It's a dog!

Yes, it is REALLY a dog. Not a piggy, not a "mini-cow", but an English bulldog called Rhimma. She belongs to my friend Marcia and loves going to my house in Rio - she even knows the way. She's really sweet...


(The title of this blog was suggested by David, her proud papa...)

Hello Kitty Japanese Hairdo (pretty!)

Etsumi Kawashima is probably the greatest hairdresser in Japan and has been proposed to make a "bald" kitty become a beautiful hairy star! Well, a star she is already, and below you can see her hairdo variations, all to die for! Kawashima-san has been nominated by Sanrio, the official Hello Kitty hairdresser! Kudos to him!

They are arriving - Dior Kitties!

Yes, they have finally been released!

The Dior Kitties designed by John Galliano are already available in Paris! Please check the Colette website for more information! They are super-lovely.

And mine are already on their way to Dublin!

(Official picture by the Colette website)

Vogue Japan - Hello Kitty Wears Dior

I finally managed to put my hands on the massive issue of Vogue Japan Jun'08! Why, and what is that, that I was so anxiously waiting for? Well, nothing less than a special edition featuring Hello Kitty dressed by no one else than John Galliano!

Well, it also displays some celebs that have succumbed to Kitty-chan's spell, but I wouldn't care less for them, especially the bimbo sisters Paris and whatzername-Hilton. No, that doesn't matter. I'd rather forget about it, even... Oh well...

What is really great is to get the drawings for 60 outfits Galliano designed for her, as well as pictures of her visiting the Maison Dior in Paris - kawaii indeed! To die for!

(It makes me think of Alexandre Herchcovitch - a wonderful Brazilian fashion designer - who also designed some pieces featuring Kitty-chan 4 years ago...)

I also got a special freebie, which is a lovely mascot of Kitty holding a Vogue banner. Here it is, at your left - I scanned it, but it doesn't look great. Just click on it to get a better idea.

Now I just need to know if the Kitties (60, in total) will be released as mascots or straps, so I can get some (my favorites at least)!

Shopping Bags

We went to Tower Records yesterday and I bought myself this cute shopping bag. These are the front and back views:

It's really nice, spacious and cheap. I have now in my wish list a bag from these same makers that is kinda weird, but very funny: Looking Good For Jesus. Mark wonders if it would be safe for me to use one of these here in Ireland?

I am back, finally (and hopefully!)

Terrible, I am terrible. I know... Such a lazy lady... Well, more than 2 months without blogging. Christmas, New Year, Birthday - all these events came and went, and I was here. Either reading manga or reminiscing about our trip to Rio (where I stayed 2 months, by the way).

Then, why am I writing today, of all days? Simply because I have decided to get into the blogging activity again, as simple as that, and because I got something really cool on eBay! It is silly, I know, and people would just think why am I so bloody childish and so on... Especially now, since I just turned 45, so I should know more and be a real adult - once and for all, right? Well, not quite.

Still in love with Keroro, I scored this:

This is a miniature of the Hinata house kitchen, with Kero-chan performing all his daily duties (except vaccum-claning that is) and Tama-chan waiting for some snacks! Comes with saucepans, cleaning products, furniture, cutlery etc! Waaaaaahhhh, so cute! Just look at this detailed pic here:

He looks so proud, no? Showing all his cleaning gear, ah...

How could I not fall in love??? Next will be the miniature of his room (Chibic My Room), and also the Gourmet + Hobby set, which includes delicacies from Keron planet:

Pumpkin eats pumpkin...

This happened yesterday, during Hallowe'en's celebrations and fireworks! Pumpkins decided to go Hannibal (Lecter). But that was after watching too many JHorror flicks, methinks...

Kitty Most Pretty!!!

Yay! They are so cute! I will be listing them on eBay tomorrow. These Kitties are part of the Pula Loli (Gothic Lolita & Punk) series. These are duplicates that I want to try selling on eBay. I really like the way the pictures turned out!

Rabbit X Ice Cone

Example of a very cool design. Also VERY cute...

Oink oink or woof woof?

Yes: doggy or piggy? You decide... But he is such an adorable little fella, no? Of course it's a dog, but somehow he looks like a cute little piggy too. I wish I had one...
(Where did I get him? Daily Puppy of course!)

