cutting-edge coifs

In the United States and Europe, it would be quite ordinary to see Vin Diesel-type 'skinheads' walking down the street.

In Japan, however, it would be very rare – a lot of the guys there have long, anime-style hair!

Check out the young Japanese guy with blue hair (above right) who we saw just outside of Osaka Castle Park. He actually reminded me of my Series 13 Evangelion 'SF' Bearbrick (above left), which was based on the character of Rei Ayanami, the first pilot in the anime and manga series.

My companion J, fascinated with the hip Japanese hairstyles, paid a huge sum for a cut at a Harajuku salon. While waiting for him, I leafed through a male hair catalogue and took some pics (below). Which do you like best?


In downtown Kyoto, I took a pic of this guy (right) who has perfected the look from head to toe. When I told him I would post his pic on my blog, he immediately struck a pose!

I love the hair – I just wonder how long it takes him every morning to get that 'coiffed'. :-D

li'l known stories 'bout li'l red riding hood

Remember Little Red Riding Hood, the Grimm brothers' tale about a girl and her grandma who were eaten by a wolf but saved by a huntsman?

1. In the oldest version, told by peasants in 14th century France, the wolf was a bzou (werewolf) who served the little girl her grandmother for dinner, prompting the house cat to lament, "For shame! The slut is eating her grandmother's flesh and drinking her grandmother's blood."

After this, the bzou asked her to take her clothes off and come to bed with him! When she finally wised up, she told the bzou that she needed to go out to relieve herself. Once outside, she untied the string around her ankle, attached it to a plum tree so her captor will think she was still restrained, and escaped to her freedom.

2. The first published version (1697) by Charles Perrault, however, was a tragedy – no huntsman came to the rescue. It was not a 'fairy' tale, but a cautionary one with a 'moral' at the end:

"Children, especially attractive, well-bred young ladies, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf.'

'I say "wolf," but there are various kinds of wolves. There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all."

3. James Finn Garner's politically correct version, first published in 1994, is hilarious! Imagine Little Red Riding Hood telling the wolf, "Grandma, what a big nose you have, only relatively, of course, and certainly attractive in its own way," and "Oh, I forgot you are as optically challenged as a bat. Grandma, what big eyes you have!"

In the end, when the 'woodchopper person' bursts into the cottage to save her, Little Red Riding Hood exclaims, "Sexist! Speciesist! How dare you assume that women and wolves can't solve their own problems without a man's help!" LOL

Guess who dies in the end?

4. The most shocking and gruesome version is a short film entitled BlackXXXmas, produced by Stryker Films, directed by Belgian Pieter Van Hees, and posted at atomfilms.com, the former entertainment portal for original short films and web shows. If you think you can handle it, you may view it here.

People, be careful which version you tell the kids, ok? :-D

(Top, right) The 'Cute' Bearbrick of Series 13, released in December 2006, was based on Little Red Riding Hood.

(Above, left) Cristophe Coppens red hood from citylifeantwerp.com (Above, right) Fairy tale illustration from encarta.msn.com

Info from Wikipedia, www.pitt.edu, philip.greenspun.com, www.northern.edu, scoop.diamondgalleries.com, januarymagazine.com, atomfilms.com

skeletons in the closet

Right now, I am reading the New York Times' number 2 bestseller entitled 'The Quickie', a novel by suspense writer James Patterson (with Michael Ledwidge.)

The premise is gripping. A woman catches her husband having an affair. She decides to get even by having a one night stand with a cute hunk from her office. But even before that evening is over, she witnesses her short-time lover get brutally killed – by her husband (who shows up unexpectedly)!

The twist? She is a police officer – and so is her murdered boy toy. To make matters worse, she is assigned by her boss to catch the so-called 'cop killer'.

Talk about skeletons in the closet! You'll find sex, betrayal and homicide in just one chapter! Unlike most guilt-ridden individuals with dirty secrets, this woman's shame is beyond consolation, especially when she finds out that her dead lover has a wife and 3 kids! Imagine her curse, her torment, her hell – how can she possibly hide the truth which she is entrusted to seek?

