#first one of my series of charms for Japan Expo ~

[pillow-boi]

Kdj 🌸 forget-me-not

[osharenippon]

70s Japan Trends Through the Music Charts (Part 2)

During the 1970s, the Japanese music industry was in the process of forming its identity. In addition to mirroring the musical preferences of the nation, the charts also served as a reflection of the prevailing societal trends and ambitions of that era. In this series, we chronicle the most significant musical trends of the decade.

70s Japan Trend Through the Music Charts (Part 1)

Trend #4: The Impact of Discover Japan

In 1970, Osaka hosted the World Expo, marking a significant milestone for post-war Japan following the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. To accommodate the influx of visitors, the government expanded the rail network, enabling over 60 million people—half of the nation's population—to journey to the World's Fair. However, as the Expo drew to a close after six months, concerns arose about the railways becoming obsolete. So, with the help of the ad agency Dentsu, they devised a campaign to stimulate domestic tourism by rail. The result was "DISCOVER JAPAN," one of the most iconic campaigns of the decade (which, curiously, was partially inspired by Ivy Fashion brand VAN).

"DISCOVER JAPAN" profoundly impacted Japanese society by popularizing solo travel and igniting domestic tourism, particularly among young women who ventured out on their own. This trend was further fueled by the launch of the first female fashion magazines, AnAn and Non-no, both of which regularly featured articles on charming touristic cities across the country. Cities known as "Little Kyoto," which retained their Edo Period architecture and charm, were particularly attractive to these travelers.

Influenced by fashion magazines, these trend-conscious women journeyed to towns throughout Japan, earning them the moniker "AnNon" (a fusion of AnAn and Non-no). Their impact during the 1970s was significant enough to be mentioned in a song by Sada Masashi, one of the decade's prominent folk singers.

"DISCOVER JAPAN," the print and TV campaign devised by Dentsu, is one of Japan's most successful and era-defining marketing campaigns.

Sada Masashi rose to fame in the early 1970s as part of the folk duo Grape before launching a successful solo career. In 1977, his song "Ehagakizaka," which paid tribute to his hometown of Nagasaki, mentioned identically dressed stylish young girls in denim, clutching AnAn and Non-no magazines while photographing their surroundings. This song vividly captured the aspirational girl culture of the 1970s, characterized by "healing" domestic trips in pursuit of tranquility and small pleasures, hippie and boho-inspired fashion, and folk music as the soundtrack.

Masashi Sada's song and the AnNon-zoku tribe aside, "DISCOVER JAPAN" had an immense impact on different layers of Japanese society. And that included the music charts. In 1971, the two best-selling singles, "Watashi no joka-machi" by Rumiko Koyanagi and "Shiretoko ryojou" by Tokiko Kato, surpassed 1 million copies sold. Both perfectly embodied the campaign's spirit in highlighting the hidden beauties of Japan.

"Watashi no jokamachi," or "My Castle Town," marked Koyanagi's explosive debut, selling over 1.3 million copies. This enka-infused kayokyoku ballad paid homage to cities with Edo-like architecture, often centered around a feudal lord's castle, evoking a peaceful, melancholic atmosphere in its lyrics. Rumiko continued to sing about regional Japan's charms the following year with another hit, "Seto no Hanayome" (The Bride of Seto). Meanwhile, the folk-inspired "Shiretoko ryoujou" (Shiretoko Journey) celebrates the unique beauty and culture of the Shiretoko peninsula on Hokkaido Island.

In the same year, other artists also succeeded by spotlighting provincial Japan. Enka superstar Shinichi Mori delved into this theme with "Boukyou" (Nostalgia). At the same time, Yuuko Nagisa found success with a Japanese rendition of The Ventures' "Kyoto Doll," titled "Kyoto no Koi" (Love in Kyoto). She would go on to have another top-selling single with her version of another Ventures song, "Reflection in Palace Lake," transformed into "Kyoto Bojo" (Kyoto Longing).

Trend #5: The Legend of Momoe Yamaguchi

"Aidoru" or "idols" are cute girl/boy-next-door types who sing, dance, act, host TV shows, and star in countless commercials. They stand as one of the cornerstones of the thriving multi-billion yen Japanese entertainment industry. The 70s was an essential era for consolidating this type of star. And one idol, in particular, shone the brightest: Momoe Yamaguchi.

Momoe is a legendary star and an example of an "aidoru" who excelled at everything, exuding sophistication, talent, and sex appeal. The fact she retired from public life at the height of her fame cemented her mythical status.

Momoe Yamaguchi in her prime, the idol industry's gold standard.

In 1972, at the tender age of 13, Yamaguchi auditioned for the talent search TV show "Star Tanjou!" (A Star is Born). Her crisp singing voice and mature beauty immediately captured the industry's attention. Hori Production, the entertainment agency, and Sony CBS label swiftly recognized her potential and signed her. In May 1973, five months after her televised audition, she made her official debut with the single "Toshigoro" (Adolescence). Although Sony had a history of immediate success with newcomers, Momoe's first single received a tepid response, so her label decided to court a bit of controversy for her sophomore outing. "Aoi kajitsu" (Ripe Fruit) had the innocent-looking 14-year-old girl singing, "you can do whatever you want to me, even if they say I'm a bad girl." The racy lyrics worked, and the single was a success. 

A few months later, Yamaguchi's backers repeated this formula with "Hito natsu no keiken" (One Summer Experience). The song began with a suggestive promise: "I'll give you the most precious thing a girl has." The lyrics were laden with double entendres, describing a "sweet trap of temptation" that can only be experienced once. She sang, "if the person I love is pleased, then I'm happy. I don't mind if you break it," which could be understood as a reference to a girl's heart or hymen.

The single was an explosive hit, propelling 15-year-old Yamaguchi into the A-list. For the remainder of her career, she was frequently asked about the "most precious thing a girl has," to which she'd always offer a stern-looking reply: "Her devotion."

The young, mature-looking girl singing thinly veiled songs about sexual awakening with a dark, serious-looking image set her apart from the prevalent happy-go-lucky idol aesthetic. However, it wasn't merely reliance on gimmicks that transformed her into a legend. In 1976, after firmly establishing herself as a star, she parted ways with her frequent collaborators, lyricist Kazuya Senke and composer Shunichi Tokura. Beginning with the single "Yokosuka Story," she partnered with the husband-and-wife duo Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki.

Ryudo Uzaki, the frontman of the popular enka rock band DOWNTOWN BOOGIE WOOGIE BAND, infused her kayokyoku tunes with a rock edge. Through her lyrics, Yoko Aki redefined Momoe's image as a confident, clear-eyed girl transitioning into womanhood. Sony initially opposed Momoe's desire to collaborate with Aki and Uzaki, but the partnership ultimately helped her reach her commercial peak.

"Yokosuka Story" was Momoe's first single to reach the number 1 spot on the weekly charts. The Aki-Uzaki duo penned several other hits for her, including "Playback Part 2" and "Sayonara no mukougawa" (The Other Side of Goodbye), and opened doors for her to collaborate with other luminaries of Japanese music. Two of her most memorable hits, "Cosmos" and "Ii hi tabidaichi" (Beautiful Day Departure), both released in 1978, were penned by folk superstars Masashi Sada and Shinji Tanimura of Arisu, respectively. The latter became the theme song for the iconic DISCOVER JAPAN TV commercials.

Speaking of commercials, idols worth their salt can't limit themselves to music. Momoe earned millions as the face of Toyota cars, Fujifilm photographic films, Casio watches, and Glico confectionary products, among others. She also starred in highly rated TV dramas and ventured into the world of film.

Starting in 1974, she appeared in two romantic films per year, always paired with Tomokaza Miura as her co-star. While Momoe pursued various ventures, Miura's acting career primarily revolved around being her on-screen romantic partner. Their undeniable chemistry and the box-office success of their films led to them being known as the "golden combination."

In a concert at the end of 1979, Momoe stunned her audience by revealing that her on-screen partner, Miura, was her real-life boyfriend. In a subsequent press conference in March of the following year, she confirmed her intention to marry him and retire officially. In September, she released her autobiography, which sold over 1 million copies in a month. In October, she bid farewell through a series of TV specials and a concert at Nippon Budokan. Her farewell concert reportedly earned Hori Productions over 20 million dollars, according to figures provided by the agency to Billboard magazine at the time. Momoe's success allowed HoriPro to become one of the best-established entertainment agencies in Japan, a position it still holds today. Her final performance took place at HoriPro's 20th-anniversary event, where she sang "Ii hi tabidaichi." In November, she married Miura and disappeared from the media.

The Japanese public obsession with her never waned. Paparazzi tried to capture her at her son's kindergarten graduation ceremony and doing classes at a local driving school. Many speculated she'd eventually come out of retirement. She never did, which only helped feed the obsession around her.

During the 1970s, Yamaguchi enjoyed immense success, but she was one of many popular female idols. The narrative created by her retirement elevated her to the status of a larger-than-life legend. She became the gifted, beautiful young woman who succeeded as a singer, a TV actress, and a movie star before choosing the ultimate happy ending: marriage. By choosing love, Momoe Yamaguchi, the legendary idol, transformed into an ordinary woman—a real-life fairy tale that resonated deeply with Japanese society.

Her decision was driven by profound motivations. Momoe revealed in her autobiography that she was raised by a single mother, the product of an extramarital affair. Her challenging upbringing and her father's late appearance to capitalize on her fame instilled a deep desire for a traditional, happy family life. She also grew weary of the relentless demands of stardom and the repetitiveness of performing the same songs. Thus, she made a heartfelt choice to relinquish fame and public life to give her husband the most important thing a girl has: her devotion.

Trend #6: Idols' Rise

The term "idol" in the Japanese entertainment industry finds its origins in the French film "Cherchez l'idole" (1963), which enjoyed immense popularity in Japan. Initially, "Aidoru" was used to describe the film's star, Sylvie Vartan, before it evolved into a general term to describe youthful-looking triple-threat domestic stars.

Before the coining of the term, "idol-like" stars had already existed. In the 1930s, Machiko Ashita attracted crowds to the Moulin Rouge Shinjuku and served as the face of several brands. In the 1950s, rockabilly stars enjoyed massive popularity among the youth, and the 1960s saw the rise of manufactured "group sound" bands and the female duo The Peanuts, comprised of twin sisters. Legendary stars such as Hibari Misora, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Teruhiko Saigo, Yukio Hashi, and Kazuo Funaki thrived as both movie stars and successful singers.

However, the 70s marked the consolidation of the "idol" aesthetic and career path, paving the way for the "golden era of idols" in the next decade. Essential for it to happen was the widespread adoption of the medium where idols shine the brightest: television.

TV allowed entertainment agencies to aggressively push their young, fresh-faced talents in front of a broad audience. They populated music and variety shows, commercials, and dramas. They were immaculate, life-sized stars ready to play the part of the nation's sweethearts.

Although history has crowned Momoe Yamaguchi as the ultimate 70s idol, she was just one among many during most of that decade. A closer examination of the numbers reveals that, among female idols, Mari Amachi had the most significant short-term impact during that time.

Amachi was first introduced on the popular TBS TV drama "Jikan desu yo" (It's Time) in 1971, playing "Tonari no Mari-chan" (Next Door Mari-chan). She played the minor role of a cute girl who lived close to the show's primary setting, a family-run public bathhouse, and often appeared by her window, playing guitar and singing. By October, with the backing of the biggest entertainment agency of the era, Watanabe Production, and Sony CBS, 19-year-old Mari Amachi officially debuted with the single "Mizuiro no Koi" (Light Blue Love). It was a hit—the first of many. Mari would be 1972's best-selling act, achieving high sales with four albums and five singles.

Mari's image, characterized by an innocent aura, a happy-go-lucky personality, and frilly dresses as stage outfits, became the prototype for female idols. Her short hair and chiseled smile earned her the nickname "Sony's Snow White," evoking the image of a fairytale princess. Unsurprisingly, she was particularly popular with children, leading Watanabe Pro to license her likeness for various goods, including the coveted "Do-Re-Mi Mari-chan" Bridgestone Cycle bicycle, highly sought after by young girls in the early 70s.

Despite her rapid rise to fame, Mari's time at the top was short-lived. By 1974, another Watanabe Pro idol, Agnes Chan, was already surpassing her in sales. In 1977, Mari's health deteriorated, and she took a lengthy hiatus, officially attributed to thyroid issues but later revealed to be depression triggered by her waning popularity. In 1979, she attempted a comeback, even bagging an endorsement deal for an ultrasonic facial device, one of the year's hit items for women. But her time had passed, and she didn't find much success. Eventually, Mari's career took unconventional turns, including involvement in a softcore porn movie, the release of nude photobooks, and a transition to becoming a "fat" talento (TV personality), followed by a weight-loss book.

In 2015, in her last public interview, she revealed that, at 63, she was living in a retirement home in the Tokyo suburbs. Her fan club covered her expenses, while her daughter provided a modest weekly allowance. This marked a stark contrast to her glamorous peak years and serves as a reminder of the challenges idols face in the Japanese entertainment industry, particularly women, and how easily discardable idols can be. It also shows how wise Momoe Yamaguchi was, bowing out gracefully at the right time.

However, Momoe Yamaguchi and Mari Amachi represent two extremes within the realm of idols. While Mari achieved record profits for two years before facing decline and eventual obscurity, Momoe maintained relevance for nearly a decade before choosing to marry her on-screen partner, retire, and become a living legend. Most other 70s idols did not experience such remarkable destinies.

In 1971, two other young idols, Rumiko Koyanagi and Saori Minami, made their debut alongside Mari Amachi. The trio was collectively known as the "shin sannin musume," or the "three new girls." Their joint concert at the Budokan on Christmas of 1972 solidified their shared nickname.

The Shin San-nin Musume. Clockwise: Rumiko Koyanagi, Mari Amachi, and Saori Minami.

Rumiko Koyanagi had her skills honed at the Takarazuka Music School. Takarazuka is a very traditional, all-female theater group, and their training academy is known to be highly rigorous and selective. Koyanagi graduated top of her class but wanted something other than a musical theater career. Instead, her goal was to debut as a solo singer. So she left the Takarazuka Revue and signed with Watanabe Pro and Warner Pioneer label to fulfill her dream. Her first song, "Watashi no joka-machi" (My Castle Town), buoyed by the "Discover Japan" boom, surpassed 1 million copies sold, becoming the best-selling single of 1971.

Rumiko's repertoire predominantly featured enka-influenced kayokyoku. Her classical sound may not have been as appealing to the youth as some of her peers' slightly more modern tunes, but it ensured her stable sales throughout the decade. In her sixties, Rumiko has reinvented herself as a passionate soccer fan and a glamorous senior lady, sharing lifestyle tips and her love for Chanel and Lionel Messi on Instagram. She also conducts dinner shows, a lucrative type of intimate concert usually held at luxury hotels, where fans pay hefty prices to enjoy a multi-course dinner while listening to nostalgic hits.

