When looking for a place for a large group to eat, food preferences and peculiarities can be an issue. That is why I love Gaja in Gardenia-they offer such variety that both a carnivore and vegetarian will be satisfied. I first experienced this unique dish in Osaka, Japan and have loved it since. So after PMX and with everyone craving something different, Gaja became the logical choice.

Gaja specializes in the dish known as okonomiyaki, which loosely translates into "as you like it." Okonomiyaki is essentially a batter mixed with chopped cabbage and cooked flat on a teppan grill. These are then garnished with a sweet sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, nori (dried seaweed), and dried bonito fish flakes. However, you can garnish it however you please to create a unique flavor.d

There are several variations ranging from natto to pork with kimchee. We chose to start off with cheese and mochi. Gaja gives you the choice to cook it yourself or having them cook it for you. I recommend the former as it is more entertaining. If you get stuck, the staff will help you! Another advantage of cooking it yourself is the option to cook it as one big okonomiyaki or several smaller ones.

Our table chose to cook it as several small okonomiyaki. The cabbage, cheese, and batter is mixed an placed on the grill with some mochi squares place on top of it. It is cooked on both sides until golden brown and cut like a pizza into smaller pieces.

Everyone then took a piece and garnished it. I chose the works-savory Gaja sauce with a hint of sweetness, nori, Japanese mayonnaise, and bonito fish flakes. I thought this combination would clash with all the flavors involve. But, the crunchy texture of the chopped cabbage, the melted cheese and mochi, and the sweet and savory sauce pleasant.

Next we decided to cook the pork okonomiyaki. We grilled the meat on the teppan grill first before pouring the batter on top. However, if you want to mix the meat in with the batter you can choose to do that also. The pork added a savory flavor and firmer texture to the okonomiyaki.

redrosin was brave and decided to try the natto okonomiyaki. I may be adventurous with my food experiences but I am strangely hesitant to try natto even though its only fermented soy beans. I have hear too much about its texture (slimy), aroma (foul), and taste (sour) that this is one adventure I do not want to go on. redrosin, however, reported that the flavor of the natto was not overwhelming but the okonomiyaki was flavorful.

In addition, you can order plates of meat to cook, takoyaki (fried balls of batter with octopus legs inside), noodles, pork cutlets, and desserts as well as order calpico and/or alcohol to drink. Their dessert menu offers a rather extensive selection of parfaits. Thus solving the problem of going out with a large group with varying tastes and high standards. The atmosphere is rather loud inside Gaja, much like an izakaya or Japanese style bar, which is one of the reasons why I love this restaurant in addition to offering good food.

( Have a piece )

I adore the anime Kaleido Star, a story of a young Japanese girl who runs away to the United States to join the circus but not any circus. She aspires to join Kaleido Stage, the famous circus located on a pier in a seaside city that looks remarkably like Santa Monica.

Imagine my shock and surprise when Cirque du Soleil announced that it would bring its travelling show Kooza to the Santa Monica pier. I could not believe it-this is almost a case of life imitating art. Almost because most people, including anime fans, have never heard of Kaldeido Star. But I was quite amused not to mention curious as to exactly where on the pier they were going to set up their famous blue and yellow tent. And if anyone has managed to read my entire journal would know, I love Cirque du Soleil.

When we arrived at the pier, we discovered that the tent had been set up in the parking lot next to the pier-the perfect backdrop for Cirque du Soleil in my opinion. What fun it was to enjoy the games and rides at the pier followed by a circus show. As we entered the big top, the clowns were already on stage getting the crowd excited. Unlike the usual clowns seen at the typical circus, the clowns of Cirque du Soleil wear more subdued make up and brightly colored clothing relying on their skills rather than their costumes to practice their art. Soon the lights went out and the show began.

The story of this show focuses on The Innocent, a clown who is looking for his way in the world. Through the various acts, he discovers his own place in the world. He first encounters the Charivari, an act combining acrobatics, dance, balancing on balls, and a bit of trampoline. The energy of this act quickly got the audience excited and ready for the next act.

Three young contortionists were next to grace the stage. It is these three young women (all under the age of 18) that had me excited to see this show. I had first seen them perform between the end of the competition and the awarding of prizes at the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials in 2004 when they were a group of 4 known as The Mystic Pixies. I was impressed by their talent then and was thrilled when they had joined Cirque du Soleil a couple of years later. I was familiar with their act, but it was thrilling to see how much more polished they were and the audience’s reaction to their incredible flexibility.

Most circuses will feature a unicycle. But the unicycle act here features a talented duo. Showing his strength and skill, the unicyclist balanced his limber partner as she performed a variety of poses. I really liked their quirky costumes too!

Kooza features a high wire act as well. Three artists perform a variety of balancing skills including the standard bicycle ride across the wire. They also daringly jumped over each other, causing the audience to gasp as one artist lost his footing and fell. Luckily he caught the wire with his hands and gracefully swung back up-with straight legs and pointed toes! It was a reminder to everyone that these artists are performing with an incredibly high level of skill, and to me a few bobbles are to be expected. After all, how many falls are seen at Olympics gymnastics events?

Although I love acrobatics (I’m a gymnast myself), I also love juggling acts. While not as athletic as the other acts it requires skill to maneuver several objects in the air. What I enjoyed about this act was the campiness of it. The juggler appeared onstage in a silver sequined outfit and his lovely assistant dressed in a sexy outfit complete with feathers. But don’t let the costume fool you; he can even juggle while bouncing a ball off his head.

