Twentythree

When you’re not out protecting the world, you deserve a spot of tea.

Neon Genesis Evangelion continues to be an enduring mega-hit. Within the last year we’ve had a Shinkansen, themed cafés and Godzilla crossovers. For the more subtle fan, it’s sometimes hard to find a piece of merchandise that shows off your love of the series, but doesn’t scream garish product placement. Which is why these classy tea cup and saucer sets from Noritake are exactly what the doctor ordered.

Noritake has been making and perfecting glass and ceramic products since 1904, and these elegant Evangelion tea sets are simply gorgeous to look at. Based on the color schemes of Unit 01 and Unit 02, these tea cups are made of bone china, painted with a lovely pattern of leaves and flowers, and accented with a gold trim.

They’ve also gone and done something sneaky by placing the NERV logo right where the tea cup sits on the saucer, so if you don’t want your guests to know how nerdy you are, you can pass these off as normal tea cups and saucers!

Pre-orders will start on July 25 at 11:00 p.m. JST with an expected delivery date in October. You can add these lovely tea sets to your collection for 19,440 yen for each set (US$190). You can place your order at the Bandai store, but you better be quick because they will probably only be making a limited number of these. We are guessing there are plenty of fancy tea drinking Evangelion fans who can’t wait to class up their tea time, because when tea is in the cup all’s right in the world.

Source & images: Premium Bandai

煤气罐的正确扔法

♪This is the train that doesn’t end, yes it goes on and on and on and on…

It sucks to get stuck at a railroad crossing just as those red lights start flashing and the crossing gate lowers for a train to go by. Luckily in Japan, the majority of the time it’s for a passenger train, which usually passes by quickly.

Unluckily for Twitterer @_GHOST_CHASER, on June 27, he was stopped at a crossing for a freight train. And not just any freight train; this one was transporting military goods for the US military. Lots and lots and lots of goods.

@_GHOST_CHASER began recording just as the train started to pass, and then we see car after car go by, carrying what looks to be enough tanks to outfit an entire country.

アメリカ軍の輸送列車がクッソかっこいい。そしてクッソ長い https://t.co/Ew93auBJRA

—
敗残兵 (@_GHOST_CHASER) June 27, 2016

Halfway through the video you’re likely already anticipating the end of the train, or at least I was. But it doesn’t end, it just keeps going and going. (Like that darned Energizer bunny…)

▼ At least it’s not carrying any tanks.

Image: Wikipedia

@_GHOST_CATCHER didn’t seem to mind though, writing when he posted the video: “The US military freight train is super cool. And super long.”

Long might be an understatement, but hopefully our Twitterer was’t late to whereever he was headed!

Source and top image: Twitter/@_GHOST_CHASER

TUTORIAL + PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY NADINE, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY EUNICE CHUN

If you want a foolproof method to defining your cut crease, you have to try this! I love it because an eyeliner is more intense than a shadow AND you can be really precise as to where you apply it. Not to mention, you can blend and smooth it however much or little you wish. Here’s how:

TOOLS:

• Your Favorite Kohl Pencil — I love this classic powder pencil ($$) because it’s super blend-able and this kohl pencil ($) used on Simone in this tutorial in Rich Cocoa.
• A Blending Crease Brush — try this one ($$) or this mini one ($$).
• A Classic Base Shadow — I love the off-white shade from this matte palette ($$) but you can also use this one ($).
• Your Favorite Mascara — Right now I’m obsessed with this Tightlining Mascara!

You can play with different shapes, shades and intensities. You can go back over the crease with a shadow in a similar shade to smoke it out even more!

Sometimes you have to search outside the box to find what you’ve been hunting for.

All cultures have their own standard of beauty, and Japan is no exception. Among the typical list of “ideal woman” attributes are things like pale skin, big eyes, slender arms and legs, and a…small face? That’s right, the size of your face can also play a factor in your cuteness. Small faces are thought to appear more cute and feminine in Japanese culture.

So, when you compile all of these elements into a big old “Ideal Woman Qualifications” checklist, your choices are pretty limited. Thankfully, Japanese Twitter users have helped us uncover The One. Prepare yourself to be amazed. Feast your eyes on this…

▼ Ta da!

…praying mantis.

女の子の憧れが全部取り入れられてる( .. ) #RT https://t.co/u40eXKR6qa

—
あゆみん。 (@_Aym1020_) June 25, 2016

Yep, this is the body you’ve been longing for. A praying mantis has many attractive features, including (but not limited to):

“Small face
Sharp features
Large eyes
Slender arms
Slender legs
Exquisite proportions”

This praying mantis strikes a coquettish pose reminiscent of Japanese gyaru fashion.

The initial Tweet quickly grew in popularity and continued to elicit responses that were both funny and eerily accurate.

“She’s a supermodel!”
“But she has no chest…!”
“You should add ‘can eat meat without gaining any weight.'”
“Don’t female praying mantises eat the males after they mate?”
“I guess that makes her super nikushokukei.”

You could say female mantises are man eaters in the truest sense of the word.

This may be a (hilarious) representation of Japanese beauty ideals, but this certainly isn’t the Ultimate Body Type. In fact, netizens have bickered over whether the slim, long-legged type or the slightly more curvy and busty type of girl was considered the Japanese beauty standard.

But in the end, we all know that it’s inner beauty and happiness that counts, right?

Or…maybe we should all just start idolizing the praying mantis.

Sources: JIN, Twitter, RocketNews24
Images: Twitter, Wikimedia Commons

I have jiggly thighs. I’ve had cellulite as long as I can remember and no matter how much I spin, run or do barre, I still have thunder thighs that just won’t quit.

Most importantly, I love my thighs. Jiggle or not, they’re MY thighs and help carry me through the day. Thigh gap? Screw that.

Any girl with thick thighs can tell you that finding a pair of shorts that fit can be an issue. Seriously, when I find a pair of shorts that don’t make me look like I’m wearing a denim diaper or that I have a secretary ass, I buy them in every damn color.

Wearing them is a whole other issue. Wearing a pair of shorts when you have a pair of thighs (or calves or whatever) that aren’t seen as the conventionally “pretty” norm takes WORK.

Like, you have to wake up 20 minutes early in the morning because you know you’re going to spend the extra time staring at yourself in the mirror trying to figure out if you like how you look, if you feel comfortable enough wearing what you want and if your legs will attract the wrong kind of attention.

Same goes for your arms, your back, any part of your body that you might’ve at some point felt uncomfortable with. Look, it sucks. And it sucks even more when we tear each other down and body-shame about what was probably not the easiest decision in the first place.

That’s what happened to Brynne Huffman, a 39-year-old actress from Texas.

While waiting in line at the UPS store, a woman behind her, wearing a “COEXIST” shirt, felt the need to comment,

“Your hair really is amazing… you should probably rethink the shorts though.”

Instead of pummeling her (which I admit I probably would’ve done), Brynne replied: “Maybe you should rethink the shirt.”

In her now viral post, Brynne brings up an important point about being body-shamed,

Apparently fat matters. And I’ll go a step further and say it especially seems to matter as an actress. Matter more than talent. Than attitude. Than pretty much anything else. Because fat girls are not believable heroines, ingenues, or objects of sexual desire.

She also reminds other women that instead of tearing each other down, we should be celebrating each other every day. Because, well, there’s enough hate in the world. Also, because we all look fab. Especially in those shorts that we initially weren’t so sure about.

This Mom Got Body-Shamed For Wearing Shorts And I’m Angry About It