Mr Johnny is always thinking

Warning: this music and dancing might hurt your head! I must give full creative credit to Mr Johnnys, the creator of generations of J-pop boy bands. With EastWest Boys, he’s assembled a group of hip-gyrating, overly coiffed, and ridiculously choreographed white boys (“from Los Angeles) to appeal to Japanese teen girls. And, in a departure from decades of standard practice, he’s using the internet to get some free buzz. He’s even added a little emo to add some foreign “flavor” while sticking to the formula that has made Mr Johnny a very very rich, old man.

I found this video and story from Mutantfrog’s blog. I love how s/he captions their photo with “every girl’s fantasy English teacher.” Is it me, or does this Western version of J-pop seem even gay-er than the standard Japanese boy band? Have I gotten used to ridiculously vain Japanese pseudo-celebrities and their ability to feminize themselves in order to appeal to their fangirls? What do you think??

Cougars are here to stay!?

I love the NY Times Style section. Today features a hot photo from Cougar Town with Courtney Cox and Nick Zano and an article with the pseudo-intellectual title “Rethinking the Older Woman-Younger Man Relationship.” The basic idea is that now that women over 40 are more self-sufficient, they are freer to date men who are younger (and also poorer, of different religions and races).

Cougars have been maligned as desperate and inappropriate. And many men have been known to only date younger. Who can argue with feminine liberation? Can a cougar be omniverous and multi-generational? Can queers be cougars? What do you think?