Random Thoughts: The Next Mutation

[flowersofnight]

We went to Harajuku on Sunday when there's supposed to be the big Loli Extravaganza but they've apparently shut it down because the Japanese hate fun and love rules or some shit

Sounds like you've learned much from this trip already, yes indeed
Is that stall in Harajuku with the "$100 FINE FOR TAKING PICTURE OF THIS SIGN" sign still there? XD

 

[PureElegance]

OMG OMG OMG
The folio society came out with a 4 volume beautiful illustrated version of Three Kingdoms!
http://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/ ... doms.phtml
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/THK/three-kingdoms

I need it!!! Why is it so expensive It's even the Moss Roberts (my professor) translation, which is the best!

"This is an amazing set, from the breathtakingly lovely covers to the massive amount of illustrations. This long book is separated into four volumes but the page numbers remain in sequence as though it were still one (not something I've come across before in a multi-volume edition of a single work). The story was a little difficult for me to get into, at first, as a Westerner with little familiarity with the often similar-looking names, but once I got into it, it turned out to be an incredible story spanning a lengthy time period. I actually felt pretty upset when some of the prominent characters/people died, and that, sadly, is not something that happens very often to me these days."

That was my reading experience too, haha, but oh man ;__;... I've never seen such a pretty and good edition of it like this though, especially in English. Man.

The bindings are beautiful to look at and the vendome cloth is very soft and pleasant to the touch. The design on the covers is bright and vibrant and very well done. The text is a nice size and along with the font, makes these books easy to read. The artwork is beautiful and the black line drawings with the Chinese text gives the books another air of authenticity that I have not seen in any Asian books in the past.

*swoon*

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 6122_n.jpg
Zhugey and I, it's true love.

The head of NYU's photography department came from NYC to visit our class, holy TOLEDO, and he was such a cool, humorous person. I mean, really cool. He knew Andy Warhol and all these artists from that time to now, he has such an interesting life. He gave us each such great, insightful commentary about our ideas. I was nervous because I didn't have time to think about what my final project idea would be, even briefly. When he got to me I told him how I'm fascinated with the past (the last 100 years), nostalgia, the shikumen, etc in China. He asked me such an interesting question, "What is it about Shanghai that evokes a romantic loss?" I couldn't answer him.

That was the word, loss! That's the word I was searching for, you definitely feel it, this sort of nostalgia, in a way here and not in other cities. He went on for so long, talking to me about my idea, comparing Shanghai to other cities in ways I didn't even realize, even going through other artists who have touched on the subject, Shanghai's history, population, ways of life, down to the meaning of "Shanghai" and nostalgia. It was amazing and I tried to write everything down. He took so long on my idea in particular that my professors sort of had to stop it awkwardly, haha. I got his business card afterwards so I'll definitely email him. I felt so inspired and intrigued, I can't wait to do more! He was so encouraging to all of us, it was really nice.

 

[flowersofnight]

I need it!!! Why is it so expensive

It's not that expensive, it's only like $60 per volume. I paid that much for a non-fancy "Journey to the West" hardcover set ::kisaki:: Ask one of your friends on Millionaire's Row to spot you some cash if you don't feel like breaking a $1000 bill for it XD
... That, and be glad they don't require you to go through that whole membership scam to buy from them anymore.

Just got a new pair of AIRs here Now those really ARE expensive, it's a racket.

 

[Cally]

*creeps on through*

 

[faith]

*skiddles over and whispers seductively in your ear, "hey, long time no see, baby"*

 

[PureElegance]

I'll see if I can get the Three Kingdoms book as a gift because I still feel guilty, I still think it's kind of expensive ::kisaki:: At the same time though, I've spent that much on other, even sillier things that weren't essential for my life, so maybe this won't be too bad.

Oh man, I had the brunch with Banco Santander's chairman at the highest point in Shanghai and the Formula 1 Grand Prix today and it was such a good day! Everyone thought I was so pretty and professional looking haha. I felt like the belle of the ball. They kept saying, "Madame President, what did you think of the race today?" "Madame President, what are your feelings about...?" as we walked to our seats at the Grand Prix (even making up scandals involving my husband and children). One of my friends said that when I walked I looked as if I owned 18 businesses. Another said I looked like a lawyer from the show Suits.
Another kept coming to me over and over and kept pretending she was a reporter asking me questions XD
Others started making up my future life, saying I married into the "house of _____" and started building an empire while making charities to help the needy children.

