pinku

RIP: The Sopranos, GG AND VMars...and shoes for sale!

Thanks for all of your emails regarding the Ravelry invites. It made me wish I had more to share, but I only had two. I did the easiest thing and gave the invites to whoever emailed first. I could have never chosen otherwise. Am sure the site will be open to everyone soon enough.

So before I continue and tell you how the CW has ripped my heart out, I wanna ask you, 'Have you seen the Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch'? It is a pretty riveting show about king crab fishing in the Bering Sea. It's pretty scary actually.

Photographer/Fisherman Corey Arnold wrote up a piece about 'How to become an Alaskan Fisherman' for fecalface.com. I recommend both his photography and reading his  story. If you are in LA, you can check out Corey's solo exhibition right now at the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica.

So back to the heart-ripping network of the CW. They've not only cancelled the Gilmore Girls, but also Veronica Mars. Sure I'll be the first to admit that it was kinda nearing the time for GG to be wrapped up, but so soon, so suddenly. Surely that wasn't necessary. And VMars is a whole different story - we only got three seasons. It just wasn't enough. I love singing the intro song and I can't say that about a lot of the tv shows I watch. It's hard to believe that next week's VMars episode will be the last one I'll ever watch.

All these series finales in the span of a couple of weeks is just too much. We are also down to the last two Sopranos episodes we'll ever watch - crazy. Thank goodness Entourage will be continuing - that show brings much joy and laughter into our household.

Two more days until I'm back in BrisVegas - yahoo!

ps on a completely random note, does anyone want to buy these shoes (tabikutsu) off me?

They are split toe slip on shoes in purple sold at Sou Sou in Omotesando here in Tokyo. Actually they are now dead stock and are being manufactured no longer...hmm, maybe I should keep them - ha! More photos of the shoes here. I don't even know if I wore them once. They are 26cm long. I'm usually a 9 or a 9.5, which is a men's 8. They are unisex. Made of cotton with a rubber sole. Made in Japan. Originally paid 4900 yen. Selling for $25 (OBO) plus shipping.

More Sou Sou related links here:

Shoesfor her.com blog post about Sou Sou Kyoto

Trends in Japan - split toe socks

Virtual Garage sale?

I think I'm gonna have a virtual garage sale.

I thought of this brilliant idea while swimming today. Doing laps is very therapeutic, not only for my physical self but it also gives me an opportunity to work through issues, and brainstorm new ideas. I have so much stuff that I loved at some point but don't use anymore and other stuff that I just probably should never have bought. Ah yes, we've all been there. I would just have a normal garage sale, but we don't have a garage and it's just not done in Japan. I'll put anything leftover on ebay. Just need to purge and get some money back instead of spending it - cough, cough!

I've got unworn shoes from here, Japanese craft books (mostly older ones that can't be bought on amazon anymore), and a bunch of other stuff. Should be fun.

Talking of spending - sweet Taeko informed me at our SNB on Tuesday night that you can now buy ADDIS in Japan - OMG! Not only that, she told me they are around 600 yen - LESS than half the price I paid in the US ($14.95 - ouch). I purchased (cough) 14 (cough) pairs yesterday, Please don't do the math. But as Rae and I talked about the other day - this kind of purchase is a total investment!! All of the larger sizes and popular cable lengths are sold out, but I only really wanted needles that are a size 5 and smaller as I use my Denise needles for larger projects anyway. I also bought a whole set of small circs with a whopping 60-inch cable. I figure I'll teach myself the magic loop technique. They are even selling addi circs with a THREE METRE cable - um, crazy.

You can buy the addis online in Japan at ASATSURU - they even have an English page - cute!

Oh, btw have any of you used a knitting thimble? They are sold out of the INOX ones but they look kind of handy.

Still on the topic of shopping, Fred Flare has done it again - they are selling one of a kind Amy Sedaris fake cakes. I really want one, but I'm going to try and resist (considering the purchase of 14 pairs of needles and did I mention the yarn I also bought yesterday.....). Anyway, you should totally get one thought (pink!, get the pink) and I'll be so jealous - they are also personally signed by Amy. I also love the Amy Sedaris pastry pouch - cute!

Man are we still on the topic of shopping. I just can't resist. It's kind of like my addiction to amazing tv like 'I Love New York'. It's produced by Ken Mok of ANTM fame - oh and did you know that's my last name too. I so wish we were related. As I told Claire I was a bit disappointed with the first episode, but man did it pick up this week with the mangeant (i.e. male beauty pageant).

I have plenty more things I want to chat about today, but um, I think I've written enough.

