No Puri No Life Giveaway

When you're a Japan lover, you've probably already heard about Purikura! You know? These lovely, colorful pics you make in specially designed booths? When I was in Japan, I fell in love with these machines and collected lots of puris.
Imagine my anger, when I found out, that the only Purimachines in my country are in cities quite far away! Not in my city ... and I live in the capital!!
Anyway... A while ago I found a cute blog, that's all about Purikura! And now the author Samantha is hosting a giveaway because she's celebrating her 2nd anniversay.
You should really check it out~~~

http://purikura.blogspot.de/2013/02/two-year-anniversary-giveaway.html

Reisevorbereitungen Tokyo

Montag fliege ich also nach Tokyo. Seit meinem Auslandsaufenthalt sind fast 4 Jahre vergangen und ich bin sehr nervös. Freude empfinde ich nach wie vor noch nicht. Ehrlich gesagt, nagt mich im Hinterkopf ein kleines Gefühle, dass es doch gerade eben erst war, als ich in einen Flieger stieg, um von dort weg zu kommen. Aber es waren 4 lange Jahre.

Die Vorbereitungen laufen schleppend ... jedes Jahr mache ich mir mindestens einen Monat vorher eine Liste, was alles noch gemacht werden muss. Und jedes Jahr warte ich bis 3 Tage vor Abflug, um mich darum zu kümmern. Ich werd auch nicht klüger.
Momentan bin ich dabei, alles an Technik aufzuladen, was aufgeladen werden muss ... das dauert eine ganze Weile. Ich lerne noch schnell ein neues Dance Cover, dass ich dann vor Ort aufnehmen kann. Ich muss alles mögliche an Makeup und Cremes kaufen, weil kurioserweise in jedem Tübchen zu Hause nur noch ein kümmerlicher Rest ist. Ich musste dringend noch ein paar kurze Hosen kaufen, was bei meiner barocken Figur eher Folter ist. Mein Zimmer musste auf Vordermann bringen, jedes Mal ein Abenteuer. Und ja, einen Großteil dieser Sachen hab ich alles heute gemacht, 3 Tage vor Abflug.

Die Freude kommt hoffentlich im Flieger ...

Graduations and Auditions

So. It happened. I knew, the day would come but somehow I never believed it.

Koharu gone.
Eri gone.
Ai gone.


Risa gone.
Aika gone.

Every member I loved is gone. Has left Morning Musume for good. The old Morning Musume, the Morning Musume I loved and appreciated and cheered on ... it doesn't exist anymore.

Sure, I really like the 9th gen... they're great ... not a big fan of 10th gen thought, but 9th is great. They really are...

Aww, who am I kidding?! Everytime I see one of the little girls, I am thinking:

Why are my idols gone but you are here?! You really don't belong here! Go home and give me back my Koharu, Eri, Ai-chan, Risa and Aika!!

It's stupid. I know that. It's not their fault. I've been a Morning Musume fan for many, many years now and I've seen several graduations. But UFA spoiled us fans with almost three years without a change. It made me forget about graduations. Morning Musume was perfect for me. And I just got used to the new formation ... I mean the kyukkies ... they shuffle everything around once again! Damn it!

Today is really sad for me... even though new auditions were opened.

Yep. That's right. Morning Musume 11th generation. And again the girls have to be between 10 and 17 years... another generation full of 12 year olds... Berryz Koubou and C-ute have no surpassed Morning Musume by age average. Feels weird. The H!P Kids aren't the kids anymore...

So, here my predictions! H!P Egg Miyamoto Karin will get into Morning Musume for the pleasure of 80% of the fans.

YouTube Dance Cuca is finally old enough to audition! I'm sure she will. But Tsunku usually prefers girls, he can mold ... like raw diamonds... on the other hand Riho was quite polished from the beginning.

Well, we'll see, what's going to happen!!

Maeda Atsuko to graduate from AKB48 ... or is she?!

A few minutes ago, I've read the news of AKB48's topstar Maeda Atsuko's gradution! Just imagine my surprise.

I've never been a die-hard fan of the ~48 enterprise but I have to admit, that they're being immensly popular to an extend, that no other Japanese artist has reached. They're obviously doing something right.

