Things I like - 7- Kawaii Stuff and Japan

Those who know me will know I have a minor obsession with anything Japanese or generally kawaii. Kawaii means cute in Japanese and the word tends to be used to describe things such as cartoons of food with faces, miniature items or plush toys.

Here's my new kawaii desk tidy from Paperchase!

Hello Kitty is kawaii. Especially when she's wearing a kimono and is accompanied by a big pink bow! My housemate Kate got me this wicked-cool necklace for my birthday from Tragic Stitches:

Image from here.

I also love Japanese animated movies and TV shows (anime). I'm currently awaiting the next new episode of Naruto Shippuden on Crunchyroll (it's all getting very exciting in the Hidden Leaf right now with another Great Ninja War kicking off) and I own a number of Studio Ghibli movies. The Hayao Miyazaki range includes some pretty beautiful and random typical-Japanese stuff, like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle, but also includes an anime version of The Borrowers, entitled The Secret World of Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty). This story is a bit Americanised but with the lovely animation and charm of Miyazaki I'd give it a watch if I were you!

Image from here.

I first got introduced to Japanese music by listening to the theme tunes from the Naruto series. If you like Japanese music or think you'd like to give it a try, listen to G3 radio online on Tuesday evenings. My friends in Area 11 have a radio show where they play lots of sweet tunes and there's a chat room type thing so you can request songs and answer the question of the week if you are so inclined!

Here's a video with lyrics for Bluebird by Ikimono Gakari:

I have never been to Japan, a fact which makes me sad, and I will go one day I'm sure. Until then I will keep watching anime, eating sushi and katsu curry, listening to J-rock and buying stuff I think is cute. In short, continuing being an embarrassing Westerner who doesn't really know anything about Japan. I tried to learn more about Japan by taking a module of Japanese language in my second year of my undergraduate Biology degree. I spent months learning hiragana and katakana and trying to remember the Japanese for post office, business card and newspaper but instead remembering aisu-kurimu (ice cream), hanbaga (hamburger) and terebi (television) because they're pretty much just English words put into Japanese syllables. They're fun to say, give it a try!

Here are some sites I enjoy:

Ji Ji Kiki: A jewellery shop named after the characters in Kiki's Delivery Service. They sell lots of cute necklaces and earrings, a large proportion of which have cute faces on them. Say it with me now: Ka-wa-iiii!

Flutterscape: This is a marketplace which sells many things from Japan. Lots of collectibles and accessories to be found here.

Tofu Cute: A UK based store which sells accessories, stationary and Japanese snacks. I love the great selection of Puccho and Pocky, and the endless edamame popping keyrings!

Tokyo Kawaii Etc.: A website/blog written by a Japanese lady called Kirin. She writes about things going on in her life, makes videos and explains how things in Japan are different from other countries. 

Japanese lunches are the coolest!

I'm Still Alive (and criticising and baking)!

Yo! It's been a while! I've been trying to finish a paper for a conference in Dundee. Ok, so it's not the Caribbean or whatever but I'm just happy to be getting my name in print! The conference is by the Crop Protection in Northern Britain people and I'm going to be presenting a poster on my PhD subject. Eeek!

Since the last time I posted (October - wow!) my friend's band Area 11 have had a pretty successful video on Youtube in collaboration with Yogscast. You can see it here, if you aren't one of the 1.4 million who have watched already: http://bit.ly/ts3gdb

In case you missed it, it's just been Christmas! I got an awesome present - a Totoro cushion! I would put a photo here but Ye Olde PeeCee I'm using won't allow it. You'll just have to take my word that it's just the coolest thing! He's all fluffy with a soot sprite on his head ^_^

I also got a recipe book from the Hummingbird Bakery. As I type there's a Lemon & Poppy Seed Loaf baking away in the oven! Pretty sure I've done something wrong though as the recipe says one hour cooking time and I'm already pushing two and a half hours.. Uh oh! Hopefully it will taste ok.

I've just finished watching the 2nd episode of the 2011 Royal Society Christmas Lectures recorded from BBC2 (so I guess it's probably on iPlayer). This series are really interesting, the lecturer, Professor Bruce Hood, is very compelling and it's all about the brain with bits about optical illusions, MRI scanning and senses. It's also pretty cool to see the audiences' minds carefully blown by a number of well-executed illustrative experiements.

Also I watched the new adaptation of Great Expectations (also on iPlayer). It's a fantastic version of the Dickens novel with a perfect atmosphere and lovely sets. It still doesn't make me like the story though. I hate the charater of Pip. I know he's supposed to be arrogant and a pain in the arse and then change his spots towards the end. I know it's a classic tale about the effect of money and influence on an impressionable young mind... But I dislike him constantly and, maybe it's just me, I like to like my protagonist. It's one novel I've not been able to finish because I've been irritated too much by the main character.

Oops, I smell burning lemon sponge! Gotta go!