INTO THE SKY and BOYFRIEND A GOGO Lyrics and English Translation

This time I have two of them! I apologise if they're not the best, but as always I try hard. I'm a little tired from New Year's anticipation, but I'm excited too. I want to share the excitement with you, so please enjoy these lyrics and translations! I've tried to get the essence of the song and its tone.

I hope you will enjoy my work!
As always, a link is appreciated if you want to post my translations elsewhere.

INTO THE SKY

目覚めていつもの朝がきた
隣の君は変わらずオヤスミ
たまには朝食いい匂い
おはようキスとか夢膨らむ

理想・現実、かなり違う
ホントの答え何処?

(Into the sky) ほら、
知らない街にとびだして
(Into the sky) ねえ、
見つけたのは君が1番だってこと

春夏秋冬恋の予感
トキメキ感じる旅にでようか
ホントの答えは見つかるの?
小さな夢のツボミ膨らむ

運命の人あなたですか?
一年中恋曜日

(Into the sky) 今、
自分に問い掛けた
(Into the sky) ほら、
わかるのは君が1番だってこと

忘れないで、大事なこと
小春日和、君の隣、優しく包んで
夢をみよう、君の夢を、ぬくもりを感じてる

(Into the sky) ほら、
知らない街に飛びだして
(Into the sky) ねえ、
見つけたのは君が1番だってこと


INTO THE SKY

Mezamete itsumo no asa ga kita
Tonari no kimi wa kawarazu OYASUMI
Tama ni wa choushoku ii nioi
Ohayou KISU to ka yume fukuramu

Risou - genjitsu, kanari chigau
HONTO no kotai doko?

(Into the sky) hora,
Shiranai machi ni tobidashite
(Into the sky) nee,
Mitsuketa no wa kimi ga ichiban datte koto

Haru natsu aki fuyu koi no yokan
TOKIMEKI kanjiru tobi ni deyou ka
HONTO no kotae wa mitsukaru no?
Chiisai na yume no TSUBOMI fukuramu

Unmei no hito anata desu ka?
Ichinenjyuu koiyoubi

(Into the sky) ima,
Jibun ni toikaketa
(Into the sky) hora,
Wakaru no wa kimi ga ichiban datte koto

Wasurenaide, daiji na koto
Koharu biyori, kimi no tonari, yasashiku tsutsunde
Yume wo miyou, kimi no yume wo, nukumori wo kanjiteru

(Into the sky) hora,
Shiranai machi ni tobidashite
(Into the sky) nee,
Mitsuketa no wa kimi ga ichiban datte koto


INTO THE SKY

I wake up as usual, like every morning
And you, right next to me, haven't changed, sleep well
And sometimes the good smell of breakfast
Good morning kiss while still full of dreams

Ideal -- reality is quite different
Where is the real answer?

(Into the sky) Look,
Let's take off to an unknown town
(Into the sky) Hey,
Being found by you is the best

Spring summer fall winter premonition of love
My heart's thumping shall we take a trip
Can we find that real answer?
Our little dream is blooming

My soulmate -- is that you?
All year long, days of love

(Into the sky) Now,
I've asked myself a question
(Into the sky) Look,
Being understood by you is the best

Never forget, the important things
Indian summer weather, you beside me, gently covering me up
Dreaming, your dream, I can feel its warmth

(Into the sky) Look,
Let's take off to an unknown town
(Into the sky) Hey,
Being found by you is the best



BOYFRIEND A GOGO

朝から dance dance
ドレスを選んだら
土曜は go go
キミに会いにゆくの

きもちはもう high high
答えも決まってる
でも今夜は night night
プロポーズは早い

Baby きまぐれなオトコノコ
予想なら意味ないわ
いくじなしオトコノコ
かっこつけてばかりBOYFRIEND

きっと雲の上
天使が笑ってる
そんな不器用な恋だから
バラの花束に
驚いたふりして
瞳 見つめるわ
チャンスを逃さないで

二人は done done
離れられなくなる
ひとりじゃ so so
涙がこぼれそう

無口なのもキュート
悪くはないけれど
ハートは say say
スッキリするんじゃない?

Baby よくばりなオンナノコ
ヒミツさえ知りたいわ
さみしがりオンナノコ
だって わたしきみのGIRLFRIEND

いつか神様に
望みを聞かれたら
言っていいかしら ひとつだけ
ダイヤのリングも
お屋敷もいらない
明日もあさっても
キッスで目覚めたいの

Baby きまぐれなオトコノコ
予想なら意味ないわ
いくじなしオトコノコ
かっこつけてばかりBOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND

きっと雲の上
天使が笑ってる
そんな不器用な恋だから
バラの花束に
驚いたふりして
瞳 見つめるわ
チャンスを逃さないで


BOYFRIEND A GOGO

Asa kara dance dance
DORESU wo erandara
Doyou wa go go
KIMI ni ai ni yuki no

Kimochi wa mou high high
Kotae mo kimatteru
Demo konya wa night night
PUROPOOZU wa hayai

Baby kimagure na OTOKO NO KO
Yosou nara imi nai wa
Ikuji nashi OTOKO NO KO
Kakko tsukete bakari BOYFRIEND

Kitto kumo no ue
Tenshi ga waratteru
Sonna bukiyou na koi dakara
BARA no hanataba ni
Odoroita furishite
Hitomi mitsumeru wa
CHANSU wo no nogasanaide

Futari wa done done
Hanarerare nakunaru
Hitori ja so so
Namida ga koboresou

Mukuchi na no mo KYUUTO
Waruku wa nai keredo
HAATO wa say say
SUKKIRI surun janai?

Baby yokubari na ONNA NO KO
HIMITSU sae shiritai wa
Samishigari ONNA NO KO
Datte watashi kimi no GIRLFRIEND

Itsuka kamisama ni
Nozomi wo kikaretara
Itte ii kashira hitotsu dake
DAIYA no RINGU mo
Oyashiki mo iranai
Asu mo asatte mo
KISU de mezametai no

Baby kimagure na OTOKO NO KO
Yosou nara imi nai wa
Ikuji nashi OTOKO NO KO
Kakko tsukete bakari BOYFRIEND BOYFRIEND

Kitto kumo no ue
Tenshi ga waratteru
Sonna bukiyou na koi dakara
BARA no hanataba ni
Odoroita furishite
Hitomi mitsumeru wa
CHANSU wo no nogasanaide


BOYFRIEND A GOGO

Since this morning dance dance
I've already picked out my dress
Saturday is go go
It's a date, then?

Feeling high high
The answer is yes
But tonight is night night
It's too fast for a proposal

Baby fickle boys
Don't mean it if you expect it
Boys without self-confidence
Are all such cool BOYFRIENDS

Surely, atop a cloud
An angel is smiling
Because this love is so clumsy
Pretending to be surprised
At a bouquet of roses
Look into my eyes
I won't let this chance escape

When a couple is done done
But they just can't separate
Being alone is so so
It always feels like you're going to cry

Being tight-lipped is cute
It's not bad, but
My heart is say say
Isn't that clearer?

Baby greedy girls
Want to know even your secrets
Lonely girls
Because I am your GIRLFRIEND

Someday the gods
Will listen to my prayers
I think, just one:
I don't need a diamond ring
Or a mansion
I just want to be awakened with a kiss
Tomorrow and the next day on

Baby fickle boys
Don't mean it if you expect it
Boys without self-confidence
Are all such cool BOYFRIENDS

Surely, atop a cloud
An angel is smiling
Because this love is so clumsy
Pretending to be surprised
At a bouquet of roses
Look into my eyes
I won't let this chance escape

Colorful Heart Lyrics and English Translation

I've done it again! I'm on a roll today. Some days I cannot function in two languages effectively, but today I've been in the mood, and I was inspired. The song got into my head, and it is so beautiful, so I went ahead and transcribed and translated 'Colorful Heart'.

Just a few brief notes for this one: 'iroaseru' means 'to fade', but it has a connotation of colour, so 'iroasenaide' means 'don't fade', with the context being for one's colours not to fade.

As usual, the same things apply to this translation as to all of my others. I don't claim to be perfect at conveying meaning to others, even though I can understand the meaning. Japanese, as a language, is extremely context-heavy and also tends to love double-meanings and wordplay, so I've taken some poetic touches, here and there.

As always, please give me a link if you use my translation. Thanks, and keep rolling!

カラフルハート

沢山のモノを拾い集めてる
こぼれてしまった大事なことが
モノクロのように横たわって待っている

優しさ達 夢のカケラ
手にとってみよう また輝くさ

なくならないで あの日の永遠
やわらかな毛布の雲で泳ぐときを
色あせないで あの日の永遠
カラフルなハートをもう一度

掴めずに落ちた愛しい言葉が
星の砂かぶって見えない だけど
月明かりの下 反射してる 素敵だね

尖ってると傷つけあう

でも本当はまんまるだから

なくならないで あの日の永遠
流星のそよ風に髪なびく夜を
色あせないで あの日の永遠
カラフルなハートをもう一度

キラキラした私色の塊
いつか全部わたせるように Ah

抱きしめたいなあなたの永遠
星空のまなざしで包みこむように
守っていたいなあなたの永遠
カラフルなハートになって

あなたの永遠 Ah
祈っていたいなあなたの永遠
つながっていきますように・・・


Colorful Heart

Takusan no mono wo hiroiatsumeteru
Koborete shimatta daiji na koto ga
MONOKURO no you ni yokotawatte matteiru

Yasashisatachi yume no KAKERA
Te ni totte miyou mata kagayakusa

Nakunaranaide ano hi no eien
Yawaraka na moufu no kumo de oyogu toki wo
Iroasenaide ano hi no eien
KARAFURU na HAATO wo mou ichido

Tsukamezu ni ochita itoshii kotoba ga
Hoshi no suna kabutte mienai dakedo
Tsukiakari no shita hansha shiteru suteki da ne

Togatteru to kizu tsukeau

Demo hontou wa manmaru dakara

Nakunaranaide ano hi no eien
Ryuusei no soyokaze ni kaminabiku yoru wo
Iroasenaide ano hi no eien
KARAFURU na HAATO wo mou ichido

KIRAKIRA shita watashi iro no katamari
Itsuka zenbu wataseru you ni Ah

Dakishimetai na anata no eien
Hoshizora no manazashi de tsutsumikomu you ni
Mamotte itai na anata no eien
KARAFURU na HAATO ni natte

Anata no eien Ah
Inotteitai na anata no eien
Tsunagatte ikimasu you ni...


