Asia broadcast 3/13. Ninja Assassin promotions overseas. He really looks happy, doesn’t he? Enjoy, Clouds. Japanese subs only—English subtitles and/or translations to come. Courtesy of knchero2007) ^@@^
Legend of Rainism coming to an end–again.
•March 13, 2010 • Leave a Comment
An article in Asian source Yonhap News reports that the April 17th and 18th Legend of Rainism shows coming to Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, are the end of the tour.
It also says that the award-winning documentary that was broadcast in Asia in early 2009, HIP KOREA: RAIN (a joint production of the Discovery Channel and Japan’s NHK TV) will be released on DVD on March 26th.
Thank you, rain bird and Rain Europe, for this information. — ^@@^
Nikon vs. Sony.
•March 13, 2010 • Leave a Comment
The folks over at the Beijing Is Chic blog made us giggle with this one—Nikon and Sony’s extremely strategic use of two hotter-than-hot hunks, Rain and So Ji-Sub, in their camera-against-camera competition. » A woman could easily go into a coma staring at THIS PAGE.
My Spanish translation:
“Why haven’t I bought a Sony… oh why haven’t I bought a Sony???” (So Ji-Sub’s caption)
“Why I HAVE bought a Nikon! Ahhh!!!!” (Rain’s caption)
Really cute! — Stephe ^@@^
Protected: Is everyone ready for their audition today?
•March 13, 2010 • Enter your password to view comments.Because we never tire of Rain’s training montages.
•March 12, 2010 • 2 CommentsThe man is simply amazing.
This training video was recommended by co-founder Terri, and is courtesy of warnerbrostrailers. — Stephe ^@@^
“Rain Is Coming” is back. Halleluia!
•March 12, 2010 • Leave a Comment
We lost this a while back, when it was abruptly removed from its source… but now it is BACK. The MBC Special: Rain Is Coming, English subtitled. Watch it as soon as you can manage, as it could be snatched up again at any time! This is an AMAZING account of Rain’s Ninja Assassin journey—and the events that followed—that we had absolutely no chance of seeing on our televisions here in the States. That we’ve been able to watch it at all has been a blessing. This is one of the Fabulous Four Documentaries that are a must-see for all Clouds, the others being Discovery Channel’s Hip Korea, Rain’s extensive interview by Shin Hae-Chul, and the Slap-Knee Shaman show on Golden Fishery.
Here is Part 1, courtesy of ioconion. We have once again linked the entire documentary (Parts 1 thru 7) in over on our Documentaries & Interviews page. Everyone, enjoy! — Stephe ^@@^
Ninja Assassin at Blu-ray(dot)com.
•March 12, 2010 • Leave a Comment
» HERE is a really nice review of Ninja Assassin by Kenneth Brown, on Blu-ray.com… as well as a reminder that there are only four days left before the movie’s U.S. DVD/Blu-ray release (on the 16th). Enjoy this time and really savor it, US Clouds—it is one of the few times we’re not walking around feeling like red-headed stepchildren (in other words, intentionally starved of anything Rain while the rest of the world gets everything Rain).
°
Also… our favorite Blu-ray.com Ninja Assassin images. — Stephe ^@@^
Team Cloud: Information from…
•March 11, 2010 • 1 Comment…member Amber Rain. For your information:
Voting for the Green Globe Film Awards has been extended to March 16, 2010. So if you somehow missed the first deadline, here’s your chance to make your voice heard in support of Rain and your other favorite Asian stars. He is pre-nominated in FOUR categories. » You cast the vote. You make the decision. Go HERE, to movie-voters.com!