I love Amy! Awww....

This cute, adorable, precious little girl is... Amy Winehouse! Or should I say WineMouse? Heee! I found it in some web news, due to her gone in rehab (for real, I mean). Isn't she lovely? Yeah, I know it sounds pretty much like the Stevie Wonder song, but what a cutie! The same face as today's! People talk and talk about her, but I think she is just amazing. They talk about her beehive, her eye liner, how tiny thin she is, but let's face it: she is amazing, she sings like the oldies, classical ladies of Song, she is the best these days. I agree she looked gorgeous by the time of the 1st CD, Frank. And although I prefer Back to Black, she is not looking as stunning as she was then. But I love her for her quirkiness, and her vulnerability. She is a girl with problems, and she admits it. One must only admire her.

Reminiscing now... I once dressed up as a Mouse too. Not Minnie, but Mickey Mouse. I was much older than Amy though. 19 or 20, er, a bit too old for the part, I admit. It was a costume party and I went my Mum and my Stepfather, Paulo Boneff. I had black tights, a large denim short, a man's shirt (Paulo's), big round shoes, a black ribbon as a tail, white satin gloves, a nose painted just like Amy's and my Mickey Mouse hat. Why was that so memorable? Well, Paulo drank lots and lots and got seriously stoned. He was a huge man and I was scared because he was moving and shouting like a troll. I started to cry, and the only thing I remember is how black my poor satin gloves become 'cause I cried and wiped my face, cried and wiped my nose, cried and rubbed my face (including my very own rodent's nose) with my impeccable rodent's satin gloves! Everything was OK in the end, of course. But it was something I never forgot!

Bad Boy Bonzo

This cute postcard dates from 1931 and was sent to my Dad by one of his sisters. I managed to scan it and it looks quite good. It is Bonzo, an extremely cute and vivacious dog who - apparently - was always involved in some sort of misadventure.

I wonder what kind of dog he is: a mutt, a shar-pei or a bull terrier? Whatever he is, it's way to cute, no?

When I was little...

When I was little I used to watch a really funny show, called Topo Gigio. Created in Italy- he even had a lovely Italian accent -, I really loved it. That was some time in the 60-70's... A long time ago...

Gigio was a really cute puppet and I loved watching him at night, when he would kiss the presenter good-night, saying in a squeaky, funny voice: "Agildinho, me dá um beijinho de boa noite?".

(That means: "Agildinho, will you gimme a little good-night kiss?")

I had a little cutlery set, bowl and dish and also some stuffed and rubber Gigios, aaaww, how I miss it!

And here he is in all his glory!

Playing piano... aaaahhh...

Browsing YouTube once again I stumbled upon Nora, the piano Cat! It's so cute, she is an adorable, clever kitty! And she accompanies her mistress so well... Her story is lovely too, and you can read it here. Look at the way she tries to imitate humans (Betsy is a piano teacher) and how she moves her little ears, just too pretty:



I am in love with Nora! And I think this "Sequel" is even nicer, especially when she starts purring at the beginning. She must really love playing the piano, and certainly love music! It is amazing how concentrated she seems to be!

Shiba Wanko Books

I bought 2 of these books on EBay (where else!), and they are just gorgeous. These days I am quite obsessed with Shiba Inu puppies, and just could not resist to them. Since I cannot have the real pups, why not the books at least? And it can also help me to start drawing again, since it's very much the style I love, very colourful and detailed.

Hannari-Ya is the lovely Seller. I like buying from them because everything arrives super-fast and they have a great collection of Japanese goodies.

Well the 1st book in the series is called Wa no Kokoro, and explains the traditions and customs related to each season and holiday in Japan, from Tanabata to the Hanami season, and also how to hold chopsticks or to pray in a shrine, for example. The main characters are Shiba Wanko and his little kitty friend, Miike Nyanko, who introduce us to a typical day in the country and all its symbols and rich cultural background.

The 2nd one, Wa no Kokoro 2, demonstrates how to wear a kimono, and explains about Hina Matsuri (Girls Festival) and the traditional Kabuki theatre, among other customs. It also describes how to make incense for the Summer days, and how pleasant it must be to savour the colourful and exquisite wagashi (sweets). Ahhhh, that makes me think of Minamoto Kitchoan's delicacies... How I miss it!

