I’m such an Internet popculture sucker, and thanks to Mix, I found these videos that comfortably suit all the Star Wars cosplay fans out there. This is the essence of MyDisguises, as we couldn’t do much more to promote the pure genius of getting people on the streets and living it up in something unique. I’ll stop blabbering and let the videos do the talking.

Thank you to Tokyostormtrooper for validating our claims that Tokyo and the Harajuku district are the best cosplay cities around. It’s like being at Disneyland 24/7 but with George Lucas in charge.

I know our audience pretty well, it’s not much of a secret. We have plenty of readers who like to dress up their pets. They think it’s cute. I have a secret of my own though.

I’ve been taught from the time I was young that people who treat their pets to human food, dress them up, and talk to them about their day, are strange. It’s one of those doctrines that gets pumped into the head so early that it’s hard to emerge from. When my aunt would come over and start talking to my mom about putting some nice clothes on our old dog, my mother’s eyes rolled all around her head.

Well, I have to wonder what the ratio of people who would dress up their pets to those who think it’s rediculous is. What do you think? Is there a fine line between being a scrooge and being pet obessed? What are the limits to dressing up your pet?

Jpop, sushi, and tech geeks dotting the city aren’t the only things that make Tokyo buzz with culture. Cosplay finds its roots in Tokyo and all the quirkiness that comes along with it is just the Japanese touch.

The traditions are all over the place, and it’s worth it to take a look at cosplay around the world. But you can’t take your eyes off Tokyo when thinking of this subculture-gone-revolution in our age of the geek. As our cultures swap everything from food to baseball, cosplay is starting to emerge as one of the biggest cultural exports out of Japan. We pick Tokyo to be the top Cosplay city in the world, for now. Here are some of the reasons why.

Love and Cosplay all over town

The unique thing about Tokyo and Cosplay’s relationship is that it’s not as subculture there as it is in the rest of the world. Perhaps due largely in part to the Japanese fascination with video games, as well as the widespread acceptance of anime, cosplay isn’t quite a “unique” thing to see around town. From the Harajuku’s youth filled streets to the Otaku culture of the Akihabara district, cosplay makes a representation in cafes and streets all the time. Unlike in other countries where conventions and events are the only real opportunities for cosplayers to get together, the Japanese enjoy the fun of cosplay as they please.

I ask myself how exactly this sort of culture even emerged and became as mainstream as it is in Japan. It’s not as natural to see an American randomly prancing around in a costume. Why don’t we seem to get it?

It’s all in the Anime

The reason cosplay has made such a splash in Japan is due to the Anime trend. Anime, for those who seem to be unaware, is the term given to Japanese animated shows and movies. What makes it unique is the fact that anime isn’t quite just for kids. There are a wide range of Animes that feature complex and mature stories.

In fact, anime is a product of limitations in the Japanese film market. Tight budgets motivated film makers to resort to animation rather than live action. Anime is also famous for it’s style. Most notably are the large character eyes, used initially because Japanese film makers admired the western eyes that Japanese people don’t genetically have. By resorting to animation, they could create the perfect characters according to their visions. In an ironic twist of fate, the styles of anime art have landed back into the western market and captured the attention of a large subcultural fanbase.

Since anime is so widely accepted, the Japanese have no problem with cosplayers that dress up like their favorite characters.

What to do as a cosplayer in Tokyo

As it turns out, there’s at least a couple of cosplay events going on every weekend in Tokyo. Whether in cafes, bars, on the streets, or wherever else you can imagine, there’s something there to find. For this reason alone, we call Tokyo the top cosplay city. Any cosplayer can feel totally comfortable in their own boots.

A good first stop is Sunday shopping in Harajuku. The cosplayers are out in herds and you can at least take a look at what’s going on out there. Subculture anymore? Seeing as how they are dressed up on purpose, you’re likely to get some willing participants for a few photos.

Media events, trade shows, conventions, and movie releases are also hot items for cosplay fans. Movies like Harry Potter get worldwide recognition, and therefore are a great way to get into some cosplay overseas. Tokyo has its own slew of themed events that permit a good amount of excuses for cosplay.

