Well of course not for Gackt cuz its Gackt afterall... XD

Gackt is gonna be so busy... I wonder when he'll have time to do another tour? He usually has one a year. Maybe he'll add USA... *wishfull* ^/\^
With all the jrockers coming here Im getting spoiled. XD;;

*sighs and goes off to petition that USA be added to list of Asian countries* (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

(回复) (主题)

(无主题) - queenyouran, 2006-04-10 06:24 pm UTC
(无主题) - ka_dono, 2006-04-10 07:13 pm UTC
(无主题) - gekka_no_neko, 2006-04-11 02:48 am UTC
(无主题) - vanilla_girl_09, 2006-04-11 07:35 am UTC





juincoquine
2006-04-10 09:43 pm UTC (链接)
I couldn't help but dreamily sigh when I read: "I want to unite Asia with music. It's been my hope since I started making music.".

**^_^**

Though no place on earth is ever going to be in total harmony, it can definitely become better when people share their cultures, ideas, music, and their own hearts.

...I'm a little jealous of his hardworking attitude. He motivates me to be competitive (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) another reason why he is cool, to me.
(回复) (主题)


gekka_no_neko
2006-04-11 03:39 am UTC (链接)
Isn't that such a great line? I sighed too~~

He's very inspirational~
(回复) (上一级)

connections...
ginzuishou_hime
2006-04-10 11:13 pm UTC (链接)
yay, another translation!

Actually, I think this is going to be a long reply (so apologizing in advance XD), but first, thanks for doing translations for the rest of us, and second, thanks for doing THIS translation in particular.


"I want to unite Asia with music. It's been my hope since I started making music."

The reason he has embraced these strong feelings can be found in the environment (surroundings) of Okinawa where Gackt spent his childhood.

"I had many friends around me who were Korean, Chinese and American. And I grew up seeing their low position in Japan. Also, I have pride in myself that I am Okinawan."


When I read that, it was like I found an important piece to a puzzle. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) I never really understood why he felt so strongly about this whole "one Asia" thing -- I mean, it's a great thing, esp. since I come from Canada and we openly advertise our multiculturalism/"mosaic society". But it's sounded kind of odd to hear it advocated by someone who was born and bred in Japan. No offense meant, but Japan's rather protective of their own, so to speak.


To diverge a bit, I read a book a while ago called "Hitching Rides with Buddha" by a Canadian author called Will Ferguson. There's a short page and a half when he is in Shikoku and he talks about passing through a burakumin village (people whose ancestors were butchers and tanners -- this goes back to the whole "inherit your father's job" rule). Here are some choice quotes from the segement (about page 165, in case you're interested ^_^):

"Japan has a caste system...and burakumin are at the bottom. Their ancestors were butchers and leather-workers, shunned by a Buddhist society that had learned to eat meat but not to accept those who processed it. This stigma, incredibly, has been handed down for generations and is firmly entrenched."

"But it goes beyond the burakumin. Not long ago, I read a newspaper report about a Chinese businessman who was named to the head of a local PTA in Japan...On it went, rounds of self-congratulation over the first "non-Japanese" person ever to head a PTA. The man was quoted as saying, "I hope to include many people in our program, including foreigners such as myself." A wonderful and warm story. Except for one small detail. This particular non-Japanese person was born in Japan, educated in Japan, had lived in the prefecture for thirty years...But his grandparents were from China, and thus he would always be...a "Chinese resident of Japan" and would never be a citizen. Nor will his son. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)

"There is an even a larger subclass of Koreans in the country, many of whom are the descendants of..."forced labourers" taken to Japan from their Korean colony, a practice which started centuries ago...These Korean families have been in Japan for generations...They work, live and die in Japan, and most have never even been to Korea. Yet they will never be treated as "true" Japanese citizens."
"Japan has an extensive Orwellian system of public records. Every marriage, divorce, and relative is recorded by the local town hall. One cannot separate from one's past, or from one's family, or its past...It's like inheriting your grandfather's reputation or your uncle's nickname. Corporations routinely require these family records to screen out "undesirables", and parents expect to check over their children's suitor's backgrounds. A boy who falls in love with a burakumin girl, or a girl who wants to get married to a Korean boy, is in trouble."

(回复) (主题)

Re: connections...
ginzuishou_hime
2006-04-10 11:22 pm UTC (链接)
(cont'd....*kicks LJ commenting limits*)


(I know this sounds kind of accusatory towards Japan, but the author later says, "East Indians in England. Aborigines in Australia. Natives in Canada and the United States. We have our own castes as well.", so I think his words aren't completely biased against the Japanese.)


Anyway, what I'm trying to say with all these quotes is that, knowing that these caste systems exist and are still in effect today, it made me really understand why Gackt is so persistant in his dream to unite Asia. For him to grow up in Okinawa, he probably got the chance to encounter more of these biases than the majority of the population, which would explain why he seems to be the sole voice advocating this dream.