The books are all in Japanese, no translation so far (let's hope!). However, the illustrations are so detailed that you don't even need a text to know (more or less!) what is going on, or what the meanings of such and such tradition or celebration may be. Of course, if you are already familiar with some aspects of Japanese culture it gets easier since you can recognise what it's all about. Otherwise, just don't worry, but relax and enjoy the lovely pictures. Not to be missed!

Selling on EBay!

Well, this week I finally started selling stuff on EBay! Audrey came here and helped me to set the "business". Now to what exactly I am selling... As you may expect, duplicates of my Hello Kitty mascots and netsuke, and other cute stuff, such as mobile phone pouches, notebooks etc...

We have listed only 5 items so far, to see how it works. But, if it turns out to be OK, I will also sell some manga books, DVDs, stationery and other things that became "redundant" down here! Let's see how it goes, let's see...

My stuff is listed here, in case you want to have a look!

Cute pup goes toilet-training

Seriously, who can possibly resist to this??? From YouTube again, from a very fortunate owner of a cutilicious Shiba Inu. The puppie seems to be well trained toilet-wise, but very scared of the results... I want one (the puppie, not the poo, of course!)...

Animation - "Corpse Bride"

We watched Corpse Bride last night and it is a gorgeous little film.

I love the way Tim Burton has turned "death" into something cute. The characters are so likeable and human, and I think it's great for kids so they can be a bit more understanding of death, maybe. Even us, grown-ups, are not so understanding, but this film lightens up such a gloomy and scary theme. Somehow.

The soundtrack by Danny Elfman is also remarkable, especially the piano solos played by Victor and Emily, and the musical pieces taking place in the world "below", very funny and well-choreographed.

It is also cool to see the contrast between the rigid, grey real-life world and the bright colourfulness of the world of the Dead. As if the Dead guys were the ones "released" whereas their "alive" counterparts are those restrained to a colourless, almost monochrome existence.

The characters of the brides (Victoria and Emily) are brilliantly voiced-over by Helena Bonham-Carter and Emily Watson, who bring emotion and grace to their roles. Victor, as one may expect from Burton, is of course Johnny Depp - also impeccable as the very Brit and shy groom-to-be Victor Van Dort.

Needless to say the animation is superb, and those characters are so pretty (well, the good ones at least!) that you end up by falling in love with them. They have big, soulful eyes and the expressions are perfect, as well as their movements. They seem to float effortlessly and you detect no stiffness or harsh moves at all. Lightly and gracefully. Beautiful indeed.

My favourite characters are the brides of course, and also the corpse-dog Scraps - who used to belong to Victor when he was a little boy. The plot is not only simple (no unnecessary frills here), but very clever and funny, something to be enjoyed by both adults and kids.

Aaaaahhhhdorable...

This was in my Google page today, could not resist to share (from Dog of The Day)! He looks like a tiny Shiba Inu, and it's just too gorgeous. I wish I had one...

My Kitties

Last week, Mark and I were involved with my Hello Kitty mascots and netsuke organisation. I came up with different categories depending on their theme, and Mark helped me to count them.

It took some time, since I have a lot. Accounted for so far: 691, spread on 46 categories, such as:

- Kabuki;
- Food and Desserts;
- Pretty Ladies in Kimono;
- Fuji Sama;
- Tokyo Tower;
- Okinawa;
- Nagoya;
- Matsuri (Festivals);
- Summer;
- Autumn;
- Mammals;
- Flowers;
- Seafood & Fish;
- Charmmy Kitty;
- Gothic Lolita;
- Kapa, Tanuki & Kitsune etc etc...

Of course, I made a spreadsheet so I can keep control of how many I have in each category.

I also found out that, if I like a Kitty very much, I tend to buy more than one, eg, the Dumpling Kitty (dressed up as a gyoza), the Moé Kitty (carrying a bunny on her back) and so on... I already gave away lots of duplicates. My Mother loves them too, and we use it on our purses and mobile phones, of course. Even Mark once used a Samurai Kitty on the zipper of his coat! Now, I could sell them maybe on EBay? I think my friends and Mom are already tired of getting Kitties as little presents!