Amber Rain’s video recommendations:
The Endless Effort, Endless Endurance, Endless Humility of Rain, courtesy of RAINsaranghae @ YouTube
Rain on the Slap-Knee Shaman show in 2008, part of the Gold Fishery series. Here, in part 7 of 7, Rain has finally returned to Korea after Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin, and goes deeper than he ever has about those dark moments that drive him to this day—the days surrounding his mother’s death and funeral. Host Kang Ho-Dong being a close, longtime friend probably had something to do with how very personal Rain got. If you’re a mom and you can get through this with a dry eye, you are strong indeed; I remember being absolutely bereft and an even stronger Cloud after watching this interview several years ago. — Stephe ^@@^
(The full interview, parts 1-7, are in the Related sidebar on the same YouTube page, so you can watch the Slap-Knee Shaman show in its entirety! The rapport between Rain and Ho-Dong will have you laughing out loud. Ho-Dong is always trying to get Rain to say something incriminating, especially about women, and Rain continually thwarts him. Hilarious. Courtesy of ioconionrain)
Amber Rain, thanks for the FYI!
Asia broadcast: I Love Rain.
•March 11, 2010 • Leave a CommentWe’ve been faithfully watching RAINY DAY Season 2 since it began back on February 6th, but RD is only one of two shows showcasing Rain this year. The other is Mnet’s I LOVE RAIN, and this particular broadcast, courtesy of knchero2007 @YouTube, goes behind the scenes of the making of the “Love Story” short film. Rain fans, enjoy. — Stephe ^@@^
I Love Rain: Love Story, part 1. (In Korean, with Japanese subtitles only, the same as RD. As soon as English subs or translations are available, we will bring those to you.)
It’s Raining Nikon.
•March 11, 2010 • Leave a CommentAnd don’t forget to grab your new Rain Nikon wallpaper. ^@@^
(source: Nikon / credit: Rain Bi Legend of Rainism)
Rain Check, and New on the Blog.
•March 11, 2010 • Leave a Comment
* Tomorrow is the first day of Rain’s Nikon D5000 photo exhibition in Star Cafe on Garosoo-gil (street), Sinsa-dong, Seoul. This exhibit is of the personal photos Rain took of fans and of himself during the recent D5000 shoots. Starting time, 11 am. Admission, free of charge. The exhibit will be on display until March 21. His camera was auctioned off on the 8th…who is the lucky soul Rain will be delivering it to at Star Cafe on the 14th?
* Allkpop has reported » HERE that Lee Yoon-Jin, Rain’s English teacher, has announced her upcoming wedding to actor Lee Bum-Soo. They look very happy together. We wonder if Yoon-Jin is still teaching Rain English in Korea, or if she is his former tutor, only because back in February, when Clouds met Rain at JFK Airport in New York and gave him gifts, the English tutor he was with (in their fan accounts) was a male.
* NEW: Fan cam “Only You” and Fan-made video “Slowly,” on our It’s Hot In Here page.
* NEW: Korean and Southern American recipes for March, on our Food, Glorious Food page.
* NEW: Rain’s Nikon Reality CF #4, on our Commercial Spots page.
Clouds, enjoy! — Stephe ^@@^
Yes, you can wear the Legend of Rainism world tour.
•March 10, 2010 • Leave a CommentVegas is included, as well. This simply drips with awesomeness. Isn’t it one of coolest things you’ve ever seen for $51. and change (58,000 Won)? Nice idea, Six To Five. — ^@@^
(tip: sixtofive1982 / source: 6to5.co.kr / credit: RainHK)
Because of You, Legend of Rainism Seoul.
•March 10, 2010 • 3 CommentsJust because we want to see it again. And again. A most excellent fan cam from Fall 2009. ^@@^
(courtesy of miyupy)
Is he, or isn’t he?
•March 10, 2010 • Leave a Comment
A 3/10 story from the Asian source Daily Hankook is circulating the Internet. The gist of it is that, between tearing up the stage at Yoyogi National Stadium with Legend of Rainism, and all the preparation still to be done for Rain’s May mini-album release, that it will practically be Raining in Japan and Korea at the same time in April. The thing that raises a question, though, is this: Everywhere the article is reported, a part of the final sentence is highlighted, as if to bring special attention to it…
“Rain’s Asia Tour has been done in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia, and it has been known that he is under consideration of extending its run by the continued request of his foreign fans.”
