Visual Kei On a Budget: A Photo Tutorial

Okay, I know it is almost an oxy-moron. Visaul Kei and budget don't even belong in the same post, much less the same sentence!

If you are familiar with cosplay, the Final Fantasy games, J-pop, or anime at all, then you have an idea of what Visual Kei is.

But only the vaguest of ideas...

See, Visual Kei is a music genre that encompasses a bizarre combination of what happened when 80's hair bands, Jpop, and punk smashed together, and created something altogether new. Born in Japan, it mixes cosplay, metal, gothic and glam. Visual kei bands are very extravagant, and you can usually tell a Visual Kei band or artist by their elaborate costumes, crazy-impossible hairstyles, and bold, daring makeup, usually applied over some variety of lighteining foundation. Want an idea of what I'm talking about? A simple example:

"Dir En Grey" Get the idea? Of course, this is not our favorite Visual Kei band, but this promo shot has the most varied imagery on which to base a generalized idea of the genre. *smile*

So, two days before Halloween, Willamina tells me she would love to be Visual Kei for her costume. Being me, I tell her that's no problem, and I can make that happen. She protested, saying we had nothing that would work for a costume that elaborate, and I gave her a short list of things to acquire from our closets, and the costuming bucket while I went out shopping.

A little while later, I returned with a can of hairspray, some red lipliner (I needed some anyway), a small jar of ivory foundation, a tube of white clown makeup, and some black eyeliner (useful for both her and her sister's costume). Total cost; about $20

Yes, that's all we're working with here. Budget-minded enough for you yet?

No? Okay, I didn't really have to buy the $7 hairspray, and I couldn't find red lipliner at the dollar shop, so sue me. *wink* If I had, though, or we'd had some liquid foundation at the house, I could have gotten away with spending a mere $6, tax included. Better? *grin*

When I returned, she had gathered my little stretchy vest, a red scarf, some leftover red hairspray from some other event, her little sister's white dress shirt, a couple of punk lace-up arm warmers I got on clearance last year after Halloween, some gold chains she had lying around, her black exercise pants, a punky leather collar, black pleather boots, and a sleeveless little t-shirt-like overcoat that buttons in the front. You know the kind that proper young ladies wear over their plain, long-sleeved dresses in the winter?

So with all of these disparate items, I got to work.

First came the sketch. A working example of what I planned on creating. Not pretty, but functional, and it gave a decent idea to W as to what I intended for her. But still she couldn't fathom how, exactly, I was going to pull it off with the seemingly meager supplies we had brought together.

Then I dressed her partially and set her in the chair for hair and makeup.

Doesn't she look so very excited? This, my loves, is a picture of teen disbelief. She was willing to let me try, but didn't think it would turn out very well, despite the fact that I told her that her hair alone would take me nearly two hours to complete...

Somewhat more excited here, about 45 minutes into her hairstyling. Resting frequently to assuage the complaints of "yanking my hair out of my head", these sacrifices were necessary for "the look" she wanted. We still have not touched the colored hairspray in this shot, this is the (dyed) color of her hair.

Of course, after a lot more time, and application of the colored hairspray to the tips of her spikes only, we achieved this (spray drift caused the blended-color effect).

Makeup was quick by comparison, custom-mixing the shade of pale that I could easily blend with the natural shade of her neck, drawing on the bold lip design and eye makeup, and finishing off with kanji on her cheek just for spice; the Japanese character for "candy". Perfect for trick-or-treating!

Hoping to grab a cheap pair of ears for her sister's costume before our homeschool group's Halloween party, we dropped off at a local big box store. We didn't find any pink kitty ears, but we did find something perfect for W's costume!

A broken umbrella, and I knew just what to do with it, too!

Ah, sweet broken umbrella, discarded, unloved. The most overlooked piece of costuming potential to ever sit abandoned on the ground at my feet...

Oh yes, I had plans for that umbrella, and my plans involved a pair of scissors and some safety pins.

After that, it was simply a matter of finding a suitable backdrop for a photo of the finished product.

