Hodgepodge.

I don't feel like snapping any photos nor taking the time to upload stuff, so here is a lazy post of stuff I've seen tonight.

I wonder if this will be in 3D when Lucas remakes all of his masterpieces for that medium?

I forgot to mention Robbie Burns Day on the 25th. Here is a haggis recipe that you may like to try.

I'm a King Bee:

The unembeddable Castration Walk! Click that, it's really worth it!

Something Wicker This Way Comes.

About 2 1/2 years ago, I paid a visit to the Tagajo Historical Museum and snapped a few pics inside and out. I had some time to kill last week so I dropped by there again. On the way there though, I decided to visit the extremely fascinating* "Ruins of Tagajo Castle".

*Warning: may not actually be fascinating.






Very little difference from the last time I was at the museum, but this time, I was greeted by the Count and managed to take photos of a few more corpses & skulls.

So I'd seen all that before but I must have taken a new route for I discovered this display that I hadn't seen before. Within was a roomful of the coolest characters made of Wicker. I half expected to bump into Ingrid Pitt & Christopher Lee encasing Edward Woodward within one of the bigger ones. (Come to think of it, I wonder if "The Wicker Tree" will ever come to Japan?)

The big ones are called お人形様 (O-ningyou sama = Giant Dolls) and you can find more pictures of them here.

I wonder what treats will await me there when I revisit in another few years?

Winer Whiner.

Everyone is familiar with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, right? Sure she'd taken her shtick from Vampira, but definitely improved upon it in big ways.



This Minxy gal, who likes to teach Japanese to the masses by showcasing her two biggest talents, once took on Elvira. Not a bad impersonation, though not great either.

Elvira responded with her own video and royally pwned the Minx!

Even better is her spoof of Michael Sarah Palin!

A while back, I commissioned Alex's sister (Stacey whose husband is a winer) to see if she could procure me a bottle of Elvira's Macbrenet. Sure 'nuff, I was presented with a bottle of the red liquid last week!

I hope to pop it open soon and if I get a Red cork, I can send it to Elvira for some undisclosed treat!



Oh, yeah. Alex also gave me a pair of Ghostbuster Boxers in which he wrapped the bottle. Very considerate!

Always Bet On Blackjack.

While in Akihabara, I discovered this cool little hole in the wall gallery that sells fan-based art of Anime characters, primarily the works of Osamu Tezuka. Unfortunately photos weren't permitted but they gave out a postcard of the project, entitled "osamu moet moso".

I did manage to pick up an item that I'd been tempted by in the past for 2/5s of the price! I'm a proud owner of some Blackjack Toilet Paper!

I keep my specialty TP in my Earthquake Emergency Bag, cuz that'd be the only time I'd be forced to use it, in an emergency.

I'll Get You My Pretties!

When in Akihabara, the first thing I did is enter one of those massive shops where individual vendors rent a glass case and sell all kinds of goodies from within. I was looking for some obscure Godzilla stuff when I came across something I'd never seen before. Three figures from "The Wizard of Oz!" As soon as I espied them, I asked the Shopkeeper if he had any others...he didn't. So for the rest of the day I wandered the Otaku shops in vain, hoping for lightning to strike twice. I've since tried to track them down on Google but can't locate anything that quite matches them. I can only assume that there were at least a half-dozen characters but more likely a dozen. I won't tell you how much I spent in case someone out there wants to offer me a small fortune for them.

c

If anyone out in the blogosphere has any knowledge of this set, let me know!

UPDATE: Apparently these figures came from choco-eggs!

In other Ozzy news, I also took a Wiz. I had a lot of time to kill one afternoon, so I labouriously leafed through the Movie Pamphlets and came across this little gem. Apart from some clips here and there, I've never seen this movie but I do like me some Nipsey Russell. I saw a DVD copy a while back but I'll wait until I see it a bit cheaper.

Meanwhile, check out some of the pics from the pamphlet:

Definitely going to track down that movie...

Happy Lunar New Year!

萬事如意 Wànshìrúyì - "May all your wishes be fulfilled!"
吉慶有餘 Jíqìngyǒuyú - "May your happiness be without limit!"
There's several more of these, but these two are my faves.

Since it's now officially the Year of the Dragon, here are a couple of Dragons that I've acquired of late.






I've had this wall hanging for years but just recently discovered it in a box full of junk. It's now adorning my closet.

The little fellow is Crayon Shin-chan and I UFO caught him in Tokyo last week. 

A friend regifted this incredible Dragon to me just the other day. His wife wouldn't allow it in the home, but I have no such compunctions.

I asked my brother if there's anything happening in Toronto's Chinatown and he is oblivious of any shindigs. The first link he got was an odd link to a North Korea story! This one is a tad more mainstream.

I'm not sure when this was taken, but I'm sure there's something similar happening this year in Yokohama. Probably not in Tokyo though, there's a blizzard happening!

A Maid Man.

I was rather exhausted by the time my last day arrived in Tokyo so rather than trek all over the city trying to find out where the Tubbo Sumo match was, I just stored my bags at the station, bought my train ticket and spent several hours wondering through the Otaku shops at Akihabara. 

I didn't enter either of these cafes, though I was intrigued by the Gundam one.

I did need to have lunch somewhere though so I succumbed to the charms of a Maiden and embarked into the world of the Maid Café.

It is worth doing once but only if you have some extra cash and a tolerance for saccharine sweetness. The gals were cute enough, I suppose, but not at all in a naughty way. One is not allowed to take photos within so I snapped these two from the wall of the loo.

I'm not sure if the café is supposed to be Maid Dreaming or Maid Reaming; if it's the latter, I was not privy to an extra show. What I did get was a petite lass with a fair knowledge of English who convinced me to stick around rather than hightail it out of there. Another gal served me my Omelet/Rice and drew a rabbit out of ketchup upon it, insisting I join her in a chant of, "Moe, Moe, Oishii-yo!" while we held our fingers in the shape of a heart. What gets me is that this place has its regulars who seem to eat this tripe up and ask for seconds. I was ready to leave when it was suggested that I remain in order to view a floor show. So another maid sang along to an AKB48 tune and did a little dance step. Pretty nasty stuff. I honestly can't figure out the appeal of this or any other similar place. Unless you're into that kind of thing.

As part of my meal set, I was permitted to have a snapshot taken with the maid of my choice and I was given a pic of a random maid. Good for a conversation piece at least!

Since I never maid made any progress with these gals, here a few of the ladies whose company I enjoyed!

That last one is of a headless blow-up doll (you can buy the heads separately) sold near the Maid Bar for those who don't get lucky!