It may look childish, but their design is very good, they are very creative, and are fun to "play" with. I read that in Japan, women of my age tend to be the biggest collectors of Kitty memorabilia, since they are already stable and can afford this kind of stuff. I believe that.

On the left, you can see another favorite of mine, the Hydrangea Kitty...

Cute kittens!

I found this very cute video on Youtube yesterday and just needed to share. It is unbearably lovely. And the voices are also very good. And more, it makes me want to have a cat myself... Aaaahhhhhh...

The kitties are newborn and exploring their environment for the 1st time:

Kero-baby: cuteness alert!

She must be the cutest baby on the web! I was searching for Keroro on Youtube and there she was! Under doraemonyeung's profile, who must be the proudest relative/parent ever! So adorable!

(By the way, she is singing, or attempting to sing, the Keroro's opening theme for the 1st series, that you can hear in the background, sung in Chinese. Super-lovely! Aaaaawwww...)

Extremes

Sometimes I think if I am not a bit weird or what. I have two antagonic sides co-existing inside me.

One is the "I-adore-all-things-cute" side or, most specifically, kawaii. The other is the complimentary "But-I-love-horror-flicks" one. Meaning that people can listen to me digressing and going all "aawwww" at the latest Hello Kitty gimmick and - ten minutes later, literally - going all excited about that new JHorror release where hairy ghosts come out of toasters, for example.

Those two things live inside me like an old Stevie Wonder's song: "in perfect harmony". Although they may seem a bit incompatible to the world around me. That is why I so much identify with Momotchi and Tama-chan, from my beloved Keroro Gunso series. They are characters of "extremes". Taste-wise and pesonality-wise too. I have a bit of their mood swings as well (Mark knows well about it!). I can be in cute-mode now, and the next moment become a venomous harpy! Ha ha! Of course I am exaggerating a bit here, but yeah, you can picture it...

Cute stuff I love:

- Sanrio characters, especially (and above all) Hello Kitty;
- Pucca;
- Morning Glory's Babu and Blue Bear;
- San-X stuff:
- Cute maneki neko;
- Nici stuff;
- Cute Asian makeup brands such as Majolica Majorca, Anna Sui and Lavshuca.

However, there are "cute" stuff I seriously dislike because they look tacky, passé and utterly mind-numbing, such as:

- Some kinds of Teddy Bears (eg, Care Bears and several greeting card ones);
- Barbie dolls;
- Bratz;
- Teletubbies;
- Anne Geddes baby pics;
- Ads where dogs and little babies talk with silly adult voices (eg, Andrex toilet rolls where a lovely and playful Labrador puppy sounds like an old drag-queen, Pampers etc...)

As for the Horror, I must say I am quite proud of my collection of DVDs! Mostly Asian films, because their approach of horror is not only "cleaner" but also deeper, and mostly impressive. Stylish even. And, the Horror I dislike is stuff like Re-animator and Infection for example. They are just plain gross. Period.

Notes: There is no such a thing as a JHorror film where a hairy ghost comes out of a toaster, of course! They normally come out of TVs and bathroom sinks, but not toasters - at least for now; one can only hope...

Also, I recognise this whole cute thing is a bit subjective. I know that, for some people, Hello Kitty may look abominable and Care Bears adorable, for example. Or drag-queenish labrador puppies may sound like the epitome of cuteness... Who am I to say? Anyway, it's all too personal in the end, no?

Finally, the above picture with Momotchi and Tama-chan I got in the super-cool Keroro's Korean website! Worth checking (and bookmarking) it!

Scruffy O'Bear: A True Story

This is a picture of me and my beloved Scruffy O'Bear, a present of Mark before we got married!

He tells all the story of Scruffy in his blog here! All details and so on... Later on we realised that he was not really a bear, but a dog. The last name remained of course, because it sounds very Irish and Scruffy was already used to it, he he!

When Mark sent it to me in Rio he also made an album with lots of pictures of him, Scruffy and Owen called:

"The Grand Adventures of Scruffy O'Bear - Being a Tale of Fun and Larks in the Seaside Town of Brighton..."

Lovely! The pictures are great, however they were taken with a disposable camera and the scans, as you will notice, are far from perfect, a bit grainy in fact. The originals are perfect though and I have them here, of course! The little story Mark wrote is also very cute and funny! You can as well see the pics as a slide show, however on the slide show Mark's captions with the original little story are not available.

