Miso Honey

C U in 07

2006-12-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Being of Swedish and German descent, I think I might be extra- sensitive to the shortened daylight and colder temps of the Winter season. Yes, even in mostly sunny L.A., where the thermometer has been dipping into the frigid 50's at night. BRRRRRR. "Seasonal Affect Disorder", I think it's called. SAD...makes me sad.

Overall, I'm feeling some deeply primal need to hibernate.

This became starkly clear to me last night, even after a really fun dinner with a bunch of rowdy friends, excellent food and some damn good French wine. It's hard for me to imagine a table where I'm not dominating the conversation, but I was a distant Number Two at last night's gathering. We even got the normally shy MBB to join in the sex-talk, and that's saying something.

He was so cute (four glasses of a good '99 Margaux will do that). I love the way that even the cheapest double-entendres make him blush like a schoolgirl. All I have to do is ask "Honey, you wanna go to bangkok tonight?" and he'll dissolve into a fit of giggles. 'Cause he really does want to go bang cock every night.

(Side note: Yes, we are back enjoying smooth sailing once again after a stormy few months. Ahoy, mateys! Sharp-eyed readers will recognize MBB in the top photo, at his most innocent and loving. Well, with his clothes on, anyway!)

Anyway, this morning I'm facing the fact that, despite such constant merriment, I really just want to close myself off in my little penthouse perch and do nothing for the next month or so. So apart from the absolutely essential things, like producing this play, looking for a REAL job and maybe showering/shaving every now and then, I think I'm going to vastly scale back my 'outward-focused' activities for the rest of the year. Blogging -- tragically -- being the first to suffer.

But Don't Panic! I've got WAY too much material to be gone for good (I'm really looking forward to announcing my MISO HONEY 2006 SUKI AWARD winners, for example!). In the meantime, here's an end-of-the-year send-off. Or a get-off. Up to you!

Happy Holidays to All and See You in 2007!

ONE LAST CHRISTMAS GIFT TO MY TREASURED READERS: if you haven't discovered it already, I strongly urge you to visit Once You Go Asian. Once I started reading this excellent blog, I actually started to feel redundant. The blogger, now known as Eukolos, has got tons of mouth-watering photos of incredibly hot guys, and a wonderful sense of composure about it all. Now, he's also taking a short holiday break from fresh posts, but there's a lot to look at in the archives!!! Truly, this is the gift that keeps on giving.

Hmmmm...that was fun. Is it January yet? It's starting to feel warmer in here.

Single Tingle: Junnosuke Taguchi

2006-11-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Once again, I have found a photo that sums up everything that makes Miso Honey. Please say konnichiwa to Junnosuke Taguchi, who is one of the "T"s in Japanese boi-band KAT-TUN. Don't know if he's the first T or the second one, but Junno is Numero Uno in my book.

Didn't notice him till recently, he being overshadowed by the star power of Jin Akanishi and Kazuya Kamenashi. But then, I started flipping through J-boi magazines like Myojo, Wink-Up and Potato, and well, he kinda caught my eye. Actually, I feel like a rainbow trout and just wish Junno was the hook in my mouth reeling me onto the boat. Ouch -- an ugly anology, to be sure.

I have several nice pics and a full post on Junnosuke in the works, but wanted to share with you all this shot, that made my jaw drop and made me scream. Like a little fan girl. I had NO control.

Speaking of 'no control', here's a test. If you were crammed in a bathtub between Junno (on the left) and Jin Akinishi (far right)...what would you do? Well, I'd be dropping the soap and looking for it with both hands, and it might look something like this:

Okay, count this post as a Single Tingle Double Bubble. YOROSHIKU ONEGAI SHIMASU!

Breathtaking

2006-11-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

Breathtaking. Yes, the guy at left, but also a milestone we all reached together yesterday.

For, between the time I chatted in the JGuyUSGuy chatroom in the morning and the time I was checking out the cute guyz at the French Market in West Hollywood over breakfast, this blog reached its 100,000th page view. Some 30,ooo visitors from around the world (at a rate of just under 400 a day) have dropped in to my little rice bowl since I first posted in April of this year. Some of you have become my friends, and that's a breathtaking event in and of itself.

Sometimes I look at where people are coming from, and it's mind-boggling (I mean, just who is logging in from Tehran, or the Canary Islands, I wonder?). I wish I could give a shout out to EACH and EVERY one of you individually, and THANK YOU! In fact, I invite everyone who visits to just leave a little comment to say where they're from and what they think of Miso Honey. Or, if you prefer, what makes YOU so horny...

Speaking of which...the weather is changing here in L.A. Summer is over, it's getting chilly at night. But still, a guy like the ones right here, makes me feel all bundly and tingly. I'd love to tell him where he can put his hands to warm them up!

And in honor of that 100K mark, here are 100 guys I'd like you to meet.

Fuck it. Why stop there? This is fun! here are a little more, to grow on, in honor of growing toward my next goal of 200K!

DBSK = Da Bois So Kute!

2006-11-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) is/are a Korean boy band. The clips below are a great introduction to their charm and good looks. They appear to be the Korean version of "Hard Days' Night", where the 5 cute band members go on a trip to Japan. Hilarity and hi-jinks ensue.

That these clips are subtitled in English makes them easy to enjoy. And the fact that the boys are super-kawaiiiiiiii no doubt helps, too.

Part 1 of 5:

Part 2 of 5:

Part 3 of 5:

Part 4 of 5 (ending?):

Part 5 of 5 (I think this is the bloopers and deleted scenes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXuoavZmsrI

I'm afraid I don't know the individual band member's names, but I am sure the more resourceful among you will have fun noodling that out for yourselves. In any case, at least four of the five are REALLY nice to look at:

I just hope they're all nice boys that are good to their parents, kind to animals, and stay away from the dangers of smoking, drinking and doing drugs. Oh, and I hope at least some of them are as gay as a parade.

HEY -- Anybody else notice that this is the second time this year I've been swept away by a band of super-cute Korean guys (the first were Choi Jung Won and Kim Jung Hoon of the defunct "UN")? Something tells me Johnny Kitagawa (of Johnny's Entertainment) NEEDS TO come out of Hawaiian retirement and concoct a new Japanese super-group. Nobody else has that Johhny touch! Mmmm-mmmm...WHO will be the next Ken Miyake!?!?!

Get It While You Can

2006-10-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last week, YouTube announced that it had removed over 23,000 videos at the request of about 130 Japanese media companies. These clips -- containing copyrighted material -- had, admittedly, been posted without permission, mostly in the form of music videos and/or movie clips, TV shows and commercials.

I had suspected that this might happen immediately upon reading that Google had purchased YouTube for the tune of about $1.6 billion dollars. When you have someone with the deep pockets of a Google as your financial backer, believe me, they'll come after you for copyright violations. Knowing that if you don't respond, they can sue the pants off you. And they'll win...and you'll have to pay. Don't get me wrong -- I love it when my pants come off, just not when I have to pay lawyers to do it...

Funny thing is, I just didn't expect the Japanese to be the first to do it. I thought maybe the US or UK record labels, or the US TV/Film Studio/Media conglomerates. Then, one morning -- *POOF*! About half the videos in the "My Favorites" section were...just...gone. For some reason, they left all the Moco stuff. Which of course is FINE with me.

So, no more can I watch Ken Miyake get rubbed down in the sentou...and there's a bunch of other V-6 videos I'd posted here that are gone too...along with others I don't even know what they were now. THAT'S how distraught I am.

Well, here's one I encourage you to watch while you still can:

"Utao Utao" by V6

I love this video a lot, cause it was made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of V6. And in looking at the way two groups of three guys came together to form this supergroup, it's got a sentimental, affectionate feel that always gets me just a little choked up. Yeah, I'm a real sap sometimes.

This song was also used over the closing credits for the incredibly witty TV dramedy Tiger Dragon which starred Junichi Okada (of V-6) and the incredibly sexy (huggable? fuckable? fuggable?) Tomoya Nagase (of Tokio). Fast-paced and furiously funny, this TV gem was written (directed, too?) by Kankuro Kudo, director of the films "Ping-Pong" and "Go", and whose talent grows with each new project (I forget the name of the one where Tomoya plays a gay samurai actor on the road with his smack-addled boyfriend...but it's a freakin SCREAM!) Seek out Kudo's work wherever you can find it -- you WON'T be disappointed.

Hey, while I'm at it, here are some other videos from My Favorites. You might as well enjoy them -- BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!

V6 Go To Onsen (well, everyone except Hiroshi Nagano, so this is more like "V5")

"Feel Your Breeze" by V6; closing track from Gokusen 1 TV Series

"Change The World" by V6; original theme to the anime series "InuYasha"...and the first song I ever heard by V6. Then, once I saw they are six hot, cute Japanese guys, well, it was ALL OVER for me, as I've said, many times.

From a TV Show. I have NO IDEA what they're even saying, but boy, does Ken look HOT. SUgoi Kawaii Ichiban = SUKI!!!!

A random clip from A Thai TV show on all kinds of J-Pop idols, including V6, Arashi, GYM and others.

And...just in case:

"Waves (Pado)" by UN (Kim Jung Hoon & Choi Jung Won) -- not sure if Korea's gonna follow suit, but better play it safe. After all, this is just about my favorite Video of the Year -- and a shoo-in for a Miso Honey SUKI Award.

Final Note: I am in NO WAY advocating the overthrow or ignoring of copyright laws. My business as a writer and producer depends on them. I will say that in many cases, I was made aware of things on YouTube that I had no way of finding otherwise, and which in many cases are not available for sale in any market. Especially, the commercials, for cryin-out-loud. Meaning, even if I had wanted to pay for it, it wasn't available commercially by the copyright holder or the distributor. So, taking it out of circulation entirely seems a little extreme; "cutting the nose off to spite the face", as we say here in the wild wild West. Let's hope a new, better solution is on the way or in the works!!! Gambario, YouTube and Google! Yorushiku onegai shimasu!!!

Baby Steps

2006-10-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

The single image I used in yesterday's post caught the attention of some discerning readers. It's from a Chinese film, possibly gay-themed, but I don't know the name. I seem to recall I found out about it it on a blog somewhere, and was drawn to either the story, or the nature of the boys' relationship. Here are some others from the film that I captured (okay, "stole") at the time.

Actually, looking at these now, these shots could be either intimate, or melancholy. They could be read as snapshots of dread and dependence, or love and strength. I guess there are at least two ways of looking at everything, huh? And as I've always said, no one outside the relationship really knows what goes on inside, only the two people inhabiting it.

I just hope that in closing my heart to MBB that I'm not being like the older, successful guy in the haunting movie Lan Yu, who tosses his devoted lover aside but then realizes he's made a big mistake. I mean, they do get something of a second chance, but it's cut tragically short, because, you know, you never know. And so much wasted love that could have been made.

Hey, by the way, hope you don't get the idea that I never mean what I say. Yesterday I felt that I wouldn't be writing for a while, yet, here I am today. Well, you know what they say about California being like a bowl of granola: take out the fruits and the nuts, and all you have left is the flakes.

So I think I'll try baby steps for now. Just put up short posts that may be about very little, but are all about getting my (love) life back on track. It's way too soon to begin taking applications, but hey -- all you hot single J-guys and K-guys out there -- why not get yours in now and beat the rush?!

P.S. Any eagle-eyed readers out ther know what this film is called, or anything about it?

Adrift

2006-10-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

People have been wondering where I am recently (actually, so have I). Here's how I explained it on the Blogwatch thread at my favorite site/community/beacon of hope, JGuyUSGuy:

My dear treasured friend known as Kazuhito Fan wrote:

"Together with MISO HONEY, 'The Peculiar One' was a favorite... but it has disappeared from sight. Does anyone know what happened to it?"

Even though the questions wasn't directed at me, well -- you know how I am: I figured out a way to make it about me. My reply:

"In case anyone is wondering the same thing about Miso Honey, I have to confess that I'm going through a rather painful period, where I've finally had to face that my relationship of 6 years (as of Tuesday!) is at its end. This has set me adrift in many ways. I can't think of any more ways to implore my boyfriend to help me fix it, and that is both hard to face and is making me question so many things.

As you can imagine, it's hard to write frothy, sexy things right now -- my mind just isn't on it. Every time I sit down to create a post (cause I have such an incredible treasure trove of material) I just get depressed. Looking at pics of hot boys I don't know, conjuring fantasies that will never be, just makes me determined to make my real life the object of my desire.

Of course, part of it, is that I feel I have to have a theme for each entry, and that takes some organization. I'm thinking of possibly doing just short posts for a while -- just stream of conscious with maybe a few pictures? But then again, the issues that are on my mind right now -- the end of love, aging, the disastrous political climate in my country, and regaining my career footing (which is the one thing that's going QUITE well, amazingly), may not be of interest to my readers, I fear.

I really want to entertain. I want to get the delight back. And I'm sure, you all want me to do that too! Well, my lust for life is never suppressed for long. And my lust for J-guys...well, let's just say that I hope to not dwell in a world of fantasy for long, and move toward making the fantasy real.

I still believe that the greatest love of my life (and there have been several already) is still out there. I just can't hear him calling yet.

Sorry for the disjointed ramble. See what I mean about my cloudy composition skills right now?"

*sigh*

As I said above, I am -- at my center -- hopeful. I still have a lot to write. A lot to share. And thousands of hot pics of cute guys -- and I still keep finding more Japanese and Asian TV shows and movies I want to tell you about. But for a while -- bear with me?

P.S. Comments back from you dear readers might be a big inspiration to help me re-establish my 'writing voice'. That's not a threat! Wink, wink.

Another One Bites The Cake

2006-09-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Yup, last Monday was my birthday, and the fallout is still radioactive. In case you don't have a calendar handy (and it's really okay if you don't) that was September 18th, which makes me a Virgo -- though hardly virginal (and with a Scorpio rising that plays Hell with the whole thing). It will probably come as no surprise that I was born in the Year of The Cock (which could mean I'm 61, 49, 37 or 25 -- care to guess?).

