While researching various blog and sites for great stationary recommendations, I had come across a small discovery: Pen enthusiasts, especially the fountain pen variety, are big fans of Rhodia brand notebooks.

Curious, I sought them out locally and found they seem to be in short supply here in Hawaii. I've only seen them at two shops and they seem to carry a very limited supply... and as much as I love grid-type and ruled books, I (personally) have a greater need for blank books. (I draw, afterall~ :D)

But then I came across a giveaway at Rhodia Drive for the brand new Rhodia "Webbie" and entered.

Lookie what arrived in the mail!

My thoughts?

[Update 2010.09.06] Giveaway closed for entries!

Continue reading "[Reviews] Rhodia Webbie 3.0 + Giveaway [Closed!]" »

So, as some of you may have noticed, I was away from the studio for a good 5 days or so to hit Anime Expo 2010~!

It's been about 6 years since I had last attended and BOY have things changed. It's the 2nd (or 3rd?) year at the Los Angeles Convention Center and that entire area has really developed over the past 6 years. New theaters, new restaurants, new everything. o_o; I got lost too many times to count. I think I only got my bearings on the last day. :O

So here's the run down of my days in attendance!

Continue reading "[Report] Anime Expo 2010!" »

So... I met Ai Kago on Thursday. o_o;

Continue reading "[Random] Ai Kago in Hawaii" »

It's not much of a secret -- for some reason, I really like J-idol music. The cuter, the better? XD;

The latest <3? Watarirouka Hashiritai's "Akkanbe Bashi."

This is a sub-unit from the larger entity of AKB48 - which was originally 4 members, but recently expanded to 5.

Yes, it's a children's folk song and the accompanying dance is really cute.

In fact, the participants at the end of each dance cycle end with either a bow and a shrug or an "akkanbe" - a :P face and a pull of your lower eyelid - and a cheer... denoting their like or indifference to their partner. (BTW - "akkanbe" signals your like for your partner.)

Continue reading "[Random] Akkanbe :P!" »

First Scott e-mailed me about this cute amigurumi pair, then TempleDog -- It's such a good thing that I had to pass it along. :D

兎野U / Usagino U and 熊野900 / Kumano 900 make up U900, a terrific ukulele duo.

Find out more about them in this video:

For locals familiar with Hawaiian music may recognize some of their licks in some of their videos, but they also have a CD out with their covers of Ventures songs: Ukulele Ventures.

In the meanwhile, you can watch more at Yosuke Kihara's youtube channel or befriend the duo at their MySpace page!

It's my hope that one day Anpan and Nemu will meet this pair and jam out. :D