Now let's face it: how on Earth could I not fall in love after such a present???

Persocom!

Mark and I bought this Toynami Chi doll last Sunday while in Temple Bar! That was in the Forbidden Planet shop. They also had InuYasha dolls, the next item in my wish list, he he! Isn't she adorable???

Chi must be the most lovely manga character, from Clamp's Chobits - one of the first manga series I read (the 2nd to be precise), and fell in love immediately. Clamp is a great female group of mangaka. I adore everything they write and draw, especially Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura, which was my very first manga series by the way...

Summer & Autumn Cuteness...

This is adorable! I have received these sets yesterday, from The Japanese Shop, UK. Autumn and Summer scenes, with only manekineko! Yes! Lucky cats playing instruments (flute, taiko), going to a Summer fair, smoking (woooohhh, how shocking!!!), playing with the koi (carps) etc, etc... The sceneries are typical of these seasons: all the trees and shrubs that blossom at those times of the year (maple, chestnuts and a variety of flowers), and the activities people engage in.

Here is the cute Summer scene:

Guess who my favourite neko is? The one at the right hand side, eating some candy floss. Mark got it right. He guessed he was my favourite, because he is eating candy floss and has a sweet expression, big wet eyes, looking very huggable and vulnerable.

At any rate, these are a wonderful addition to my manekineko collection, I am super-happy with them. The Japanese Shop always has wonderful things and the service is excellent. One of my faves for all things Japanese (ou of Japan, that is!).

And here's the lovely Autumn display:

Now I just need to find space in my cabinet to display them, along with the other neko and my kimono Kitties. That's going to be hard, but I'm sure I can manage... Ah well, I hope so... But they do deserve a place of honour, no?

Nintendogs!

Mark gave me the Nintendogs Dachsund and Friends! That game includes several breeds I like: Siberian Husky of course, Beagle, Pug, Golden Retriever and so on. The only one I don't really fancy is the Shih Tzu. I think they are quite annoying and noisy but, to be frank, I am not a big fan of lap dogs. I prefer medium to large sized dogs. And I love a mutt!

I "bought" a Husky then. There were three Huskies in the Pet Shop, 2 females and one male. This time I opted for the male. He was described as a shy, tender dog, while the females were more stubborn and independent (a bit like my Cookie used to be!). His name is Kiko. When I call him, he barks and comes running. In real life Huskies don't actually bark. They howl mostly. They can bark alright, but it's not frequent and doesn't seem very natural to them.

I used to "communicate" a lot with Cookie this way! Sounds silly, but yes, it's true. She did not like having baths. I used to carry her (literally) to my bath-shower box, stuff some cotton balls in her ears and give her a good scrub under the shower. Then, a blow-dry! After it was all over I used to tell her, in a rewarding tone: "Acabou o banho, Cookie!" ("The bath is over, Cookie!"). Then, she would rest on one of the armchairs in the living room, sigh, and start howling: "wooooooooo...". Every time I said the magic words "Acabou o banho..." she would start howling. Then, I would howl as well and she would look very pleased! And relieved, of course. She liked a lot when I behaved like a dog myself. As I tell Mark, for her the Master was my Mom. I was just a peer, a sister, pretty much like another dog for her.

But my virtual Kiko doesn't howl. He barks. And he is very, very realistic for a virtual pet! I started playing the game yesterday, and only taught him one trick: to sit. It is not that easy to train them though (real or virtual, I should add). I think it's an amazing game, and very addictive. I cannot say it replaces a real, warm puppy (of course not), but it makes you closer to have a real dog again somehow. You need to pet it, play with it, give it water and food. It's really cool and cute. I am looking forward to teach him more tricks and buy him little treats. It's superb, highly recommended indeed.

Cookie

Cookie was my little Siberian Husky, back in 1991. She stayed with us for 10 years. I miss her a lot and still today, dream about her - all the time. She is somehow always in my dreams. I am not sure I want another dog these days, because you just get atoo attached to them and, when they are gone, it looks like the world is no longer the same.

