Trip: Japan (3)

Happy new year!!! (Oops, it's still the 31st in Canada...)

Trip: Japan (2)

Can't believe I actually went to the Comic Market. Not once, but two days in a roll! Got to meet some of my Japanese blog friends too! Everyone is so kind. Too bad the second day didn't go that smooth. Didn't get to take any cosplay photo at all! Aaaaargh!!!!!!

Trip: Japan (1)

Ooooh I`m exhausted...
Christmas day was spent on the plane.
The hotel is small and dingy, but cheap. (You do get what you pay for.)
Boxing day...? there`s no such thing in Japan.
Got off at the worng train station and wasted some time and energy.
Nevertheless, I managed to go to Re-ment`s Event in Kichijoji.
There were small gifts with purchase.
Met up with my Japanese friend and we had dinner together, and possibly an ex-collage from Vancouver tomorrow.
That`s about it for one day. Not too productive.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Didn't have time to draw one for this blog, so I'll have to borrow the one from my other blog.

My Japan-Hong Kong trip starts today. I probably won't be able to update this blog during the trip... So... see you in 3 weeks! (^_^)

Trip notes (3)

アメ横商店街連合会公式ホームページ
コミックマーケット 71

かに道楽
銀座　江島
浅草　米久

[京成電鉄] スカイライナー

Trip notes (2)

Yahoo!香港 字典
Yahoo!翻訳
Excite 辞書

Blogger
ウヤムヤ番外地
有耶無耶の錬金術師・改
白き焔BLOG
かわ屋　別館　ちわさき亭
ハガネノココログ
ゆず日記
歌猫Ｂｌｏｇ
鋼の狗小屋［だぶん駄文］
才谷屋DIARY
ゆかすけのお絵かき日記
ねのねの 絵日記
I'm crazy about...

Trip notes (1)

time and date.com

東京メトロ
Tokyo Metro Passnet
Jorudan Co., Ltd.
JR東日本：東日本旅客鉄道株式会社
成田空港

Mapion地図
東京都台東区東上野３丁目の地図：Mapion（マピオン）
上野→国際展示場正門 経路4

明治神宮

niftyデパート福袋情報
Sunshine City アルパ
吉祥寺ロフト
地図 池袋「乙女ロード」
地図 秋葉原 ラジオ会館

Yahoo上野観光・温泉guide
LaQua
大江戸温泉物語
東京の温泉

Oak Hotel
Toyoko Inn
Real Tokyo
Japan-guide.com
Tokyo City Guide

Count down - 6...

6 days to my trip. Yikes!
Still need to exchange currency. Buy gifts. Buy eye drops. Call up 2 more friends in HK to see if I can stay with them...
Let's see if I can pack early this time.

Pictaps

Interesting web site that lets your drawing dance! (Thanks my Japanese blog friend Masoho for telling me about it!)

Speechless...

I wonder if those people are still alive today...

Nagao Food Sample Studio

Ever wonder how those display samples at restaurants are made?
How to make tempura (video) That's wax, by the way.
There are also crepe and soda here.

House maid service (Moe type)

Kind of scary actually. Doesn't look like they have any customers. The "sale" has been going on since January 2006. Cleaning is only a minor part. Playing games is the major.

Pencils sculpures

Interesting! I wonder if she gets her pencils from animation studios or something.

Amazing closeups from inside animal wombs

This National Geographic show sounds interesting.

I always love watching scientific documentaries. However... To be honest, I'm not that fond of embryos. I guess I was traumatize by their alien-look when I was very young. But it won't stop me from watching. Just don't want to make any. Haha...

Snow(8)

I guess this concludes the snow report. Yay~! (^_^) Sure don't want to get stuck again this winter.

Snow(7)

Finally melted enough to drive yesterday. (But still quite slippery. And my car did get stuck trying to back into the driveway.) Went to replenish some supplies, and picked up a book I ordered.

I/O brush

No change on the snow condition... (getting tired of that...) So here's something weird.

Snow (6)

This was about 3 p.m.

Good. It was sunny again today. The snow melted a bit, but since the snow prow never came to the residential area, the streets are still very scary to drive on. Whatever melted will turn into ice at nigh too. I dare not go out although there was an invitation to an amimate night. (Not to mention my car has been blocked by my aunt's car since the snow started.)