Colorful Heart

Collecting so many things
The overflowing things, so important
Lie in wait like monochrome

Warm kindnesses
Pieces of dreams
Take them in our hands, still full of radiance

Don't disappear
The eternity of that day
That time swimming in the gentle blanket of clouds
Don't fade
The eternity of that day
Colourful heart, once more

The precious words I couldn't hold onto, which fell
Couldn't put on the sand of stars, but
Under the moonlight
Reflecting
It's breathtaking

You can hurt yourself on a sharp point

But that's why it is really a perfect circle

Don't disappear
The eternity of that day
That night where your hair fluttered
In the gentle breeze of a shooting star
Don't fade
The eternity of that day
Colourful heart, once more

The me-coloured katamari sparkled
One day to be passed on Ah

I want to hold you
Your eternity Ah
To wrap you up in a look of the starry sky
I want to protect you
Your eternity
For our hearts to become colourful

Your eternity Ah
I want to pray for you
Your eternity
So we can be connected...

Harvest of Love Lyrics and English Translation

By popular request, I am doing more songs from the Beautiful Katamari soundtrack! This one is called 'Harvesting Rice of Love' or 'Harvest of Love'.

I left in something that some might be confused by, and that is the 'lovery'. I think this is a word pun, something that is very common in Japanese. Because there is effectively no difference between the 'l' and 'r' sound in Japanese, the word 'lovery' is a word that has a double-meaning. It refers to the lovers of the song -- a lovery day, as a descriptive word -- and also means lovely, which is of course what English speakers will understand from the word.

Madder is a colour of red, and 'akane iro' means 'madder-coloured'.

The rice shower she mentions is from a wedding, where rice is thrown to symbolise prosperity. I know some people won't get that immediately.

The Kobe line is a bit rambly and it's poetic licence that I put what I did, but it's essentially what the line means. I hope you don't mind.

Please do give me a link if you use my translation!

Enjoy, and keep rolling!

恋の稲刈り

金色の田んぼの中で
稲刈りに励んでるあなた
放課後のクラブを(野球)休んで
汗水流してる

駆け寄ってあいさつしたら
驚いて すぐにうつむいた
照れないで 頭の(真っ白)タオル
まぶしく輝いて 素敵(見とれちゃう)

知っていたよ 私への熱き恋は
もぅ少しだけ 強気で来ればいいのに
明日の休み 手作りのクッキーもって
わら集めの応援するね
Lovery harvest day

稲刈りに追い立てられて
ぴょんぴょんぴょんと逃げるカエルたち
かわいくて 後ろから(一緒に)ジャンプ
あなたがほほえんだ

「交替!」と呼ばれたあなた
コンバイン すぐに飛び乗った
真剣な顔して(両手の)レバー
華麗に操作する 素敵(見とれちゃう)

吹き出される お米の流れを見たら
ライスシャワー 思い浮かんでドキドキ
うちの嫁に 来てくれだなんて おばあちゃん
早すぎるよ 恋はこれから
Lovery harvest day

あかね色に空が(そっと)
染まる
染まる
染まる
明日も晴れる
(Bright shiny tomorrow)

いわし雲が拡がる果てない空に
飛び立ちそう 私のこころ軽くて
きっといつか二人で育てた苗が
実を結んでコウベを垂れる
Lovery harvest day

知っていたよ 私への熱き恋は
もぅ少しだけ 強気で来ればいいのに
明日の休み 手作りのクッキーもって
わら集めの応援するね
大好きよ!


Koi no Inekari

Kin'iro no tanbo no naka de
Inekari ni hagenderu anata
Houkago no KURABU wo (yakyuu) yasunde
Asemizu nagashiteru

Kakeyotte aisatsu shitara
Odorite sugu ni utsumuita
Terenaide atama no (masshiroi) TAORU
Mabushiku kagayaite suteki (mitorechau)

Shitteita yo watashi e no atsuki koi wa
Mou sukoshi dake tsuyoki de kureba ii no ni
Ashita no yasumi tedzukuri no KUKKII motte
Waraatsume no ouen suru ne
Lovery harvest day

Inekari ni oitaterarete
Pyonpyonpyon to nigeru KAERUtachi
Kawaikute ushiro kara (isshou ni) JUMP
Anata ga hohoenda

'Koutai' to yobareta anata
KONBAIN sugu ni tobiotta
Shinken na kao shite (ryoute no) LEVAA
Kirei ni sousa suru suteki (mitorechau)

Fukidasareru okome no nagare wo mitara
RAISU SHAWAA omoi yonde DOKIDOKI
Uchi no yome ni kitekure da nante obaachan
Hayasugiru yo koi wa kore kara
Lovery harvest day

Akane iro ni sora ga (sotta)
Somaru
Somaru
Somaru
Asu mo hareru
(Bright shiny tomorrow)

Iwashigumo ga hirogaru hatenai sora ni
Tobitachisou watashi no kokoro karukute
Kitto itsuka futari de sodateta nae ga
Mino wo masunde KOUBE wo tareru

Shitteita yo watashi e no atsuki koi wa
Mou sukoshi dake tsuyoki de kureba ii no ni
Ashita no yasumi tedzukuri no KUKKII motte
Waraatsume no ouen suru ne
Daisuki yo!


Harvest of Love

Amid the gold-coloured field
Working hard in the rice harvest, it's you
You took the day off from your after-school club (baseball)
Sweat is flowing

Rushing over with a greeting
You're surprised by me and hang your head
Don't be bashful
The towel on your head (pure white) is shining -- beautiful (I'm enchanted)

I knew it -- just a little more before you send your heated love my way
It's okay to keep coming on strong
On tomorrow's break I'll bring you homemade cookies
Straw-collecting cheer
Lovery harvest day

Ejected from the rice harvest
The frogs run saying pyonpyonpyon
So cute -- from behind (along with them) jump!
You were laughing

'Shift change!' you called
You jumped right on the combine
You put on a serious face (with both hands on) the levers
Operating it so beautifully -- beautiful (I'm enchanted)

Gushing out -- look at the rice!
It makes me think of a rice shower, my heart pounding
I must become your bride...and grow old with you
All too fast! Love is from here onward
Lovery harvest day

The sky has (softly) become
Tinted
Tinted
Tinted
Madder
Tomorrow will be beautiful too
(Bright shiny tomorrow)

Cirrocumulus clouds stretch into the endless sky
My heart is so light I feel like I might fly away
Surely one day we'll raise seedlings together
We'll make it happen in Kobe
Lovery harvest day

I knew it -- just a little more before you send your heated love my way
It's okay to keep coming on strong
On tomorrow's break I'll bring you homemade cookies
Straw-collecting cheer
I love you!

Sayonara Rolling Star Japanese Lyrics and Translation into English

A little gift for everyone, even those who may not know me or my work, or what I do.

I am a huge Katamari fan. I should probably explain, Katamari Damacy is a series of games where the object is very simple: roll a ball, called a katamari (it means 'mass' or 'lump' in Japanese) and collect things on it to make stars and planets. It sounds silly and odd, but it's actually one of the greatest game series ever made. The music always complements the unique visuals perfectly.

It's also a very special game to me, because webbychan -- my mate who passed away in 2007 -- suggested I get the first game when it was released. I will always associate him with 'Sakurairo no Kisetsu', or 'Cherry Blossom Times' as the title was translated.

Many of the songs have a certain 'mono-no-aware', which if you don't know what that is, is a kind of sadness. But it's a very Japanese concept that permeates Japanese culture: it is a sense of sadness of the impermanence of things, but a happiness as well that they were able to be experienced at all. It's often called the 'ah'-ness of things, because it reminds one of sighing in a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Anyway, the third console game, Beautiful Katamari, is one of the funnest of the series, and I dearly love the soundtrack. Pretty much every song on it is brilliant. It also features Matsumoto Iyo, a very famous idol from the 80s, doing a delightful song called 'Boyfriend a Go Go' which is one of my favourites.

But my absolute favourite is 'Sayonara Rolling Star', and recently I was trying to find a translation to show to a friend of mine who didn't speak Japanese but really loved the sound of the song.

The problem is, there isn't one that I could find. It was quite a challenge even to find the lyrics.

And so, even though my talent at translation is lacking, I thought I would supply them to you based on both my own hearing and what I confirmed at the handful of lyrics sites I managed to find with the song on them. I'm fine at understanding Japanese, it's just very difficult to convey that meaning to others, especially when so many things in Japanese have many levels of meaning, and sometimes double meanings that are necessary to understand the full meaning. But I did my best. I've included Japanese, Japanese transliterated, and English lyrics.

I did a few little inside jokes in translation that fans of the series should get, like the Eternal reference and some other things that are in the spirit of the lyrics, since there are references all over them about the game. It's such a beautiful song. Such a beautiful, beautiful song. I hope I have managed to convey its beauty.

I hope you'll all enjoy this. Please do give me a link if you're using these anywhere.

And keep rolling!


