Category Archive for Cute Yummy Time
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF JAPANESE AMERICAN BENTO DOCUMENTARY! LA CARMINA ON NHK TV SHOW, JAPANESE POP CULTURE & CRAZY FOOD.
The NHK documentary about cute bentos has aired! Come watch my segments on my YouTube channel (please subscribe) or embedded below. Japanese TV is absolutely bananas, isn’t it?
In Part 1, I show the reporter how to draw and create cute character bentos. How many times can you spot my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow?
Part 2 documents my visit to the Harlem elementary school to teach children (and their parents) how to make cute and healthy sandwiches. Don’t you love their enthusiasm?
Some parts didn’t make the final cut: the reporter and I had a five minute race to make cute food faces, and there was a segment where I modeled my fashion line. But I’ll post behind-the-scenes videos from the shoot later on (shot by Shichi, as were the photos above). You can see more from the NHK Japanese TV show in the last few pages of this blog — and to learn cute bento-making, do consider my book Cute Yummy Time!
Yesterday was an interesting press day. The Guardian (UK newspaper) reported that Cute Yummy Time was named one of the oddest book titles of the year — along with “Bondage for Beginners” and other head-scratchers. I hope my book makes the shortlist…
Moreover, a giant image of Ronan Farrow (Basil Farrow’s dad) is currently gracing the front page of Rosie O’Donnell’s website. The photo was taken by me! Next time, Rosie should post a photo of our fat, furry, earless son, don’t you think?
What do you think of NHK documentary? Are you eager to make kawaii character bentos now?
Song of the Day #300: Whatever happy tunes are going on in the NHK episode.
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TEACHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN HARLEM HEALTHY EATING. JAPANESE CHARACTER BENTO LESSONS IN UNDERPRIVILEGED NEW YORK CLASSROOM.
I began my speech by telling the Harlem schoolchildren that I brought a cute friend with me. I pulled her out of a large bag… and they awwed in recognition: “It’s Hello Kitty!”
I talked about kawaii in Japanese culture and character bentos, and gave pointers on healthy eating. The nine-year-olds were very high-energy and asked me rambling questions. Then it was time for the students to try making their own cute-faced sandwiches. They chose ingredients from the spread I had prepped the previous day. By the end of the shoot, almost everything was gone!
The children intuitively understood how to use cookie cutters, straws and other basic tools to make kawaii characters out of food. I went around the tables to help and encourage them.
Amazingly, the children ate vegetables that they’d never seen before — sprouts, green snap peas, red peppers — and said they tasted great. Their parents took away a fun, new approach to making healthy food accessible for kids. I was pleased.
Hana cheered, “Let’s make kawaii character bentos together!” — and we all raised our fists and yelled “Yayyyyy!” Ah, the wonders of Japanese TV.
You will love the episode of New York Wave, which will air next month on NHK (I’ll upload clips). Much thanks to Thomas, a teacher at the school, for his invaluable help in making the lesson possible. Arigato also to Shichi for the photos and help in dishing out the food.
For more images from the Harlem TV segment, you can watch this video slideshow. If you’re interested in cute healthy cooking for picky eaters, I have a new book out, Cute Yummy Time.
I Tweeted a link that got a lot of responses: Condom Fashion Show in China. A very creative use of the material (and my mom sent me the link!). Birth control couture: kawaii or ai-yah?
Received my Akumu Ink x La Carmina t-shirts today and AHH the prints are so eye-catching! Each tee and hoodie is hand-screened; you won’t be disappointed by the quality. (They’re available for order at www.akumuink.com — I’ll post photos of me in them soon.)
What’s next? My visit to NYC Lolita store Tokyo Rebel, my spooky Goth girl band, Bowie’s birthday party, and more undead adventures in LA!
Song of the Day #295: Matenrou Opera (摩天楼オペラ) – Murder Scope (A solid Visual Kei band with hard-rocking melodies.)
LA CARMINA