A lot of people "blame" this success on front girl Maeda Atsuko, who's been with the group from the very beginning.

And although I'm always going to be one of the people, who thinks that a group consists of more than just one person, there's been some examples of groups, whose success was faiding rapidly after the graduation of the most popular member.

Best example would probably be Morning Musume's Goto Maki. She was the top member for 3 years - during that time Morning Musume reached #1 with almost every single! After her graduation, sales fell so fast it's unbelievable!

Well I don't think that one girl is the reason for AKB's success ... I mean, there are like 47 others ... or how many they currently are.

I'm just wondering ... Is this real? Here's her announcement from Hello!Online:

"Since 14 years old, I've been here as an original member; this has been my life. It's a big decision for me, the 2nd biggest decision I've made. I'm going to graduate.
My moods are swinging easily and perhaps that has caused a lot of troubles for members. To stand in Tokyo Dome is my dream since I was 14 years old. But now, being 20, I remember that there's things that must be done to make dreams come true. I don't know what will come after this but I will work hard. The details haven't been decided yet., when it's been decided, I will tell everyone. Thank you very much"

After this speech Takamina responds with "AKB48 is not the end goal, this is the same for all members. Please support Atsuko's graduation!"

This is weird, don't you think? Right now I'm thinking, that maybe this is another promotion trick. You never know. AKB never had the BEST or most creative songs, but damn they know how to sell themselves and keep in the public interest.

And what does Takamina mean? Sounds to me, like she's trying to prepare the fans for more graduations to come. Every girl is building another career apart vom AKB48 ... just look at Itano Tomomi.

Well I'm really curious about the things to come.

And I'm not too shy to say, that I hope that now Morning Musume has the chance to gain some new fans!

Takahashi Ai Graduation ... Ai Believe

Today (or in Japan already yesterday), was a very sad day for me.

My beloved Takahashi Ai-chan graduated from Morning Musume.

I can't believe the era will be over...

During my first years of fandom in early 2004 (wow, almost 8 years now), she wasn't my favourite all along. She just seemed a little boring and dull, but I guess that was because she was drowning in the mass of girls.

But since 2006, she really started to shine and I've grown to love her voice, her dancing, her manscreams, her overreacting from time to time, her caring for all the members and her crying over each and every single one leaving.

And today it was herself.

I am so sad.

Being leader of group myself, maybe I can feel a little more sympathy with her, or maybe I'm just fooling myself. But sometimes I felt a connection, when I saw her encouraging the girls, trying to protect each and every one of them but sometimes you have to scold them and are misunderstood a lot.

When seeing this, I always felt love for her.

AI BELIEVE, you'll be alright! You're an amazing singer and entertainer and I'll be watching your steps from now on.

I won't stop being a Morning Musume Fan - I don't love them because of graduations and changing members ... I love them despite of it.

So please, even if Ai graduated, don't graduate as a fan!

Support Morning Musume and the new members, they deserve a chance!

And please keep watching over Takahashi Ai!

Melody in Black Lolita

He~~~y everybody!

Today I finally published a new post on Subarashi Girls.
The new pictures show me in a classic lolita outfit, which I really like! It's not that fancy and rather simple, but I like it so much. Don't ask me why, I just do.

I also had my first wig on ... maybe not the best choice, I've got better ones. But I edited to look like a little bit pop arty... just a little bit. I'd rather have it in dark red ... but it's part of the job and I'm fine with it. This is my second all black&white dress ... and I really hope my closet won't look like a 30s movie...

I only have one dress left to write about (some girls have none!) and I hope our boss will get us some new things soon...

Morning Musume Only You Dance

I like to show you my newest Dance Cover on Youtube! Of course, it's Morning Musume's newest single "Only You"! I really like being a Youtube Dancer but sadly, most Germans are like really unsuccessful. Why is that?
Well, who cares anyway?
どうぞ~~~

Sweet Lolita Tutorial: Colorful Pop Makeup

Sooo, I've made a video, where you can learn how to get the colorful bonbon look for Lolita. It's a very bright and cute eye shadow look, that is perfect for people, who want to highlight their eyes, not darken them like the all time favourite but sometimes depressing smokey eyes.

