Blog Music IV

Good afternoon everyone, happy weekend~. It seems that this has become the regular instead; I will take what I can, so that when other things come up I can add to the frequency of posts. A short post today, but I'm hoping to get to some cosmetic reviews next. And I think I'm going to just count the music changes in the roman numerals unless it's a very special interlude. Hopefully I'll remember how to keep track of them like that, ahaha.

Alas~ I didn't end up changing the music for February, but perhaps it's better to give it a month or two. March is here, so I thought, oh yes, I'll definitely do it at some point. Thus, the selection process began. I don't think I have a method to this madness either, yet right now there is still a video game theme [this might be a subconscious leaning due to the increased amount of GSO related things happening this year]. I hope this does not deter anyone, rather, on the contrary, is a means to broaden the range of musics you might enjoy. 

This game in particular, is also a highly lauded game for it's style as surpassing regular game expectations, and becoming a work of art.

In Japanese: 'Wander's Journey'. The OST is titled 'Roar of the Earth.'

Shadow of the Colossus is now one of my favorite games, and this soundtrack does play a part in my love for it. The story is straightforward, but at the same time ambiguous, the graphics are good for the time [already a game 7 years old, though recently re-released in HD], and as a game, it is still rewarding as far as gameplay. The track I selected is 'To The Ancient Land', the prologue/intro piece. I'll admit, I wouldn't be able to relate this much to the fashion roots or content of this blog, so perhaps it really is just my gamer subconscious being channeled into it, ahaha. Nonetheless, I hope you all will enjoy it. 

Do you have a few favorite songs outside of your usual listening zone? What's a genre that you don't generally listen to, but still found an exception? What are your thoughts on video game music as a separate genre?

Into the new week, everyone~ take care. ^_^

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

And now for something [else] completely different.

Good afternoon everyone~ how's the weekend been? Obligatory mention of Sunday relaxation. I'm trying to be semi-productive by straightening my hair, replaying Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, sewing a button back on, reading Noblesse, and going over GSO music in some sort of cohesion [Noblesse is winning]. Another week down. What am I counting down to? [Hmmm... I guess Otakon now, so very far away...] Well, that aside, as the title states, I had some fun on Friday.

This semester at least, I don't have class or work on Friday, so more often than not, I'll be staying home. This past Friday though, two of the student groups on campus I'm involved in were having fundraisers, so I came out to lend manpower and promotional support. In hindsight I think I somehow managed to mash both aesthetics of the groups [Japanese American Student Association (the ever popular JASA) and Satanic Mechanics Theater Company (no affiliation with Satan or car repair)] together without trying.

Yukata: Handmade

Hakama: Japan

Armwarmers: Hot Topic

Boots: Demonia

Of course, no day dressed in hakama is complete without a few pictures with Yasumisame. Ever faithful, simple and elegant, Yasumisame is my ferocity in modesty [...whut?].

I do know basic kendo strikes, but this is just posing for the camera, haha. ^_^

With one sleeve pulled up, I actually feel more like an archer.

The hakama and boots combination was apparently a somewhat popular style for ladies after the Meiji Restoration in Japan [around the 1860s]. That was the thought I had in my head when I was thinking about what I wanted to wear on Thursday [it is a rare occurrence indeed, for me to plan my outfits, especially a whole night beforehand]. It's hasn't gotten back to being cold enough to snow, but it was still chilly, and it rained [so I'm glad I threw on the arm warmers as an extra measure]. I suppose if I had to type this, it would be a neo-fuedal, cyberpunk samurai style. I will probably wear this again come Cherry Blossom season, if not sooner.

Do you have any clothes from a different era of time? If so, do you get to wear it that often? What would be your favorite crossover styles of old and new?

March is almost upon us now, look forward to some new music~

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Katsucon 12 Highlights [My... Special Coffin?]

Good morning, everyone, aaaaaah what in the world am I doing here so early? Well, if I have to be up, then let's make the most of it [this is disregarding the fact that a) half the time my usual goal is try and salvage semi-sleep when awake this early, and b) that I could be doing something else a little more urgent at this moment]. Also, since this is a derailment from the norms of the blog, I didn't want to put this off too much before it became overly irrelevant [like a birthday post did... eheh heh...]. Saa~ minna, if you will, a brief memoir of Katsucon 2012.

