"Cute Little Characters Galore!"

"All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable." - Walt Disney

Okay, we're back in Korea again! Just had to take a pit stop into the arcade/music studio in Game Land to listen to some awesome Nintendocore. I must say, one of the things I love about Asian culture is the way that they portray cuteness within their cartoon characters. Hello Kitty ™, Kerropi ™, Blue Bear ™, etc. They are so cute ^_^; (Why can't Americans make a bunch of cute cartoon characters like that? >.>;) The Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese do it so well! But, I want to take this time to focus on cute Korean cartoon characters in this post. These are just a few that I have liked for a while and/or thought were just so amazingly adorable from fist appearance:





Blue Bear: This cute little creature is actually Southern Korean and is part of a Korean school stationary store called Morning Glory. I believe there's also a flower shop by the same name. Blue Bear is found mostly on school supplies such a pencils, notebooks, paper, folders, etc. Just soooo cute.

Panyang Girl: A bunch of cute little girls in cute little settings having a ton of fun. If they were real, I would adopt them and take them all home like so. Haha! There are tons of wallpapers online with them. Of course, girls love them =]

4Crain: These little animals were created by Byung-Kyu Lee. There are characters such as Neco, ChicoChico, and the Maguri Brothers. I wish they made stuffed animals that looked like them in America.

Dooly: Children's cartoon character that is very popular in Korea. Dooly is a little dinosaur (Again, stuffed animals please! >.<) It was created in the 80's so it's older than I am...but cute! :D

Here's some other Korean cartoon characters to check out if you're interested. Just Google search them and you'll get a ton of adorable wallpapers :)-

-Pucca

-Piyoz

-Mashimaro

-Onion Head (emoticons)

-Gamenara

-RooRoo & RaaRaa

- Mini Valley

-Wish Wing the Bear






It's rather difficult to find this stuff in America unless you shop online or actually go to Korea (I don't really do that much online shopping so i'm just going to shop around at different Asian stores to find unique characters when I get the chance >.<). But, all in all, Koreans really do know how to draw cute and memorable animals geared towards children and teens. America, step your game up in this department. Disney characters aren't going to cut it any much longer.

-Monique

"Pause! Time for some Nintendocore! Resume!"

"You take 8-bit video game tracks, combine it with hardcore screaming, throw in a little pig squealing and sick bass, a pinch of techno and death metal...what do you get? One of the most unique "core" genres the world has to offer."

Well, in the previous post, Korea was the country of the moment. I want to take a little detour and go deep into the world of music. Now, I love music dearly. It influences my ideas, my artwork, even the way I dress. Music is my life! ^__^; I listen to alot of different types of music (mostly screamo, post-hardcore, metal and alternative), but I stumbled across a genre of music that just blew my mind. And it's called Nintendocore.

There are so many different core genres out there, it's freakin' ridiculous (mathcore, trancecore, deathcore, etc.) It's kind of hard to classify different bands and even keep u at times. Also, it's almost like some of them sound the same (Well, some of them do, haha!) But, nintendocore is one of the most unique of all of the different types of core that I just adore. Maybe because I love all of the glitchy/electronica sounds. It sounds very futuristic and cool! :)

One of my favorite nxc bands at the moment

is called 100DEADRABBITS =] Don't let the name fool you, but they're sooo cool. Especially their instrumentals ^__^; Like "Dead Cell", "Fear of the Pink Mist", and " Chaos Emerald". You can listen to the song "Dead Cell" here:



"Fear of the Pink" here:



And this is my favorite. If you don't like metal or screamo, please don't even bother to listen. Ha ha!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzMGntEuj_U

Here are some other Nintendocore bands to check out if you like 100DR:

Dungeon Elite

HORSE the band

As the World Fades

There are a bunch of others, just look on Youtube! XD

- Okay, we'll go back to Korea in the next post. I just had to explain this new type of music i'm addicted to. Haha, maybe you'll like it too, I don't know.