We’ll try to get our eyes and ears more into the cosplay culture of Tokyo as the blog goes on. It’s hard to see exactly what the cosplay culture is like in Tokyo being all the way over in the states, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find something good. Stick around for more about big cities for cosplay fans.

The excitement of high profile stores in Harajuku are a huge draw for youth.

Akihabara at night, the essence of Tokyo

Cosplayers are found in Harajuku intermingled with the rest of the street goers

Putting the “play” in cosplay means always keeping in character

The best part about writing this blog is spending my precious time seeking out the funnest costumes ever created. One of my favorite bands, Architecture in Helsinki, wins today’s prize.

Well, most people won’t call this a costume, but rather a puppet. It’s basically a small body attached to the shirt of the wearer. Their head acts as the puppet’s head and the puppet arms are connected to their wrists. When the person moves their wrists, it makes the puppet dance.

I’m a long time AiH fan and have notoriously not understood their clever lyrics to mean anything deep. Either way, this new video for “Heart it Races” has a theme and is unbelieveably clever and addictive. Best part? Well, watch until the end to see what happens when the lights go out.

I want to promote the community of people out there who share similar interests, as it just seems that there are too many blogs and sites that fly under the radar when they should get prime real estate. Thus, I found Handmade Detroit.

The site is basically dedicated to all things DIY for anyone interested. They seem to also host a big craft event in the Detroit area. Points of note, the blog itself just looks and feels good. You don’t get stuff like this on blogger, and for good reason. I wish they’d do a DIY on how I can design like they did… I’m a bit impaired in that category.

Today’s post is all about the DIY work of Emily Gustafson. As an artist, you have to admire her clever usage of cardboard and theme. The photo is borrowed from the site, but hit the link to check out more of Handmade Detroit.

We’ll put this one as one of our first on the blogroll, as we should expect to see some useful ideas from Handmade in the future.

Most of our visitors will note that we have a totally new look. We’ve been working hard to bring a better experience for the site and would love some feedback.

Go ahead and feel free to tack comments onto this post if there’s something you’d like to see, or something you want to disappear. We’ll do our best to accommodate our readerbase! Feel free to offer suggestions on things you’d like to see us cover as well!

If no one posts idea, well then hey… we’ll take that as a huge compliment!

Second Life is altogether converging more and more towards a virtual version of your first life. In a mass effort to defeat the purpose to make a virtual getaway, is the trickling of reality permeating and polluting the Second Life experience?

According to this news article posted yesterday in Strategy Page, the US Army is taking advantage of Second Life for training purposes. In the wake of the severe push towards a greater online community they have even created their own tools on a separate and private Internet to effectually accomplish their civilian training exercises.

In an article we posted earlier, we highlighted the terrorist usage of worlds like Second Life as well. What does all this mean? First and foremost, it means effective tools for training at minimal cost. And that’s just what government and terrorists alike are looking for.

But this is just another step in the direction of making the real world and the virtual world blend on a deeper scale. Second Life has been a haven for educators, organizations, political movements, and prominently, businesses, to gather and accomplish their real world goals. Universities have also been known to construct virtual campuses for their students to partake in. What keeps people interested then, if everything is becoming a mimic of it’s natural self? Is it the curiosity factor? Is it the wow factor?

Major critics to Second Life tend to believe that the world will be short lived. Most of them claim that everyone is there to make money from each other, but few are there to spend it… and its getting worse. Second Life also has a large learning curve, clunky interface, and sluggish performance. It’s vast, creative, open world is what’s killing it’s experience for many.

With most visitors to SL going there for an escape the question is whether these real world mirror imaged organizations and movements are just clogging the virtual space, or whether they’re contributing to its growth and intrigue. Our position is that businesses help promote growth so long as their efforts and intentions stay in Second Life. But when companies use the virtual space to accomplish real world tasks primarily, it’s just suffocating the environment.

What about you? How much would you like to see Second Life cater to the imagination and unfolding of its own environment? Does Second Life suffer at the expense of the real world?

We’re obviously interested in getting people into costumes, and not feeling bad about it. There’s definitely a stigma about dressing up. Yeah, so it’s not a good idea to slip into your spidey tights while watching reruns of Seinfeld at home… that is a bit weird. But everyone loves dressing up and being different! It’s sometimes more comfortable being someone else for awhile and letting loose. That’s why Halloween is so big.

