Oh K!

Saturday I'm going to the New York Comic Con dressed as K from the anime/manga Gravitation. Since I love lists so much, I'll make a list of reasons why I decided to do this:

1)I am geeky like that
2)It's appropriate for the cold weather
3)I wanted to be able to wear the costume on the train
4)I could make it out of stuff from my closet
5)I can wear glasses (prescription sunglasses, yo - that's me wearing them at the top of the page)

K is a great character. I'd make another list about that but this fansite's got it covered. Unfortunately, I can't act completely in character, because there's no way I can bring in fake guns and cause mass destruction in Manhattan (which actually happens in the manga). But I suppose since I am going with musicians (K is a band manager) I can do my best by pretending to shoot them.

What Happened To Everyone From Season 2?

Yesterday I watched the Project Runway reunion special with Holly and my friend Meghan and boy was it fun.

The highlight of the show was seeing how everyone has changed. John has lost weight, Kirsten is pregnant, and Lupe is crazier than before, which seems impossible but it's true. She yelled "I love Santino!" (of course she does; she also loves tacking crap onto clothes) and it was all downhill from there.

The other highlight was the montages. The musical montage was hilarious (and was made up partially of material previously only available on the site, such as the Timpression of "Closer"). The Andrae montage was a close second.

Best Quotes:
"What's that Ray-moondo? Where's he from?" - Heidi (designer)
"I defecated on Chloe's fabric" - Santino
"They went like bagels" - Heidi
"Honestly, I can only give him a personal critique. Nobody would ever know, unless they personally responded to me, would know what my personal response is. And that is of me. And personally, I believe you can't, like, push the boundaries, and like Johnny Cash, walk the line, and...Understand that Marla has an aesthetic that I cannot duplicate. But Marla has an aesthetic that she cannot duplicate. And Aryan, on national television, if you can get this, you f***ing rock because you believe in what is true. Period." - Lupe

People of the UK: Do Not Vote For This Man

Since I commented on/linked to a pop blog or two centered in the UK, maybe someone will read this and take my advice. I don't know if there is public voting for Making Your Mind Up, but if there is, I urge you to not vote for this guy:

AAAAH MY EYES!
This man is Daz Sampson, and I really really really hate his music. He is probably best known to Americans as the rapper guy from Bus Stop, a group that has had several songs in the video game Dance Dance Revolution ("Kick The Can", "Kung Fu Fighting", "Na Na", among others). As part of Spacekats, he contributed two songs to the DDR-ripoff In The Groove ("Mellow" and "Land Of The Rising Sun", which I don't hate that much). I'm not sure how he even qualifies for ESC selection, since most of his songs have very obvious samples. And it turns out there's been some controversy over his song possibly getting disqualified because it was previously released. So if the disqualification does not occur, the least I can hope for is for him to not win.

Also, the song ("Teenage Life") sucks really hard.

Did You Know:Kingdom Hearts English Cast

The English voice cast of Kingdom Hearts was announced recently. Besides returning Disney/Final Fantasy voices, famous newcomers include Jesse McCartney, Brittany Snow, Christopher Lee, Rachael Lee Cook, and Mena Suvari.

Did you know:
1)3 voice actors have had major roles in WB shows (Gallagher in 7th Heaven, McCartney in Summerland, and Boreanaz in Buffy/Angel)?
2)2 voice actors also voiced major roles in the tremendous flop Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within(Ming-Na and James Woods)? And they still hired them for this game!
3)Hayden Panettiere is younger than I am (and I am under 18), yet has already been seen partying with Paris Hilton? And Disney still hired her!
4)The boss battle for the Atlantica world will be musical? Okay, that's not in this article, but it's been in others. I know it'll be somewhere along the lines of the battle with Topo in Square's 1998 Brave Fencer Musashi, but I really really really hope there will be a Broadway-style musical number. Because that would rock.

Another Makeover

Haven't you heard? Barbie and Ken are getting back together after two years apart, during which Barbie dated a new doll named Blaine. The drama doesn't actually mean anything - it's just publicity to reattract buyers Mattel lost to the Bratz hos (you know they are!), but the story of Ken's heartbreak is hilarious:

"A makeover, set to be unveiled today at a news conference in Manhattan, that finds him sporting a more rugged jaw line, wearing cargo pants and listening to Norah Jones."