One of the most thrilling performances was the Wheel of Death, a large rotating apparatus with two large rings 180 degrees apart. The apparatus rotates as the acrobats run inside or on top of the rings, getting faster and faster with each rotation. As the wheel rotates faster, the acrobats jump inside and outside the rings-a thrilling adrenaline rush to watch especially as one acrobat almost fell off the wheel while jumping rope on it.

The final act is the teeterboard-a seesaw like apparatus where an acrobat that is perched on one end of the seesaw is launched into the air by a couple of acrobats jumping on the other end. It was exciting to watch as the acrobats were launched 20 to 30 feet in the air and perform breathtaking flips before landing on a mat. And just when you think that doing a series of flips 30 feet in the air is amazing enough, a stilt walker steps onto the teeterboard and allows himself to be launched into the air.

The show ends with The Innocent alone on the dark stage clutching his kite. He then flies his kite, symbolic of him finding his place in the world. The stage lights focus on him and his kite before the entire stage goes dark.

Between the acts, the clowns appear on stage to entertain the crowd, complete with a misbehaving dog! If you sit in the front rows, there is a possibility you may become part of the show as audience members were pulled on stage. The clowns even dragged large cannons on stage and launched confetti at the audience.

Amongst all of the Cirque du Soleil shows, Kooza is the most fun. With the location, the audience participation, the engaging clowns, and the skill of the acrobats this is not a show and experience to be missed! I truly hope that Cirque du Soleil and the Santa Monica Pier will host more shows together in the future.

( Clicky for a few photos )

.

Words just can not describe how much I enjoyed the Volks SD Workshop and Reception. The event was so full of surprises that I am in awe of Volks. I arrived early to the Doubletree Hotel to find the Volks staff manning a table near the entrance and a group of dolls on a round table in the lobby. I set Sebastian (my Williams) and Mai (my Toppi) on the table and took a few photos before I ate my bento from Mitsuwa (it was yummy!) It was great to see Mikey again and to finally meet Cassiel, the original creater of the "walking guide to Volks" who is now the translator for Volks and still very, very enthusiastic about this hobby.

Finally, after socializing with everyone, we filed into the room and after a brief introduction to how the class would be run we began. Half of the class was instructed by Mr Ota, the head of the factory where all our Super Dollfie are born. The other half was taught by Mikey, daughter of company president Mr Shigeta and creator of the Tokyo Boys storyline. My group was assigned to Mikey, who had Volks USA doll advisor Bailey to help her with any difficult English or explanations. She was very patient and clear in her explanations. I have done several face ups and have a good, not great, handle on face ups. But I still learned so much from her.

We all were concentrating so hard in our work, that my group was actually silent for once. Even Volks USA manager Kayo-san commented on our silence as my group tends to be very energetic inside Volks. Mikey even noticed that I like to do detailed work, which can be my downfall as I sometimes tend to focus on the details rather than the work as a whole.

And all too soon, the class portion was done and it was time for the reception. The room grew more crowded as the reception only attendees filed in. I felt bad as we were not able to reserve a spot on our table for Mr Postman but he was pre-occupied with photographing the event. The snacks provided were actually rather substantial-crackers, cheese, fruit, cookies, and brownies.

Mikey read a beautiful letter from her father (who was not able to attend because the Volks staff was busy with the opening of the new Volks headquarters in Japan). I loved how during the cooling fall months he often thinks of Los Angeles! Then she stated how amazed she was by the vast array of limited dolls we all had! Some of these dolls she had not seen since the event they were released at. And starting with each type of doll, asked people to raise their hands and would ask each one about their dolls.

I had the only standard in the room, my Volks Megu. She was astonished that her head was from 2002. I loved her insights into each of the dolls in the room:

Toki was sculpted by Mr Enku
Toppi is the mascot and writer of the Volks USA blog
Choumai really likes Cristal (she brought two Cristals)
The new SD17 Williams has improved knees

It was really humorous when Kayo-san commented that Mr Postman is known as the "Dollfie Dream King" who has 20 Dollfie Dreams at home! Mikey added that he has a counterpart in Japan. I think they need to meet at some point!

The staff from Japan was introduced-Mikey, Cassiel, Mr Ota, and SD doctor Wake (pronounced waa-keh). It was announced that the SD doctor would be tending to injured dolls and soon he had a line of "patients" to tend to. I was in awe of the array of tools he had at his disposal. Volks USA manager Kayo-san enthusiastically gave a wonderful speech praising each of her employees. Then came the big surprise-Volks would be holding a lottery for several prizes! The prize list included:

A Komame's Little Lessons Book (which I own and recommend!)
An SD Girl Outfit
An SD13 Boy Outfit
Two Super Dollfie towels
Two sets of zoukei mura eyes
One rei tenshi
Two sei tenshi

We all laid our numbered tickets in front of us and held our breaths. The first 7 prize winning numbers were called and then it was time for the rei and sei tenshi. Cassiel called out a number in Japanese first then repeated it in English-number 34. I gasped loudly as my heart began to beat out of control. I was mumbling "Oh my god! Oh my god!" over and over as I got to the front. Cassiel enthusiastically replied, "Oh my god!" to me. My hands were shaking as the box was placed in them and I posed for the photo-I really hope I don't look like a dork! My hands were still shaking as Bailey had me write my name on some Volks form and gave me the One Off Certificate and Super Dollfie shopping bag you get when you buy a doll.