Snow (5)

Icicles hanging down from the back roof and laundry line.

Snow (4)

Ice crystals on the living room window.

Snow (3)

8 a.m. Finally some sunlight! There was even sunlight throughout the day! Yay~! However, the snow on the ground still scares me away from driving. Meaning: still stuck.

The house phone has been down for 3 days. Telus finally sent someone to fix it. It took them 4 hours! They had to work on the outside line. The situation started on Saturday night. The phone disconnected itself in the middle of a call. Funny, the first comment the guy gave was "so it happened when the snow started". Hmm... So it WAS the snow...

3 days after the flu shot, my arm is no longer sore, but still bruised.

Snow (2)

8 a.m.
Looks nice, but it's hell outside... Cold, wet, slippery and grey.

Snow

8 a.m. and 8 p.m.




Oh my god... too much snow too soon. It's so grey... (And my bones ache...)

Flu shot

It's the annual event of flu shot today... oops, it's past 12, so it's yesterday. Injection in the muscle always hurts more, but this time it wasn't too bad. My arm is still sore, but functional. It does bug me quite a bit when cutting paper for Christmas card. Yup.. so broke, can't spare money to buy any new ones.

Los Simpsons

Scary...

Gum tape cat

Poor cat... but it's funny. (Hey isn't that Totoro's music!?)
Actually the title is "the Heaviest Gum Tape in Japan". So heavy, the cat can't walk.

Geo greeting

Type some text into the text field, and the satellite will find building roofs that matches the letters. Sooooooo awesome!!!

Laputa robot from Delta X

Delta X released a Laputa robot, but I can't find it on their company web page. Hmm... (This picture is from a news site.)

How to fold a shirt

Broke the record...

... of sleeping. 14 hours. This is what happens when I don't set my alarm. Sigh... I must be a bear or a frog that needs hibernation... orz

Reaction test

How fast are your reactions? Wanna shoot some sheeps? (Haha! Don't worry, it's just a tranquilizer gun.)

Finger mouse

It's a finger-controled optical mouse. I wonder how well it works. But at least it looks like it will give some relief to your wrist. (More pictures at their site. It's Rakuten online shop.) Besides blue, it's also available in black. The warning says, do not wear it for prolonged period of time as it might cut off circulation. (^_^)

"Strange Clouds"

Stumbled across this site with pictures of weird clouds. They're amazing! Some look like UFOs. Some look like they were painted on. (Ah... sorry, this picture is borrowed from that site.)

Samurai 7 figurines follow-up

The Samurai 7 toys reached my friend safe and sound. What a relieve. I've been worrying about breakage. (1) (2) (3)

And... haha! She put it on her blog too! You're welcomed, Forest Cat! (^_^) But... is it ture that you can buy them for $10 each?!?! (Aaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!)

Sigh... I guess you found out after I bought the set... Right?

Mega Chupa Chups follow-up

Haven't been to Candyland for almost 3 weeks. Kind of miss my Pocky. (^_^) Oh, last time when I was there, all the Mega Chupa Chups were gone. They were all sold out! So there is a market for $24 lollipops. Can't say the same for those Giant Pocky, though.

12 hours of sleep

Oh my God!!! Can't believe I slept for 12 hours!! It must be hibernation season!
...Oh... dear.... (panic)

Yatta!

I'm sorry, many people have probably posted this before. I'm just very late. But I like it so much, I have to post it. (^_^) The lyrics are quite meaningful too. Warning: almost naked men singing and dancing.

Manly Tofu

Otokomae Tofu, translates into "manly tofu". Hahaha... Crazy Japanese!! Looking at the site, you'll never imagine. It's a tofu company!! (Thanks my Japanese blog friend IS for the link.) According to IS, the tofu itself tastes quite good. The flavor is stronger than other brands, but it's also more expensive. I think the reason is their advertising. A campaign (and web site) like this must have cost a fortune.

Virtual Japanese calligraphy

Virtual Japanese calligraphy. The text on the buttons aren't showing. I think the first one is clear, the last one is colour, the second last one is brush size. The middle 2, no idea. (^_^)

Rotten Girl (3)

Here's a more explicit one. Viewer digression advised. This one shows some of the BL products like magazine, doujinshi, and drama CDs. The "fujoshi" market size is huge!! Looking at the availability of such shows on YouTube, seems like the "otaku" culture is getting mainstream. (And they've been fan-subbed!)