ANYWAY:

I got a stunningly-timed present on Monday (apart from Jefcat's sweet gift of the new Pet Shop Boys CD which I KNOW will be fabu! Yet, strangely, nothing from MBB, not a 'Happy Birthday, Honey' or a card...nope. Nuthin. Yeah, it's like that right now). Poor little me. Boo frickin hoo.

Not like I was expecting a present -- he buys me enough all year. And after all, I mean, what can you get the man who has everything? Well, he could follow your guys' example and get him something he can't get himself, something around 50K. No, not dollars; Page Views! Yes! Miso Honey just crossed 50,000 page views in the short time it's been alive, and I'm totally stoked and awesomely thankful. That's all because of YOU GUYS who come hear every day or who have just recently begun visiting. THANK YOU for the wonderful gift.

What can I give you in return? Here's a little something I've been saving up (and so far, I've got 3 quarts!). These are from my favorite Japanese gay porn film of all time (to date -- I'm ever optimisitic), "Surf Surf Revolution 7":

As I'm fond of saying, click to make it bigger. The images above, I mean. By the way, these tasty/nasty images come from the cool guys at QueerClick. Crash says, check 'em out.

I was hoping to take some screencaps from the video of my VERY FAVORITE scenes (and my Ultimate Dream Sex God, Masato, who is 18 and a Lifesaver, according to the credits...I'll say), but I haven't figured out how to do it from Windows Media Player. Guess I'll have to go the embarrassingly lo-tech route of freezing the image on my monitor and taking a digital photo. If you're lucky there will be a part two to this post.

Note from Crash: The title of today's post is not original to me. No, it comes from a birthday post on another very clever blog I like, Feed The Birds, which is authored by the handsome and talented Mr. Pate Eng. He's a design freak like me, but also a photographer, New Yorker, and all-round hot guy. Yummy stuff!!! Take a look and tell him I sent you!

Looks Like Rain

2006-09-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

While he's undeniably beautiful, for some reason I've never felt compelled to get to know much about the singer/ performer/ sex symbol from Korea named Jung Ji Hoon, better known as "Rain" (or, "Bi", which is Korean for 'rain').

I've heard talk that he gets really pissed off when people say they think he's gay (or 'bi', which could be an unfortunate western misreading of his Korean stage name), but that's probably not why I'm so neutral toward him. I mean, every slender, pretty, shirt-losing, pelvis-thrusting singer gets that flak, and reacts largely the same way. Plus, I don't really hold it against him; it must get really tiresome to hear it or have to respond to something over and over -- especially if it isn't true.

And, I imagine there is a lot of really intrusive attention to your personal life when you're a star this big in a fairly small (by U.S. standards) country. I remember Korean-American comedy goddess Margaret Cho saying she got all kinds of grief from Korean officials for not reprazentin' well enough (obviously none of them had ever seen her stand-up act). In Rain's case, I'll point out how crazy that can get in a caption to one of the photos below.

So, unlike other artists, where I get hot for them, delve into their work and have lots to say about it, in this case, I guess I'll just let the pictures do the talking. In the meantime, I'll just say that this Rain leaves me just a littled chilled, and while it's lovely to look at...I'm not gonna run out to soak myself in it.

Okay, next, is the photo I mentioned above that caused a big stir in the Korean media. It appears that the shot actually comes from a tv-drama that Rain stared in, but the pictures were leaked to the press saying that someone had installed a spy camera in the shower at the gym where he works out. So they were supposed to be scandalous, but really weren't. Still, seems more trouble than it's worth.

I will admit though, he knows how to work a crowd in concert, and looks good doing it. But his music just doesn't get me up and dancing (or UP and grabbing my crotch, either) the way my bois V6 or UN did/does/always will.

Here, take a look and judge for yourself -- you may want to bring a towel:

Personal Post Script: It's a little bit funny (no, not this feeling inside): I think Rain in some photos resembles boyfriend MBB. Or the other way round. Wonder if that's why I'm less-than-entranced with the star?

Maybe I already feel like I know him, I've had him, put up with his non-communicative shit for long enough, can't sleep because he snores, and just want him to either stand up to his parents already or buy me the fucking Lexus if he's gonna leave me alone every damn weekend.

Oh, did I say that? Just kidding, honey! But who knows...maybe Rain's boyfriend feels the exact same way. I mean GIRLfriend. His girlfriend. He he hee!

I Hear Ya

2006-09-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi! Miss me?

This morning, someone left a one-word comment on my most recent post (yes, that old one from two weeks ago). That one word? "POST!"

I hear ya. I'm not playing hard to get. I am so bad at that, anyway. It's not that I'm a subscriber to the belief that "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" (or even that horrible old dentist-chair punchline "abscess makes the fart go 'Honda'!"), I've just been -- to use the worst excuse I can think of -- busy. Here's why:

I'm delighted to have been asked to co-produce a brilliant new play (funny, witty, and very gay) by a writer (astonighingly, a straight writer) who I admire very much -- and with whom I hope to rope into working on MY show next. It will also give me the chance to work with the producer of MY show in a test venue, so we can develop our relationship before the networks pit us against each other. You know how they are.

On other fronts, yes, that means I'm not writing as much on my pilot at this time, which is fine because it's at a stage where I need to let it breathe in my head for a while. I'm also beginning to take a look at getting back to work, since summer's over.

Ah, summer. It slipped away from me without a single real affair. Oh sure, there were a couple of tumbles along the way, but nothing really got me caught up, inspired, or -- frankly -- eager for a second roll. This has me worried that my affair with japanese student "R" last year was my Last Hurrah...but everyone tells me to lighten up on myself, and to look back at my life, which is usually just one sex romp after another. Oh, and sometimes, they tell me to "shut up."

Actually, this depression is working in boyfriend MBB's favor. I've been paying more attention to him than looking for the next Johnny's Jr.-style fantasy to fulfill. Or at least obsess on. MBB even took the entire Labor Day weekend off to spend with me -- which was probably very boring for him. He got to watch roommate Jefcat and I watch a lot of Japanese TV (Waterboys 2, Sea Monkeys (again), Team Medical Dragon/Iryu [starring my new dream husband, Kenji Sakaguchi], Ikebukuro West Gate Park [starring my new dream lover -- there's a difference --TOKIO's Tomoya Nagase] -- each with too many incredible J-studs to list in this placeholder post), as well as a precious few outside activities: dim sum in Chinatown, the Hockney portraits show at LACMA (which did NOT include the one drawing he did of me and a former boyfriend -- which he cleverly never signed, so it's not worth anything to anyone, except to ME). I think we had sex, too, but you'd have to ask him.

Anyway, I've said before how guilty I feel when I don't post. I'll try to be better about it, because this is an important forum of expression for me. Sometimes, though, I find myself going through inward-looking phases, dwelling more inside my head than transmitting thoughts outward. I'm sure we all go there sometimes. Just remember, if you're reading this:

Me Love You Long Time.

But, as I'm fond of saying, enough about me. Let's get to the good stuff, in no particular order and with no discernable theme -- apart from maybe lots of tile floors and bathroom shots (Which I find terribly sexy, by the way. Cleanliness is next to Godliness...and Lubricant is next to Kleenex, too. In MY bathroom, anyway).

(above) Hey, what's that glass for, there on the floor?

I am SO into blonde asian guys, all of a sudden. Shaving in the shower, well, that's just a plus.

One last thing: I have gathered pics from all over the net for several years. With the blossoming of the blogosphere, it's become possible to share the things we find beautiful ever more rapidly. I'm not the first to present some of these images, and I hope, not the last. Except for the photos I take myself, these pics all belong to someone else; to the world, really (except where copyrighted, which I don't use). To me, each one makes the world a happier, more beautiful place!

Kan't Read Kanji

2006-08-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Klueless regarding katekana. Even my romaji is remedial. So in all probability, what's written on these guys' bodies is innocently related to some local festival, a message that's entirely non-provocative, non-sexual, and non- habit-forming. Unless it's written in ponzu sauce, with the idea being to lick it off after reading it aloud. Which, for me, would be TOTALLY habit-forming. Like, say, plastic surgery is to Michael Jackson.

So until I finally enroll in Japanese Language Studies 101, and learn that these guys have only written "The Kansai Water Sprite Festival is Here! September 18 -26! Only at Buddokan! Seating is limited! Buy your tickets NOW!" on themselves, I'll pretend that they say what I wish they'd say:

"No Kenji! You have to be on Yoshi's LEFT, or it will say 'cock my suck!"

"I got an 'A' in penmanship in high school, but I'm not embarrassed to have friends who got a 'C'!"

"Or would you like what's behind Spear Number Two?"

"Do me first!" "NO! Do ME first!"

I especially like the extra sales appeal of the guy crossing his legs...not to mention the parentheses bracketing the butthole. Insert tab here!

And, of course, I can't wait to hear what is really written on these guys' yummy torsos. Go ahead, ruin my fantasy.

1 Wednesday 4 Waterboys 2

2006-08-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Right now, the TV "dorama" (which I've very cleverly determined is Japanese for 'drama') that's burning up Jefcat's all-region DVD player is Waterboys 2. After several fumbled, frustrating attempts to get copies WITH English subtitles, we finally have the real deal. Move over, Moco -- I have a new fantasy dream boyfriend: Hayato Ichihara.

The picture at top tells you all you need to know. Ichihara-chan is in the middle; just LOOK at that little "V" shape of his abdomen, going down into his (Arena-brand) Speedo. I mean, freakin' YIKES!

Can ya stand a few more WB2 screencaps? I mean, talk about 'body shots'!

Okay, DOWN boy! Here's a more conventional headshot of Ichihara Hayato. Just so you can recognize him with his clothes on:

And here's a cute little video of him singing, from one of his films (if you try REAL hard, you can just pretend the girls in the video do not exist -- that's what I do):

Now, one of the problems I have with liking Hayato is the same problem I had when I dated Japanese student "R" last year. "R" changed in me what I found beautiful -- prior to him, I had liked guys who were around my height (I'm 6-foot-2, eyes of blue, etc.). "R" was tiny: about 5'5" and no more than 115 lbs. Plus, even though he was 21, he looked no more than maybe 16. I began to fear that, if I like guys who LOOKED 16, that might make me appear as some kind of kinky pervert (any word for which I don't actually want to use on this blog, in case the Government goes trolling). Which I'm SO definitely NOT.

Truth be told, I'm still very, very attached to the memory of "R": his face, his smile, his skin, his sweetness, the taste and feel of his thin, tight body, the astonishing gift of his insatiable sexual appetites. We broke up finally in March of this year, but I still really, really miss him. In fact, I keep thinking about how deeply, passionately, thrillingly in love we were...just one year ago. Made for some Hot August Nights, that's for sure. *sigh*

Where was MBB (My Beautiful Boyfriend) during that time? As usual -- willfully unaware. Still is. Doesn't ask. Doesn't tell. I could even say...he doesn't care. We hardly talk at all...that's just his nature. But, it's changing the way I feel about him...away from the love you feel for someone who shares your life, your heart and your bed...to just being a very close, dear, loving friend. It happened with Jefcat (very successfully, I might add, for 21 years)...and it's finally -- after nearly 6 years (in October) -- happening to me and MBB.

THERE -- I said it. *big sigh*

But hey, this post was SUPPOSED to be about boys in the water showing skin! And, so, it will be. You didn't come here to read about MY love troubles, after all, did ya? Well, here's a reward for suffering through my suffering with me:

(above) This guy's shorts take the Hawai'ian term "Hang Loose" to it's finest extreme!

(Above) In my next life, it's okay if God makes me the spit being swapped between these two. Or heck, the two below...

Oh, and for any particulary persistent, desperately devoted readers who have made it this far, we have one set of the full season of Waterboys 2 on VCD in Japanese (with optional Malay subtitles). Jefcat could probably be persuaded to give them to some lucky guy if you pay the shipping and ask really nicely. Drop me an e-mail if interested.

No Trickee, No Washee

2006-08-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think of chucking it all, and moving to a new spot on the map. Leaving the L.A./Hollywood rat pack rat race, the scary, mounting lunacy of the right-wing religious fundamentalist crazies trying to turn back the hands of time and crush everything in opposition, the soul-crushing materialism and toxic celebrity worship...and just go somewhere where what I drive, or what I do, or how I look doesn't define my importance in the eyes of others.

Tokyo? Hottest boys in the world, but expensive. I mean to live there, I don't mean the boys. Well, maybe they're expensive, too. And didn't I say I wanted to escape from materialsm? Boy, would THAT be a wrong turn. And I don't think Jefcat's dream of operating a takoyaki stand (selling octopus balls) is gonna fly -- he hasn't even learned to make them yet.

Bangkok, from what I've read, is not the place either: I'd be just another expat farang white American gay guy, trying to hang on to his big-ass lifestyle and fading youth while eking out a living writing ad copy or something. While sweating buckets. And I HATE to sweat, even during sex.

Hong Kong? Yeah, but what would I do there for money? Is there a market for never-has-been American TV producer/writer/innovators? Well, my good friend DJ met a guy from HK and may be considering moving there, so maybe there's hope for that idea yet.

Boyfriend MBB thinks it would be cool to operate an escort service...him counting the money while I scout the talent. That has the advantage of not being location-specific, but I don't think our relationship would last for long. And part of the IDEA of moving to one of those foreign countries is to find the NEXT and probably LAST Love Of My Life. Which, if you're following closely, means...not the one I have now. Yeah, Trouble in Paradise.

