Every year there’s some signature fashion trend for the summer. For 2008 (and depending on who you talk to), it was bold colors, skinny belts, and draped dresses. 2000 was famously the “thong year” because of that annoying song. This year, I would love it if it was these balloon slippers that SNSD is wearing! There’s a website dedicated to it too. Haha I just ordered a pair while writing about this. I’m such an impulse shopper ^^

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T-ara, the group that has no sense of image or identity, has came out with a new look. Quite a contrast from SNSD which has that one set of navy/marine outfit. Perhaps this is the opposite marketing strategy to blitz people with photos and see what sticks. I use to work in advertising and one of the central rules in that industry is to make sure you have a consistent message. But then again, there’s people who went against the grain and made it work. So we’ll see I guess.

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Racism is alive and well in New Zealand. New frickin Zealand! Ryotaro Wright was nearly killed when some high schooler took bullying a bit too far. He had to get emergency brain surgery just to be alive now. According to the article, he’s been going through this for four months but no one stopped it before it came to this. Makes me sad…

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I thought yesterday was a slow news day. Today hardly had anything…except lots of Japanese oddities. For example, here’s the world’s largest hamburger. Why is the bread black? Does this look appetizing to you?

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Happy 4th of July Everyone! Slow news day today which is understandable. So we’re gonna do the favorites in quick bites. We start of with SNSD on vacation. Well not really but the sailor outfits aren’t just for show!

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Photos of the new group T-ara have been unveiled. All six members look like this. It’s…interesting… I seriously hope they’re wearing wigs.

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Ladies and especially gentlemen, please meet Jarah Mariano. I’ve added her to a few of my posts now but she’s worth adding every single time her name comes up. Super sexy Mariano is probably best know for her Victoria Secret model work, but now she’s working with Clazziquai, one of my favorite KPOP groups. Exciting news indeed! Do yourself a favor and click through to see a short video of her!

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I just got back from a nice vacation in the Bahamas. It’s something I highly recommend everyone should do. Just being able to disconnect from a computer and have no work and no worries. What a great feeling! Anyway, back to Asian stuff. Not much has changed in the past few days. SNSD and Wonder Girls are dominated headlines - SNSD in Asia and Wonder Girls in the US. The person that came up with the sailor outfits for SNSD should get a huge raise! I think people will buy their new album just for the photos alone, forget the music ^^

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Ningin add a dozen or so sites to our Social News system recently. So there’s a lot more stories to shift through. Hoc said he was going to post a list sometime.

On to the favorites for today… The magic of Minnovation doesn’t end with the cover. Here’s the rest of them. I keep thinking I’ve seen something like this somewhere but can’t place it. Oh yea…Cirque Soleil! Love those shows ^^

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Looks like someone messed up here. Whatever the excuses or reasons I don’t think you can get away with using a plane that even remotely resembles a Japanese Zero Fighter on this SNSD album cover. It’s amazing what details and goofs get missed in the production of an album!

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Happy Father’s Day! I didn’t get a chance to see my dad today but gave him a call. Anyone got any good Dad Day stories to share? Well Kotaku did a big feature on dads in RPG stories. It starts with Jecht from Final Fantasy X. It’s been awhile since I played that game, but I remember him being a mostly good if not hard dad ^^

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We talk about and show a lot of stories about the weirdness that is Japanese culture sometimes. I think you would have to agree with me that this is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read. It’s been raining tadpoles in Japan…actual tadpoles. If you’re afraid of seeing a lot of dead tadpoles, I suggest you don’t click through…

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Lady Gaga has been dominating the headlines among Asian blogs and news sites. There’s at least two dozen articles about her over a three day period, though a lot of them are a bit repetitive. Two things come to mind right away, one is Asian sensibilities seem to have a double standard. It’s not ok for Asian artist to dress risqué or to come off as sexy, but when Westerners do it, it’s completely ok. And why is it when Westerns idols go to Asia it’s a big deal but not the other way around. Well I know why, but it shouldn’t be that way I guess.

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The hardest working girl in APOP, BoA, will be headlining with TVXQ in the A-Nation concert. A-Nation is the annual concert for top artists on the AVEX Japanese label. This should be interesting since AVEX has a LOT of good artists on their label.

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Do you remember the Korean censorship committee going nuts because of “explicit” lyrics? I wonder why Lady Gaga was able to get past customs and the archaic Korean sensibilities. And that dress…I know Lady Gaga is special and all and gets away with crazy outfits, but I’m not a fan of what she’s wearing in the picture here.

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Lee Minwoo has a new mini album coming. You’re looking at the prismatic cover. The title of the album is…wait for it…Minnovation! The last time an artist came up with such a clever album title using their own name was Lee Hyori – Whorish. You wonder who gets final approval for this stuff?

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I’m not much of a SNSD music fan outside of the “Gee” song. But one thing I really like about is that they dress up well for group shots. They’re like real life Barbie dolls!

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According to the internet, quite literally the entire internet, the most popular male kpop star is Xiah Junsu of DBSK. It’s actually not even close. DBSK is just way more popular than any other boy group in general. I would kinda agree with that without looking at any stats.

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Mirrors Edge, this game that my little brothers love to play, is getting a sequel. That’s a pretty big deal to me because the leading character is an Asian girl. The fact that the game, starring an Asian girl, did well enough for a sequel has to be a first I think! That’s progress for Asian girls everywhere!

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Most local and federal agencies around the world are in cutback mode because of the depressed local economy. That is not the case with the South Korean local police who apparently splurge a bit on Porshes and Ferraris for their squad cars. I guess you’re not gonna be able to out run the SK police in these…

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