Rotten Girl (2)

There, there! She said it! "Rotten girl"! However, she seemed to refer to female otaku as "rotten girl". According to my understanding, the term means female BL fans.

The drag king cafe is crazy!

Human pixel

Pong and Sapce Invader. Great idea... (Sorry you might have seen this.)

Alien eggs?

(Click to enlarge the picture.) Haha... no, these are cherry tomatoes. Didn't make it in time so they're green. Most green ones have veins like this showing through the translucent skin, they look like they belong to the animal kingdom instead of plants. Kind of creepy...

The real Halloween?

With all those noises from fireworks, it's kind of scary. I don't really want to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. Sigh... but of course I have to. Got hair-cut and car tune-up appointments.
Cost me a fortune! ($450 total! Aaargh!!!) Last year (or was it the year before?) when I was driving on Fraser Street not that far away from home, someone shot fireworks at my car. I don't think it was a direct hit, but it was quite scary. Even scarier than the flasher encounter 2 blocks away from my house years ago. Sigh... this city is rotting.

2012 = end of the world???

Came across this site while searching for crop circle pictures. Yeah it's saying 2012 might be the end of this world. There's a "missing earth" crop circle, Mayan calendar, even I-Ching analysis, all pointing to the year 2012. And of course there are also tons of stuff that I can't understand. So... can I take this as a sign of bull shitting, then? There is a lot of empty talk for sure.

On the other hand, a theory says that 2012 is only a consciousness shift point... as the population of the world approaches the critical mass of 10 thousand million, earth might begin to function as a single being. Interesting... Part of it makes sense, part of it doesn't. Arriving at that conclusion is very bold. Hmm...

Well, the UFO part near the end is too much of a science fiction, though.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Eat lots of candies! (Don't blame me for your cavities, though...)

Virtual pumkin-carving

Soooo coooool!! When you're done, the pumpkin even lights up!

Weird canned meat

Japanese stuff of course. Hokkaido canned curry with... deer, walrus, bear, and seal. The square boxes are also canned meat, the same meat, cooked differently.

Image stole from this Japanese blog. (The picture is way down.)

10th anniversary

Time flies. My bonus life has lasted 10 years so far. But what have I done in these 10 years? Sadly, none of my effort seem to yield any fruit.

Am I not digging hard enough? Am I digging the wrong hole? Or is it both?

At first I was just happy to be alive. Didn't think I need anything else. But, eventually, "alive" alone isn't enough. The "job" part was kind of expected, but I never thought I'd loose friends because of the side effects.

... Of course, I'd still like to believe life, no matter how tough, is still better than death. Haha... dumb question, isn't it?

Today should be a day to celebrate...

But...
Why have I fallen into a give-up mode?
What is this sense of panic when seeing everyone else move ahead and I'm still so behind?
Why can't I completely let go of the past and start fresh?
Why do I feel so trapped and useless?

Or...
Is it simply bad luck and bad energy flowing around me near Halloween, just like 10 years ago that almost took my life?

Pinky: sitting

The 2 official sitting Pinky(s) so far. (3 if counting the other Rabbit scooter Pinky.) Actually this is to test the compatability with this Re-ment Korean Tour. The stools seem to be just a touch too short, but the rest is great! The scale is almost perfect.

Fog

Just before 9 a.m.

Foggy.

Change of seasons

Is it that time of the year already? Spring and fall are not very good to the body. The nasal allergy returns. The change of weather pattern and moisture make my back whiny. There's a lack of energy in general. I'd move to a dessert if rain is giving me this much problem. But then I don't want wrinkles either... Oh well.

"Bust Emperor"

Remember this? Now there IS a boob version. Oh dear...

packing, plan B

The initial plan of putting all the swords together in a bundle for strength failed. (Because they aren't all flat. Some are curved, some have pegs sticking out, and some are attached to the hand.) So just in case, I'm bringing out my reserved secret weapon. An Oyumaru box from Daiso. The spear is still way too long. So it's taped to a pair of disposable chopsticks. Hope this works...

packing

Thanks Adrian for bringing the toys back to Hong Kong. Time to pack it up! Breakage might be a problem. Kanbe's sword is broken already. This sculpt totally doesn't make sense. The blade itself is detachable, but not the hands, which is one piece with the sword handle. The tassel of course is the continuation of that. It's just waiting to be broken. Sigh... I wonder if there's any PVC shell like Kikucho, that the store didn't give me. (This is the display set and was out of the packaging and all assembled when I bought them.) Oh well...

