Once upon a time, a Tumblr named fuckyeah1990s decided to list what it considered the "Top 10 alt-girls of the 90s". The post created a lot of outrage due to the absence of women of color, and Tumblr user grrlyman responded with the post "Top alternative women of color of the 90s". It was nice to see one Asian woman on the list, but I thought that ( Read more... )

A month ago, I came across a Tumblr post titled Top 10 Alt Girls of the 90s .  It received much criticism for only featuring white females.  In response, another poster came up with Top Alternative Women of Color of the 90s.  That reminded me of Shonen Knife, and I decided to make my next countdown about the Japanese Alt Women of the 90s.

One huge ( Read more... )

I wasn't going to write this post originally since I covered the main events of Anime Matsuri for Purple SKY. There, you can read my interview with Tomomi Nakamura and Masumi Kano, the designers of Alice and the Pirates and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright respectively, and live report of FLOW's concert and an interview with the band. I did attend ( Read more... )

I've got a new cosplayer interview up.  This one is with the Doctor Who-loving Kiwi, Rebecca.  We talk about body type discrimination and cyberbullying, as well as how to stay safe and enjoy yourself at a convention.  Click here to read.


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Hisashiburi! Sorry for disappearing again, but I was swamped with events and assignments, one of which is the subject of this post. Last month, I got to help with hosting activities for a group of kids that included my former students. It was a great experience, and I thought I'd write about what Sister Cities and JET have done for me ( Read more... )

If you haven't seen them already, my Anime Matsuri interviews are up on purple SKY.  I asked FLOW about their reaction to the fan Q&A, which featured some personal and some bizarre questions.  It's something that I shouldn't be surprised by after all the Q&As I've sat in on, but I always get caught off-guard by something either really bold or ( Read more... )

Last year, I did a countdown of my top love songs by female vocalists. I had intended to follow up with a White Day counterpart, but then the earthquake happened. Now I'm hoping that this belated White Day special will cheer everyone up just a tiny bit. I've tried to stick to my original guidelines of no covers and no songs about lost loves and ( Read more... )

Yesterday was a very somber day for many of us.  All weekend I was busy with convention preparations so even if there was a memorial in my area, I probably couldn't attend.  I knew I was going to be distracted with thoughts about Japan so I wrote a blog post about how I feel one year later.  After I wrote it, I looked back at a poem I wrote about ( Read more... )

My cosplayer interview series, Beneath the Layers, is back in action!  This month's feature is on Star Trek cosplayer Cam, whom some of you may have spotted on Youtube playing video game music on his cello.  Click on the link to read about his experiences as a sci-fi cosplayer at anime conventions, and remember: hit me up if you'd like to be ( Read more... )

Two months ago, I wrote a post about the portrayal of Snow White in anime and manga. I had decided to follow it up with a music post like I did with Alice in Wonderland before I got caught up with year-end recaps and other posts. Now that I've got time on my hands again, I can now present my list, the rankings for which are based on both the music ( Read more... )