This could mean something significant, or absolutely nothing. Only time will tell.
°
We have come upon two articles so far about Rain being attached to the Warner Bros. remaking of the » 1975 Sydney Pollack film, The Yakuza. (Sadly, both write-ups were negative in nature, and we shake our heads in wonder that the first thing out of people’s mouths always has to be bad. At least WE wait until something does suck before just assuming it’s going to.) News of this Hollywood neo-noir gangster remake first came out a few years ago—seems the film has been in various stages since then. We don’t know if this is true, if Rain is indeed signed up to bring the Takakura Ken role back to life. (After all, people are still talking about how he’s definitely going to do Awaken the Dragon, when in fact that film lost its director a year ago and is not happening!) But Takakura Ken would be a magnificent character for him to play. With his acting range, Rain would knock that role out of the ballpark.
This is one piece of speculation that we certainly hope is true. 🙂
» Read Rain Attached to Warner Bros. Remake of The Yakuza HERE. And » Read Rain To Star in Remake of Pollack’s The Yakuza HERE. Incidentally, we chimed in on the first article, when it was apparent that statements about Rain needed to be addressed.
— Stephe ^@@^
Rain’s Six To Five White Day ad.
•March 10, 2010 • 2 Comments
One of our favorite Six To Five pictures, in fact. Very cute. But showing this ad to you all without some kind of explanation would make little sense, yes? So… for US Clouds unfamiliar with White Day:
Countries the world over celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14 every year; White Day is an extention of Valentine’s Day that began in Japan and spread to South Korea and Taiwan. In Asia, women give Valentine’s Day gifts to men, and then those men return the favor on White Day, March 14. (So the ad is to help the guys do well by their lady loves.) And incidentally, April 14 is Black Day, when single people celebrate their singlehood by gathering together and eating a special dish—white noodles with delicious black bean sauce. So we suppose you can say that in Asia, everyone gets their own special day. Sounds good to us.
» You can get a better understanding of White Day HERE. And what a smart marketing strategy—using our Rain to advertise a day of love. VERY effective. — Stephe ^@@^
Rain has been quoted…
•March 9, 2010 • 1 Comment
[ *ETA Correction: The fab four coming back are Rain, Hyo-Ri, Se7en, and BoA. ]
…by Asia news source Daily Hankook as saying at an event last month, “My special album will revolutionize the way people think about dance.” The Daily Hankook included this quote in an article about Kpop’s expected comeback by Rain, Se7en, Lee Hyo-Ri, and Son Dambi, and how these fabulous four are expected to bring about a musical explosion.
How exciting! Rain has always been so good at reinventing himself… there is no telling what this new incarnation of his will be like.
°
There are still a lot of articles being batted about concerning the upcoming battle of the King (Rain) and Queen (Hyo-Ri) of Kpop, with their new albums dropping so close together. And we were prepared to post here that no, the battle is OFF, seeing as the word has come from Rain’s own mouth that his special mini-album has been moved back from April to May. Well… there may be a battle after all, seeing as » this article surfaced on allkpop about Hyo-Ri’s album release being pushed back from the end of March to sometime in April. Her agency also makes it quite clear that “the actual date may get slightly delayed again if the ongoing progress gets hindered for any reason.” Like, until May?
^@@^
CinemaBlend Interview: Ninja Assassin’s James McTeigue.
•March 9, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Katey Rich’s fifteen-minute video interview with director James McTeigue is one of the best we’ve listened to, to date. McTeigue gives great insight into his personal thought processes concerning the making of Ninja Assassin, as well as his views on Rain’s amazing charisma, physical abilities, and proficiency with weapons. Hopefully, in future, the two will have the opportunity to work together again; surely, with their easy rapport, whatever project Rain and McTeigue collaborated on would turn out a winner.
» Exclusive Video Interview: Ninja Assassin Director James McTeigue on Cinema Blend is HERE.
— Stephe ^@@^
A slimmer Rain for Six To Five.