-Monique

"Roaming The Streets of Korea"

"Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythym depend on simplicity."- Plato


Time to jet from the runways of Dubai with its beautiful architecture to the pretty cool country of Korea! =]

Now, I love Korean fashion. It's not as wild and out there as Japanese fashion, but I still adore how cute it is. It's also fit for different seasons and can still be style and created to suit the individual's needs as well. I would say, in my eyes, it's a bit more organized and tailored, hahaha! XD

Going off tangent a little bit here, I have to say that I am in love with the cute little Korean characters such (like Blue Bear) and a bunch of others. I just think they're so totally adorable, and I wish there were more Asian stores around, so that I could actually buy some of the material. Buuuut, there isn't, so bah to that one. Ha ha ha!

But, on a serious note, in my opinion, Korean streets fashion is a bit more clean-cut than Japanese fashion. While Japanese fashion to focus on layering, color, visual appeal, and creativity, Korea's is a bit more "catalogue-esque." But, it is still very adorable and very SIMPLE. That goes to show you that simple can look great as well and that you don't really need alot to look great =]

Here are a couple of photos of current Korean fashion:





See what I mean? Straight from a catalogue. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with the fashion style there at all, but it's just not something I would wear every single day. Like mini-dresses and boots and such. I would have to put more of an edgy and colorful spin on the outfit, ha ha ha! But, I still really like their trends and whatnot.

In the next post we will still be located in the beautiful Korea, but i'm going to focus more on the cartoonish aspects of the country, which should be very cute and fun!! :D I cannot wait! =]





-Monique

"Dubai's Revolutionary Architecture"

"When I first started going to Dubai, no one had heard of it. Now everyone wants to go." - Sandra Morgan

Around and around the world we go. Where we stop? I already know! :) Welcome to UAE (United Arab Emirates)! We are now about to land in the most famous of the seven emirates...DUBAI!

Now, not many people really know about this place. I didn't really think much of this place at first, myself. A friend of mine introduced me to the place a few months ago. We were surfing the net in the college library together and he told me a lot about Dubai. He even showed me pictures. I must say, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the architecture. And yes, architecture is indeed a form of art =] Anyway, I was in complete awe of these buildings and how beautiful they were. They were absolutely lovely. Especially the Hydropolis Hotel. Now, the Hydropolis Hotel is supposed to be the world's first underwater luxury hotel, which is absolutely THE MOST COOLEST THING EVER!! I believe it's currently being built. It's rather expensive ($5,000 dollars a night? Really??), but i'm sure it will be well worth it.

There is also a Dubai Disneyland =] It looks a hell of a lot better than the Disneyland/Disney World here in the US, I mean, woah!! It just looks so vibrant and luxurious. Or is it Dubailand...? Something like that, haha! But back to the actual architecture. It's lovely, vibrant, and absolutely amazing! There are so many beautiful structures in the world, but the ones in Dubai just make my mouth drop. Here are some photos of these one-of-a-kind structures:

- Palm Island

- The upcoming Hydropolis Underwater Luxury Hotel

- Rotating Building

- Wave Tower

Dubai is famous for it's unique architecture, so there is definitely alot more buildings to explore within that area. These are just the ones that caught my attention. Although, may seem like the perfect and coolest place to go, there are many rules and restrictions within the city (which is very new to me). Especially when it comes to drugs! I heard that if they find you carrying a roll or piece of bread bread with poppy seeds or something in it, you go to prison for 4 years because they think it's drugs. Beautiful place, outrageous policies....

I found this website on the different rules to abide by and regulations to follow while in Dubai (and I must say, some of them are quite ridiculous). Listen to what some of the residents and visitors have to say:

http://www.dubai-online.com/essential/customs.htm

Dubai is still one of my top 5 places to visit one day. I just have to careful not to bring any bread with seeds in it and always check the bottom of my shoes :) I would go there just to look at the buildings and lights all day :D

-Monique

"Bandi causing 'Panda'monium?"