"Ken, heartbroken, traveled the world in search of himself, making stops in Europe and the Middle East, dabbling in Buddhism and Catholicism, teaching himself to cook and slowly weaning himself off a beach bum life."

"Gone are Ken's outdated swimming trunks and dull T-shirts. Ken's new wardrobe will include cargo pants, a fitted suit with peak lapels and a motorcycle jacket. A facial resculpting, as Mattel calls it — Ken's first in more than a decade — will give him a more defined nose and a softer mouth. 'It's Matthew McConaughey meets Orlando Bloom,' Mr. Bloch said in an interview."



Mattel just made Ken the quintessential metrosexual - about 3 years too late. Not that there's a problem with that, but as a marketing decision it's not fresh. And you know that "dabbling in Buddhism and Catholicism" will anger the fundie Christian families and group who seem to hold some buying power.

Seriously, Norah Jones? Yawn.
Emo Ken would be less lame.

News For Everyone

Yup, it's time for articles on my readers' two favorite things, "Project Runway" and pop music.

"'Project Runway' takes off at fashion week". The top four showed their collections earlier today. However, one is a decoy collection, and the top 3 still isn't known to the public. From the article, we can infer that Chloe and Daniel are in (yay), and Kara and Santino were given less favorable mention, so one of them is probably the 3rd runner up. All the collections were very brown and earth tones, which is to be expected since they're all fall collections.

"NBC takes a chance on a new 'Idol'" NBC has announced an American version of the Eurovision Song Contest, with performers from each state. Somehow I have a feeling that the competition will be biased towards performers who live in cities with great music scenes, but it's just an early announcement and could change later. Whatever happens, I will most likely watch and hope it is better than American Idol. Speaking of the ESC, I hope the Slovenian entry this year doesn't get disqualified for plagarism, because he is cute.

Oh Nick Please Not So Quick

Last night's episode, the designers had to give each other makeovers - which means 3 of them had to do menswear. For the most part they didn't screw up, but Nick had to go. Really, I was expecting it for a while - he just didn't seem that into the show anymore. At least he's doing fine now and having famous people wear his dresses.


Chloe designed a suit for Nick and won. I didn't think it was that interesting, but it looked well made and I guess was something he'd wear.


Daniel designed an outfit for Chloe. I thought the leather corset thing wasn't very good, although the dress underneath could have worked. I just hope he improves next challenge because I want to see him in the top 3.


Kara designed an outfit for Santino. I liked this one because she made him cleaner and better groomed. He looked less frightening - and that was enough to give her my vote for the win. Off-topic, she sells a dress on her website that actually looks wearable and even comfortable. Alas, $200 is too expensive for me.


Santino designed a...jumpsuit?... for Kara. It was clearly incomplete and the color didn't look all that great on her. It was okay, but not bad enough to be aufed. That honor went to...


Nick, who designed a suit for Daniel. In short, it made Daniel less hot, and since that is never a good idea, poor Nick was aufed.

Next week, the final four do...something. I didn't really pay attention to the preview because it was late and I was tired.

T.O.M.M.Y.

Today is February 6th, the birthday of J-pop singer Tomoko Kawase, which explains why she has a persona called Tommy February6. February6 sings fun 80's style synth pop, and most of the material on her two albums is great (her work as persona Tommy Heavenly6 and with band the brilliant green is also great too). She's definitely one of my favorite J-pop singers, if not the favorite.



Not only does she have fun, danceable songs (my personal favorite is "Hey Bad Boy" off her first, self-titled album), but her videos are funny too. Most of them are weird and confusing, and usually involve cheerleaders and drunkenness. The videos for her first single, "Everyday At The Bus Stop," and her most recent single, "Lonely In Gorgeous" fit those criteria and more.

Watch "Everyday At The Bus Stop"
Watch "Lonely In Gorgeous"

What happened to Andrae?

He got aufed in last night's episode!

YA RLY

The dress sucked, but I didn't want to see him go. Partially because I really thought he was improving, and partially because it was kind of funny when Santino made fun of him.
I'm also a little worried that Daniel won, even though he's my favorite, because I don't want him to be this season's Kara Saun (winning a lot of challenges and then coming in 2nd place at Fashion Week). Still, it's better than having your favorite do poorly.

The garden party theme gave me a little deja vu because the first episode of Project Catwalk (and the only episode I've seen) was also about making something for a garden party, except with materials from a Home Depot-like store. Although then, the grass dress didn't get kicked off.