The third "shin sanin musume" is Saori Minami. Minami didn't have a million-selling debut like Rumiko, nor did she become an instant sales behemoth like Mari. That didn't mean she was less impactful. Quite the opposite. Hailing from Okinawa, still under US occupation during her debut, Saori impressed Japan with her exotic beauty. In 1971 and 1972, she outsold every other female idol in bromide sales. Bromide is the local terminology for photographic portraits of celebrities, and historically, its sales are the best way to gauge how popular an idol is.

Her first single, "17-sai" (17 years old), became a classic and enjoyed enduring popularity, with several artists covering it over the decades. After retiring in 1978 upon her marriage to legendary photographer Kishin Shinoyama (known globally for his portraits of John Lennon and Yoko Ono), Saori made a comeback in 1991 but has made only sporadic public appearances since then.

Two years after the emergence of the "shin sannin musume," a new trio of newcomers known as the "Hana no Chuusan Trio" or the "Chuusan's Flower Trio" (a reference to the fact all of them were in Chuusan, the third year of middle school) came into the spotlight. Masako Mori, Junko Sakurada, and Momoe Yamaguchi were all revealed in the talent search TV show "Star Tanjou" (A Star is Born). In 1975, by the time they were in their second year of high school (kou 2), they co-starred in the successful film "Hana no Kou 2 Trio."

The Hana no Chuushan Trio: Momoe Yamaguchi, Junko Sakurada and Masako Mori.

At 13 years old, Masako Mori secured her place as the inaugural "Star Tanjo" grand champion in 1971. The following year, she debuted under Hori Production and swiftly soared to success. Mori's music was deeply influenced by enka, and by the end of the decade, she had solidified her status as a fully-fledged enka star. In 1986, she tied the knot with enka superstar Shinichi Mori, leading her to retire from the entertainment scene. However, in 2005, following her divorce, the former idol made a comeback, embarking on tours and participating in TV dramas for a few years before ultimately deciding to bid farewell to her career once more on her 60th birthday in 2019. Notably, she shares three children with Shinichi Mori, including TAKA, the lead vocalist of the famous rock band ONE OK ROCK.

Junko Sakurada clinched victory at "Star Tanjo" in 1972 at 14. Subsequently, she signed with Sun Music agency and Victor Music, marking her official debut in February 1973 with the release of "Tenshi mo yumemiru" (Angels Also Have Dreams). Given their similar age, niche, and close debut dates, the industry and some fans pitted her against Momoe Yamaguchi despite their behind-the-scenes friendship. Both idols enjoyed substantial popularity, with Yamaguchi usually holding an edge in sales. The exception was in 1975 when Junpei, as fans affectionately knew her, dominated as the best-selling female idol in music and bromide sales.

In addition to her music career, Junko excelled as an actress. In 1983, she opted to conclude her singing career to dedicate herself solely to acting. A decade later, in 1993, the former idol shocked Japan by announcing her participation in a mass wedding ceremony organized by the controversial South Korean Unification Church at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul. Her husband had been chosen for her by the church.

Her association with the cult brought her career to a halt. With her image becoming closely linked to the church, TV networks and advertisers distanced themselves from her. Consequently, Junko relocated from Tokyo, devoting herself entirely to her faith and family. Since then, she has made a few comebacks. In 2006, she published a highly-publicized essay book, and in 2013, she celebrated the 40th anniversary of her debut with a special concert. In 2017 and 2018, she returned to the stage, coinciding with her musical comeback and the release of a new album, "My Ideology."

After this project, Junko has remained out of the spotlight, with an official return unlikely unless she completely renounces her ties with the United Church. The cult's controversial image became even more repellent following the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July, committed by a young man who attributed his family's financial and psychological turmoil to the church. Consequently, the cult's unethical financial practices and ties to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have become widely discussed topics in the country. For Junko Sakurada, her affiliation with the cult has overshadowed her otherwise successful decades-long career.

Completing the trio alongside Junko and Masako was Momoe Yamaguchi. Although Yamaguchi's career has eclipsed that of almost every other idol of the 1970s, she initially experienced the least success among the three young girls. Unlike her peers, both of whom had claimed grand champion titles at "Star Tanjou!," Momoe secured second place at her final showcase. Moreover, her debut single was the poorest-selling among the trio. However, she would ultimately emerge as the definitive idol, and her retirement would serve as the perfect conclusion to an epoch-making career.

While Momoe, Junko, Masako, Mari, Agnes, Rumiko, and Saori, among others, collectively set an impressive precedent for future female idols, male idols also played a significant role in the era. In terms of profitability, male idols reigned supreme, thanks to the unwavering loyalty of their female fanbase.

Johnny Kitagawa, the late founder of Johnny's Jimusho, eventually became the most influential figure in the entertainment industry. He monopolized this niche for decades with his boybands. However, during the 1970s, Kitagawa was not among the most powerful. Although his agency achieved considerable success with the boyband Four Leaves, it was soloist Hiromi Go who briefly held the nation under his sway between 1973 and 1974. Unfortunately for Kitagawa, this period of dominance proved fleeting, as Go departed for another agency in 1976, signaling that Johnny Kitagawa still had much to accomplish to solidify his authority.

With Johnny's domination still on the horizon, Hideki Saijo emerged as the most influential male idol of the 1970s. Saijo enjoyed success with several hit singles, including the ballad "Chigireta Ai," released in 1973, and 1979's "Young Man," a cover of Village People's "Y.M.C.A." Demonstrating the power of devoted fangirls, Saijo became the first domestic solo artist to perform a concert at Nippon Budokan. His popularity quickly transcended the Budokan, propelling him to the status of a stadium headliner and solidifying his position as the decade's top concert ticket seller.

The loyalty of fangirls meant that male idols consistently outperformed any act in ticket sales. In the 1960s, The Tigers, considered one of the pioneers of the "group sound" movement and regarded by many as Japan's first idol group, became the first domestic act to hold a stadium concert. By the following decade, the "group sound" era had ended, but some former band members successfully transitioned into solo careers.

Kenji Sawada and Hideki Saijo, the two stadium-selling male idol superstars from the 80s.

Kenji Sawada, the former lead vocalist of The Tigers, remained a constant presence on the charts throughout the 1970s. Under the guidance of the influential Watanabe Pro agency, Sawada succeeded as a singer and actor. He brought a rockstar aura to his performances, incorporating impactful and extravagant visual elements and pioneering the use of makeup, drawing inspiration from David Bowie and glam rockers. In doing so, Sawada laid the groundwork for visual kei, a movement that would revolutionize Japanese rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nicknamed "Julie" since his early days in the 1960s due to his admiration for Julie Andrews, Sawada continues to thrive as a prominent music figure in Japan, one of the few stars from that era still capable of selling out stadiums.

While girls' adoration often paves the way for male idols to enjoy lengthy careers, there are exceptions to this rule. In 1974, Finger 5 became one of the best-selling idol groups in the country. Comprising five young brothers from Okinawa, they were marketed as Japan's response to the Jackson 5 and consistently churned out hit singles. However, just two years later, their popularity took a nosedive. Several factors contributed to this decline, notably their heavy reliance on the two youngest members, aged only 10 and 12. These youngsters not only grappled with exhaustion from relentless work schedules but also faced the challenges of puberty, causing their voices to change and preventing them from hitting the right notes in their songs. Consequently, Finger 5 lost its appeal.

Finger 5's brief career underscores a crucial aspect of the idol industry: the importance of youthfulness. In Japan's gender-biased society, some male idols from the 1970s were granted the opportunity to age gracefully, evidenced by a few who maintained success well into their 60s and 70s. In contrast, female idols invariably confronted the pressures and inevitable decline associated with aging.

This brings us back to the quintessential idol of that era, Momoe Yamaguchi. By choosing to retire and steadfastly resisting any temptation to reenter the public eye, Yamaguchi effectively became frozen in time at 21 years old, her age at the moment she bid farewell to both showbiz and the public. This solidified her status as a legendary and unattainable icon—an idol who never aged.

70s Japan Trends Through the Music Charts (Part 3)

[professionallyunprofessional]

ToonMakers Sailor Moon- The (No Longer) Lost Pilot episode

If you or someone you know is part of the Sailor Moon fandom, it’s very likely that you know about ‘Saban Moon’, the English version of Sailor Moon that almost was. Created by a company called ToonMakers and taking a page from the success of Power Rangers (which itself is a combination of action scenes from Japan’s Super Sentai series and newly created storylines for Western audiences), it was the original concept for Sailor Moon in the US and would have combined live-action with animation. It was never greenlit, however, and the only evidence of its existence for years was in the form of a music video that was shown at Anime Expo in LA. In the early 2000s, a few animation cels and a script *for* the pilot appeared. However, there was still no episode to be found. Until now.

YouTuber Ray Mona has spent months investigating the lost pilot episode, getting in touch with anyone who might be involved with the production, from directors to cast members. Her investigation is spread across two videos, which you can check out here. I highly suggest you do, because the amount of work that went into this is beyond impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdYD5StqHxk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L67YFwnQCQ

The second link, at the 1 hour and 45 minute mark, is where the lost pilot episode can be found. When I heard the news, there was no way I *wasn’t* going to watch it and review it here. As always, review under the cut.

Right away, the animated bits are very reminiscent of the 1985 version of She-Ra. As someone who grew up with that cartoon, I personally don’t mind the animation style. Slightly less successful is that the voice acting during these parts also reminded me of the 1985 version of She-Ra. I won’t say it was bad, but it was definitely a product of its time. I will say, though, that I love its dedication to keeping a few things from the anime. The Sailors’ respective color schemes, Jupiter and Moon’s attacks looking like those of their anime counterparts, even Tuxedo Mask’s signature rose throw. With the last one, I thought it was a nice touch that the rose actually did something and gave Sailor Moon a power boost.

The live-action parts were very 90s, in terms of both the acting and the way it was filmed, and I kind of loved it. The ‘dressing up for the dance’ montage, the quirky jump cuts and dance moves...it was kitschy and charming as only a 90s kid show could be. One thing that immediately caught my interest is that, in this version, Sailor Moon’s civilian name is Victoria. That’s the exact name used in the original promo for DiC’s dub of the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLYx-sGdjUc

Does this mean we would have also gotten Blue (Sailor Mercury), Sarah (Sailor Jupiter), Dana (Sailor Mars), and Carrie (Sailor Venus)? I guess we’ll never know, as Victoria is the only one whose name is mentioned in the pilot. Speaking of Sailor Mercury in particular, she just by herself would have sold me on this series if it had aired. 1994 was about the time when I first started using a wheelchair myself, so seeing a girl in a wheelchair as one of the heroes would have blown my tiny mind.

Am I glad that we ended up with the dub that we got? Yes. DiC’s dub of Sailor Moon, despite its problems, paved the way for a lot of other anime to be introduced to North American audiences. Do I wish we could have gotten to see more of this version? Also yes, I won’t lie.

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 4: Lost World

Greetings from Kojima Cinema in the U.S.

At the end of the previous month we went to the United States to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), as well to research data for Metal Gear Solid. For this installment of Kojima Cinema, I'll discuss Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, which I snuck out to see after attending E3, as well as its creator Michael Crichton (who happens to be one of my favorite authors).

By the way, Lost Warld (as in a combination of World and War) was the title of a canceled project that was planned to be my first game.

Lost World from Atlanta

I saw Lost World in a movie theater inside the CNN building in Atlanta. Since it hasn't been released in Japan yet, I was able to see it without any preconceived notions, but it ended up being very disappointing. Certainly there's a lot more CGI than the first movie and the dinosaurs are even better animated, but the story was way too much like a Godzilla movie. (Or maybe it was more like King Kong? Perhaps it's closer to Gappa: The Triphibian Monster?) At any rate, what happened to Michael Crichton's original story? I felt like going to Steven Spielberg and tell him "please, don't ruin Crichton's work anymore!"

Better CGI, But Half The Impact

I'm already used to seeing CGI dinosaurs, so there wasn't as much of an impact as there was for the first movie. I remember being moved to tears during the first movie when the Brachiosaurus, the first dinosaur, showed up as if I was glad to see one alive. There's a similar scene in this movie where they encounter a group of Stegosauruses and then Dr. Ian Malcolm says something along the lines of "everyone is impressed at first, but then they all run away" (there were no subtitles, so I'm not certain), which is nothing but ironic.

Jurassic Park: The Ride: The Movie

Ultimately the movie's priority is to charm the audience by showing off dinosaurs. It felt as if the plot and the characters were only added there as an excuse to showcase all the popular dinosaurs like the Compsognathus, the raptors and the T-Rex. It felt less like a movie written to tell a story and more like a film version of the "Jurassic Park: The Ride" attraction at Universal Studios. If you look at it with that perspective, it's a well-made and calculated film.

Despite A Noticeable Rut in the Production, Spielberg's Style is Still in Good Health

Spielberg's heart-pounding style is still in good health despite all of this. The scene where the trailer is falling off the edge of a cliff could be said to be one of the highlights in Spielberg's career. I don't like it very much, but the succession of one crisis after the other makes my hands sweat. Especially the gimmick of the glass gradually breaking is a novelty that no one else has done before. But I was left with one unanswered question. Why does the rear hatch of the trailer only has one sheet glass?

Unfortunately there were many scenes that ended up being not very interesting due to the usual hackneyed direction. There are many indirect effects that we're already familiar with, such as the camera tracking used since Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the use of lost limbs as seen in Jaws, rivers and waterfall turning red due to bloodshed, also seen in the original movie, and the swaying of trees and vibrations of water surfaces that gives the dinosaurs a sense of speed and weight... Perhaps the film would've been very different if the direction had been more creative. Was this the result of relying too much on CGI?

The Movie is Not The Novel

It's been two years since I've read the original novel by Michael Crichton, so I might not remember the details clearly, but it contained a certain message. He portrayed the habits of dinosaurs more extensively than in his first novel and even unraveled the dinosaur extinction theory with his novel ideas. In that sense, the book was less of a story and more of an academic study on dinosaurs. It also carried poignant criticisms and messages, such as warnings about technology and human society. As a fan of Crichton who was aware of the original novel, this film adaptation with its strong giant monster movie flavor left me dissastisfed.

About Michael Crichton

My introduction Michael Crichton was naturally The Andromeda Strain. Since then I've read all of his novels and essays that were translated to Japanese, including his work under the John Lange penname, all the way up to Airframe, with the exception of Eaters of the Dead. Crichton is one of the few authors whom I buy the first edition hardcovers from without hesitation. I've also seen many of the films he has directed such as Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery, Runaway and even Looker. I like him as a filmmaker, even if he hasn't been holding the megaphone lately.

The Appeal of Crichton

Perhaps Crichton's appeal is that he has a visionary focus, creates a chaotic reality that is difficult to distinguish what is fact from fiction and skillfully embeds valuable information that few people know into his entertainment. The amount of data based on ideas and meticulous research is skillfully blended into products of entertainment. I aspire for the same thing Michael Crichton does in the games that I want to make. That's how I developed Snatcher and Policenauts, and it's the same thing with the upcoming Metal Gear Solid. The reason why I'm so fixated over creating a backstory or universe that doesn't really affect how a game works is because I want to get those aspects right.

