TresSugar

Stranger Than Fiction! Man Marries Video Game Character

TresSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:55 -0800

This past Sunday a man known as "Sal9000" and his fiancé Nene Anegasaki vowed to stay together until death, or a power outage, do them part. You see Sal9000's new wife Nene happens to be a video game character in the addictive Nintendo DS game Love Plus. A priest, live audience, MC, and friends of the happy couple were also present at the event, and the bride's virtual maid of honor even gave a speech. A slideshow recounted how the couple met and teased Sal for being quite the player before he met Nene - he had lots of other video game girlfriends. The whole event was livecasted, and Boing Boing put together the video below so we could all witness this unique wedding.

This story might be the first time I've heard of someone marrying an anime character, but I have read about those who "marry" other inanimate objects. The term "objectum sexuals" describes people who feel attraction, arousal, love, and commitment for objects. One woman even held a ceremony in Paris and married the Eiffel Tower. Talk about nontraditional weddings.

Oh Snap! Not Your Typical Wine Snobs

TresSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:12 -0800

A sommelier pours a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau at an open air wine spa in Japan. The crowd, which may or may not be of drinking age, looks like it's having a fabulous time. I think I know where I'm going on my next vacation!

View 5 Photos ›

Genki Desu Ka? It's More Guess the Japanese Beauty Invention!

BellaSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:23 -0800

It's been a while, but since our last Japanese beauty invention quiz, Nippon definitely hasn't ceased to produce beauty inventions of a scope and creativity that boggles the mind. Can you guess what each of these inventions does, or do you need a visit to Tokyo to get up to speed? Take my quiz and find out!

Question 1 of 5

What does this invention do that makes this lady so surprised and happy?

The Dark Side of Cute

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Kittens in casts. Babies nudged to laugh every five seconds. Stuffed teddy bears left at killing-spree sites. We are so surrounded by the tyranny of cute that even multibillion-dollar corporations have cute names like "Google" and "Twitter," and the uncute business of insurance is represented in ads by a cute lizard with an English accent. (And yes, I too am guilty of spreading cuteness.)

What's up with the cute? Writer Jim Windolf has had enough and decided to try to get to the bottom of what he calls the "self-infantalization" of Americans. His conclusion? There's a dark, manipulative side to cute. If you want to know what it is, read more.

In Daniel Harris's book Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic, he says that there's a hidden sadism to our love of cute, citing the barrage of images of cats falling, puppies slamming into mirrors, and even babies trapped in high chairs being prodded to laugh.

"The process of conveying cuteness to the viewer disempowers its objects," he writes, "forcing them into ridiculous situations and making them appear more ignorant and vulnerable than they really are. Adorable things are often most adorable in the middle of a pratfall or a blunder." In other words, they are cute insofar as they are helpless, and we, conferrers of cute, are all-powerful.

Becoming cute, conversely, is one way of disarming opponents or critics. It's not incidental, argues Windolf, that the cult of cute in the US emerged during the Bush years, when "the American image went from that of protector to invader, from defender of human rights to aggressor on the lookout for loopholes in the Geneva Conventions." Cuteness then, according to this theory, "came about as some sort of correction, as a way for us to convince ourselves and our friends that we're not as bad as our recent national actions have made us seem." (It reminds me of smiley emoticons at the end of passive-aggressive email messages and instant messages. In this case, American cute is like a ginormous cultural smiley face emoticon tacked on the end of dubious actions telling our allies we're not all that bad.)

Windolf traces American cute back to Japan's kawaii culture, which got huge 10 years ago but actually emerged at the end of WWII after it was "humiliated and emasculated." If you're interested in political and cultural psychoanalysis, I suggest reading this long essay. But whatever you do, remember - ~~sometimes a cigar is just a cigar~~ sometimes a cute kitten isn't just a cute kitten.

Source

See the Best (and Worst) Looks of Tokyo Fashion Week

BellaSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:00:10 -0700

If New York is about wearable style, Paris highlights couture, and London focuses on outré fashion, then Tokyo is all about the unexpected. The biggest week in Japanese fashion may not get the hype that other cities' shows do, but you'll still find plenty to inspire, stun, or confound you. Read on.

View Slideshow ›

LED Eyelashes Light Up Halloween

BellaSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:09 -0700

Straight from Japan comes the newest innovation in false eyelashes - light-up LEDs that come on and off at your will. Totally necessary and probably prohibitively expensive? Yes. Just so awesome, and I want some right now? Yup, that too.

Would You Eat Burger King's Windows 7 Whopper?

YumSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:15:00 -0700

Last month, many of you said you'd chomp down on Red Robin's Wise Guy Burger, which includes not only a burger patty, but also mozzarella sticks and pepperoni slices. But what would you do if faced with Burger King Japan's Windows 7 Whopper?

To promote the new operating system, the limited-edition burger - available for seven days only - includes seven beef patties for the cost of ¥777 (about $8.50). Could you tackle this tall order?

Source

Should Japanese Swimmers Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails?

BellaSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:02:33 -0700

If you're in a Tokyo pool, think twice before pulling out your nail polish. From now on, Japanese competitive swimmers could face a lifetime ban from the sport if they dye their hair or have brightly decorated nails. Why? Officials say, "We have had many recent controversies with marijuana in sport and at universities, and this is about swimming taking a stand on its own initiative." The officials also cited similar rules for the US and Australian teams.

In my seventh grade speech and debate class, though, we learned that an appeal to authority isn't the same thing as a good justification, and I'm having a hard time viewing these rules-in any country, the US included-as fair. What do you think? Is this a standard that's necessary to maintain the dignity of the sport, or is it unfairly biased against young women who want to express themselves?

Get Even More Kawaii With...Guess the Japanese Beauty Invention!

BellaSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:00:43 -0700

There's plenty of adorable beauty here stateside, but the Japanese market continues to roll out charming, quirky products that are as useful as they are funny. Can you guess what these Japanese beauty innovations do? Take my quiz and see how Honshu-happy you are.

Question 1 of 5

What does this pacifier-like mouth insert actually do?

The Week in Geek

GeekSugar — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:15:03 -0700

This week: I discovered my new favorite BlackBerry App, Google labs made my email life a little easier, and Polaroid finally announced its comeback! Read all about these and more in this week's Week in Geek.

View Slideshow ›