2010 has turned out to be an outstanding year for Visual Kei bands touring North America. We’ve been blessed with visits from Miyavi, D’espairsRay, Dir en Grey, X Japan… and now, Luna Sea. The legendary Jrockers are reuniting for a worldwide tour — including a stop in Los Angeles in December 4th! The tickets for the show (held at Hollywood Palladium) will be on sale via Ticketmaster on September 8th. Who’s going to be headbanging in the audience??

Thanks to everyone who joined our impromptu BlogTV chat last night! Yukiro and I bared our fangs, drank disgusting apple-lemon-milk, displayed my Miffy products and dueled with stuffed toys. Would you like to see more live webcasts? (If so, please add me on Twitter so you won’t miss the next one.)

Prior to our show, we abused a 17 year old emo boy under the name “Pokemon.” We were responsible for the non sequitur comments about G-suS on his BlogTV webcast!

While we did our web show, we turned on the TV to Japanese fitness infomercials. I am very fond of informercials. Not surprisingly, Japanese ones take the cake.

I’m astounded by your response to the La Carmina t-shirt giveaway! Thank you to everyone for entering the contest. The winner, chosen by random number generator, is Inochii.

Don’t pout if you didn’t win — I have great news. Akumu Ink is extending the deadline for one more week… which means this is your absolute last chance to get one of these t-shirts! Pick up a Mens or Womens Gothic Lolita & earless kitty portrait tee in size S to XXL. (Surf over here and scroll to the bottom to buy.) If you’re having trouble ordering, leave a comment in this post or email me. Thank you so much for your support; without it, I can’t keep on releasing new fashion designs!

Finally, I did a fun interview with Trespass Magazine. Who do I have a crush on? People I admire most? Desired superpower? You can read my answers here and after the jump.

Anyone else here a fan of watching infomercials? Which ones are your favorite? Cathy from Xpress Redi-Set-Go is my heroine.

Japanese Word of the Day: Kojinteki = Private, personal
Song of the Day: E’m – Seelenheil

Trespassing With…La Carmina
By Trespass Magazine on Sep 01, 2010

Canadian born and raised Japanese Goth fashion blogger, La Carmina is a travel TV host, author of 3 books (Penguin USA and Random House), and writer for CNNGo.com and Lip Service. She has also been featured in major publications (The New Yorker, Washington Post, WWD, Village Voice, Time Out New York, Fox News, LA Times) and has appeared on shows as diverse as The Today Show and Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods. To add to her already overflowing myriad of achievements, La Carmina will soon be the Asia host for the educational travel TV series, Project Explorer.

Name: La Carmina
Occupation: I share my spooky adventures on my La Carmina blog – welcome to my world of Japanese Goth fashion, alternative subcultures and cute earless cats! I’m a journalist for CNNGo.com and wrote three books on Jpop culture, including Cute Yummy Time and Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo. I host and arrange travel TV shows, mostly in Tokyo (credits include Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, Canal Plus France, NHK, Sony Australia, Dutch Pepsi).

1 . What is it about Harajuku fashion that you love so much? Harajuku fashion is very diverse, but the overall expression is strikingly visual. I love how “style tribes” such as Lolita and Fairy Kei celebrates alternative expressions of beauty, and are part of vibrant young (sub)cultures.

2 . Three items of clothing you can’t live without? My Alice and the Pirates short navy jacket; it has a long pointed collar and silver rows of military buttons. I got my Angelic Pretty glossy red lace-up knee-high boots for a steal. And I love my rare Moi-meme-Moitie Goth dress, which looks like something you’d wear to a Victorian funeral.

3 . Which era do you wish you could visit and why? Marie Antoinette’s court at Versailles. “Life then was like candy. Their world, so sweet and dreamy. That was Rococo. Girdles were tightened for beauty’s sake. Too tight for breathing. It was… very cute!” – Quote from the Kamikaze Girls film

4 . Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Five years ago, I couldn’t possibly have imagined I’d be in the place I am now. I hope that five years from now, I’ll have evolved as much. Or more.

5 . Fashion designer I most admire…Mana-sama, mastermind of Moi-meme-Moitie (Japanese elegant Gothic Lolita and aristocrat fashion). He executed his romantic, dark vision near-perfectly.

6 . The best meal I’ve ever had… It’s kind of inside joke, but my friend Yukiro and I are obsessed with the kabocha (pumpkin) pizza from the Sunpierrot bakery in Shinjuku Station. It was only 200 yen ($2) a slice! But the pizza has been discontinued, and we’re not sure if life is worth living any more…

7 . Three songs currently on my playlist…GPKISM – Atheos (Recently saw them in concert – Visual Goth electro) Versailles – Princess (Magnificent Visual Kei artists who wear aristocrat stage outfits) Laura Branigan – Self Control (I have a thing for Italo Disco, and we just sang this at karaoke)

8 . The best part of my job is…I feel lucky to do my own creative work, on my own time, and in a variety of fascinating mediums (TV, writing, journalism, design). I collaborate with and meet inspiring individuals from all over the world. I travel to cities such as Tokyo, New York and LA, and have the opportunity to involve my friends in my work/play (such as attending Jrock concerts and art events, and taking part in TV shoots).

9 . I wish I had the superpower to…Tesseract, like in the Madeline L’Engle book A Wrinkle in Time. I could travel everywhere on the planet, then move through space and time…

1 0 .My comfort food is… Tiger tail ice cream – a swirl of orange and licorice. It was my childhood favorite. I think it’s why I’m obsessed with absinthe now.

1 1 .If I wasn’t doing what I do now I’d be….A suicidal lawyer.

1 2 .I have a crush on…William from Almost Famous, Oscar from Tadpole, Harold from Harold & Maude.

1 3 .I’m on a desert island and can only bring one starter, one main course, and one dessert dish. My picks are: Adorably-decorated meals from my cookbook, Cute Yummy Time! I’d wish for Piggy Bread as a starter, Night Owl Quiche as a main, and Scottish Fold Cat orange poppy cake for dessert.

1 4 .The last time I laughed so hard was…Last weekend, with my spooky friends and the Dutch Pepsi TV crew. We were at Tokyo’s number one Goth/Industrial party, Midnight Mess. There was biting, bondage, scandal and drama… a bloody perfect night.

1 5 .The last time I wrote a love letter was…I’m the last person on the planet to write a love letter.

1 6 .WOO! I just rubbed a lamp and a genie popped out: I wish I could bring my round-faced Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow, everywhere I travel. He’s very well-behaved and affectionate, and looks like a teddy bear. His blog: http://lacarmina.com/basilfarrow

1 7 .People I admire most: The strong, shockingly creative individuals I’m lucky to have as friends and family.

1 8 .The best advice I ever received was from:__Molly__ and he/she said: ___“It’s ok if you’re not doing something cool right now.”__

1 9 .Pay a stranger a compliment: I salute you, Yellow House Baba. You’ve been running your little Harajuku shop and designing outfits for famous Visual Kei / J-rock artists for 25 years. And you’re still scuttling around like a teenager, dressing people up in pirate punk cat hoodies when they wander in. Let’s hope I can be like you someday.

2 0 .Let me tell you something….Whether ye be on board or off, my haunted ship keeps a-sailing. Avast!