The Morning Commute: Gion

Young maiko wander through the traditional teahouse-lined streets of Gion.

And now for something Completely Different: Gloomy Bear

This is the story of a little boy and a cute, cuddly, abandoned, pink bear cub. Captivated by his cuteness, the little boy decided to adopt his new pink pal. He took him home, took care of him, and the two became the best of friends...Until the cute little cub grew up.

The cuteness of stuffed animals, wild and feral in real life, seemed strange to Mori Chack (Chax). "It is only natural for a bear to attack humans. I wanted to express that in a cute manner."

And that's what he's been getting paid to do, since 2002, when he was discovered selling hand-made postcards on the streets of Osaka. Almost overnight, Gloomy Bear, in all his pink, kawaii-style gruesomeness, had clawed his bloody way into the hearts of Japanese youth.

Gloomy, pronounced "gurumi" in Japanese, actually means stuffed, and is the suffix of the word "nuigurumi" (sewed and stuffed) meaning "stuffed animal" in Japanese. Unlike his Disney cousin, Pooh-san, who also enjoys great popularity among kawaii kid consumers, Gloomy can not be tamed by the society he's caged in.

Today, Gloomy Bear can be found sitting pretty, stuffed and fluffed on shelves all over Japan. Bloody key chains, ketai straps, stationary, and almost any other product plastered with this strawberry-sweet killing machine are never hard to find. Come on! You gotta admit -- he is kind of cute -- once you become desensitized to the disturbing, blood-drenched claws and mauling mouth... So let me know if you're in the market! (^-^)/

The world has gone mad!

Everything that I believed in came crashing down around me this weekend when...yes I'm going to say it....it finally happened....the Simpson sisters SWITCHED HOTNESS!

I never thought this day would come...who would have forseen that Ashlee would get a nose job and Jessica would wear a hideous red wig and ill fitting bra? Certainly not I, but that is exactly what happened...first enjoy the train wreck that is the weave sporting Jessica...







and now Ashlee post surgery...







A nose to nose comparison



I would just like to personally thank Ashlee's doctor, Dr. Raj Kanodia of Beverly Hills, I never thought that I would be attracted to Ashlee Simpson, it's kind of like being attracted to cold meatloaf, but I have been proven wrong...about Ashlee, not the meatloaf..but who knows..Dr. Kanodia is a miracle worker...maybe he can sort that out for me too?

This just became awkward didn't it?

If we lived in the world of the Jetsons, which i often wished we did, Jessica would totally be Jane Jetson...



But Ashlee would be Judy Jetson...



and as a wise man once said, "In a hotness contest between Judy Jetson and Jane Jetson, Judy is the hot tamale"...

That wise man was me.