Hetalia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been forever scince I posted anything so I decided to talk a bit(might end up being alot ;D) about my new favorite anime, Hetalia (Hetalia Axis Powers to be exact).

First of all, Hetalia is almost a world history class (mostly about the WW2 era), but the countries are replaced by stereotyped human representations. The main characters are the "Axis" and the "Allies". The Axis members are: North Italy (also called Italy Veneziano, but mostly known as Italy), Germany and Japan. The Allies are: England (also called Britain or UK), America, France, Russia and China.

  

The Axis (Italy, Japan, Germany)                                                                             The Allies (America, (Top) France, Russia,

                                                                                            (Bottom) England, China)

Hetalia first started as a manga, then a webcomic, to finish with an anime. The anime is divided in 4 seasons: Hetalia Axis Powers (seasons 1&2) (52 episodes total) and Hetalia World Series (seasons 3&4) (48 episodes total). The anime is available in japanese with english subtitles, in english, and it is said it will soon come out in japanese with french subtitles. Lately, Hetalia released a movie entitled Hetalia Axis Powers: Paint it White!. It is available in japanese with english subtitles and in english.

 Hetalia Axis Powers: Paint it White! DVD cover

There also is multiple CDs with multiple songs and mini dramas. The character CDs mostly contain the characters' signature song(s), while the drama CDs contain mini dramas. There also is other CDs containing various songs like the anime's ending songs' different versions and more.

 All the Hetalia character CDs

Well, this is all I can really talk about, as I don't know much more then the characters and the anime. If anyone wants to know more about another character (there is about 47 of them) I will gladly make a post about him/her ;D

I do not own Hetalia or the pictures. Copyright to the owners.   

   

Reader Response #7

I have now finished the 312 pages of my biography: Britney Spears Little Girl Lost.

Retell

After the Christmas break, Britney is still sad about her divorce with Kevin Federline. She also had nothing to do, so she traveled all over the states with her kids. Britney was sinking further and further in despair, as her very close ant died of ovarian cancer. Also, her lawyer and Kevin's lawyer were trying to figure out an arrangement about the kids custody.

Latter on, Britney's assistant, Kalie Machado, met with Osama "Sam" Lutfi, who turned out to be a stalker who was stalking Britney.

Afterwards, the people close to Britney thought that Britney's behavior problems were due to partying, drinking, and her casual use of drugs, so they decided to put her in a rehab facility. At first, Britney didn't agree about the idea, but she went latter, after Kevin threatened her of taking her kids if she didn't go.

All this stress bursted out of Britney when she decided to shave her whole hair off. Britney's image was decreasing, and Larry Rudolph was scared that Britney's image would ruin her career. Also, Lynne and Britney's her time in the rehab institute, she worked on a small tour, called M&Ms, to show that she was coming back .  She also worked on her new album: Blackout. She also accepted to be photographed for the magazine OK!, but the picture session was horrible, as Britney was really impolite and acting in a weird way.

Usually, MTV likes it when Britney performs for them, but this time they weren't sure about it this time. They accepted Britney on their show, as long as she practiced and had a professional manager with her. The practices went very well, Britney was happy to be back in business, but the show was horrible. Britney wasn't lip syncing in time, and her moves weren't as well performed as they should of been.

Things went event worse for Britney when Kevin got custody of both of Britney's boys. Britney also met Sam Lutfi,  and Sam's obsession for Britney got even deeper, so much that he wanted to be with her all the time.

Britney then started to tech kids how to dance. She was a wonderful teacher, and she treated each kid well and as an individual person. She also started a normal relation with one of the paparazzi surrounding her house, Adnan Ghalib. Their relation didn't last long, since Lynne saw bad influence in almost everyone of Britney's entourage.

Other incidents showed how much Britney loves her children. When they came for a visit to her house, Britney took Jayden James with her in her bathroom instead of letting him leave. Even the police came to the case of the child being kept as an hostage by his mother. Britney did let go of her son afterwards. After the incident, she was taken to a psychological hospital to help her with her problems.

After all these problems, Britney's album Blackout made it to number 2 on the Billboard charts, and a couple of her songs sold very well. The only thing Britney could now hold onto was her music.

Jamie later decided to take charge of Britney's assets. The first thing he and Lynne did was to kick Lutfi out of Britney's life. Ghalib was also thrown out of Britney's entourage.