Costume bonus; every time the spikes were pushed down, they sprang back into place!

Holiday Shopping & Buy Nothing Day 2008

As you well know, our family celebrates Buy Nothing Day. That is the holiday of anti-consumerism that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving, called by eager shoppers; "Black Friday" or "Blitz Day", and marketed as the biggest shopping day of the year. Businesses have taken advantage of this, and in an attempt to boost their sales on the unholy grail of shopping days, offer huge discounts in order to entice customers to come buy from their store instead of all of the others.

Of course items that usually cost $400 dropping in price to a mere $100 is terribly tempting, and this entices people so much that they awake at 3am so they can fight for parking places, jostle for a place in line, and wait in the freeing cold for hours, just so they can have a chance (yes, that's right, a chance, there's no guarantee here folks), of getting the one thing they want most. Some people even go so far as to bring a sleeping bag and camp outside of the store with friends, sleeping in shifts to be assured one of thes magical and elusive first spots in line, and thus, first dibs on spending money. This past year it was so bad that there were several injuries and even a death as customers stormed into the store in a rush to get to the gifts they most coveted.

This lunacy is brought to you by the idea that spending lots of money and getting really fancy gifts for your friends and family around the holidays is the best way to let them know you care. Of course it is also helped by the advertising industry, and people who seem to think that teaching their children the joy of giving is not an important part of the season, which leads to excessive cases of the gimmies, and creates the vicious circle of consumerism.

Some businesses are cluing into the fact that there are a lot of people refusing to buy on "Black Friday", and have created new ways to take advantage of the consumerist rush, and many internet companies have made the day after black Friday another big shopping day, in the hopes that more people can be drawn to shop at online retailers.

Amazon.com for example offered special deals and sales, with all the pricing of the unholy shopping day, but starting on Nov 27th, and going on for several days of special deals, with one deal each day. It's the same concept, but a little more innovative. I have to give them credit for thinking outside the box like that, and I'm sure that their creativity got some of those who celebrate Buy Nothing Day to indulge in a little extra shopping too.

With the bad economy, and the prevalence of gift cards as presents in recent years, other retailers have tried to get people out on December 26th as well, to spend those gift cards, and get what they really wanted from the cash they got back after returning their unwanted gifts.

This last year was extra-special!

This year, we attended our very first zombie walk!

At the Battlefield Mall at 1pm, zombies invaded Springfield, trudging through the mall and mumbling things like "consume" and "buy" instead of the typical "brains", then when they were kicked off of mall property, moved over to the dark lord WaldeMart for a bit more fun before shambling back to their dens to sleep out the cold. Little known fact, zombies really dislike cold weather.



The zombie walk was an open event, and all were welcome to join in the fun. Shredded clothes and special effect makeup were not necessary, but they did make things a lot more amusing.

Thanksgiving Tree 2008

After rescuing a small potted tree this fall that didn't quite make it despite all our loving attention, and having very little time for crafts, this year we went a whole new route with the thanksgiving tree, and stapled construction paper leaves to a real "tree" for our thanksgiving tree.

Fusion Sushi - Empty Cupboard Creativity

Fusion cooking has been around for thousands of years. When people travel far from their homelands, they crave the native flavors from their places of origin. Most times the spices, cooking methods, or ingredients are not available in their new homes, so cultural explorers must improvise with what is available in their new homes.

Using the familiar recipes and changing some, or even most of the ingredients and/or cooking methods, chefs of all stripes try to come up with a similar dish that will taste or look close to the original ethnic dish.

This is fusion cooking.

The other day, I had a homeschool event to go to, and everyone was bringing a snack.
It was near the end of the food budget and we're running low on food in the pantry, so I had few options for anything for my family to present.

I had a package of nori, some Greek caviar spread my family didn't really like (too bland), rice, and various odds and ends like cans of vegetables we don't like and so forth.