Is A Fiction That Exceeds Reality Possible?

Lately there have been novels written by doctors, former mercenaries and even active policemen that ended up becoming hits. The realism and persuasiveness of such works is not something an average novelist can compete with just their imagination alone. Even I realized that when watching ER, a TV series that Michael Crichton created. What you create with knowledge will end up being completely different from what you create without. That's why asked for military advisor Motosada Mori to supervise the action and backstory in Metal Gear Solid. Recently, alongside Mr. Mori, we were able to gather research at a SWAT drill and a military base, where even saw an M1 tank. I think I was able to understand some things with such experience that I wouldn't able to from working at a desk alone. With Metal Gear Solid I hope I will able to create a video game with a Crichton-like aspect to it and not be lost in direction.

Source: Game Hihyо̄ Vol. 16 (September 1997), page 58-59

[art-now-india]

WALL OF EXOTIC FLOWERS, Baljit Chadha

FLOWERMAN CREATED A WORLD RECORD http://baljitchadha.blogspot.in The exhibition with the most paintings of flowers in the world This certificate is given by WORLD RECORD ASSOCIATION / LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS-INDIA -2014 Baljit-chadha.artistwebsites.com http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&videoid=fCTt1B51fJA http://www.1wra.org/index.php/Worldrecord/detail/id/1241 MY NEW SERIES ZEN MOKSHA FLOWERS/ MANN FLOWERS/MIYOKO FLOWERS /BALJIT’S IKEBANA A PURE HEAVENLY GIFT FOR YOU FRIENDS N RELATIVES • THESE ZEN-MOKSH FLOWERS ARE CREATED WITH A SENSE OF GIVING INNER PEACE,TRANQUILITY, HAPPINESS, SOLACE AND A SENSE OF FULFILMENT, ONENESS WITH THE SUPREME. • I HAVE TRIED TO BRING THEASE ELEMENTS IN MY PAINTINGS,THE FLOWERS YOU SEE DON’T EXISTS, THE MOVMENTS OF MY HANDS,FLOW OF COLORS ARE THE GIFT OF ALMIGHTY GOD. • ZEN-JAPANEASE ZEN IS A SPIRTUAL INSPIRATION; THEY ARE PURE EXPRESSION OF ARTIST’S SPIRITUAL AWARENESS. JAPANEASE ZEN ART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MEANT TO TOUCH PEOPLE FAR AND WIDE. ZEN PAINTINGS ARE OF GREAT POWER, PURE, AND TOUCHING DEEP IN THE HEART, MIND AND SOUL. • MOKSHA- Freedom from life circle. Moksha is attained by dis identification with the body and mind, which are temporary and subject to change, and realization of our true identity Moksh is positive concept in two important ways. First it stands for the realization of the ultimate Reality, a real enlightenment. The mukta is not just free from this or that, It is the master of sense and self, fearless and devoid of rancor, upright yet humble, treating all creatures as if they were he himself, wanting nothing, clinging to nothing. In Sikhism one rises from the life of do’s and don'ts to that of perfection — a state of "at-one-ment" with the All-self. Secondly, the mukta is not just a friend for all, he even strives for their freedom as well. He no longer lives for himself, he lives for others. • APPRICIATIONS • Very interesting work Baljit, the spontaneity, the original technique and the spiritual journey! • i hear music from your flower paintings. What a happy movement! • Baljit! I appreciate that! You have a grand body of work here that shows me some Van Gogh, Miro and Monet and countless others within your style and creativeness. A magnificent talent to behold and appreciate! Keep it up! • I like the original exposition of your beautiful artwork. • Beautiful, cheerful, great colors! • Very fine expressive all Your floral art, not usual • Simply beautiful .It is with great pride and pleasure that I am FEATURING your artwork this week on our special edition of our TOP FEATURES on the Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery Homepage. Your work shows expertise and love in the presentation of this fine art piece. Thanks much for sharing your works with us and being a member of our family of friends and fine artists in our WFS group. Aboard. Liked, Forever .This series is enchanting Baljit, all wonderful visions. Masterful use of your colors creating serene energy. .Baljit, I love these stalks of beauty is a true honor and privilege to FEATURE this creative and wondrous piece of art work on the WFS site, from one of our honored and prestigious members. This awesome piece of beauty is what we are looking for to promote and let others see, including other artists and potential customers, as your works are some of the Best of the Best in my Book! Thanks much for sharing this beauty with us. Liked Forever, Elvisty and love the colors of the floral stems. • • PROFILE • Baljit Singh Chadha • • I grew up as a curious, investigative child helped by my parents’ encouragement to explore and to learn without fear and hesitation. The wonder and awe in God’s creation always held me spell bound. I ploughed my curiosity through love of creation and creativity. At a young age of nineteen years I sailed to a land called Japan that has for long centuries been spiritually bound with India. Like a sleepy rose the petals of my creativity opened as I drank like a honey-bee the nectar of ancient and highly evolved culture of Japan. Japanese art of painting is high meditation in feel and in expression. My Japanese godmother Ms Otha Miyoko a great Japanese artist was my first teacher. She affected my style and expression early on. My journey in art continued and I evolved a style of art that has minimal gap in feeling and expression. Rapidity and quickness of expression in my art comes from the well of inner spirituality. My art is not planned, thought-out and cerebral it is based on spontaneity. Abstract Expressionism is a wider term and my art follows it in variegated dimensions. In my art I experiment with different painting instruments and techniques. My dependence on brushwork is rather limited. I frequently and freely use spatulas, wooden sticks, masking, and sand-mix, push bottles and what comes handy in the moment. I use acrylic with mix media. I have developed acrylic based glazes that were possible earlier only with oil paints. The glazes impart a charm similar to enamel glazes. I created a new technique called ( FLOAT ON COLORS). My art journey finds depth and width in continuous experimentation, forays into the unknown and choosing challenging metaphors of expression. I did an installation (Wall of Divine flowers) with 12000 painting on 12-12-12-12hrs-12mnts-12sec at Zorba in New Delhi and donated entire collection to Smile Foundation New Delhi, for a girl child education. Where my art journey will take me next I leave to higher forces. Presently I offer you ZEN MOKSHA FLOWERS /MANN FLOWERS/MIYOKO FLOWERS AND WALL OF HEAVENLY FLOWERS as my next creations. Group Shows;- Newyork, Singapore, • Canvas Art Gallery , Nehru Place, Delhi 2006 • Studio Vasant, Vasant Vihar New Delhi, 2006, 2007 • Prabhat NGO, New Delhi, 2007 • Nithari, Canvas Art Gallery, 2007 • Sahaj Sankalp, Habitat Centre, New Delhi , 2008 • Aspiration, Charity show at Epicenter Gurgaon, 2008 • New Finds, Singapore, 2008 • Group Show at World Fine Art Gallery, New York, 2008 • Reverberation Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 2008 • Art for Prabhat Presents 'The Eternal Circle' MAY-2009 • Art Ponixs Mumbai-2013 Solo Show • Studio Vasant, New Delhi, 2006,2007 • Studio Vasant, New Delhi 2008 • DLF Mall, Saket, New Delhi 2009 • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI-2011 • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI-2012 • WALL OF DEVINE FLOWERS-ZORBA,NEWDELHI 2012(world record) • WALL OF EXOTIC FLOWERS-EPI CENTRE GURGAON-2013 • HOME& interior expo, EPI centor.GURGAON-2013 • Independence day Celebration-EPI CENTRE-2013 • Art-Phonix-NEHRU CENTRE MUMBAI-2014 Artist friend Baljit S. Chadha has a lasting honeymoon with flowers in his artistic expression. He paints sometimes with frugality of a Zen master. I can understand that as he had his early training in painting in Japan where he lived and studied as a teenager and had the benefit of the tutelage of great Japanese masters. But his present series on flowers nonplussed me with wonder and joy. He has in the present works a new dimension and a new personality of flowers that I have not seen before. This is because he has distilled the expression from his inner joy and happiness that is the essence of flowers per se and not from their forms. His flowers have a nearly expressionistic, abstract persona. He uses a watercolour like free flow of colour and tonalities to invest his work with a sensual poetry. His works are acrylic on paper and therefore amenable to idiosyncratic overflows that lends a fresh charm to his oeuvre. Another landmark quality of Baljit’s new works is that they are rendered in fiery shiny glazes. As we know glazes are traditionally done in oil paint medium. But Baljit has worked them with acrylic colour and without the use of pure impasto. The colours diluted with water float and embrace each other and still have lustrous intensity. Baljit Chadha has created a fresh stylistic edifice and his creative expression jumps from the visible-familiar to spiritually felt flowers in a divine Eden. Viktor Vijay Kumar Director Curator European Artists’ Association Germany • ART IS IMAGINATION/ART IS DREAMING/ART IS INOVATION/ART IS THINKING/ART IS CRAETIVITY/ART IS EMOTIONS/ART IS SUPPORT/ART IS COMBINATION OF MATERIALS/ART IS CONCEPT/ART IS TO DO SOME THING DIFFERENT/ART IS TO EXPLORE AND ART IS FOR EVERYONE TO DO AND ENJOY All images © Baljit Chadha All rights reserved. Copying and/or distributing without my permission is strictly prohibited.

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-WALL-OF-EXOTIC-FLOWERS/392880/2559933/view

[obfuscobble]

SO I got my hands on the Japan Animator Expo 2015 collection and I thought it a good time to rate each short because I have some very concise opinions.

1. Dragon Dentist 4/5 Girl volunteers to be a dragon's dentist in the midst of a war. Inventive, compelling, beautiful.  Works incredibly well as a short, managing to tell a story far longer than its timeframe without leaving us wondering what happened or what will happen.  A very strong start to the collection.

2. Hill Climb Girl 3/5 Girl wants to be a great bicyclist, and the first step is beating her friend up the hill to school. Pretty good for cel-shaded computer modelling.  If you like Yowamushi Pedal, you'll like this.  Not stand-out but it's an endearing.

3. ME!ME!ME! 4/5 Boy gets dunked on by his own objectification of women. A truly stand out music video not just for this collection but within the genre.  That said, you do have to rewatch it closely to glean its themes and true place as a condemnation of misogyny as seen through the self empowerment male fantasies used by the boy to combat his own misogynistic fear of female desire and deep shame over his otaku life.  And there is quite a lot of female objectification in his life.

4. Carnage 3/5 Gunslinging girl seeks revenge for her family and her arm. Great attention paid to the one armed gunslinging.  The conclusion openly and somberly lays out what will happen next as this old town must pay for its sins, even if it perpetuates the cycle of girls losing those they love.

5. Gundam key animation 1/5 Literally the key animation drawings from Gundam shown side to side with the classic footage. Pretty cool for animation nerds and gundam fans but otherwise not really compelling as a storytelling vehicle.  I have to take off points on that account, but it is really worth a watch to see the keys.

6. 20 min from Nishi Ogikubo Station 0/5 not actually 20 min long. Just kidding! 4/5 woman turns into a cockroach, much to man's dismay. The sketchy art style, soft colouring, and jittery movement add perfectly to the piece's theme, making them obviously intentional choices.  The piece is still fluidly put together, with inventive plays on human/cockroach interaction and the how's of being so small.  The woman as cockroach is envisioned naked, but I feel that this is presented in a naturalistic (ie she just shrunk out of her clothes) and not at all prurient way.  Didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did!

7. until You come to me 1/5 Oh Shinji boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling. Shinji silently misses Kaworu or five minutes. I mean I don't blame him but... Nothing happens, and if one has no inkling about Evangelion, this short has absolutely NO meaning.

8. Tomorrow from There 3/5 Woman avoids responsibilities, calls from her mom, and the creeping sense of adult dread, until she reconnects with her inner sense of joy. A wonderful counterpoint to ME!ME!ME! that focuses on universal human fears and dilemmas, without objectifying women.  Uplifting with a powerul backing song.  But I have to be honest and say that its visuals aren't going to stick with me as powerfully.

9. Electronic Superhuman Gridman 3/5 You are a human with the capacity for joy and wonder, so you will appreciate this heartfelt ode to super sentai live action and robot anime. Comes complete with character design details to reflect the rubber suits and even the tiny screw to hold on the back of a model's head.  Has nice internal logic about the Gridman.exe who fights monsters with the power of the electrical grid, such as circuit power ups and smashing a tv screen to get at the enemy.  Even for those unfamiliar with the tropes, it's just a fun 6 minutes.

10. Yamadeloid 3/5 An ode to historical fighter anime with neat brush-line visuals and fitting soundtrack. But it just didn't grab me by my heart's cockles like Gridman did, probably coming entirely down to what shows I grew up on.  It was also a lot more fourth wall breaking, which is entirely subjective for one's enjoyment, even from one short to another as you'll see.  So I'd like to give it a 2, but I know that nostalgia was the only thing inflating Gridman to a 3, so I'll be fair.

11. Power Plant No 33 2/5 What if we just... turned off our millenial facebook phones... and really lived.... yanno? The instantly gripping visuals of a society powered by a beast that creates electricity, which must then go on to fight a space robot, are immediately undermined by the totes not subtle digs against modern technology.  I get it, technology is literally a destructive beast.  I get it, we should unplug and learn to live freely.  The animation was great but the moral was giving me the feeling that I should get off a luddite's lawn.

12. Evangelion Another Impact Confidential 2/5 Tall woman looks for her daughter, finds hostile wasteland. But what a woman!

13. Kanón 3/5 A Japanese take on a Slavic philosophic parody of Jewish folk mythology, or, "On Solipsism." Actually fascinating as a piece.  It moves very very quickly though, leaving little time for the jokes and philosophy to set in, but I feel the frantic pace was meant to reinforce the confused, overworked, utterly helpless feelings that the main character was experiencing.  The fourth wall break right at the end completely charmed me and even elevated the piece.  Loses points for the inherent misogyny of the novel it was based on, but otherwise worth a watch for the curious, and one of the most interesting Japanese takes on Judaeo-Christian tradition I've seen.

14. Sex & Violence with Machspeed 0/5 Just because you admit that you're being gross for gross' sake doesn't mean you're not gross. Look I could get into it, but I just hated this one.  If you liked Panty and Stocking, maybe give it a try.

15. Obake-chan 3/5 A series of charming shorts about a girl who wants to be a spoopy ghost.

16. Tokio of the Moon's Shadow 4/5 Boy who has, I goddamn assure you, THE. SHINIEST. eyes in the universe saves earth and his radio penpal from a space creature. Come for the innovative mix of animation styles, stay for the dance sequence.  Just watch it.

17. Three Fallen Witnesses 2/5 Ambition: the Anime. Like seriously, this is the 3d animation equivalent of the Ambition games.  It's also a very ambitious premise, based on prosecuting attorneys using "DNA time travel" to gain evidence on a murder case.  Alas, I really feel it should have had longer to play in its world and the case itself.

