beware of this rant in defense of Lolita fashion

A while ago, I procrastinated writing about defense for Lolita fashion.  But this morning, I caught the beginning of What Not to Wear, and they totally attacked a Lolita.  ;x;  Now, I remember why I wanted to write a whole essay, defending Lolita.  It was against people like that, like that stupid panel, at an anime convention this past January, who have nothing but misconceptions about why we love Lolita, and then get very vehemently confrontational about it.

 There are so many misconceptions about Lolita, from just 2 incidents with Western people, that I'm really scared about how gutter-minded this country is.  ~_~;  Though I myself am American, my fairly sheltered social life has prevented me from acclimating to what is considered "Normal".  So the contradiction of freaky and illogical things which are labelled as "Normal", has always seemed jarringly obvious to me, rather than being dismissed and simply accepted, as most "Normal" people do.  Though, I always had an inkling of how strange "Normal" people are, I really had not believed it was this bad. 

 Why is Lolita fashion considered a purely sexual abnormality here?!?  0~0  The entire time that the hosts of What Not to Wear were throwing away the former Japanese-studies student's Lolita dresses, they kept peppering in comments that implied sexual kinkiness.  They kept using the term "fetish".  Then, as they picked through the Lolita wardrobe, they joked that they expected to find a whip in there, like sado-masicism.  (Which is another thing that I understand is not always sexual, but I also understand has been greatly adopted by the sexual-props community.)  It's true that the term "Lolita" originated from a novel about sexual interest in a young girl character, but that is not what current Lolita fashion is about.  Otherwise, Lolita fashion would have become a movement after that novel's infamy, rather than after a completely different event.  And that completely different event was the fad started by J-pop bands, in much the same way punk, heavy metal, and goth music bands started individual clothing styles in the West.  But I guess the West has had more time knowing the term "Lolita" as a reference to that sexual perversion, rather than as the Japanese clothing trend.  Still, with growing awareness for the global community, one would think that there would be more open-mindedness, to other meanings or reasons for an aesthetic---Especially if a person attends anime conventions and has been given the explainations that Lolita fashion is different from the Lolita perversion. Is sex the only thing that people in this country really think of, when they see poofy, frilly skirts and lace?  ;~;!?  This was a really ironic notion, since that episode of What Not to Wear, came immediately after a Say Yes to the Dress episode, in which the bride choose a very poofy dress, which she described it as making her feel like a "cupcake". 

 What's wrong with feeling pretty as a cupcake?  Apparently Normals only allow that feeling for brides and little girls.  The panelist at an anime convention last January, ranted and raved about how Lolita was wrong because it wasn't "Normal" for grown women to dress "like little girls".  But since then, I've been thinking about the "Normally" accepted ways, in which women are expected to feel pretty:  It's usually through sexuality.  Clothing tightened at certain areas, emphasizing the figure, showing skin,...Even the clothing that Normals consider "sophisticated", is defined by points---pointed-out by fashionistas---which are all about showing off the figure's aspects gained through sexual maturation.  Though I completely understand this aesthetic, the idea of accepting only this type of beauty as "pretty", while condemning other types of "pretty" is infuriating.  There should be nothing wrong with wanting to feel "pretty" without using sexuality. 

 Ruffles, lace, and poofy skirts are the beauty of Lolita fashion, culminating in cuteness, and yet, it is considered inappropriate for women, after we've grown.  It used to be allowed during ages like the Victorian Era.  Though, back then, the skirts were longer, waists did sinch in, and some skirt bustles could have been considered to emphasize features of sexual maturity, like the hips.  But current Lolita fashion, though owing a lot to Victorian styles, usually avoids even that amount of sexual innuendo.  The current Lolita emphasizes the modesty of Victorian fashion, and the details of textile, like ruffles and lace, rather than the features of a biologically mature female form.  (The Lolita-afficionado in What Not to Wear also defended her layering of long shirts with a sundress, for the sake of "modesty", specifically.)  It allows girls, even women, to feel pretty, in the same way a teaset is adorable, or a piece of jewelry is beautiful, while omitting the beauty of sexual maturity.  And sometimes, it is very nice to take a break from identifying with sexual maturity.  Yet, the only demographic which Normals allow to be themselves, free of sexual aspects, are young girls.  Moms dress their daughters up in frilly, poofy dresses, to an almost costume level, at times, and yet, only then, do the Normals allow the appreication of that non-sexual cute.  They even join in on that appreciation.  But personally, having experienced being my mom's living doll in the past, it is much more disturbing to dress one's child as a proxy for one's own fashion experiences.  Treating a living being as a doll, to a certain degree of forcefulness, can feel demeaning, in an objectifying way (Ironically, almost similar to the objectification one can feel while dressed to sexually).  But why live out your aesthetic wants, vicariously through another person?  Why not wear that ruffly, lacy, puffy stuff yourself?  I think that would be much more mentally sound and mature, to express one's self through one's self, rather than using other living beings.    And if we find frilly objects cute, then what's wrong with wearing frilly things?

