Category Archive for J-News
GOING TO ITALY! FIRENZE4EVER, LUISAVIAROMA FASHION BLOGGER EVENT IN FLORENCE, JUNE 2011. HOSTELBOOKERS HOTELS, VENICE & MILAN.
Ciao, Italia! Sebastiano and I will be in Italy in June… on a sponsored trip! Pizza and gelato? Fashion-forward photoshoot in a gondola? You bet your palle (balls).
From June 9-11, Seba and I will be special guests at Firenze4Ever III. It’s an extravaganza for top fashion bloggers around the world, presented by designer boutique LuisaViaRoma.
LuisaViaRoma is flying us to Florence and taking care of us for three days. We’ll be creating and modeling designer outfits in Styling Lab, with the support of international fashion designers (Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh and more). Rumor is, Sarah Jessica Parker will be attending the festivities!
If you’re in Italy… with a pretty male model… who doubles as a translator / tour guide… you might as well do some traveling, right?
Our favoloso friends at Hostelbookers are hooking us up with hotels all over Italy, so that we can share our travel experiences with you! Hostelbookers is a magnifico travel site that provides budget hotels and hostels in over 100 countries, with no booking fee. (Their new site, AnyTrip.com, lets you plan a budget holiday all in one place. Perfect for young vagabonders.)
Can’t wait until June, when Seba and I will be exploring Florence, Milan and Venice. (Staying in this gorgeous hotel by Piazza San Marco, courtesy of Hostelbookers!) We’ll meet up with my cousin, and visit Seba’s family in Northern Italy. And we have Italian photoshoots and TV appearances in the works…
Did you know Sebastiano Serafini plays Luca, the Italian otaku student in the Japanese hit TV drama, Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo? (日本人の知らない日本語) His fan Ami made this compilation. I added the titles; the song — sung by Seba — is by Tim. Swoon at the video above and on my YouTube.
Italy, here we come! Got recommendations for places to visit in Florence, Milan and Venice? Please leave your suggestions in the comments — I’d love to check them out.
Song of the Day: Surechigai, sung by Sebastiano in the new video.
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LOS ANGELES EVENTS TO HELP JAPAN EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS: Q-POP ART FUNDRAISER, GIANT ROBOT LA, SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS ON THE ROX.
The amount of damage from the Japan disaster is still not known. But the casualties are now in the thousands, and believed to be in the ten thousands.
Sebastiano and I want to return to Tokyo as soon as everything is less volatile. We feel that for now, foreigners especially can help the most by raising money for reputable charities in Japan. We think supporting the professionals – medical teams, rescue crews – is the best course of action for the time being.
Seba and La Carmina are planning many events this week in Los Angeles to raise money. We collaborated with a well-known band (to be revealed soon), and collected donations at Mr. Black for Medecins Sans Frontiers / Doctors Without Borders. (Seba crafted a “Donate To Japan” sign in less than 10 minutes – impressive!)
Thanks to everyone at Mr Black LA for generously donating. And to The Orlando Hotel for hosting and supporting us — we’re overjoyed to be back.
Some updates… My schedule for the next few weeks remains unclear. My Belgian TV show and the NOH8 campaign in Japan are certainly postponed.
Fortunately, Yukiro made it to Sweden after a harrowing Narita airport experience! Many of our friends in Tokyo have moved to areas such as Kansai and Kageshima, just as a precaution.
Tonight, we will be raising awareness and funds at On The Rox, the weekly LA party by Semi Precious Weapons (who toured with Lady Gaga). Hope to see you there.
La Carmina and Sebastiano Serafini are sponsoring the Q Pop art auction for Japan this Friday, in downtown LA. The Japanese clothing store is now accepting donations of artwork. All proceeds will go to select local hospitals, shelters, and relief groups in all affected areas in Japan.
Please join us at the silent auction on Friday, March 18th from 7-11pm. Q Pot Shop is located at 128 Astronaut E S Onizuka St, Los Angeles.
Participating artists include Junko Mizuno, and illustrators for Power Puff Girls, Samurai Jack and Pixar. (Works will also be sold online.) Tune in Tokyo is spinning tunes, and there will be live music from Dig Jelly, Stephanie Yanez and guitarist Po Lo.
We encourage you to support your local events to help Japan. Other events in Los Angeles:
MARCH 17, 8-11pm: We <3 Japan: One Day Art Auction and Celebrity Signing at Meltdown Comics. Info here.
MARCH 19, 6:30-10pm: Giant Robot Presents Water Works – Fundraiser for the Devastation in Japan. Info here.
Also on Saturday March 19th, please join Seba and La Carmina at the #PrayForJapan art fundraiser at JapanLA. Details are in this post.
Keep us posted about you and your friends. How are you doing? Have you been taking action to help Japan?
PS: I’ve gotten some emails, and I think people should be more concerned about Sendai and NOT about whether they can still take shopping vacations in Tokyo in a few weeks. Not the time to be a tourist…
LA CARMINA