18. The Diary of Ochibi 3/5 Edible stop motion is here!

19. I Can Friday by Day! 5/5 Tiny space squirrels fight tiny space rabbits, each piloting robot teenagers. Highly creative, wondrously fun, and yet with a good plot and even characterisation to hold it together past the visuals.  I'd love to see this as a short series, as I feel the premise, world, and character sketches could easily be filled out into a humourous and yet compelling larger narrative.

20a. ME!ME!ME! Chronic 1/5 Basically a remix.  Lacking the narrative of the original hurts it because then its just boobs and yonic symbolism and the guns that shoot them.  Still good music.

20b. The Making of Evangelion Another Impact Confidential 1/5 Interesting if you want to see how the short was designed and technically compiled.

21. Iconic Field 2/5 Never try to fit 13 episodes into 6 minutes. This is obviously angling to become a longer syndicated series but not only did they rush too many of their ideas and subplots into it, but they obviously ran out of money and production time.  Some shots are replaced with concept sketches, and there was no voice acting when clearly it was intended to be present.  It's creative in its character and mecha design, but the plot is another riff on the seeded earth hypothesis whose unanimated conclusion you can still see a mile away.

22. On a Gloomy Night Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! Nippon Banzai! 1/5 Never try to fit 13 episodes into 6 minutes using Auld Lang Syne as your backing track.

23. Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen 1/5 Honestly not sure how to classify this one.  It's about a sex worker, it's presented with a quite effective animation style, but in the end it's all about the sex worker accepting abuse from another as her tragic role in the world. Ehn.

24. Rapid Rouge 4/5 In the world of the techno-daimyo, there is only loss. BRILLIANT use of a limited colour palette.  Loses one point due to not fully delivering on the emotional character-sacrifice punch it wanted and for being unartfully open ended.  If it delivers on a second episode like it promises, I might amend my opinion.  It was so close to being perfect, yet didn't manage to get me to care enough about its characters in its short run time, unlike...

25. Hammerhead 5/5 Highly violent, yes, but emotionally impactful to the extreme; I cried both times I've watched it. Update: three times. Wonderful traditional animation, powerful emotional centre, and perhaps the best animation I've ever seen to portray a human's physical demeanour in deep emotional distress.  I absolutely recommend watching this.

26. Conte Hitman 3/5 Manzai routine with clever twists and turns.  Porque no los dos, the sketch.

[bccity]

AUGUST 2018 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Note: As always, individual schedules are up to roleplayers within reason. Any major individual schedules, especially those related to points claims, should be cleared with the main first. These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall company

The company concerts are on the schedule for the end of the month, and it’s planned to be a show of company unity. There will be intensive rehearsals for the month leading up to it.

Reminder: Following the news of the lawsuit with Goeun, BC has made it clear to all idols under them that speaking about the lawsuit publicly (be it through interviews, variety shows, or social media) is strictly prohibited.

August Company Schedules:

August 23-25: BC City concerts at Seoul World Cup Stadium. (event)

Decipher

As album promotions come to an end, BC is impressed with the success of the group’s comeback results, confirming their belief that they can rely on Decipher’s already established fanbase and some general public attention here and there to keep Decipher a great asset to the company. After promotions, the group will be informed of the two tracks chosen to be added to the repackage, but BC is currently looking at a late year release for it and the group will have some time in between to focus on individual schedules again.

August Group Schedules:

August 2: Performance at Korea Music Festival Day 2 at Gocheok Sky Dome.

August 16: End of music show promotions.

August 18: Performance at Leisure Chuncheon K-Pop Mega Concert in Chuncheon. 

(September 1: Performance at Incheon K-Pop Concert.)

Decipher V & R

Despite early talks regarding a possible Decipher V comeback earlier in the year, focus has shifted to the full group now following the success of their last comeback and a comeback for either sub-unit is not currently planned.

August Group Schedules: On break.

BEE

News about going forward with the anticipated fall comeback is still as scarce as ever even as the VLive series the group filmed back in June airs this month. Mid-month, BC will announce plans for an Asia fanmeet tour for BEE beginning in September after a wake up call from BEE’s falling fanclub numbers and brand power, largely thanks to their inactivity. Unfortunately, it seems BC has stuck to the strategy of capitalizing off of existing fanbase of its older groups with them, too.

August Group Schedules:

August 5: First episode of BEE: Travel to Thailand special reality series airs on VLive.

August 12: Second episode of BEE: Travel to Thailand special reality series airs on VLive.

August 19: Third episode of BEE; Travel to Thailand special reality series airs on VLive.

August 20-21: Mate Tea CF filming.

August 26: Final episode of BEE; Travel to Thailand special reality series airs on VLive.

(September 8: Performance at HallyuPopFest at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, Singapore.)

(September 15: Fanmeeting at The Mall Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand.)

Knight

BC has plans for another album and potential repackage by the end of the year, but the release is slated for closer to the fourth quarter, so members are in and out of the studio mostly only for demos and early recordings this month while the company’s focus is on other groups. The schedule might have been exciting for Knight’s seniors, but it’s business as usual for them.

*Their image with the public has been steadily improving and there’s talk they may be permitted to move out of their dorm around the time of their next comeback if this continues.

August Group Schedules:

August 1: Performance at Korea Music Festival Day 1 at Gocheok Sky Dome.

August 2: Member Taeyong releases non-promoted BC Portal single “New Heroes”.

August 4: Member Joonsoo releases album pre-release single “One Summer” featuring WISH’s Thalia.

August 6: The Return of Knight in Bangkok event with Nature Republic in Bangkok, Thailand.

August 10: THE KNIGHT WAR tour at Cotai Arena in Macau.

August 11: Member Joonsoo releases debut solo album “Eyes, Nose, Lips” + music video for title track + has album showcase and begins solo promotions, solo promotions continue until September 11.

August 11: THE KNIGHT WAR tour at Cotai Arena in Macau.

August 12: Performance at KCON LA in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

August 25: Member Joonsoo releases music video for b-side track “The Little Prince” off of solo album.

August 26: Performance at A-Nation concert in Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

(September 1: Performance at Incheon K-Pop Concert.)

(September 2: Performance at Incheon Airport Sky Festival.)

(September 15: Performance at KBS Music Bank in Berlin, Germany.)

White Knight

White Knight is mostly on break after wrapping their Japanese activities, save for two fan meets this month.

August Group Schedules:

August 3: Summer Vacation fanmeeting at Korea University Hwajeong Tiger Dome.

August 4: Summer Vacation fanmeeting at Korea University Hwajeong Tiger Dome.

(September 9: Performance at Spectrum Dance Music Festival at Jamsil Olympic Stadium.)

Lipstick

Strong results from this comeback have the higher-ups surprisingly pleased with the comeback. “Bingle Bangle” is doing better on the charts than the group’s last comeback, which will be heavily media-played to play up the group’s strength even without Goeun. Things look a lot more positive for the group than they did last December and there’s even talks of a possible tour in the works.

August Group Schedules:

August 2: Performance at Korea Music Festival Day 2 at Gocheok Sky Dome.

August 6: Morning radio show appearance.

August 7-8: Photoshoot for September Issue of Marie Claire.

August 30: End of music show promotions.

August 30: Soribada Best K-Music Awards.

(September 1: Performance at Incheon K-Pop Concert.)

(September 4: To Vanity fanmeeting at Sungkyunkwan University New Millenium Hall.)

(September 7: Performance at HallyuPopFest at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, Singapore.)

Lip Gloss

There are no immediate plans for the rest of the year for Lip Gloss now that Love City promotions have ended.

August Group Schedules: On break.

CHARM

Every comeback is a big deal, but with this one in particular, there’s talks of finally being free of their company debt if everything goes well with promotions and their upcoming tour dates, so the importance of delivering good results has been stressed to the members.

August Group Schedules:

August 12: Performance at KCON LA in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

August 14: Filming for Idol Room episode.

August 20: Release of “Oh My” & You Make My Day repackaged/special album showcase, promotions continue until September 20 with variety show and music show appearances.

August 20: Idol Sports Athletic Championship Chuseok Special filming.

August 21: Airing of Idol Room episode.

August 22: Morning radio show appearance.

August 26: Morning radio show appearance.

August 30: Fansign in Hanam.

August 31: Ideal Cut Tour concert at Asia World Expo Arena in Hong Kong.

(September 2: Fansign in Yeouido.)

(September 4: Ideal Cut Tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.)

(September 5: Ideal Cut Tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.)

(September 6: Ideal Cut Tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.)

WISH

WISH’s schedule is packed this month, as is to be expected of their comeback month. Their Japanese album drops next month and they also begin their Japanese arena tour, so final preparations, including further Japanese lessons, are underway parallel to their Korean comeback.

August Group Schedules:

Preparations for Japanese arena tour throughout month.

August 1: Performance at Korea Music Festival Day 1 at Gocheok Sky Dome.

August 3: Performance on Asahi Music Station in Japan.

August 4: Member Thalia features on pre-release single “One Summer” by Knight’s Joonsoo.

August 7: Filming for Idol Room episode.

August 11: Performance at KCON LA in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

August 13: Release of “Dance The Night Away” & Summer Nights repackaged/special album showcase, promotions continue until September 13 with variety show and music show appearances.

August 13: “Dance The Night Away” special V Live.

August 14: Airing of Idol Room episode.

August 14: Morning radio show appearance.

August 15: Morning radio show appearance.

August 16: Morning radio show appearance.

August 17: Morning radio show appearance.

August 18: WISHland Zone 2 - Fantasy Park concert at Thunder Dome in Bangkok, Thailand.

August 20: Idol Sports Athletic Championship Chuseok Special filming.

August 21: Fansign in Sangnam.

August 27: Fansign in Hanam.

August 30: Soribada Best K-Music Awards.

August 31: Appearance on Asahi Music Station in Tokyo, Japan.

(September 1: Performance at the 27th Tokyo Girls Collection (Autumn/Winter) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.)

(September 2: WISHland Zone 2 - Fantasy Park concert at Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Jakarta, Indonesia.)

(September 8: Performance at DMC Festival Concert.)

(September 12: Release of Japanese album, BDZ.)

(September 15: Live appearance on Shibuta Note in Japan.)

Soloist 1

Though her comeback was originally anticipated for this month, emphasis on WISH and Lipstick’s summer comebacks in particular have gotten it pushed back due to their higher priority and a September release date is currently on the table.

August Schedules:

Comeback preparations throughout month.

(September 1: Performance at Incheon K-Pop Concert.)

Soloist 2

Slow album preparations are underway as usual with more progress being made toward a possible finalized concept and basic track list.

August Schedules:

No current public schedules.

Soloist 3

BC seems to be prioritizing its groups far more than their soloists as his single and album gets pushed back once again for further work.

August Schedules:

Finishing album and single work throughout the month..

Soloist 4

Other than the company concert, he’s on a break and will mostly be dealing with private meetings regarding concepts and tracklists for his first comeback, which BC would like to happen before the end of the year.

August Schedules:

August 30: Soribada Best K-Music Awards.

[anwo-prinz]

ALA Artist Alley post-con writeup

Here’s my general experience from tabling & what I plan to do going forward. Photos also included after the cut. Long post.

So, overall I had a pretty good experience. It was my first western/American artist alley experience, I was curious to try it out after my circle experience for Comic Market 92. Skip this section and scroll down if you just wanna see photos (these are just reposted from twitter though).

The Good:

Had quite a few followers + friends stop by to buy stuff! Thank you so much, seriously - I really appreciated the support because my table would have been dead otherwise..! I also met some GBF artists which made me so happy! 

Felt really great to see people have a positive reaction to my merch, just laughing or smiling at the Salty tote or Dont @ Me shirt. My best seller was the shirt & the mugs sold out quite quickly. I sold a decent number of coasters (though I still have way too many lol). 

Was a huge learning experience and I feel like all my prepration for organizing & promoting my goods paid off! 

Tabling made it really easy for friends to find me - something that isn’t common at cons, usually. People are usually all over the place. 

So much space! The pavilion tent was a good choice overall. There was lots of room to walk around for attendees to browse casually since it wasn’t crowded or narrow. Also, even behind the tables there was a lot of space to spread our stuff out as artists! It was also climate controlled & A/C so I appreciated it not being too hot and dank.

AA staff was really cool - the organizer even stopped by my table to apologize about all the miscommunication and bad reactions. They also gave out water to us, and one of my friends was staff so he checked up on me every now and then.

The Bad:

The hours were so long... Friday & Saturday, it was open 10AM-7PM, then Sunday 10AM-5PM. I stayed most of the time and I was very exhausted, and doing it back-to-back for 3 days was rough. I wasn’t used to it, and the chairs were uncomfortable. Plus I didn’t have a table partner... I was also mentally exhausted from having to try to smile & be outgoing with conversation for so long. I’m normally not used to so much interaction face-to-face. 

The strong winds on Sunday were really alarming! The whole tent was shaking, the support beams even creaking and moving a bit. It also got pretty chilly at nighttime. 

I felt like a lot of the buyers for western artists are still very print-focused consumers? Or perhaps it’s because I’m a new artist without an established western following (I’d say my following is very small/niche due to my fandoms). I was selling coasters/mugs & tote bags/shirts, which I mistakenly thought would do pretty well (I overestimated myself on the bags & coasters). But most of the people who bought stuff from my table seemed to be people who were referred or knew me already, not really any impulse buyers. I thought my prices were quite fair ($5 coaster, $15 tote, and $22 shirt). But people would still have rather bought $15 prints, it seemed. Perhaps there was just a lot of competition because of how many artists were there, so people had to spend money really carefully. 

Another thing is that even though people liked my stuff, I think it was harder to sell because the customers browsing might not have felt any attachment to the characters of my merch. Like I thought the Kaede rubber strap would do better but not many people bought it probably because they didn’t know the character, the Narmaya charm did OK though. 

Doing stuff from Granblue Fantasy & iDOLM@STER when the fandom isn’t too popular in the west is pretty hard. However, there’s a small but dedicated fan base which helped a lot. A few iM@S Producers stopped by my table, and I was happy to chat with fellow GBF fans who were burnt out after fire guild wars!

In conclusion...

I did make enough from sales to cover all my expenses and also make a bit of profit (surprising especially as a 1st time tabling artist at a western con) so I feel pretty good about it! However, doing the 3-days-in-a-row thing was absolutely awful. I think I’ll stick to single-day events from now on, even if they’re just small events. No Fanime or Anime Expo for me. 

I still plan on making stuff from GBF/iM@S just because those are my 2 main fandoms, I don’t really want to expand to making merch for series I’m not super passionate about even if it’d sell better. Just not my style. I am into Type Moon so maybe I’ll also make some FGO stuff on the side too, but not as a main focus. 

I’m glad I did have a waitlist open for people who wanted to buy leftover goods, I have a decent amount of stuff that people asked for. I plan to open an online store too (after setting aside some stock for Ronin Expo, just a 1-day event in June in Los Angeles). I want to design more merch! Especially shirts and mugs. Also want to draw another book.