サヨナラ ROLLING STAR

どこに転がるか分からない
でも私たち 幸せだった
傷つけてはすりへるような感じ
わだかまり の かたまりね

どうして このまま
進んで いけないんだろう
不思議だね

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
強く まわり 続けよう
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
綺麗な○(まる) にしようね

気持ちが高ぶっては消える
打ち上げ花火のような せつな
毛糸球がほどけていくように
小さくなる この気持ち

いつまで いられる？
つないだ 手が 少しずつ 離れてく

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
それぞれ大きくなって
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
○く転がっていこうね

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
さよならは つらい けど
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
前を 向いて 生きていこう

さみしいよ 改札で 手を振って笑い合う
こらえきれない前に 後ろ 振り向いて 涙

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
小さな○をかいたら
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
大きな○で支えてあげて

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
一番大好きだった
Good to see you. あなたのこと
忘れないよ 絶対に

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
いいかな？
いいよね？
またどこかで...


SAYONARA ROLLING STAR

Doko ni korogaru ka wakaranai
Demo watashitachi shiawase datta
Kizu tsukete wa suriheru you na kanji
Wadakamari no katamari ne

Doushite kono mama
Susunde ikenaindarou fushigi da ne

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Tsuyoku mawari tsudzukeyou
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Kirei na maru ni shiyou ne

Kimochi ga takabutte wa kieru
Uchiage hanabi no you na setsuna
Keitodama ga hodoketeiku you ni
Chiisaku naru kono kimochi

Itsumade irareru?
Tsunaida te ga sukoshizutsu hanareteku

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Sorezore ookiku natte
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Maruku korogatteikou ne

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Sayonara wa tsurai kedo
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Mae wo muite ikiteikou

Samishii yo kaisatsu de te wo futte waraiau
Koraekirenai mae ni ushiro furimuite namida

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Chiisa na maru wo kaitara
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Ooki na maru de sasaete agete

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Ichiban daisuki datta
Good to see you. Anata no koto
Wasurenai yo zettai ni

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Ii ka na?
Ii yo ne?
Mata dokoka de...


SAYONARA ROLLING STAR

I don't know where we're rolling to
But we were happy
This feeling like injuries wearing us down
It's a mass of ill feeling

Why is it this time
We can't seem to keep going
It's so strange

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Keep rolling strongly
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Make a beautiful ball

All that self-confidence vanished
Like fireworks, in a twinkling
Came unwound like a ball of yarn
Feeling smaller

Can you do it eternally?
Our joined hands are little by little coming apart

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Every time you're becoming bigger
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Let's roll

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Goodbye is painful, but
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Live your life looking forward

So lonely at the ticket taker
Waving and smiling
I couldn't stand it
Before I got there, I turned around and cried

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
If you take care of that little ball
Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
You can make it into a big ball

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
I loved you the most
Good to see you.
I will never, ever forget you.

Good to see you. You are my rolling star.
Okay?
Is that okay?
Until we meet again, somewhere...

be

I know most all of my readers are aware of these things, but to those who may not be, I'd like to offer a gesture of tolerance, understanding, and acceptance this holiday season. If more people would take these things to heart, so much suffering in the world could disappear.

Sexism is discrimination against anyone because of gender or gender identity. 'Reverse sexism' is itself a sexist term, because it presumes that the person being discriminated against is always necessarily sexist and already discriminated against the other person. Sexism is discrimination due to gender or gender identity against anyone, male, female, hermaphrodite, transsexual -- anyone. And it is wrong.

Racism is discrimination against anyone because of race. In the modern world, most people have mixed and rich heritage of many races of people. Racism is ludicrous to begin with, but especially today. Most distinguishing by race is merely cataloguing by physical characteristics.

Ageism is discrimination against anyone because of age. In a world where life expectancies are longer than ever, and medical technology is more advanced than ever, people are more capable for longer. Yet attitudes persist that after 50, a person's worth is lessened. Similarly, people under certain ages are also discriminated against by others and sometimes even denied fundamental human rights.

Discrimination and intolerance know no bounds. You can be racist against your own race. You can be sexist against your own gender. In short, a person can be discriminatory against his or her own social groups.

Discrimination exists against sexual preference. This essentially makes any non-heterosexuals into second-class citizens, unable to enjoy fundamental rights that are afforded to heterosexuals. It can lead to abuse, attacks, and hate crimes, and it is every bit as wrong as racism, sexism, or ageism. Non-heterosexuals are often completely and unfairly disregarded in casually discriminatory statements, practices, or laws.

But I would like to give you a little reminder. You can download the images below (please do not link them directly from here) and upload them to your own blogs, comics, webspace, and whatever else you want.

The message is a simple one: be.

Be who you are, and allow others to be who they are. Help to stand against intolerance, injustice, and all other forms of detrimental discrimination in the world. Don't be afraid to say 'I don't agree with this' or 'this makes me uncomfortable', regardless of who is doing it. Intolerance is intolerance, regardless of its source.

The road to ruin is paved with good intentions, as the old adage goes. Even charities and non-profit groups may promote intolerance without understanding why. If more people contacted them and let them know this, they may be more willing to change, to be more inclusive.

Before you support any group, ask yourself the following questions:

Are they helping one group by discriminating against another? This is not uncommon, especially in today's world. For example, in many communities, men -- and most especially heterosexual men -- are not supported in any way if they are victims of sexual abuse or rape. Similarly, specific men's health issues are often overlooked or downplayed, and male sufferers of diseases commonly associated with women -- such as breast cancer -- are significantly overlooked because of promotion, publicity, and popular misconception. Beneficial groups can help those suffering from a common condition without being exclusionary or promoting misinformation that in turn causes others to be exclusionary. In a world of dwindling attention spans, it is important to present a balanced view concisely. If more people speak up and contact these groups, it may be possible to help them and, by so doing, help others.

Are they actually helping people? For example, there are plenty of shelters and similar places run by religious-affiliated groups who help the less fortunate and victims of abuse and other crimes. However, some of these have been shown to use the opportunity to force their views on those they help, which can lead to other problems and can be very harmful to a delicate emotional state. In some cases, if these victims do not agree, they are denied any help. It is one thing to have the religious information available to those who are interested, but a very different thing to impose these beliefs upon those who have no other choice.

Are they addressing an actual problem? People have only limited funds and other material support to dedicate to problems that affect them. Several groups exist to combat the adult entertainment industry, for example -- an industry more heavily regulated than virtually any other industry in the world, made up of adult professionals who are paid for their work, like any other job. It is common for these groups to misrepresent the industry as abusing and exploiting women and children (overlooking the facts that abuse is illegal, men also work in the industry, that all-male adult videos exist, and that children are not allowed in adult film because it is illegal), but what are they doing to actually help those they claim are victims? Often, nothing. It may be better to find a group who actually works with legitimate abuse victims and helps them to repair their lives and heal, or a group who works to stop illegal exploitation.

Does their approach make you uncomfortable? If so, you may want to look for another cause to support, or contact them and let them know why you feel uncomfortable. If anyone attempts to judge you for choosing not to support any group, you can remind them that it is your choice in the first place. If you feel that a group is presenting itself in a way that makes you feel excluded, weigh the positive and negative and ask yourself: are they being tolerant? Are they letting others be who they are, or are they promoting discrimination against others, implicitly or explicitly?

Above all, the most important thing is to be who you are, to allow others to be who they are, and to consider the people and causes that you support. It is your choice, to weigh the benefit and detriment of each and every group, cause, and person. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is tell them if you have a problem with a part of their approach, because they might not even realise that it is offensive or objectionable to someone, or that it is misrepresenting facts.

If you support being yourself and letting others be themselves, please feel free to add one of the following images to your internet presence. Remember to download them from here, don't directly link them, and upload them to your own space on the web. If you'd be so kind, please do make the buttons link back here (http://hushicho.blogspot.com/2010/12/be.html), so people can read and find out about be.

Urgent Petitions

For all of you regular readers, you know how important it is to me that these petitions be signed as quickly as possible. They do make a difference.

If you can't sign them yourself, at least spread the word and try to reach those who can. These are all issues that affect the world at large, not just the US, but some petitions are restricted by geographical area. Nonetheless, you can still do an immense amount of good by telling others who might be able to sign, or who might know people who can.

Save Wolves - This petition is to stop a very rash move by a very foolish man, who may endanger the lives of thousands of endangered animals if he does what he intends to do. If he is allowed to do as he pleases, protection for all endangered species will be compromised by his actions. This administration has allowed more than enough destruction of nature and wildlife. It should not be permitted to do any further.

Clicking the link will take you to Defenders of Wildlife, one of the foremost wildlife protection charitable organisations that exists in the world.

Protect Human Rights - The recent wikileaks debacle has polarised people. However, things have -- as usual -- gone much too far. And, as usual, the strongest supporter of insanity is Joe Lieberman, a politician whose disturbingly extreme policies have caused him to be rejected by both major parties in the United States.

Please sign this petition, which aims to stop proposals by Lieberman and his supporters to implement laws that would be retroactive in nature. If they are allowed to do this, it's over. The justice system, the Constitution...I'm not exaggerating when I say that will all be in danger. If they're allowed to implement laws that are retroactive, it would be like outlawing potato chips tomorrow and then punishing everyone who ever bought, owned, or ate potato chips then, despite them not having been illegal before then.

You can see where this is a worrying issue. So whatever your thoughts on wikileaks, this goes far beyond that. This is undermining the very nature of law, and it must not be allowed to happen.

Honestly, if these politicians had either maturely owned up to their actions or let it blow over, it would not be such a huge disaster. But they have made a huge fuss over it, which says nothing so much as 'we know what we did was wrong and we did it anyway', even if they actually didn't. Since there are no longer legal protections for government whistle-blowers (thanks, Supreme Court, for protecting politicians from being responsible!) -- people who can point out wrongdoing in government -- this country and indeed the world needs an anonymous place in which to do that.

Governments must be made accountable to their people. They cannot be allowed to make decisions the people overwhelmingly oppose, cannot be allowed to oppress their people, and above all cannot be allowed to imagine that they are above the system of checks and balances that are supposed to restrict them and make them accountable. The United States government especially has been guilty of this very 'teenager-ish' behaviour, and it must stop. It is time for politicians to think about the people that they have wronged and understand that politicians are held accountable by the very people whom they have shamed by their actions.

It is not wikileaks or any other third party who should be held accountable here. It is the government and specifically the people who committed these disgraceful acts that have been revealed to the public. They are embarrassing to the American people, they are in violation of international law, and they are unethical and unscrupulous. These people have brought shame on an entire country of people.

Don't be angry at wikileaks or the person who revealed it. That's just silly. That's as stupid as getting angry at a waiter because your food was bad. He didn't cook it. That's a 'kill the messenger' mentality, which is a mistake.

Be angry at the people who did these things. These same people are trying right now to ride roughshod over the law so that they can punish someone who did nothing wrong, simply because he enabled their own indiscretions to be revealed.

Each and every politician who was and is a part of this should be forced to apologise to the American people on national television and resign his or her post. There is no excuse for this kind of behaviour. None.

So please consider that when you are considering whether or not to sign this petition. You need to sign it. If you have read this far, you know you need to sign it too. So please do, and please spread the word. Tomorrow will be too late.

COLOR OF LOVE

I thought today I would share with you one of the most powerful and moving songs that I have heard in recent years, coupled with one of the most poignant videos I have ever seen.

ARIA - COLOR OF LOVE

The lyrics are below, with my own quick translation. I'm still unfortunately under the weather, and I understand very well but I don't always convey what I understand to others very well. I hope they will give you some idea of how beautiful the lyrics are anyway.


COLOR OF LOVE
words and music by ARIA

Far-off days smile from this sky
Even the tear-stained nights seem precious

Multicoloured canvases
Piled up one by one
Are the greatest gift from you

Pure white sky and
Deep red streets
Melt together this day
As if they would forever continue that way

When I embrace a dream painted as a child
Someone by my side always came to protect me

Multicoloured kindnesses
Met by chance one by one
Now are my greatest treasure

Gentle wind and
Warm love
Meet by chance that day
As if wrapping you in their embrace

Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?

Pure white sky and
Deep red streets
Melt together this day
As if they would forever continue that way


COLOR OF LOVE
words and music by ARIA


Toozakaru hibi ga kono sora hohoemu kara
Namida someta yoru sae itoshiku omoeru

Hitotsu hitotsu kasaneta
Irotoridori no CANVAS wa
Anata kara no saikou no okurimono dayo

Masshiroi sora to
Kurenai no machi ga
Tokeau konna hi ga zutto tsudzukimasu you ni

Kodomo no goro egaita yume o dakishimeru toki
Dareka ga soba de itsumo mimamotte kureta

Hitori hitori deaeta
Irotoridori no yasashisa ga
Ima dewa sou nani yori no takaramono dayo

Yawarakai kaze to
Atatakai ai ga
Meguriau sonna hi ga kimi o tsutsumimasu you ni

Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?

Masshiroi sora to
Kurenai no machi ga
Tokeau konna hi ga tsudzukimasu you ni…

(from AS Lyrics)


COLOR OF LOVE
words and music by ARIA

遠ざかる日々がこの空微笑むから
涙染めた夜さえ愛しく想える

ひとつひとつ重ねた
色とりどりのキャンバスは
あなたからの　最高の　贈りものだよ

真っ白い空と
紅の街が
とけ合うこんな日がずっと続きますように

子供の頃描いた夢を抱きしめる時
誰かが傍でいつも見守ってくれた

一人一人出逢えた
色とりどりの優しさが
今ではそう　何よりの　宝ものだよ

やわらかい風と
あたたかい愛が
巡り会うそんな日が君を包みますように

Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?
Can you see the color of love?

真っ白い空と
紅の街が
とけ合うこんな日が続くように…

(from AS Lyrics)

Japanese Web Lamentation

I remember in the late 90s, when I used to surf the Japanese internet and just enjoy the refreshing difference of the kind of sites I'd find, as well as the different aesthetic and, oftentimes, the different kinds of art and different things they did. It was always something new and exciting.

However, recently it's been more depressing than anything else. It's a reflection of the society, admittedly, and right now Japan isn't in a good way thanks to some dodgy direction for the country and a lot of upheaval as the generational shifts force society into new ways, even as the old guard try to cling to the old.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand some of the secrecy. I understand the need that some of them feel to add a password or a hidden URL to access their sites.

But you know what? Most of the time, it's just stupid.

The most common reason that these people give for them putting their sites behind a password or a generally stupid URL is to prevent 'foreigners' from reproducing the pictures and reposting them elsewhere.

News flash, guys: most reposting and reproduction is done by Japanese people on the Japanese internet, not the all-inclusive label of 'foreigners'. There were some isolated incidents over ten years ago where a handful of American sites attempted to lift art from Japanese sites and charge visitors for the privilege of viewing it, but that was pretty much dealt with quickly. It was also completely blown out of proportion, and more or less zero of the modern Japanese internet has ever had to worry about the same.

It's just xenophobia, and it's crass.

As for reposting of images, don't put them online if you don't want them to find their way around again. Most of the time, the images are jpg anyway, which means that they're incredibly lossy. They're not suited for print. Any professional would be able to tell you this. If you're worried about people not finding their way back to your site or you getting the credit you need, learn how to comment in the file of a gif or put a watermark on the image that can't be covered or removed without disrupting the image itself.

Another thing about Japanese websites is that they aren't around forever. Most websites are impermanent by nature, but Japanese websites are the example of ephemeral web presences. If a website owner loses interest in the fandom or doesn't want to draw anymore, as many of them are hobbyists, the site can just close overnight and you will never see the art again. This is one of the reasons why people will save and sometimes later repost the art. It is also not uncommon at all that site owners will remove work that they no longer like, or work of a series that they no longer follow, without any warning.

Having a website for your art is wonderful, but it's self-defeating if you make visitors jump through so many hoops to see it that they end up quitting because it's not worth the trouble. Who wants to sit there and try to figure out the (usually misspelled) answer to a puzzle that only makes sense to the person who wrote it, to see art that may or may not wow them? It's a shame, but a lot of people just decide they'd rather click on another site that doesn't have the ridiculous restrictions and actually, you know, gives them content that they don't have to work so hard just to see. Attention spans are devastatingly low, especially online; if you haven't gripped an audience in half a minute, you're not going to get them to stay and figure out a quiz for the next five.

Most of the time, the content hidden by these endless tests isn't even controversial, or worse yet, the creator thinks it's much more prone to excite than it actually is. When I can be bothered to figure out the inane clues, most of the time I'm greeted with content that reaches such stunning extremes as two male characters having a drink together, or a character with his shirt off at the beach, or something. This is not controversial.

There's really no reason to put a password or hidden URL on your website. It's going to end up posted online somewhere, no matter how much you try to persuade your visitors not to do so. And even doing that and posting it on your site is going to tempt countless visitors to do it, simply because you asked them not to. It is an incredibly ill-considered tactic.

If you are going to go to the trouble, however, use some logic. Yes, you'll have an extra layer of assurance because all visitors obviously wanted to access the content if they bothered to figure out the password. However, any password is going to give them pause. If you wrote down the password in a paragraph on the index page, it would still make them have to read that paragraph in order to find out what it is.

If you are determined to make it a guessing game, at least make it something that people in the fandom would know. Most sites aren't dedicated to a single series. But those that are could have the password or URL be something from the series. However, it does no good if this is some obscure reference that not even many of the fans will know.

To illustrate, I went to one site looking for Lord of the Rings work. The site I found was a great site, but there was a hidden URL to access part of it. So I sighed and read the question.

'In what year did Bilbo adopt Frodo as his heir?'

I used to be pretty conversent in Middle-Earth, but who memorises things like that? To boot, it's not like there is a single dating convention for Middle-Earth, since Tolkien never liked anything that was straightforward or simple.

Virtually no member of the fandom is going to know that. They shouldn't be expected to know that. It would be much better to ask something like 'what is the name of the Hobbit who claimed the Ring from Gollum?' or 'what is the name of the grey wizard?' or 'how many rings were made for the Elves?' At least people would know them offhand, and they're things that any fan of the series can be expected to know.

But I did some searching and found it out. It wasn't that easy, but it wasn't ridiculously difficult. I still shouldn't have had to take the time doing that.

The unfortunate thing is, that's one of the easier times you will have if you go to surf the Japanese web.

So many sites now have two-part guessing games, too. So you end up with two obtuse clues and a frankenword that makes less sense. You end up with a word like 'dildofruit' or something and you wonder why on earth you had to spend so much time figuring it out. Usually it's wrong and you have to try to guess what the writer originally intended, because they write riddles that they don't realise only make sense to them.

I know there probably aren't many people reading who will understand what I'm talking about, but I hope some of them might know and feel they're not alone by reading this. I'd write more of the Japanese sites, but I can't figure out all the hints to get to them!

In Defence of Prince Charming

Recently I have been watching some films I missed, and several of them are prince-and-princess fantasy romances...I always have had such a weakness for those. However, in my recent resurgence of interest in that particular style, I recalled Disney's release Tangled, which tells a quirky new version of the Rapunzel story.

From what I found out, due to the profits of The Princess and the Frog being less than they wanted, and because they think the princess genre is outre, Disney don't plan to do any more princess films indefinitely after Tangled. They even shifted the marketing to concentrate on the male lead, Flynn, rather than the princess, in the hopes of bringing a larger audience than young girls to the cinema.

But really, is that the answer? The Princess and the Frog brought in more than enough profit, but they spent so much because of picky potential audiences (most of which just complained and never intended to see it anyway) and puttering around trying to change it, again and again, until Tiana was comparatively put through hardly any hardship at all. The original concept for the film was quite solid; but then people started complaining because Tiana was in a situation...that was pretty much exactly how Cinderella, Snow White, and countless other princesses before her had been put in. It became a very ugly race issue, especially when people started to complain about her prince not being of her exact same race -- what difference does it make?!