My hands were still shaking as I got back to my table and began to open the box and put the wig on my new little rei tenshi. I passed the little angel around the table as everyone was curious. After my little win, I was no longer paying attention to the remaining two winners. We were then given copies of Volks News 26, which had been mailed out the day before in Japan so we were likely the first people to get our hands on this issue. And Mikey announced the date of the NY Dolpa (June 19-20) We all flipped through our copies of Volks news as Mikey explained that Volks was completing their new headquarters in Kyoto, which will have a store on the first floor. It was then that Bailey reminded us that we needed to clear the room by 4:00pm so we had very little time left to use the photo spaces.

Quickly, the entire room swarmed to the photo spaces and began to set our dolls down. What I enjoy about Volks owners are how courteous everyone is. No one crowded the photo spaces and everyone watched out for each other as we snapped photos of each others dolls. It was also wonderful to meet so many of the doll owners I know online and to finally put a face to the name.

Later that evening, we prepared a thank you gift of fancy cookies and I drew a little Thank You picture that everyone signed. redrosin took that into the store today.
( Read more... )

It seems like an odd combination for this years fashion offering at Pacific Media Expo-the playful Angelic Pretty, the innovative Takuya Angel, and the punky Hangry & Angry. But it was a varied offering that was a fun mix and provided an energy to this years convention. Unfortunately, I was only able to enjoy Saturday and Sunday as I could not get out of work on Friday so I missed all the fashion panels.

On Saturday, I chose to wear the Angelic Pretty Magic Whip one piece. I was really looking forward to checking out the Angelic Pretty boutique but I was scheduled to help batchix with her panel which didn't really happen until 3:00 in the afternoon anyways. So after playing phone tag with redrosin I decided to check out the boutique only to find it was closed until after the tea party. Hoping that a good selection would still be available, I headed over to the Angelic Pretty tea party. The tables were decorated with cute centerpieces and a name tag and bingo sheet for each attendee. I was delighted to find megwa came all the way from NY (where she is at school!) to come to the event and sat at her table. It was nice to catch up with her and her new adventures in the city!

The tea party started with a greeting by Asuka and Maki in English. I don't remember what was said but both girls were so cute! This was followed by an explanation that we would fill out the blank card with our favorite Angelic Pretty prints, which were numbered from 1 to 21. To help us out, photos of the prints were displayed on a screen as Asuka and Maki explained each design.

Sadly, I don't remember each detail but I really enjoyed hearing that Starry Night Theater was inspired by the circus but was saddened by the explanation that most people in Japan have never been to the circus. And I love the circus and have this dream that one of my gymnast pupils will one day grow up and join Cirque du Soleil.

I also enjoyed hearing that the Magic Whip dress was inspired by the brightly colored cupcakes they had in Los Angeles 2 years ago. I've always wondered if those cupcakes came from Crumbs bake shop...

I had eaten so little that morning that I was looking forward to some snacks. But all we got was a chocolate cake and tea. It held me for a little bit but all I could think about was the Kogi truck outside, especially since I've been dying to find out if they really do live up to their hype. Next we played a game of bingo and the winners were given some awesome Angelic Pretty items. There were numbers on the back of our name tags. Three of these numbers were drawn and three lucky lolitas won a special illustration by Maki herself. Sadly I think my luck has run out and did not win a single item. As we left the party, we were given our parting gifts-a tote bag, photo album, and macarons. After the tea party I rushed to give my panel. And after that was done, I finally made it to the boutique to find that most of the items were gone. I was hoping to get the Starry Night Theater one piece dress in black but it was gone.

The next day was the fashion show. I wore my new skirt and blouse from the Alice and the Pirates lucky pack and was glad to finally figure out how to work the neck piece. We stood in line for what seemed forever before we were let into the hall. And once the lights dimmed and the music played I began to feel very excited. It was almost like the crazy fashion shows at Japan Expo in Paris-with the crowd cheering and camera flashes going off. Shreiks could be heard as Asuka and Maki took the stage modeling their own creations.

Takuya Angel followed by designer Takuya Sawada taking the stage and DJ-ing as his models danced down the runway. His designs are so striking with a mixing of the traditional garments and the modern punk aesthetic. And his skills as a DJ are extraordinary. His set ended with all the models onstage dancing.

The final designer was Hangry & Angry. As Hey Mikey played, one model came onstage and danced. After she finished, a second model came out and danced. Eventually the two models ended up on stage and pretended to claw and fight each other before designer Gashikon marched onstage to break up the fight and do one final walk down the catwalk.

I left the fashion show feeling elated. It was almost as if I was in Paris at Japan Expo. And hopefully one day I will be able to attended that convention. However, I had heard that there were complaints that the fashion show was too short. But thats how all fashion shows are. All that preparation for a few minutes in the spotlight. But I guess not everyone can understand fashion.