"There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist." - Ayn Rand

Ni-hao, everyone! Welcome to the wonderful country of CHINA! :D Let's jump back into the fashion realm once again =] Now, this is something interesting I came across while surfing the net earlier. I wanted to do my current post on Chinese teen fashion, and I stumbled across this unique and amazing fashion line created by Chinese fashion designer, Zhao Bandi. It's called "Bandi Panda". I personally think it's a super cool line, but the Chinese don't really think so...they take it as an insult...(Lighten up, will ya?)

Anyway, I stumbled across this article on Google about Bandi Panda, and thought it would be interesting to share. Here's the URL:

http://www.chinahush.com/2009/04/11/bandi-panda-fashion-show-in-france-stirs-online-debate/

Hahaha, well, I can't really say that the Chinese hate it...but it's stirred up quite a bit of controversy online with debates and such, so I suppose they don't take that much of a liking to it.

Bandi Panda was introduced a year ago, in March 2009 in a fashion show in France. It represents different types of Chinese social classes and occupations, which I thought was rather clever.(Kudos to Bandi! ^_^)

I wouldn't really call the line an insult to the Chinese people at all. It believe it is just his interpretation of what he perceives as Chinese society. It's not like he's being ignorant about it. But, I don't live in China, so I guess I wouldn't really know. But, that's what I get out of it.

I guess it's all how you look at it. The article says otherwise, but I would just call them "haters". He did his thing. I like it alot :D

"Melbourne Shuffle!"

"There is a bit of insanity in dance that does everybody a great deal of good." - Edwin Denby

Well, so far, I have covered fashion and art, now time to move onto pop culture. Time to make a stop in Australia! =] Melbourne to be exact! ^-^ A while ago, my boyfriend showed me a video of this really cool, yet intense at the same time. It's called the "Melbourne Shuffle" and it actually originated from Irish immigrants (Go figure, eh?)

But, anyway, the Melbourne Shuffle is a really intense underground dance that involves quick movement sliding of the feet. It almost reminds me of a crazier version of moonwalk and the running man at the same time. It began in the 80's, grew in the 90's, and just recently became really popular starting 2 years ago.

I cannot explain how to do the steps properly, so here's a video on how to do so! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3evoNeD45g

And here's a really cool compilation of the actual dance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPaMdxC6CQI

Lol, hopefully I will going to be going to Australia to attend the Empire of the Sun since they're not playing in America this year >.< Maybe i'll throw on some "phats" and shuffle my way to the country, haha! XD

"Tokidokitaly??"

"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.”- Bo Bennett




So for all of those who know, and don't know, already...Italy is a beautiful country that is BIG (and I mean BIG) on fashion. So is the United, Japan,and Britain, but nooooo! Italy is up there. Being that Milan is the fashion capital of the world, I wanted to make a pit stop here (in Italy), haha! :D

Now, one of my favorite fashion lines, Tokidoki, was actually created in Italy. You would think with a name like that, it was created right in the heart of Japan. Ehhhh, not so. Though Tokidoki is a Japanese-based clothing line, it was not created in Japan itself. You have Italian artist, Simon Legno, and his business partners to thank for that one.

If you're unaware of what Tokidoki is, it is a fashion/accessory line that is inspired by Japanese pop culture. Hence, the cute little chibi-like characters, Asian women, and happy, cute, and colorful backgrounds. The line has even joined forces with Hello Kitty (one of my favorite little Japanese characters). There is a huge assortment of shirts,purses, shoes, footwear, jewelry, backpacks, and many more to choose from. Who can resist the adorable faces of mobile milk cartoons and girly grim reapers, eh?? It is a rather cute line indeed.

I am amazed how at how a guy could create such a colorful and female-oriented fashion line such a Tokidoki. You would think a female created it, but one cannot be right about everything!

If you would like to take a deeper look into the world of Tokidoki and its store locations, please visit the following website: http://www.tokidoki.it

It gives you the lowdown on the all the accessories, what's happening, different collaborations, and store locations. See how another country's fashion style can have an influence on another country?? Pretty awesome, isn't it??

Oh, and Tokidoki means "sometimes" in Japanese (yes, it is a real word). The TD characters will be apart of my future tattoo. I cannot wait, haha!



-Monique