But I digress. Does this mean that we're going to see just computer-animated films? Just 3D animation now, with hit-or-miss premises and all made in the Pixar way? Not that I hate Pixar or anything, but I personally can only take so much CG animation. It's everywhere, it's overused, and it's achieved poorly more than it is achieved well.

Does this mean that one of the few things Disney had left that it did well, that it distinctively held, is going to go by the wayside, simply because they're foolish enough to think that Princes Charming are no longer trendy?

I have never known a little girl who didn't love the idea of princesses and princes. I have known only a handful of adult women -- and men, for that matter -- who don't hold a special place in their hearts for them. I think it's disgusting how some 'experts' on the subject now claim that girls as young as six years old should be dieting and being interested in what adults think is 'hot' or 'cool'.

Because you know what? Most of the people who complain about Prince Charming are the people who don't have any idea what the hell they're talking about anyway.

These stories aren't about waiting around doing nothing and expecting some handsome knight on a white horse to spirit you away from it all, without any actual emotional investment from you. It isn't about some oppressive male power-holder taking you away to dominate you, either. It makes me wonder if the people who complain about these stories ever bothered to read or watch them.

Prince Charming is a reward. He's an ideal. Cinderella, for example, didn't just sit around doing nothing and hoping that she'd be rescued by Prince Charming. She did a lot, she worked hard, and she took her happiness where she could. She appreciated the small things and the everyday delights that her wicked stepfamily overlooked. Anyone who paints a portrait of a girl sitting around diddling herself while she waits for her prince to come has no familiarity with the stories at all.

Prince Charming falls in love with his princess, not because she's just pretty, but because she's beautiful, and that comes from the inside. She has endured. She has worked hard, and she has put up with things that some might not. She has kept her hope and her inner beauty, the inner light that makes her so special, and that is what Prince Charming falls in love with. That is why he doesn't fall for any of the other girls. They don't have that.

The stories are to teach a lesson, and that lesson is that being good and keeping hope alive, even if things aren't the way you might want them all the time, will bring eventual rewards. It's a very hopeful message. Prince Charming is the ideal partner, and he comes along to appreciate you for who you are, because you've ideally been a good person and kept hope alive within yourself.

Fairy tales reward the good and punish the evil. They spread hope to those who try to do what is good and what is right, even at personal cost or suffering. Prince Charming is a light, perhaps distant, in the darkness. But his distant light is something that is drawing closer, and you can take comfort in that. One day, your prince will arrive. It may not be today, but it will be someday. He may not ride a white horse, he may not have perfectly coiffed hair, and he may not be able to carry a tune, but he will be your prince. And that will be the most wonderful thing in the world.

I think what most of the people who criticise Prince Charming misunderstand is that very fact. They themselves are often the type who too literally interpret the stories, instead of listening with the ears of a child and then digesting as an adult. No, it's unlikely some actual handsome young fellow of royal blood will come and rescue you at some unexpected point and then spirit you instantly away for a perfect marriage full of love and no real obligation to consummate. But it's very likely that, sooner or later, patience, diligence, and hope will bring their own reward in the form of one who loves you for who you are, and what you do.

Let's believe in Prince Charming. He always believes in each and every one of us.

Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame

Those of you who know me will probably know that I used to be fluent in French, and I was a complete francophile for many years. I still love the culture and the language and hold it in high esteem, even though my speaking and comprehension is a tad rusty from disuse. I can still read through my Docteur Justice collection though!

At the time Disney's film Hunchback of Notre Dame came out, I wasn't really that into Disney films, and by then I'd kind of distanced myself from them because of what I'd heard about how their company works. I can admire the skill and expertise of their work, but at the same time I don't really like the company at all.

But it was a surprisingly good film, with an equally surprising amount of bold statements about society, corruption, herd behaviour, and real evil.

To be honest, my favourite version of the story was always the 1939 version. I know I'm not alone in this one. It was the 'why was I not made of stone, like thee?' one. That one will always stick in my mind as being the definitive film adaptation.

However, Disney's version of the story takes a different angle and does it very well. It has a message that is very applicable, especially now: one of not being complacent and obeying, simply because an edict comes from someone with a title, one of tolerance for those who are different and those who may not be a part of our lives, and one of doing what is right, even if you are the only one who does so. It's a great statement of what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong, and it really doesn't pull any punches. It surprised me, and very much, for being a Disney film. But, like many fairy tales, Disney films are also often unfairly regarded as sugar-coating things. They don't really, most of the time. Just enough to keep things a little rosy, especially in this case. There was plenty of sadness, plenty of that 'reality' that people keep going on about...plenty to show that they were firmly in touch with what is going on.

I say this is definitely one to give a watch. Maybe it will inspire you as it did me.

Why I'm Against the TSA -- And You Should Be Too

Most of you who read this blog regularly know who I am and are familiar with my work. I do comics, and I don't shy away from nudity and adult content. I think the body is a thing of beauty and that shame shouldn't be something associated with it, but this is largely a world full of societies of shame, chiefly because shame sells. The clothing, makeup, hair care, and other such companies would lose significant sales if shame wasn't maintained. It's sad but true.

However, while I view the body as a thing of beauty, it is also something not to be trivialised either. While comics and drawings of naked people are fine entertainment, they're comics, drawings, and from the pen of an artist. Adult films, similarly, are the creations of people working together and being well-paid to do something that they enjoy doing, to bring enjoyment to others.

You might think this means I have no problem with the TSA's scanners, because of this. But that's not true.

The body is beautiful, and there shouldn't be shame associated with it. That does not, however, mean that it should be open to be shown to anyone and everyone, at any given time, without your consent. We control who see us naked, when, and why. Stars of adult film are no different; they simply have a profession where they are often naked at work. But they could find other employment if they did not wish to do so any longer, which several have done after a successful stint in adult film.

Allowing a complete stranger to have comprehensive nude photography of you is not something that should ever be required to participate in transit. And whatever some might say, flying is necessary for some people. There is no comparably rapid transit available to another continent, and until they build a bridge from the East Coast to Europe, air travel will be the only timely option.

The scanners used by the TSA are not only inadequately-tested and dangerous, with regards to radiation, but they are completely unnecessary. Backscatter scanners, such as they use, are nothing more than glorified metal detectors. They can detect objects, only if those objects are not obscured by folds of skin or parts of the body. They furthermore do not need to make a full nude image of a person, in order to detect any items. Similar scanners in use elsewhere in the world merely have a generic paper doll, upon which areas appear where an item is detected. Basically all this scan does is detect metal. That's pretty much it.

If you refuse a scan, you're forced through a 'pat-down', which is a nice way of saying 'sexual assault'. During these 'pat-downs', their personnel are told to handle your genitalia and private areas, including the chest. This is, not mincing words, sexual assault. As I have said before, we tell children 'if anyone ever touches you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, tell them no and go find an adult'.

Of course, they give you the option of going into a 'private' room, which is in fact rarely private and typically open to the outside. So you might as well just have it done in front of even more total strangers, which is really a better option since, if you're mistreated (as many travellers have now revealed they have been), you'll have witnesses.

Not that the TSA believe they have to pay any attention to the law, or else they would know that the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution would seem to indicate their entire operations in violation of the foundations American law. No, they believe they are above the law, and so they do as they please, without concern for any restrictions or legal repercussions.

They must be stopped. The only way that will happen is for people to stand up, band together, and put aside their differences to say 'this is not okay'. Whatever politicians of whatever position can try to give it as much spin as they want to, but it doesn't change the reality of the situation. Politicians don't have to go through the indignity that the people do.

If enough people speak out, take a stand, and continue to insist that this is wrong, something will be done. Action will be taken. And if nothing is done, and this is continued to be permitted, where will it stop? Where will people draw the line? If we allow people to violate our bodies and even commit sexual assault against us, and against children and senior citizens as they please, where is the line drawn? Are we, then, going to allow our persons to be violated randomly as we go about our daily business? Shall we allow them to intrude into our houses, perhaps because we live under a flight path?

The TSA's antics have already affected international mail. They have already managed to assert their overcreeping jurisdiction beyond the bounds of airports. It is far past time for action. We must say no, and we must refuse to submit to what is clearly abuse of power and practices that are wrong, unjust, inhuman, and plainly put, evil.

The TSA are in violation of fundamental human rights. And though some may think that a mention of Nazi Germany invalidates arguments, they could not be more wrong. The parallels, to any students of history, are particularly chilling and extremely compelling.

The time is now to refuse to allow the TSA to do as they please. This has gone far enough, and it is long past time for it to end. Do not fly, if you have to travel. Write the airlines and tell them that you will not be flying until the TSA's 'security' measures are either made less invasive or done away with entirely. If you have to fly, refuse to be scanned, and insist on having a non-TSA police officer with you if you are patted down. Do not allow them to take you into a private room; make sure you have witnesses. File a complaint with the TSA after flying, and be sure to sign the petitions by organisations such as the ACLU, WeWontFly.com, and DemandProgress.org.

Don't insist that your friends and relatives fly to visit you. It may mean that you aren't able to see each other for a holiday, but if you care about these people, you won't mind because that also means they won't be sexually assaulted to come and see you. Personally, I would sooner die than cause a loved one to experience his or her body being violated by a stranger abusing power.

The TSA's measures have not made a bit of difference. The TSA has, in its entire existence, not made any material difference in any incident whatsoever. Their methods are questionable, their results, or lack thereof, speak for themselves. Other countries in the world -- far more targeted, like Israel -- have drastically less invasive and demeaning airport security, and they do just fine. Why is it, then, that the TSA seem to imagine it necessary to dehumanise and debase those who fly from or to the United States?