Samurai 7 figurines

Got a set for a friend in Hong Kong. It's all sold out over there. Can't believe she's willing to pay extra. This set went around half the world twice!

Made by a company called Organic. Hmm... never hear of it. Quality is very good! Here's the review at my toy site.

Hard Gay

Thanks Ashley for introducing me to this hilarious comedian. Back then the videos were in Japanese only. Now someone has subtitled them. I believe there are more to come because I've seen many more Japanese ones.

The basic. Early superhero Hard Gay.

Hard Gay Social Improvement 2
Hard Gay Social Improvement 3-1
Hard Gay Social Improvement 3-2
Hard Gay Social Improvement 4
Hard Gay Sakura Viewing
Hard Gay Ramen
Hard Gay Father's Day (Hahaha... poor dad...)

Cooking for kids series. One of my favorite!
Hard Gay Cooking
Hard Gay Cooking 2
Hard Gay Cooking 3

My #1 favorite episode!!! Can't believe he did that!!!
Hard Gay Hiromi Go Part 1
Hard Gay Hiromi Go Part 2
Hard Gay Hiromi Go Part 3
Hard Gay Hiromi Go Part 4

Hard Gay Pillow

"The television" is like the "TV Guuide" magazine. Everyone on their cover holds a lemon.
Hard Gay The Television Part 1
Hard Gay The Television Part 2

My #2 favorite.
Hard Gay Yahoo!

My #3 favorite.
Hard Gay TOMY Part 1
Hard Gay TOMY Part 2

Hard Gay Treasure Hunt Part 1
Hard Gay Treasure Hunt Part 2
Hard Gay Bug Hunt Part 1
Hard Gay Bug Hunt Part 2

Hard Gay Cupid Part 1
Hard Gay Cupid Part 2
Hard Gay Cupid Part 3

Black Friday today

A moment to reflect on "bad luck"...

Backyard mutant tomato

Probably another Siamese twins... or is it parasitic twins?

Japanese Media Art Top 100 (Manga)

Please refer to the previous post of anime result for the whole story. (^_^)

So, here's the result for the manga category. Total votes, 78980.

Manga

• 1. Slam Dunk (90's)
• 2. Jojo's Wonderful Adventures (80's)
• 3. Dragon Ball (80's)
• 4. Full Metal Alchemist (00's)
• 5. Doraemon (60's)
• 6. the Phoenix (50's)
• 7. Black Jack (70's)
• 8. Nausicaa (80's)
• 9. Mushishi (00's)
• 10. Death Note (00's)
• 11. One Piece (90's)
• 12. Parasitic Beast (80's)
• 13. With Yotsuba! (00's)
• 14. Nodae Kantabire (00's)
• 15. Akira (80's)
• 16. Azumanga Daioh (90's)
• 17. Doctor of the Animals (80's)
• 18. Yuyu Hakusho (90's)
• 19. Monster (90's)
• 20. Ushio and Tora (90's)
• 21. Hunter x Hunter (90's)
• 22. Hellsing (90's)
• 23. Fist of the Northen Star (80's)
• 24. Ookiku Hurikabutte (00's)
• 25. Berserk (80's)
• 26. Banana Fish (80's)
• 27. Bakabond (00's)
• 28. Rose of Versailles (70's)
• 29. Master Keeton (80's)
• 30. Glass Mask (70's)
• 31. Urusei Yatsura (Lum) (70's)
• 32. Asaki Yumemishi (70's)
• 33. Touch (80's)
• 34. Sazae San (50's)
• 35. Ashitano Jo (60's)
• 36. 20th Centry Boy (00's)
• 37. Fruit Basket (90's)
• 38. Lupin the 3rd (70's)
• 39. Warau Daitenshi (80's)
• 40. This is ____ Police Station (70's) Sorry it's beyond my translation ability...
• 41. Prince of the Rising Sun (80's)
• 42. Pluto (00's)
• 43. Atom Daishi (Astor Boy) (50's)
• 44. San Koku Shi (70's)
• 44. Ema (00's)
• 46. Detective Conen (Case Closed) (90's)
• 47. Devil Man (70's)
• 48. Gundam the Origin (00's)
• 49. Dragon Quest, Dai's Adventures (80's)
• 50. Nana (00's)

Again, the un-nominated works.