After all these events, Britney was working on her new album: Circus. She then opened the MTV Video Music Awards.Not long after, the first single from Circus: "Womanizer" was classed number 1 on the Hot  100 chart, her first single since "...Baby One More Time". Britney was now going better and better. Her album Circus was a great success, as well as the Circus Starring Britney Spears tour.

Things went so well for Britney, she even got another boyfriend: Jason Trawick, her manager. Jason was already accepted by the Spears family. He was even considered as the perfect boyfriend for Britney.

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Britney was nominated for the category of best dance recording for "Womanizer", but it was Lady Ga-Ga who won the award.

Relate

Now, I can relate to Britney by having parents that care for me almost as much as hers. But, I never got nominated for any songs, nor had any boyfriend or super big drama in my surroundings. Since the beginning of the book, I realised that Britney and I actually have a lot more in common than I thought. This proves that you can't relate to someone unless you know them.

Reflect

Britney lived thru very difficult moments in her life, but she still managed to pull herself out of her problems and aced her songs. She even got pretty much used to all the paparazzi surrounding her life. I guess that, when you're a celebrity, you get used to stuff that average people don't see in their life.

Reader Responce #6

I have now read 243 of my biography.

Retell

Britney is now pregnant of her first son, but it was announced publicly 3 moths into her pregnancy. Sean Preston Federline was born on September 14, 2005. Britney then decided to take a break from her stardom. The medias, however, weren't on the same wave lines as Britney, as they were crowding Britney even more then before. They were so much into bugging Britney that it was as if Britney's feelings weren't existing.

In 2006, Britney was pregnant of her second child. Her second son Jayden James Federline was born on September 12, 2006.  Sadly, 2006 was a year of trouble for Britney. It all started with Kevin Federline being a bad husband and a bad father, which incited Britney to divorce. Britney then went on multiple blind dates to try to find love again.

Relate

Now, the only thing that relates me to Britney is the fact that we often get bugged by others, but I don't get bugged as often as her. Even though I manage to find some common points between me and Britney, there is way more differences in between us two.

Reflect

The events in Britney's life clearly show that not much people care about the celebrities' feelings. All those facts show that life is cruel, and that we can't decide for the others.

Reader Response #5

This is what I learned up to know, after reading 218 pages.

Retell

The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards were marked by a very special performance by Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. The trio performed Madonna's song: ''Like a Virgin'', with Britney and Christina dressed up in a barely there version of a wedding dress, and Madonna dressed up as the groom. The special event was when Madonna leaned to Britney and shared an open-mouth kiss. The kiss let the audience talking for a long time, forgetting about the kiss shared by Madonna and Christina.

Later on, it was revealed that Madonna was a one of Britney's fan. Surprising, since Britney was one of Madonna's fan too. As Madonna and Britney build a deeper friendship, Madonna introduces Britney to Kabbalah, which is a form of Jewish mysticism.

Britney released her fourth album : In the Zone on November 18, 2003. The album debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. Britney's position as a top solo female artist was just even more reinforced.

It was now the Christmas vacations for Britney, who hung out with her family and old friends, including her old friend Jason Alexander. Over the vacations, Britney and Jason got closer and closer together, even to the point of getting married not long after New Year's Eve. However, the wedding only lasted 55 hours, since Britney's family was against the surprising wedding, and it would of interfere with Britney's job too much. However, that wedding was part of history as one  half of the shortest celebrity marriage ever.

In March 2004, Britney started a new tour for her album In the Zone : Onyx Hotel. It was also the start of a new relationship, with Kevin Federline. By the middle of her tour, Britney and Kevin decided to get married, and this time, Britney's family had to meet the groom before the wedding, which would explain why Britney's family wasn't against that wedding. The wedding took place in October, but it almost didn't happen. After the wedding Britney and Kevin bought a house in Malibu. At almost the same time, Britney's new perfume, Curious, was launched.

Relate

Now, Britney and I have almost no qualities that relate us. The only common points between us would be our talent for singing, and our ability of keeping the rhythm very well. Opposite to Britney, I didn't marry anybody, and I don't sleep with old friends that I find hot looking. We just seem to grow further and further apart in our resemblance.

Reflect

I think that Britney is now more comfortable with the celebrity life and all the media fallowing her around. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that everybody freaks out on what Britney wears, when nobody cares about what normal people wear. Britney is a normal human, like us. She should be capable of wearing what she wants without hearing any complaints.  

Reader Response #4

I have now read up to the page #182 of my biography.