The goal of Lolita fashion is to be cute, and there's something wrong with being denied that option. 

motifs, not cliches

I wanted to work on some original stories of mine, using the same types of motifs as anime/manga and mythology, so I ran a search for anime/manga cliches and plot devices, to compare to my Joseph Campbell books.  Wrong choice of search keywords.  ~_~;  All the search results (with the exception of 1 or 2 websites) were primarily negative rants against anime/manga.  ~x~;

 So, perhaps it's time to clear up something about cliches:  They're repeated for a reason.

 Not just because the editors told the authors to, merely to ride the coattails of a popular trend, to assure the publishers a profit.  In fact, let's look at that statement I just wrote.  The publishers are recognizing a _popular trend_.  "Popular" means that some kind of motif is effecting and speaking-to a lot of people out there.  Popular doesn't always simply mean a formulaic factor, with no deeper meaning, meant merely to catch our current attentions and trap audiences for profit.  Sometimes, some part of it, can reflect the mindsets of the current culture, generation, or---if repeated throughout time long enough---some nature of the human mind in general.  Which is why the field of comparative mythology/folklore exists.  Someone once said that comic books, TV shows, movies, videogames, and other modern media, are our current folklore and mythology.  So, I'm not so eager to dismiss the repeated motifs in anime/manga, as merely hackneyed cliches.

 And even if formulaic plots are repeated and devices become cliche, it doesn't necessarily make such series meaningless.  There's so much pressure in movie critic culture to see an "original" story.  (Perhaps to accomodate the tough copyright laws.)  Yet, there really is no such thing as an "original" story.  Mythology and folklore have shown that humans appear to be telling the same few stories over and over again, but with some variations, to fit whatever new culture/generation is current.  But rather than "unoriginal" being "bad", it actually feels more like a unifying force to me.  If humans have been telling the same story (or few stories) throughout time, then we can all find common ground in our shared experience of psyche.  If variations appear for each new generation, then those essential themes from those repeated stories, can effectively reach the minds/hearts of each generation (as experiences, rather than just lectures), in their own "language", to be used for their own, current needs/purposes.

 Or as I told my cousin once, "Just because we already have Peter Pan, doesn't mean we don't need The Wizard of Oz."  They're both similar stories of regular protagonists, travelling to fantastical worlds.  But I would never call them the same, nor would I call the later one unneccessary, simply because it came after a precedent.  Each fulfills different needs, through their variation of aspects.  For example, in the mid 1990's, I gravitated to Sailormoon, because it was the only heroine-centric anime that I knew about at the time.  Sure, there were things I liked about the story, but there were also annoying aspects, which I wish could be trimmed off (like Usagi's whining girlishness).  Then I discovered Devil Hunter Yohko:  Same "schoolgirl transforming into a heroine" plot, but much more action, much less princess.  There's a variation for everybody!