A friend who was going to be at the event had just been diagnosed with celiac disease, and couldn't have gluten, and is also allergic to milk. I had promised to make something for an event sometime, as it is rare for anyone to bring something that is both gluten and milk free. I really hadn't expected to keep my promise so soon after making it though, especially without any research or special shopping! *chuckle*

So, armed with little to make a "normal" snack with, and some of the supplies for the perfect gluten and milk free snack, I hunted my kitchen and discovered a frozen container of smoked salmon we'd purchased a while back and not had a chance to use, and a package of rice ball seasoning with fish roe that I had honestly, been a bit apprehensive about trying (it's really tasty).

The stage was set, and it was time to begin.

To make a potentially really long story short, after a bit of meddling and measured experimentation, I had created a deliciously thick and robust tangy-sweet sauce for dipping, and some delightfully airy and mild fish sushi.




Fusion Salmon Sushi

1 cup uncooked American white rice
3 cups water
1 packet roasted nori (seaweed) sheets
1 small container moist smoked salmon (6-12 ounces)
3 teaspoons dried parsley

Put 1 cup regular rice in 3 cups water and bring to a rapid boil. Top with lid and remove from heat. Skillet toast salmon on low heat, in a covered skillet for 5 minutes. Prepare sauce (recipe below), then lay out a single nori sheet. If rice has absorbed all water by this time, set pot next to nori sheet on an oven mitt.

Carefully spoon sticky rice into one edge of the nori sheet in teaspoons until entire length is covered in lumps, then place thin strips of salmon on rice, end to end. Roll nori, tucking to make a firm roll, and roll up completely to use up the rest of the nori. Place on a plate. Roll subsequent sushi until salmon is gone, and place on the plate, not touching the other rolls.

After all sushi is rolled and the salmon is used up, place rolls in refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm.

If you wish, you may stir 2 cups rice into the fish juice in the skillet until lightly covered and make more sushi with this rice until the nori sheets are used up. It will taste the same, but have a slightly different color and texture.

For a non-squished appearance, cut sushi rolls with a straight (not serrated) knife by stabbing through the center half-way and cutting downwards, being sure to slice through the bottom completely. To finish, turn the roll on it's side and finish cutting.

For the final touch, set the slices prettiest side up and sprinkle lightly with dried parsley.


Fusion Sushi Dipping Sauce

1/2 jar Krinos brand Taramosalata greek-style caviar spread
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspooon honey
1/2 teaspoon sorgum molasses
2 packets omusubiyama yaki-tarako roe seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
3 sprays Braggs liquid aminoes (or 1 teaspoon soy sauce)

Simmer 10 minutes, constantly stirring and smushing lumps.

To serve, arrange artfully on a plate. May be garnished with leftover fish rice over sauce, a sculpted cone of wasabi, or three pickled ginger slices, or serve sauce in a cup on the side.


Prettiest served on a plate drizzled with the dipping sauce, and with both wasabi and pickled ginger on the side.

For an even healthier version, use whole grain brown rice instead of white in the sushi, and in the dipping sauce, substitute one raw egg, 2 tablespoons plain sushi (rinsed twice), and 1 tablespoon olive oil, well blended, in place of the 1/2 jar Greek spread before simmering.

Enjoy!

Makes about 48 pieces sushi and 1 cup dipping sauce. Time: about 1 hour.

Freezes well, thaw naturally in refrigerator in covered container.

* Most ingredients can be purchased at either your local grocery store or eastern food market. The Greek caviar spread can be found at a European specialty market if you want your sauce to be a bit oily when it is done, otherwise, just save time and buy the healthier, substituted ingredients for the sauce.

Learning While Voting

Voting was more fun this year than it ever was before!

There were a lot of folks out voting, and for the first time in my life, I actually had to stand in a line to be able to vote.

Another first; there were actual electioneers out in front of the polling center!

So for our history-making election, I registered 6 people to vote, drove a first-time voter to the polls, and even printed pout a sample ballot for Ladybug to fill out.

There had been so many voters there that before noon they had run out of "I Voted" stickers, and had already racked up a total of nearly 2,000 voters!

We also learned some neat things while we were voting. See, we had joined in to enter a raffle, and you could get an entry for sending a (personal data obscured) copy of your voter's registration card, and another entry for a photo of you with your ballot.