But then I think, maybe I'm going about it all wrong. Which is to say, like I normally do. Maybe I should try something...simple. Like, hmmm, I don't know...operating a dry cleaning service? Like, one where we clean your clothes while you wait? Yeah! Guys could come in and take off their clothes for a while, and I'd chat them up while the staff cleaned 'em! The pictures above were the inspiration for that bright idea. Let's see if I can come up with anything better...but wouldn't it be the ultimate irony for a caucasian Westerner to be the one saying "No tickee, no washee!"?

I know, so un-PC.

Slipped Through The Cracks

2006-08-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

DIRTY THINKING ALERT! NAKED PICTURES BELOW! NOT FOR THE EASILY OFFENDED! Now that I've got your full attention...

The title of this post has two meanings, of course. One interpretation means something that's overlooked or forgotten because it's gone lost, like a note that has 'slipped through the cracks' in the floor boards. And the other meaning, well, is just plain nasty. But nasty in the best possible way.

THIS time, I'm taking the second route. And in a couple of these cases, I have! Care to guess which ones?

Now, this post was supposed to be a very special, very sexy one because I just passed 25,000 page views and had wanted to mark the occasion with something special. However, the DVD drive in my computer is jammed, which means I can't take screencaps of my favorite scenes from Surf Surf Revolution 7. I really wanted to share my favorite shots (and 'shoots') of my new dream boyfriend Masato, 18, Life-Saver. As in, "Help, Masato, I'm drowning...need mouth-to-mouth...yum yum yum."

Well, I'll get it fixed soon, because this also means that, at present, I have to go watch the video in roommate Jefcat's room when I'm all alone and feeling...shagadelic, baby. And it's more than a little strange getting off in a room filled with anime figures and posters -- Jefcat's room is decorated in total Akihabara otaku-boi style. Go ahead...DARE me to take a picture.

Well, I'll definitely have it fixed by the time we get to 50K! Till then, here's a special bonus desktop wallpaper I call "Hentai Kentai" (Perverted Cell Phone) that I created through the wonder of PhotoShop (oh, yeah, like they want credit for this). As I always say, "Click to make it bigger!"

Just So You Know

2006-08-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

There is a "site metrics" tool at the bottom of this page. It lets me see how many people visit every day, how long they stayed, how many pages they looked at, etc. To me, it's fascinating...especially the one where I can look at the last 100 vistors on a world map. I am humbled and awed to say, every day Miso Honey receives vistors from six out of seven continents (what, there's no one in Antarchtica who's hot for Ken Miyake or Mokomichi Hayami?). I mean, when people are looking at my blog from somewhere in the United Arab Emirates (not exactly a hotbed of Asian gay appreciation, I would think), it means I MUST have tapped into something global!*

So, I'm going to admit that I feel really guilty when I go a few days between posts. I feel I've let you down if you come here for a couple of days straight and see the same old pics and blather. You take the time to click over and take a look...hoping for something fun and new...and I disappoint. And I am so sorry when that happens.

Truth is, I can't think of clever subjects to write about every day. And I like to have a theme that strings the pics together. I mean, while I admire the sheer volume of photos included on a daily basis by a site like ClosetConundrums, for me, it's too much. A lot of time, it lacks context. And wit. So I try to find a narrative thread. Something that strings all these loose pics of gorgeous men together like pearls on a necklace (not that I've ever worn pearls...oh, you know what I mean). Frankly, it's more in my habit to string along pearls of gorgeous loose men.

Anyway, there it is. I feel bad when I'm not delighting, pleasing, and servicing you all on a daily basis. Just so you know.

That said, here are a dozen pics that have no theme and no narrative thread. Actually, there IS a thread: I would do any of these guys given the opportunity.

*PS: I'm also tickled by the fact that if you go to your web search engine, and type in "Miso Honey" this blog is the top result on Google. At least, on my computer and those of my friends, it is. I'd love to know if I'm Number One on yours too!

UNcharted Territory

2006-08-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

If I don't speak or read Japanese (and -- sadly, criminally -- I don't, apart from the few phrases I've picked up from movies, anime and TV) then it's a total given that I am even more at a loss with Korean. So, combine my total ignorance of the Korean language with a band name as generic as "UN" and you can imagine how hard it was to find useful information on my new favorite band.

Luckily, I soon found out the two guys who comprise UN were named Kim Jung Hoon (at left on the right) and Choi Jung Won (left, left. Or depending on your browser, maybe, 'above', left'. Okay, the guy in the Mambo shirt).

Not so luckily, I found that I'd missed the boat and that they'd broken up about 2 years ago. But when they were together -- and they seem to have worked together for quite some time -- they were the most adorable singing duo this side of Tackey + Tsubasa, with apologies to Wentz and Teppei. Here are some cutie-pie pics:

I mean, these guys totally put the "POP" in K-pop. Just listen to this song; the video is just about the cutest, most infectious thing I've ever heard or seen...

You may think it's a forgettable disposable, IRRITATING little number, but...BUT...watch it more than twice and I promise you'll wake up later tonight with it banging in your head like a woodpecker. Speaking of peckerwoods (ha!), no doubt you'll be delighted to learn that roommate Jefcat and I know ALL the dance steps and perform them daily; shows at 8, 10 and midnight. I'm sure my boyfriend MBB would join us, except his greatest fear in the whole wide scary world is: Karaoke -- literally, he'd rather eat a bowl of spiders (His second-greatest fear is being seen naked on our balcony, but I'll tell you all about that another time).

Now, if you liked that -- and I'm not embarrased to say I DO -- here are UN, back in the day, singing a couple of other numbers on awards shows and such, followed by a little video of them in their younger days made by a fawning fan. No, not me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r_lVJLJ8jI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqdQjtYNfzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_iunpO17nw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if1kW9Xmlgg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9a8kSUsQl0 (I'll forgive JWC for thinking he's a swingin' cat on this one...sounds more like he's swinging a cat...by the tail)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpAqCOnk34 (made by fawning fan ..NO not me)

Kind of luckily, Jefcat (hey, J-guys! he's still single!) has a sharper nose for these things than I do, and found out the one I liked -- Jung Won (I get all sappy just typing his name) is now living in Japan, trying to make a career as an actor. I've also learned that he drives his mother to church every Sunday in the white Hyundai Sonata he bought her. Here's Jung Won (*sigh*) then and now:

On the again-not-so-lucky side, it seems that Jung Hoon has stayed in his homeland and is now a MUCH bigger star. So there's lots more info on him. And I have to admit, he comes in a VERY close second to Jung Won (*sigh*), in my book. But you may like Jung Hoon better -- I think a LOT of people do:

Anyone with career information (in English) on these hot little kimchees -- and you know who you are! -- please forward me pics, useful links or your stories about their sexual inclinations! Oh sure, discretion TOTALLY assured. Wink wink.

Here I go, daydreaming again: "Mr. and Mr. Jung Won Choi"..."Jung Won and Crash Landon"... "The Choi-Landon's cordially invite you to..." Or that old X-rated classic: "Crash and Jung Won, sittin' in a tree...eff you cee kay eye enn gee..." *sigh*

Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Your Turn!

2006-08-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

"Let's interactive!", as a Japanese t-shirt might say.

My friends tell me I talk a lot. I think sometimes I talk too much, too (when a recent coffee date was rummaging through his gym bag, I was sure he was looking for duct tape to put across my mouth). YES, I like to share ideas. YES, I value connecting verbally. YES, I love to tell jokes and make people laugh. But I'm all too aware that can also be seen as "hogging the spotlight" or "starved for attention." Even "he's SUCH an asshole."

So here's the deal: how about I turn the spotlight on YOU, the Miso Honey Reader? Below is a photo from my collection. It needs commentary in the form of a funny caption. YOUR caption. And it needs it desperately.

Type your witty response below in the "Comments" section below, or if you're shy (like I am -- yes, I'm a shy, fragile flower), you can e-mail it to me privately at crash.landon@yahoo.com (but I'll still post it and tell the world who you are -- cuz, yes, I'm SUCH an asshole!).

Be hilarious. Be surreal. Be sexually suggestive. Be totally off-the-freakin'-wall. Sad, weighty world affairs can wait; Today, we laugh!

To all who participate, me love you long time!

We Can Be Heroes

2006-07-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna even pretend for a minute I know what these are all about. I mean, there's no way these images were officially commissioned or sanctioned by the mainland Chinese government in support of an Olympic bid...right? And they seem too big-budget -- and too Asian-centric -- to have been shot for a Gay Games promotion.

Maybe they're just...Art.

Then again, maybe they're Art Woo...aspiring actor and model from Shanghai...also available for outcall massage...Visa and MasterCard accepted...

Oh, I'm gonna be SO banned from ever getting a travel Visa to China after saying that...

I was saving these for a post I'm writing called "Naked In Strange Places", but I think they stand alone (so to speak). Whatever the propaganda point is, though, I'm ready to salute, and fall in line right behind this guy. Though I think he could better use my help down in front.

Long Live the Republic of Naked People!

Monochrome

2006-07-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

To deal with all the uncertainty in the world, many people resort to making things black or white. They want to know what's right and what's wrong, and they always think they are on the 'right' side.

Either you love me, or you hate me. "Us" vs. "Them". "Patriots" vs. "Traitors." Pro-life or Pro-choice. 'Tro or 'Mo. Paper or Plastic. Now or Never. You're either coming, or going (Notice how the last one leaves out the possibility of "I already came this morning, so I'm saving it for tonight").

A noted English philosopher once said "People don't want knowledge; they want certainty." I don't know the name of that philosopher, because his wisdom was used to decorate a layout in L'Uomo Vogue (Italian Men's Vogue), and I paid more attention to the models at the time. But the sentiment stayed with me, even if the models were soon forgotten.

This attitudes denies us the rich nuances of the grey, ivory and silver tones in between "Yes! I will love you for the rest of my life" and "No! I hate you, and I want all my CDs back." Okay, this is the kind of writing you get when I post before I've showered, or gulped my first triple latte of the day.

But I'm sure the pics will make my point. Sometimes, you dream in black and white...wet dreams don't always produce a rainbow.

V6: What Color is an Orange?

2006-07-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know how they do it.

My boys from V6 keep coming up with new ways to amaze me. They record great music. They perform in stunning concerts. They act in films. They star in their own TV shows. They've been doing this for over ten years and I just fall in love with them all over again every time I see them. Yes: I am a V6 Fan Boy. Probably the oldest one on the planet, but I don't care. Here they are, in exact order of which I'd like to bonk first, last, and most often:

Ken Miyake. Even though my beloved best friend and roommate Jefcat saw him first, brought the miracle of V6 into my life, and doesn't care for hardly anyone else as much (while I have hundreds of other similar crushes -- have you read my blog?), I'd still screw Jef over in a Nagoya nanosecond if Ken even looked my way. And if Ken was deciding which of the two of us he was gonna take to the 'happiest place on earth', and which of us would be doomed to spinsterish misery, poor Jefcat would NOT want to get between me and that, uh, glass slipper.

(By the way: Take another look at the t-shirt Ken is wearing in the top photo. Can it possibly say what I think it says? YES, Ken, I DO! Ya wanna see it?!?!)

Yoshihiko ("Inocchi") Inohara. I'm a sucker for guys who look like they laugh while having sex. Emphasis on sucker. He's tall and lanky, animated and funny. He's a real pillar of the group's light-hearted eroticsm, in my book. This screen cap doesn't capture that at all, and I know, cause I've seen him naked. Well, almost.

Masayuki Sakamoto. There was once a feature on "Modern Japan" in a National Geographic magazine. One of the photos was of a guy in white polo shirt, hurrying down a Tokyo street eating a burger from McDonald's and wearing a steel Seiko watch. That one little image (damn, I wish I could find it again) was burned into my psyche as the defining image of my perfect Japanese fantasy man. The hair, the skin, the eyes...Masa's got that look. And, yes, I'd like fries with that, yo!

Hiroshi Nagano. Obviously the sweetest one of the bunch. Cute. Motherly. Under-rated. Jefcat tells me that at one point, Masayuki and Hiroshi left Johnny's Entertainment (their management company), because they were in their 20's and they thought they were never gonna make it. Johnny's called Masayuki to come back right away...but took their time retrieving Hiroshi. Awwwww. Poor baby. He needs a hug. And a lick. Oh, I would be so gentle with this one.

Go Morita. Having lost the orange hair (at least for now), Go no longer looks like an extra from a Planet of the Apes movie. In fact, I think he's growing into a hot, sexable man -- well, for someone who's 5'4". As the one V6-er who seems the most Westernized, I have this idea that he would also be the most fun in bed.

Junichi Okada. Still, for some reason, doesn't do it for me -- and I've seen him naked, too (who hasn't by now?). Not even after his charming work starring in the hilarious "Kisarazu Cat's Eye", a frenetically mad-cap comedy show from Kankuro Kudo, the award winning writer of the films "Go" and "Ping-Pong".

I think Jun looks like Harpo Marx out of the wig, top hat and trench coat. Here, look at this picture below and see if you don't agree:

Now, the reason I'm in a state of quivering hyper-sexcitement because their new film called "Hold Up Down" is now available on DVD (already released in Japan a while back; it had no theatrical release in the U.S.). Directed by Japanese film/music video director Sabu (AKA Hiroyuki Tanaka), it's their second collaboration with Sabu, following 2003's "Hard Luck Hero", which was like a modern-day version of The Beatles' brilliant film frolics "Help" or "Hard Days' Night": flashy, funny, fast-paced and quick-witted, and showcasing excellent acting by each one of the boy band beauties.

"Hold Up Down" appears to follow a similar crime caper set-up, with inter-mingling storylines and comic coincidences piled on thicker than frat boys on Paris Hilton.