What you need for this sweet Lolita bonbon look:
Two strong eyeshadows in turquoise and yellow, a black mascara, a black kohl pencil, a pink precision eyeliner, an applicator and an eye shadow brush.
Learn how to apply the makeup here:

Gyaru Secrets

Lately a friend of mine told me a lot about a site called "Gyaru Secrets", so of course I had to check it out.

First of all, I am not gal and I don't want to be (because basically they're creeping me out, your hair shouldn't look like a middle class family could live in there). Plus, I'm a little chubby and I don't feel like losing like lot of pounds to look like a praying mantis. But besides that, I respect other tastes and in my opinion every one can look the way he or she likes. Who cares? Fluffy hair doesn't make you a bad person.

So I was really surprised, that Gyaru Secrets obviously doesn't share my opinion. Ignoring, that there is no secret in a open-to-everyone blog, they're really ... mean. Their national sport seems to be bashing other people. When you call yourself a gal you're free to be bashed (their words, not mine). They pick pics (haha) and tell the girls how fat or ugly they look in their opinion. Getting high by putting others down, that's only prove of low self-esteem.

My friend, who wants to be a gal without being so grim,  is not so fond of Gyaru Secrets and now scared to appear on the site.
Seriously, people are actually scared to appear on that site! It's not funny anymore! If you want a blog about fashion, you should make it a fun site, that people like to visit ... not a site that people only check to see if they've been bashed or not. Even if I'd think about being a gal, I would be to scared about the site ...

I'm curious if there are similar sites about Lolitas? Or Punk? Or Visus? Or ... well, whatever there is. Are there?

Bento: Pancakes and Glazed Carrots

This is one of the bentos I've recently made.

It's a Pancake Bento:

Pancakes, Glazed Carrots, Blueberries, Radishes and Chili-Cheese-Balls (frozen product). The little bottle contains maple syrup.

For the pancakes you can just use a pancake mix! I use the German brand "Mondamin". Of course pancakes aren't a very healthy lunch for everyday. But you can't have rice as daily basis ... you get bored sooner or later. So sometimes you should mix it up with different karbohydrate dishes like noodles, bread or pastries like pancakes, wraps or milkbread.
If you want a cuter bento, try to cut the pancakes in shapes ... teddy bears, cars, flowers ... a big cookie cutter works best for clear edges. Chocolate sauce is perfect for decoration like faces etc.

Glazed Carrots are a great alternative for picky eaters. You underline the carrot's sweetness with sugar, but it's still healthy.

Glazed Carrots:

6 mini carrots or 2 normal carrots
1 Tbsp Sugar
1Tbsp Butter

1. Peel carrots. Put carrots in a small saucepan and add just enough water to cover the carrots. Bring to boil.
2. Add sugar and butter and reduce heat. Cook until the liquid is gone.
3. Check if the carrots are tender.

That's it!

Glasierte Karotten:

6 Minikarotten oder 2 normale Karotten
1TL Zucker
1TL Butter

1. Karotten schälen. In eine kleine Saucenpfanne geben und mit Wasser gerade bedecken. Kochen.
2. Zucker und Butter hinzufügen und Hitze reduzieren. Solange kochen bis die Flüssigkeit verschwunden.
3. Jetzt nur noch überprüfen, ob die Karotten weich sind!

Fertig!

Itadakimasu!

Bento: Beef And Pepper Stir Fry

Beef And Pepper Stir Fry is a good way to combine meat with lots of vegetables.

For 2 Bento portions:

70g beef
1 green bell pepper
1 small carrot
1 tsp oyster sauce
1tsp rice wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp starch
1 clove garlic, minced
oil for frying

1. Cut beef into thin slices and dust with starch. Cut pepper and carrot the same way. Combine oyster sauce, rice wine and soy sauce in a bowl.
2. Heat oil and minced garlic in a frying pan. When the garlic releases aroma, add beef and stir-fry until heated through. Remove from the pan.
3. Add vegetables to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes with lit on, so the carrots get tender. Put back beef and add combined seasonings. Stir until the sauce is absorbed.