That being said, we won’t judge you if you carry your Harry Potter wand in your briefcase every day at work. But what are you gonna say when someone else finds out!? Don’t fret, we’ve got the top 10 excuses you can give to protect yourself of the embarrassment that could ensue. Here’s a list of excuses of why you’re dressed up when you find that society casts a skeptical glare your way!

10. “I have a side job as a costume tester for ________” - Blame someone else for your Indian head dress that you were caught wearing. People can’t argue. Make sure you embellish your high pay and great benefits.

9. “One of my pets died today” - Pets die, people start getting all crazy and sad. Who are we to judge someone for how they mourn. If your dog passed on and you feel you need to don a Bon Jovi wig, then you wear that wig!

8. “Lindsey Lohan is wearing these nowadays!” - Because we all want to be like Lindsey Lohan, right…..? Insert the name of your own chosen celeb.

7. “I’m crazy” - Why explain… give them something to chew on. Walk away loud and proud and let them think what they will. Twitch and shout strangely placed expletives at your will.

6. “Free carwash.. 3 miles down the road!!!” - You could always just pretend your an advertisement. This will work particularly well if you’re dressed like a Cheerleader.

5. “Umm.. it’s Halloween today. Where’s your brain?” - Mind trickery my friends, mind trickery. It works when I do it.

4. “I’m making a YouTube video” - This is the great excuse of our time. You see, all kinds of ridiculous junk makes it to You Tube, and people are actually getting famous.

3. “I lost a bet” - This is a classic, easy to accept, and makes everyone move on with their bad selves. Although, I must say it loses attention, and we don’t wanna do that.

2. “My Wife Likes It” - Men across the world understand that what the wife likes and says is basically what goes. It’s an indisputable truth that governs the universe.

1. “Your costume doesn’t look so hot itself, and you dress like that everyday!” - Prepare for some awkward silence.

Get a load of this collection. Would you say obsessed?

Kylie Minogue has had her hits here in the US, but she’s really a legend in her native land of Australia. This video shows the obsessed costume collection that houses so much of the things she’s worn over the years. The good news, costumes like this end up in good care and eventually in some kind of museum. I have to wonder how much money is in the clothes stored here.

It seems like Halloween is still far off, but it’s creeping up pretty quick. Since that’s the biggest costume season of the year, it’s going to start getting real hectic for costume companies as well as the craft stores that supply DIYers with their materials. I, myself, will be making my own costume this year. I really want to do something clever and report it on the blog. Therefore, I’ll be trying to make a splash with my own creativity.

Each year it seems that there’s a popular costume that hits. Of course, I wager to say it’s just dependent on what new excitement the entertainment industry has brought us. It is always somewhat unpredictable though. We’re wondering what its gonna be this year?

Of course, there are some standards that we can expect. I’d say that Harry Potter will make a showing at a few good costume parties. We’re also constantly expecting the Pirates crowd to come out in numbers.  We’ll also be seeing some new things floating around. Here’s our list of our top 5 new costumes on the scene for 2007:

5. Anything World of Warcraft - We just are afraid that there’s too much geekiness surrounding this one to get people to dress up accordingly. However, 9 million fans and players worldwide can’t be wrong. And with an impending movie in the works, that 9 million is bound to grow. Or at least it will become a household name. Even the link above has an in-game costume. As if being plugged to your fantasy world all day isn’t enough, now you can don a costume and be immersed in fantasy while being immersed in fantasy.

4.  Hairspray - If ever teenage girls were to fall in love with a movie, it was with High School Musical. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room in their hearts for Hairspray. It’s a nostalgic love song dedicated to the original. The colors and costumes are vibrant and you can expect to see this all over the place this season. Isn’t it the teenagers who are representing one of the largest groups of costume wearers out there anyway? I have my money on this one.

 3. Naruto - Anime fans always come out in drones, and Naruto is representing just about the biggest thing to hit the Anime scene since Dragonball Z. Comic Con has shown us the popularity of this huge series, and it seems that it’s not calming down. As a huge Japanese export, Naruto costumes are far and away a big hit this year.

2. Transformers - This is one for the DIY crowd out there. The only reason I think this will be big is because it already is. The internet has been slammed with videos of these costumes ever since the movie has come out, so we don’t see it slowing down before the costume season hits.