Here's the music video for the soundtrack song "Orange", intercut with scenes from the film:

And here's a live version of the song, because -- for me -- twice with these guys is never enough:

While I'm at it, I'd like to throw in a music video ("Darling") from that previous film I mentioned above, "Hard Luck Hero". This is the first music video I saw of V6; it came on the DVD with the film. I may have come on the DVD after watching the film, but that's another box of Kleenex:

The long-suffering (and single!) Jefcat is in the concert business, by the way, so I am trying desperately to get him to look into booking V6 for a U.S. tour to play some of their big venues. In the meantime, I'd better get to work resurrecting my formidable groupie "talents". I'm a leetle outta practice; I haven't been passed around by a band in a long time.

Male Order Bride

2006-07-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

There's a very old, very tasteless joke that goes something like this:

Q: What are the two biggest lies told in Poland?

A: "I won't come in your mail" and "The check is in your mouth."

On that sick note, I would not at all mind if the guy at left came in my mail. Actually, I'd let him come anywhere he wants. Luckily, he appears to ship in a protective wrapper of clothing, so once he was out of the box, we could get rid of it entirely.

I do like the fact that this item is ready to go, out of the box, with no assembly required.

The Upside To Global Warming

2006-07-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of concerned talk lately (or, should I say, "heated discussion") about global warming (and, no, I have not yet seen Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth; we're looking forward to it, but waiting for the DVD release), and I think I may have come up with an eventual upside.

With temperatures rising, is it possible that one day a Speedo will become appropriate business attire? With "business casual" already infiltrating places like Singapore and even (the shock of it!) mainland China (where I think it's called "business cool"), is it too much to hope one day it will come to this in Japan?

If so, JAL can count on me -- and possibly some of you -- buying one way tickets from the US to Narita Airport. First class, no doubt!

Of course, I might find it hard to get any work done if my workplace was full of guys who looked like this. I find it hard to get any work done as it is! I'm sure my company motto would be "Let's Get Soaking Wet!" and the scene around our worldwide company HQ might look something like this:

SPF 48-32-36

It pays to advertise. And THIS guy just a raise...in my pants!

SMOKIN! In the boys room.

Hmmm....wonder where he keeps his train fare?

I think I'd like to personally supervise the Summer Intern Program. You know, lend a hand to some nice University students!

The Human Resources office would be busy screening new applicants.

This is how we'd seal a deal, in my Future Business World Paradise.

Do you know the difference between a sandwich and a blow job? You DON'T? Well, let's grab some lunch!

"Bonus Pool" takes on a whole new meaning!

And sometimes, we'd have pony rides for TOP Performers. That would be me, in the bridle.

Listen, I think I smell a ground floor investment opportunity! Any of you MBA's out of Tokyo U interested in doing business my way, drop me a line!

Sugar Baby Love

2006-07-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! How's it goin'?

So, while I get back in the saddle, posting-wise, I'd like to share with you this little video that pretty much sums up my gay life, in animation form. Well, except for the beating, and the running off with the doctor at the end. Oh, it also leaves out the part where I become a total rice queen*.

But, maybe there's a part 2 in the works.

Oh heck, here's another video that DOESN'T leave out the RQ part. It's for a Japanese movie I think is called "Grains of Sand". Believe me, we're looking everywhere for it!

*Disclaimer: I find nothing derogatory about the word "rice", the word "queen" nor the combination of the two. I remember the first time one of my straight friends in high school caled me a queen -- I thought he was giving me a compliment. And I still think that. That's right, I am so manly, I don't even need to claim to be STR8-ACTING in my personal ads on Fridae or JGuyUSGuy ("Fork Seeks Chopsticks in L.A.") . Uh huh!

Where Was I?

2006-07-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the last two weeks are a blur. What was I talking about before I put everything on hold? Let's see...I remember the prep for our July 4 Party, followed by the equation: (MBB's handmade mojitos + sake sake sake+ glug glug glug = fireworks that night AND in my head the next day), then a few days to rest.

Next thing I remember was writing/not writing for several days straight. I hate myself/I have no talent. I love myself/I'm such a genius. Then finally, HOORAY! hearing the dialog flow in my head (which, believe me, is infinitely better than hearing 'voices').

Watching some new shows (Kisarazu Cat's Eye, a hilarious comedy starring Junichi Okada of V6 and Takashi Tsukamoto of the impossibly blonde hair; Umizaru [AKA Sea Monkeys] with Hideaki Ito [yeah, baby!] , and Brother Beat which will get a whole series of swooning posts to itself soon enough) with roommate Jefcat; you know, to take my mind of the pressure of writing! And checking how many hearts my profile on Fridae got, like, every 3 minutes...

OH YEAH, now I remember: we were talking about my impression of the series Gokusen 2, and how surprised I was by the performances of Mokomichi Hayami and Jin Akanishi.

Gokusen 2 follows the same predictable trajectory as Gokusen 1: Female teacher/grandaughter of a Yakuza boss is put in charge of the unruliest class in a Japanese high school, blah blah blah. The boys are cute but undisciplined, love to fight, yawn yawn yawn. Jefcat even checked out, losing interest after three or four episodes. I, however, could not take my eyes off the new cast of boys, that include Miso Honey SUKI Award frontrunner Mokomichi Hayami, kawaii singer Koike Teppei (with my love bunny Moco in the very top photo -- now honestly, don't they look just a little to much like boyfriends?), and my greatest revelations: Jin Akanishi and and bandmate Kazuya Kamenashi.

Here's Moco, in schoolboy bad boy mode:

Actually, what I was about to say was, I knew I was gonna love my boy Moco, but was unprepared for the utter sexability of Jin, who many of you already know from the J-Boy Band Kat-tun. Just like I said about Hiroki Naramiya a few posts ago, seeing these guys in motion was a revelation. Here are some stills of Jin (not from the series) which convey a little of the sexiness I felt stirring from deep, deep within my Calvins:

The last one is of Jin and Kazuya. And here's a video of him singing solo at a concert, that will give you an idea of the magic of Jin doing his thing:

I'll go into detail about Kazuya Kamenashi and Koike Teppei another time. But of course, I'm worried that my boy Moco will be jealous if he sees me showing so much luv to another guy. So I better testify that Mokomichi -- if you're reading, let me know! -- is my SUKI boi(SUgoi Kawaii Ichiban, or 'Incredible Cute Best'). Here's some new evidence:

I wonder what I would have to wear to our traditional Japanese wedding? I don't do drag, but I would...just the once.

My baby is a burgeoning businessman. I would LOVE to know how his fragance smells! Oh, and the cologne too... I might just call him "Moco Chanel!"

Tell me you wouldn't you love for this boy to be waiting in your living room for a date? Liar!

Preview: In Brother Beat, Mokomichi plays a swimming instructor. Oh. My. God. They heard me scream all the way in Honolulu when I first saw him in his little swimsuit.

I can TOTALLY picture myself sitting across the table, with him saying, "well, why don't we have sex now AND later?" And really, is that SO MUCH to ask?

Single Tingle

2006-07-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

How can I put it? This ONE shot embodies what makes Miso Honey.

There I said it. Okay, okay...I'm goin' back to work now.

<=^\

News Shorts

2006-07-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Damn! I wish I'd had this shot of the J-boy-band NEWS when I ran the recent post on boys in long shorts.

Actually, I hear these guys have been much in the 'news' lately. The group is apparently 'suspended' by it's management/label -- for the time being, theoretically -- after some of its members got in trouble with the law (19 year olds exhibiting public drunkenness, etc.).

Frankly, I think the scandal makes them a little more SEXABLE. My wet dream comes in two versions: inter-group yaoi-style crushes/affairs with full-on jealousy triangles, or that they're bridling at being forced to deny their gay fabulousness in order to appeal to teenage girls.

Note to the band: Guys, if you ever want to talk about it, I'll be glad to listen. I've got lots of hands-on experience with this kind of thing.

That offer of hands-on help applies ESPECIALLY to Ryo Nishikido (my favorite):

Oh, and Ryo and Uchi Hiroki are also members of Kanjani8.

Koyama Keiichiro, Kusano Hironori, and Kato Shigeaki were called KKKity before becoming members of NewS. Yamashita Tomohisa rounds out the group. Please don't ask me to tell them apart at this time.

The Time Has Come

2006-07-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's Now or Never. Do or Die. Put up or shut up. Poop or get off the pot. Whip it out...show the world what I've got.

I've been tinkering with the re-write for the pilot to my TV show for over eight weeks. And now it's time to deliver: the final re-write has to be done by Friday. Have I started yet? No, but I've thought a lot about starting. And, I tell myself, thinking about writing IS part of the writing process. I also tell myself I don't look a day over 36. And that I only have to work out once a week to keep looking this good.

Lies! All lies!

So: for the next five days, for the next 120 hours, for the next 72 triple latte's, I feel the need to immerse myself in the storylines, the characters, the world I created. To inhabit -- fully -- the farcical, fantastical tale of two restaurants, sitting side by side in San Francisco's famous Italian-tinged North Beach neighborhood. One run by the conservative WASP father, the other by his stunning Italian ex-wife and one of his gay sons (yes! there are two! Heck, there might be three by the time I'm done with them). Throw in a bunch of colorful restaurant regulars and San Francisco society types and you get "La Fabula." Think: Queer As Folk meets Sex and The City. Then throw in some Will & Grace. Witty, glam and unapologetically, affectionately funny (I'm SO OVER "edgy", "dark" comedy; Let's hope Showtime, HBO, Bravo or FOX are too).

So I HAVE to do this NOW, even though it will take me away from writing about one of my favorite things in the world. Anyone know what that is? Show of hands? Okay, pencils down. The answer is:

Cute. Asian. Boys (and if you said "especially Japanese ones" you get extra credit).

Actually, I do get to write about ONE cute Asian guy. He's a supporting character, plays the roommate of the guy based on ME, who is one of the restaurant patrons and -- surprise! -- one of the four central charcters. I modelled this Asian character on B.D. Wong's performance as Margaret Cho's brother in the late, lamented ABC sitcom "All-American Girl" (lamented mostly by anyone who watched it). Actually, I looked at it a few weeks ago and found I still liked it, and found myself in love with Bradley Darryl Wong all over again.

See what I mean? And in one of those magical coincidences that happen in my life almost every day, I discovered long after creating the characters of BRAD ROSS (that's the one based on moi) and DARRYL HOO (the cute ABC -- American-Born-Chinese -- roommate/ex-lover) that the "B.D." in "B.D. Wong" stands for....drumroll....Bradley Darryl. Sign from God? Oh, I think so.

Okay, maybe that's reaching. But that's what I'm doing here after all, isn't it? Reaching...for the stars?!?

So, anyone and everyone who's part of my little Miso Honey family: this week, please, when you have a quiet moment, just say a little prayer for me. Wish me well in your hearts. And all you cute Asian actors out there, send me your headshots! Why wait to start casting!?

ONE Singular Sensation

2006-07-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

Looking back over my posts, I notice that in some cases I put up a LOT of pictures. And of course, I KNOW that's why most of you come here...I mean, Shakespeare this ain't.

That said, I sometimes I think I put up too many, and some really really good ones get lost in the shuffle. So from time to time, I think I may just select a single one that makes me tingle.

Like this one.

Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue

2006-06-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

Every 4th of July we like to have a few friends over to watch the fireworks displays across the L.A. skyline from the privileged perch of our posh penthouse passion pit (try saying that five times fast!) .

Typically, roommate Jefcat will whip up a batch of of his famous Bellinis (Champagne with handmade peach juice) and boyfriend MBB spends all night in the kitchen rolling out Vietnamese and Chinese delicacies. Good times!

One of the the centerpieces of our view (apart from the HOLLYWOOD sign and other major landmarks) is Dodger Stadium, which hosts just about the most elaborate of the city's many fireworks shows (though last year, they cut it short when the fireworks began causing brushfires in the area. D'oh!). While Jefcat is a rabid San Francisco Giants fan and MBB could care less about baseball (except getting to third base, insert balls and bat joke here, etc.), we're still glad to watch the pyrotechnics. And please don't hate on us if we root for almost EVERY team playing the Dodgers to beat 'em...

Here's a partial, typical night view from our place; Dodger Stadium is in the background hills between the Capitol Records Building and the Knickerbocker Hotel:

To make a long story short (I know: way too late for that!), I'm taking some time away from the computer, so won't be posting again till middle of next week. In the meantime, below is a little display of red-white-and-blue -- Miso Honey style!

Narimiya On My Mind

2006-06-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

There is an old Russian fable about the most beautiful woman in her village. Everywhere she goes, men and women alike swoon at her beauty, offering gifts and pledging instant devotion. But when the woman goes to the mirror to see what it is the villagers see, it eludes her. Turns out, her enchantment derives from her very motion, in the way she moves while interacting with others. Standing still, gazing at her own reflection, she cannot see what everyone around her is reacting to.

No, this story is not about ME (though, it could be). It's about the limited power of still images to convey the true beauty of the spirit in motion. Now, some come close, and some still images are timeless in their perfected portrayal of a gorgeous subject (oh, let's just say, a Japanese actor in his 20's, off the top of my head) at a suspended moment in time. Hiroki Narimiya comes conveniently to mind, as I breathlessly recounted last month.

Soon after that post, I was able to watch Hiroki in motion, albeit in a rather small part in the TV series Gokusen 1. It's a typical tale: a class of extremely cute but rowdy students in a Japanese high school are given up as unsalvageable by the school's administrators till a young novice teacher (in this case, the granddaughter of a Yakuza boss) steps in and teaches them each to be a better person (as I said, typical; from what I see on Japanese TV, this appears to happen every day). And I thought Great Teacher Onizuka was goofy.

How extremely cute are these students? Well, there's:

Jun Matsumoto, of J-pop/rock super group ARASHI:

Yuma Ishigaki, who also starred in the Waterboys TV series (and who is currently starring in roommate Jefcat's wet dreams):

and Shun Oguri, who just gets better looking every day:

But back to Hiroki, who, in one improbable scene, looks like this:

Gokusen was my first time seeing him in motion, and hearing his voice, or watching his face break into that smile (sometimes sly, sometimes blinding). He played the 'good boy' of the bunch, into computers, and not so much into all that icky fighting. Oh, and apart from Jun's character, the only one without totally fucked-up blech blond hair. Yes, I said blech.