Feels like doing Comike spoiled me for doing cons though... I really would love to try to do an only-event like Cool Star Festiv@l in Japan or another Comike (maybe winter?). Maybe I’ll try it for the future! 

Photos!

My table set-up! You can see an example of how the table looks behind me, which is just bare and white, with 2 chairs. The PVC pipe set up, the wire stands, hangers, blue tablecloth, bookstands, etc, are all stuff I brought from home (I got most of the stuff via home depot or daiso). It’s similar to Comike, you just get that little half table and some chairs; the rest you have to bring to set up for yourself. 

Close-up for the price tags too.

The 4 shikishis I drew during the convention (3 were commissions, the other was just for fun)!

Lastly, some merch trades I did with new friends! 

Sticker sheet: twitter/alyssaucy or tumblr/peachfuel

Neko Lancey keychain: tumblr/deerscritches

Lancelot+Siegfried rose keychain: tumblr/mitikokite

[x0401x]

Violet Evergarden World Tour Interview

Los Angeles Anime Expo 2017 Edition with Director Ishidate Taichi

← Event Report || Index || Next →

——At last, the worldwide premiere in which the anime “Violet Evergarden” can be watched in advance has started. How was the first one at Anime Expo 2017 in America’s Los Angeles?

Ishidate: It’s a large-scale event where hardcore American fans gather, several of whom became interested in “Violet Evergarden” (“Violet” for short) out of the works that would be displayed in it, so being able to directly witness the responses of the people that had walked all the way to the screening hall was a trite but also very valuable experience. Amongst the guests, there were many who already knew the name of the “Kyoto Animation” company and the original literary piece of “Violet”.

I had somewhat imagined it would be a Comic Event like the ones in Japan, so while I had been wondering, “Would there be many adults?”, it turned out that lots of families with children attended, which surprised me. One more thing that had me shocked was that screenings and exhibits were happening all night long. It was upright in the good sense; an event with an American-like freedom to it.

——In the stage event that was the premiere’s screening, the first episode of the TV anime “Violet Evergarden” was run. How was everyone’s reaction?

Ishidate: Compared to the Japanese, American people’s expressions are richer in emotions, so although I had imagined it would be something lively like, “Oh, my God!”, it was extremely quiet as a whole, and gave off a feeling that everyone was very focused in the video.

One thing that wasn’t expected was when they laughed while clapping their hands at scenes that would make one think, “You’re laughing at that!?” (lol). “So this is the reaction of people from a different culture~?” I thought, and it was refreshing.

In addition, we got a “Nice!” and a thumbs-up from a local staff member who was in the backstage of the screening. After that person had left, they came back to show us the screen of their phone. In it was written “that’s a truly good anime” in Japanese, which made me happy. Another local staff member courteously commented something like, “Your event was the best!”, and made me think that they had probably enjoyed it.

—— After the premiere screening, a panel discussion was held to answer questions from the audience. Were there any remarkable ones?

Ishidate: I, Ishikawa Yui-san, who plays the role of Violet, and TRUE-san, who is in charge of the OP theme “Sincerely”, went up on stage for this. Perhaps because many of the people who had come to the venue had interest in the creators, there were several questions about the production.

Something funny was when we were suddenly asked, “When does the second season start?” (lol). “You only just watched the first episode, though!?” is what I thought, but my answer was, “If we receive everyone’s support...” (lol). Also, there was a question like, “This story seems to be set in a fictional continent, so will various countries and places appear from now on?”, which showed how they were consistently watching the main story. Maybe some have read the novels.

——TRUE-san, who had come up the stage with you, did the world’s first live show of the opening song “Sincerely”. How did you like listening to it?

Ishidate: I watched the live from a corner of the stage, but I think it really was good. I thought it was an even more wonderful song than when listening to it through a sound generator, and it earnestly gave me courage like, “I also have to do my best even more!”. Once again, I was able to take in the thoughts and stance towards the original work that TRUE-san put into the song, and it gave me feelings that tensed my spirit, so after the live, I ended up saying, “I’ll seriously do my best!” to TRUE-san without thinking.

While listening to the song, I thought to myself, “I have to hurry and write down... the art contents of the opening...” (lol).

——With what kind of perspective did you tackle the TV anime “Violet Evergarden”?

Ishidate: The TV anime “Violet” is a work made from a novel that won first place at the fifth “Kyoto Animation Grand Prize”. It was selected to be published as a two-volume literary collection of the KA Esuma Bunko, and its composition as a novel was arranged anew. Back when I read its manuscript for the “Kyoto Animation Grand Prize”, I was strongly drawn to this work and thought, “It’d be great if it were animated someday”.

The novel is a compilation of stories, and was pictured firstly as independent chapters about Violet’s relationship with the clients of her job as amanuensis, clearly morphing into an opus about Violet’s own personal backstory little by little. The media diverges from novel to anime, and it’s exactly because it’s a novel that it’s difficult to find a method of applying its life depictions into a TV series, so we are formulating the story as such. In order to make it into an interesting work with a continuous storyline, I talked with the story composer and scriptwriter Yoshida Reiko-san, and we decided to write the story of the girl named Violet in chronological order.

In the anime, we wrote about the figure of “Violet, who is an existence as innocent as a baby”, getting to know precious things little by little after meeting with many people. I think those who will watch it should see with their own eyes the growth of Violet as if she were watching over their own small daughter.

——What would be the charm of Violet as an individual?

Ishidate: I think Violet’s charm is her beauty as a primitive human being. I believe humans become more or less distorted as they turn into adults. There are societal responsibilities and various situations we must face, so we can’t forever remain only with feelings as untainted as those of children. But I think it’s marvelous – and even admire it – when one is always able to purely express non-rational sentiments, such as “this is beautiful” or “I want to do that”.

In order to validate this condition of primitive human being of Violet’s, we wrote about her with an ideal of “humans are supposed to be beautiful at first”. It’s not that I want to insist out loud that bare-plain humans are beautiful, but I’d be happy if we made people think, “Somehow, Violet’s lifestyle isn’t so bad”.

——After finishing the production of one episode, the first premiere screening also ended successfully. What’s the feedback?

Ishidate: The feedback... honestly, it’s hard for me to say anything myself. It’s up to those who watched it to say whether it was fun or not, so I think it’s not my place to say anything about that. As someone who is in the production, I’m like, “I wonder if people will think it’s interesting if we do this...” all the while making it through trial and error, but by the time we’d finished writing the contents of the first episode, we came to the conclusion of, “It’s a somber story, but with this, it will be fun!”. That impression didn’t change even after seeing the completed animation. It wasn’t easy to produce it, but I was happy when the art director said, “I’m satisfied”.

——Evan Call-san is the one working on the soundtrack. What sort of interchanges do you have?

Ishidate: The sound director, Tsuruoka Youta-san, said that “(the pieces Evan-san composes) are mischievous~ (lol)” and told us that he had this kind of funny reputation (lol). That’s why I’d been looking forward to working together with him. Evan-san joined the production from the second commercial of the original literary work, accepting the invitation of our music producer, and firstly attempted to make an image song as a trial. Rather than something concrete, it conveyed only the image of the production, and leaving it to Evan-san’s own sense as he freely created a tune, it turned out perfectly matching the image of this work.

——In what kinds of points did you feel that?

Ishidate: It was all very challenging. While the noises of typing on typewriters, the rustling sounds of fountain pens and paper, etc. are incorporated in the tracks, the indication that he could come up with a pretty good “trial song” was brilliantly integrated in it, and what’s more, it had a nice feeling to it. I felt he was a person with an artistic vigor and sense. To tell the truth, while some of the background music of the first episode that he made are orthodox, there are also tracks that seem to contain musical elements similar to that of Celtic nations, and I think that the astoundingly detached moderation and good discordancy that come not only from this midst fit the world building of “Violet”.

——Under what circumstances did you choose Ishikawa Yui-san as the role of Violet?

Ishidate: The first time I heard Ishikawa-san’s voice was in a live-action movie, in which she was performing as actress. The impression that she had an unpretentious type of voice remained within me, and at first, we had her give her name as an audition member, but I thought that Ishikawa-san’s voice really matched the image of Violet in comparison to the others. Ishikawa-san surely had acting skills, but she’s also an actress that has the adaptability to accurately surmise the scene directions, and as she was able to promptly correspond to our directions after recording episode one, I thought, “As expected!”. She acts out Violet’s accumulation of delicate emotions rather carefully.

——At the moment, you’re in the middle of producing episode 2 onward. How is that going?

Ishidate: It’s... hard (giggle). The first episode was still easy to write because Violet was “at zero”, but from now on, she will change little by little upon meeting with people. This change is not something symbolic, and I wonder what I should do to properly convey to the spectators that it’s a truly light and subtle thing... moreover, we’re making this production while keeping the multiple stories concurrent, so it’s really a hassle. While checking on episode 6, I got questions regarding episode 3. We, who are in the making of it, almost want status charts for the growth of Violet in each episode, like “kindness: 5” or “level of understanding towards others: 4” (lol). For the production itself, it feels like “the race is only just starting!”.

——From now on, as part of the “World Tour” premiere screening assemblies, screenings will be held throughout the world, including Germany and Singapore. I would like to ask about Los Angeles, which you stopped by this time. Is this director Ishidate’s first time visiting Los Angeles?

Ishidate: Yes. For starters, I hadn’t gone abroad ever since high school when I went to Thailand, so it started with me having to get a new passport (lol). Although I could not afford to enjoy sightseeing in Los Angeles, as I went by car from the airport the Los Angeles Convention Center, I took a freeway that was used for the scenes of a certain movie. At that time, I didn’t really realize this, but after I returned to Japan, I watched a preview of that movie and got excited like, “Ah! I had passed by this place!” (lol).

Also, I’d wanted to see the “Hollywood Sign” since I had come all the way to LA, but it seems that it was a bit far from the venue of Anime Expo, so unfortunately, my wish did not come true... In addition, there were apparently many people who visited LA for “Anime Expo 2017” at the occasion, and when some noticed I was Japanese, they got excited and came to talk to me a lot (lol)...

——Were there any remarkable happenings during your stay?

Ishidate: There were! While I was in the vicinity of the entrance of the hotel I was lodged at, perhaps because she saw that I was wearing an “Anime Expo” pass around my neck and thought that I was part of it, a young woman came to ask me, “Are you an animator?”. I answered, “YES!” and from that, a conversation splurged, up to a point where she told me that her daughter was an anime fan and a cosplayer. We chatted for a while; maybe about an hour (lol).

——Did your words get through?

Ishidate: Unfortunately, I can hardly speak English, so there were many moments in which the talk didn’t get through. No, probably most of what I said wasn’t understood. Whenever the conversation didn’t get through, she would be like “oh, boy~” as if asking the heavens for help (lol), but with the atmosphere and gestures of that moment, I was somehow able to communicate and had a good time. The fact that I could talk naturally with a foreign person about animation became an incredibly wonderful memory.

——Next, you will visit Manheim in Germany to attend “AnimagiC”, which will be held there. Please leave a message for the fans who are looking forward to the upcoming screenings and worldwide airing in January 2018!

Ishidate: I plan to make this into something that will make many people think at least for a little bit, “This was an interesting work”, and every day, we are doing our best as a united staff and, so while we try not to bring our hopes up too much, we still end up having expectations (lol). I’d be the happiest if everyone could warmly watch over the TV anime “Violet Evergarden”! We’ll be in your care!

[albatrosbuildlog]

ALBATROS D.Va BUILD LOG

Build by Brian Colton, Piccadilly South Australia

Kit by Model Expo, Miami

http://modelexpo-online.com/model-airways-albatros-d-va-red-baron-1-16-scale

In my opinion, the best looking fighter of WWI. 

See this Wikipedia article  for more information on this lovely aeroplane.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V 

I had recently built all four of the photo-etch stainless steel 1/32 models by imcth, Japan.   The imcth models got me very interested in the “skeleton” style of models, which show the structure in fine scale detail and have no covering. 

 This is the A6M Zero.

 Internet browsing led me to Model Expo and their 1/16 wooden models of WWI fighters with cast metal parts for engine, weapons, landing gear, etc. 

Having just built four skeleton models in stainless steel, I thought “how hard could it be?” and ordered the Albatros D.Va and Fokker DR1 (strictly speaking, my wife, Maggie, bought them as presents for me!). How little I knew...

Having finished the build, I’ll add some advice on the off chance that a prospective modeller reads this.

Tools & Supplies

I recommend that you have all of these. You could get by with less, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Hobby knives - X-Acto or similar - and a good supply of blades as you should never use a blunt blade. I use a medical scalpel. 

Razor saw - you’ll need this to cut metal tubes and rods without deforming the ends.

Tweezers and pliers and cutters - can’t have too many.

Pin vise and good selection of “micro” bits.

Mini diamond files - the metal parts need a lot of work.

Dremel tool or similar with a selection of accessories.

Finger nail buffers in various “grits”.

Abrasive papers in various “grits”.

Clamps - small through tiny - and electrical alligator clips.

Adhesive tape - single and double sided.

Cotton buds.

Dental micro brushes.

Head-mounted illuminated magnifier - some of the metal parts are extremely tiny.

Building board - mine is chipboard covered in cork tiles.

Silicone baking paper to cover plans on the building board.

Map pins and dress-making pins.

Bamboo skewers.

High quality paint brushes - cheap ones are a waste of money.

Metal primer and hobby paints. You don’t need an airbrush.

Adhesives - i build with cyanoacrylate adhesives (CA or super glue) in extra thin and medium thick plus accelerant (kicker). If you use CA you will need acetone to un-stick parts and fingers. Blutack. 

The instructions call for epoxy from time to time. It's not necessary.

Adhesive applicator - i use a Glue Looper. Google it.

Kicker applicator - I find that a hypodermic syringe works best.

Your boxes of “stuff” - wire, plastic, etc, etc.

Small boxes to hold the metal parts after you take them out of their plastic bags.

Photos of details of “the real thing” from the internet for reference.

Impressions Of The Model & Kit

The finished model exceeded my expectations. It is both an accurate model of a beautiful and significant aeroplane and a beautiful object in its own right.

This kit is certainly not one for the beginner. That being said, I’m no scale modelling expert and I found the build very interesting, often challenging, occasionally infuriating, but immensely enjoyable and rewarding. An experienced aeromodeller who has built a few wood models will be able to cope. 

 This is the first kit in a series of these skeleton models from Model Expo, with technical drawings dated 1997. The drawings are excellent, but the instructions can be a little vague at times. The instruction manual is comprehensive, but not always completely clear. It is profusely illustrated with charming hand-drawn illustrations, but there are no photographs. Sometimes I resorted to logical deduction and inspired guesswork to get through some of the trickier sections. I have Model Expo’s latest Fokker DR1 kit and its instruction manual is much clearer.

The wood and metal are of excellent quality and supplied in generous quantities.