What we didn't know was that it is illegal to take photos in the election room itself, so when I aimed my camera at my friend, with his empty ballot, there was quite a commotion, what with poll workers yelling at me to stop. Of course I stopped immediately, and didn't take a picture at all, deciding that if it was that big of a deal, we'd just take a photo outside the polling place and hope it worked for the entry. Then someone came up to me and held out her hand. Like hell I was going to give her my only digital camera, I had no idea what she was going to do with it. So I hugged it close and told her I hadn't taken a picture, to which she asked to see, so I politely held onto my camera, and showed her the two photos on the sides of what would have been the photo she was looking for had I actually taken it. She commented on how interesting some of my pictures were, thanked me for my time, and explained the law on photos in the ballot center.

Learn something new every day! *smile*

The Rarest Of The Species

"Perhaps one of the most commonly sited species in North America, is the dead animal on the road."

"The dead animal on the road measures 5 foot by 3 foot, by 1/4 inch."

This would, of course, be the absolute rarest of the species, the dead fish on the Greenway trail.

Photo capture inspired by "Canadian Wildlife: The Dead Animal On The Road", a song/skit by The Frantics, from their album "Frantic Times".

You can hear the beginning of the song here.

The Frantics are a Canadian comedy group often featured on the Dr. Demento show. For more info and a listing of their other songs, visit their unofficial fan site.

EDIT: Faith was surprised that I didn't mention that I found this fishy while out geocaching, so here's the edit. *chuckle* You find some of the most interesting things (besides the caches themselves) while hunting for Tupperware in the woods!

Spiderwort After The Rain

One of our most distinctive native Missouri wildflowers, with it's beautiful purple-blue petals, bright golden stamens, and long slender leaves, Spiderwort was the first wild plant I ever learned to identify on sight.

Spiderwort blooms in late spring and early summer, producing vivid blooms throughout the season. Each plant can produce over 20 short-lived flowers per stem. While each individual flower only blooms for a single day, the blossoms and buds are so heavy and numerous that they often weigh down the usually knee-high plant, causing some stalks to lean sideways instead of standing upright.

The scientific name of Spiderwort is Tradescantia sp., and another common name for it is Cow Slobber, likely both common names came about due to the highly-stretchy nature of the sap, reminiscent of both spider silk and bovine drool. It is related in class to grasses, as well as the Iris, Lilly, and Orchid families.

One of our many wild edibles, the leaves, and stalks may be eaten raw as a salad green, steamed as a vegetable, or added to stews. The flowers make an unusual garnish to salads and summer drinks, and if candied, look delightful as cake decorations.

Popular in English gardens, Spiderwort is easily propagated from seeds and cuttings, and is one of the wildflowers that has made it into the nursery business. If you can't find it at your local nursery, it is sometimes available for purchase at the Department of Conservation's spring seed and plant sale, and makes a vibrant addition to any native flower garden.

Almost Time For The Wild Harvest

In Suport of Creativity

A group of college girls got together and decided to make a calendar of themselves (geek girls), and sell it to raise some extra money for college. I love the fact that they thought of this, and that they've added geek holidays like pi day and sci-fi conventions to the calendar itself.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view, and go to their website to buy yourself a copy.

I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the girls is a homeschool graduate as well, due to the fact that I heard about the calendar from one of the home education groups I'm a member of.

I must admit that I used the images from the site so I could advertise their calendar without permission, but since I'm advertising for them to get more sales, (and thus more money towards their education), I don't think they'd really mind. I started out making a one-page flier to take to a group of gamers I know, and it turned out so well that I had to share it with you too. Just to make sure it's okay that I've used their images this way, I've alerted one of the folks who helped to create the calendar. *smile*

You know you want a copy!

UPDATE: Two of the lovely women involved in creating the calendar. The producer, and Librarian Geek were both homeschool graduates!