Since I can't show you Hiroki doing his sweet boy thing on the show, I found these still photos that do kinda capture some of his special essence (it goes without saying I'd like to capture some of his special essence...right between my lips, ne?).

Next time: Some rather surprising thoughts on the boys of Gokusen 2!

The Long And Short Of It

2006-06-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

By now, anybody who has spent five minutes reading my blog knows that I like guys in skimpy things, or -- even better -- nothing at all. But sometimes, you just have to put on SOME clothes. At least some shorts. So, okay, you'd think the tinier the shorts, the more I'd like 'em, right?

Not so fast. If you answered, "well, d'uh!" then I have a surprise for you. These days, I think guys look EXTRA hot in long shorts, or as we ex*surfers call them: Board Shorts (cuz you'd wear 'em when hangin' ten on your long board, dude). Ironically, it's not about the board INSIDE the shorts, but in my book, it should be.

My second favorite thing is guys in cargo shorts, especially camouflage ones. Which is, like, every other native walking Venice Beach and or tourist on Hollywood Boulevard, so I'm in a constant state of near-total turn on, i.e., "Miso Honey" (Me So Horny, get it? I hear a hundred collective light bulbs going on over a hundred heads around the world...). Let there be light!

Look for a column soon full of pics of cute Japanese tourist boys I shot around town, enjoying the L.A. summer sun. Newsflash: research can be SO rewarding! "Hey, Nihongo Ichiban! Yeah, you. Hi! Can I take your picture? Great! Would you like a private tour of the Hollywood Hills? You would! Gosh, it's hot today isn't it? We can stop off at my place first, so you and your friend could take a shower!" Lather, rinse, repeat...

Till then...a few more guys:

Above, HK actor Bosco Wong out for a walk (yo, Bosco: how about you show us YOURS, instead of the pup's?)

Above, J-actor -- and my new Love Bunny Supreme -- Masaru Nagai, giving me something to dream about. Thanks to Jay at NakedTokyo for turning me on to this total turn-on of a man!

*Oh, and I'm not an ex-surfer. I've surfed exactly once in my life. We had a house on the beach in Malibu when I grew up, and the kid next door was legendary championship surfer Johnny Fain. I think my dad slipped him a coupla bucks to try and give me some lessons...which didn't take. But my obsession with surfers did...all the way through my 20's!

Love, Sex, and 10,000 Reasons Why I'm So Glad I'm Gay

2006-06-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last night at about 7:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time, Miso Honey reached its 10,000th page view, and has seen by about 3400 visitors since I launched a little over 7 weeks ago. To me, that's almost beyond comprehension.

I'm deeply grateful to everyone who's taken the time to drop into my little world, and I humbly hope that you've found something to make your visit worthwhile. By some stroke of cosmic fortune, the community at Gay Japan (aka: JGuyUSGuy.org) found me at once, and have been unflagging in their support ever since. Quite simply, I love you guys.

Speaking of love…

There was recently a fascinating discussion thread in the JGuyUSGuy Salon about "True Love in Japan and Korea", which expanded into a free-form discussion of the nature of true love and/vs. sex entangled with the whole East and/vs. West thing. There were passionate, furious, and wise posts in that discussion, leading to the formation of a new thread called: "True Love: I've Got It Bad And That Ain't Good". A few days ago, when the discussion turned to what constitutes Love vs. Sex, I made as close to a declaration of my philosophy as I may ever have made:

Quote:

"I can love a man I have just met. I can love a man who I have never met. I can show love to a man with or without having sex. I can love a man I have known for 20 years with whom I no longer have sex. And I did it all this week!

To me, love is the very act of opening your heart, fully, and without reservation, and without regard to what you get in return or for how long. You can love without being loved back. But by loving first, YOU invoke the power to create the space in which mutual love can exist.

It's a variation on 'love the one you're with'; because, if I'm with someone, my heart's gonna be open, or I'm not doing it.

To have sex with someone while celebrating the act as one of joy and respect, with them as a worthy and willing partner, as opposed to one of abuse and degradation (except by absolutely mutual agreement, in which case it's respectful by definition) is..to me...the whole point.

And to be aware it has nothing to do with NECESSARILY choosing china patterns is...again, to me...the gift we have been given that sets us apart from -- above, in my view --our hetero brothers and sisters.

I'm literally, vitally, in my very essence, SO GLAD I'm gay."

Unquote.

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And here is a supersized, supersexed (but far from exhaustive) collection of reasons I'm glad I'm gay -- because this is what turns me on (CONTENT WARNING: some of the images below are very explicit. But what the hey, I'm celebrating here!):

Heck, check out some of my other favorite threads on JguyUsGuy while you're at it:

Stupid/Sexy Stuff
Art
Blogwatch
L.A. Area Personal Ads (and don't miss the one from "Fork Seeks Chopsticks"! Guess who?)

Model Behavior

2006-06-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Don't hate them because they're beautiful.

One of the most endearing traits of extremely gorgeous men is...their helplessness. It seems that -- in direct proportion to their gorgeousity -- they're congenitally incapable of buttoning a shirt, fastening a zipper, or buckling a belt on their own.

This seems to be particularly true with pop singers (who understandably have so many important things on their minds), but it's an epidemic among fashion models -- the very people whose job description basically consists of one thing: wearing clothes!

Just makes you wanna reach out scoop one under your wing doesn't it? I mean, some of these poor babies don't even seem to be able to keep their pants on!

As Martha Stewart would say, "and that's a good thing."

No Funny Stuff

2006-06-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

American comedian George Carlin used to have a bit in his act about how little respect comics like himself get. As an example, he'd point out that when a mugger holds up a victim, or when robbers storm a bank, the first they'll usually say is "Nobody try anything funny!" As if people were all of a sudden going to start juggling, or sprout big shoes and squeaky noses.

Me, I LOVE comedy, and the people who make it. I especially like it when people who are normally very stiff and serious, or supposedly too sexy for all that, either make fun of themselves, or are the butt of someone else's good-natured poking. Yes, I said "butt" and "poking". Tee Hee!

Take for example:

Chen Ze Yu. One minute you're a handsome, beloved, world-class badminton player, your days spent smackin' around shuttlecocks, and you've taken up a modelling career because you look like this:

And then POOF! The next thing you know, you're doing commercials covered in Smurf Bukkake:

Or caught in some nightmare Chinese remake of "Something About Mary":

(God, I HOPE that's an ad for moisturizer)

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Okay, now imagine you're an international pop-star, say...Vic Chou and Jerry Yan of the Chinese supergroup F4. Hot, modern and wildly sexable:

Jerry (above), and Vic (below)

One day, Pepsi backs a truck of money up to your house and says they want you to do an ad campaign to sell their sugar-water. Ok, you hold your nose and take the money...but then to add insult to injury, they dress you up like fugtives from a video game to do it:

Shazzam!

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It's not only real people that take a butt-poking. My eternal favorite, AstroBoy (Tetsuon Atom, to the Japanese), seems to inspire some very profound urges in people. From Wackiness:

...to Bejewelling...

And...random latent eroticism:

The two black and white screencaps are from the original series that I watched with lust and awe at age 6. Maybe THIS explains my early sexual awakening to Japanese boys? (Thank you to my good friend MINORU for these)

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Speaking of latent (homo)eroticism, I found this picture of a guy who looks exactly how I think my Ultimate Boy Toy, V6's Ken Miyake, (who you all know looks like this:)

would look at 40, if he'd come out, and moved to West Hollywood and started pumping up and going to circuit parties:

Am I right?

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Speaking of coming out, I guess I have to face the fact that my boy MOCO won't be anytime soon:

Dare I hope the lady doth protest too much? I WISH!

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One of my favorite humorous things (that doesn't involve cute boys) is the way Japanese use English on t-shirts, street signs, and other packaging, without having any clue what the words actually mean. Dubbed "Engrish", here are a few excellent examples found on one of my very favorite sites:

(definitely read the fine print, above)

Check 'em out. They're good for an honest laugh most days. Which is more than I can say I've given you here.

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Here's my last joke of the day (I'm proud of this one, I made it up):

Q: If a group of lions is called a "pride", and a group of crows is called a "murder", what do you call a group of rice queens?

A: A "paddy."

Yup, watch for me and my "Paddy Posse" rolling through the mean streets of WeHo...Kissing and telling, kicking ass and taking numbers!

Maximum Minami

2006-06-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting one. I'm pretty immune to going nuts over porn stars, even hot, tight, tanned gorgeous Japanese ones. Part of that comes from knowing a bunch of them in L.A., San Francisco and New York over the years (Causasian ones, admittedly), and finding that they're either delightfully "real", and we become friends (and you can't jack off watching movies of your freinds) or incredibly fucked up. Which is so unsexy to me, it hurts. So, no attraction there.

The Japanese porn I've watched leaves me feeling a little weird, too. In part because I'm really a verbal person, and I can't understand the dialog. Despite what Norma Desmond said in Sunset Boulevard ("See that? And no dialog. We had faces, then."), I get really into hearing guys talk like guys during sex. For all I know, these guys are talking about girls. Or eye-liner.

Plus, the pixellation ("masking") in some J-porn I've seen lately is really distracting, too. Oh, yes, let's take the part people want to see THE MOST, and disguise just ever so slightly, so that it's no longer so..."pornographic". So what is it now, "Art"? Well, that's the freak flag flying liberal in me. Which I'm very proud of, by the way!

Which brings me to this guy, Yoshiya Minami. I guess he only does straight porn, but I would probably get over it just to see him perform. He may be old news to those readers who live in Japan. But I just found out about him yesterday, so I feel like Columbus...or Pizarro. Okay, maybe just Sir Francis Drake. Look it up.

I think the pictures say it all, but I'm sure the more literary-minded among you would like more information about Japan's biggest, bona-fide porn-tastic sensation (I would have said "boner-fied", but might have had to pixellate the pun). If so, here's all you ever wanted to know about Yoshiya Minami, but were afraid to ask.

And a few nice, wallet-sized pictures, so you can put him in your pants pocket:

Goh For It!

2006-06-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

My new friend DJ is, like, the "Groovy Guru" of all things pertaining to Asian Men. A genius prospector of male beauty, DJ has managed to turn me on to whole new worlds of sex and sexability. And I thought I had a nose for nice! The other day he e-mailed me a link with very simple instructions:

1) Go to the (I'm keeping the name secret for now) link .

2) Click on the "Japanese Hunks" menu item on the right navbar (navigation bar for all you non-geeks)

Simple enough, right? What could possibly interrupt me from proceeding directly from 1)...to 2)? Can you imagine there is anything (apart from a nuclear attack on L.A. -- which might slow me down but wouldn't stop me) that could come between ENTERING the site and LEAPING onto the button promising Japanese Hunks?

Oh yeah, there was. I saw a thumbnail of the guy I'm creaming over today, so I clicked on it. Then, WHAM! (and not in the George Michael sense) that photo of him on the magazine cover with the blue background made my heart stop for a minute. After the paramedics left, I got back to checking him out.

His name is Alvin Goh, and he's a model from Singapore. That's all I know right now, but believe me...I'm looking into it.

You know, I usually resent pictures where there are girls draped all over the gorgeous guy. But for some reason, in this case, I don't mind. Actually, I just see them as a neutral. Alvin paired up with another hot guy might just distract me.

(Above, the thumbnail that started the palpitations)

Now...it may be that Alvin reminds me of my former model/lawyer/psycho ex-boyfriend/love of my life (who I referenced back in this post). Or maybe even my 2005 obsession, E, who I talked about here).

But whatever the attraction is, I might risk a week in ICU at Cedars-Sinai and a pacemaker to find out more about this guy Alvin. Having to stay away from microwave ovens and cel phones would be a small price to pay.

And hey, aren't you glad I didn't try to make a pun out of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" anywhere in here? It's for the better -- somehow I just couldn't make a wholseome analogy from "nuts", "cheeks" and "in my mouth".

Note: I'm just kidding about the paramedics and the heart stoppage, by the way. I'm healthy as horse and my heart functions better than almost any other body part! And it's slightly bigger, too!

Miso Happy

2006-06-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

That about sums it up these days. Life is good, love is in the air, and new friends find their way here every day. Me so happy.

Sure, sometimes, a sexy, smouldering look really turns me on. But in my world, there's nothing sexier than a smile -- whether it's a big, broad goofy grin, or a sly, knowing one that gives way to wide eyed laughter. I smile at people to let them know I'm open, not closed, strong not brittle, and full of joyous love, rather than chilling fear.

And you know what? 92% of the time, they smile right back! It's the ultimate solution to not speaking each other's language. It also disarms them, because in standoff-ish L.A., it's practically the LAST thing people expect.

I'd do anything to be on the receiving end of these:

Real-life WaterBoys have a lot to smile about!

as does up-and-coming J-actor Masaru Nagai:

(a SERIOUS contender for a Miso Honey SUKI Award this year!)

But let's not forget my boy (and SUKI Frontunner!) Mokomichi, applying MocoStyle to the MokoSMILE:

Here's Takashi Sorimachi, going for goofy gold:

I always like to slip in a little Fujiki, Nao and then.

Slip in a little? I wish!

And there's NO ONE who brightens up my day, like the kawai-i-i-i (cu-u-u-ute!) boys of V-6 flashing their pearly whites:

and that goes double for Ken Miyake:

True story: I'm waiting on a subway platform in New York one day after work. Not thinking of anything in particular. Guy walks by me, smiles and says "don't be sad. If I looked like you, I'd be happy all the time." Kept walking, wasn't trying to pick up on me. Just spreading some cheer. NICE thing to do.