If you plan to stain the wood, do so before assembly. I used a cedar tint.

The metal castings need quite a lot of prep work and are quite soft. Test fit every one. It will need adjusting. Be careful as they bend and break easily.

For unfathomable reasons the kit has cast metal “false nuts and bolts” instead of regular steel items. They are terrible! They bend and break and every nut has to be reamed to fit on the bolts. This is very time-consuming. The threads are imitations and the nuts simply press on to the bolts and have to be glued. I recommend taking some of these to your local hobby shop and getting some replacement nuts and bolts from their R/C section.

Proceed with caution. Read each section carefully and in its entirety before doing any building. Test fit everything before gluing. This is especially important with the castings. 

Try to anticipate the consequences of your actions and so avoid mistakes and rework - although some will be inevitable.

If you break something or just lose it, Model Expo will replace it at no cost.

Use your imagination and make extra parts from scratch.

Take lots of photos as you go.

Have fun!

Chapter 1: Flying surfaces https://albatrosflyingsurfaces.tumblr.com/

Chapter 2: Fuselage framework https://albatrosfuselage.tumblr.com

Chapter 3: Engine https://albatrosengine.tumblr.com

Chapter 4: Fuselage Fit Out https://albatrosfuselagefitout.tumblr.com

Chapter 5: Tail & Undercarriage https://albatrostail.tumblr.com

Chapter 6: Engine Install & Guns https://albatrosguns.tumblr.com

Chapter 7: Final Assembly https://albatrosassembly.tumblr.com

Next the Fokker DR1 Triplane!

http://modelexpo-online.com/model-airways-dr-1-fokker-tri-plane-1-16-scale

[recentanimenews]

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2019

Welcome to the third post of our annual “Staff Picks,” in which the Ani-Gamers team selects some of our favorite anime, manga, and video games of the past year. This time we’re covering anime!

If you’re strictly looking at the anime output of 2019, it was yet another great year. An ambitious second season of Mob Psycho 100, highly anticipated CG productions like Promare and Beastars (still not available on Netflix!), a new music-focused series from Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), and Netflix’s big US-Japan co-production of Cannon Busters, among many others. On top of that, Evangelion made its triumphant return to North America thanks to Netflix, stirring up some new controversy along the way.

Unfortunately, all that good stuff was clouded by the worst anime news in decades: a brutal arson attack at Kyoto Animation that left 36 people dead, 33 more injured, and many of the studio’s production materials and digital backups destroyed. The attack represented not only a major tragedy for the anime industry, but the worst mass murder in post-war Japanese history. The victims included acclaimed veterans like Yoshiji Kigami and countless young artists, many of them just out of college and eager to begin work at their dream job. KyoAni was one of the few studios with a reputation for treating their workers with the dignity that they deserve, making the loss of their talented, passionate staff all the more painful. Thankfully, KyoAni has managed to gather a huge number of donations from fans to support the victims’ families and the studio has resumed production, with the new Violet Evergarden movie scheduled for April 2020.

Below, Ink and Evan have listed some of their favorite anime titles of 2019, covering TV series and movies, action series and comedies. Enjoy, and feel free to chime in with your own 2019 picks in the comments.

Ink

#3: The Magnificent Kotobuki

It’s not that I see this title qualifying as one of the best anime of the year, it’s just that, as a WWII plane otaku and airshow enthusiast, The Magnificent Kotobuki (TMK) is one of my personal favorite anime from this past year. Watching TMK is like watching someone play Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge but with much more attention paid to the planes’ mechanical details and exterior wear as well as some very convincing weight dynamics applied to the dogfights. (The dogfights, by the way, range from intimate 1-on-1’s to squad based to air force against air force (and everything in-between) – all presented in loving detail with so many different angles and approaches that they are definitely the stars of the show.) The characters, save Captain Dodo (the stone-faced badass pictured above), are superfluous, but there’s a fair amount of comedy (mostly stock but some original gags) that works well because of the characters and how they’re used that keeps the show entertaining even when not in the air. The only downside, and it isn’t much of one, is the 3DCG animation used most noticeably for the characters; it stands out like a sore thumb against more organic backgrounds, but not so much as to make the show unwatchable. I looked forward to each episode release every single week.

#2: Wasteful Days of High School Girls

I stand by my original description of Wasteful Days of High School Girls (WDoHSG) as Teekyu x Azumanga Daioh with a load of wit via well-placed running gags and impeccably timed, snarky one-liners. It’s cast is a large ensemble, and the show does well via piecemeal introductions that eventually allow the characters’ traits and tendencies to be expressed and received differently depending on which characters are present – the depiction thereof, as someone prone to excessive compartmentalization, I appreciate quite a bit. Watching people bounce off of other people to varying degrees is great, and the aforementioned timing, crucial to any comedy, is spot-on, but WDoHSG also leverages repetition of animation and situational cuts to great effect. I’d be failing the show completely if I did not mention its AOPOTY (Anime OP of the Year), which consists of an all-female (VA-sung), almost nonsensical, gag-filled rap/pop track ("Wa! Moon! dass! cry!") that initially backs the narrative of a photo-bombing Tanaka as she takes candids of her friends (the cast) and later delves into visual gags and welcome randomness that gets more fun as you get to know the characters. WDoHSG is nothing deep, but it’s a show that consistently makes me belly laugh, and that’s exactly what I needed this year.

#1: Carole & Tuesday

After watching the initial trailer for Shinichiro Watanabe’s new music-focused joint, I was skeptical; the guitar playing animation seemed loose, how much could you do with a keyboard, and something just felt off in general. (Watanabe has said he doesn’t like loose depictions of music being played — one of the reasons Kids on the Slope was so intricately animated.) I was very happy to put my initial impressions behind me, however, very soon after I started watching the series proper. It’s a title with a ton of heart that wants to resolve issues stemming from socio-economic disparity through the creation of art. The topic of privileged creator vs. struggling artist is addressed too lightly and almost dismissed via casual acceptance in the first season; resolutions come a little too easily, and arguments that should be had are, for the most part, laughed off in the face of loneliness/desperation. That, however, feeds into the show’s main focus which is healing and growth through friendship and creation/expression — coming together to be something more than yourself by being a part of something greater to which you personally contribute. And that really sets up the second cour. The pacing is rushed but no unacceptable, and the characters are as charming as they are amusing (and vice-versa), but the main reason why this is my favorite of the year is simply that it got me to watch an in-series version of a reality TV show that was, itself, fun, funny, and increasingly tense.

Evan Minto

#3: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

The hits keep on coming for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Following up on last year’s excellent Diamond is Unbreakable, Golden Wind takes us to Italy to check in on Giorno Giovanna, the son of infamous vampire Dio. Golden Wind’s cast lacks the easy charm of Josuke, Okuyasu, Koichi, and Rohan, and it’s hard to hold a candle to Yoshikage Kira in the villain department, but at least for me the leads aren’t the real stars of this show. In Golden Wind, Araki’s overactive imagination seems to get a bit of a power-up, as everything from the costumes to the Stand powers becomes even less plausible (and thus, better). Characters walk around wearing entire outfits riddled with holes for fashion reasons. Enemy stands can do things like accelerate the aging of everyone in a train or — get this — spawn a baby assassin out of a briefcase. David Production, too, are at the top of their game on this latest adaptation, continuing their strong command of Araki’s unique character design style while bringing in new animators to craft dazzling action and effects sequences. Stone Ocean is on the horizon and I couldn’t be more excited.

#2: Mob Psycho 100 II

When it comes to anime adaptations of ONE manga series, I was always a One-Punch Man guy — there’s nothing quite like watching the coolest action concepts crumble into dust under the scrutiny of ONE’s sardonic, anticlimactic sense of humor. But 2019 brought us second seasons for both of his big series, and let’s put it this way: I didn’t even bother with the second season of One-Punch. Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 is a stellar follow-up to what was already an excellent first season (it was one of my Staff Picks back in 2016). The season picks up thematically where the previous one left off, as psychic middle-schooler Mob seeks self-improvement and greater self-confidence. Sometimes the show’s character arcs feel like retreads (the faux-psychic con man Reigen is as devious and manipulative as ever), but then it unexpectedly dives down dramatic avenues that push the characters to their breaking points. More than anything else, however, Mob Psycho is worth watching for the dazzling artistry on display in nearly every frame of every sequence. Action scenes crackle with energy, and the animators spare no expense detailing the supersonic whiplash and earth-rending force of the series’ many psychic battles. What has always set Mob Psycho above the rest, though, is the fact that even the scenes of daily life are beautifully animated, full of loose, expressive, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny character acting. This is one of the best-looking shows in years, and highly recommended for any fans of great animation.

#1: Promare

No anime experience of 2019 can compare to sitting in the largest ballroom at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, cheering and hooting along with the crowd as I watched Promare for the first time. Studio Trigger’s first feature film plays out like a compressed version of Kill la Kill and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann; it’s one magnificent set piece after another, strung together by a series of unlikely twists and betrayals. The gags are fast and exceedingly dumb, the characters are larger than life, and oh yeah, it’s about gay firefighters duking it out with eco-fascists. On top of that, the film’s eye-popping, candy-colored world is powered by a groundbreaking 2-D/3-D hybrid production, utilizing the best talent at both Trigger and their sister studio Sanzigen and merging their two styles into a unified whole. Promare may not be my favorite from its creative team (Kill la Kill and Gurren Lagann are tough acts to follow), but it provided me with more pure, unpretentious fun than anything else this year. I liked it so much I made a whole damn website to celebrate it!

Check out our 2019 Manga Staff Picks and 2019 Video Game Staff Picks too!

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Anime of 2019 originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 9, 2020 at 2:47 AM.

By: Ink

[touristguidebuzz]

The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs

I’ve added an LGBT column to the website to make the site is more inclusive and talks about issues that affect some members of our travel community. In this column, we will hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers. This week, Dani from Globetrottergirls shares some of her favorite lesbian travel blogs.

Ever since I started traveling full-time in 2010, I’ve been an avid blog reader. I am subscribed to dozens of blogs, and I have visited countless places after finding out about them on blogs.

Boracay in the Philippines, for example — I read about it on blogs. Or Las Lajas in Colombia, which I visited this year, seven years after learning about it through a travel blog. The charming French town of Colmar? I am now keen to visit it after it popped up on several blogs I read.

Without travel blogs, I would have never found out about these places. The same goes for cafés and restaurants, ice cream shops and bars, small art galleries, and great hostels. I read blogs for travel inspiration all the time, but also for travel tips when I research a destination I am planning to visit.

While there are dozens of couples’ travel blogs, solo female travel blogs, and a fair number of gay travel blogs, there have never been many lesbian travel blogs. At least, until recently! It seems that in the last year or two, there are a lot more people that are selling everything they own to go traveling, and that is also true in the lesbian world. For years, the L in LGBT travel blogs was filled by only a handful of blogs, but there has been an explosion of lesbian travel blogs recently and I am excited to see the lesbian travel blogosphere expand. These girls have inspired me with their stories about off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Bahrain and Cuba, piqued my interest in destination weddings, and made me consider spending all my savings on a campervan and heading out on the open road.

If you are looking for travel inspiration, I recommend checking out the following lesbian travel blogs — and of course you don’t have to be an LGBT traveler to enjoy them:

Lez Wander The World

Mari (from LA) and Zoey (from England) were each backpacking through Southeast Asia when their paths crossed in Bangkok, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Recommended entry: All of the articles in their “Being Queer In…” series, including the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand.

2 Moms Travel

Lara and her wife Deb travel with their two kids, showing that it is possible to travel with young children.

Recommended entry: “Europe: 6 Weeks, 2 Kids, 1 Suitcase”

Straight On Detour

Prue, a photographer from Australia, and Becky, a travel writer from England, have been traveling the world together since 2012, when they met in Thailand.

Recommended entry: “You’re Ready to Travel the World: But Is Your Relationship?”

The Rainbow Route

Jen lives in Vancouver with her wife Laura. They travel together as a couple, but Jen also takes plenty of solo trips. Their wanderlust has brought them to places like Central America, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Recommended entry: “Traveling as a Lesbian in Costa Rica”

Free Wheel Drive

Laura and Camrin are two girls from Wisconsin who, in June 2017, packed up everything they could fit into their Jeep Grand Cherokee named Tina and started traveling around North America while working remotely. Their plan is to hit up as many national parks as possible, to couchsurf, to housesit, to use WWOOF (to work on organic farms), and to see how far they can get while traveling on a budget.

Recommended entry: “The Incredible Grand Teton National Park”

Vagabroads

The Vagabroads are Sunny, a former criminal defense attorney, and Karin, who used to be a network engineer. The couple, who hail from Nashville, TN, sold all of their possessions to go on an indefinite overland journey down the Pan-American Highway through the US, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Recommended entry: “Volcano Boarding the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua”

The Fussy Femme

Jess, originally from Adelaide, Australia, quit her job, sold all her stuff, and currently only has a suitcase and backpack to her name. She caught the travel bug when she moved to Chicago at age 19 and has since lived in Singapore, London, and Melbourne.

Recommended entry: “How I Saved 50k in One Year to Be Able to Travel the World”

A Lesbian Suitcase

Alli and Ausha are two girls from Richmond, VA, who, despite having regular 9-to-5 jobs, make travel a priority in their lives.

Recommended entry: “Why You Don’t Need to Quit Your Job to Travel the World”

The Road House Coasters

Kat and Jot are a British couple who met at university and moved to Australia together. They recently sold everything they owned and bought a bus to travel.

Recommended entry: “So, we bought a bus”

Once Upon A Journey

Roxanne and Maartje are two gorgeous blondes from the Netherlands who shared a dream of traveling the world together. In March 2017, they made their dream a reality, starting their journey in Russia with an epic train trip: the Trans-Siberian Express all the way to China. The girls are in Southeast Asia now and are planning to head to New Zealand next.

Recommended entry: “17 Tips To Travel The Trans-Siberian Express”

The Freedom Travellers

Victoria, a Brit, and Elaina, an Aussie, met at work in Australia. They quit their corporate jobs in 2014 and have been traveling ever since. So far, they’ve visited 39 countries together.

Recommended entry: “How We Quit Our Jobs to Travel the World!”

Dopes on the Road

Meg Cale and her wife Lindsay met online, dated long-distance while Meg was teaching in South Korea and Lindsay was in the United States, and finally got married last year.

Recommended entry: “We Eloped: Yup, Lindsay and I Got Married in Ecuador,” about their South American destination wedding.

Happy Camper Wives

Valerie and Jessi are a lesbian couple roaming the US in a teardrop camper mini RV.

Recommended entry: “Fears We Had About Traveling Full Time”

Curious Jessie

Jessie and her girlfriend are a British couple who went on a round-the-world trip for 14 months. Now back in the UK, travel is still a big part of their lives.

Recommended entry: “5 Fears Traveling the World as a Lesbian Couple”

Her Outdoors

Alison and Helene are two thirty-somethings from the UK who are traveling the world after quitting their jobs and selling everything they own.