• 1. Honey and Clover
• 2. Aria
• 3. Hikaru's Go
• 4. Please Save My Earth
• 5. Mezon Ikokku
• 6. Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X)
• 7. Five Star Story
• 8. Planetes
• 9. Magical Teacher Negima!
• 10. Soten Kouro

I'm a little disappointed at Full Metal Alchemist not getting a higher score, but then, it got first place in the 2000's category! Yay~!! My other favorite Nausicaa is still holding strong after 24 years!! 2 of the classic shojo manga Rose of Versailles and Glass Mask got in there, but where is Candy Candy? She should really rank higher than those 2! Hmm... is it because of the scandal between the 2 artists...? I wonder if greedy bitch Igarashi realized she's shot herself in the foot!

I"m sure some of my friends would be glad to see Honey and Clover got first place in the un-nominated category.

Japanese Media Art Top 100 (Anime)

It's named "top 100" but they only release 50, hahaha...

This was a campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Japanese Cultural Bureau's Media Art Festival. Anyone can vote online. The 4 categories were art, entertainment, animation, and manga. They're each divided into decades and each decade had it's own list of nominees. Anime got the most number of votes amoung the 4 categories. 80402.

As an anime and manga fan, I voted, of course, hehehe... I even got some friends to vote. So here's the result of the anime category. (Sorry, I'm sure I've mispelled lots of them.)

Animation

• 1. Evangelion (90's)
• 2. Nausicaa (80's)
• 3. Laputa (80's)
• 4. Gundam (70's)
• 5. Lupin the 3rd, Castle of Caliostro (70's)
• 6. Mushishi (00's)
• 7. Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex (00's)
• 8. My Neighbour Totoro (80's)
• 9. Full Metal Alchemist (00's)
• 10. Ghost in the Shell the movie (90's)
• 11. Dragon Ball series (80's)
• 12. Princess Mononoke (90's)
• 13. Akira (80's)
• 14. Spirited Away (00's)
• 15. Doraemon (70's)
• 16. Full Metal Alchemist, the Conqueror of Shamblla (00's)
• 17. Porco Rosso (90's)
• 18. Legend of the Galactic Heroes (80's)
• 19. Crayon Shin, Revenge of the Adult Kingdom (00's)
• 20. Gundam, Shaa's Counter Attack (80's)
• 21. Card Captor Sakura (90's)
• 22. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (00's)
• 23. Kamichu! (00's)
• 24. Patlabour the movie (90's)
• 25. Gundam Z (80's)
• 26. Hoshinokoe (Sound of the Stars) (00's)
• 27. Patlabour (80's)
• 28. Galaxy Express 999 (70's)
• 29. Nadia the Secret of Blue Water (90's)
• 30. Manga Japanese Folklores (70's)
• 31. Crayon Shin, Sengoku Battles (00's)
• 32. Grave of the Firefly (80's)
• 33. Conen the Future Boy (70's)
• 34. Howe's Moving Castle (00's)
• 35. Yamato series (Star Gazer) (70's)
• 36. Wings of Oneamis (80's)
• 37. Slam Dunk (90's)
• 38. Sailor Moon series (90's)
• 39. Gundam Seed (00's)
• 39. Keroro Gunso (90's) Keroro tied with Gundam and they're both #39.
• 41. Gun Buster (80's)
• 42. Doraemon movie series (80's)
• 43. Yuusha series (90's)
• 44. Cowboy Bebop (90's)
• 45. Samurai 7 (00's)
• 46. Nadesko (90's)
• 47. Heidi (70's)
• 48. Urusei Yatsura (Lum) (80's)
• 49. Astro Boy (60's)
• 50. Lupin the 3rd, first TV series (70's)

Un-nominated works can still get votes through comments. Here's the result.