As we left the hall, I passed by the Hangry & Angry booth and recalling how cute the models looked onstage I could not resist. Actually I love this brand and found their store in Osaka adorable! I bought an cute cutsew. There was actually a frenzy as everyone tried to buy the limited items that would not be sold in Japan. I found out later that day that most of Hangry & Angry's stock was sold out. I planned to make one last stop at the Angelic Pretty boutique but the line was too long. I finally was able to check out the Takuya Angel boutique but did not buy anything. I do wish I had bought one of his CDs. I really do love his music.

I do hope Pacific Media Expo continues with more fashion offerings next year. I just had too much fun at this years event!

( Read more... )</div>
I do have videos of the fashion shows. I do plan to post them once my computer and youtube learn to love each other.</div></div>

I've always been astonished by the interest that Asian Ball Jointed Dolls generate. I had been worried that no one would show up for any of the panels, especially since some of them had been scheduled at 10:00am-a time when most people were a) sleeping b) still registering or c) racing to the dealer's rooms. And for the first panel of the day, batchix 's panel on her Machina dolls, no one had shown up. I was not surprised given the time of the panel but it is disheartening especially since it can be nerve wracking to prepare a panel and then not be able to give it. I do hope for next year that they do not schedule panels so early.

So by 3pm on Saturday I was surprised to see a pretty full room at my panel, "Exploring Doll Culture in Japan." I had decided to combine my panel with Batchix's and start off with a general introduction to BJDs since the main BJD panel would not be until Sunday. We unpacked and displayed our dolls-Batchix's Luts Shiwoo elf, redrosin 's Volks Rinon, and my Volks Williams, Megu, and adorable little Toppi. I explained a bit about the differences between subcultures in Japan and the west then explained what BJDs were all about before passing the mike to Batchix. Batchix did a wonderful job describing her production process-everyone appeared to understand the cost and amount of work that goes into producing one of these dolls if not the details.

Next, redrosin and I took over and explained our experiences in Japan. We covered the shops (Volks, Soom, and the second hand retailers), Volks Dolpas, and Volks Owner's Appreciation Events as well as the smaller exhibitions such as I-Doll and Doll's Garden and how we were able to visit them and participate in those events. I showed a lot of photos of these events and places. I also bravely showed the video of my Omukae (welcoming) ceremony-which I humorously described and got a lot of giggles once that famous song "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" played. Afterwards we realized we left some things we wanted to say out but were pleased with our discussion.

On Sunday, I helped aimeekitty with the General Introduction to BJD panel. It was more of a basic description of ball joint dolls followed by a Q&A session. We got lots of good questions and even some interesting ideas on where the development of BJDs could go next-robotics used to help stabilize dolls so they could hold certain poses better? Afterwards, we invited everyone up to the front to get a better look at the dolls, which is where that picture in the LA Weekly was taken. I was answering a question and had no idea that photo had been taken. Those sneaky LA Weekly gals!

The sign of a good convention is the feeling of exhaustion on the last day. There was just so much going on at this years PMX-fashion shows, dolls, anime, lolita, public drunkeness, shopping, tea parties, panels and general shenanigans that I did not get to see everything! And a trip to Volks followed by epic okonomiyaki afterwards. I have so much to write about! But first, SLEEP!

I have always adored the Volks SD17 boys. And of all the Volks story arcs, the Oath of the Silver Coin has always been my favorite. After all, its about PIRATES! And I have seen and ridden Pirates of the Carribean countless times that dolls based on a pirate story instantly appealed to me. But alas, I missed out on the original releases and could only enjoy redrosin 's beautiful crew consisting of Cecile and both Reisners.

But after Dolpa 20s epic re-release of Kurumi and the High Mode design competition, I was beginning to feel hopeful. It was not until Dolpa 21s release of two Tokyo Boys dolls that my suspicions really began to rise. I knew there had to be another Oath of the Sliver Coin release. I was ever so surprised when Volks dropped another one of its bombs-an SD17 Williams!

However, to get him one had to attend the Volks Kobe Cruise. I had already travelled to Japan for the Tokyo Disney event so I would not be able to escape from work to attend this event no matter how tempting another trip to Japan would be (not to mention the place where Kobe beef comes from, but I digress!) And competition for one of those spaces would be tight. Fortunately, I knew who would be attending and immediately contacted everyone I knew in Japan. I was ever so surprised and shocked when I got the email that my friend had gotten onto the cruise.

Since then, I have tried not to think of his arrival-it just seemed so far away ! But this week a boy of the sea, the ensign of the royal navy Williams,  arrived on my doorstep and I am simply in awe, both by his stunning beauty and his presence. From the moment I opened the box, I was impressed with the packaging and work to create Williams. The sword and gun came packaged in wooden boxes, Cecile's blind eye (which is actually a Zoukei Mura glass eye) is packaged in a cute little box, and the limited High Mode competition winning outfit (which I don't get to keep) in a box instead of the usual plastic bag we get from Volks.

The body is tall but lithe, not gigantic. And capable of a variety of articulated poses much like the articulated body of my Super Dollfie Cute Toki, Raphael. But unlike Raphael, he has a higher center of gravity so initially getting him to pose the way I wanted to has been a bit tricky. And he is strung a bit tightly but I am very, very impressed with him. I have so many ideas for him, whom I have named Sebastian (after a very famous manga character!)

( Read more... )</div>

A couple of weeks ago, I had settle for cheap all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Korean BBQ and everyone in my group was disappointed. At $10 a person, we should not have expected much nor am I going to mention that establishment's name. Instead, I'm going to talk about our visit to Road To Seoul in LA's Koreatown last weekend.

