CUTE JAPANESE IPHONE COVERS, GLITTER DECORA KAWAII. HELLO KITTY HOSPITAL TAIWAN, CYBERDOG LONDON, GRACE JONES.
Cell phone photos reveal a lot about our lives, don’t they? Objects that catch our eye, moments we choose to capture. Here’s a peek into my Apple iPhone camera roll.
I passed by a Vancouver shop and snapped these glittery, decora cell phone covers. Practical or not, the best cases are made for iPhones. Which one is your favorite?
Here are a few teasers from the magazine cover photoshoot I did for a Goth magazine (more news to come). Glitter Machine specializes in body painting and alternative photography. You’ll fall over when you see the kawaii-cyber and Goth pirate looks they created on me!
Before the shoot, Isolde from Avant Garde Hair put my red locks into giant pin-up rolls. It’s too bad I’ll miss Vancouver’s burlesque festival (I’ll be in Hong Kong).
Much to Sebastiano’s chagrin, literally 90% of my iPhone photos are of my baby, Basil Farrow. Have you cleaned your Scottish Fold’s ears today? (Many more cute pics on his cat blog.)
I Tweet a lot of Hello Kitty photos. Here are images of Taipei’s Hello Kitty maternity ward, from a Sanrio book. Cute or scary?
Seba isn’t the only one who makes disturbing drawings. Left: something I drew as an emo teen. Not the greatest time in my life. Right: Do you think this increases my chances of winning the lucky draw?
Sometimes, I Tweet retro-Carmina images. I still dress the same as when I was six. And talk about Goth for life… compare the happy pumpkins my fourth grade class made with my bloody murder!
I traveled widely, even before starting this blog. Left: inside the Cyberdog London store (cybergoth clothes at Camden Market) around 2004. Right: I saw Grace Jones perform at a private fashion week party in NYC, a few years ago.
Sometimes, I use Twitter to help make gut-wrenching, life-changing decisions. At Daiso, the Japanese dollar store, I couldn’t decide between the kawaii stationery. Almost everyone on Twitter urged me to get the Happy Skulls, so I did.
I leave you with some Hong Kong fashion magazine snaps — much more to come from my trip to HK and Macau. Please add me on Twitter to join the fun; I follow back.
PS: Will you kindly take a second to Like my blog by clicking the buttons below? Thank you for your kind messages — I read them all!
Song of the Day: Grace Jones – Slave To The Rhythm
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YAOI MANGA BOOKSTORES IN IKEBUKURO, TOKYO: BOYS LOVE, BISHONEN COMIC BOOKS.
Yowee for yaoi! Sebastian, the Black Butler from the popular manga, welcomes otaku into an Ikebukuro manga store dedicated to Boys’ Love — Japanese comics about intimacies between men.
The recurring theme in yaoi is romantic relationships between the male characters — usually young beautiful boys (bishonen).
The “action” can get quite explicit. Usually, one has the seme (top) role, while the other is uke.
Interestingly, most readers of yaoi manga are not gay men — but women seeking romance stories. As one told me, “Most of the time, real relationships cause trouble and we don’t want to feel hurt. Reading yaoi is a flight from reality. No woman exists between you and the boys in the stories.”
That’s why “fan service” moments, such as kisses between male Jrock musicians, get fans swooning.
The Ikebukuro district of Tokyo is boys love central. Be sure to visit the Swallowtail butler cafe, where 19th century style pretty boys serve you tea. Nearby, there’s a large selection of yaoi manga and figurine stores. To get there, please check out my Ikebukuro map and guide.
I photographed a Shibuya butlers cafe for my book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo. Please check it out — there are stories and images from Tokyo’s strangest themed cafes.
Do you read yaoi? If so, what is it about the male relationships or themes that compels you? Why do you think yaoi is popular in Japan among women?
Song of the Day: Here’s one of the many Visual Kei fan service videos on the net.
LA CARMINA
