Tag Archives: Culture

Body Modifications: Bagel Heads

Posted by caffeinedreams3 on

Let’s shed some light on a terrifying extreme body modification: Bagel Heads.

The world of body modifications is practically endless, almost anything is possible….if you’re into that. With this particular body mod, a needle is placed into the forehead while saline slowly flows into the forehead. A reservoir of saline is created and the practitioner places their thumb in the middle to create the “bagel” or “doughnut” shape.

 

In all it takes about two hours from when the needle is placed into the forehead until the final indentation is made. Thankfully this is a body mod that is only temporary. Your body will actually absorb the saline and within 24 the swelling will have gone down and you will like as you did before the procedure.

 

This trend was actually started in Canada, and was then brought to Japan by Keroppy Maeda. National Geographic did a special about this body mod for their Taboo series.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* IF YOU ARE SQUEEMISH ABOUT NEEDLES YOU MAY NOT WANT TO WATCH THE VIDEO THIS IS RATHER UNSETTLING CONTENT SO VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED 


Video from Youtube yverdonke2 18 September 2012

This video really explains a lot about how the body modification is performed. Just note that contrary of what some think, this is not all that common among Japanese Culture. In fact, a lot of Japanese don’t know about it, as well as you probably didn’t know about it until now.

I’m not really sure what would make someone want to go through with this kind of procedure. I know that the closest I would ever want to come to doing something like this would be putting a bagel on my forehead.

xo, B

Japanese Culture: Tokidoki

Posted by caffeinedreams3 on

Welcome to the wonderful world that is tokidoki.

This brand since debuting in 2005 has gained a huge mass-following for it’s larger (and cuter) than life characters. I really adore this brand because of how much it is inspired by Japanese culture and everything is so cute and adorable. Even when characters are made to ‘mean’ looking, it’s just really cute because they’re tough little chibi characters.

photo from: http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/ Simone Legno 2005

photo from:
http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/
Simone Legno
2005

Who doesn’t love UNICORNS?!?!!? Obviously Simone Legno likes unicorns. I love these ones because there are tough badass unicorns, but then there are they cute stereotypical girly unicorns. Unicorns for all different types of people.

photo from: http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/ Simone Legno 2005

photo from:
http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/
Simone Legno 2005

I think the Moofia characters are some of my favorites because they’re all cartons of milk, or a girl in a cow costume with a machine gun. There’s that reason and just saying Moofia is fun and it’s all just cuteness overload!!!

photo from: http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/ Simone Legno 2005

photo from:
http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/
Simone Legno
2005

Cactus friends. They are cactuses? cacti?…. that just want to be your friend. Just look at the cactus kitty and bunny, and cactus skeleton with a jetpack. It’s awesome.

photo from http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/ Simone Legno 2005

photo from
http://www.tokidoki.it/characters/
Simone Legno
2005

I really love these ^^ characters because, well just look at how cute they are! The ‘Til Death Do Us Part characters center around a little adorable skeleton couple who also happen to have a skeleton cat and dog. And yes their tails are scythes.

This is Simone Legno himself. The creative mind behind the popular brand “Tokidoki.” He was born and raised in Rome, Italy where, as a child, he would draw non-stop. Eventually all of his drawings led him to create Tokidoki. Legno has always been obsessed with Japanese culture. Tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese he named his brand after this word because he feels “everyone waits for moments that change one’s destiny, by chance or by meeting a new person”.

“tokidoki is the hope, the hidden energy that everyone has inside, It gives us the strength to face a new day and dream about something positive and the hope that something magical will happen to us.” – Simone Legno

This is one of my favorite brands. It has something for all sorts of different people that they will like. And there are WAY, WAY more characters than the small amount i put in this post. There are so many people who love this brand that they get tattoos of characters, and even the girls. This is a very versatile brand that is going to be even more successful than it already is.

I wanna know which characters are your favorite. Leave a comment below!

xo, B

 

Skins Pt 2: Effy Stonem

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Now to the next installment of this strange Skins series I’m doing.
This is another one of my favorite characters from the series, Effy Stonem. She makes her debut appearance in the first episode called Tony. She continues to pop her head in and out of the show, until she gets her time to shine in the third season/second generation.

photo from: http://mwithe.wordpress.com/tag/skins-fire/ M.E. 11 October 2013

photo from:
http://mwithe.wordpress.com/tag/skins-fire/
M.E.
11 October 2013

Effy is a deeply complex character. In the beginning of the series we know her as Tony’s younger sister that likes to sneak out at night. She never speaks very much, even during the episodes centered around her.

She’s a misunderstood girl. No one understands her at all, no one truly knows who she is. She creates her own world to compensate for the world that has left her behind. However, this makes people see her as a b****, which she can be, everyone has their moments, but that’s not who she is. She is a very kind and loving person. And the only people who know this are her family and maybe two friends.

Effy is someone who is very strong and for the most part sure of who she is and where she stands in the world. Things don’t begin to turn for her until family troubles find their way to the Stonem household. She starts losing herself. When school starts she meets a group of friends, and ruins everything between them forever. Effy’s life revolves around drama, but she is able to stay strong throughout it. Until one day she went off the deep end. Her lover for her boyfriend drove her to madness.

Actress Kaya Scodelario gives Effy such a human side. She is able to make a character like Effy so lovable and beautiful. She is so dark and twisted, yet she always leaves you wanting more. Kaya was cast as Effy when she was just 14 years old, she grew up being this character. She has made Effy more than just a character. Effy and Kaya are role models to me, not for the crazy things she did throughout the show, but because of the composure through an unwinding of sanity that I admire.