Like last time, I only went for one day. I'm okay with this, because the one day pass is cheaper, and realistically, I'd only go on Saturday and maybe Sunday anyway, since I'd usually have class on Friday. I also drove myself; I'm terrible with directions and wary of misinterpreting signs, but I made it alright [then I remembered I need directions going back, ahaha...]. Also like last time, I didn't dress up in a full cosplay; I wanted full mobility, and not be detracted as much with being photographed myself [I will do a full cosplay if I go the whole weekend though]. The majority of the day was spent standing in the registration line, photographing [yaaaay~ a Sengoku Basara group was there~], Streetpassing with other 3DSers, and shopping like a psycho otaku that I am. I had quite a haul for just one day [equivalent to roughly three days at Otakon]. 

MORE PINS~ MUAHAHAHAHA~! Also a new bag at last [though I still use the Hellsing one.]

But truly the best finds of the day were the face mask down in the front, and that big old red book in the upper right corner. Why you ask~?

And yet another thing on my person that jangles.

Well, first, the face mask. It wasn't terribly expensive for what it was [$10], has given me some inspiration for the one I still plan on making--in terms of design, accessories, and material--, and perhaps the best of all, it does not fog up my glasses when I breathe. This is a very important point for me, as one might guess, because if I'm wearing a mask for when I'm actually sick on top of wanting to look formidable, I tend to be even more miserable having to deal with not being able to see half the time.

It's probably because of the swimsuit-esque material.

This one will be going out with me a lot for weekends in Visual Kei. Since the safety pins are removable, no da, I might substitute them with a lighter brooch if I want to add some sort of neo-Aristocrat touch to it.

As for that big red book? That, my friends, is 'Coffin: The Official Artworks of Vampire Hunter D' by Yoshitaka Amano [gamer fans may know the name as the illustrator of Final Fantasy artworks]. 

Includes color pages not shown in the novels, and an exclusive short story.

I saw this book in a Barnes&Noble several years ago while window shopping on a double date or summat, and immediately desired it. I didn't even know what Vampire Hunter D was; the author of the novels, if it was a movie, whatever, nothing. I just wanted to have it. It was $60, which I didn't have on me at the time. So I lightly thumbed through some of the pages, probably gaping like a fish, then put it back on the shelf, and forgot about it after a while.

 

In that time, I've acquired the VHD movie and several volumes of Takaki Saiko's manga adaptations, and in general become a fan of Hideyuki Kikuchi's legacy work [my shadow has even told me I should cosplay as the titular character D]. So when I saw this artbook in a booth at Katsucon, those dormant desires from way back when flared up ten-fold in combination with my fandom. 

Needless to say, if I ever did cosplay D, it would be one of the most intensive ones ever.

I would've bought it no matter the price, but the conventions gods loved on me; the seller put it out for $30. He also mentioned something about it being out-of-print, so if that's true, it'll probably be worth hundreds somewhere down the line. Maybe. Who knows? Even if it's not, I'm happy to have it.

Do you have any special promotional works for books or movies you like? Have an autographed piece that you'll hold onto forever? Any series that you love enough to buy a collectible item for? Hahaha, that pretty much defines otaku.

My this week flew~! What on earth have I been doing? Class? Eh?

I thank you for your indulgence, everyone.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

White and Eyelets and Hair, say what?

Good evening, everyone, hope your end-of-weekend is proving to be as it should be; relaxed, so one can enter into the week refreshed [even moreso if you have tomorrow off~]. My weekend started on Friday, and what a splendid three days it was. Friday was a SpaWorld day, and hardly anybody seemed to be around~ so it was as if we had the whole place to ourselves~. Saturday, I went down to the Gaylord National Harbor for one-day Katsucon [more on that to come]. And today~? 

Well, today I did work, and went to GSO rehearsal. Since laundry day was pushed back from being out all day Saturday, I had less things that were climate appropriate and decent to wear. But~, if the post title is any clue, guess what I managed~?