 So I say, welcome the "copycats"!  A bigger pool to choose from, gives everyone the opportunity to find what speaks specifically to them. 

cosplay vids posted sooner

Ever since I decided to upload vids, as-is, and save the edited versions for a later upload, I've been able to post a lot more videos.  ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/embed/1ZoYS2SvAAE

http://www.youtube.com/embed/V-mSQVX9H3g

http://www.youtube.com/embed/6xvNtWNegUE

It's so great to just leave my computer to upload once, while I go work on other stuff for the rest of the day.  Much easier to multi-task.  Better than constantly checking and waiting for the first video part to finish uploading, so I could upload the next part, then the next part.  x_x;

I guess I got the idea from acksonl.  http://www.youtube.com/user/acksonl  He posts cosplay videos, but sometimes his vids say "next day edit", and have less time-consuming stuff done to it.  An excellent idea.

http://www.facebook.com/ni.ondoy?ref=name#!/pages/Moo-Nif/211906468882865
I had posted at Moo Nif's Facebook and at my YouTube channel, a quick survey, about which type of video is preferred:  1 huge, 45+minutes video, for faster upload, or several multi-part vids, that need a lot of editing, but make specific contents easier to access.  No one answered, but I guess it's not really necessary anymore.  As long as I save the edited versions for later, then everyone will get the vids sooner, and the people who want multi-part vids, will get their preferences too...eventually.  ^^;

I think I like Kingdom Hearts spoilers?

The Kingdom Hearts obsession starts again!
Let the American-side promotion machine begin!  ^O^!!! 
Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (Kingdom Hearts 3D) will release in America, on 07/31/2012, for Nintendo 3DS.
http://youtu.be/jhCvWzYmKzY

I already watched all the cutscenes already, from the Japanese version (with subtitles), but nothing's been spoiled for me.  I've always been pretty immuned to spoilers, since I have more fun experiencing a story, rather than simply finding out how it ends.  That's pretty much why it's so fun to re-watch something over and over again.  I never get tired of it, not completely. 

In fact, seeing it dubbed, is like making the scenes fresh and new again.  I love switching back and forth between languages on my DVDs, whether it be anime or Mulan.  Switching languages is also great on bilingual videogames, like The Bouncer or .Hack//.  Even translated songs too, like Hikaru Utada's English versions of her songs, or Trish Ledeaux's anime opening/ending themes translations, that preserved the rhythmns and enabled singing the songs in English.  Any extra layers of experiencing a fandom, always adds to the enjoyment.  Afterall, that's why anime fans get interested in learning Japanese culture, or why we started eating more pizza as children, when we became Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans.  It's why we draw fan-art and research world history, after becoming Hetalia fans.  Experiencing multiple language versions of the same thing, is another refreshing layer to fandom.

Specifically to Kingdom Hearts, maybe I should always watch all the earlier-released, Japanese cutscenes beforehand, to make playing the game in English much more enjoyable.  In these 10 years of Kingdom Hearts, I've begun to notice a trend in how I experience the game and its story.  Usually, I jump right into the next game, impatient to have all the questions from the previous game answered.  "Is Riku okay?",  "Will they ever have their friendship mended?", "What battles have they resolved between games?", etc.  But most of my questions revolve around the orginal Kingdom Hearts characters and their story, not the Disney half of the story.  Which is too bad for me, because the first half of each Kingdom Hearts game is more about the Disney side, than the Square side.  And I've often found myself too impatient to have the core story conflicts resolved, to the point where I can't enjoy the Disney, exposition half of the game/story.  It all just feels like stalling, before what I really want to see, and I just can't fully enjoy it.  And yet, after I have those questions answered, conflicts resolved, and friends reunited, what I really want to do is spend more time with that reunited party, wandering around, stalling, having fun in the Disney side of the worlds.  But after the core story's conflicts from the previous game's cliffhangers have been settled, it's immediately time to finish the current game's storyline.  ;_;  No time to enjoy wandering around Disney worlds, after the last quarter of the game.  Therefore, after having already seen all of KH3D's story (in Japanese with English subtitles), I can now enjoy just wandering around the Disney worlds, without those unanswered, cliffhanger, core story questions, hanging over my head.  Completely spoiling the whole story ahead of time, and eliminating my impatience with the first half of the game, could be the best thing to enhance my enjoyment of the gameplay, when the English version arrives.  ^-^  Maybe I'll try this from now on (at least when it comes to Kingdom Hearts). 

Claymore 19 SPOILERS!!!

This entry is all spoilers, but I've tried to take some precautions, in case a Claymore fan does accidentally read anything below.   LAST WARNING:  SPOILERS BELOW!!!