Anyway, here she is, biting a finger, when she was 2 months old. She was a funny dog, who especially loved cookies (thus the name) and all sweet things (including fruits, like bananas and oranges). She once dragged a Christmas ham all the way from the top of the table (climbed a chair for that) to the sofa! Yeah, when we woke up the remains of the once Christmas ham were just lying on the sofa... I keep thinking about her, laying on the sofa in the middle of the night and munching on a ham that was bigger and heavier than herself! Sneaky little thing! And call that "will power"...

She never ceased to amaze me. It seems to me that these huskies are quite an independent breed. She was not the type of letting herself sit on your lap and stay quiet. No. She was sweet, but never liked to have her movements restrained by hugs and excessive "dog-love".

But she liked to lay down on my bed and rest her head on my pillow. Of course, when my Mother was not at home. The moment Mum arrived and turned the keys on the door, she would jump and lay on the floor - as if nothing had happened. I miss these little "dog things" a lot, to be frank! I now think she saw me as a "sister" and not her master. If anyone was the Master in the house for her, that was my Mum. Not me! She treated me like an equal almost.

The above picture I took after she attacked the banana cake that was on the kitchen table, cooling after baking. We could never imagine she would be able to get it, of course. She was so tiny. But she used the chair (for the 1st time; this was before the ham episode) and reached the cake. She ate it all. Her belly was huge and she could hardly move, with those short and fluffy legs. She's got a bit of a "guilty" air in the picture of course. She could not run away (as she usually did) when we tried to educate her about stealing food! There she stood, with a cute, guilty expression and those eyes (that actually had lashes, thick black lashes, believe it or not!). I could not resist and decided to immortalise that moment!

That's it for today. Just missing her... Tomorrow I will be going to the doctor to, among other things, show him my tummy that did not heal from the burning. Then I will have a coffee at Kelly's and head to the office. My plans for tonight are to have some vegetarian lasagna and watch the 2nd chapter of "Desperate Housewives" (2nd Season). I just love that sitcom. Those actors are amazing and the situations quite quirky, bordering the surreal... Cannot wait!

XXX,

a.

My Studio Ghibli New Toys!

These are the super-kawaii Ghibli dolls that Mark gave to me for Christmas. From left to right: Totoro, BuroBuro (both from "My Neighbour Totoro") and the adorable Jiji (from "Kiki's Delivery Service"). I did no remove the tags, because even the tags are cute! He got them in Tokyo last month and was hiding it so he could give it to me at Christmas. I am always so "away with the fairies" that never noticed anything, of course!

(Jiji must be one of my favourite characters. He is sensible, wise, cute. I love those huge eyes and huge, rabbit ears! Aaawwww...)

Mark is back from Japan!

Last night Mark arrived from Japan! He was looking great, wearing his suit with a casual blue t-shirt. He was hoping to look like a young Yakuza fella, he said, but I'm afraid not... And he wasn't missing a little finger anyways.

He didn't seem too tired either, because he was up watching a gore Clive Barker film until past midnight.

He brought me lots of things. Lots of Minamoto Kitchoan sweets (my all-time favourites), a Kitty stash that he managed to get at Narita Airport and some wonderful perfumes, that can only be found in Asia, unfortunately.

Here's my boxes of sweets:


I could not resist to show the original package. The boxes come wrapped in that gorgeous green paper, tied with natural fiber cords instead of ribbons. The way the paper is folded is almost like origami. I couldn't possible work in that shop, since I am a disaster when it comes to gift-wrapping! Now the box itself (after unwrapped) is the one at the top. Sturdy carboard, and again, enveloped in white paper displaying a Japanese print and more fiber cords...

Now, these are the sweets...


The ones at the left are tsuya, adzuki bean paste inside mikasa yaki (pound cake)...
These at the right side, are a wonderful selection of their delicacies: a box containing a big yokan (solid bean jelly), 3 soft bean jellies with a chestnut inside, 3 soft white bean jellies with yuzu and green tea flavour and 4 fukuwatashi-senbei - crispy waffles stuffed with milky cream...

He also bought me some Pocky! These are very addictive... Mousse and White Chocolate:


And my Hello Kitty stuff...



As for the perfumes, they are simply gorgeous. But I will write about it in a separate post.

New Kitty Item: Kawaii!!!!