Moral of the story: Give a smile to someone today who doesn't expect it. And see if, even for that moment, the world isn't a better place. The effect might last longer than you can imagine.

Peace out, yo!

That, Too

2006-06-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

...or "Who's Tat Boy?", I couldn't decide.

(American slang alert: 'Tat', I'm sure most of you know, is short for 'tattoo')

Listen, I'm not normally one for a guy sporting tattoos (or piercings) except in maybe a discreet few cases -- and places. But this fine dude just makes me want to see if I can lick it off. Then go see if there are any down below.

Actually, it looks as if he's a work in progress, 'cause in some shots, he appears to have added another one on his right arm.

And yet, even with those, I think he's STILL missing one. Just above his butt-crack, or between his belly button and his pubes, I'd like to see the words "If Found, Return to Crash Landon, Hollywood, California." Or even just "Crash Landed Here." Which would be much less painful!

Anybody know who our yummy friend is? Ink me in!

The Gift

2006-06-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, I kind of expected it to be like howling into the void. I mean, I put it out there, and thought "there's no way anyone's ever gonna find their way here" and "no worries that MBB's mom is ever gonna see her son's naked pictures on the internet." So far, the second one has held true, which is, like, a REALLY good thing.

But the first preconception has been proven very, very wrong. And in fact, the opposite has occurred. I owe a humbling debt of gratitude to the guys at JGuyUSGuy for their support and for showing like-minded people the way to my little world. And to everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment, or dropped me a line, I thank you very, very much. I really appreciate and encourage you to leave comments, feedback and send me naughty e-mails!

I'd like to acknowledge The Gift of a special miracle in my life that has come from this: One reader in particular has become an amazing friend. Starting with him sending me a quick 'shout out', we began trading e-mails, and since he's a local, we soon began hanging out. Warm, witty, has incredibly good taste in design, food, and Asian men. He's turned me on to so many new people, places and things (now you know who unleashed me onto the unsuspecting Fridae community!), and I've tried to return the favor. And of course he's good-looking -- he's just like me! In this blog, I'll call him "DJ" for "Dear John" and at top and below are some of the images he's shared with me.

That last one of Tsubasa Imai is a favorite of DJ's. Of course, Tsubasa is a favorite of many people, so here are a few of him (and some bonus shots of his singing partner, Tackey, AKA Hideaki Takizawa):

Note to all you J-boys out there reading this: DJ is single and looking! (As opposed to me, who is not single but looking anyway. I'm terrible, I know.) You can send date requests here, and I'll forward on the ones I don't steal for myself! (Just kidding, Yoshi!)

Pride and Prejudice, continued

2006-06-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

Part Two: PREJUDICE

For the next week, "G" and I had passionate phone conversations, romantic lunches, and tried to figure out how we could -- or if we should -- keep seeing each other. He lived with a guy who he said he loved but wasn't sexually attracted to, and who was travelling for a week. I had my head up my ass, with no idea how to deal with the guilt, the secrecy, and the thrill. So I ended up not being the good guy to anybody.

"G" gave me his script to read, which I did. It was good, but I thought it could be better. He had told me he wanted to shoot it in San Francisco, but I knew that would be more expensive and he didn't have any money to begin with. So I suggested he consider shooting it in L.A., and that I could find some really cool, lyrical, whimsical locations -- plus advise on the music soundtrack licensing. I also thought I was helping him by telling him I didn't think his English was good enough to play the lead, and that he should stick to directing only. Of course, what I thought was constructive, honest criticism, he found insulting. I think that -- more than anything else -- is what did in our affair.

But while that one was over, the void in my life from not having MBB spend any time on weekends with me, led to me eventually having other affairs. And that's where the Prejudice part comes in, because I quickly became extremely prejudiced -- in FAVOR of Japanese guys. To this day, MBB gets very suspicious whenever I use the words "cute Japanese" in one sentence.

I don't recall exactly how I found my way to Gay Japan, but that site -- together with KissJapan (and now, the excellent Fridae.com) -- introduced me to a whole new kind of "J-date" and I don't mean the Jewish kind. (full disclosure: I was raised in a Reform Jewish household, and have the Bar Mitzvah pictures AND the circumcision to prove it. Plus, I make an EXCELLENT Matzoh Brie that Steven Spielberg would envy. Who I ALSO used to work for, by the way. You want to make a Jewish mother proud? Work for Spielberg!)

My adventures in J-dating will be the subject of many future posts. I'll confess, I've always had two primary versions of my fantasy Asian man. One is Japanese; the other, Vietnamese. I wonder sometimes: were those visions -- formed long ago -- just God's way of preparing me to love what I was eventually gonna get? Or does my kharma cause the cosmos to cooperate in helping me move toward realizing my fantasy...in making it real? So far, so good!

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And speaking of the Vietnamese version of my fantasy life, the reason I'm not too annoyed that MBB wasn't available to do Pride with me this year is because he did take off Memorial Day Monday to spend a delicious day together. We did our favorite things, first enjoying brunch at the stylin' 101 Coffee Shop with roomate Jefcat. Then we went shopping at this cool place called Jackalope in NoHo (North Hollywood) that had all kinds of incredible Asian and Latin American furniture, pottery, and MBB's (3rd) favorite thing -- fountains. I bought a cool Moroccan star lantern for the terrace.

The best was yet to come, though: we always love to go to IKEA (to spot the gay couples shopping), but when MBB spotted the "50% Sale" banner on the outside of IKEA Burbank, I swear he popped a boner. The only thing he loves more than sex, is a SALE. So we went through, and we were one of those gay couples...bought housewares...discussed which dressers and bookcases we need in the bedroom...*sigh* That kind of shit makes me really happy.

Then we went home and did the *non-sale* thing makes MBB so happy. But not before I remembered that I'd recently bought a new camera! I've found that I like having pictorial reminders of why I love him and how lucky I am to have him. Here are a few I can show you.

Gettin' cheeky wid it.

The Look Of Love......is on...your face...

A look...your smile, can't erase...

My Beautiful Baby. I only wish he were with me all the time... but if he was, I guess I'd rebel at not being able to pursue...uh, my independent Japanese studies.

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Addendum with a Happy Ending: In the course of writing this post, I googled "G" and found a current e-mail address for him. Heart in my throat, I wrote him a short "Blast-From-The- Past" e-mail. He wrote back (today!) to say he was now living in San Francisco, doing freelance photography, and had broken up with his boyfriend about a year ago. He also enclosed the picture of himself that I put into the previous post, which reveals him to be even cuter than I remember. I hope we continue to keep in touch, even if there's not much touching in our future.

Pride and Prejudice

2006-06-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

Note from Crash: These next couple of posts will be more personal, less pictorial. I have a few stories to tell that don't have a lot of pictures to go with 'em. Don't worry -- it's NOT because I have run out of photo material. Keep checking back if that's what ya want.

Part One: PRIDE

This weekend is Gay Pride weekend here in Los Angeles (West Hollywood, to be exact). This year, we're going to sit it out, because A) boyfriend MBB (My Beautiful Baby) is working with his parents -- as he does almost every weekend -- and B) there's no one in my life right now to introduce to it.

Last year, I was having an affair with "R", a Japanese student living here who was pretty sheltered. I thought it would be exciting for him to see 500,000 gay people all letting their freak flag fly high, basking in the freedom we've worked hard to gain here in the U.S. But no, the idea scared him shitless.

I think we went to the beach that day instead -- and we did have a wonderful time. I thought it was curious (and emplematic of his seclusion) that "R" had lived in L.A. for two years and never seen our famous beaches in Santa Monica (backround for Baywatch) or Venice. We had a magical day there, me showing him all my old haunts, my old high school, etc. -- it lives on as one of my very special memories of him. But, I digress...

Sumimasen! (Sorry!)

Three years ago, MBB and I, together with roommate Jefcat, went to the big parade on Sunday. MBB had taken the whole weekend off and it was wonderful. The Saturday night, we had gone to the Pride Festival and spent a VERY rare weekend night out as a couple. We bought stupid little rainbow flag ornaments, one of which still hangs from the rear-view mirror of my car. At a performance by singer-songwriter Marcella Detroit (formerly of the duo Shakespeare's Sister, with Bananarama's resident crazy lady Siobhan Fahey), I re-connected with her husband, Lance, who had once worked for me (hubby Lance was filming Marcy's performance; she's always incredible). But MBB was more delighted to watch 'singer' Paul Lekakis (or, as I call him, Paul "Lick-my-cock-ass") bump and grind on stage right after. Boy, EVERYbody's got a website, don't they?

But I digress...AGAIN. Oh, big surprise.

The day of the Pride parade, we took these two pictures on the roof terrace of our (cheerless, mundane) old apartment in North Hollywood (a world of difference from the glamorous high-rise penthouse we live in now!).

For this top one, I said: "Honey, grab your crotch!" He said, "okay", and did so for photo documention, shocking and titillating visitors to my office ever since. MBB is so accommodating, isn't he? If you only knew...

Jefcat took the one of the two of us together; it's still in our bedroom, and we've tucked two fortune cookie fortunes on either side. His side says: "Your skills and talents will be called on in unusual areas (Lucky Numbers: 1, 5, 12, 15, 40, 43)". Mine says "Your lover will never wish to leave (Lucky Numbers 12, 14, 16, 23, 25, 31)." Frankly, I think I'm the luckier number, out of the two of us.

The parade was really festive -- one of the best I've ever enjoyed -- and I ran into people I'd not seen in some cases for 10 or more years. Somehow, just found them in the crowd of half-a-million. We were having a great time...dancing and drinking...floating in and out of groups of old friends...making new ones in the long bathroom and ATM lines.

Perhaps 12-15 Long Island Iced Teas into the day, we were walking on Santa Monica Boulevard (on our way to another bar...yikes!) when I saw a cute Japanese boy sitting on a low wall, talking into his cel phone. He appeared to be alone, so I said to him, "I hope you're having a GREAT time today! Who are you talking to?" He smiled and said it was his boyfriend. I said something pathetic like, "well, I'm sorry you're not MY boyfriend, we'd be here having fun together!" Yes, pathetic, especially because...I was holding hands with my boyfriend at the time. We moved on to The Rage.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed the Japanese boy (who I'll call "G", and who looked like this, by the way:)

Above, "G" in a recent photo.

had followed us into the bar and was sitting alone. I went over to say hello, encouraging him to join Jefcat, MBB and our friends. But "G", as I'll call him, was shy, really didn't want to. So, intoxicated by his good looks (and yes, another LIIT or seven), I stayed and talked to him. Found out "G" was an aspiring film-maker, lived with his Caucasian boyfriend, and thought I was the most interesting guy he'd ever met. I couldn't pull myself away, but knew I had to -- MBB was getting really agitated with me (and for good reason, I'll admit). "G" and I exchanged business cards; he was impressed I was an Interactive TV exec with a major Studio at the time. Trying to insinuate myself with him, I offered to get together to advise him on a script he'd written, wanted to star in AND direct. Yeah, like I was qualified to do THAT. I might have even kissed him.

Well, guess what?

The next week was a blur of tears and recrimination from MBB about my behavior. He even refused to speak to or see me for a while (this was before we committed to actually living together for 4 nights a week). He accused me of having an affair that I hadn't had and wouldn't listen to my protestations of innocence. So, what did I do? Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids. And I was being a big flirty kid, so...I tricked with "G". Surprise!

I met "G" the next weekend. I seriously had NOT planned on doing anything but talk to him, but Jefcat says I always say that and sex ALWAYS happens. When "G" said he'd thought of me every day since we'd met and had jacked off twice a day while picturing us having sex, I began to think...well, maybe he's in to me? I know -- I am SO dense. We'd ostensibly just met for coffee, but given that it was too hot for coffee, we went to Sav-On and bought some lube and rubbers. Much cooler, no?

We drove back over the hill into the Valley where it was even hotter. We got to my house, went to my bedroom, and soon, it was like Ghostbusters in there. Sheets and clothes flying everywhere, strange noises and, well, fluids. "G" shocked me at first by having the hairiest body of any Japanese I had ever seen...chest, legs, I think even on the butt. PLUS he had this enormous cock attached to his slight, slender body. It was unreal. He had been so mild mannered up to the point we were naked together, and then BAM, it was like the Tasmanian Devil from the Bugs Bunny cartoons, but of course WAY sexier. The last thing I'll say is, I'll never forget his beautiful face, eyes popping with delight and surprise with each thrust...

Okay...DEEP breath (me, not you). I'm getting dizzy just recalling it. In fact, I think I will take a break and continue this...a little later. It's suddenly very warm in here!

Next time, Part Two: PREJUDICE

I Want To Be Your Underwear

2006-06-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

"I want to be your underwear...so I can touch you there...and there..."

(A line from the song by Club 69, a German dance club duo that had a few hits in the early 1990's. )

I love boys in their underwear. As much as I just can't think around guys in Speedos, underwear is a more universal turn-on for me because -- face it -- there are only so many places where swimwear is appropriate. Away from the beach, pool, or hotel room, I think they begin to look kinda freaky. Like, imagine your guy taking off his tuxedo, and there's a Speedo underneath? I don't think so. NOT sexy.

But (almost) everyone wears underwear (and frankly, it's okay if they don't)! And while I really, REALLY like the look of classic 'tighty whitey' briefs, I've been surprised to find (over years of MUCH scientific research) that what turns me on most is...when a slim Japanese guy is slipping out of...his BOXERS:

Don't know where that desire came from; God made me this way...is all I can say. And for that, I thank Him.

And while I love a guy in his underwear, the moment I love most is when it's coming off...right before we fling it across the room. Kinda like this:

You know what I mean? I say, Do ya feel me?

*sigh* Okay, on with the show:

Anybody care to guess which of these pictures I took myself?

QuikPost: Ehren Watada

2006-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have a new hero today, First Lieutenant Ehren Watada of the U.S. Army.

