Short-skirted girls and creepy daddy promote pachinko with thass

I am reminded of the great Peggy Lee. “Is this all there is?”

Girls parody, with Tina Fey

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/girls-promo/n41323

Where I’ll be this holiday? At home watching HBO’s Girls

As the serious world of enterprise slows down at year end, I’m delighted to discover HBO’s Girls, a downwardly mobile Sex and the City set in Brooklyn. Think much much more unsatisfying sex, more existential angst, and many more Jewish characters.

The author, lead actress, and director Lena Dunham creates an often unsympathetic main character, who somehow manages to befriend a conservative girl, a bohemian girl, and a super painful virgin. But my secret pleasure is how she gave herself a disgusting boyfriend who is hot in a large nose and geeky fashion.

To share my mother’s characterization of this amazing talent: “I don’t like Lena Dunham, think she is a slob, painful to look at what she does with herself and how she wants/allows herself to be photographed.” I guess I agree with everything, except that I would delete the second word! I love it!

Is this what my college-age NYC nieces are watching? What is their review? I hope their parents, and frankly any parents, are *not* watching! And of course my husband has no interest since, as he says, “there are no zombies or werewolves.”

“Schoolgirls, Be Ambitious”

Who can argue with the message, “Schoolgirls, Be Ambitious”? Shouldn’t girls dream of working in space? But there’s something unnerving about this image of junior high school girls in short uniform skirts floating about the space station rocking out with headphones. Does showing off their legs improve their performance, or are they providing creepy old men a view from below? Adding to the nonsense, this is an ad from a clothing company “East Boy” with a statue of liberty logo on girls’ socks.

6th Grader Does Lady Gaga

That’s a lot of talent. And more than 6,000,000 Youtube views. The bored girls behind the musician are also priceless.

Young internet friends

Sometimes I have to be careful when speaking to people face-to-face about my internet friends. There is no way that it is appropriate to mention my “high school girl” friend I met online, but sometimes I forget. Still, getting to know several expat girls in Asia in their late teens and 20s has been an unexpected result of this blog.

For the record, I have met none of them in person, and being 100% gay I am only interested in friendship and reading their blogs. If anything, I feel mostly like a protective uncle, particularly to the teenager. And I am thrilled to learn about pop culture, boy-obsessions, and male misbehavior from them. We have a surprising amount of common interests!

I just noticed that two of my young online friends have mentioned me recently in their blogs: Marius Mink and MISA from Satellite of Love. I am also a big fan of 20s Canadian professional in Tokyo Green Eyed Geisha.

People watching at Tokyo Dome

On a weekday afternoon, Tokyo Dome was alive with two groups of contiguous but not intersecting fans. On the upper level were hundreds of girls who had arrived hours early to watch a Johnny’s boy band called Katun. On the lower deck, hundreds of ojiisan (old guys) stand transfixed watching horse races on video screens and consulting their newspapers for betting stats.

I love the fan’s fan. Both groups have a similar intensity of purpose, no?

And the contrast between the girls’ “kawaii” fashions and the older gents’ uniforms of caps, muted colored slacks and jackets. There seems to be a group for everyone in Tokyo.

Boys school and butler cafes, open for men, too!

During my visit to Ikebukero, I descended the stairs to the entrance of Swallowtail, the famous butler cafe. I had a delightful chat with the butler door man, who told me in a gentle and soft voice that reservations are required. Or so I think.

Thanks to an internet tip, I also learned that Shibuya now has a European-style boys boarding school cafe, Edelstein, also aimed at fujoshi (腐女子), or female otaku into boys love. Here’s a photo of the interior. I need to find some girlish company to make a reservation and check it out.

Thanks again, Adrik, for letting me know that men are welcome at these “girls’ cafes.” Adrik, if you’re in Tokyo before May 23, let’s meet there!

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