Rindfleisch Paprika Pfannengerührtes

Für 2 Bento Portionen

70g Rindfleisch
1 grüne Paprika
1 Karotte
1TL Austernsauce
1TL Reiswein
1TL Soyasauce
1TL Stärkemehl
1 feingehackte Knoblauchzehe
Öl zum Braten

1. Rindfleisch in feine Streifen schneiden und mit Stärke bestäuben. Paprika und Karotte genauso schneiden. Austernsauce, Sojasauce und Reiswein in einer Schüssel vermischen.
2. Öl und Knoblauch in einer Pfanne erhitzen. Wenn der Knoblauch sein Aroma freigibt, das Fleisch hinzugeben und so lange braten, bis es durcherhitzt ist. Fleisch aus der Pfanne nehmen.
3. Gemüse in die Pfanne geben und ungefähr 3-5 Minuten zugedeckt braten, bis die Karotten weicher werden. Das Fleisch zurück in die Pfanne geben und die Sauce dazu geben. Solange rühren, bis die Sauce absorbiert wurde.

Bon Appetit!

Being A Lolita Model

What can I see? During my time growing up I had a lot of things I've wanted to achieve. Actress, lawyer, teacher, Morning Musume Member, stewardess, journalist, singer, archeologist and finally an author. I've never wanted to be a model. Basically because I'm not skinny and never was. Why am I not on a diet? Because I like to eat!
So imagine my suprise, when I got asked to be a model for lolita fashion! With my group, we can try out clothes and blog about them. Really a good thing, especially because I like the idea of models of every height, size and shape. Not every women in the world looks the same so fashion should be presented by various kinds of bodies, too! Don't you think??

Well then! Let's what it'll be.

Earthquake

Actually I was going to post my cooking experience with cod fish cooked in beer, but after what has happened over the last days, got my mind away from cooking ... well actually I'm cooking more than ever, to get my mind off Japan, but I don't feel like trying new recipes.
In 2008 I've spent several months in Japan in which I've learned, that it's a great country with great people but has it's flaws like every other nation in the world. One are the nuclear power plants. I DO UNDERSTAND they need it for energy. What I don't understand are the people, who believe in thos plants without asking questions. Why isn't there an anti nuclear movement like in any other country? Searching for alternatives? They thought they could win over a technology, that has no future ...
Well ... alright, alright. I understand you shouldn't talk bad about people, who sit in sh*t and I want to help so badly. Japan is the only other country except Germany, where I've lived, so it's like my second home. This year I was going to go back during summer, but who knows, what'll happen to my plans.
TV says, if they don't handle Fukushima soon it might be worse than Tschernobyl in 1986 ... only that Tschernobyl did not have an almost 40 million people city close. Oh God, I don't want to think about it! This is like a horror movie, where population dies due to nuclear war.
Next year is 2012 ... maybe end of the world is not that far away anyway.

How to organize a convention...

Have you ever thought about the people, who are behind a convention? Who  make the space for those, who would look like fools when spotted in public but celebrated as creative artists when in a bunch?

Well, I can tell you, the people behind are not well paid geniuses, waiting for an opportunity to make the most money. We're stressed, sleepless, never in time folks, who are scared to fizzle in front of all their friends.
Luckily it didn't happen to me. My friends and I decided to host our own little event, focused on music, horror and everything, you usually don't find at a Japan-Convention. It was on Saturday February, 5th, that 150 people we didn't know attended our event, had fun and told us they liked so much, they want a second round.
Yes, I haven't slept in 4 days now, I had almost 50% of the work, I was running around for the whole time ... but I don't care.

My friends and I kicked ass with organizing the whole thing and we're very proud. I guess there'll be a Kacchoii ze Japan! 2012.

Bento world

Have you heard about those fancy little lunch box meals, conquering the world starting from Japan? They're called bentos and I love them!

Too tiny, to actually carry a decent lunch, you think? Wrong! ... Well not completely, it depends on your stomach's size.
For me it's absolutley enough. You're supposed to fill it to the top, so it's brimmed. If you do so, the small box might remind you of a boulder, but a totally delicious one!
True, it's cold, that sucks... but to me, it doesn't matter at all!
The picture above actually isn't a bento for me ... I'm allergic to shrimp ... but it still looks so good!