•March 9, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Allkpop, 3/8/10—Rain finished a photoshoot on the 5th for the Spring and Summer line for the casual clothing brand Six To Five. He even showed off his new slim body that he got after his diet.
A couple of pictures have been released and many fans are happy to see this busy world star…
»You can read the entire post on the allkpop blog HERE.
So, our eyes were not deceiving us. 🙂 We do feel, however, that something needs to be said here… at NO time has Rain looked “fat” to us. He has never been overweight. He has been ultra-slim, maturely muscled up, rock-hard and Raizo-thin, Nature Republic-healthy, and thick and delicious. He has been different sizes, but always in shape and oh, so very fine.
— Stephe ^@@^
Legend of Rainism: Japan’s final concert.
•March 8, 2010 • Leave a CommentI ran into a fresh notice dated March 8 on Rain’s Official site this morning, Clouds, and immediately put it through Microsoft Translator because when Cloud Master at rain-jihoon talks… it’s always wise to listen. Imagine my surprise when I got this:
I didn’t think it could possibly be saying what it appeared to be… so my next stop was the official Legend of Rainism site, and yes, there was a small blurb there as well. So here is the scoop.
LEGEND OF RAINISM ASIA TOUR JAPAN FINAL [concert] to be held in Tokyo, Japan. Don’t miss this chance to see the show!
Legend of Rainism 2009/2010, Rain Asia Tour Japan Final
Performance: 4/17/10, 5 PM doors open, 6 PM concert start; 4/18/10, 3 PM doors open, 4 PM concert start
Place: » Yoyogi National Stadium, 1st gymnasium (see venue HERE)
Prices: premium seats, $221. (est.), gift included; regular/reserved seats, $132. (est.)
Ages 3 years and older require a ticket. Tickets go on sale April 4th. J.Tune is involved with the planning (of course). And there appears to be a company having a raffle; fans can apply and win tickets to the event.
°
Of course, this raises a question in our minds: Does “final” mean the final LoR in Japan specifically, or does it mean that the aforementioned “encore concert overseas” is this one and there will be no more anywhere else? Japan certainly is fortunate to be graced with SIX LoR tour stops.
Incidentally, if you wish to check out Rain’s official site or the official LoR site yourself, you must view the Korean versions of both to see the notices, as they are not listed on the outdated English versions. We suppose J.Tune thinks that because we are American, we have no interest in Rain’s overseas schedule.
They’re wrong. We are interested, because we are his fans.
— Stephe ^@@^
Ninja Assassin, larger than life.
•March 8, 2010 • 3 CommentsWe would immediately crash into other cars on the street if we saw this. 🙂
^@@^ 
Awesome! Rain’s crew on his April wallpaper.
•March 8, 2010 • Leave a CommentJ.Tune Creative released their new Rain calendar wallpapers for April on their Facebook… and halleluia! Finally. We get our Magic Feet’s sexy, sexy back-up dancers. Up close and personal, and standing still. Wow. (Has this happened before, and we simply missed it?) Happy Clouds—it is Raining men. Download your Hi-Res wallpaper with a quickness! (www.6to5.kr/download/Wallpapers_apr.zip)
(Now, Ji-Hoon, don’t you fret. We are just as excited to have your gorgeous wallpaper, too. Nothing will ever change that. But the fact that you’re good with your crew having some airtime of their own makes us love you even more. — Stephe ^@@^)
Two things we never saw Rain do were…
•March 7, 2010 • 3 Comments… drive a car. It’s been lot more convenient for someone to drive him, so that he could prepare for whatever he had to do along the way. I do believe I’ve seen the man drive twice now, though: once in the JYPE “Rain In LA” video from 2006, and in a recent “Infinitely Yours, Seoul” commercial spot.
… ride a horse.
Well, here you go, Clouds, courtesy of rakota1. (Was this Six To Five video when he was up in the Alps?) *Rain pats the horse on the rump, pats the horse on the neck, and keeps on patting the horse* “Aish…!” You know he was PRAYING he didn’t get thrown. And he looked relieved as heck after getting down.