As one of the few places to offer charcoal BBQ and offering a nice selection of meat to choose from for $17 a person, Road to Seoul is one of the more popular AYCE Korean BBQ places so we had to wait for a table as our stomachs grew hungrier at the aroma of cooking meat. Fortunately, our entire party had not arrived yet.

It was not long before we were seating and to our pleasure, small plates of wonderful sides were quickly set before us-kimchee, sprouts, pickled seaweed, shredded radish, and mashed potato.



This was followed by large plates of salad and kimchee pancakes. The kimchee pancakes are a bit crispy and full of flavor-the kimchee only had a nice hint of sour and was not spicy at all. They were quickly devoured at our table. ebifish is a conoissure of kimchee pancakes and enjoyed them.

I was happy when the steamed egg was brought to our table. I really enjoy the delicate taste of this dish and am glad that Road to Seoul includes it in its all you can eat menu.

Despite being rather crowded and busy, our drinks and meat selection were quickly brought to our table-beef tongue, marinated rib, and baby octopus. I do appreciate that they bring all your meat selections on one plate and let us decide which and how much of each selection to place on the grill. Some restaurants bring out the meat one at a time so you do not get a lot of variety during the meal.

I am not a big fan of octopus, but these small octopi when grilled and cut into small pieces and dipped in a spicy sauce are delectable. They were not chewy at all. I recommend using the cooking scissors provided to cut the heads into smaller pieces to ensure that the entire piece is fully cooked.

The marinated rib meat was not to fatty nor very sweet but very flavorful. I barely had to dip it in any of the sauces or add salt seasoning to it. I recommend this selection wrapped in the rice noodles. While not a fan of beef tongue at all, I do keep trying it at various restaurants hoping to get a liking for it and found it al least tolerable. the_fall_season  and ebi both commented on the improved flavor of beef tongue at Road to Seoul as they will admit to this selection of meat not being their favorite. I wonder if it was the method of cooking-charcoal rather than gas grill that resulted in the improved flavor.

We decided to order kalbi and brisket (my favorite!) next. The kalbi was seasoned with a slightly sweet marinade that accented the meat well. Of the two marinated meats, I preferred the kalbi over the marinated rib meat. ebi , however, prefered the marinated rib meat. I believe this matter just comes down to personal choice.

I noticed that the color of the uncooked brisket was a deep red, but found the flavor of the brisket to be more intense. I feel a little guilty as I grabbed piece after peice of the grill. I requested a second order of this!

The final selection of meat to be sampled was the pork belly. It was a nicely cut piece-not too thick not too thin. It had a nice flavor but needed the dipping sauces and seasonings.

Although Road to Seoul was rather crowded and the list to get a table was long, it did not take long to get our party of 5 seated. I was rather impressed with how well the staff was able to remain attentive to each of the tables. They took every chance they got to help us cook and responded quickly every time we pushed the ringer button. In an area with very few parking spaces, it was nice that there is a nicely sized parking lot in the back of the restaurant. On occassion they will have customers turn in their car keys but they did not do that on the night we visited.

The only negative was the noise level of the place. We had to talk rather loudly to hear each other but the food was so delicious there was minimal talking (for our group!) going on. This was likely due to the large number of customers in the restaurant but they could also lower the volume of the music. There were several birthday parties going on and the lights are dimmed completely while the lights are left on over the party as a horrible version of "Happy Birthday" plays over the restaurant.

My group as a whole was impressed with Road to Seoul for the convenience, the quality of meat, and the attentiveness of the staff. While there are other Korean BBQ places that are higher in quality, for the price and selection we plan to eat here again.

Road to Seoul  can be found at:
1230 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 731-9292

I do have to admit that online one-offs offered last year by Volks were actually fun. They announced the winners on the web page and had the dolls on display in the store. And this year they are doing it again-this time with a bigger list of one-offs. I am actually enjoying this years selection and am having a difficult time resisting trying my luck at obtaining one. But to everyone that enters, I wish them luck!

Not only is Volks offering one-off dolls this year, they are offering dresses and outfits from Japanese dealers in a lottery. I could just die! I've been asking the staff for years to bring some of the dealer items to Volks USA. Today, they announced which dealer items they are bringing to Volks USA and I already have my eye on a few of the dresses. I had been hoping that one of these sets would have come from Lady Rosalia or Dolls Drug Kingdom. Most doll owners are familiar with Dolls Drug Kingdom, but Lady Rosalia is not as well known but makes gorgeous dresses:
 

I hope to one day own one of these creations-but even in this difficult economy these dresses end at very high bids on Yahoo Japan Auctions often in a bidding war. And I suck at winning bidding wars.

One dress set being offered sells for $400! That is a bit out of my price range but I suspect there is someone out there who will bring that gorgeous dress set home. They do mention that they only have one of a few of the outfits so the winner of those will be very lucky indeed.

Today was also the day I received an email from Volks USA confirming my place in the SD Workshop for November. Doll designer (and daughter of company president Mr. Shigeta) Mikey and the head of the doll factory Mr. Ota will be teaching the classes. We are truly lucky to have these two come all the way from Japan for our event.

And in my mailbox today arrived my dresses from Arcadia Dolls, but I will write about them another day. Its time to dress my dolls!
 