Summer excitement

We are not going anywhere this summer like most of our friends!! Well we may go on a mini-vacay to Kyoto and Osaka, but we'll see. What's been going on around here - I'm still eating those black sesame seed puddings (yum!), we still have no television (that doesn't stop us from watching tv though), Martine's turtle, Gertrude is staying with us for the summer and our piggies are cuter than ever.

Edited to include this cute picture of Loretta lying over a cooling pack thing - we place it in their habitat to keep them cool. Sugar is lying close to it too!! Our piggies are so smart!

I also finally managed to pull out the sewing machine that I bought off Yahoo Auctions (which is Japan's equivalent of Ebay) for 1000 yen. It's kind of rubbish or maybe I just didn't set it up right. I dunno. But I did manage to complete a project from Generation T that I've been meaning to do for ages.

It was pretty easy to complete. My sewing sucked, but I blame it on the machine :)

It was late at night so I didn't bother to take fashion shots - might try to do that soon. It turned out ok - kinda cute.

Someone who knows how to sew WAY better than me is Stephanie from anti-factory. I received my new AntiFactory top on Sunday and have already worn it to work twice (actually I'm wearing it right now!!). It's so cute and it makes me feel happy at work. In a related story, the other week I got to meet Stephanie's family when they were in town. It's a totally small world because Steph's mum had contacted me via my blog, unawares that I owned more than one Anti-Factory item. Anyway both Daz and I had SUCH a fun time (a lunch turned into seven hours of shopping, chatting, cafe-going and more chatting and more shopping)....shame we forgot our camera. This is why blogs rule - you get to meet the most interesting people.

So to finish up this rambling post, I have to confess my undying love for....ENTOURAGE. I can't believe we haven't watched it up until now, but the good thing about that is that we had 29 episodes to watch in the last couple of weeks. We watched the first two episodes a couple of weeks ago (EDITED to ADD: at the urging of BBE1 and BBE2 - in case you didn't know BBE stands for Best Brother Ever, unfortunately my equivalent is BSE = mad cow??) and it did nothing for me, but then we got hooked. It's funny, witty, clever and officially my favourite show at the moment. I love ALL of the characters - esp. Kevin Dillon as Johnny 'Drama' Chase. I knew I loved Mark Wahlberg for some reason other than his hot body (click you won't regret it). Something I wish I had never watched was CNTM - that is officially the WORST ntational series of top model. I cannot believe they chose that 'completely under-nourished, hiding bags and bags of lollies in my suitcase' teen.

Six super cool things

Sometimes I have nothing to write about and then I get inspired and have about a million things to write about and get so excited that I have to do it all in one post. That's just me. Here are six super cool things I'm into right now:

Super cool thing number one

Amy has embarked on an up and down tour of Japan starting in Hokkaido and finishing in Okinawa. She's travelling in a van with a bunch of young Japanese people and you can read about her adventures on Japan Hopper. Japan Hopper is a new type of travel blog that is looking for native speakers of English living in Japan who can write about different regional areas of Japan. I just signed up because I'm going on a short holiday tomorrow and thought I could share all of my travel information(see Super Cool thing number 6).

Super cool thing number two

Isn't this an awesome exhibition poster!! While surfing the internet the other day I came across this artist/craftsperson, Rei Ricketts and her amazing bags. There are house bags, super duper handbags shaped as zebras, with trees and cherries on top, and tote bags. This is one more reason to love Tokyo and Kichijoji. For those of you lucky to live in Tokyo, you should check out the Rei Ricketts exhibition at the Niji Garo Gallery in Kichijoji (march 16-21, 12pm to 8pm) - I will SO be there.

Super cool thing number three

This free pattern on Elann! So cute and I am loving the fact that it's knit is one piece from the top down with no seaming. The recommended yarn is 100% cotton and I'm a bit worried it'll be heavy and I won't want to wear it. So I started swatching with some leftover Rowan All Seasons Cotton last night - we'll see how that goes. If I go with the recommended yarn (which is SO cheap) I'm going for GOLD!!

Super cool thing number four

This cool watch/bracelet kit, which will be available at the Shugei Cafe this Sunday (March 12) at Uplink Factory in Shibuya. Fellow Tokyo SNB member and all round crafty lady Taeko has been hard at work crocheting decorations and rallying the troops for this Sunday's event. She has also come up with a brooch kit which will also be for sale for about 300 yen. There will be music, free knitting patterns, and a vintage/new craft book library where you can browse through everyone's craft book treasures. I'm sad that I can't go.

Join us for 'Shugei Cafe' on Sunday, March 12th from 11:45am to 5pm

UPLINK FACTORY - 37-18 Udagawacho Shibuya-ku

Free admission (you have to order at least one drink).
Knit and Craft Cafe, Free Patterns, Musical Live, etc.

