I’ve developed a liking towards Ettusais lately, and got myself a couple of products after reading good reviews about them. I’ve tried 2/3 of what’s shown here, and I’m liking it so far!

This hymn was written by John Newton, and published in 1779. This is a song we sing not only during church services, but also during weddings and funerals, and is recognised by both Christians and non-Christians.

I came across this version by Il Divo last night, and as I watched the video, the song touched me in a way it never did before. This is one of the best versions of the song that I’ve come across – the singing was great and the location at which they shot the video was really beautiful as well. But while these things added to my enjoyment of the song, it was the meaningful lyrics that really reached out to me. I’ve sung this many times in church, but somehow the lyrics never struck me this hard before…

Kimi ni Todoke (Reaching You) is one of the series I really enjoy. I’ve read the manga, watch the anime and now the live action as well. I first watched the movie in Japanese, and now that the English subs are out, I’m rewatching it while I’m typing this.

It’s the end of the year once again… to be honest, I’ve been too unmotivated to write anything lately, but writing my end-of-year reflections on this blog has been something that I’ve done for the past few years, and I don’t want to stop that tradition now, hence I’m making myself write.

2009 was a year full of changes, and it’s no different this year as well. From starting my PhD to setting a date for my wedding and many other smaller things as well… there are many new things that happened this year. As I’ve said many times before, I’m not very good at handling changes, and it took me some time to adapt after some of these events, but I hope that I’ve become better at accepting changes, even if it’s just a little bit.

Last Sunday was the last service I had in church, and as per my church’s tradition, a few people were asked to go up on stage to share about their year. As I listened to their sharing from where I was seated, my heart felt full, and I was reminded of the many things that I had been blessed with, and the many things I could give thanks for.

Someone uploaded the latest episode of Tousouchuu (2010年11月23日 「逃走中2010～激動明治の大事変～」) on YouTube, and I checked it out since I’ve heard good things about the show and recognised some of the people participating in the latest episode.

逃走中 (Run For Money) is essentially a massive game of tag, which goes on for about 90 minutes (the time, rules and setting vary with each episode, and I’ll base what I type here on the one that I watched, but they generally don’t differ too much). The players have to escape from the Hunters, and with each second that they survive in the game, the more money they can potentially get. All players are given a cell phone (which cannot be switched to silent mode), a watch and a map.

Before the actual game starts, the opening game is carried out. Boxes enclosing the hunters are placed a fixed distance before the contestants, and the contestants take turns to play the game. Once certain conditions are fulfilled, the hunter box opens and the game officially begins.

The participants get to interact with other characters in the game, and they might be asked to perform some jobs, which they then have the choice of accepting or declining. Accepting the job earns them some “money” which would come in useful during the game, but also puts them at a higher risk of getting caught while they are working. There are also missions along the way, which tie in with a story that’s related to the setting of the particular episode. As with the jobs, it is not compulsary for players to participate in the missions, but being successful in the mission means that all players would have a lower chance of being caught.

In this game, the longer the players survive, the more their winnings will be. However, once caught by the hunters, the game ends for them and they will go home empty-handed. One way that the players can ensure that they go home with some money is to surrender during the game, and the amount that they get is then determined by how long they have been in the game until the point they surrendered. The players that manage to survive until the game ends will get the maximum amount of prize money available.

The concept behind the game is fairly simple, but the creators of the show have executed it well, which makes it entertaining to watch, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s interesting to see how the participants behave under such a stressful situation, and the range of behaviours that you can see is reflective of what you see in real life as well. In a way, the feeling I get when I’m watching this is similar to when I’m watching The Amazing Race (which I really enjoy as well!).