• 1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
• 2. Cowboy Bebop
• 3. 12 Kingdom Chronicle
• 4. Planetes
• 5. Tokio Kakeru Shojo
• 6. Rozen Maiden
• 7. Air
• 8. Aria
• 9. Eureka 7
• 10. Skride

Evangalion came in 1st without much surprise. Studio Ghibli is strong!! 8 titles! If you count the ones related to Miyazaki, there're 10!

Cool, Nausicaa came in 2nd. I though Full Metal Alchemist would do better, but... hmm... I guess this isn't bad at all. Considering the manga, TV anime, and the movie all got in the first 20.

The Gundam seires is a die-hard. The surprise is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It wasn't nominated, but ended up as #22.

The manga category continues in the next post...

Star Wars orchestra group

Cute! They look like Kubric figurines...

Happy Moon Festival!!

Happy Moon Festival everyone~! (^_^) Eat lots of moon cakes~! (Actually... I'm not a big fan of moon cakes...)

Flag parody

Hahaha... it's so funny! I wish I could read Russian... Oh well... (Click the image to jump to the site.)

Kings of Africa

Awesome collection of photos! (The comments are a bit scary, though.)

Weird food decorations

From the same site... Getting ready for Halloween??? Don't think I'll have much appetite if the food looks like that...

Click the image to go to the site. But be prepared... some look so real, you might get scared. Oh, and please don't blame me for it. Thanks~! (^_^)

Cool snow domes

Starting to get chilly. Summy's gone. Sob sob sob...
(Click the image to jump to the site.)

Car window

Finally got the diver's side window fixed. It hasn't been closing properly since the last break-in. Cost me $30, but I've heard it costs over $100 if I go back to Honda. The guy underestimated the job too! Initially he said $30 and about half and hour, but it needed almost an hour and a half! He had to open up the inside panel of the door, re-adjust some alignments, and weld a broken clasp. The price didn't go up although he had to spend triple the time. Make me feel bad... (But, hey, when time = money, I've given him an extra hour for the job.)

Then the burnt-out headlight was replaced for $12. Apparently the exact cost of the light bulb. He didn't charge me for labour... Total bill of the day, $42. Hmm... That's slightly more than a set of Re-ment candy toy. (It makes me feel very weird catching myself thinking money in terms of toys... yikes...)

Origami

Thought it would be the same old boring paper crane, but not!

Flying Paper Bird - video powered by Metacafe

Barbie screening 2

Ooo yeah, mo-cap ballet dancers. A must for Barbie. Not bad at all! Argh I forgot to ask if the story is original. (It sure seems so.... unfortunately that means... lame.) The dresses move naturally. Good job on the rigging! The pajamas can be better, though. When perspective is compressed with long lens, it makes you feel like you're looking at a tapestry. In a few places, I had trouble telling what's actually 3D and what's cardboard cut-out.

However, it bugs me a lot when the sub-characters look way better then the main characters!! The best looking one is the villain aunt. She steals the show! The cheeks of the youngest princess... Laicie? (Lazy? ) look really stiff and swollen. (Yup, that's the way Matel wants it.) I guess the princesses and the guy have to look like the dolls, so they're really plastic. With the improvement on dress rigging, it doesn't make sense not to ditch the lumpy plastic hair. (Yup, Matel is the one to blame again.) Are they afraid of the CG version looking better than the real dolls?

Facial expressions are at the usual MFE level. The corners of some characters' mouths are too pointy, though. Don't like the overly emphasized glassy eyes of the cat and monkey. (Why do they always HAVE to have mascots like that? I hate annoying talking animals!) The movements of hands and wrists still have a lot of room for improvement.

Last but not least, the story. There are many signs that this is original.

• The princesses act like contemporary girls.
• Single-parent family.
  
• There's no prince. The main princess marries a commoner at the end.
• The villain is a stereotypical wicked stepmother. However, the king never marries her. He only signs a document to give her queen status near the end.

Then it never explains the relationship between the late queen and the magic garden. How did she predict the number and order of birth of her children? That's the key to opening the magic gate! Her own garden in the real world resembles the magic garden too. And the floor tiles also have to be in place before all of that.

Haha... I shouldn't be picking on it too much. After all it's made for kids so young, they don't care. But now, they'll want 12 dolls...

Barbie screening 1

Thanks for the ticket, Fung!

Mo-cap ballet dancers again, eh...? (^_^) "The 12 Dancing Princesses"? Never heard of this fairy tale. Looking forward to seeing the evolution of MFE!