 

The other day, I finished Claymore volume 19, and just couldn't believe who died at the end.  That seems to be happening a lot lately.  (First, the Creatures of the Abyss, then sort of Clare...)  On the other hand, there was a suspicion in the back of my head, that maybe, her goals would somehow put her in conflict with the 7 Ghosts someday.  That's just the type of plot twist I'd have to prepare for shock.  I'm glad that didn't happen, but still not sure that's worth her dying.  ;_;  I just hope Tabitha learned her technique.  Because now that the Organization has *****'s corpse, you know they're going to experiment with her tissue samples.  ~___~  And then the 7 Ghosts really will have to fight her...powers.  ;-;

how to stuff hair under a wig

Below, is a video from Doll Delight, the lolita fashion designer.  I subscribe to her posts on Facebook, so I checked out her new tutorial video, on how to get long, thick hair, under a wig.  This is exactly the kind of hair I have, and it is a pain to get it completely under a wig, so I watched her video for tips.  http://youtu.be/YKnNU34E2bE

Even though it was cool to watch, I don't think I can use this technique.  ^^;  I get a headache when I use a wigcap, and she used FIVE.  Five wigcaps!  All at once!  O.O!!!  

Personally, I like to use the Princess Leia hairstyle from The Empire Strikes Back...with a LOT of quilting clips. 

Quilting clips are those really secure hairclips that cost like $4 for just 6, but you can get 30 for $3 in crafting stores' sewing/yarn sections.  Cosplay panels I've attended before, have advocated putting in so many hairpins that your scalp hurts, then putting in some more.  But I find that the quilting clips are painless, more secure, and need fewer.  But I will still put in a few hairpins to style my wigs without cutting them, or to secure some hairs peeking out, or when I *really* want to secure my wig to my head.

The Princess Leia technique is nice, because the hair is very evenly distributed, so there aren't any strangely placed bulges under the wig.  At first, my sister was admant about following the techniques her teachers taught in her theater classes, but it just made perfectly fine wigs look horrible.  I think she had several buns atop her head, trying to distribute the bulges of hair evenly, in that way.  It was horrible, and she rejected some of the wigs I got her, because of how bad it made them look.  But, after she tried the Princess Leia hair, all the wigs looked fine.  ^_^ 

That same cosplay panel, I mentioned earlier, gave the best advice:  There are no set techniques, no "right way" to cosplay, so experiment to achieve the effect you want.

art vs fan-art satisfaction

I didn't finish editing that Code Geass cosplay gathering video, like I thought I would, so that upload is postponed.  Anyway, I really should be working on Artist Alley stock instead.  There's less than 2 months left!  0~0!

Today, I made some different pendants besides US/UK, and patched up a star on one of the previous US/UK pendants.  I also tried mass-producing elements of the flag pendants, instead of making one whole pendant at a time.  The black hearts are the filler for the flag pendants; ready to go for tomorrow. 

I really haven't felt productive or even proud of what I've been making, this past week or so.  I guess the novelty of making those Hetalia pairing, flag-heart pendants come into reality has worn off.  I tried making different pairings besides US/UK, to liven things up.  I even finished my Germany mllefiori cane today and made my first Germany/Italy pendant.  But I guess I really need to do something radically different to get excited about crafting for Artist Alley again. 

Tomorrow, I think I'll start the millefiori canes for Wayfinders, from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.  Just thinking about working on those revives my excitement.  Plus, I'm beginning to believe there's something much more satisfying about having a reference idea to work towards.  Taking something that only existed in the virtual space of videogames, then bringing it into reality, is a lot of fun.  Taking anything that only existed in any type of imaginary space, has always been a lot of fun, even in terms of original works.  But whether it be cosplay or fan-art, having a reference concept to work towards, seems much more accessible.  In the official or cannon series, there's a definite image of the important points that comprise the essence of something from a series.  And that's all I need to set my goals for.  I think that without that definitiveness, perfectionism gets the better of me.  Afterall, I'm so disatified with my work lately, because I see all the flaws, and I just can't make it as perfect as the impossibility in my head.  Even though imperfection is natural in the real world, I just can't let it slide, because these pendants are a pure idea that I'm chasing, not someone else's concept that I can check-mark key points to fulfill.  x~x;;; 

Silliness.  In the end, I started this concept because I knew it would be liked and received by the Hetalia fan community.  And if the community is already showing affinity for these pendants on my DeviantArt, then I've gotta start believing that they're acceptable to sell.  I got excited about this project, because I wanted to make the fandom happy, while expressing my own fandom participation.  So fan-art, in and of itself, should be enough to feel satisfied and proud, even without the (impossible) perfection. 