Recommended entry: “Death Road…on a bike”

Gabriela Here and There

Gabriela is an adventurer who has been traveling full-time since 2016 and is on a quest to visit every country in the world. Her current country count is 77!

Recommended entry: “Backpacking in Bahrain”

LezBackpack

Melissa chronicles her life and travels with her wife Constance.

Recommended entry: “Traveling Together is the Absolute Worst”

*** I am excited to see the growing number of wanderlust-inducing lesbian travel blogs. All these blogs show though that there is always room for quality content on the internet, and there are still not enough lesbian voices out there. If you’re an LGBT traveler, I hope these blogs provide the inspiration and advice you need. And if you’re not an LGBT traveler, these websites are still fun and informative to read!

Dani Heinrich is the vagabonding writer and photographer behind GlobetrotterGirls.com. Originally from Germany, she has been nomadic since 2010, when she quit her corporate job and embarked on a round-the-world-trip. She has travelled through over 60 countries on four continents and has no plans to stop any time soon! You can also follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. – Want to step up your travel hacking game? I’m speaking at Frequent Traveler University’s Expo in Chicago on November 18th. It’s the world’s largest travel, points, and miles event and will be some great speakers there. You can click here to get your ticket. Also, as a reader of this site, you get 75% off the ticket price with the code “NOMAD”.

The post The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

[fadingfartconnoisseur]

The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs

I’ve added an LGBT column to the website to make the site is more inclusive and talks about issues that affect some members of our travel community. In this column, we will hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers. This week, Dani from Globetrottergirls shares some of her favorite lesbian travel blogs.

Ever since I started traveling full-time in 2010, I’ve been an avid blog reader. I am subscribed to dozens of blogs, and I have visited countless places after finding out about them on blogs.

Boracay in the Philippines, for example — I read about it on blogs. Or Las Lajas in Colombia, which I visited this year, seven years after learning about it through a travel blog. The charming French town of Colmar? I am now keen to visit it after it popped up on several blogs I read.

Without travel blogs, I would have never found out about these places. The same goes for cafés and restaurants, ice cream shops and bars, small art galleries, and great hostels. I read blogs for travel inspiration all the time, but also for travel tips when I research a destination I am planning to visit.

While there are dozens of couples’ travel blogs, solo female travel blogs, and a fair number of gay travel blogs, there have never been many lesbian travel blogs. At least, until recently! It seems that in the last year or two, there are a lot more people that are selling everything they own to go traveling, and that is also true in the lesbian world. For years, the L in LGBT travel blogs was filled by only a handful of blogs, but there has been an explosion of lesbian travel blogs recently and I am excited to see the lesbian travel blogosphere expand. These girls have inspired me with their stories about off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Bahrain and Cuba, piqued my interest in destination weddings, and made me consider spending all my savings on a campervan and heading out on the open road.

If you are looking for travel inspiration, I recommend checking out the following lesbian travel blogs — and of course you don’t have to be an LGBT traveler to enjoy them:

Lez Wander The World

Mari (from LA) and Zoey (from England) were each backpacking through Southeast Asia when their paths crossed in Bangkok, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Recommended entry: All of the articles in their “Being Queer In…” series, including the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand.

2 Moms Travel

Lara and her wife Deb travel with their two kids, showing that it is possible to travel with young children.

Recommended entry: “Europe: 6 Weeks, 2 Kids, 1 Suitcase”

Straight On Detour

Prue, a photographer from Australia, and Becky, a travel writer from England, have been traveling the world together since 2012, when they met in Thailand.

Recommended entry: “You’re Ready to Travel the World: But Is Your Relationship?”

The Rainbow Route

Jen lives in Vancouver with her wife Laura. They travel together as a couple, but Jen also takes plenty of solo trips. Their wanderlust has brought them to places like Central America, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Recommended entry: “Traveling as a Lesbian in Costa Rica”

Free Wheel Drive

Laura and Camrin are two girls from Wisconsin who, in June 2017, packed up everything they could fit into their Jeep Grand Cherokee named Tina and started traveling around North America while working remotely. Their plan is to hit up as many national parks as possible, to couchsurf, to housesit, to use WWOOF (to work on organic farms), and to see how far they can get while traveling on a budget.

Recommended entry: “The Incredible Grand Teton National Park”

Vagabroads

The Vagabroads are Sunny, a former criminal defense attorney, and Karin, who used to be a network engineer. The couple, who hail from Nashville, TN, sold all of their possessions to go on an indefinite overland journey down the Pan-American Highway through the US, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Recommended entry: “Volcano Boarding the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua”

The Fussy Femme

Jess, originally from Adelaide, Australia, quit her job, sold all her stuff, and currently only has a suitcase and backpack to her name. She caught the travel bug when she moved to Chicago at age 19 and has since lived in Singapore, London, and Melbourne.

Recommended entry: “How I Saved 50k in One Year to Be Able to Travel the World”

A Lesbian Suitcase

Alli and Ausha are two girls from Richmond, VA, who, despite having regular 9-to-5 jobs, make travel a priority in their lives.

Recommended entry: “Why You Don’t Need to Quit Your Job to Travel the World”

The Road House Coasters

Kat and Jot are a British couple who met at university and moved to Australia together. They recently sold everything they owned and bought a bus to travel.

Recommended entry: “So, we bought a bus”

Once Upon A Journey

Roxanne and Maartje are two gorgeous blondes from the Netherlands who shared a dream of traveling the world together. In March 2017, they made their dream a reality, starting their journey in Russia with an epic train trip: the Trans-Siberian Express all the way to China. The girls are in Southeast Asia now and are planning to head to New Zealand next.

Recommended entry: “17 Tips To Travel The Trans-Siberian Express”

The Freedom Travellers

Victoria, a Brit, and Elaina, an Aussie, met at work in Australia. They quit their corporate jobs in 2014 and have been traveling ever since. So far, they’ve visited 39 countries together.

Recommended entry: “How We Quit Our Jobs to Travel the World!”

Dopes on the Road

Meg Cale and her wife Lindsay met online, dated long-distance while Meg was teaching in South Korea and Lindsay was in the United States, and finally got married last year.

Recommended entry: “We Eloped: Yup, Lindsay and I Got Married in Ecuador,” about their South American destination wedding.

Happy Camper Wives

Valerie and Jessi are a lesbian couple roaming the US in a teardrop camper mini RV.

Recommended entry: “Fears We Had About Traveling Full Time”

Curious Jessie

Jessie and her girlfriend are a British couple who went on a round-the-world trip for 14 months. Now back in the UK, travel is still a big part of their lives.

Recommended entry: “5 Fears Traveling the World as a Lesbian Couple”

Her Outdoors

Alison and Helene are two thirty-somethings from the UK who are traveling the world after quitting their jobs and selling everything they own.

Recommended entry: “Death Road…on a bike”

Gabriela Here and There

Gabriela is an adventurer who has been traveling full-time since 2016 and is on a quest to visit every country in the world. Her current country count is 77!

Recommended entry: “Backpacking in Bahrain”

LezBackpack

Melissa chronicles her life and travels with her wife Constance.

Recommended entry: “Traveling Together is the Absolute Worst”

*** I am excited to see the growing number of wanderlust-inducing lesbian travel blogs. All these blogs show though that there is always room for quality content on the internet, and there are still not enough lesbian voices out there. If you’re an LGBT traveler, I hope these blogs provide the inspiration and advice you need. And if you’re not an LGBT traveler, these websites are still fun and informative to read!

Dani Heinrich is the vagabonding writer and photographer behind GlobetrotterGirls.com. Originally from Germany, she has been nomadic since 2010, when she quit her corporate job and embarked on a round-the-world-trip. She has travelled through over 60 countries on four continents and has no plans to stop any time soon! You can also follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. – Want to step up your travel hacking game? I’m speaking at Frequent Traveler University’s Expo in Chicago on November 18th. It’s the world’s largest travel, points, and miles event and will be some great speakers there. You can click here to get your ticket. Also, as a reader of this site, you get 75% off the ticket price with the code “NOMAD”.

The post The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2juFJpF

[tamboradventure]

The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs

I’ve added an LGBT column to the website to make the site is more inclusive and talks about issues that affect some members of our travel community. In this column, we will hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers. This week, Dani from Globetrottergirls shares some of her favorite lesbian travel blogs.

Ever since I started traveling full-time in 2010, I’ve been an avid blog reader. I am subscribed to dozens of blogs, and I have visited countless places after finding out about them on blogs.

Boracay in the Philippines, for example — I read about it on blogs. Or Las Lajas in Colombia, which I visited this year, seven years after learning about it through a travel blog. The charming French town of Colmar? I am now keen to visit it after it popped up on several blogs I read.

Without travel blogs, I would have never found out about these places. The same goes for cafés and restaurants, ice cream shops and bars, small art galleries, and great hostels. I read blogs for travel inspiration all the time, but also for travel tips when I research a destination I am planning to visit.

While there are dozens of couples’ travel blogs, solo female travel blogs, and a fair number of gay travel blogs, there have never been many lesbian travel blogs. At least, until recently! It seems that in the last year or two, there are a lot more people that are selling everything they own to go traveling, and that is also true in the lesbian world. For years, the L in LGBT travel blogs was filled by only a handful of blogs, but there has been an explosion of lesbian travel blogs recently and I am excited to see the lesbian travel blogosphere expand. These girls have inspired me with their stories about off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Bahrain and Cuba, piqued my interest in destination weddings, and made me consider spending all my savings on a campervan and heading out on the open road.

If you are looking for travel inspiration, I recommend checking out the following lesbian travel blogs — and of course you don’t have to be an LGBT traveler to enjoy them:

Lez Wander The World

Mari (from LA) and Zoey (from England) were each backpacking through Southeast Asia when their paths crossed in Bangkok, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Recommended entry: All of the articles in their “Being Queer In…” series, including the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand.

2 Moms Travel

Lara and her wife Deb travel with their two kids, showing that it is possible to travel with young children.

Recommended entry: “Europe: 6 Weeks, 2 Kids, 1 Suitcase”

Straight On Detour

Prue, a photographer from Australia, and Becky, a travel writer from England, have been traveling the world together since 2012, when they met in Thailand.

Recommended entry: “You’re Ready to Travel the World: But Is Your Relationship?”

The Rainbow Route

Jen lives in Vancouver with her wife Laura. They travel together as a couple, but Jen also takes plenty of solo trips. Their wanderlust has brought them to places like Central America, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Recommended entry: “Traveling as a Lesbian in Costa Rica”

Free Wheel Drive

Laura and Camrin are two girls from Wisconsin who, in June 2017, packed up everything they could fit into their Jeep Grand Cherokee named Tina and started traveling around North America while working remotely. Their plan is to hit up as many national parks as possible, to couchsurf, to housesit, to use WWOOF (to work on organic farms), and to see how far they can get while traveling on a budget.

Recommended entry: “The Incredible Grand Teton National Park”

Vagabroads

The Vagabroads are Sunny, a former criminal defense attorney, and Karin, who used to be a network engineer. The couple, who hail from Nashville, TN, sold all of their possessions to go on an indefinite overland journey down the Pan-American Highway through the US, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Recommended entry: “Volcano Boarding the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua”

The Fussy Femme

Jess, originally from Adelaide, Australia, quit her job, sold all her stuff, and currently only has a suitcase and backpack to her name. She caught the travel bug when she moved to Chicago at age 19 and has since lived in Singapore, London, and Melbourne.

Recommended entry: “How I Saved 50k in One Year to Be Able to Travel the World”

A Lesbian Suitcase

Alli and Ausha are two girls from Richmond, VA, who, despite having regular 9-to-5 jobs, make travel a priority in their lives.

Recommended entry: “Why You Don’t Need to Quit Your Job to Travel the World”

The Road House Coasters

Kat and Jot are a British couple who met at university and moved to Australia together. They recently sold everything they owned and bought a bus to travel.

Recommended entry: “So, we bought a bus”

Once Upon A Journey

Roxanne and Maartje are two gorgeous blondes from the Netherlands who shared a dream of traveling the world together. In March 2017, they made their dream a reality, starting their journey in Russia with an epic train trip: the Trans-Siberian Express all the way to China. The girls are in Southeast Asia now and are planning to head to New Zealand next.

Recommended entry: “17 Tips To Travel The Trans-Siberian Express”

The Freedom Travellers

Victoria, a Brit, and Elaina, an Aussie, met at work in Australia. They quit their corporate jobs in 2014 and have been traveling ever since. So far, they’ve visited 39 countries together.

Recommended entry: “How We Quit Our Jobs to Travel the World!”

Dopes on the Road

Meg Cale and her wife Lindsay met online, dated long-distance while Meg was teaching in South Korea and Lindsay was in the United States, and finally got married last year.

Recommended entry: “We Eloped: Yup, Lindsay and I Got Married in Ecuador,” about their South American destination wedding.

Happy Camper Wives

Valerie and Jessi are a lesbian couple roaming the US in a teardrop camper mini RV.

Recommended entry: “Fears We Had About Traveling Full Time”

Curious Jessie

Jessie and her girlfriend are a British couple who went on a round-the-world trip for 14 months. Now back in the UK, travel is still a big part of their lives.

Recommended entry: “5 Fears Traveling the World as a Lesbian Couple”

Her Outdoors

Alison and Helene are two thirty-somethings from the UK who are traveling the world after quitting their jobs and selling everything they own.

Recommended entry: “Death Road…on a bike”

Gabriela Here and There

Gabriela is an adventurer who has been traveling full-time since 2016 and is on a quest to visit every country in the world. Her current country count is 77!

Recommended entry: “Backpacking in Bahrain”

LezBackpack

Melissa chronicles her life and travels with her wife Constance.

Recommended entry: “Traveling Together is the Absolute Worst”

*** I am excited to see the growing number of wanderlust-inducing lesbian travel blogs. All these blogs show though that there is always room for quality content on the internet, and there are still not enough lesbian voices out there. If you’re an LGBT traveler, I hope these blogs provide the inspiration and advice you need. And if you’re not an LGBT traveler, these websites are still fun and informative to read!

Dani Heinrich is the vagabonding writer and photographer behind GlobetrotterGirls.com. Originally from Germany, she has been nomadic since 2010, when she quit her corporate job and embarked on a round-the-world-trip. She has travelled through over 60 countries on four continents and has no plans to stop any time soon! You can also follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. – Want to step up your travel hacking game? I’m speaking at Frequent Traveler University’s Expo in Chicago on November 18th. It’s the world’s largest travel, points, and miles event and will be some great speakers there. You can click here to get your ticket. Also, as a reader of this site, you get 75% off the ticket price with the code “NOMAD”.

The post The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Travel Blog – Nomadic Matt's Travel Site http://ift.tt/2juFJpF via IFTTT

[theladyjstyle]

I’ve added an LGBT column to the website to make the site is more inclusive and talks about issues that affect some members of our travel community. In this column, we will hear from voices in the LGBT community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall advice for other LGBT travelers. This week, Dani from Globetrottergirls shares some of her favorite lesbian travel blogs.

