My first NYC signing for Cute Yummy Time went so well that the store invited me back! I hope you can come say hi and sample delicious kawaii treats on HALLOWEEN.

La Carmina: Cute Yummy Time book signing and demo
October 31, 2-4pm, Broadway Panhandler, 65 E 8th St, NYC
http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/

Now let’s go inside the Department H party with my friends and the Bizarre World cameraman. The party welcomes nudity, fetishes and alternative sexuality — but I think creative, personal expression is the best term to describe the scene.

The two-floor Kinema Club had stations where you could sign up for hook suspension, or extreme piercings, or get custom-fit vampire fangs… After a happy parade of Japanese drag queens, there was a succession performances that were the definition of random. As in a bandaged-faced vocalist swinging around a fake wrecking ball while three people dressed as prisoners danced out-of-sync and sang off-key…

Half-naked wrestling with rules that made no sense…

S&M suspension show involving an alien… (more on this tomorrow!)

The man on the right intrigued us. Why the bandage on the lower back? Why the purposefully lopsided undies?

I attend fetish/alt events and never hide the fact that I take part in this subculture… and I try to present it in a fair and open light. Parties such as Department H are safe, non-judgmental spaces. We had a fantastic time that night, and I highly recommend the experience to Tokyo visitors. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me. :)

Song of the Day #221: Amanda Palmer – Leeds United (Love her voice, her style, her rants on her blog and Twitter.)