Yes, it does sound like a sordid tabloid tale, the stuff scandals are made of. Go ahead and borrow a copy – no need to buy something you'll finish in one sitting.

(Top, left) The Balzac Be@rbrick, with its signature skeleton design, is a 'secret' bear from Series 13. It was issued in collaboration with Balzac, the Japanese Horror Punk Band (left). While the group was inspired by The Misfits, it was named after the 1800s French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac.

Info from www.misfitsrecords.com / Band pic from www.balzac308.com

creatures of the imagination

This Series 13 Secret Be@rbrick (right) was designed by Parisian illustrator, Genevieve Gauckler. She is known for creating lovable graphic creatures and incorporating them into photos of real life situations.

Below is her artwork from thisisamagazine.com which features two of her famous characters, Patacorp (the fat one) and Thermokukus (the tall one). The rest of this series depict the lovable twosome in funny situations around her apartment. Check them out here.

Guackler's pic (below) for lounge72.com shows her posing beside Patacorp. Cute, aren't they?

I am reminded of imaginary friends that a great number of kids (65%) develop between the ages of 3 and 5. While some parents regard these 'playmates' with alarm, psychologists reassure them that having such a 'pal' is normal. They say that an imaginary friend is thought of as a child's way of coping with difficult emotions; it is also a way for him/her to explore the issues of control, discipline and power without interacting with real authority figures (which may cause some degree of anxiety.) The best news is that kids with imaginary playmates tend to develop better verbal, social and creative skills, according to studies.

Creativity in children and adults manifest in many ways, sometimes in the form of cute little fantasy creatures – just like Gauckler's.

Info from NYU Child Study Center & Seattle Post Intelligencer / Balloon pic from g2works.com

the asuka be@rbrick & other anime babes

This Series 13 Be@rbrick on the left was based on the character of Asuka Langley Soryu, an emotionally scarred child prodigy who became the pilot of the giant robot '02' in the anime and manga series entitled Evangelion.

With a curvaceous figure, fiery red hair and a temper to match, Asuka's popularity brought the character to sex symbol status. She has been portrayed as a sex object in several media – photos, illustrations, toys, and collectible figurines. Check out her provocative poses and outfits below!






















Fans of anime and manga are not limited to kids. In fact, many of them are teenage and adult males. That's why in countries like Japan, sexy anime figurines – plaster or plastic playmates with sweet faces, swinging hair, and cup D breasts (below) – sell like anything!

I guess men like to play with dolls, too. LOL














(Sexy figurines available at tokyotoys.com)

jelly bears, anyone?

These are called Jelly Bean Be@rbricks. Colorful, translucent,
and yummy-looking!

While most of these are uniformly plain like gummy bears and jelly beans, there are slight differences in the surface quality (some are matte, others are shiny). There is also a series that has the Jelly Belly logo on them. A particularly interesting 'jelly' bear is the Thermo Bearbrick, which changes color according to temperature. (Someone I know actually placed it in the freezer just to test the claim. See archives: Profile of a Be@rbrick Collector.)

Warning: These are not edible. Please keep out of reach of children! :-)

bear bear bling bling

Rapper Li'l Wayne probably didn't realize how much the phrase "bling bling" would impact on the entire hiphop culture when he first used it in his 1998 track 'Millionaire Dream'. Now, it has even crossed over to the hip toy culture. Featured in the picture is Series 13's 'Skull' Be@rbrick, wearing a crown from a Bangkok bling vendor and real South African diamonds around its neck.

Bling bling
Every time I come around your city
Bling bling
Pinky ring worth about fifty
Bling bling
Every time I buy a new ride
Bling bling
Lorinsers on Yokahama tires
Bling bling

–Li'l Wayne (the dude on the right)
from the B.G. song 'Bling Bling'