Wandering Dolls: Cosplay Journey Across East Asia

So my new book just came out and was published by the Hong Kong publisher Roundtable Synergy Books. The book is in both English and Chinese (left page vs. right page) and was translated entirely by Yang Jing. It is a book of travels to four different cities in “East Asia” (the big land mass covering Japan,… Continue reading Wandering Dolls: Cosplay Journey Across East Asia

New short video, narrated by my doll, Zaphy.

Here my latest video a about a visit a doll museum in Kyoto, the home of SuperDollfie dolls owned and managed by the Japanese company Volks. The video is based on an actual special visit. It is called Visit to My Half-Blood Sisters and narrated by my own doll Zaphy, who belongs to the enemy brand Pullip … Continue reading New short video, narrated by my doll, Zaphy.

Earthy and Dirty

I just arrived in Beijing at Renmin University where I will give a talk about animation fans and how they use alter egos and virtual siblings, or even entire imagined clans and families. I want to find out how and why they fantasize about alternative families and how they deal with pressures of the bio-family. But what are the first impressions… Continue reading Earthy and Dirty

Urban Nomad Film Fest (Taipei) Goes Cos

My Japanese doll complex movie is playing in a film program about ‘Cosplay,’ (costume play or animation and J-rock fans who dress like their favorite characters) organized by the Urban Nomad Festival Let me confess right here that my movie would have been a flop without the support of Sean Hsiao, who introduced me to… Continue reading Urban Nomad Film Fest (Taipei) Goes Cos

Reunion with Friends, Maids, Dolls in Japan

I just returned from Tokyo and Kyoto where I took hundreds of photographs and shot about 5 hours of video.  You can access the photo galleries by clicking on the links in the text. First of all the trip was a reunion with my friends from Boston, Shujen Wang and Chris Fujiwara–and their super cute… Continue reading Reunion with Friends, Maids, Dolls in Japan