I was all, "Woah!" XD They were really going far It was nice though.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/M ... b08866.jpg so bright and sunny
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/M ... 480417.jpg YEAH~
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/M ... 4a7299.jpg amigos
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/M ... f8c47d.jpg a stroll~
what I was wearing XD

It was interesting talking to Emilio Botin. I couldn't believe he was there in the flesh! He asked if anyone spoke Spanish (he's Spanish) and I was the only one, so he asked me where I'm from and I told him and he was happy. Then he started answering our questions and couldn't get to everyone's, but he went to me and was all, "Peru, Peru" (it's a Hispanic thing I think, to call someone by their country XD) and I introduced myself and asked him my nerdy question in Spanish and I found out about his favorite novel.

Afterwards my friend said she thought we had a special connection because we spoke in Spanish to each other. Everyone looked at me differently. I replied that, "Yeah it was interesting. I was the only student who spoke Spanish here. I feel like it says something about the world and minorities." Hm...

 

[MissUMana]

You were super elegant, PE! Wow!

And another very nice report.

 

[faith]

Very nice, very nice indeed.

YAY I won Loup Garou! I was the wolf and everyone was like, "Woah you're a good liar." Apparently I am the same when I lie and when I tell the truth XD

For anyone who doesn't know this fabulous game:
http://chanceflagg.deviantart.com/journ ... -223844970

PS the witch only gets to kill and save once.

 

[Cally]

*skiddles over and whispers seductively in your ear, "hey, long time no see, baby"*

I've been foiled!

How the heck are ya? It recently occurred to me that my sorry behind hasn't swung by in just shy of three years or something like that.

 

[faith]

Personally I'm ok...probably moving to Japan (yay!)
It's been really quiet here unfortunately. The tumbleweeds just kind of role on by as we wait for people to do stuff *sigh*

How about you? What have you been up to?

 

[flowersofnight]

We were supposed to have an aurora on Saturday night:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national ... lis/64202/
But I didn't see a thing, except possibly a sunset that lingered suspiciously long. Laaaaame

 

[PureElegance]

You were super elegant, PE! Wow!

And another very nice report.

Aw thank you so much It's kind of funny since I was the only one who really went kind of fancy. I didn't even think I was going all out, I was wondering if what I wore was okay, haha. It was a really nice day and I really appreciated all the attention I got ^^ I swear, that was really the topic of conversation that day, the way I looked!

I also went to gigantic Forever21 we have here for some random shopping, and I got this gorgeous dark-ish blue chiffon dress with gold buttons. I felt so great in it, my skin goes so well with the color, and I can't wait to wear it Can't find the exact dress yet, but here's the color
Forever 21 has become my new favorite store! I also got a pretty mint green button down chiffon shirt a couple of weeks ago which I love. I love the music it plays too, I have a bunch of new favorite songs.

and I just noticed that in the last pic

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/MrsSleepingDragon/IMG_3923_zps55b08866.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/MrsSleepingDragon/IMG_3922_zps7c480417.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/MrsSleepingDragon/IMG_3846_zps254a7299.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g70/MrsSleepingDragon/IMG_3966_zps68f8c47d.jpg

The height difference XD He's like more than a foot taller than me, I didn't even realize that haha. I don't know why photobucket washes out some of the color though, huh.

Since I'm so interested in Nanjing, I'm planning out my trip there with a friend, I can't wait I'll be able to visit the Nanjing Massacre Memorial and John Rabe's house which has been restored I don't know that much about Nanjing, but it looks like a really nice, old city. I also found out that it was the capital for the Wu Kingdom in Three Kingdoms, it has lovely mountains, and that Sun Yat Sen's mausoleum is there, cool!

NYU's taking us to the city of Yangzhou too this weekend, and I just found out that's where Shi Kefa died and where his memorial is. I loved how loyal he was in "Peach Blossom Fan" ^^ *weeps into her sleeves*

 

[Cally]

Rock on! Whatcha planning on doing out there?

The tumbleweeds just kind of role on by as we wait for people to do stuff *sigh*

I noticed. What the heck happened? o_O Once upon a time this place'd blow through a random thread over the weekends.

As for myself, I've been working a lot. Still with that grocery store place that hired me when I moved out here, making decent money for a service job AND I get to play with knives! I also met someone who wants to put up with my crap and now we live together and stuff

The cats are still being lazy little freeloaders, and a couple years back we got them some ferret siblings. They are -fantastic-

 

[faith]

Rock on! Whatcha planning on doing out there?

Oh you know, drag queening, candy eating, karaoke, cats...
But my official stance is that I am going there to work and do some IT thing or other ;D

I noticed. What the heck happened? o_O Once upon a time this place'd blow through a random thread over the weekends.

As for myself, I've been working a lot. Still with that grocery store place that hired me when I moved out here, making decent money for a service job AND I get to play with knives! I also met someone who wants to put up with my crap and now we live together and stuff

The cats are still being lazy little freeloaders, and a couple years back we got them some ferret siblings. They are -fantastic-

Honestly I think everyone made close friends with other people and talks to them on skype and facebook and all that stuff instead of coming here lol
Also the scene's kind of dying. We don't get too many new members anymore, no one has any information, all that, and all the info is already out on the internet anyway so no one's like, "OMG guess what I just heard" anymore.
I mean when Dada has one of his drama moments we're all there to witness it firsthand and it would just be rude to talk about it afterward XD

Does living together mean romantic other living together, or just roomie who can deal with the dirty tissues you leave all over the place kind of living together? lol
Either way, sounds good. And the kitties sounds even better *omg kitty love*

 

[PureElegance]

I always had mixed feelings over museums and people having stolen artifacts from countries. For example, Peru has repatriated nearly 3000 of its artifacts that were taken by other countries and Yale only agreed recently to give back Machu Picchu artifacts. I mean, just the idea that Peru has to go through all this trouble and expense to get their own things back is really weird to me. Anyway, I didn't know about China's own problems with this and they were plundered by a ton of European countries and the US! I guess it bothers me since the items in question were so obviously looted.

I was reading up on the Qing Dynasty and the Xianfeng Emperor. I don't know the whole story yet, but during the Second Opium War, after some imprisonment/torturing incident by the Chinese to a group of foreign soldiers during the war the British and French started ransacking and looting the two Summer Palaces. (When the Xianfeng Emperor heard about it his health totally went downhill). One is still alive and was rebuilt a couple of times, I got to see it, but the other one, the Old Summer Palace, is in ruins and it's sad. You can see in drawings how it used to look like and the architecture looked really, really cool.

There was even a European/Chinese mixed area that used to look like this: area
now it looks like this: ruins

Charles George Gordon, then a 27-year-old captain in the Royal Engineers, was part of the 1860 force and wrote:
We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money...I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army.

Ugh @__@

In his "Expédition de Chine", Victor Hugo described the looting as, "'Two robbers breaking into a museum, devastating, looting and burning, leaving laughing hand-in-hand with their bags full of treasures; one of the robbers is called France and the other Britain." In his letter, Hugo hoped that one day France would feel guilty and return what it had plundered from China.

That sealed the deal for me

In 2009 there was an auction by Christie's from Yves Saint Laurent's collection for two of the stolen Zodiac fountain heads made by an Italian priest that even told the time! seen here in this drawing
TBH I don't understand why they weren't returned to China in the first place. I know if I had them I'd feel really guilty over their history and return them so I don't get it.

In recent years, the Chinese have spent tens of millions of dollars to buy back portions of the nation's pilfered cultural heritage.

An entire museum in Beijing run by the Poly Corp., which is operated by a state-owned military enterprise, is filled with repatriated artworks, including several other bronze animal heads that along with the two held by Saint Laurent were part of the set of 12 representing the signs of the Chinese zodiac.
The museum bought the tiger, monkey and ox through auction houses in Hong Kong in 2000, while the pig's head was recovered in New York by Hong Kong casino magnate Stanley Ho, who in turn donated it to the museum.

But the Chinese are increasingly resentful at the high prices they've had to fork out. Ho reportedly paid $9 million in a deal brokered by Sotheby's to get the horse head back from Taiwan. Christie's was reported to be asking $10 million each for the rabbit and rat in behind-the-scenes negotiations in the last few years with prospective Chinese buyers.
"It is really shameful. They are like kidnappers demanding ransom to give back your own child"

Niu Xianfeng, deputy director of the Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Program said "Though it hurts to pay for something that belongs to you, if we want to recover relics sometimes we have to buy them." Xie Chensheng, the doyen of Chinese cultural relics scholars, said "If your belongings are stolen and you see them in the market the next day you do not buy them back. You call the police."

Urgh.

The other five heads -- the dragon, snake, goat, rooster and dog -- remain unaccounted for and were possibly destroyed. That makes the rabbit and the rat the last remaining pieces of the set.

noooo~ ;_;

First it's the Library of Alexandria that gets to me, now it's this!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... /含经堂蕴真斋遗址_20130126.JPG

 

[Cally]

Honestly I think everyone made close friends with other people and talks to them on skype and facebook and all that stuff instead of coming here lol

This is true. I have quite a few people from The Beforetime on facebook. It's nice to keep in touch that way but it was always somehow different here. Lots of fun debates/arguments were had. It's a shame it seems somehow lost.

Also the scene's kind of dying. We don't get too many new members anymore, no one has any information, all that, and all the info is already out on the internet anyway so no one's like, "OMG guess what I just heard" anymore.

It also can't help that every popular musician and their cousin has facebook these days. People can hear their news straight from them on the regular.

Unless it's Yoshiki, who still mostly talks about eating shit he's allergic to as well as not sleeping.

Does living together mean romantic other living together, or just roomie who can deal with the dirty tissues you leave all over the place kind of living together? lol

Living together in the romaaaaaaantic capacity. XD We got to know one another at work when I broke my finger. He saw me rather helplessly wrap a long-ass meat tray in cellophane with one useless hand and offered some assistance. Eventually we started hanging out, then dating and now we've been living together for almost three years!

We just nerd about together and play a lot of pokemon when we're not working. Because being an adult is no fun and we refuse to grow up. >_>;

 

[faith]

Unless it's Yoshiki, who still mostly talks about eating shit he's allergic to as well as not sleeping.

What is he, British? XD

"Today I ate a strawberry and it gave me a spot of indigestion. I say, bloody fruit!"

Living together in the romaaaaaaantic capacity. XD We got to know one another at work when I broke my finger. He saw me rather helplessly wrap a long-ass meat tray in cellophane with one useless hand and offered some assistance. Eventually we started hanging out, then dating and now we've been living together for almost three years!

We just nerd about together and play a lot of pokemon when we're not working. Because being an adult is no fun and we refuse to grow up. >_>;

Oooh Cally has a boyfriend *kissy faces* Way to play up the damsel in distress role you vixen ;D
It's awesome that you have someone to share Pokemon with though - the love of my life would just step on my face and mew for food if I tried that.
So what does he think of your torrid men-in-make-up past? XD

MAN I miss Cali Gari. I guess they did a reunion live a couple years back and I didn't know about it. Ao looks like a pudgy old gay man now XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qODFn--HJXs

 

[flowersofnight]

It's awesome that you have someone to share Pokemon with though - the love of my life would just step on my face and mew for food if I tried that.

WTVR, you won't even get a DS XD All the cool kids are already playing PKMN without you

 

[shazzer]

I help out in an isakaya. I started last week. It is fun but since I started I
a) got stalked molested by the guy from the Turkish embassy (but I am able to defend myself, thanks to my parents that send me to judo classes )
b) constantly have females that want to touch my breasts
c) was asked out from a guy in his 60s
d) and a guy ment that my isakaya was formerly a hostess club and if i want to, I can make a lot of money because Japanese guys like my looks (child like).

time to search a new job


my friends asked me, why I always end up in pretty strange situations. ::kisaki::

 

[Madmoiselle_Silk]

d) and a guy ment that my isakaya was formerly a hostess club and if i want to, I can make a lot of money because Japanese guys like my looks (child like).

Maybe I should go for my long lost dream of becoming a maid at a maid's café in Tokyo then