Extra Lotte concert pics, so that you can see…
•March 7, 2010 • Leave a Comment…how utterly massive the crowd was.
…how utterly huge the stage was with Rain on it.
…the impressive first-night roster. Rain AND Kim Tae-Woo… and Whee-sung… and Lee Seung Chul… Quadruple yum. — ^@@^
(image source and credit: rakota)
Cloudy Day: Fan art, inspired by Rain.
•March 7, 2010 • Leave a Comment“Warhol’d Rain”, inspired by the »pop art of Andy Warhol. By Cloud USA Forum member Melanie of Perth, Australia.
Yes. Inch by inch… Stop.
•March 7, 2010 • Leave a CommentAh. Japan was so lucky to get this song. We can only imagine how smokin’ hot it would sound in Korean. (Did Rain even entertain the idea of trying to get it past his home censors?) If you want to make your US Clouds ecstatic, Rain… this is what you should do—re-record “Slowly” in English, and send it over. And watch us all pass out, one by one.
» The loose translation of “Slowly” is HERE. I usually listen to this song with a glass of chilled red wine close by. ^@@^
(Very fan made and very dangerous, courtesy of nlovewiththerain312.)
More of Rain translated from the Lotte concert.
•March 7, 2010 • Leave a Comment
This was during that long talk towards the end of the show, when Rain was playing with the audience (see the fan cam in our previous post). Thank you so, so much for posting this translation, Ashes @Indulging In Rain’s World.
_______________
(Brief translation by Cuckoo. Source: rain-cloud.) First of all, he said in Japanese, “Hello, long time no see, there are many fans here today, thanks for coming. Today is Lotte Duty Free’s 30th anniversary. Congratulations, Lotte Family… Oh! Today, I have a big issue. I think you guys have already seen my colorful underwear.”
Some fans screamed loud, “You look cool today!”
Then Rain said, “Yes, I know, no need to scream. Now, I am working on my new special album. Many people really care about me and come for love. Where are 50(ish)?” A group of fans screamed in response. Rain pointed at them and laughed, “You gals are lying, you are only 30(ish).” Then he asked, “where are 40ish… 30ish… 20ish… 10ish?”
He asked if he looks good today. Fans said “Yes.” He laughed and said, “Of course you would say that, because you are my fans.”
“As you know, I am working on special album. It will release in May.” Some Korean fans, surprised, said “May?” Rain answered, “This special album is a gift for Chinese, Korean and Japanese fans. Songs are really good, MV is also very expected. I will wear glasses to sing songs. It is different from the 5th album because I gain weight. Korean fans responded, “No!” Then he sang the next song…
_______________
I thought those first few sentences were in Japanese! I’m glad to know I wasn’t going senile or something. Soooo. Getting the special album together is probably taking longer than expected.
Rain is so good at teasing people with that sense of humor of his, he simply cracks us up. “Yes, I know [I look cool], no need to scream.” LOL And how awesome is it that he tries to acknowledge ALL of his fans, regardless of their age? We love that. What a guy! The special album having no English songs doesn’t bother me—it stands to reason that that difficult a job would take much longer to finish, like say… October? 🙂 “It is different from the 5th album because I gain weight.” Hmm… does everyone remember the picture we posted a few entries back, the one with the red shirt, faded jeans to his knees, white sneakers, and… glasses? He was looking mighty thick, juicy, and delicious there, wasn’t he? Hmm. Just wondering… — Stephe ^@@^
RAINY DAY Season 2, episode 5.
•March 6, 2010 • 1 Comment[ *ETA: The loading problem must have been with YouTube. Part 2 now plays without error. ]
Asia broadcast 3/6. More Ninja Assassin promotions. Rain and the NA SUV give new meaning to that old phrase about being “beside yourself.” *PLEASE NOTE: Part 2 (second video) may not play due to an unknown error. As soon as it is fixed, or a replacement posted, I will bring that to you. Thanks. ^@@^
(courtesy of knchero2007)
Rain’s autograph in English.