Car cooks egg

Apparently it's hot enough inside a car to cook an egg...

Pinky Street DVDs

Finally watched them! As I said, I bought these for the dolls. So I don't care much about the DVDs. If it wasn't for the anime night, I'd probably never watch them. Don't expect much anyway.

Each disk contains one 15-minute episode. Yikes!! That's so expensive!! I can't believe I actually bought them!!! Aaaargh!!! (Regretting... regretting... regretting...)

Oh well, what's done is done. The episodes are standalone. Meaning, there's no episode order. (There are only 2 anyway.) The Sweet Saki angel DVD is about a girl who's a little boyish, but deep down in her heart, she wishes to be more girly. The Bitter Saki devil DVD is about a figure otaku university student who had a fight with his friend and feels too embarrassed to apologize.

About half of the episode is in 3DCG, after Saki takes the girl (or guy) to Pinky world. It's interesting to see the dolls in CG form. But... but they added fingers!!! Aaargh!!! Sigh... I guess that's necessary for acting. A lot of shots are recycled, and the camera work reused. Seems like they don't expect many people to buy both DVDs? The style and rendering aren't bad, though.

Behind the cuteness, there's the not-so-healthy message. It's "shop shop shop!!!" Sigh... what kind of messages are kids getting these days? Having bought these 2 DVDs, I'm guilty too. Sigh...

Falling--!!

Watch out!!! Oops... too late for Lacus.

Megahouse Haro Caplules part 1. Haha... their poses finally make sense. Taken in front of a store window in Richmond. I go to that store almost every week. These figurines have been in this state for months! But the week after this picture was taken, the store did a huge re-arranging and this falling scene no longer exist.

Push or Pull?

My dentist moved to a new office and this is the entrance of the building. I forgot to take a look at the other side of the handles. If it says "pull" than that means the doors were installed backwards... right???

Fighting robots

The way it moves is kind of cute!

"Happy Dog"? (more parody)

Take a close look again. (Click for bigger picture.) Megahouse Take-home Ice-cream. This set has been discontinued soon after release. It was even wiped out from the company's web site, as if it was never made in the first place. Rumor says the parody offended some ice-cream company. Who knows.

And here's the review at my toy site.

"Bullshit"?

Take a closer look... (click for bigger picture)
Haha... Actually these are from Megahouse candy toy "Import Market". The parody is awesome!!

Just wondering what the original name for this "bullshit" is. Looks like it's cheese or something.

Oops... forgot to post the review at my toy site... over here.

"Rotten girl"

I've been trying to dig into the mystery of the Rotten girl or fujoshi phenomenon for a while. "What's that?" You might ask. It's a Japanese slang for "female yaoi fans". This Japanese blog has a very interesting article on a book called Manga is Desire. There are some eye-opening observations and thoughts.

The heroines in shojo manga are usually ordinary girls. But they are depicted as "pretty" anyway. Girls project themselves onto the character. So, "I'm ordinary but I'm pretty". On the other hand, the hero in shonen manga, is usually a super hero.

• Boys are raised to be "I'm better than ordinary" = single fixed identity.
• Girls are raised to be ordinary but happy= multi-layered identity.

Girls can read boy's manga but if a boy reads girl's manga, he will be thought as "strange". It's similar to girls can wear pants but boys don't wear skirts. (Multi-layered identity of girls.)

Male otakus look like otakus, while female otakus are good at camouflage, because they're used to using different identity at different situations.

Taboo leads to the growth of moe. (Yaoi --> homosexual, lolicon--> pedophilia.)

Parody:

• you need to know the original
• modern
• the artist gives meaning to the artwork
• maker oriented

Pastiche :

• still funny without knowing the original (= empty parody)
• postmodern
• the viewer gives meaning to the artwork
  
• consumer oriented

So... in nowadays society, the focus is on the iconized surface, the existence during this very minute. Any other background is not important. Just plain, dry and fun. This "lacking something" leads to the hunger for more...

Hmm... don't think I take good notes, and you can see why. Haha... that's it for now. That article is much longer, though. My brain shorted out trying to translate it into English.

Palm melon again #2

Actually, my camera battery died at a bad time yesterday, and this is actually the photo that I didn't get to take. It's very interesting to see the size of the melons degreasing towards the end of the vine.