Oppose the TSA, before it's too late. We have already lost so much. I for one don't want to think about if we wait much longer and lose our ability even to take a stand as we are.

Thanks for a Great Show!

I just wanted to make a post to thank everyone involved with the fantastic show yesterday, and everyone who came to see me and the comics! It was a splendid time, and I'm exhausted but happy!

Thanks so much!

Comic Show Appearance TOMORROW!

To all of you, just a reminder: I'm going to be appearing at a comic show in Knoxville, Tennessee tomorrow!

The show will be at the Days Inn at Merchant's Road. Here's the address, so you can put it into whatever directions website you like:

5335 Central Ave. Pike
Knoxville, TN 37912

The show will be from 10 AM to 4 PM or thereabouts.

I hope to see you there! I'll be doing sketches and of course I'll have all of my comics there too. If you want to take a peek at the Lamia Director's Cut, come on by!

COICA -- Contact your Senators NOW!

This is not only a scary potential legislation, it's also potentially an extremely dangerous one. It basically gives the United States government control over the entire internet -- the World Wide Web, I might remind them -- and all of its included content and sites, giving them the ability to censor the web just like inhuman governments such as China and Iran do. Not that this is any surprise, given the proclivities of the US Government in the past ten years, but enough is enough.

Please contact your Senators here. Tell them to oppose COICA and that if they support it, they're doing a disservice to every American. Remind them that you vote, and that if they support COICA, you won't be supporting them next election, or any of their corporate sponsors, for that matter.

We have to stick together for this. Please. For the sake of the world that's being inherited by the young ones. So that they'll actually have a world, and not just a mass of issues that their forbears left them, that is if anyone is actually left after the inevitable backlash. This is an international legal mess just waiting to happen.

Please, let's not allow it to happen in the first place.

Little Addendum

If you're in need of another source for the information, check out the article from The Japan Times Online here. There are plenty of other sources around for it, so just check google, goo, yahoo, infoseek, or your favourite internet search.

And please, if you would, sign and spread the word about my petition here.

There is also an ACLU petition here. Please sign it too. The ACLU are more likely to be heard, so we need to support their efforts too.

If we can get enough people to sign it, we can get this more notice in Washington, which is what we need more than anything right now. We have to stand together and put our collective foot down that we are not going to accept the actions of a small organisation shown to be corrupt, which now seeks to assert its power over the American populace at large.

If only 500 people sign this petition, it will at least raise a few eyebrows. There's no reason why we can't get many, many more than that.

ADDITION: Please also visit http://flywithdignity.org/ . It's a great site that has opposed the TSA, in a growing number of sites and organisations opposing the monstrous group.

When Does It End?

Now I've received word that things are even getting worse outside of passenger air travel.

The US has decided to limit severely any inbound packages to US addresses, thanks to TSA paranoia. I don't know about other countries, but I've just learned that Japan Post will be limiting, at least for the next month, all packages to the US to 1 pound, no more.

While EMS shipping is expected to be available for any weight around mid-December, EMS is extremely expensive and all customers can't pay such a high price.

Unless sellers take the time and painstakingly long process to register as a 'reliable shipper', they're basically limited to 1 pound.

So goodbye to any manga, doujinshi, books, furniture, even religious items like kamidana.

Naturally, as with the rest of their paranoia, they haven't listed any indication of when this will actually end, and the mid-December date is merely an estimate.

With the economy in the shambles that it is, limiting commerce is not the answer. And even though 'reliable shippers' can get things through -- after a process that is at least 30 days long, usually much longer -- this yet again unfairly limits commerce by creating a limited elite. Smaller businesses, or businesses who are unaware of these arbitrary changes, will be hit the hardest. This is going to have a severely negative effect on the economy.

Promoting insular monetary behaviour is unacceptable.

Note that the USPS have also neglected to mention, as of this writing, these limitations on their official website. Good going!

Write not only your representatives, but please also take the time to complain to the US Postal Service here. This seems to work best with IE. And contact your representatives here.

This is intolerable and ridiculous, and especially at this time of year is only an outrageous stunt to ruin buyers' holiday season.

It's already intolerable what they do to air travellers, but extending their influence to the postal service and the American public? Inexcusable.

They have crossed the line. Let's let them know it won't be allowed.

Lamia says 'I don't think so!'

Lamia says 'I don't think so, TSA!'

This is an image that I am releasing for free use by those who oppose the TSA's heavy-handed actions and are working to fight for our rights and our dignity as American citizens.

Lamia and the image itself, as well as its contents, remain copyright Hushicho. The image may not be altered in any way, and full credit must be given somewhere on the site where you have used the image. A link to my official site at http://hushicho.captainn.net/ is appreciated.

That Won't Fly

I want to encourage all of my friends, all regular readers of my blog and comics, and all of the people who simply stopped by here by chance, to engage in what is termed civil disobedience. It is long past time for this to be stood up against. And I would like to direct you to the blog of one courageous man who had the integrity to do so.

http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.html

If you can travel by way of other means, don't fly.

If you have to fly, refuse backscatter x-ray machines and above all, refuse to be searched. The TSA have implemented searches where they direct their employees to touch your genitals. This is sexual abuse and is not to be tolerated by anyone.

When we are children, what do they tell us? Do you remember?

'If anyone tries to touch you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, tell them no and find a responsible adult.'

It's time to practise what we've told our society's children up to now.

Tell them no. If we don't start now, we'll never finish the fight to get our rights back that were squirted away after 2001's abysmal kick-off of fascist paranoia.

Refuse backscatter scans.

Refuse invasive, sexually abusive pat-downs.

Tell them you're perfectly willing to go through a metal detector like everyone else and have your baggage scanned like everyone else.

And tell them that if they touch you in any way that makes you uncomfortable, including your genitals and erogenous zones, you will have them arrested and bring suit against them in court for sexual abuse.

'It was on the website' does not constitute a legally binding contract.

'You should've known when you bought the ticket' does not constitute a legally binding contract.

'You walked into the airport' does not constitute a legally binding contract.

The only thing you are obligated to do if they will not accept your refusal is to leave the property. You have borne no threat to anyone, you possess no weapons or dangerous items, and you have done nothing criminal. It is their prerogative to allow access or deny access to any member of the public if it is private property. If they subsequently interfere with you leaving the property, they are completely at fault for first ejecting you from it and then disrupting an attempt in good faith to comply with their directive.

And don't think for a moment that this procedure is restricted to adults. No, quite the opposite; they have already stated they will perform this search on anyone and everyone they arbitrarily choose. If you were thinking about taking your daughter on that trip to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, think again since either they'll have a full and explicit nude portrait of her courtesy of backscatter, or they'll be molesting her.

It doesn't change things that they provide people with a person who is their same gender, to search them. It doesn't take away that it is abuse, or that they might be deriving pleasure from it. There are such things as homosexuality and bisexuality. And furthermore, any time anyone touches your genitalia or any commonly erogenous zone (such as the nipples) without your permission, it is sexual abuse because these are sexual areas, whether or not they derive sexual pleasure from it themselves.

Speaking as a person who has survived sexual abuse in his life, I have no desire to be so treated again. It's bad enough when it's someone you care about and whom you trust with your body (in my case, a now very much ex-boyfriend), it's just as bad, if not worse, when it's someone who does it by abusing their authority.

That's what this is about. It's not about security in the slightest. They have full profiles of every person flying with them and can find out whatever they want to know with a metal scan. This is about exerting power over people and about controlling them, allowing these TSA molesters to feel superior to the people who paid good money for the privilege of being treated like assumed criminals.

No, check that; criminals at least aren't sexually molested in public.

Please also take a look at this valuable and important links, of people who are interested in the same goals:

National Opt-Out Day - Flying for Thanksgiving? Opt out of the search!

We Won't Fly - Stand together in unity against sexual molestation by airports.

And for those of you who may feel more motivated when you see a very real person's issues with these searches, I'd like you to take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ra3ov1mEZE&feature=player_embedded#!

If it doesn't make you think, then nothing I say or do here can.

Together, we can make a difference. It's time to put our collective foot down and say no, just like we tell children to do in kindergarten.

Let's set a better example than people have been.

Contact Your Representative, Say No To COICA

A particularly nasty bill is proposed and in the US Congress that would presume to allow them to censor the internet. But not just for the United States -- for the world at large. Sites that some governing body deems unsuitable will be wiped from the face of the internet, not just in the US but all over the world. Clearly, this is a completely insane idea.

Those of you in the US, please write your representatives.

You can find their contact forms here.

The markup is scheduled for 18 November. The act is properly called S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.

Let them know that what they propose is not only the wrong way to go about this, it will inevitably cause all taxpayers millions in court costs when this is taken to court...perhaps even international tribunal. It's a huge mess, an immense presumption, and overall something that will do no good to anyone, least of all the copyright holders it purports to champion. As a copyright holder and holder of intellectual property, I find this proposal chilling and outright evil.

Other sites you can visit are DemandProgress.org's site here and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's here.

Please act before it's too late!

Ka-Blam is Awesome

I just wanted to let all of my regular readers know: Ka-Blam is an awesome printer.

You can visit them at http://www.ka-blam.com/ and I hope you will.

I have used them for years, and I have never been disappointed with their quality and pricing. What's great is that they also handle sales for your comics through Indy Planet, which is the world's foremost independent comic shop.

You can visit Indy Planet at http://www.indyplanet.com/store/ for all kinds of fabulous comics.

They're not paying me to say this. I just always like to give credit where it's due, especially when I find a reputable and reliable business. Naturally, I want to encourage people to do business with them, because I think it's very important to support honest and dependable businesses!

So I hope you'll give them a try. They're always quick to reply, you can always depend on them, and personally I try to rely on them for all possible projects that I can.

Help Me Sell!

To all of you kind and faithful readers, I have something for you today.

