Tag Archives: anime

ANIME, CONS, FURRY, Furry 101, How To Panel, Manga, PANELS, SAN JAPAN, Videogames, WORDS

51 Things I Noticed at San Japan XI

San Japan is probably my favorite convention, bar none, and this year was great! As always, I noticed a few things…

  1. BEFORE – I’m guessing “Magical Universe” means there will be a lot more Sailor Moon crossplayers.

    badge

    #17 Yay?

  2. They’re going to have to try pretty hard to top Okashicon for: “Con with the most pinks and pastels” prize.
  3. Between this and Furry Fiesta 2019’s ‘Roll Fur Initiative” theme, I’m not feeling a lot of love.
  4. As a nerd who’s old enough to have owned an Atari 2600, I’m not exactly the target audience, so yeah.
  5. I’m getting a new fursuit and this will be my first time wearing it. It’s just the thing for MID-90 DEGREE WEATHER.
  6. In addition to the usual con prep, I’m also looking for a new job and getting my house ready to be put on sale the Tuesday after. No rest for the weary! >.<
  7. I guess I can’t awkwardly refer to San Japan as a ‘Comic-Con’ anymore to normies for fear of being sued by SDCC.
  8. Staying at the nearby Tru by Hilton, which apparently is a more modern hotel, which means it annoys me somewhat.
  9. Thing I forgot (again): Aftershave.
  10. Chili’s seems to have become our San Japan Thursday dinner go-to.
  11. Looks like my fursuit won’t be ready for the show. Given the temperature outside and my lack of experience, it’s likely just as well.
  12. Had a funny moment with a friend when I had to remind him that he wasn’t working on Labor Day the following Monday.
  13. Dave: “You can have ambience or you can have a butt-load of arcade games.” I’m glad he went with Door #2.
  14. Maybe they should change the name to ‘Sign Japan.’
  15. I find the lack of security on Thursday nights to be just a little concerning.
  16. FRIDAY – Nothing like waking up early to go feed the meter; a small price to pay for cheap parking!
  17. I was happy with my badge art until I saw the volunteer badges have the same art and now I’m less happy.

    signjapan

    #14 The signage was YUUGE!

  18. Yay escalators!
  19. Yay, I forgot about the escalators and took the scenic route down to Artist Alley!
  20. Furst World Problems: I quit wearing my ears because the hairband kept digging into my head.
  21. I got a haircut the other day so there is less hair to cushion it now.
  22. The uneven lanes the Artist Alley are just a little weird.
  23. No panels to run on Friday: HOW DO I HAVE FUN?
  24. Retro Game Museum might be better off being called “Pong Museum.”
  25. Might need to put together a video game history panel, made better because I WAS THERE FOR MOST OF IT.
  26. The arcade was cool, though the sound on the music games wasn’t always loud enough.
  27. You know the competition between the three(!) Chinese joints at Rivercenter Mall is crazy when someone tries to hand you a sample WHILE YOU’RE IN LINE FOR THE PLACE NEXT DOOR.
  28. SATURDAY – I didn’t have enough change to feed the meter for the whole day, so I decided to live dangerously.
  29. Old hotness: Annoying music over Bluetooth speaker. New hotness: Watching anime subs on your phone with the volume turned up
  30. Sign of the times: Sriracha at the breakfast buffet
  31. Thanks for the retweet, Dave. Be nice if your Twitter account wasn’t protected, but such is life.
  32. I had an unfortunate situation with the light switches before Furry 101…maybe not for me, but the dance contest people next door likely hate me now.
  33. Very happy with the turnout and participation at Furry 101 this year, thanks for the help, San Antonio furries!
  34. I always have to buy a paleta from the vendor in front of the Henry B…BECAUSE REASONS
  35. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to lose fursuiters at an anime con!
  36. There seem to be more people wearing ears and tails this year, hmm.
  37. Chili’s again for supper.  I’m okay with that.
  38. SUNDAY – Good trend: Vendors playing 80s music
  39. I’m still having difficulty finding cool stickers for my my laptop, though I did buy a chibi Bender.
  40. I’m pretty much forced to stay all day thanks to having a panel scheduled at 530 PM.
  41. Decision time: Carry my laptop around all day or return to my car to get it at 500 PM. I went with door #1
  42. Luckily, there is less me to carry around this time so it wasn’t a big problem.
  43. Dunno if anyone is going to be at “How to Panel,” but the show must go on.
  44. laptop

    #39 Bite my shiny chibi ass!

    Maybe I’ll use the setup time to take a nap.

  45. Mental note: Add a “Finish on time and clear the room” slide to the presentation because the group before me didn’t.
  46. Yay, people showed up…including one person with REALLY weird questions.  Sometimes you get ‘that guy’ at a panel, and he definitely was THAT GUY.
  47. Overall, the panel went well. I learned some stuff and made notes to add stuff to the presentation to make the next one even better!
  48. I took one of those Lime-S rental scooters back to the car, it was pretty cool!
  49. I was relieved to not find a citation on the my vehicle when I returned to it.
  50. I really can’t find anything major that went wrong this year, it’s gonna be a boring post-game Con Talk episode.
  51. San Japan XII: Sports?! Finally, a theme I can get behind!
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ANIME, Con Talk, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, Podcasting, PODCASTS, SAN JAPAN

62 Things I Noticed at San Japan 009

San Japan (totally not Cyborg) 009 happened last weekend.  Amidst the new venue and new date, I noticed some things.  If I took your picture (I was the dude with bear ears, see below) you can find it here!

  1. It's YUUUGE!

    #16: You are…somewhere?

    THURSDAY NIGHT – Went in the old entrance of the Gonzalez Convention Center out of habit…oops

  2. New space is YUUUGE
  3. My fursuiter friends are already complaining about all the walking they’re going to be doing over the weekend.
  4. Artist alley is HUMONGOUS
  5. Dealer’s room is INSANE
  6. They ARE going to turn on the escalators in the Dealer’s room, right?
  7. Autograph area setup looks like what I see set up at comic-cons, hmm
  8. Located in the back corner, milk and eggs and all that
  9. If Labor Day does take a bite out of attendance, we’ll really see it on Friday, IMO
  10. Me gusta bigger panel room for Furry 101! About fuzzing time!
  11. The halls remind me of PAX South Year 1 but with the lights on
  12. Seriously, the HBG felt like a cavern back then with all the lights turned down
  13. Spiffy new booths for registration, ooh
  14. Badges are less nice this year, a little more papery.  Hope they hold up.  Compared them to last year’s badges after the fact and they’re the same.
  15. Press badges get the same art as volunteer ones? BOO!
  16. The YUUUGE maps were just a bit confusing.
  17. Didn’t help that they put teensy ‘You Are Here’ stickers that were near-impossible to find.  Maybe some gold stars or Pokeball stickers next time, guys?
  18. FRIDAY-This is my free day: No panels and my freaks aren’t showing up until late in the afternoon
  19. Arrived at 11 and easily found parking at the Houston street lot, wonder if that’s a sign
  20. Random person also walking to San Japan asked if the tin of Altoids rattling in my pocket were dice. OH HELL NO

    20160902_185752655_ios

    #28: Overestimate much?

  21. Walked into the Henry B. via the main entrance this time. Is niiice!
  22. Finally found someone pickier than Alvin Von Devious to try and help with their fursuit. Came close to (metaphorically) flipping the table.
  23. Customer service tip: Just answer my question without the lame jokes, please.
  24. So who gets to be the under/sideboob/cheek checker?
  25. Escalators in the dealer’s room are shut off, no bueno.
  26. One dealer’s display had ALL THE BOOBS.
  27. But that’s okay because they’re just cartoons…right?
  28. “History of Anime in the US” got the biggest panel room and about 50 people showed up. Yes, I counted.
  29. Good panel, but come on, I had that many the first time I did Furry 101 three years ago at RealmsCon.
  30. Do they even check to see how many people actually show up at panels?  Seriously.
  31. I kept waiting to hear one word at History of Anime but it never turned up: “Japanimation” That’s what we called it in the 80’s, kids!
  32. Friend and I did our good deed for the day getting a friend out of a jam.
  33. It took me a half hour but I had to claim the top spot on the Time Pilot game in the game room. EDS is on top where it belongs. *flex*
  34. Somehow I got pegged as the guy ‘running’ the furry meetup and some folks freaked when I showed up late.  THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS, GUYS
  35. SATURDAY-Easy parking on Houston St again, which has me slightly worried
  36. Saw displays made out of free Priority Mail boxes in the dealer’s room.  Classy.

    Clearly there is underboob here.

    #26: Under….side…ALL THE BOOBS

  37. Only the first 100 people get an autograph? Interesting.
  38. “It is up to the artist whether 101+ get an autograph” There has to be a better way to say that without making the artist look like a complete tool.
  39. The Taito Groove Coaster video game calls the Space Invaders alien a ‘crab’ IT’S AN ALIEN GUYS
  40. I keep thinking ‘Spock ears’ whenever I see pointy ears
  41. An anime con is one of the few places where you can lose a fursuiter
  42. Need to mark the lanes in Artist Alley, which one is ‘Row 5’ again?
  43. Arrived too late to the Bitforce concert to take advantage of my press badge, pbbt
  44. Wonder if they had technical problems; we could see the lead guitarist was shredding his fingers off but could barely hear him.  Otherwise, good show!
  45. Except for the game room, the air conditioning seems to be holding up well.
  46. Good thing too, because I was soaking after the occasional three-block walk to my car.
  47. The paleta man is back, woo!

    #X: Hello, old friend!

    #47: Hello, old friend!

  48. Nearly filled up our medium-sized panel room for Furry 101, w00t.
  49. 45 minute time limit threw me off, though, may have to reorganize things for next time.
  50. I only have two cosplays (Professor Utonium and Soos). I didn’t wear either, and saw the perfect people to take pictures with (The Powerpuff Girls and Giffany)! ARGH
  51. 18+ maid cafe was fun!
  52. Tipsy elevator normies were…interesting.
  53. Tipsy normie asked: “WHY YOU WEARING MOUSE EARS?” I’m not going to debate with someone holding a drink in public, they won’t remember anyway.
  54. SUNDAY-Less parking at the lot, but still no problem finding a spot; be interesting to see the attendance this year (It was down 12%)
  55. Been seeing a lot of ‘robot guts’ shirts around, guess they’re a hit.
  56. Hey panel door guy, the door opens when I say so, capisce?
  57. Noticed a lot of Judy Hopps cosplayers, bunny ears, Nick Wildes, and even an Assistant Mayor Bellweather. YAY ZOOTOPIA!
  58. Overwatch was also popular. I don’t even play the game, but for my friends it’s always HIIIGH NOOOON.
  59. Left early because the show just isn’t as fun without my friends!
  60. Mizuumi-Con is now “Otaku Fair” That’s good.
  61. Otaku Fair decided to not make any further announcements about their new event at THE BIGGEST EVENT IN THE CITY FOR POTENTIAL ATTENDEES. That’s not good.
  62. Observation:  Labor Day weekend works great for older folks like myself. For the youngn’s, though, not so much.
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ANIME, Apple, CONS, Eduardo Soliz, FURRY, SAN JAPAN

64 Things I Noticed During San Japan 8-Bit

#8: Where am I, again?

#10: Where am I, now?

Another year, another San Japan!  I presented two panels and took lots of cosplayer pictures!

  1. BEFORE THE SHOW-Went to a bronycon to practice ‘Furry 101’ for San Japan and now I’m going to do a ‘live podcast’ there. YOU OWE ME HENKIN
  2. Bought a 30-pack of Vitamin-C fizzy-drink packets for this and future cons, be interesting to see how long they last
  3. Looking forward to using my iPad mini during my panels, no more lugging around my laptop!
  4. Thing I hope to not see but probably will: people scalping Maid Café tickets.
  5. So there’s a ‘blue moon’ Friday night when I’m doing a panel with WolfBoy. GREAAAT
  6. I spend more time worrying about what I’m going to wear to a convention than to my job
  7. 100+ plus forecast means no black shirts, thank you
  8. Decided to lend my driveway to some friends for the weekend…who didn’t park in the driveway /facepalm
  9. Sorry, 7-11, but Valero has God’s Coke Machine
  10. Nice giant maps, just missing a “You are here” sticker
  11. Did AA get smaller? (answer: no)
  12. Did the Dealers room get…taller? (answer: mmmaybe)
  13. I’m getting a little bit of that ‘where’s the anime’ vibe from some of the vendors in the Dealers room :/
  14. Looks like the Grand Hyatt has become the ‘No Fun Zone’
  15. Got my ears fixed all professional-like, yay!
  16. S. David Ramirez’s cut in half business cards = GENIUS
  17. FRIDAY -Friend: “I don’t like waking up early on my day off.” You wanted a ride, so deal with it, Frumpasarus Rex
  18. I bought him donuts so all was forgiven
  19. Stupid Windows Phone Guidebook app being derpy. Need to get an iPhone
  20. I keep wanting to go in the wrong way of the Dealers Den >.<
  21. Taco Bell at the Rivercenter Mall? REALLY?
  22. Room 002? I thought it was 202 WHARRGARBL
  23. These artist displays are getting to the point where you have to struggle to find the ARTIST now.
  24. Dave gave me a panel that no one would show up to so he could hide for an hour.
  25. That’s okay because DAVE-SENPAI NOTICED ME
  26. You know it was a long day when your electronics start to give out, iPad and phone both ran out of juice.
  27. Hit over 10,000 steps today according to my 3DS, think that’s the highest I’ve ever done in a day.
  28. Which means I need to get more exercise >.<
  29. Internets on my Cricket/AT&T phone are flaky as all heck, might need to get a new provider when I decide to pull the trigger on that iPhone.
  30. SATURDAY-Got up at oh dark thirty to get a parking spot >.<
  31. I can’t help but notice the little things that are wrong with some of the retro-styled merch
  32. Yay for wide aisles!
  33. Popular cosplay: Steven Universe
  34. Two BayMaxes got quite a bit of attention
  35. One does not simply talk to a table-top player mid game. Fist-bump and move on.
  36. Person in car at crosswalk: “What is this?” Me: “Comic Con” I FAILED YOU DAVE-SENPAI
  37. AA was blocked off for a while, Fire Marshals, maybe??
  38. Perhaps they should have ran the line INTO the convention center instead of the atrium.  Fursuiter friends were not happy
  39. Yay for Stephanie and her full panel room!
  40. Picked up an ocarina on a whim. *insert drummer joke here*
  41. If the maid café ain’t all its cracked up to be, I want a refund…from Chris
  42. ‘Perfect spot’ right in the sunlight THANKS CHRIS
  43. Going to add the Pokémon theme to my list of songs anime nerds sing on command
  44. Maid café was a nice change of pace, a pleasant way to spend an hour in what is often a overwhelmingly manic event
  45. Unlimited samples of Coke? DON’T MIND IF I DO
  46. Dear mock combat people: Please figure out how big your arena is going to be ahead of time instead of telling people to move back multiple times
  47. Between the wristband policy and lack of chill spaces, I’m thinking the Hyatt doesn’t like San Japan attendees
  48. SUNDAY-Forgot to take my C this morning, hope I don’t regret it.
  49. No selfies for me, dumb cheap no front camera-having phone XP
  50. I see San Japan charges the ‘fat tax’ for larger shirt sizes
  51. Screaming JUST DO IT has become a thing. Greaaat
  52. I’d rather yell OHHHHH with Mordecai and Rigby
  53. I’m starting to think Bluetooth speakers are one of mankind’s worst inventions. I DEMAND A BAN.
  54. Unless breakdancing is involved, then we’re cool.
  55. Full house for Furry 101, w00t

    #55 Full house!

    #55 Full house!

  56. I’ll get a Lightning->VGA adapter because ‘cons don’t have       the latest equipment’ I come in and see a projector with an HDMI cable CRAP
  57. Found a cable but iPad no likey YOU HAD ONE JOB, iPad!
  58. Ended up using the silly thing as a clock. A FUZZING CLOCK
  59. Thank God AJ showed up with his laptop
  60. Joel did a bang-up job as my co-presenter, added some humor to the proceedings
  61. Guess I’ll always be the Dean Martin to someone else’s Jerry Lewis
  62. The half-hour length of my presentation used to bother me, but it leaves time for questions and pictures!
  63. Hit the road after the panel, another great time!
  64. It’s Cyborg 009, guys! Whole world of difference!
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ANIME, CONS, SAN JAPAN

23 Things I Noticed at mini-minicon 2015

San Japan (San Antonio’s biggest anime con) and Nine-Tails (San Antonio anime store run by some cool peoples) put on a small event at Wonderland of the Americas Mall last Saturday, so here we go!

#14

#12 – Bad wolf-dog-person thing!!

  1. I was involved in mini-cons before they were cool…just sayin’
  2. Attendance at the last mini-con was just over 100, so how is this mini-mini?
  3. Compared to San Japan’s 14K+ attendance last year, I guess just over 1,000 is mini (I’ll stop talking about that now)
  4. My panel, “Furry 101,” was scheduled against the cosplay show, hopefully it won’t impact attendance too much.
  5. I often joke about how Wonderland of the Americas Mall is deader than disco except for when nerd events happen, but this one was particularly packed.
  6. I kept seeing people with ice cream cones and I WANTED ONE SO BAD
  7. Didn’t help that the mall was quite warm, I was sweating about as much asmy fursuiting friends were.
  8. Between my panel and my fursuiting friends, I had plenty of logistical things to work out.
  9. Remembered to bring my 3DS to the to harvest those sweet, sweet puzzle pieces, and left it in the car >.<
  10. Despite that, it picked up 10 passes anyway.
  11. I’m not a fursuiter, but it even irks me when people ‘break the magic.’  Come on, guys!
  12. I told Alvin Von Derpious he would end up scaring some kid and it finally happened…WAY TO GO, DUDE
  13. Nine-Tails looked like Club 54 with the line outside.
  14. Hearing the “Teen Titans Go” theme being played live by BitForce was pretty cool!
  15. Left in the car #2: my bear ears.  So much for my ‘furry cred.’
  16. Twelve people were there for the beginning of my “Furry 101” panel, so I guess being scheduled opposite the cosplay show had an effect. :I
  17. The panel was recorded this time!  Thanks, Furball!
  18. It went well, my constant swinging back and forth notwithstanding.
  19. I was also talking with my hands and doing a sing-song voice…blame it on my genes 😉
  20. A few more people walked in during the panel, had an okay crowd of about half-filled with furries. 😀
  21. Dunno If they announced the panels over the PA beforehand, but it would have been nice.
  22. Overall, it was a fun event, plenty to see, do, buy, and friends to catch up with!
  23. How is it nobody registered miniminicon.com beforehand??
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ANIME, CONS, FURRY, JUST SAYING, RANDOM STOPS, REALMSCON, WHATS GOING ON

35 Things I Noticed During RealmsCon 2014

Zoidberg cosplayer!

Cosplay? Why not Zoidberg?

  1. OMG the Corpus Christi humidity kills me, yet another reason I need to lose weight
  2. The line for pre-registration was zero so I got my badges quickly. Always preregister, folks!
  3. Both aisles of the Artist’s Alley hallway were being used, which made it little crowded
  4. The bigger dealer area was nice, but they really need to put AA in a better spot
  5. A few empty tables here and there in AA, sadly typical
  6. The artists I knew that weren’t coming back to Realms after poor sales in the past, didn’t.
  7. Sighted in AA: body-sized “Hug pillows?”  YEAH, STILL NOT CREEPY AT ALL
  8. Filling out paper form in the reg line always holds it up
  9. No multi-arcade game machine in the game room?  FAIL
  10. GoPro cameras seem to be everywhere now for better or for worse
  11. The Zoidberg cosplayer at right was probably my favorite one of the con
  12. Note to self: leave the laptop in the CAR if you aren’t going to use it *huff*
  13. I am sorry, Jena, but a sandwich and a hamburger are most definitely NOT the same thing. Guess it’s a “guy thing”
  14. 123456? Yeah, they’ll never guess *that* hotel WiFi password
  15. Want to turn a decent hotel room into OMG BEST ROOM EVAR? Add a fridge and a microwave!
  16. Gave my niece a ride to the con, she bought a tail while she was there…ONE OF US ONE OF US
  17. Construction on Shoreline? Dammit Corpus!
  18. I always see cases of water on the cheap at Stripes convenience stores except THE ONE TIME I ACTUALLY WANT TO BUY ONE >.<
  19. You know you’re bushed when you don’t want to go up the stairs to eat on the second floor of Whataburger by the Bay
  20. Apparently VIP passes allow one to skip lines, here, what a concept!
  21. The actor playing Kirk in “Star Trek Continues” had a celebrity table and McCoy was in Artist’s Alley…typical
  22. Holy cats, we managed to fill up a panel room and then some for the “Furry 101” panel
  23. There are even a few furries present, which might have been cheating 😉
  24. According to Wolfboy adding “-ies” to the end of an animal name makes it furry “insect-ies” “shark-ies”
  25. I can’t argue against his logic, though.
  26. MASSIVE con fail for not having projectors for either one of my panels even though I had requested them
  27. Projectors were found but I had no screen so I had to project my presentations onto the wall at an angle and figure out how to darken the lights. -_-
  28. Luckily I think I could do my e-book panel without one, but still!
  29. What the fuzz was up with that guy that wanted to take a picture of all the furries jumping up in the air?
  30. I was tickled that the schedule part of the conbook was titled ”Celebrity Schedules’ and my name was on it. Oh, you!
  31. I don’t get the point of having someone watching the door at the end of Artist’s Alley, can’t they just, I don’t know, LOCK THE DOOR?
  32. Seafood restaurant, why is your salad bar backwards?
  33. There were only 8 people at my e-book panel, but those three very interested folks made it worth it
  34. Since nothing was scheduled after e-books the panel room became an improvised fursuit lounge.
  35. I lost two pounds over the weekend, perhaps I need to attend more cons!
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Uncategorized

“Fun?” What’s that?

San Japan is this weekend, conventionsand I’m really not sure what I’m going to do.  Granted, I know what I have to do, and that’s assist with two panels for originalgamer.com as well as host my own “How To Publish E-Books” panel, but outside of ‘working’ at those panels, I don’t have anything planned.

I’ve joked in the past about how one either works at a convention or has fun, but can’t do both.  Its been so long since I’ve had significant free time at San Japan that I’m not sure I remember how to have fun there.  I don’t cosplay, I don’t care much about the guests (sorry) or the dances or the cosplay contest or watch many of the popular shows, which doesn’t really leave much left to do.

Thus, I’ll probably spend most of San Japan hanging out with friends.  I know people that help out with the event, sell in the dealer room or artists area, wear costumes, or, much like myself, just happen to be there.

And truthfully, how much more fun do I need than that?

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ANIME, CONS, FURRY, RANDOM STOPS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, ushicon, WHATS GOING ON

27 Things I Noticed During Ushicon 8

ushicon

Ushicon 8 took place this past weekend.  It is different in that it is the only 18+ anime con in Texas, as well as the first one I’ve ever attended.  On with the list!

  1. I didn’t know this year’s Ushicon was number 8 until I saw it on the t-shirt.
  2. Yeah, that’s not terribly important, but if you’ve been around for awhile, you should crow a little, you know?
  3. Worst thing that I noticed: Why does the men’s room on the first floor smell like mushrooms?
  4. Round Rock has the screwiest parking lots I’ve ever driven through.
  5. The maid cafe had the same large parfait on the menu listed as the “Lover’s Parfait” or “Forever Alone.”  Clever.
  6. Given that Valentine’s day is this week I was tempted to get a “Forever Alone” one but I think it contained enough sugar to put a horse into diabetic shock.
  7. The Dairy Queen near the hotel has to be the fastest one I have ever been to.  After placing my order, I filled my soda, sat down, started to chat with Chris, and BAM.  Done.
  8. The hotel did everything in their power to piss me off before and during check-in.
  9. Wow, I can actually talk with fellow attendees about anime from the 80’s like Dirty Pair and even Robot Carnival!
  10. No Rock Band in the video game room?  WEAK.
  11. It could have totally fit in the middle where nobody was playing table-top games.
  12. Being an 18+ con meant swearing was okay.  ***k yeah.
  13. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a con that was this well behaved.
  14. Which, I guess, is kind of 0the point of the whole thing.
  15. The panels were pretty interesting, or at least the ones I could enter because Panel Room 2 was too damn small for anything.
  16. Meanwhile there were plenty of empty chairs in the video rooms…just sayin’
  17. The cosplay show was cool; no judges or drama, just lots of folks showing off their cool costumes.
  18. Holding up my iPad mini for 20 minutes to record it was not, guess I’ll stick with my camera.
  19. Actually Panel Room 2 did work well for an improvised “Artist Meetup” on Saturday night 🙂
  20. There were a few fellow furries present, w00t.
  21. The number of bronies present (or at least the ones that were wearing t-shirts) could be counted on one hand.  AWESOME.
  22. The only time things got loud was when it got late and folks started drinking, you know, like at every other fan convention.
  23. Went to a “Project Meeting” panel on Sunday to offer feedback.  I sat around for about 10 minutes being ignored and left.  They could have at least asked me to introduce myself.
  24. Okay, not completely ignored, one guy was decent enough to offer me a doughnut.
  25. There was a gap of ‘nothing interesting happening’ on Sunday long enough for me to make a quick sojourn to Fry’s Electronics.
  26. Fry’s still has a anime section!
  27. I made the mistake of going to the maid cafe to chill out during Yaoi Tea Time.  It was like I was listening to a Spanish novela, and occasionally seeing…well, I’d rather not go there.
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ANIME, CONS, IKKICON, JUST SAYING, MUSIC, MY LITTLE PONY, NeRiMa, RANDOMIZER9.COM, STEAMPUNK, WHATS GOING ON

20 Things I Noticed During Ikkicon VI

Since the last Ikkicon, I actually have helped run an event (two even, the Mezasu mini-cons) so my checklist of “things I have done at a con” is pretty darn close to complete.  This time, the band I drum for, named NeRiMa ねりま, was scheduled to play Saturday night, so Friday was pretty much a ‘free day.’  Because of my involvement with the event, I don’t feel right ‘reviewing’ it so without further ado, here’s another list of things I noticed:

  1. I am not going to bring up the drum thing. I am not going to bring up the drum thing. I am not going to bring up the drum thing.  I think the drum thing was our fault, anyway.
  2. Okay, the drum thing: I need to invest in an acoustic drum set…once I’m sure there is space for it in my apartment, I’m sure it’ll fit in my car, and I won’t get thrown out of my apartment from the noise…so yeah.
  3. So Band 1 plays before Band 2, but Band 2 does their sound check after Band 1 does theirs and immediately before Band 1 performs…granted, I’m fairly new to the whole “rock band” thing, but am I the only one that finds that weird?
  4. I’d heard there were three versions of the schedule floating around, which probably why nobody minded that we started playing late.
  5. I was a little distressed at seeing such a small crowd at first, but it turns out Safety was checking bags for alcohol at the door, so we waited and it slowly grew.
  6. I think I like playing on Friday better, because we can practice the night before and having the show constantly on my mind for most of the con took a little bit of the fun out of it.
  7. I had a fun time at the concert itself, it was also nice of them to remember the fog machines were there about 2/3 of the way through. :/
  8. I totally forgot to check out the game room, perhaps the memories of last year are way too fresh.
  9. I’m guessing a lot of folks got the Nintendo 3DS for Christmas.  Either that or System Settings is much more engaging than I remember.
  10. I finished 4 Streetpass panels during the event and almost finished Find Mii a second time, w00t!
  11. According to my 3DS’ pedometer, I averaged 6,000+ steps a day, and my legs feel like it today.
  12. Once again, no microwave in the room.  I guess if you can afford to stay at a place like the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center you aren’t going to be nuking popcorn and noodles for sustenance.
  13. Luckily, the venue was near the University of Texas, so there was plenty of pizza and burger jonts within walking distance.
  14. I love how the layout was prioritized: artists and dealers in the mezzanine, panels and some artists on the first floor, and con alley in steerage, er, I mean, the basement.  They aren’t the only ones to do this, BTW.
  15. The AT&T Executive yadda yadda is split in two between the hotel and the conference center, which is probably why there weren’t too many insane elevator wait times.  That, and it only has seven floors.
  16. I was afraid of that the venue was going to be too small for the number of attendees, but it didn’t seem to get too packed.
  17. I attended the My Little Pony panel to see if I could somehow finish the blog entry I’d been working on for the last two WEEKS. Mission Accomplished.
  18. In spite of my friend Chris’ best efforts, I was not tied down to a chair and forced to watch My Little Pony like the guy in “A Clockwork Orange.”  Jerk.
  19. What is it with badges?  Guest badges, even??  Once again I got a temp badge to start off, but they found the band’s real ones halfway through.
  20. I can’t claim this one (credit goes to my friend Justin of Nine Tails) but I have to include it: while looking at the Sunday schedule, a friend wondered “How come they never have Steampunk 102?”

For me, at least, Ikkicon VI was fun: a good-sized crowd showed up, the location was better in quite a few aspects, and our concert went well.  While there were a few wrinkles here and there, the problems that did come up got taken care of and a good time was had by all.

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ANIME, COMICS, RANDOMIZER9.COM, STEAMPUNK, WHATS GOING ON

Lights! Camera! NERDS!

Comicbreak.com presents Fanboy Flix at the Drafthouse

Arrive early, or sit behind Galactus!

If you want to get your nerd on in the Alamo City, the Alamo Drafthouse theaters feature free showings of various nerdy movies on a regular basis.  With exception of “Anime at the Alamo” these all take place once a month.

First, there is ‘Anime at the Alamo’ sponsored by the folks at Funimation which happens every Monday night at the Westlakes location.  I haven’t been to this one in awhile because there are a load of Mystery Science Theater 3000 wannabees constantly blabbing throughout the movie and they completely ruin the experience for me.

ComicBreak.com’s ‘Fanboy Flix’ brings us various geeky movies from years gone by.  This happens at the Stone Oak location and often features local guest artists.

The San Antonio Neo-Victorian Association gives us “Steampunk Night” for those of us whose pasttime happens to be the future past (ba-doom, tissh!).  Expect lots of really cool costumes and vendors at these events held at the Park North location.

For the Whovians among you, Doctor Who Fans Unite gives us Doctor Who night at the Stone Oak location.  Be sure you’re on time!

The Alamo Drafthouse is a great place to watch movies; and these events are a great chance to enjoy your favorite movies and shows on the big screen.  If you decide to go to one of these events be sure to get there early, because there are often things going on beforehand and the theaters do fill up.

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