Retell

Britney's tour ...Baby One More Time was announced on March 9, 1999. Because of her sexual style, she made a lot of people concerned about her. She had a bit of trouble to keep her reputation of a virgin young lady. This situation made one of her sponsor for her tour drop out.

The ...Baby One More Time started off at Pompano Beach, Florida on June 28, 1999. Between then and September 15, she performed56 shows in the U.S and Canada, to finish with a show in Hong Kong on October 23.

In November, she returned in Sweden to start recording the major part of her Oops!...I Did It Again album.The album was completed in January.

On December 17, 1999, she announced her next tour, the Crazy 2K tour in March 2000, which is a continuation of the ...Baby One More Time tour. She also announced the world-wide tour based on her new album Oops!...I Did It Again.

In February 2000, Britney was nominated for the Grammy Awards in the categories of best female pop vocal performance and best new artist. Sadly, she didn't win any award, the best female pop vocal performance award went to Christina Aguilera.

Later on, the 24 year marriage of Jamie and Lynn Spears came to an end. Apparently, Lynn couldn't stand Jamie's behavior anymore, even if Jamie thinks that Lynn wanted to attach herself to Britney's fame. Some people even think it was Britney's fault, that she asked her mother, in the early 2000, how much longer could she live that way.

The Crazy 2K tour started on March 8, but Britney took a break after seven performances to shoot her video for her song "Oops!...I Did It Again". Even if Jive and Niguel Dick didn't agree with her, Britney wanted to develop a sexier image of herself fast.

On April 20, Britney's Crazy 2K tour continued. The tour was harsh, virtually every night, she would perform in a different city. That tour was the first one where Britney was reported to lip-sync, even if she says that she sings every single song full out.

Britney's Oops!...I Did It Again tour started 2 months later, and it was her first official European tour. This tour was even more exhausting than the previous 2. She did 90 shows in 6 months on 3 continents.

At this point, Britney got even closer with Justin Timberlake as they officially started to go out. Her and Justin were almost a perfect couple, but it suddenly ended when Justin thought that Britney was cheating on him. After they broke up, it didn't really show in the young stars behavior, but it showed in Justin's song and video "Cry Me A River", which was very angry.

After all these events, Britney is getting the sexy image of herself she wanted, but it was worse than expected.It was so bad that there was all sorts of rumors of her sleeping with multiple known  handsome male celebrities. All the gossip even made the wife of one of Britney friend dancer divorce with him.

Relate

Now, Britney is pretty much the complete opposite of me. I don't really care if I have a sexy image of myself, and I don't run around from guy to guy like Britney does. The further I go in the book, the less I have in common with Britney.

Reflect

At this point of the book, Britney is now an adult. She is now more capable of enduring all the pressure and the stress of celebrities. But being capable of performing after breaking up with your boyfriend seems really hard to do.

Reader Responce #3

I have now read 126 pages of the 312 pages of my biography.

Retell

After Britney had left MMC, she went into a motionless part of life, where she lived as a normal teenager. In this period of inactiveness, she had her first actual boyfriend, responding to the name of Reg Jones. Britney and Reg had a great relation, until Britney got called back to New York for Jive (Zomba) Records. She did a couple auditions, and it was decided that Britney will have one album to see if her talent was worth to publish or not. The recording of her songs took place in Stockholm, Sweden. There, she recoded one of her most famous songs: "...Baby One More Time".

When she came back to New York, Jive Records decided to start on the music video for "...Baby One More Time". The video shows the story of a teenage girl daydreaming about guys in a classroom, when her daydream turns into singing and dancing. Britney's boyfriend, Reg, also had a part in the video, until he and Britney broke up.

After the publishing of the video, Britney was part of the opening of the teenage boy group 'N Sync's tour. In 'N Sync, the boy who caught Britney's attention was Justin Timberlake, who still had a crush on Britney. During the tour, Britney and Justin got closer  and closer together, almost to say they were going out together.

Not long after the tour ended, the album ''...Baby One More Time'' was released, and both the album and the single released not long before were nominated platinum and were number one on the Billboard Charts.

As Britney enters further and further into stardom, critiques started to comment on her songs. They thought that Britney's songs already had a sexual meaning. What was going to be bad publicity for Britney ended up being noting, as Britney explains the meaning of her songs.

Later, as Britney was rehearsing for her second music video for the song ''Sometimes'', she had a major knee injury, keeping her from dancing for a whole month. When she came back, it showed that she had a breast augmentation, even though she denied it.