First of all, I have to say by way of introduction that I can't travel like I used to, for various reasons. So I depend on people who live elsewhere to help me market my works. No matter where you live, I likely can get things to you, and I'm very happy to do so.

To make this easier, I am providing you with a pdf file of the Cornucopia Studios Winter 2010-2011 Catalogue, which lists all of our products that we are currently offering for sale. It is a small file, so it can easily fit on a plain CD, or even a mini-disc. You can burn them and take them with you to a shop, and the shopkeeper can look over the catalogue and decide what to do. It's also easy to send the link to anyone who is interested. It will be available until the catalogue is no longer valid, so you don't have to worry about it being too ephemeral.

Since all of our works are gay-friendly and most of our works are at least for mature audiences (even if they don't all have explicit content), I would suggest that bookstores and novelty shops in gay-friendly parts of town (and even 'gay ghettos', concentrated areas of gay-friendly businesses and venues, which exist in many cities) be the first places to visit. Comic shops in general should be agreeable to most of our output, especially since it is available through ComicsMonkey too, which is an independent comic distribution service. For Roaring Twilight, our RPG sourcebook, you could try any gaming shop.

Be sure to be courteous, and also be sure to point out our web links at the start of the catalogue. If any of the vendors are interested in learning more, they can access most works completely for free, or they can write me for digital reader copies. Be sure to make sure soliciting isn't expressly forbidden. Usually all you have to do is ask to speak to the manager or the owner, and this works best at smaller, non-franchise stores.

Download the catalogue here.

I am also looking for reliable people who would like to sell the comics directly. You would be able to pocket the profits past cost. Great venues exist. If you might be interested, please contact me. If you're going to these venues anyway, selling a few books doesn't require a lot of effort. There are also many shows, conventions, group sales, and so forth that will sell books for you, if you provide them. Venues include:

- conventions, such as comic, game, anime, and so forth.

- trade shows.

- parties and underground gatherings, such as goth nights and raves.

- poetry slams and open mic nights.

- book discussion groups.

There are so many more. Just be sure it's welcome and then go for it! I'll be happy to help you in any way I can.

Working together, we can accomplish so much. I'd like to be able to show the world that through the goodness of people in honest co-operation, we managed to accomplish something amazing.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Comic Show 20 November!

To all of you faithful friends, fans, and readers in general, I will be appearing at a comic, anime, game, and toy show on 20 November 2010! It's a Saturday, and I'll be there with all my comics, posters, and of course my pencils, pens, and paper if you would like a sketch or something more formal too!

The show will be at the Days Inn at Merchant's Road. Here's the address, so you can put it into whatever directions website you like:

5335 Central Ave. Pike
Knoxville, TN 37912

The show will be from 10 AM to 4 PM or thereabouts. Of course I'll have Lamia there with me, both versions, so if you'd like to take a peek at the Director's Cut or just look and see what awaits you on the website, stop by and say hello! Show your support!

I hope to see you there!

Glee Rocky Horror - Bigotry Refined

I'm not a fan of Glee. And I personally think it's reprehensible what they did with Rocky Horror.

I understand it was network demands. But they had a female character play Frank (thereby completely undermining the entire point of the character), censored the word 'transsexual' (which is a great big slap in the face to any actual transsexuals watching), and overall butchered the attempt.

This is 2010. It's time to wake up.

They should not have done the episode at all if they couldn't do it right. This just sends a message out that discrimination is okay and that heterosexism and heteronormative behaviour is the only acceptable behaviour. This is especially shameful considering how Glee has tried to appeal to a gay audience.

I urge you all to write the network and demand an apology for this. It's not just that they've butchered something that I like, Rocky Horror...but the way that it was done, it was clear that it was nothing more than phobic attitudes against the GLBT community.

Write, contact, and boycott. This will not be allowed to stand.

You can contact Fox at askfox@fox.com.

Let them know that their censorship was unwelcome and bigoted, and that it is unacceptable in this day and age. Forcing the cast of Glee to place a female character in a male role because of clear homophobia is unacceptable, as is the censorship of the word 'transsexual', which sends a message of intolerance and hate to all transsexuals in the audience.

Tell them that you will be boycotting their network and all products and businesses advertised on their network until they issue an apology for their interference. It is not only their destruction of a beloved classic, Rocky Horror, but even more their open assault on the GLBT community, some of whom love Glee for its otherwise positive portrayal of gay characters.

Contact GLBT organisations and let them know you're not happy about this. And contact advertisers whose products appear on Fox and specifically on Glee. Let them know that this is not acceptable, and that when the GLBT community comes together, it is a thing to be reckoned with.

And if you would, sign my petition here and give Fox the message that what they did with Glee won't be tolerated by their GLBT audience. I may not like Glee, but to do that to all those who do is a slap in the face.

A Call for Artists!

As all of you regular readers know, the sexy vampiress Lamia is going to launch her own series on Halloween! The site will officially go live, if it goes according to plan, on 29 October, so everyone reading this blog will be able to check out the early launch!

A Call for Creators

Lamia

I would also like to extend an invitation to any and all artists willing to work with my output. Each issue of Lamia will receive a Standard Edition and a Director's Cut edition, and both will be available in print and digitally. I typically do the Standard Edition's cover myself, but for the Director's Cut, a special release, I get another artist to do it.

Contract Info and Details

Any artists who are interested in this would have essentially carte blanche for the cover's content. A small contract would be necessary, due to the series characters being my copyright, but that much is necessary with any such work. For payment, I can offer either a percentage of sales, or we can treat it as a commission and I can pay you up-front for the work. I additionally have no problem helping you to set up a Ka-Blam and Indy Planet account so that you can profit from releasing art prints of your work. I will also happily take art prints to conventions and shows and sell them for you.

Glorious Artistic You

I am also in the planning phase of a gay-friendly, gay-oriented comic anthology that will be called Glorious Artistic You. I have always been gay-friendly in my work, but especially lately I think that an anthology like this will be well-received and serve a good purpose. In recent years, discrimination and bigotry have hit all-time highs, and that is especially tragic after all of the work that we did to improve life, to promote equal rights, and to be seen as something other than second-class citizens. I've discussed this problem in other recent entries, so I won't get into it again now.

Series Details

Glorious Artistic You will be a series updated every week and will be treated like a monthly magazine. Each week, I intend to update twice, with two pages forming an installment of a comic. The next week will be a different comic. Every four weeks, we will come back to the same comic, in a new installment.

For example, week 1 we could have comic A. Week 2 would be comic B. By week 5, we would return to comic A for another two-page episode. Week 6 would be a return to comic B, and so on.

Success, popularity, and interest will dictate how many comics are done by me. I am using this, in some ways, as a test for some comic ideas that would not be able to continue on their own. Eventually I may do two series per month, with each title switching out every other week, or less, or more.

Guest creators can do any number of comics, which will optimally update on days not used for other updates, for maximum exposure and interest.

Contract Details

I am currently looking for artists and other creators willing to work on Glorious Artistic You. Contracts will be negotiated in 4-week (1 month) increments. I expect at least 1 update per each week of that period, and all updates are to be delivered to me digitally before the beginning of the contract month. You retain all rights for your creations and stories, however I require a link back if they are posted elsewhere in the duration of Glorious Artistic You. I also will want to negotiate the ability to include them in a printed edition, for which you will receive a part of the profits proportional to your contribution.

For example, if you contribute 8 pages out of 32 total in the book, you will receive 1/4 of the profits for the book.

You don't have to do four comics, of course. You can if you want. You can simply do four pages of one comic, or a series of pin-ups.

Content

Pretty much any content is acceptable, because I don't want to restrain your creativity, but ideally I would like to see gay-friendly and uplifting work, rather than unpleasant or depressing work. The name is Glorious Artistic You, after all! Everything from comics to art to pin-ups is perfectly fine. Written works are welcome too. You can show full nudity or none at all, as far as content, and it can appeal to audiences everywhere from all-ages to adults only.

Advice to Interested Creators

Of course I am always happy to hear from fellow artists, and these are both opportunities for work, exposure, and getting a name out there. My studio may not be a huge, wealthy studio right now, but we always try to be fair and to do right by our creative members and friends. There are a few things we do and don't want to see, though, so I will tell you up front.

* If you're homophobic or not comfortable working on something that has gay content, don't write us. You should know better anyway, but if you're going to write regardless and ask for work but insist you won't work on something with gay content...you won't get a response. I'm already busy enough addressing emails from people who are willing to comport themselves maturely.

Depicting a character who, in the story, is gay doesn't mean that is going to be apparent from a picture in the first place. But drawing even explicitly gay content doesn't make you a homosexual, any more than drawing heterosexual content makes you a heterosexual. Alex Ross, who is happily married, has drawn a most famous gay kiss and has many times stated his support of fans regardless of sexuality. He is regarded as one of the most respected comic artists working today. It's not going to limit your success except with the insecure. And if someone is that puerile in the first place, take it from me: you're not going to be able to rely on them anyway.

I am trying, more than ever, to promote support and tolerance for all sexual orientations. Love shouldn't be discriminated against. And I won't tolerate discrimination in my studio.

* Deadlines are important. If you can't work with deadlines, you need to get yourself to the point where you can before you write. I can be flexible on a case-by-case basis, but if I'm sitting waiting for a page on the day it needs to be uploaded, that adds stress to my life that I don't need. It's much better if you have an idea, draw the pages you'll need for a month or two, and then write me.

At the very least, I'd like you to have a concrete idea about what you'd like to do before contacting me about doing it. If you have an idea about a sexy circus acrobat going on an adventure with the Monkey King, you might decide to develop it and, in development, it might transform into a stripper who can change into a superhero. That's kind of an extreme example, but ideas do change during development. It is important for me to know the tone we're going to be establishing so that I can promote your work optimally.