This is something that Effy says a lot. It’s something that I can relate to. I always feel like I have so many things to say but there’s never anyone there to listen to me.
That’s why Effy is so quiet. She is smarter than everyone, and far more clever, and no one else understands her when she speaks her mind. I’m not saying I feel smarter than anyone, I just feel like no one listens.

Leave a comment below if you have ever felt alone and like no one listens. I would love to help if I can!

xo, B

Lovely Lady: Julianna Colaneri

Posted by caffeinedreams3 on

This is Julianna Colaneri

photo

I got the chance to ask Julianna some questions.

“Why  do you  dress the way you do?”
“Sometimes it’s because of the weather . And sometimes it’s because I wanna look cute or like a fairy.”

photo (7)

“What do you think people’s opinions are of you based on how you dress?”
“Well, I think that they might think that I am a lesbian or that I am lame. Or probably both.”

photo (3)

“Do you think that the way you dress expresses who you are? How?”
“Yes, yes I do express myself in how I dress. I….I….agh, green is not a creative color. Maybe I’m creative. I just put on whatever I can find in the morning and frump out the door.”

“What does ‘frump’ mean?”
“Peanut butter. That is my answer.”

“Anything you want people to know about you?”
“I’m a feisty egg.”

5 Cool Online Clothing Stores

Posted by caffeinedreams3 on

I, like many of you, always spend hours looking online for cool clothes.
So I have taken the time to show you some of my favorites.

photo from: http://drdeblvl.blogspot.com/ Vlad Melnychuk February 28, 2013

photo from:
http://drdeblvl.blogspot.com/
Vlad Melnychuk
February 28, 2013

Drop Dead Clothing (http://www.dropdead.co/) is great. And most people in the U.S. won’t have clothes from this brand. Why? Due to the fact that the founder of Drop Dead Clothing, Oli Skyes (lead singer of metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon) decided to base the company in his home country of England. So considering that things will be a bit pricey. However, usually out of country stores will offer some kind of free shipping for international shipping. And there are always tons of great stuff on sale!

photo from: http://blackcraft.bigcartel.com/ Jim Somers and Bobby Schubenski 2012

photo from:
http://blackcraft.bigcartel.com/
Jim Somers and Bobby Schubenski
2012

Black Craft Cult is amazing to say the least. But only if you are interested in satanic coffee, cats, and spell casting witches. If you are then get yourself to this website and buy everything! Things do run on the expensive side, but if originality is what you are going for, then chances are you won’t find the other kids at school with anything from this brand. Get their stuff here: http://blackcraft.bigcartel.com/

photo from: http://www.bloodmilkjewels.com/ Friedrich Nietzsche 2008

photo from:
http://www.bloodmilkjewels.com/
Friedrich Nietzsche
2008

If you are willing to spend big bucks on amazing one of a kind jewelry check out Blood Milk Jewels! ( http://www.bloodmilkjewels.com/) This is a very expensive line, but if you are willing to pay, you would not be sorry at all. Everything that is made with so much care, precision, and beauty. Worth the money if you’re willing to spend it.

photo from: http://www.anthemmade.com/ Kellin Quinn 2011

photo from:
http://www.anthemmade.com/
Kellin Quinn
2011

The cool thing about Anthem Made clothing is that the co-creator of this brand is also the lead singer of a popular post-hardcore band Sleeping With Sirens. The clothes are really cool and are well made, worth the price! You can check it out here: http://www.anthemmade.com/

photo from: http://madsilence.wordpress.com/tag/clothing/ madsilence October 8, 2009

photo from:
http://madsilence.wordpress.com/tag/clothing/
madsilence
October 8, 2009

I saved my favorite for last! Threadless (https://www.threadless.com/) They have the most unique shirts you could ever hope to find. Multiple different artists submit their designs and if they get chosen you can see their design on fabric. Each artist gets his or her own page where you can see all the different designs they have created.  And the best part is that there are hundreds of unique designs that your average guy or gal won’t be wearing.

What online stores do you like to go on that I can add to the list? Let me know below!
xo kittens, B

Lovely Lady: Ariel Eakin

Posted by caffeinedreams3 on

photo 4

This is Ariel Eakin. I took some time yesterday to take a few pictures of her and ask her some questions. She’s crazy beautiful and artistic. It was a pleasure getting to interview her. You can find her on tumblr (nyooms.tumblr.com)

“What makes you different from other people?”
“I think everyone is different so I think that makes me indifferent from other people.”

“What does your clothes say about you?”
“Uh, well I it says a lot. Like the music I like, and I wear a lot of black and black is my favorite color. It’s more fun to dress like yourself, there are so may people here that dress in Lulu Lemons, Patagonia jackets, and low top white Converse shoes. Or variations of that. And it’s not very fun at all to dress the same as everybody else.  So I think that your clothing says a lot about you and it’s a great way to express yourself.”

“Is there anything that you want people to know about you?”
“Ezra Koenig tweeted me twice.”

In case you don’t know who Ezra Koenig is the lead singer of the popular indie band Vampire Weekend. And it’s Ariel’s favorite band, so she’s extremely proud of the fact he tweeted her.

When I asked Ariel to stand up for me to take pictures of her she grumbled and said, “Ugh I don’t want to get up.”
I share this because it actually says a lot about her and even shows up in the way she dresses. She doesn’t wear tight restricting clothes. She wears things she’s comfortable in and she was comfortable sitting on the ground.
I just thought that was something kind of interesting.

If you didn’t know Ariel, what do you think about her just by how she looks? Leave a comment below please!

xo B