It’s hot. Too damn hot.

If you live on the east coast (the right coast) of North America, you know what I am talking about. A terrible heat wave has run rampant through these parts. Those of us that live in the northeast are not accustomed to this weather. We feel it is hot at 86°F (30°C), let alone temperatures pushing 100°F (~38°C).

Unfortunately, this heat wave is coming at the worst time possible. Lots of us want to cut down on our electricity bills. In years past, the immediate reaction to this weather is sticking in the air conditioner. I’m trying to hold out as long as possible. Several fans, ice and nudes of Hillary Clinton (think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts) have not made things cooler, so I need to turn to a new source.

So please, photobooks of Hello!Project, enjoy your beaches and pools. Anything to make me feel like I am there and not in this sweltering, humid heat.

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2006: Def Diva
2007: GAM
2008: C-ute

When it happens, you can all call it the Rakuten Eagles Curse.

* Morning Musume doesn’t count since The Manpower was A) not intended for the baseball team, B) did not have Rakuten Eagles in the title and C) would ruin my theory.

My guesses as to how:

1 - Chisato Okai pulls out a knife in the middle of a concert and finally cuts a solo line. In who is debatable.

2 - Erika Umeda gets caught in a scandal and rocks the foundation of the unit - haha, yah right.

3 - Japan gets sick of teenage girls - haha, yah right.

4 - Airi becomes a full-time member of Buono. What something that could seriously happen?

5 - Either Maimi or Mai is getting pregnant, or both - and potentially with the same baby daddy.

There are some days where I question how much of a fan I truly am of idols. Today is one of those days. It has been roughly one year since the Hello!Project, and thus, idol career of Ai Kago came to an end. It was a bitter end - at the time there was hope and promise for a revitalization of her career that had been previously suspended for a year. However, Ai did not want to play the by the frivolous and petty rules rules of being an idol.

And this makes me not want to play by the rules of idol worship.

So there are some days that I look at Kanna Arihara, and others, and think:

“We can’t go on together, with suspicious minds.”

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In this round:
3. Miki Fujimoto vs. 14. Masae Ohtani
6. Ai Takahashi vs. 11. Ayumi Shibata

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From Hello!Online

It was announced today that Miki will be recording a single entitled “Oki Tegami”. The single will also be recorded by fellow Up-Front singer Horiuchi Takao, who you may remember from a few appearances on Uta Doki.

…

The single is scheduled to release on April 23, 2008.

Hell yeah. What fantastic news this is. What a month April is turning out to be with this and Perfume’s album. It doesn’t matter if this single ends up being terrible. Her foot is back in the door. The next step is anyone’s guess. She could go and continue doing duet junk like this. She could do solo work. She could even go back to GAM. The most important thing is that she will be doing something in the music industry for the foreseeable future. And for that, I am very happy.

I watched Aya Matsuura’s 2007 Autumn ~Double Rainbow~ tour a few days ago. I have not watched an Aya Matsuura concert in a long time. I have had no reason to. She is no longer an artist that I greatly enjoy. In fact, whenever I watch her, I am just reminded of why I used to like her instead of why I currently like her.

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It seems like times are bad for Hello!Project. Berryz Koubou is going to release another uninspiring single. C-ute is going to follow up the fantastic Tokaiko Junjou with Lalala Shiawase no Uta, a song that’s already frowned upon by many after the 58th Kouhaku. Morning Musume’s next single is delayed. Natsumi Abe and Maimi Yajima’s single, 16sai no Koi Nante, did not sell well and I have a sneaking suspicion the blame for it will be laid upon Maimi. Risako Sugaya is dangerously risking overexposure by releasing a third photobook, which is unjustly coming before the first photobooks of Aika Mitsui, Li Chun, Chinami Tokunaga, Kanna Arihara and others.

Despite all of that, good news has arrived today! V-u-den is breaking up! It may not seem like it, but it is good news.

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While it has virtually melted away by now, we got out first snow storm of the season a few days ago. So to commemorate this great occasion, I dug deep into the VAULT to pull out some photos that include H!P and snow. There has definitely been a decline of these pictures, especially in photobooks. Eric Kamei even went to Canada and didn’t have a single picture of her near snow. What a travesty! One the one hand, it does make sense… It’s pretty hard to go around shooting in snow with a bikini on. However, it would definitely make for a memorable photo for all of those people complaining about bikini shots becoming “generic.”

But enough of that, onto the photos!

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