I am eager to hear about your ideas for comics and your ideas for stories. I'll even help you brainstorm! But if you are writing me about participating in Glorious Artistic You, please have something either prepared or in the process of being prepared. It will be weeks or months before we launch it, but it's much easier and more helpful if you're at least mostly ready. It leads to less stress for both of us.

* You don't have to be gay to work with us. And nobody in their right minds will think you are if you do. The only thing I ask is that you be tolerant yourself. You're likely to get some gay or gay-friendly fans from your work, and I wouldn't want to introduce them to someone who, for whatever reason, is going to hate or abuse them. I want this studio and all of its output to be something I can feel comfortable endorsing.

* You won't have control over other creators' work unless you are working with them. You don't have to do adult-oriented stories, for example, but another creator may want to do them. Your works will be separate. Mutual respect and maturity must be understood before participation in Glorious Artistic You.

* You will have to do things to specifications. This is just because I want everything to be of a consistent size and quality, and for print things must be to certain specifications.

* I'll want to hear from you regularly. While you're working on something for the studio, I'll need regular status updates so that I can make my own plans accordingly. If you've hit a snag and will be delayed in something, if you tell me ahead of time, I can account for it and offer help. Even just a quick email to say everything is going according to schedule will help me to keep my own schedule.


I look forward to hearing from any of you who might be interested in contributing to Lamia or Glorious Artistic You! Please send any correspondence to my email address. Just remove the spaces. You know how it goes.

hushicho @ gmail . com

I look forward to your mail!

Horror Technique: Shown Versus Implied

Recently on The Groovy Age of Horror, one of my favourite blogs, there was a very in-depth article that discussed at length the dynamic and persistent debate of what is shown in horror and what it means, how it can be significant, and how the medium can make a difference. It's very well-written and beyond my depth to explore here in summary, especially since such depth was reached in the article itself.

However, it did get me thinking, and this is a debate that will go on forever: is it scarier to show something or to suggest it?

I will go with 'suggest', but conditionally. It's more or less universally parroted that it's always scarier to imply things, and that's why popular horror icon H.P. Lovecraft's works enjoy a sort of universal acclaim for being eerie without typically being explicitly filled with exhaustively-described monsters; in Lovecraft's world, the horror is often implied with suspense built up around it, and that is what makes it so unsettling and disturbing.

A quote, perhaps paraphrased, and attributed to Alfred Hitchcock, Val Lewton, and various others, is 'there is nothing more frightening than a closed door'. In the proper context, it's true: there is nothing that is more frightening than the possibility that anything, anything at all, could be behind that door. It's not true in every single situation, of course. A great deal of horror depends on suspense, so if you're not doing horror or suspense as the genre, a closed door won't necessarily be scary. But this is something of a no-brainer.

Sometimes it works, even then. Imagine the audience's surprise when their candy-coated feel-good adventure opens a door to unleash...a horrific villain! It even worked in Star Wars; things didn't feel quite right when they arrived at the cloud city, and the door opening to reveal Darth Vader was genuinely striking and scary. Sometimes seeming dissonance with the ambiance can work very well. A closed door is scary, even if it is also hopeful. But most viewers are going to assume that something complicating or conflicting will lie behind it, because much of drama lies in conflict.

Much of the sense of fear in anything lies in the way a work is realised; if a work is not well-made, it won't be suspenseful. But quality is subjective, and so one person's abject horror will be another person's joke. This is yet another reason why what is shown tends to be subject to how it is shown, and how often. A monster design that is frightening to one person may be ridiculous to another. However, if the monster itself is built up within the narrative of a work and only shown after it has been built up and the audience drawn deep into suspension of disbelief, it will be much more terrifying than something just shown every time it does anything.

It lies squarely in the fundamentals of suspense. If we look at classic horror films, we see suspense as the key, the linchpin to successful tension of the audience. The scariest film I have ever seen in my life is Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. I was so frightened that I got shivers and my skin went cold. But it is psychological horror through and through, and suspense from moment one. There is no monster, nothing is particularly explicit, no grotesque visceral violence...and yet, it is utterly terrifying. It is a descent into madness where the audience is taken along for the ride, where eventually they are made to question everything around them, most of all their own sanity.

Halloween spends the first few minutes showing the audience a painstakingly built-up murder, through the eyes of the murderer. It is not a particularly graphic event, but it is made all the more horrific by the utter revulsion the audience feels -- and revulsion lies at the fundamental basis of much horror -- and the suspense and disorientation that is built around it. The killer, called 'the Shape', is very much the Boogeyman: he can seem to appear and disappear. He cannot be stopped. He cannot be reasoned with. Any motivation that is attributed to his actions is only done by his enemies in an attempt to rationalise it, mostly to themselves. He is barely shown, his actions are not lingered upon...and he is all the more terrifying for it.

The original Alien, while often also classified as science-fiction, is at its root a horror work. Much of that horror lies in disorientation, an inability to understand what the nature of the horror itself is, and why this is happening. Body horror asserts itself strongly, and in many ways, in my opinion, the concept of the self as source of fear is the basis of most fear reactions in horror.

To me, the most horrific thing that an audience can be made to do is to confront themselves. Most people have aspects of themselves that they find distasteful. For many, it is the dark side, the side that could imagine all manner of horrors that they have tried to avoid. The things they would never do, the things they would never say, the situations they hope never to be in...and yet they exist in the mind, and the possibility exists that they might. It is frightening to make the connection in one's own mind, much more frightening. It is easy to laugh or to dismiss a costume that you find silly or uninteresting, but it is much less easy to dismiss what your mind has shown you. In many ways, it is almost an accusation, a call to the audience to confront themselves, throwing open the doors and defences that have been so carefully crafted, to protect them from the aspects of their mind that they fear. They would like to deny that these aspects are there. But, even for a little while, they must confront them and accept their existence. That, to me, is horror.

Even if they aren't aware of what is happening to that level, they're aware that something isn't right. They feel unsettled. They may never understand that a part of the horror they feel is the horror at their own minds and what they can imagine.

This is yet another reason why being too familiar with the monster, antagonist, or what have you is also something that tends to weaken horror. If you become sympathetic to the monster, it is really not as scary anymore. If the monster becomes pitiable, even if it continues doing horrific things, it is more a tragedy than a scary story. Familiarity means that impact of an appearance is lessened.

Every masked slasher film has suffered from this, with some of the worst examples being when the mad killer is turned into some sort of wisecracking antihero that clearly the audience are supposed to cheer for, as he slaughters through the nominal protagonists. They cease being scary, then, and they become a more heroic figure, even if what they do isn't what most people would consider 'heroic'; they are champions of a sort, for the audience.

Even extreme acts of violence can become pedestrian if there is nothing to build up to their horror. Having explicit acts of visceral violence through a film is often nothing but a masturbatory gesture, and it builds up audience insensitivity. Just as in works where the world presented is thoroughly unsympathetic along with all of the characters, that acts against the whole point of horror. If you don't care, you won't be scared. If you aren't appalled by what you're seeing, or what's being implied, then you won't experience horror.

Similarly, it is easy to point out the differences between Alien and Aliens. The first is a horror, the second is a science-fiction action film. While there are suspenseful parts in Aliens and horrifying parts -- the latter of which are mainly when the audience considers the ramifications of what has happened in the colony, rather than anything being shown -- largely it is an action film. The creatures are not as terrifying as the original in Alien, both because there are so many of them (thus robbing it of its uniqueness and making it more understandable due to social context), and because they are seen much, much more frequently and clearly, as well as destroyed with far less effort and trouble than in the original film.

The Blair Witch Project was one of the most successful examples of horror implied rather than seen, and it was also among the most well-received...at least initially. However, largely due to social saturation and everyone knowing the film's secrets, people weren't as scared, the longer it was out. This isn't surprising; if you know you're not going to see a 'Blair Witch' going into it, you don't get the suspense up that it will happen. It's another case of the horror being unveiled and too familiar to the audience, rather than the suspense built up and the secrets kept, and it illustrates my point all too well: familiarity breeds comfort, which is the antithesis of suspense, tension, and horror.

It doesn't always work, I'll be the first to admit. Monster films tend to be the worst of them, because either they have a costume they know is goofy and just use the technique to hide, or they don't have a monster at all and try to build suspense in the hopes that no-one will want to actually ask the important question. Usually, there has to be some kind of horror present, even if only strongly implied. The most terrifying situations are ones that involve the audience, even vicariously.

The Cask of Amontillado is terrifying because of its situation, and the fact that the audience has come to identify with the victim. They have been brought into that world. The Whisperer in Darkness, similarly, builds up a suspenseful mystery that is made into horror in the last few sentences, when the reader realises that (through the protagonist's narration) they themselves were so close to that unspeakable horror and didn't even know it at the time. It's the same with stories like Pickman's Model.

When you get right down to it, it can just be said that suspense of the unseen is also easier to do relatively well, whereas suspense of the clearly seen is not. It takes great talent and great vision to have something seen enough to become familiar and still retain its feeling of terror. It does not take so much of that to make something barely-seen or unseen scary, because the audience has no way of concretely saying 'this isn't scary, and here's why'.

Being explicit can also disrupt the ambiance of a story. If a story is meant to be more lighthearted, action-oriented, or otherwise having a completely different mood built up from the beginning, throwing in something grotesque or explicitly horrific can completely disrupt the mood and create a dissonance that damages the work. It is one of the reasons why horror-comedy combinations tend to be either loved or hated passionately, and why the genre is so small; humour and horror are difficult to combine successfully because their moods are so discordant. Implications of horror work better in these cases since the full gravity of the situation may be delayed until a point in the story where it can be realised with more impact.

Ultimately, the debate will continue ever on. However, it is my opinion that implied, subtle horror tends to work better in most cases than more explicit, visually-shown horror. From practical considerations such as budgets and writer ability, to more profound considerations such as the confrontation of the self, I feel that the suggestion of horror is usually superior.

Your opinions may vary.