Ever since I started traveling full-time in 2010, I’ve been an avid blog reader. I am subscribed to dozens of blogs, and I have visited countless places after finding out about them on blogs.

Boracay in the Philippines, for example — I read about it on blogs. Or Las Lajas in Colombia, which I visited this year, seven years after learning about it through a travel blog. The charming French town of Colmar? I am now keen to visit it after it popped up on several blogs I read.

Without travel blogs, I would have never found out about these places. The same goes for cafés and restaurants, ice cream shops and bars, small art galleries, and great hostels. I read blogs for travel inspiration all the time, but also for travel tips when I research a destination I am planning to visit.

While there are dozens of couples’ travel blogs, solo female travel blogs, and a fair number of gay travel blogs, there have never been many lesbian travel blogs. At least, until recently! It seems that in the last year or two, there are a lot more people that are selling everything they own to go traveling, and that is also true in the lesbian world. For years, the L in LGBT travel blogs was filled by only a handful of blogs, but there has been an explosion of lesbian travel blogs recently and I am excited to see the lesbian travel blogosphere expand. These girls have inspired me with their stories about off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Bahrain and Cuba, piqued my interest in destination weddings, and made me consider spending all my savings on a campervan and heading out on the open road.

If you are looking for travel inspiration, I recommend checking out the following lesbian travel blogs — and of course you don’t have to be an LGBT traveler to enjoy them:

Lez Wander The World

Mari (from LA) and Zoey (from England) were each backpacking through Southeast Asia when their paths crossed in Bangkok, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Recommended entry: All of the articles in their “Being Queer In…” series, including the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand.

2 Moms Travel

Lara and her wife Deb travel with their two kids, showing that it is possible to travel with young children.

Recommended entry: “Europe: 6 Weeks, 2 Kids, 1 Suitcase”

Straight On Detour

Prue, a photographer from Australia, and Becky, a travel writer from England, have been traveling the world together since 2012, when they met in Thailand.

Recommended entry: “You’re Ready to Travel the World: But Is Your Relationship?”

The Rainbow Route

Jen lives in Vancouver with her wife Laura. They travel together as a couple, but Jen also takes plenty of solo trips. Their wanderlust has brought them to places like Central America, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Recommended entry: “Traveling as a Lesbian in Costa Rica”

Free Wheel Drive

Laura and Camrin are two girls from Wisconsin who, in June 2017, packed up everything they could fit into their Jeep Grand Cherokee named Tina and started traveling around North America while working remotely. Their plan is to hit up as many national parks as possible, to couchsurf, to housesit, to use WWOOF (to work on organic farms), and to see how far they can get while traveling on a budget.

Recommended entry: “The Incredible Grand Teton National Park”

Vagabroads

The Vagabroads are Sunny, a former criminal defense attorney, and Karin, who used to be a network engineer. The couple, who hail from Nashville, TN, sold all of their possessions to go on an indefinite overland journey down the Pan-American Highway through the US, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Recommended entry: “Volcano Boarding the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua”

The Fussy Femme

Jess, originally from Adelaide, Australia, quit her job, sold all her stuff, and currently only has a suitcase and backpack to her name. She caught the travel bug when she moved to Chicago at age 19 and has since lived in Singapore, London, and Melbourne.

Recommended entry: “How I Saved 50k in One Year to Be Able to Travel the World”

A Lesbian Suitcase

Alli and Ausha are two girls from Richmond, VA, who, despite having regular 9-to-5 jobs, make travel a priority in their lives.

Recommended entry: “Why You Don’t Need to Quit Your Job to Travel the World”

The Road House Coasters

Kat and Jot are a British couple who met at university and moved to Australia together. They recently sold everything they owned and bought a bus to travel.

Recommended entry: “So, we bought a bus”

Once Upon A Journey

Roxanne and Maartje are two gorgeous blondes from the Netherlands who shared a dream of traveling the world together. In March 2017, they made their dream a reality, starting their journey in Russia with an epic train trip: the Trans-Siberian Express all the way to China. The girls are in Southeast Asia now and are planning to head to New Zealand next.

Recommended entry: “17 Tips To Travel The Trans-Siberian Express”

The Freedom Travellers

Victoria, a Brit, and Elaina, an Aussie, met at work in Australia. They quit their corporate jobs in 2014 and have been traveling ever since. So far, they’ve visited 39 countries together.

Recommended entry: “How We Quit Our Jobs to Travel the World!”

Dopes on the Road

Meg Cale and her wife Lindsay met online, dated long-distance while Meg was teaching in South Korea and Lindsay was in the United States, and finally got married last year.

Recommended entry: “We Eloped: Yup, Lindsay and I Got Married in Ecuador,” about their South American destination wedding.

Happy Camper Wives

Valerie and Jessi are a lesbian couple roaming the US in a teardrop camper mini RV.

Recommended entry: “Fears We Had About Traveling Full Time”

Curious Jessie

Jessie and her girlfriend are a British couple who went on a round-the-world trip for 14 months. Now back in the UK, travel is still a big part of their lives.

Recommended entry: “5 Fears Traveling the World as a Lesbian Couple”

Her Outdoors

Alison and Helene are two thirty-somethings from the UK who are traveling the world after quitting their jobs and selling everything they own.

Recommended entry: “Death Road…on a bike”

Gabriela Here and There

Gabriela is an adventurer who has been traveling full-time since 2016 and is on a quest to visit every country in the world. Her current country count is 77!

Recommended entry: “Backpacking in Bahrain”

LezBackpack

Melissa chronicles her life and travels with her wife Constance.

Recommended entry: “Traveling Together is the Absolute Worst”

*** I am excited to see the growing number of wanderlust-inducing lesbian travel blogs. All these blogs show though that there is always room for quality content on the internet, and there are still not enough lesbian voices out there. If you’re an LGBT traveler, I hope these blogs provide the inspiration and advice you need. And if you’re not an LGBT traveler, these websites are still fun and informative to read!

Dani Heinrich is the vagabonding writer and photographer behind GlobetrotterGirls.com. Originally from Germany, she has been nomadic since 2010, when she quit her corporate job and embarked on a round-the-world-trip. She has travelled through over 60 countries on four continents and has no plans to stop any time soon! You can also follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. – Want to step up your travel hacking game? I’m speaking at Frequent Traveler University’s Expo in Chicago on November 18th. It’s the world’s largest travel, points, and miles event and will be some great speakers there. You can click here to get your ticket. Also, as a reader of this site, you get 75% off the ticket price with the code “NOMAD”.

The post The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

The Best Lesbian Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2juFJpF

[art-now-india]

WALL OF EXOTICS FLOWERS-TOYOU, Baljit Chadha

FLOWERMAN CREATED A WORLD RECORD http://baljitchadha.blogspot.in The exhibition with the most paintings of flowers in the world This certificate is given by WORLD RECORD ASSOCIATION / LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS-INDIA -2014 Baljit-chadha.artistwebsites.com http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&videoid=fCTt1B51fJA http://www.1wra.org/index.php/Worldrecord/detail/id/1241 MY NEW SERIES ZEN MOKSHA FLOWERS/ MANN FLOWERS/MIYOKO FLOWERS /BALJIT’S IKEBANA A PURE HEAVENLY GIFT FOR YOU FRIENDS N RELATIVES • THESE ZEN-MOKSH FLOWERS ARE CREATED WITH A SENSE OF GIVING INNER PEACE,TRANQUILITY, HAPPINESS, SOLACE AND A SENSE OF FULFILMENT, ONENESS WITH THE SUPREME. • I HAVE TRIED TO BRING THEASE ELEMENTS IN MY PAINTINGS,THE FLOWERS YOU SEE DON’T EXISTS, THE MOVMENTS OF MY HANDS,FLOW OF COLORS ARE THE GIFT OF ALMIGHTY GOD. • ZEN-JAPANEASE ZEN IS A SPIRTUAL INSPIRATION; THEY ARE PURE EXPRESSION OF ARTIST’S SPIRITUAL AWARENESS. JAPANEASE ZEN ART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MEANT TO TOUCH PEOPLE FAR AND WIDE. ZEN PAINTINGS ARE OF GREAT POWER, PURE, AND TOUCHING DEEP IN THE HEART, MIND AND SOUL. • MOKSHA- Freedom from life circle. Moksha is attained by dis identification with the body and mind, which are temporary and subject to change, and realization of our true identity Moksh is positive concept in two important ways. First it stands for the realization of the ultimate Reality, a real enlightenment. The mukta is not just free from this or that, It is the master of sense and self, fearless and devoid of rancor, upright yet humble, treating all creatures as if they were he himself, wanting nothing, clinging to nothing. In Sikhism one rises from the life of do’s and don'ts to that of perfection — a state of "at-one-ment" with the All-self. Secondly, the mukta is not just a friend for all, he even strives for their freedom as well. He no longer lives for himself, he lives for others. • APPRICIATIONS • Very interesting work Baljit, the spontaneity, the original technique and the spiritual journey! • i hear music from your flower paintings. What a happy movement! • Baljit! I appreciate that! You have a grand body of work here that shows me some Van Gogh, Miro and Monet and countless others within your style and creativeness. A magnificent talent to behold and appreciate! Keep it up! • I like the original exposition of your beautiful artwork. • Beautiful, cheerful, great colors! • Very fine expressive all Your floral art, not usual • Simply beautiful .It is with great pride and pleasure that I am FEATURING your artwork this week on our special edition of our TOP FEATURES on the Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery Homepage. Your work shows expertise and love in the presentation of this fine art piece. Thanks much for sharing your works with us and being a member of our family of friends and fine artists in our WFS group. Aboard. Liked, Forever .This series is enchanting Baljit, all wonderful visions. Masterful use of your colors creating serene energy. .Baljit, I love these stalks of beauty is a true honor and privilege to FEATURE this creative and wondrous piece of art work on the WFS site, from one of our honored and prestigious members. This awesome piece of beauty is what we are looking for to promote and let others see, including other artists and potential customers, as your works are some of the Best of the Best in my Book! Thanks much for sharing this beauty with us. Liked Forever, Elvisty and love the colors of the floral stems. • • PROFILE • Baljit Singh Chadha • • I grew up as a curious, investigative child helped by my parents’ encouragement to explore and to learn without fear and hesitation. The wonder and awe in God’s creation always held me spell bound. I ploughed my curiosity through love of creation and creativity. At a young age of nineteen years I sailed to a land called Japan that has for long centuries been spiritually bound with India. Like a sleepy rose the petals of my creativity opened as I drank like a honey-bee the nectar of ancient and highly evolved culture of Japan. Japanese art of painting is high meditation in feel and in expression. My Japanese godmother Ms Otha Miyoko a great Japanese artist was my first teacher. She affected my style and expression early on. My journey in art continued and I evolved a style of art that has minimal gap in feeling and expression. Rapidity and quickness of expression in my art comes from the well of inner spirituality. My art is not planned, thought-out and cerebral it is based on spontaneity. Abstract Expressionism is a wider term and my art follows it in variegated dimensions. In my art I experiment with different painting instruments and techniques. My dependence on brushwork is rather limited. I frequently and freely use spatulas, wooden sticks, masking, and sand-mix, push bottles and what comes handy in the moment. I use acrylic with mix media. I have developed acrylic based glazes that were possible earlier only with oil paints. The glazes impart a charm similar to enamel glazes. I created a new technique called ( FLOAT ON COLORS). My art journey finds depth and width in continuous experimentation, forays into the unknown and choosing challenging metaphors of expression. I did an installation (Wall of Divine flowers) with 12000 painting on 12-12-12-12hrs-12mnts-12sec at Zorba in New Delhi and donated entire collection to Smile Foundation New Delhi, for a girl child education. Where my art journey will take me next I leave to higher forces. Presently I offer you ZEN MOKSHA FLOWERS /MANN FLOWERS/MIYOKO FLOWERS AND WALL OF HEAVENLY FLOWERS as my next creations. Group Shows;- Newyork, Singapore, • Canvas Art Gallery , Nehru Place, Delhi 2006 • Studio Vasant, Vasant Vihar New Delhi, 2006, 2007 • Prabhat NGO, New Delhi, 2007 • Nithari, Canvas Art Gallery, 2007 • Sahaj Sankalp, Habitat Centre, New Delhi , 2008 • Aspiration, Charity show at Epicenter Gurgaon, 2008 • New Finds, Singapore, 2008 • Group Show at World Fine Art Gallery, New York, 2008 • Reverberation Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 2008 • Art for Prabhat Presents 'The Eternal Circle' MAY-2009 • Art Ponixs Mumbai-2013 Solo Show • Studio Vasant, New Delhi, 2006,2007 • Studio Vasant, New Delhi 2008 • DLF Mall, Saket, New Delhi 2009 • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI-2011 • STUDIOVASANT,NEWDELHI-2012 • WALL OF DEVINE FLOWERS-ZORBA,NEWDELHI 2012(world record) • WALL OF EXOTIC FLOWERS-EPI CENTRE GURGAON-2013 • HOME& interior expo, EPI centor.GURGAON-2013 • Independence day Celebration-EPI CENTRE-2013 • Art-Phonix-NEHRU CENTRE MUMBAI-2014 Artist friend Baljit S. Chadha has a lasting honeymoon with flowers in his artistic expression. He paints sometimes with frugality of a Zen master. I can understand that as he had his early training in painting in Japan where he lived and studied as a teenager and had the benefit of the tutelage of great Japanese masters. But his present series on flowers nonplussed me with wonder and joy. He has in the present works a new dimension and a new personality of flowers that I have not seen before. This is because he has distilled the expression from his inner joy and happiness that is the essence of flowers per se and not from their forms. His flowers have a nearly expressionistic, abstract persona. He uses a watercolour like free flow of colour and tonalities to invest his work with a sensual poetry. His works are acrylic on paper and therefore amenable to idiosyncratic overflows that lends a fresh charm to his oeuvre. Another landmark quality of Baljit’s new works is that they are rendered in fiery shiny glazes. As we know glazes are traditionally done in oil paint medium. But Baljit has worked them with acrylic colour and without the use of pure impasto. The colours diluted with water float and embrace each other and still have lustrous intensity. Baljit Chadha has created a fresh stylistic edifice and his creative expression jumps from the visible-familiar to spiritually felt flowers in a divine Eden. Viktor Vijay Kumar Director Curator European Artists’ Association Germany • ART IS IMAGINATION/ART IS DREAMING/ART IS INOVATION/ART IS THINKING/ART IS CRAETIVITY/ART IS EMOTIONS/ART IS SUPPORT/ART IS COMBINATION OF MATERIALS/ART IS CONCEPT/ART IS TO DO SOME THING DIFFERENT/ART IS TO EXPLORE AND ART IS FOR EVERYONE TO DO AND ENJOY All images © Baljit Chadha All rights reserved. Copying and/or distributing without my permission is strictly prohibited. COLORS MAY WARY

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