Pic Spam of Silent, Solitary Mornings

Generally, I’m sick of the vast Self Help Industry and its recycled, cliche advice. But the one thing I still long for, still fantasize about, is having a silent, solitary morning to get my shit together. This is an impossibility right now bc my kid wakes up at 4am. I found these screen shots of beautiful early-morning sequences in an old post draft and nnnngggghhh… I’m dreading the back-to-school morning rush tomorrow…

Sailor Neptune vs “3 Day Monk” Usagi: Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That (Part 1)

 

Let’s revisit this ridiculously aspirational character from Sailor Moon S. At 16 years old, Michiru holds violin concerts and gallery exhibitions. Her partner is a 16 year old professional race car driver (when the Japanese legal age to drive is 18). They are stupid levels of rich, with luxury apartments in a plum area of Tokyo and helicopters (two!!!), sports cars, and an indoor swimming pool. This veneer of glamour only adds to their mystery – especially for Sailor Neptune, whose origin story and self-awakening is completely unaddressed in any franchise media (leading some to speculate that she is actually the most powerful of the team).

 

But like….how? Michiru, for starters, is set up as the antithesis to the “3 day monk.” Just to get it out of the way, yes Google tells me there are many 16 year old prodigies in real life, whether it in painting or in Nascar racing or violin. And second of all, this happens in a comic universe where mystical alien cats are reborn on earth to provide magical amulets to crayon-haired superheroes. But my question is more about how Michiru can be impossibly polished when her peers can barely get through their day covering the basics of middle school life. The answer given to us in the OG anime is that she fundamentally has a different outlook on life that might be summed up as….“Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That.”

 = 

Let’s explore…

Skinny Bitches 2016 Edition: Sailor Mercury Lunch

With the reboot of Sailor Moon, there have been a few pop up cafes in Japan that serve character-inspired dishes (not including the long time Talisman cafe in the Kansai area).

But all of them are basically desserts, which is the opposite kind of inspiration I need these days. I made my own 350 calorie lunch idea inspired by my dearest Sailor Mercury to combat the stress eating that is taking over my days. Here it is…

2016 New Years Resolutions ~ Everything is Coming Up Roses

Granted, my 2015 Heroine list came with a built in mantra: write your own story. In other words, don’t fall into depression, learned helplessness, and impotent rage but take charge of the direction of my life and son’s therapy. And I can begin to imagine alternative futures by remembering basic truths about the magic of love, resilience, and acceptance.

But on the suggestion of Gretchin Rubin, whose self-help/productivity book on habit building was a favorite of mine last year, I am thematically naming 2016 as the year of Roses and am writing up a whole post on New Years Resolutions. Goals! I love making new goals and projects!!

“Roses” might seem odd, considering how roses are such an ambivalent symbol in old favorites of mine like Alice in Wonderland or Utena…

or are SO TOTALLY LAME in Sailor Moon (don’t lie, you think so too).

But despite that…

The 12 Heroines of Christmas ~ Sailor Neptune & Uranus

3. Kaioh Michiru (Sailor Neptune) and Tenno Haruka (Sailor Uranus)

(Fan art by sizh)

Most writings on the two characters tend to reduce them to their lesbian identity. Instead, I want to highlight how they bridge the disjuncture between the Sailor Moon anime and manga on the trope of “dreams.”

The anime has a prominent, cheery message about girls’ following their dreams. In contrast, the manga consistently reminds us that the Sailor Senshi do not pursue dreams or alternatively, that their dream is equivalent to their duty. Case in point, compare the opening (Act 39)to the Dream Arc with the concluding battle for Sailor Mars (Act 43):

(scans from Miss Dream).

This devotion “to the cause” used to sit weird with me for many years. But Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus represent an ideal balance out of the fundamental mismatch between cherishing personal dreams/happiness and fulfilling responsibility – they give 110% on a few things and otherwise do NOT GIVE A FUCK. Life goals.

The 12 Heroines of Christmas ~ Sailor Moon

11. Sailor Moon

If my Christmas countdown was organized like a ranking, this post would have been saved for Number One because, you know, AHHHH SAILOR MOON. But since this is more of a narrative, I am sitting Sailor Moon down here. Meaning, if Sarah from Labyrinth reminds me that adults can draw on fantasy as an empowering source of strength, then Tsukino Usagi naturally follows with the lesson that

Love is strength. Love is power. And, love is everywhere.

Wait, wait, waiiitt. Is that cheesy, sentimental schlock? Stick with me here a bit.

The Moonlit Pegasus Challenge: Writing Every Day

After a brief (sort of disastrous) late summer trip, I faced up to that old truism: you can’t run away from yourself. Traveling is wonderful because it rips you out of your set routines, denaturalizes the unconsciously accepted “you” (your habits, your established relationships and roles), and thus promises to remake you anew. More basically, I become so interested/distracted by the new environment that I can’t be bothered by my own neuroses. But then you come home and ah, all the same problems.

My biggest problem is my anxiety about work (which is based in writing). Simply put, I haven’t been writing. It isn’t writer’s block or lacking time. Just good old fashioned anxiety-driven procrastination.

After a pep-talk/lecturing from a good friend, I came home and realized I needed a serious plan to finish my thesis in time. Then, like all good procrastinators, I spent 20 minutes first rewatching Sailor Moon Super S Episode 7/Series Episode 134. “Makoto’s Friendship! A Girl Who Loved Pegasus” or「まことの友情!天馬に憧れた少女」.

Pink Sugar Heart Attack? Chibi Moon Diet

Chibi Moon’s battle cry is “Pink Sugar Heart Attack!” I guess she pelts enemies with little pink hearts that laser out from her wand…

but I’ve always read it as, killing someone off with a heart-attack from feeding them too much sugar. 

Chibi Usa ~ Summer Style

Chibi Usa ~ Summer Style by cheri-100 featuring a red belt

100 Times the Courage, 100 Times the Power Special Cookies

ひと口食べれば、勇気100倍、パワー100倍になる、スペシャルクッキーなのよ！

These are special cookies! With just one bite, you’ll get 100 times braver and 100 times more powerful!

This scene is, of course, from