1.  Pirates - I had to do it. I couldn’t deny the fact that this is going to rule the roost when it comes to costumes for 2007. The costume design for the movie is unbelievable. With a host of characters to choose from and each donning their own look, it’s without a doubt a wellspring of ideas for Halloween. Mix into it the fact that they’re mischievous enough for the holiday, and I’m putting my money down on this. The only excuses I have to qualifying these costumes for this list is my notion of Tia Dalma costumes showing up. Her role is significantly central to this third installment of the trilogy.

Costumes that came close, but just weren’t good enough to make it…

•  Indiana Jones - Comic Con goers had a look at this upcoming sequel to the once-ended trilogy that made Harrison Ford a star. Somehow, he ends up in movies that end up in great costumes. It’s not out yet, so we couldn’t assume the craze would set it.
• David Beckham - This is a hit with both the guys and the girls. Beckham has made the move to the US for his soccer (er umm… football, sorry) career. His popularity isn’t unnoticed despite the fact that some fans are skeptical. What do I think? Maybe half sellout, half career move. Either way, having your boyfriend or husband dress up as Beckham is an easy excuse to get your Posh Spice outfit out of the 1996 bin and dust it off.

No matter where you go in the world most countries have traditional costumes, except America…

My pond hopping has been fruitful. I’ve been everywhere from France to Madagascar. Each place is so different from the next. When I cross boundaries somewhere, I have a mantra that I follow. After I settle down with my bags, I typically go out alone and find some local food. Hopefully it means sitting down in a small Greek Taverna or a Pub of some sort. Once I’ve filled myself with a local dish, I take to the streets and just get lost.

This is where traveling becomes more than it is to most people. In every chance I get, I spend time with the locals and get to know them. Sometimes, If I’m lucky, I make friends with someone who will tell me a story. In the process I learn about growing up internationally. I’ve heard stories of politics, love, war, and family. Some of the people I’ve met were poor beyond any first world concepts. I even made friends with a wealthy South African bunch who took me for a ride on their personal game reserve.

Of Borders and Boundaries

Every time I come back to the states, I get this feeling of claustrophobia for a few days. To most people, borders are just a line but boundaries are a distinct separation of culture. Of borders and boundaries, I don’t make distinction. They’re all the same. In a country where land mass should dictate a greater diversity, it seems that culture has homogenized into the “melting pot” of modern acceptance. So what? Why make a scene?

Europe, my first foreign exploit, taught me a valuable lesson. I noticed how the separate countries are so small, but crossing a border means entering a whole new world. People come and go freely as they do anywhere else. Conversely, when you dust your shoes off in another residence, you blend with them. It’s an unbelievable experience. Individuals revere one another for who they are.

So why does it work in places like Europe? Well, the easy explanation is “history”. America isn’t all that old. However, walking the streets of places like Paris, Dubai, Cape Town, or Stockholm echo stories that can’t be told in words. Their history is spoken through the people and their lifestyles. The land, in return, mimics the history of its people and their interaction with one another.

Dressed In Their Own Second Skin

When you walk in the streets of Florence, you see the elderly in their more traditional clothes. Malagasy people wear their national garb nearly every day and to family events. The Polynesian men go to business meetings in their traditional lava lavas. In America, what do we wear? Are we so unified in culture, that we have a traditional form of dress that we frequently don for special occasions? Or is our culture just a mix of everyone else’s.

Well, it’s not hard to see that we miss out on what the rest of the world uses to help develop identity. It’s a shame but who can we blame? We are a product of our short history. In light of this, I’m taking the readers of this blog to around with me as I explore the different traditional costumes of the world, and how they define the people that wear them.

Join me as I explore these different costumes from here on out. If nothing else, a broad view of world history through clothing is a good reason to respect the boundaries that separate us and preserve world culture in its traditions.

Most of us need an excuse to get dressed up in something out of the ordinary. Others of us create excuses. In the case of these guys from PandaSmash TV, it’s all about their favorite nerdy pastime, Mario Kart. I’m submitting my name for an invite to the next one. I grew up on Mario Kart and would play it to this day. On a side note, I never found Princess to be that good in the game, but it looks like he… erm… she won this round.