Long time without posting, very lazy indeed! And it's getting really hot here in Ireland these days. A real Summer, which, by the way, I don't appreciate very much, favouring a bit of cold, breezy weather instead.

I have ordered a beautiful Kitty doll from JBox! It took some time to arrive (it was actually out of stock but I just needed to have it, thus the delay - otherwise it's all very fast!), but man! Was it worth it! Look at her here, graciously holding a "sensu" (traditional folding fan)!

She is wearing a beautiful brocade silk kimono, and comes in a neat box, like those traditional Ningyo dolls. She's a beauty, made of delicate porcelain, its texture like an egg's shell. I highly recommend JBox for all your Japanese needs, it's a cool website and I love buying aromatic oils, Kitty goods and those fantastic tatami slippers that they sell up there... Just love it! My other Kitties (the ones from the Kabuki collection) are also from them:


Apart from my Kitty, not much news here, I'm afraid. I am reading Osamu Tezuka's Buddha series at the moment, but I must write more about it in the next few days.

(Now, I need to go because my head is pounding again, it's been like that lately, don't know why... Ouch... And it just started raining here! I love Summer rains, they smell so nice! Will rest my head a bit and open the window just to feel that wonderful rainy smell...)

My Kitty-chan's Kabuki Display!

I bought this display from a lovely EBay seller in Japan, have a look at that...



It is a lovely Kabuki display, containing Kitty-chan dressed up as 9 different characters of renowned Kabuki plays: Fuji Musume, Shizuka Gozen, the Hanagasa dancer from the Dohjohji play, Shiokumi etc... I still could not identify all of them, since I don't know much about Kabuki, unfortunately. I think I should perhaps buy a book about it next!

In the pictures below you can see it with more details...




(I am intrigued by the lady at the upper left corner, top tier, holding an umbrella, wearing a kimono and with her head partially covered... If anyone knows who that is, and from which play, please let me know...)

The Most Beautiful Short Animation Film Ever...

... must be "Overtime". I watched that on TV last weekend, in TV3's "Wonderscreen" and was simpy amazed. If you are a bit blue though, get a box of tissues because you will definitely have the tears flowing.

Basically, "Overtime" is a tribute to the Muppet Show creator, Jim Henson (1936-1990), and is a wonderful black and white, 3D animated short film of more or less 4 minutes. The music is very beautiful, and the story is simple, and very touching.

The film shows how a pupeteer, who creates kermit-like cute rag dolls, is found dead on his bed by his little creatures. It seems they quite do not understand (or do not accept) what has happened to their Master. Nonetheless they strive to keep living "as normal" and try to cheer up their creator, as they would normally do while he was alive: playing, cooking, eating, and having fun together. Until they finally realise that he will not wake up anymore.

The film has been created and executed by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland and Damien Ferrié as a graduation project, from what I could find in the web. It also seems it has received several prizes in competitions all over the world. Very well deserved, I just hope they will release a DVD one day!

Oury Atlan's website is noteworthy, and you can see some of his work (and CV) there: http://oury.3dvf.net/wip.htm

Directed, Written, Animated, Filmed & Edited by: Oury Atlan/Thibaut Berland/Damien Ferrié
Music: Sielberman Ochestra/Ornadel and the Starlight Symphony
Producer: Supinfocom

My Hello Kitty Display!

After a long, long time, here I am. Back again. I have been very, very lazy lately (and sick too). But I will tell about this "absence" in a separate post (I am not in the mood now!).

Today, I need to show you the pictures of my new Kitty Display Board! Mark made it for me, he is indeed quite talented (lucky me!).

I am super-happy with the results. Actually, I do have almost 300 netsuke and mascots, and the board does accommodate only 56. However, the fun of it is that I can always change the Kitties - and make different "exhibitions" by theme etc...

To start with today I only put some of my favourites, from my wonderful Sellers in EBay, and the themes are: Kabuki, lucky charms, Summer, Hina Matsuri, Azumi etc...

Well, here we have Mark working on the board last Sunday, after having bought all necessary material (MDF board, frames, paint, sandpapers etc...):



The colour is a nice burgundy that we thought could make it look like lacquer (Mark's idea). And it does indeed! Below you can see the board, ready and drying:



And finally, here is the board already displaying some of my favourites!



Thank you Mark!
(Where would I be without you???)
:)