 

Its fall and its time to get everyone vaccinated against the flu. So at the pharmacy today, I prepare two syringes for my two patients in the waiting room and set one syringe on our table while I administer the vaccine to one of the patients. I get ready to administer the second vaccine and notice that the syringe is no longer on the table. Then I recalled that I had turned my back to the table, there were other customers around, and I put two and two together and realize that someone took my syringe!

I mean, who steals a flu shot? Really now?

The sad thing is that whoever took it may have wanted the syringe to administer illicit drugs. Or if it is some idiot who did not want to pay for the vaccine, I really hope that idiot does not injure him or herself trying to administer it.

Well from now on, I'll rearrange my work area so I don't loose sight of my syringes. But seriously, I should not have to do that.

This morning the Soyuz space capsule was launched from the remote region of Kazakhstan carrying one astronaut, one cosmonaut, and one space tourist-Guy Laliberte the founder of Cirque du Soleil. While I would normally not care about another space tourist going into space, Guy Laliberte's mission is actually kind of cool. He is hoping to promote his organization One Drop , whose goal is to provide clean usable water to the worlds poorest areas, where thousands of people die each year from lack of adequate drinking water.

And I'm sure there are cynics out there that think we should focus on our own problems in our back yard and not waste money on expensive space exploration. But in poverty stricken areas of the world, outbreaks of diseases than can quickly travel the globe are a major concern. And on top of that, what kind of human being would turn his or her back on someone who was living in dire circumstances? And the pursuit of pure scientific knowledge is a very noble task. Space exploration is very inspiring to many of us on earth-those of us who dream of one day joining the stars! Until then, we can live vicariously through those who are able to go.

On October 9th, there will be a worldwide special broadcast from the International Space Station and from various places across the planet addressing the need for clean drinking water around the world. It will be told in the story of one drop of water as it travels around the world, where performances in these cities will be used to bring the story to life. And one of those cities will be the Santa Monica pier-where Cirque du Soleil will be performing in its traveling show Kooza in October. This will also mark the first public performance from space.

In this time of war and economic distress, perhaps a little bit of hope and optimism is what we all need.

After last years disappointment of an online Dolpa or Dolls Party, I was not feeling hopeful that we would see a Volks event in Los Angeles this year. But, I really wanted the social aspect more especially since I missed the Los Angeles Dolpa in 2007 because I was in Italy during the registration period so I only got to see the tail end of that Dolpa. And that is what is the best thing about a con or convention-the silliness you have with your friends (at least I would hope so if you are dressed as a perpetually drunk and lazy space time witch!)

So I was very excited when Volks announced the Volks USA Autumn 2009 Event Rush. The Super Dollfie Workshop, an event where classes in make up application and doll body care is taught, is finally coming to the US. I lost the lottery to attend the make up application class at Tokyo Disneyland so I’m hoping my name gets picked for this years event. And although a large number of applications means my chances of attending are lower, it also means the possibility of Volks holding more events here.

In addition, those attending the class will also be able to purchase School A and School A Sweet Dream heads in white skin as well as Mini Super Dollfie kits Shulze and Maria. School heads are the classroom heads offered for sale at these workshops.

 And now that I’ve put in my application, I will sit and hopefully stay patient to see if I have made it into the class. And perhaps dream about the possibility of winning one of the beautiful one-off dolls they have created for us this fall!

I adore my new doll Raphael so I took him to the Volks store yesterday to meet redrosin  and the_fall_season  to help red rosin plan her upcoming trip to Japan and was delighted that she had brought her Toki. There was another Toki in the showroom for a total of 3 Tokis!!!!!

Well having 3 Tokis in the showroom was indeed special enough for Volks to put them in their blog:

In the excitement of the coming of Baby the Stars Shine Bright to America, I received a cute little surprise but never had the chance to write about his arrival.

I had fallen for the Super Dollfie Cute line of dolls from Volks a while ago. And what is there not to love-a highly articulated body that makes for easy posing and a sweet back story that is somehow connected to Tenshi No Sato.

Initially I had dismissed Toki as cute but not a must have and his default outfit way too similar to the omukae (welcoming) outfits that can be purchased with the Full Choice System. But then something happened. I saw redrosin 's Toki in person and loved his sweet face that was so similar to Reisner and I knew I had to bring him home.

I had heard that he was still available on the Volks International Site so I wasn't to worried about getting him. But as my luck would have it,  lots of other people had discovered his charms and was listed as unavailable (aka sold out). A week later as I was about to bid on his head on Yahoo Japan Auctions Daniel Falls contacted me with news that a Toki came up on the international site. So in a split decision I purchased in in a very choreographed cyberdance that involved the_fall_season  releasing him from his shopping cart and me clicking on him to purchase before some one elese bought him. In four days, he arrived on my doorstep.

Raphael, as I have chosen to name him, is much cuter in person with rosy lips that appeared stained by brightly colored candy and a mischevous look on his face. And the default outfit I had so casually dismissed is adorable. It even comes with antique style knickers-How cute is that???