I couldn't have planned it better~ the perfect pair of eyelets all around~

Lo, despite a few posts back saying I wanted to get an all white Aristocrat ensemble, with the recent completion of the Nudy Boy shirt, I now have a nice coordination for a casual all white Visual Kei. I am not displeased by this. It's fun to come up with new things from ideas of something slightly [or even not at all] related.

I went with the checkered suspenders this time, rather than the one black, one white.

I don't have any white foot wear [yet], and I ran out of the house in a rush after stringing up the sleeves [since I can't use the same ones for the legs if I want to wear this combination, ahaha], so... barefoot marquis.

I also tried to do something with my hair. Emphasis on the 'try' and the 'something.' I double pinned the top part down, before changing it to up [V-kei is all about gravity defying mess o-dyed parts, haha]. I liked it well enough to take some pictures. Maybe I'll replicate it tomorrow and see how practical it is for work and class.

I approve of taking pictures of myself in the bathroom mirror if it's this way; after all, if you just turn the camera around, you can look into the mirrored camera and see what it's focused on, and avoid the flash.

I single pinned it here, but I'll probably double pin it if I wear it for a whole day.

And there we have it~. I'm glad I can showcase more Visual Kei, as this is the other major half of the blog. I say that, and then already know the next post[s] will be heavily cosplay related [but that too, is a part of the blog, my Triforce of me~...!]. Please indulge me this, if you will.

Do you ever do one color outfits? Do you find you break up the one color with a contrasting/complimenting colored accessories? And what's that rule about wearing white again?

February is soon coming to a close~

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Nudy Boy Shirt Complete

Good afternoon, everyone~ I hope the week went well for all. We finally had another dusting of snow yesterday, and by dusting, I do mean maybe and inch, the promptly melted in the three hours I went back to sleep. I almost wondered if I hallucinated it. If you all are getting snow, do a ritual-dance-something-or-other and send it to the east coast, please. I'm feeling cheated out of winter, it's no fun just having blistering cold winds [even if they blow my long coats out].

In other news, you might remember way back when, I had plans to turn my Nudy Boy shirt [the first one with Engrish over it] into a replica of my black Visual Kei pants; using my new best instrument of modification, eyelets, I made a T-shirt and detached sleeves. Since I didn't use siding, this was a relatively simple project by comparison to the pants [and the white Aeon ones as well], taking just under 2 hours.

Here's the shirt before.

In a store that usually sells things like this for $60, I was pleased to get it for $20.

The most important thing for this project was to correctly measure out the space for eyelets when hemming the cut sleeves back. It all goes a little something like this:

T and sleeves with hemmed ends.

Eyelets in.

1. If you decide to use siding for your sleeves, then you won't have to measure out extra to fold back. If your shirt in question is thicker, like denim, then you won't need to do either. This is for no siding. Depending on the size of your eyelet, you will have to adjust the measurements of how much you hem the shirt back. For 1/4" eyelets like I had, I just folded back the sleeves about 2.5 cm. Add that to the end of where you want the eyelets to go, because you're folding that part back. Cut a little extra for seam allowance. Repeat the same for the now-detached sleeves.
   
   
2. Turn your shirt and sleeves inside out, pin, and sew all around.
   
   
3. If you want, you can turn your T and sleeves back out the right way, unless you're okay with measuring and cutting the holes for the eyelets from the inside out. I recommend doing it from the outside. Measure how far apart you'd like your eyelets [and remember, you have to add the same amount to each detached sleeve, so make sure of how many you have], and trace the inside of  DEEP END eyelet over each mark.
   
   
4. Cut out the hole through both layers. Watch your fingers!
   
   
5. Put the DEEP END of the eyelet through the outside, and the shallow end on the inside. Get a nice sturdy surface [a garage floor or spare 2x4 works great] and hammer away~!
   
   
6. Thread the T and sleeves together with your string/ribbon of choice.

Finished, all strung up~

Tada~. Magnificent results, if I do say so myself. And not one chip of nail or polish. I'd say that's pretty good. Aaaaand~ being primarily all white, it'll go great with the Aeon pants~. Now I have the urge to find a white rose hair piece...

Do you use eyelets for clothing projects? What's a handmade item you absolutely love? Got a DIY project in your head that's not working out on paper? I'd love to help. ^_^

Into next week~ [and let's get those snow-dances jiving, everyone.]
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak