I found this image on one of my very favorite websites, Hello Kitty Hell. I love the way it portrays a “Hello Kitty–meets-HR Giger” vibe, but I’m unable to confirm whether or not Giger is the actual artist in this case, or if this rendering is merely a“Giger-esque” tribute to the Swiss surrealist. You’ll see what I mean if you compare the Hello Kitty demon to the image below. Yeah, similar.
Lil By HR Giger
Bad Kitty
One of my very favorite time-waster websites is Hello Kitty Hell, a ridiculously fun and snarky blog which was previously featured here on The ‘Gig. Today’s Hello Kitty Hell featured post is – of all things – a Hello Kitty Taser Gun, “because nothing shows the true cuteness and sweet side of Hello Kitty — and the love and happiness she brings to all — like 50,000 volts of electricity streaming through your body.” One commenter noted that this product surely must be a Photoshop job, so I decided to do a bit of sluething myself. First, I did a Google search for “Hello Kitty Taser Gun” to find out if this is a real product or a Photoshop job, as claimed. While I did get quite a few page hits on the product, they ALL appear to link back to Hello Kitty Hell as the source article. I also did a search on Sanrio’s (maker of Hello Kitty) official online store and it turned up zero results for the product. Lastly, if you take a look at this link you’ll see a taser gun exactly like the one pictured in the HKH post, minus (of course) the Hello Kitty Logo. My conclusion: this is indeed a very entertaining post, but likely a Photoshop job, nonetheless.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
In case you were wondering, this home is located in what is evidently a full-on Hello Kitty neighborhood development, in Taiwan.
I’ve been aware of the Japanese Pop Culture Quest for World Domination that is Hello Kitty for at least 30 years. Hello Kitty is like Starbucks and McDonalds I guess: it’s just everywhere and we’re powerless to stop it. Personally, being several decades over the age of six, Hello Kitty has little effect on my mental state or the manner in which I live my life. Not so much for the creator of Hello Kitty Hell, a pretty fucking fantastic website blog run by a guy whose wife (and I’m assuming she’s at least in her thirties) is completely and thoroughly obsessed with all things Hello Kitty. Running the hilariously entertaining Hello Kitty Hell blog is evidently his source of release from a 24-7-365 Hello Kitty existence that is his own personal living hell. But I guess it’s cheaper than divorce, and a lot funnier, too.