At great personal cost (he's gonna be arrested, court-martialed and prosecuted for sure) this courageous guy stood up and said he refused to participate in the illegal and criminal war in Iraq. This story in the Honolulu Star Bulletin says way more than I can express here:

Army officer from Honolulu refuses to report for Iraq duty

It may be that I admire him more because he's handsome as hell, but really, I just want to stand with this guy and cheer him on. Already, he's being called a 'coward, and a 'leftwing moonbat'; no doubt this is just the beginning of an inevitable smear-fest by the right-wing fright machine.

Lt. Watada comes from a good American family (his father was chairman for campaign spending reform in Hawaii) and he's standing up for what he believes in. I think this takes more brass/balls/principle/courage than any of us knows -- certainly more than any of his detractors will admit. Ehren Watada, I salute you!

KimuTaku

2006-06-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

I was planning to do a post on guys in their underwear, but after including a video featuring SMAP sex symbol Takuya Kimura in my last entry, I wanted to talk about him a little. Then I thought, "hey, why not do both?" I can only dream that KimiTaku, as he's widely known in Japan, is as easily bent to my whims and fantasies in real life.

Takuya Kimura + Underwear =

I actually DON'T know a lot about Kimura-kun, apart from the fact that he's exceeeeeedingly photogenic. I've seen him in exactly one film, the inscrutable but beautiful "2046" by Wong Kar Wai, one of my favorite directors (Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together).

Above, Takuya Kimura in "2046"

I have never heard a SMAP song, or heard Takuya speak (apart from a clip on YouTube where he announces his engagement to Kudo Shizuka at a concert. DAMN!). So, all in all, he's been a blank slate for me to write my fantasies on.

In my most active one, he's an art student here in Los Angeles studying at one of the design colleges we have scattered around the Southland. I'd be having tea with him at a little cafe, gazing at him across a table; this is the face I picture sitting across from me:

I imagine him needing me to encourage him to open up to reveal what's really inside -- to make his art come alive. What's inside, of course, would be his hidden gaisen, after which we'd go back to his humble room near Downtown and he'd paint and draw me and we'd explore each other's bodies and souls. (Hmm, wow, I'd given this a lot more thought than I realized!)

There, I'd sometimes catch him looking at me like this:

or this:

And sometimes I'd take him to a fancy hotel where we'd have breakfast in bed, just to break the routine:

Strangely enough, this is one fantasy where Ken Miyake does NOT join us for pillow fights. Hmmmm...

I like pictures of Takuya when he's smiling, but as one world-famous male model I used to know once said "they don't pay me to smile." So in most shots he's brooding, moody and other things that make me want to ask what's going on inside; what I can do to ease his troubled soul, soothe his tumultuous heart, stroke his yearning tumescence...

Here's what I mean. Kimura happy:

...and Kimura serious:

And the fact that he's been photographed (first with SMAP, then as he blossomed and branched out on his own) since he was about 15, means that there's ample documentation of his growth from ultra-cute Johnny's boy, to the mysterious and obviously sexable man he is today. In no particular order, I give you Takuya Kimura:

Oh, and those boys in their underwear? I'll post those tomorrow, that is IF I can get on Blogger (they've been having database/server issues). Gomen asai! Onegai shimasu!

Do The Math

2006-06-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how are we to calcuate the value of a video? Say, even a short, 1-3 minute video of some of the hottest guys in Japan (and alsewhere) taking their clothes off and/or working REAL HARD to entertain us? Well, rather than me writing TEN thousand words about it, take a look, and YOU do the math:

(NOTE: The pictures above each video link are not FROM the video you're about to see; just an identifier of who's in 'em)

Wentz and Teppei (WaT)

J-Pop pin-ups Wentz and Teppei (WaT) take it all off for your onsen (hot spring) pleasure (These guys seem to really get off taking their clothes off every chance they get -- even onstage and on TV!):

Ken Miyake

V6 Hottie Ken Miyake getting his sentou 'freak' on (classified as Adult Material, though nobody's entirely naked, and there's no sex...that we SEE, anyway...Dammit!):

Shun Oguri

Up-and-cumming actor Shun Oguri (with Nakamura Shido), doing the Crazy Dance from the VERY disquieting film, Neighbor No. 13 (to me, this doesn't get crazy...enough!):

Shingo Katori

SMAP superstar Shingo Katori w/ Freshmen (Rolling Bomber Special) in a really cute and inventive short film:

Taksahi Sorimachi & Yutaka Takenouchi

A clip reel of the equally sextacular Takashi Sorimachi and Yutaka Takenouchi from their drama series, Beach Boys (I haven't even SEEN the show yet -- can't find fansubs with English subtitles -- but I already KNOW it will be one of my favorite shows ever. Just the idea alone is like a wet dream to me):

-----

And some of these other gems I was hipped to through the forums on JGuyUSGuy (as usual, the font of all wisdom where hot Japanese guys are concerned, IMHO!)

Ando Masanoubu

In Takashi Miike's Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (Clip 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYF1OEt3FPM
(HOT clip from this MUST SEE MOVIE by the most inventive film director working anywhere today)

Jung Ji Hoon -- AKA "Rain"

Rain -- I'm Too Sexy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8B2zF9BnbM
(K-pop singing sensation who apparently HATES it when people think he's the gay)

Kanjani 8

Kanjani8 -- Osaka Rainy Blues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLsJR14A5pg
(Terrible song; hot boys. Guess I will forever be a total sucker for any cute JGuy named Ryo. Well, make that any cute JGuy, period.)

Gackt

Gackt, on a cel...in a cell...:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aoX7ev6h2w&search=japan%20dick
(Funny, I never liked Gackt that much...but suddenly I REALLY want a new cel phone!)

Tsubasa

Tsubasa Imai - Calpis Nude Commercial Ver. 1:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FbDN5M3voN4
(Spoiler: the drink is what's Nude; Tsubasa …maybe not so much)

Shinhwa

The sexiest K-band in the world plays The Kissing Game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_XeWh_sQy4
(It's cute when boys try to kiss other boys)

And while we're on the subject:

Takuya Kimura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOO8OYQQUo4&search=takuya%20kiss
(yes, that's KimiTaku and Inagaki Goro from SMAP expressing their love for each other)

Oh Jiho, among others

Sexy Korean Guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdGukrBvYGA
(Somebody's idea of what's hot…and I totally agree)

-----

Hope the last several ones above don't look like I'm just recycling someone's hard work at finding great vids. But I want to ensure that these visual treats don't get overlooked. Just looked over…and over…and OVER. I will admit I watched Shun Oguri's Crazy Dance about 40 times the first day I saw it. And I think if you look closely, you can see his cock flopping around near the beginning.

Now, "THAT'S En-ter-tain-ment!"

Be Back Soon

2006-06-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have missed posting to this blog more than I realized. While I honestly felt it was necessary to immerse myself in the stories and characters for the script I'm writing, telling myself that everything else in my life was a distraction was...well, a distraction, too -- I ended up thinking about it because I COULDN'T think about it.

I guess the late, great movie star Mae West put it best:

"Sex is like oxygen. It becomes very important when you aren't getting any."

And, well, I have so many stories, photos and videos built up, that sometimes I get a little crazy if I can't...uh, shoot my wad.

So please, bear with me for another day or two. Though I hate to sound like "The Governator":

"I'll be back."

I promise the wait will be worth it.

Building Boom

2006-05-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

I hear there's a building boom still going on in Shanghai. Wonder if I could get this guy to help me...uh, erect something.

Boys Of Summer

2006-05-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

(above, "Stars and Stripes Forever" takes on a whole new meaning!)

Memorial Day in the U.S. is a national holiday where we honor fallen servicemen. It's also the unofficial start of the Summer season. Here in L.A., we're enjoying a short window of bright sunshiny days after the "May Gray" weather I complained about a couple of posts ago, before we fall in to "June Gloom" overcast skies that will last till about July.

And to me, nothing says "Summer" better than a couple of "stunners", poolside or at the beach. Let's Get Soaking Wet!

Note from Crash: To everybody who wrote to wish me luck with the writing, arigato gozaimas! It was rough going last week, leaving me angry and scared, but I have had several breakthroughs the last couple of days, so I'm excited and optimistic that I'll meet my deadline this Friday (roommate Jefcat reminds me I go through this every time). I hope to be back posting very soon! Thanks again for your support and good wishes. "Ganbatte, everyday!", is my motto!

It Comes In Spurts

2006-05-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

For the next several days, I have some serious writing to do, so I probably won't be posting here much. All you writers out there know what I'm talking about; that -- for whatever reason -- the creative juices just seem to come in spurts. *ahem*

"Lonesome Cowboy", by Takashi Murakami

(Special thanks to KazuhitoFan at JGuyUSGuy for providing me with this pristine photo of one of my favorite art pieces of all time. "Lonesome Cowboy" is a life-sized sculpture over six feet tall by the Japanese artist/designer/force-of-nature, Takashi Murakami . My Louis Vuitton-addicted boyfriend MBB turned me on to his work for LV; I explored Murakami's genius from there!)

I will be back soon. In the meantime, I sure would love to hear feedback on what readers think about this blog. Please feel free to e-mail me or leave comments. Onegai shimasu!

Asians Anonymous

2006-05-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new kind of AA Meeting*: Asians Anonymous. The first step is to admit that you have an addiction -- to beautiful Asian men. Well, my name is Crash ("Hello, Crash"), and I'm an Asia-holic (that includes guys from India, which is part of Asia, and which makes me, I guess, a "Taj-Mahalic", on top of it).

I face my addiction one day at a time. One lust-inducing, crotch-grabbing picture at a time. Here's MY idea of a "12 Step" program:

*Please note that this post is intended as light-hearted humor and in no way makes light of the serious struggles faced by anyone reading who may be battling -- and overcoming -- addictions of any kind. Beauty, however, is a drug from which I never wish to be free.

Mocostyle!

2006-05-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

In a recent post I mentioned my Ultimate Hottie for 2006, Mocomichi Hayami (also spelled 'Mokomichi' sometimes). Yes, for all of 2006 even though it's only May so far. Well, okay, if I find there's someone hotter than him, I'll be the first to revise the award. But I doubt that will happen. Here's why:

(Oh yeah, he can be the Captain of MY "Love Boat", alright!)

I discovered Moco in the 2005 TV drama Densha Otoko, which is based on a true story of a geeky guy who met a girl on a subway train and turned to an internet bulletin board for advice on how to date her. It's really charming and inspiring (and has a KILLER opening animation, BTW). In the series, Hayami-san plays the girl's stylin' little brother, Keisuke. By Episode 2, I was a goner...it was love at first sight. He's also been in the very popular Gokusen 2 (where in Hell is that DVD, already, Jefcat?), Brother Beat, and several more in the works or on the shelf.

(above: as Keisuke Aoyama in Densha Otoko. See what I mean?)

I know, it's silly of me, but this guy makes me want to be his boyfriend like no one else in years. In my complete 'hey-it's-your-fantasy-so-go-nuts' hallucination, we'd live here in Hollywood, and I'd manage his career transition to American movie star. I'd call him "Mitch" 'cause he'd want to be 'American'ized; he'd call me his "Baka-Neko" 'cause I'm one nutty cat. He'd find my age, wisdom, and soft white flesh a turn-on and inspiration. Oh, and Ken Miyake (of V6) would fly over occasionally for pillow fights...*sigh*

Yeah, I imagine I'd take some pictures of him that would look like this:

(yes, I would even go in J-girl drag to make him breakfast)

I mean, it's gotta be love - I don't even mind the inexplicably red hair!

My boy Moco is really on the rise, I know we'll be seeing a lot of him in movies and TV, and especially, here on Miso Honey!

BONUS VIDEO LINKS: Check out these 3 ultra-short commercials to see how he is in live action. YUMMY!!!

Puchi Spot 1
Puchi Spot 2
Puchi Spot 3

BONER VIDEO LINK: And today I found this teaser for a new show he's starring in that I CAN'T WAIT to see:

Moco, as a champion swimmer? Like, in SPEEDOS? Get OUT of the pool so I CAN SEE!!!!

Okay, you get the idea, stay tuned.

Actually, this whole idea has inspired me to have a year-end wrap up that I will call the "Miso Honey SUKI Award" (SUKI = SUgoi Kawaii Ichiban, get it? Incredibly Cute Best?!). I'll award top honors for Actor, Singer, Band, TV Show, Movie, and Model of the Year. I'd be glad to take reader's submissions, too! Let's make it interactive! Obviously, all candidates should be ASIAN (includes Asian-American) guys only. Suki des!

B'z Make Me Honey

2006-05-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, roommate Jefcat and I were making one of our frequent pilgrimages to Little Tokyo, in downtown Los Angeles. Jefcat likes to feed his inner otaku at Anime Jungle; I like to get my shoyu ramen freak on at Daikokuya*, and we both like looking at the kawaiiiii (cute!) Japanese boys. There are probably (assuredly) more to be found in West L.A. on Sawtelle, but Little Tokyo is really easy and freeway close from our luxurious Hollywood penthouse.

One day, we stopped into a video and music store in the mall where I buy placemats and nightlights. The video store featured thousands of titles I had never seen and couldn't read, when I saw a man on the cover of one CD that stopped me in my tracks:

(I'm talking about the guy on the right)

All I could figure out was the band was called "B'z" and I ran home to look them up online (okay, FIRST I ran to Yamazaki Bakery for Cachucha and green tea Soft Cake, but immediately thereafter...).