...Besides, what am I going to do with all these pendants lying around the house?  ^.^

finally uploaded to YouTube again

Yesterday, I uploaded the Anime Los Angeles 2012 opening ceremonies to YouTube.

http://youtu.be/73lO6Aa7bSc

It's been such a loooooong time since I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel, that I was beginning to feel bad about it.  But I guess I still could, because this is just an opening ceremonies video, as opposed to the cosplay gathering videos that subscribers expect from me.  But, at least now, the featured video on my Channel is no longer that polymer clay crafting video, which was so much more unrelated to cosplay. 

The good thing about these convention events, is that they're so fast to upload.  Usually, I have to watch through an entire cosplay gathering, several times, to edit out the confused silence parts, the disorganized chaotic parts, the panties flashing the camera parts---Please, cosplayers with short skirts, please be more aware of the gathering photographers! ;o;  But half of that video prep time also goes to just cataloging all the contents of the video, for the description.  The great thing about opening ceremonies, is the short list of notable points, that I could actually skip search through the vid, instead of watching through every second.  MC, guests of honor, done. 

Now I'm in the middle of preparing a Code Geass cosplay gathering video.  Thankfully, it's a fairly short gathering.  With a little luck, I'll upload it tonight.  ^_^

photos of Americat/Iggycat

Even though my Americat plushie isn't finished yet, I keep taking pictures of him together with my Iggycat plushie.  It can't be helped.  My chubby kitty and my tsundere kitty are just too cute.  #^_^#  ...Even if Americat still needs his big, fluffy tail---When he does have it, it will be *awesomely* fluffy!  @u@ 

Here are some pics of them with the polymer clay pendants I've been working on, for Artist Alley.  They're reversable, so the pendants in the pic above, are the same pendants in the pic below.  Sometimes I think I'm photographing my plushies with the pendants, to give a better sense of accomplishing something.  Producing the pendants seems so slow, since I'm still a novice with polymer clay and millefiori canes.  I just hope that I have enough stock for Artist Alley.

Above is the result of Iggycat helping me cook.  I hadn't cooked in such a long time, and I needed someone to make sure I did it right.  Iggycat was the only one around, so I perched his basket, on the kitchen counter, to keep me company.  Though, considering that it was Iggycat who helped me, and I was the one cooking, I wonder if there was any improvement in the actual food, and not just in my confidence in cooking.  <--small joke for Hetalia fans.

I love how motherly England and Iggycat can be portrayed.  And, of course, I love kittens!  I imagine, that right before I took the photo above, all those kittens jumped into the basket with Iggycat.  ^-^  And Americat is going quickly from curious to, "I found some playmates!". 

fresh start

It's time for a change.  On 2 things.

First, this is a business card that I'm considering, to replace my old, Vistaprint-template business cards, for Artist Alley.  They say that a business card should picture some of your work, and that Artist Alley patrons love watching vendors draw.  So why not draw on blank business cards?  But, the real change is with the blog listed on the card.  It's not Blogger.  That was on my last business card.  And like that last card, this blog hasn't turned out as interesting as I thought it could. 

Second:  It's time for this blog to go in a different direction.  Compared to my other blog, my Blogger doesn't "reflect my work" as well, and neither is it as "lovable to watch".  My other blog is such a collection of any little geeky thing going on in my life:  fan-art in progress, embedded anime clips, pics of cool stuff I bought, links to things that caught my interest,...  I thought it would be too scattered and personal to be on my business card.  So I listed my Blogger account instead, which would filter out all my stray geekiness and center on my lengthy rants.  Looking back at both blogs, that hasn't proved as interesting as my LiveJournal blog's accumulated bits of spontaneity---Which is also updated more often!  ...Meanwhile, this blog seems pretty much dead.  So maybe my Blogger's tunnel-vision focus wasn't such a great idea.  I think I'll make it more like my LiveJournal account, but with more pictures.  (Thank you, Blogger's limitless storage space!)  At least that way, I won't have to pay for new business cards.