Breaking News: Downtown Fire

CAUTION: ADULT LANGUAGE FROM BYSTANDERS IN VIDEO

At roughly 10:30pm, at the corner of 7th and Mt. Vernon in Springfield, Missouri, a garage caught fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire had completely engulfed the building and spread to an adjacent utility pole, and the pole had begun to lean precariously towards the pole across from it on 7th street.

We arrived on the scene at about 10:45pm, when the flames were towering over 10 feet above the roof of the building. We never would have known about it when we did if it hadn't been for two untagged, but well cared for dogs with collars, who ran into our house through the open door for a bit of a visit and some love. We had gone out to see if we could find their owners before we turned in for the night, and that's when we saw the fire, a few blocks away. Thinking that the dogs may have escaped from what appeared to be a house fire, we went to find the residents and offer them their precious puppies back.

Here is the video Keebler took of the fire a couple of minutes after I called 911, and they told me that trucks were in route.



Luckily, the garage was a free standing building, so the fire didn't spread far before the fire department arrived, and quickly got the blaze under control.

Some photos of the firepersons hard at work on the remnants of the blaze (taken with my cell phone, Keeb still had the camera. Still, they came out surprisingly well.).


After a short investigation on my part, questioning the fire department and bystanders, I learned that the house was vacant, and for sale. It's good to know that nobody lost any possessions in the blaze, but the garage will need to be completely torn down, and the house is going to need new siding, due to heat damage (and the fire dept ripping some of it off to check for possible smoldering underneath).

Remember, you heard it here first, folks!

Here's a photo of the dogs.

Anyone know who their owners are? I'm sure these playful pups would love to get back to their rightful home(s).

A Sinking Feeling

The above photo is what greeted up in our new kitchen when we moved into our new house.

Gross, huh?

That's what we thought too, so we snapped a photo to show to the landlord as proof, and got to work.

45 minutes of hard labor with my favorite cheap & natural cleaning products* later, we had the image below.
Yep, that's right, there was so much grime on the sink, we couldn't see that the enamel had worn off the bottoms of the basins! *gag*

So we snapped another shot, and told the landlord we just plain needed a new sink. He said that he'd be happy to install whatever sink we managed to get, so a-hunting we did go.

With no written promise of reimbursement, however, and our tighter-than-tight budget, there weren't many places we could look. Freecycle(tm) to the rescue!

Within hours of my wanted post to our local group, a friend of mine messaged me to let me know he had just purchased a sink from a yard sale, meeting our size requirements, in order to get the faucets and stuff off of it for his home. He didn't need the sink itself, and we could have it.

*the crowd goes wild with cheering*

Even better, the sink is steel, so I can finally polish a sink again, after 4 years of being deprived of my precious shiny sink**!

Now to call the landlord and schedule the installation. *grin*

I may not have the best landlord in the world, but my friends and community are a true blessing!



*baking soda, vinegar, heavy-duty scrub sponge.

**Google "Flylady" for more information on the shiny sink obsession.

Artsfest 2008

It was a great event, and a ton of fun for all involved. Feel free to check out the other photos of those who chose to share a part of the fabulous weekend with us.

As usual, we had a few folks set forth a challenge with first-time designs. I love a good artistic challenge, and ArtsFest didn't disappoint. *smile*

ArtsFest always has a plethora of other people's pets to love on, mostly dogs, but the furry highlight to my weekend was this adorable little rex agouti ratty boy that I was allowed to snuggle on for a few minutes towards the end of the day on Saturday.

What a perfect joy he was, and a great way to end the festival!

Digital Edit

An interesting digital edit I came up with from a photo that was taken of me. I sort-of like the effect. *smile*

Times Past

A special nail job I did for myself for the Saint Patrick's Day parade. It was a fun way to add a bit more of a festive air to the day, despite the cold.

Polished For St. Patty's

Okay, so this is a little late, but I thought you'd still enjoy it. *smile*

Snow is Cool

Keebler cheering a snowboarder after a great run down the "big hill".

Someone's creation at the snow hill where nearly all of Springfield comes to sled and snowboard.

Fresh strawberry snow ice cream. Yummy, but not so good for the core temperature. *chuckle*