•March 6, 2010 • 4 CommentsWe’re used to seeing him sign things in Hangul, but not in a lot of English, so this is very cool. As we understand it, Rain signed this poster for promotional purposes in Shinjuku, Japan—Ninja Assassin opens in theaters there today. ^@@^
(source: Rain Bi Legend of Rainism & sixtofive1982 / credit: rain-cloud, Rain Germany)
It finally happened. Too much Magic Stick = a broken zipper.
•March 6, 2010 • 2 Comments
[ *ETA: “Magic Stick” is an expression that refers to a Rainism performance, because of the magic stick/cane that is sometimes included. What did you think I was talking about? 🙂 ]
Yes, I said it. Too much Magic Stick equaled a broken zipper at the 8th Annual Lotte Duty Free Family Concert last night. And this is probably not the first time it’s happened—just the first time we’ve SEEN it happen. A lot of unrestrained gyrations are in that “Rainism” choreography, and our Ji-Hoon has a lot of power—we have all been witness to that fact many, many times. Whether the zipper was already weak to begin with, or simply could not stand up to the pressure he put on it, this was inevitable. Not a matter of “if”, but “when.”
The audience loved it. We love it. And we love Rain’s reaction to it even more, all red-faced and grinning. What a guy. Bi—saranghaeyo. 😉
Clouds—fan cams came out so fast! And they are delightful. The audience was so into Rain’s performance that all he had to do was unbutton his collar, or smile, and they sounded like they were going to stampede. The fan-cammers themselves were hilariously out of control and in heaven, and yet managed to get the shot. (Thank you, ladies, for sharing your treasures with us!) It looked like a great performance where a good time was had by all. Enjoy.
— Stephe ^@@^
(all videos courtesy of rakota29 / credit: Daum-DC-nate / tip: RainLegend / brief translation: rain bird)
Fresh Woman (We think this was the very end/encore.)
Escaping The Sun
Rainism (With the crazy pyros and all, we think this was the beginning.)
Love Story (At the end of the song, he knows he has no choice but to speak up. “I have to tell you something. I have an emergency… my zipper is broken, so I need to change. Just give me five minutes!”)
Touch Ya
It’s Raining
(“Congrats to Lotte on their 30th Anniversary. I’ve finally gotten myself into big trouble! But I am fortunate because I brought extra pants. Thanks to not only my fans, but others for coming too. My special album in three different languages [Chinese, Japanese, Korean] will be released early in May 2010. The album’s visual and musical style will be great, please look forward to it.” He also plays with the audience a bit.)
Instead of Saying Goodbye (And he jokes about the zipper. How cool!)
Escaping The Sun 2nd fan cam
Cloud USA 
Questions raised by Rain’s Lotte performance…
•March 6, 2010 • Leave a Comment* When Rain was talking about the three-language album coming out in May 2010, did he mean APRIL 2010? The mini-album? Will it be released in Korea in April, with the other two languages dropping in May? Or is the quoting or translation off… ? Or is there something we don’t know about?
* Terri made this observation a few weeks ago, and I agreed with her. Other fans are making the same observation now… Is Rain losing weight, slimming down, or is it just our eyes playing tricks on us?
We think he is indeed slimming down, and Terri has the idea that it could be for whatever drama he has decided to do. You know Rain—he’s a chameleon, a shape-shifter. He always transforms himself into whatever a role requires, and quite successfully (Park Il-Sun, Bok-Gu, Raizo). We don’t think it has to do with performing in concert—think back to all of those grueling Legend of Rainism stops and remember how he looked exactly the same at the end of January 2010 as he had back in August. No weight loss, even from expending all of that energy. If Rain is losing weight now, seems to us it is because he wants to.
But then, who knows? We are speculating here. We will all find out soon enough, I reckon.
— ^@@^
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Posted in Bi Rain, Jung Ji Hoon
Tags: Bi Rain Lotte, Bi Rain new album, Cloud commentary, Jung Ji Hoon