Super cool thing number five

Tony and the gang are back THIS SUNDAY. Love this pic of Carmela, Tony's horrible mum, and Meadow and AJ when they were so sweet.

Super cool thing number six

Darin and I leave for Okinawa in 17 hours!!!! The forecast for Tokyo tomorrow is cloudy with a MAX of 11 and MIN of 7. The forecast for Okinawa tomorrow is SUNNY with a MAX of 24 and a MIN of 16 - that's more like it. I have my denim mini, my new hanjiro tshirt, my pink Australia flag hat packed and ready to go...well actually I haven't packed at all, but I've planned my packing. We will be attending a friend's wedding on Sunday so it should be fun - we'll be back on Monday night no doubt complaining again about the cold. On a positive note, there's only 12 days until the official start of spring. Bring on the sakura - can't wait!

See you all next week!!

Snowing....??!!!!

Well as I look out of the window of my office I see snow falling here in Tokyo. Yesterday it was spring and now it's back to winter??!! The weather has been so lovely, and now..... I'm sure spring'll find its way to us soon.

This past weekend was one filled with finals: saw the final installment of the Lord of the Rings, watched the final episode *ever* of Sex and the City, and I watched the Queer Eye Christmas Reunion. I cried in all three, but I do have a tendency to cry during a lot of tv shows/movies (even the Olympics) - just ask darin! There's nothing better than a good cry every now and again - don't you agree girls??!! For me the Sex and the City finale was my favourite - won't say anymore coz I know I'll get in trouble from certain people in Australia if I spoil the ending.

That's all for now.

love pinku

Japan needs the fab 5!

I had never heard of the fab five until our recent trip to Australia where everyone was talking about them. Determined to find out what the fuss was about - I have downloaded pretty much the first whole series of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'. Sometimes cruel, sometimes just plain rude, but on the whole a bunch of fun. It's a nice break from Japanese tv, that's for sure. I won't even tell you about the nonsense that was on tv last night....

Anyway, darin took this photo on a recent train ride and I think we have a Japanese candidate for the fab five!! Kyan, what magic could you work with this hair? Is there a product that could help?

Things we miss...

I have spent quite a bit of my life living away from the country where I was born and grew up (that'd be Australia). What I have learnt is that living overseas gives you balance - it makes you more aware of the world around you and appreciate where you came from.

I was going to write a long post about living overseas, but I don't want Pinku to get too deep - there's a time and place for all of that. What I REALLY wanted to talk about this morning is how I love peer-to-peer file sharing. When you live in Japan (without cable tv), your television choices are limited. Just to let you know I do enjoy a bit of the ol' Japanese tv (especially food shows), but every now and again I love to download some American tv - Sex and the City, the Simpsons, the Family Guy, and we even downloaded the first four episodes of Paris Hilton's 'Simple Life'. Now I'm not sure whether I would've watched this in any other country BUT here it is fun and makes you feel connected to the 'real' world.

Last night I downloaded the latest episode of 'Sex and the City' which is in its final season. I don't think there's anything wrong with downloading tv - I wouldn't have to pay for it at home, so why should I here!!!

I love you, Kazaa.

B-RAP

I took a deep, deep sigh of relief this morning. Three actually. My first sigh was after I paid those bills I've been meaning to pay! The second was after making it out of the subway train this morning alive - there were THAT many people, but the most important sigh of all was because the beautiful autumn weather has returned. Yesterday was nasty - cold, rainy and cold.....BUT today is beautiful - blue skies, warm sun, cool air. BIG SIGH!

So last night I finally watched one of my favourite shows on Japanese tv. I say finally because we haven't had a tv for the last three months, well that's not totally true - we did have a tv, we just didn't bother to hook it up.

THE SHOW

It's pretty much crap, but parts of it are really funny. The show is called, 'Let's go to school' (gakko ni ikko) and is hosted by the boy band - V6. It's on TBS every Tuesday at 7:54 pm. Love that Japanese accuracy. They describe the program on the webpage as 'kids are alright groovy after school'. The webpage is boring and in Japanese - it's the show you gotta see. True, quality mindless entertainment.

So, there are a bunch of segments. My favourite is B-School Rap. It is sort of an American Idol concept BUT way funny. A bunch of contestants just come and do their own specialized rap. It's special trust me. They usually just do it in a studio somewhere but last night they did it in a hotel room in front of Quentin Tarantino. My favourites were 'musha' and 'sexy lady'.

Another inane and meaningless segment is one where the hosts of the show break up into teams and must walk the streets of Tokyo looking for a mother-daughter couple that look more like sisters. Riveting, huh!