And if I think back to Jihaku, he said he married a Korean woman (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/madcool.gif) , but they later split because of outside pressures (i.e. rabid fangirls (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/sure.gif) ). When I first read this book, the sentence that I underlined above really stood out to me. I thought, "So THAT'S what he meant by "On paper, her nationality was a problem...crazy fans weren't the only reason for our separation. I think that she already had a lot of pressure on her from various other things" (from section 2, chap. 3)." (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_sad.gif)

I think it's absolutely wonderful that Gackt has his "one Asia" dream now. It makes much more sense why he's doing it, why he feels it's his "mission" to achieve this particular goal. I do believe that I'm more in love with him now. I'm very glad you made this particular translation (it never occurred to me that he might have grown up with a mixed group, since he never really seems to mention it much)! It really was like the last piece of a puzzle I've been trying to solve, and I'm so happy I finally got an answer. *bows* (^_____^)
(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)


*looks up* whew...that was long. ^^;; ehehe...hope you don't mind. I just felt the need to share my discovery. (^__^). Also, I've been wondering: since most of the Dears on Livejournal don't come from Japan (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif) , maybe they don't realize how great Gackt's dream really is. Should I make a post and share my increased respect for the great man? Haha, any opinions would be appreciated! (^_^) Sorry for a such a long post again!
(回复) (上一级) (主题)

Re: connections...
gekka_no_neko
2006-04-11 04:01 am UTC (链接)
Thanks for your long comment! No need to apologize for it being long, I love long comments~ ^^

When I read that, it was like I found an important piece to a puzzle. I never really understood why he felt so strongly about this whole "one Asia" thing

This is why I love doing translations so much~ The best way to learn about Gackt is by reading his own words, and I want so much for people to understand where he is coming from with respect to everything that he does. When people like you tell me that they can now understand him better, I feel like I've helped him in some small way~

Thanks for the quotes, they are very interesting! Being Japanese myself, I sort of grew up knowing all of this. Not that I studied it or read about it, but it's something we just know...

For him to grow up in Okinawa, he probably got the chance to encounter more of these biases than the majority of the population, which would explain why he seems to be the sole voice advocating this dream.

Yes~ And what I think is important too, is that not only did he grow up in Okinawa, but he identifies himself as being Okinawan. Okinawans themselves were seen as lower than Japanese by the Japanese people. This too I know from experience, because I am Okinawan. ^^ We are made up of many races, and in the past have always accepted foreigners with open arms. I think this might be where some of his mentality comes from.

I think for many, it's hard to grasp the meaning behind Gackt's dream~ Some may feel left out because he is focusing so much on Asia. The issue of race and culture can be touchy, I think. But if you want to make a post, go ahead!! I'm sure you can stimulate some interesting discussions. ^^
(回复) (上一级)


crescent_yume
2006-04-11 01:39 am UTC (链接)
First off, those pictures are sooooo gorgeous! *__*

That was definitely a short and sweet interview! Thank you so much for translating! ^^

"Like Europe began using Euros as its common currency, it'd be good if Asia can use music as its common language. That's why, until that day, I intend to continue fighting to break down the walls regardless of what others may say. That's what rock (music) is all about, isn't it."

This part really meant the most to me. I don't understand much Japanese at all, and yet, Gackt's music seems to totally make sense to me. Other people around me say "How can you listen to this?! You don't even know what he's saying!" But I don't need to know. I can feel it.

Again, thank you~~~!
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gekka_no_neko
2006-04-11 04:04 am UTC (链接)
Aren't they?! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

You're welcome~!

Yes, music can really be the univrersal language. Like you said, you don't need to understand it to feel it!


(回复) (上一级)


suga_bay_bee
2006-04-11 02:23 am UTC (链接)
may i use this interview in my research paper?
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gekka_no_neko
2006-04-11 04:04 am UTC (链接)
Sure~~
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===
the smilies are mine

[chinowei]

^ stop posting so many $hits...

[Jasel]

Zezei warning for going off-topic. Stop repeatedly posting crap about Gackt (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_confused.gif)

[aishin]

zezei, u suck.. wtf is with all these unattractive feminine looking guys on this thread???
Is this related with the aso's speech ? related to japn chn issues in politics???

no offence, but u have bad taste. whoever thsi Gackt is.. his like totally a f@g.

and these asians who repeatedly suck up to and kiss japnese FAGs should be rounded up in re-education centres. (btw, to make thsi clear, not all japanese are fags, and not all fags are japanese. but this feminine looking fool is certainly one)

[luminous]

old japanese also respect more and know more about chinese culture than young japanese.

even during the war, many japanese at the time respected chinese culture.

i heard there are many young japanese who want to abolish kanji but its the older generation japanese who insist on keeping it.

rofl...do you know what you are saying dude? i laugh at your lack of knowledge (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

[Jaimu-Jaimu]

Zezei is so annoying. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/sure.gif)