( Read more... )</div></div>

As I sit here in my new Baby The Stars Shine Bright dress having returned from San Francisco today I feel strangely energetic. I must still have a lot of adrenaline going through me still! My adventure started on Friday with a very long drive up the coast. We made it to San Francisco by late afternoon and walked over to North Beach for some delicious Italian food. After chatting with I believe the manager of the Steps of Rome Caffe in broken Italian, we decided to eat there. And as usual, the food did not disappoint. For the price (about $10 to $15 a plate) you get a bargain with the high quality ingredients they use. And my broken Italian paid off-we got free dessert. A nice slice of tiramisu, which I highly recommend.

But I did not go to San Francisco just to eat. Baby The Stars Shine Bright and Black Peace Now was finally opening. I love Baby The Stars Shine Bright-they offer the most variety and always seem to come up with something special. Other brands may become the fashion of the moment, but I always gravitate to BTSSB. But I was not surprised by the enthusiasm and the number of lolitas that arrived for the opening-this was a main topic of conversation at the Candyland party earlier this month in Los Angeles in which over 450 lolitas attended. I also recall the last time Volks released Baby The Stars Shine Bright items for their dolls-the crowd of doll owners was just as enthusiastic and caused quite the frenzy !

As I love both Volks and Baby The Stars Shine Bright, I brough my mini Super Dollfie Toppi, named Mai, dressed in her Red Riding Hood dress by BTSSB. I was delighted and charmed by the staff at the Baby store who had heard of the Volks and Baby The Stars Shine Bright collaborations and were happy to finally see one.

The New People website instructed everyone to arrive at 9:30 am for the distribution of tickets. Luckily we arrived at 9:00 am because they had been passing out tickets for at least an hour. They had 150 tickets and I pulled 110.These tickets would allow us to enter and exit the building as we pleased during the day. We then wandered Japantown, which was much smaller than Los Angeles's Little Tokyo but it has quite a few anime shops and even a manga cafe. I am envious of the size of the Kinokuniya bookstore, a whopping two stories.

At 10:30 we returned and after much head scratching we were finally organized by ticket number. Surprise, surprise, almost all the ticket holders were dressed in lolita. After standing through speech after speech and told to close our parasols so they "could photograph us" we were finally allowed into the building  in groups of 30 at a time and were warned "lolitas please don't run into the building!"

As we entered the building we were filmed. In fact, there were cameras everywhere! I didn't notice them at first as I entered the store as I was literally stunned upon standing in my favorite lolita store in the US! The store looked a combination of the BTSSB store in Osaka and the Alice and the Pirates store in Harajuku I visited but much larger than any of the Baby stores I visited in Japan. I soon snapped out of it and began to look for the items on my list. I did not find the pagoda parasol I wanted but opted for a long frilly white one instead that offers UV protection and can be used in the rain. I have to say, the quality of the parasols BTSSB produces are amazing.

Sadly, they had very few Alice and the Pirates items but they did have some of the circus print items which I picked up for fivechildren . They also barely had any jewelry for sale-which was probably a good thing due to the sheer numbers of people in the store. In fact, there were so many people for the opening it took two hours to get through the line. But despite the large crowd, the staff was very attentive and friendly. They all looked very pretty in their BTSSB outfits and I feel represented the company well.

It turns out that they only had one cash register and if you wanted to use your credit card they had to total up your items, escort you downstairs to pay, then escort you back upstairs to pick up your package. The credit card machines had not yet been installed. Luckily I was between neku_niku  and aimeekitty  so I was not bored at all. In fact, I recognized so many lolitas from the epic parties in LA that I wish I was better at remembering names!

The two hour wait meant that I had to miss the Yoshitaka Amano panel and the BTSSB and Black Peace Now fashion shows. My friend recorded the fashion shows so I'll be able to at least watch it. But I really wanted to attend the Yoshitaka Amano panel as I love his work in Vampire Hunter D as well as the artwork he provided for Neil Gaiman's The Dream Hunters. Well I could always have him autograph a book, right? Wrong! In order to do that you had to be amongst the first 50 people to purchase a Yoshitaka Amano item in the New People store. Where was that written??? Considering this was an event that the lolita community had been waiting well over a year for, I would have thought New People would have been more prepared. As they are likely to have more events, I am going to send them an email describing my dissatisfaction  with the organization of the event.

But despite the organization and people traffic issues, I am happy to have been at the opening of Baby The Stars Shine Bright. They did not have to open a store in the United States but they did, which shows how much they appreciate their customers outside of Japan and it made me happy to have over 200 lolitas show their support of Baby The Stars Shine Bright on opening day and appreciate them for coming to us.

I have posted pictures of the opening on my flickr. Here is a preview of the photos:

Lolita events at Royal T are always a must in my opinion. So when the Candyland event, a combination lolita fashion and doll party, was announced I knew I had to go.

Candyland proved to be so popular amongst lolitas and doll owners that approximately 450 people attended. And that is where I had several problems with the event. My friends arrived early for a late lunch so by the time I arrived we had a table already procured for us. If they had not gotten that table early we would likely have had to wait for a while even with a reservation. In addition, service was slow even with the limited menu. As for the rest of the venue, the sheer numbers of people made walking around difficult.

But those dressed in lolita looked exquisite. It seems that with each party the fashion just gets better and better. At this event I even saw some Elegant Gothic Aristocrats (EGA):

A fashion show featuring Carlifornia's designs was a feature of the event. Personally, I prefer a more refined look to lolita and found many of the pieces rather costume-like and on the risque side. Lolita is about dressing for oneself not some socially accepted norm or expectation. And this was my main issue with this collection. Women often feel the societal pressure to look a certain way that lolita offers a safe escape from those pressures. I would be hard pressed to find a lolita who enjoyed this collection.