Turns out that B'z is one of the most famous, successful and longest-running bands in Japanese rock. The guy who stole my heart with one look was (is!) Koshi Inaba. Take a look:

Together with guitarist Tak Matsumoto, Inaba-san has been performing as B'z since the early 1990's, and appear to have known each other long before, since at least high school. I don't read or speak...or understand much...Japanese and frankly, wasn't entirely thrilled by their music. It was the kind of rock that seemed stuck in the 80's, informed by a love of AC/DC, Poison, Guns-N-Roses, Motley Crue, and all that stuff. Only when they ventured into more melodic or disco-y (like "Ultra Soul") did I really start rockin' along. But still, man, Koshi was on my mind constantly, thrilling and killing me with his gorgeousness.

A week after the Koshi thunderbolt hit, Jefcat calls one day from work. At the time he worked for House Of Blues, the big nightclub and concert venue operators here in the States. "Hey, guess who's playing at HOB Sunset Strip next Thursday?" Hmmmm. Goldfrapp? "No." George Michael? "No." It's not V6 is it!? "No. Give up? Wanna see the B'z?"

That's the kind of luck in life I have. I had never heard of these guys two weeks prior, and there they were, on a rare U.S. concert tour, AND playing my roommate's venue! Meaning free for me! Oh yeah, we were going. I also have to admit I was hoping the audience would be full of hot, rockin' Japanese guys, even if they had their girlfriends with them (there were, and they did).

B'z were doing their Live Gym tour, and this was the last night. It was incredible. Koshi and Tak were spectacular, talented, and really whipped up the audience (I'll never forget the one guy with the Mickey Mouse glove on his hand). By the time they got to "Ultra Soul" near the end, we didn't feel like outsiders in the 99.6% Japanese crowd. We were all one.

Koshi live!

Only mis-step of the night was when I insisted to Jefcat that we try to get backstage to meet the band. I don't normally feel the need to meet any famous people, since I already know so many. And usually Jefcat arranges all-access passes for us. But the guard (rightly) wasn't about to let two drunk gaijin who weren't on the list anywhere near the band. So we drove home, happy in a haze of Stoli martinis, Scooby Snacks and "Lock 'N' Lorr!"

Before I go, here's a video of Koshi in action, solo, and SHIRTLESS. Deep breaths.

I hope B'z come back one day, and enjoy a successful tour of the U.S. They have many fans here who will be very happy to see them. And Koshi, if you're looking for me, I'll be one of the two white guys closest to the stage!

-----

*Note From Above: a single picture online or in a newspaper (or abviously, on a CD cover) can inspire me to get into any new thing. This picture ran in an L.A. Weekly column on Ramen restaurants, starting me on yet another ferocious affair with something Japanese:

Daikokuya cutie

That Look

2006-05-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

You know That Look.

...The one that says, "Are you going to take off your clothes, or do I have to do it for you?"

...That says, "Hey...you want to do it again?"

...That says, simply, "Fcuk,yeah!"

You know that look. It looks like this:

May you be the lucky recipient of that look today!

(Extra points to anyone who guesses correctly which of these guys I have actually dated)

V6: Six Degress Of Sexability

2006-05-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Johnny Kitagawa had a dream: to be surrounded by cute, young, talented, eager-to-please Japanese boys, who could sing, dance -- and do it all shirtless. Come to think of it, I have the same dream, but Johnny did something about it. He founded Johnny's Entertainment (aka Johnny's Jimusho) and, since the 1990's, has been rolling out boy-band after boy-band, topping the J-pop charts and launching TV shows and film careers. A brief article on his history (and some hints of scandals) can be found here.

About 15 years ago, Johnny's put SMAP on the map, and gave the world Shingo Katori and Takuya Kimura. Later on came super-groups Arashi, KAT-TUN, News and many others.

But to me, his greatest invention/confection has been V6. Formed in about 1993, the wholesome band of 6 incredibly cute and talented young guys quickly became my favorite band EVER, soon after I heard their song "I Want To Change The World", (the first opening theme to the popular anime show "Inuyasha").

I loved their sound, but then I saw what they looked like. It was all over for me:

Since then I've become a (shall we say) especially 'devoted' fan. Their records, their concert videos, their films (don't miss Hard Luck Hero), their travel videos, ALL have an incredible energy, charm and quality. I love their music and am not afraid to say it -- except maybe to new Japanese friends!

And the fact that they seem to understand that their fans really, REALLY want to see them in as few clothes as possible (or as fashionable as possible)...well, it says a lot about them that they comply so willingly.

V6 are Masayuki Sakamoto, Yoshihiko Inohara, Hiroshi Nagano, Ken Miyake, Go Morita and Junichi Okada. I would gladly -- gleefully -- sleep with 5 out of the six...in a Tokyo minute! I guess in my wildest fantasy, I would be 'Yoko' to Ken Miyake's 'John', but without breaking up the group. Yeah, that's gonna happen.

Ken's my obvious, hands-down (or hands ON!) favorite; let me show you why:

Not convinced? Here's more Ken...

Suki des, Ken-kun! Then, in order of sexability: Yoshihiko (nicknamed "Inocchi" -- and who turns 30 today! Happy Birthday, Innochi!), Masayuki, Hiroshi and Go. I'm the only person I know who doesn't think Junichi is that hot. But I'm totally open to being proved wrong. By him. In person. ANY day.

"I Want To Change The World"? Well, I had NO idea six boys from Japan who I'd never heard of till 3 years ago could change mine so much.

The Guy Who Caused My Midlife Crisis

2006-05-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

I can write about it now, because I'm pretty much over it (and also, because I have a blog). But really, mostly, because I have survived and come out the other side.

About a year ago, I met this guy, who I'll call "E". I didn't realize he was a model and actor when we met, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been so eager to invite him into my life. Or allowed myself to want an affair with him. Everyone, meet "E":

(Above, some shots from E's modeling portfolio)

We met at a premiere party I was co-producing for the cable network I used to work for (hint: it's not HBO). "E" was brought by a fellow I'd invited (who I'll call "C") after making his acquaintance at The Abbey (a popular West Hollywood watering hole). I say, 'made his acquaintance' because in reality, "C" walked up to me and, by way of introduction, said, "can I make out with your friend?" He was talking about my boss at the time (who is a very handsome guy, but not into Asians, so I told him I thought not). Anyway, "C" and I chatted, and a few weeks later I invited him to the party. He asked if he could bring 4 people (fresh out of college, he figured everything was a frat party) but I told him he could bring one. And the one he brought was "E".

The minute I laid eyes on "E", my heart skipped a beat; talking to him made it beat like a hummingbird. He was beautiful, polite, wanted to be a writer, worked in advertising. Having boyfriend MBB there meant I had to be cool; luckily, roommate Jefcat was there to keep him occupied. Here we all are at one singular moment in time:

(Above, left to right: roommate Jefcat, boyfriend MBB, "E", me, and "C")

Soon after, I began plotting ways to go out alone with "E". Chatty e-mails, witty banter on the phone, invitations to screenings. Finally one night, he agreed to go with me to a Sundance Channel screening for the Korean film 3-Iron (which I enthusiastically recommend to anyone reading). "E" met me for a drink abefore the show, and we talked and laughed. He was even more beautiful and charming than I had remembered. Here's how taken I was: he stopped to have a cigarette outside the theatre before we went in, and I didn't mind. Usually, someone smoking is a total turn-off for me, but not this time. Then we went in and enjoyed the film.

Afterward, I wanted to go someplace else, but he offered to walk me to my car instead. I'm not ashamed that I don't drive an expensive, showy car (I used to have a Mercedes SL, though, and I did love it -- and sometimes miss the prestige). But I did get the impression that if I'd arrived at a Porsche or a Lexus, he might have hopped in with me to go off for a nightcap. Not to worry, I thought: I have an impressive home, glamorous job, and interesting friends.

(Above, some more shots from E's modeling portfolio)

However, as time went on, I began to sense resistance on "E"'s part to the idea of an affair. I'd invite him places, and he'd bring friends, some of whom he was obviously dating. People younger, hipper, even more 'plugged-in' to the Industry than I was.

Quickly, the Awful Truth began to dawn on me. I begin to think: I can't compete. I had very rarely experienced desiring anyone who was that completely beyond my reach. Who didn't even want to entertain the notion of an affair. "E" operated at an entirely different level, one where I played no part in his fantasies.

I began to feel terrible about myself, my body, my life choices -- everything. I felt old, for the first time. That I didn't have what it took anymore. I used to read his blog, and despair that I didn't register in "E"'s life. One day he wrote that he felt like Frida Kalho, wondering where his Diego Rivera was...and I wanted to scream..."It's me!" But in truth, I wasn't Diego -- I wasn't famous or wealthy enough, nor as much a creative genius -- to inspire "E", either in lust or life.

It was crazy, too, because I already had a long relationship with boyfriend MBB, and was in the middle of a torrid affair with a Japanese kid who was a student at a University here in L.A. Still, at that time, I would have thrown it all away if "E" had just said the word.

The worst part was, "E" was a good friend. He frequently invited me to outings and parties, introduced me to his friends, and always accepted my invitations. But I was dealing from fear, which to me is the worst hell one can live with. So I began to resent "E", his beauty, his talent, his promise, his ambition. I turned away from him and cut him off.

(Some shots of "E" in Hawaii. I didn't know he was there, till he returned a call while at the beach one day. He really WAS a nice guy!)

Fast forward to April 2006. A lot's changed in my life. I've left my glamorous network job. I'm writing a TV show -- on spec -- which has not yet been pitched, much less sold. I am not sure what's next in my life. The affair with the Japanese student has ended (he broke off with me in December; came back in January; and I ended it finally in March) but he still occupies a big place in my heart and mind. I'm working to devote more love to boyfriend MBB, but we have some seemingly immovable obstacles. Uncertainty abounds.

Then, one day I get an invitation to a screening of "E"'s first film, which he co-wrote, co-produced and starred in (I can't tell you the name, because that would reveal "E"'s identity, and that's not fair to him). I learn from the invite that it's been accepted and won awards at numerous Festivals around the world (as I write this, he's in France where it's in selection at the Cannes Film Festival). Once again, the old feelings of jealously and resentment return. But I agree to go.

The screening was a week ago, on Sunday. Of all the luck, I'm at a birthday party the Friday night before at a club here in Hollywood that turns out to have a big gay Asian following. I'm having a blast (with a big group of straight friends I worked with at a previous network) and, lo and behold, ten feet away, in the middle of a group of the most attractive guys, stands "E". I don't even think twice, but drag Jefcat over with me over to say hello.

The resentment vanishes. We catch up like old friends. I'm happy for his success. He introduces me to the cutest guy in the club, because he knows I'll like him. I'm freed from my Hell.

I accidentally run into "E" the next day when we're buying our advance tickets for the screening. Then Sunday night at his premiere, he sits directly in front of me when he could have sat with any of his dozens of friends and supporters. We laugh, we chat, he introduces Jefcat and I to more of his cute friends. His film is one of the best. I'm proud of him.

And the Mid-Life Crisis that had been mostly in my head...is now largely passed. Like a nightmare from which I've awoken. All that's left is to lose another 10-20 lbs. (hence, the gym), get some highlights and another fabulous network or studio gig. And then, look out world! I'll be back!

Can't compete? YES I CAN!

Sporty Spice

2006-05-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today's series is inspired by my recent commitment to go to the gym every day. If my gym had eye-candy like this, I might be making more sure that happened...I wonder if there's a 24 Hour Fitness in Chinatown or Little Tokyo?

Actually, I know that's not the answer. I don't want to be driving 20 minutes, sweaty, panting and horny...before I even start my workout. Wink wink!

As it is, it's okay. I probably don't need the distraction anyway. I roll out of bed, wear *whatever*, and run out of the house with total bed head. On the other hand, I guess I could wait till later in the day, when all the out-of-work actors start showing up. Hmmmm...wonder if there are any Asian Actor Workshops here in Hollywood? Hey! Hope springs eternal! Yeah, baby!

Doki Doki Hiroki

2006-05-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

"Doki doki" means 'heartbeat' in Japanese. Makes more sense to me than "mushi mushi" meaning 'hello' when you answer the phone...

Okay, so, the other day I found my way to this site called AsianFanatics.net which I guess has information on fashion, entertainment, and who are the hot actors and actresses in all the major Asian media markets (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc.). I say 'I guess' because I never got past the photo galleries.

In said galleries (yeah, you have to sign up to see the best stuff, but it's easy and free), there are several subdivisions of male and female star photos, categorized by country. Gee, which one do you think I went straight to? If you answered 'Japanese Male', you're right and you should reward yourself with a cookie. Or some Pocky.

There were the familiar (but still attractive) faces: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Yutaka Takenouchi, Shun Oguri, perennial faves Sorimachi, Fujiki and Koshi Inaba, the guys from Kanjani 8 and Kat-tun, and my Ultimate Hottie of 2006, Mokomichi Hayami (I know it's only May, but I'm telling you voting is CLOSED after seeing him in Densha Otoko). And there were some real beauties I'd never seen before: Hideaki Ito, Shunsuke Nakamura, Jun Kaname, and several others.

But the one that really stuck out for me was Hiroki Narimiya. Apparently he's a very busy Japanese actor with a lot of credits (the DVDs of Gokusen 1 & 2 are already on their way to us -- breathless review to follow soon!), and his pictures started out charming enough:

Then I went to the second page of the gallery. Hiroki-kun is about 24, but he looks like he's 16. Yikes! And, clearly, not at all shy about showing his sensual side. For which I'm very, VERY grateful:

These apparently appeared in a photo essay entitled "Cookie Crumbs" (I assume, as in: "I wouldn't kick him out of bed for leaving cookie crumbs").

Then came, what we call in the Industry, 'the Money Shot':

There aren't many photos online that have made my jaw drop open. This one did (which may be why it's also the wallpaper currently sexing up my PC desktop!)...

I have, like, 14 other posts that I am wildly excited about putting up, but that one picture made this one jump to the head of the line. And, really, can you blame me?

PS: And aren't you glad I didn't call it "Mama Mia, Narimiya"? I could have, you know.