After all those incidents, the Jive Records president was sure that Britney was capable of combining the best elements of Madonna, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.

Relate

At that point, nothing relates me to Britney. I never got a boyfriend, even though I try, and I'm really far from being famous and reclaimed from everyone. I also never got any surgery on any parts of my body for any reason. The more Britney grows, the less elements we have in common.

Reflect

I find it funny how being a celebrity seems easy, when it's one of the hardest thing ever. Britney had the support of her family and her boyfriend, but stardom was still harsh for her. Maby it was her mother who put all the pressure on her, just to be capable of living more easilly, but all the efforts put in was worthy of a try.

Reader Responce #2

These 2 weeks, I have read up to page 79 out of the 312 pages of the book Britney Spears : Little Girl Lost. Here is what I learned so far.

Retell 

After the Broadway agent Nancy Carson asked the Britney Spears to come to New York, Britney's parents had a very bad financial situation. The trip to New York couldn't be done by plane. They decided to go with Jamie Spears's friend, his sister, and his sister's daughter in the big city.

The first thing the Spears familly did in New York was to take Britney to Nancy Carson's office. Carson liked her very much. She also noticed that Britney really wanted to be a signer, that it wasn't just her parent's decision, but her dream. Carson decided that it was better for Britney to have more trainning, so that her talent may be marketable. Carson suggested the Spears familly an intensive, several months long trainning with other Young professional performers. Britney was exited to start being a performance artist, but it involved her to move to New York, which was very hard for thr Spears's financial situation. They decided to go back to Louisiana and think about it. However, thier situation changed when Jamie Lynn Spears was born. Lynne Spears decided to bring Britney in New York after the school year ended.

After Lynne's acceptance, Carson prepared an appartment and arranged voice lessons for Britney, with Gene McLaughlin as her instructor. Later after Britney started her lessons, McLaughlin died. He was replaced by Robert Marks.Britney also had dance lessons with the Broadway dance choreographer Frank Hatchett. Britney was  really into the lessons, and she progressed really fast and very well. Britney's next step was professional experience. She then auditionned for the massive Broadway hit musical Les Misérables. Britney sadlly didn't get the part. Carson also made Britney audition for a few jobs she new Britney would get, and that would give Britney a taste of professionalworking environnement, without putting too much pressure on her. Britney also auditioned for the0the hight-profile talent show Star Search, but she didn't make it. At the end of the summer, Britney had to come back to Kentwood, but Carson told her that she would try to get more auditions for Britney, and that she should be ready to comne back almost at moment's notice.

Not long after her departure, Britney was called back to New York to audition for the fairly hight-profile off-Broadway musical based on the film The Bad Seed, which was named Ruthless! The Musical. Britney almost got one of the lesser roles, but she didn't get it because of her lack of stage experience. Not long after she came back to Kentwood, she was sent back to New York for the same role, since the girl picked for the role dropped out. Britney re-auditioned for the role, and she was offered the role, and made understudy to the lead. To participate in the play, Britney had to move again to New York with her mother and her sister. Britney then enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School. Later, the Star Search people wanted Britney to perform in the jubior section of the show. Star Search was a serious talent contest where many of todays performers made successful appearances on the show. Britney almost won the contest, but her last song, chosen by the Judds, was very complicated for a ten-year-old girl to sing.

Not long after the musical Ruthless! opened at the Players Theatre, the lead performer left for a coupl;e weeks, which gave Britney the lead role in the musical. After the lead performer came back, Britney returned to the support role, but she didn't like it and found it boring to wait for her part. Britney got bored of performing in the musical and wanted to get back home before the end of the performances. She was gone for too long and felt lost.  

Four years after the release of The All New Mickey Mouse Club, the casting director Matt Casella  was again in search of new Mouseketeers for the show. After meeting with Carson, Casella wanted Britney on the MMC. Britney made it through all the auditions for the MMC, which made the whole Town of Kentwood proud and made the mayor create the Britney Spears Day.

At the MMC, Britney established herself as the dancer of the group. She was very perseverant and kept working untill everythinng was right. Britney ended up being the most popular Mouseketeer of the show. Her and Christina Aguilera were the signers of the show. As MMC went on, Britney had a good friendship with most of the co-performers of MMC. Near the end of the airing of the show, she had a bit of a relation with Justin Timberlake, who had a crush on her.