The Kawaii Kidz collection by Betty featured lolita fashoins for children. Most of this collection consisted of pastels and floral prints and was well constructed. This collection must have also been fun to wear as most of the cute little models looked like they were having fun.

As with previous doll and lolita events, there was a table where dolls could be displayed. I had brought Magpie (my Volks Megu) and Sophie (my Volks Kurumi) dressed in Baby The Stars Shine Bright and h. Naoto respectively as I figured that many of the lolitas who do not own dolls might be interested in seeing the doll sized versions of these outfits.I was also pleased to see other dolls in similar outfits.


However, some of the attendees did not only look but also touched my dolls. When it was time for me to collect my dolls, I was horrified to find that both Sophie and Mapgie had been pushed against the wall and that Sopies legs were tucked under her in an awkward position with her knees out of her sockets.In ball joint dolls this can cause a break to occur at the part where the knee fits into the upper thigh socket. Fortunately she (and her outfit) was intact but I was not okay.

It took me a couple of days to calm down from the incident. Sophie was one of my dream dolls and the thought of her getting injured actually upset me greatly as she is very difficult to replace. Betty, the event organizer was not pleased that this happened. So for future parties there are plans to have "guards" at the tables making sure that everyone at the party enjoys looking and photographing the dolls not touching them.

Overall, the party had the potential to be glorious. But as these parties continue to grow, crowd control will become more of an issue. However, there will be better doll security at the next event and hopefully Royal T will have a new plan for servicing a large number of attendees.

I've been talking about this for months (and probably have driven more than a few people crazy!), but my favorite lolita designer Baby The Stars Shine Bright (BTSSB) is opening its first US store in San Francisco August 15!  And, their designers will be there.

But what I keep forgetting is that it is going to be part of something called New People, a showcase for Japanese fashion, pop culture, and anime.  In addition to Baby The Stars Shine Bright, Black Peace Now will also open its first US store. There will be other shops to help you completely empty your wallet selling various cute accessories, toys, and the like. There will also be an art gallery, cafe, and a cinema. One could literally spend the whole day there.

But on August 15, New People will host a grand opening event called the J-POP SUMMIT , with an opening ceremony, a fashion show, a movie premier, and exhibits. I am more than thrilled that Yoshitaka Amano will there also. He is the author of the Vampire Hunter D series as well as collaborating with Neil Gaiman on The Sandman: The Dream Hunters graphic novel. If I get the chance to go to the opening, I hope to get my copy of The Dream Hunters autographed. Its going to be crazy, but its also going to be fun!

My poor wallet is already feeling the strain of the latest Arcadia Dolls release and hopefully Volks next release of pirate boys, that it is shaking at the thought of this trip. But it will be worth it in the end. I hope to see and meet lots of friends in San Francisco!

Sadly, I could not attend the full four days of Anime Expo this year (stupid work!) but for the two days that I attended, I had a wonderful time. I had to miss the Moi dix Mois concert and panel as well as the Trigun and Gurren Lagann panels on Thursday and Friday but I heard the concert was amazing and the panels were very informative, well as informative as Mana feels.

On Saturday, I put on my costume and headed over to the LA Convention Center. Its not hard to miss with a plethora of costume clad cosplayers gathered around. Registration, like last year, was remarkably easy this year and we were off! Cosplaying as Yuuko from xxxHolic is fun. I love her hair, her clothes, her pipe, and her attitude!


For dinner, we ate at Curry House in Little Tokyo. I had never eaten there before but I found it to be very good and must return to write a review of that place. Little Tokyo (and Curry House) was full of cosplayers as well. I really enjoy having the convention at the LA Convention Center for this reason!

We took the shuttle to the Westin Bonaventure where we attended the dance there. I found the DJ was horrible playing the worse techno music. But maybe it was me. I'm an indie and gothic music fan. And this was not my scene. Now if Carlos D of Interpol was DJ-ing...

The last day of the convention is always the saddest for me because I know it will all come to an end very soon. Sadly, there usually is nothing to look forward to on the last day of Anime Expo. Anime Los Angeles scheduled the lolita fashion show on the last day giving attendees something to look forward to. Perhaps AX should think of something similar...

But the last day was the most magical for me. Dressed in my favorite Baby The Stars Shine Bright dress, we found out that Mana was going to be signing autographs! Quickly we purchased Moi dix Mois posters and ran over to the registration hall were they had us waiting in the sun for a while and none of us lolitas had brought our parasols! Thankfully we did not melt and were soon let into the hall. I have to say that Mana was beautiful wearing a blue Moite blouse and with large hair. Each band member signed our posters and shook hands with us. I shook Mana's hand. I only wished I had owned some Moite clothing and would have worn that instead of the black Baby The Stars Shine Bright dress I was wearing.

I also got autographs from the adorable Yun Kouga, manga-ka of Loveless, Yasuhiro Nightgow manga-ka of Trigun, and Satoshi Nishimura, director of the 2009 Trigun movie.  Sadly, as the day ended another convention was over. But I wasn't too sad. There were more events coming up soon...

If anyone is interested, you can view photos of my cosplay, lolita, and Anime Expo on my flickr...