Even back in 1990, my female students aged 12-14, and Ashley's girl's high school students, aged 15-17 - they were all into this furry phenomenon.
It's Hello Kitty - or if you were to read it in katakana: Haro Kiti. First introduced in 1975 in Japan by Sanrio--designed by Yuko Shimizu--it's a female, white bobtail cat. You'll notice in the photo above, it doesn't have a mouth.
I'm going to quote a Sanrio spokesperson who notes that Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth because: "Without the mouth, it is easier for the person looking at Hello Kitty to project their feelings onto the character... the person can be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty."
I think I may barf up a hairball. A cute one, of course.
Hello Kitty is such a phenomenon. Apparently it's a $1-billion (¥83,900,000,000.47) industry, as it's a doll and on stickers, greeting cards, clothing, school supplies, dishes and home appliances?? Really... check THIS site out.
Look... it's a bird, it's a plane... it's Hello Kitty!
There are even a pair of Hello Kitty theme parks: Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.
Oh gawrsh, there's even a Hello Kitty Fender Stratocaster guitar: GUITAR HERO.
Is there nothing this little furball won't shill?
Oh well. Happy birthday Hello Kitty.
Here, have a slice of CAKE.
Somewhere in a litter box looking for gold,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by Ted Nugent, The Motor City Mad Man who previously was the lead guitarist for the Amboy Dukes. You can hear the cacophony here: TAIL