Relate

At this point of her life, I can't really relate to Britney. I did a couple auditions for school talent shows, but that was as far that I went. At the time, I didn't think of being a professional signer, even though now I am considering that lifestyle. I never really took any singing lessons, but I took dance lessons at a young age, similarly to her. At the age of eleven, I wasn't as accomplished as Britney, and I didn't really want to reveal my hidden talents, oppositevly to her.

Reflect

Britney was already half pro before she was a teenager, which prooves that never giving up can lead you to something great, but I think that all she did was a little sudden for such a young girl. To be capable to exel at such a young age is proof of great maturity, which most childs don't have at the age. Britney had a real talent, and she used it very well, but living a normal life also has it's gains. One thing is sure, if I were her, I would never miss so much school, even if I was assured a romising and bright futur in the singing career.

Reader Responce

This week, I read 40 pages out of 312 pages of the biography Britney Spears: Little Girl Lost by Christopher Heard. Christopher Heard has written five books about well-known personalities, like Kiefer Sutherland: Living Dangerously and Mickey Rourke: High and Low.

This book is pretty interesting and suprising, even though I thought that biographies were boring and not interesting. The book talksabout Britney Spears's life, and about how her familly supported her throughout the difficult moments of her life. The main setting is in the U.S.A, more precisely in the state of Mississippi, where Britney was born.

Retell

Up to now, here is what I learned about Britney Spears. Britney was born in the town of McComb in the Mississippi, U.S.A, on December 2nd 1981. When she was a little girl, she sang in front of audiences of dolls and stuffed animals, while pretending to be her idol Madonna. Britney took dance lessons at the age of 3 or 4, and she was already very talented. At the age of 4, she was a member of Kentwood's First Baptist Church junior choir and samg very well. At the age of 5, she started to take gymnastic lessons, and won a couple competitions. At the age of 8, she went to a gymnastic camp run by the Olympic gymnastic coach Bela Karolyi, but she left it because she was very young and not prepared to be trained by an Olympic coach, even though she was "one of the little girls who really exelled", according to Karolyi. Britney also took singing lessons. At the age of 6, her mother put her in a talent contest at the Kentwood Dairy Festival, where she won. That is when her mother began to put her in multiple singing contests all over the States. She even went to auditions for the The All New Mickey Mouse Club, for Disney. She did very well and was one of the 6 callbacks from the hundreds who performed. She amazed a lot of people who watched her, but she wasn't accepted because of her young age. One of the judges, having big hopes in Britney, asked Nancy Carson, an agent of Broadway who developed young talent, to help little Britney. She accepted and asked the Spears familly to come see her in New York. 

Relate

When I was younger, my parent always told me about what a great voice I had, and how I should share it with the world. At that age, I was very shy, so I didn't waht to show my talents. When I did start singing in front of audiences other than my familly, I lost control of my voice and started to sound like I didn't know the songs I sang! Now, I have more confidence in myself, and I sound more professional when I sing, even when I sing under the shower. This relates me a bit to Britney Spears because we both had beautifull voices when we were childrens, but I didn't have the same confidence as Britney, and my talent stayed hidden. I also took dancing lessons at the age of 3, but I wasn't the greatest dancer around or a perfectionist, unlike Britney. Another thing from me that is opposite to Britney, my mother would never let me skip any school for singing contests, even if I had a bright future in the singing career.

Reflect 

I was surprised to learn about Britney Spears's achievements as a kid, she was capable of singing in the right beat and in the right pitch while dancing and doing some gymnastic moves on stage! I could never do that. Even now, I have trouble to sing certain songs that aren't that hard to sing. It is hard to believe that such a young girl could be so good and energetic in her shows! It was interesting to learn that she took gymnastic lessons, I would never guessed that such talent could come out so early in life.

Vampire Hunter D

I recently read the book Vampire Hunter D.
The story is situated in 12090 A.D., where humans live along with vampires and other mythical creatures. Doris Lang, a seventeen year-old human live in fear of becoming a vampire since the vampire Count Lee decided to make her his vampire wife. Doris's only hope is a mysterious vampire hunter named D, who's origins are hidden from humans.  

Biography choice

For the English project, I picked the unauthorized biography of Britney Spears: Little Girl Lost, by Christopher Heard.

I picked this biography because I wanted to read about a popular modern singer, and the only interesting biographies I found were biographies about Britney Spears.

The only things I know about Britney Spears are that she is a popular singer, I know what she looks like, and her musical style, which is pop.

English Biography

For the next weeks, I'll start talking about the biography I picked for English class: Britney Spears, Little Girl Lost