Thursday, June 14, 2007

A-Kon & the Week.5 After

Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die,
your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
- George Carlin

Greetings All! What's up!? I hope yer all having a wonderful day cuz I am. In fact, my entire last week has been amazing! Wanna hear? Good, cuz you don't have much of a choice. Well, actually you do have a choice. You could just not read what I have to say. But, if you do read what I have to say, then you have no choice. Cuz words are words and there's nothing you can do about it. Got it? Good. Now, I've rambled long enough, it's time for an even longer post. In fact, the post you are currently engaged in reading is the longest post I've ever posted up here on TheO. I tell you this only as a precautionary warning. If you don't want to read it all, please skim the subheadings and read something you like. That's what they're there for. ^_^ To the post!

Work! ^_^
"An exclamation mark and a happy face? What's this about? He's talking about work, that's not a happy thing is it?" Is that what yer thinking? Yeah, I figured. Well, That's what I normally think too. But, this job is different. Ya see, IT'S AWESOME!!! Heh heh! I nailed a job at an ice cream store scooping ice cream. Yeah, it's as amazing as it sounds. For some reason the job is just a load of fun up and down. The people I work with are nice, the job itself isn't that horribly difficult, and I get paid well with the addition of tips. It's a great job. The perfect summer job. I could not have asked for better. I actually don't dread going to work like I did last summer. I enjoy it. Thank God. ^_^

Bessie Smith Strut
This week the biggest event to go down in Chattanooga all year is... uh... going down. It's called Riverbend. It's a week-long music festival featuring artists of all genres from classical to jazz and hip-hop to country. The festival boasts something like 30 artists. The big headliners of the week are Daughtry, Earth Wind & Fire, Jars of Clay, and the Alan Parsons Project. Pretty spiffy, eh? Well, I'm not going. Didn't expect THAT now did ya? HAHA! Yeah, it's too expensive. It's something like thirty bucks to attend the festival all week. That wouldn't be so bad if I was available to see all the artists I want to see. Unfortunately a good number of the bands I want to see, like Daughtry and Earth Wind & Fire, I was or am unable to see because I'm scheduled to work while they are performing. A pity really, but it doesn't bother me much because of something that happened on monday night.

Monday night was the Bessie Smith Strut. Bessie Smith, if you didn't know, is a jazz musician from Chattanooga. The event which bears her name is a small 5-hour event connected with Riverbend that showcases a gathering of jazz and blues bands. A bonus is that this particular event is free. My dad and I went together. We got turkey legs and beers and strolled up and down MLK Blvd listening to different groups. My favorite group was a group called Watermelon Slim. Absolutely amazing musician and performer. It was an incredible thing watching the man play and sing. I wish I could play the harmonica like that. Wow... Anyway, it was great fun. Maybe next year I'll have the smarts to look ahead at the Riverbend schedule, choose who I want to listen to, and work my schedule around it. But, the Bessie Smith Strut was good enough for me this year.

Ramble
Virgin Radio UK. It's my favorite radio station in the entire world. It really is. They play the best music and they don't do what american stations like to do and just replay the same new singles over and over again every hour. I can't tell you how many times I've heard John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change." My favorite radio station back in Dallas played it at the top of the hour every hour. Not that that's a bad thing, but Virgin Radio UK doesn't do it. Every hour is completely different music spanning multiple decades. It's amazing. Now, I have but one problem with it. The only place I have found to listen to the station is on iTunes. Unfortunately, during their peak radio hours VRUK does not broadcast at high bandwidth over iTunes. It doesn't even come over in stereo. Well, their peak hours are between noon and six US central time. That's when I listen to music the most during school. It's horrible not to be able to listen to your favorite station when you most want to. So, I just sorta stopped listening altogether. That is until now. Earlier this evening I tuned in again thinking maybe I'd be able to get a good bandwidth and I was. How nice it was. I didn't realize how much I missed this station until I tuned in. I missed it a lot. That's all. I just felt like rambling on that for some reason. It was the urge to ramble on this that got me to type out this post to begin with. So, thank VRUK for the words you are reading now because without it you might be reading these words later. ^_^

A-Kon 18
You all knew this was coming. A-Kon 18 was the weekend before last and I hadn't posted on it yet. It was only a matter of time until it happened. To start off, the entire weekend was a blast and will probably, like last summer, end up being the best weekend of the entire season. The weekend started off with me hopping in my car and heading out from Chattanooga to Nashville to catch my flight to Dallas. On a side note, did you realize that Nashville is in central time while Chattanooga is in eastern? I didn't and neither did my family. I had a meeting at work on the monday night following A-Kon and my flight landed only two hours before the meeting was to begin. But, when I passed the nice green sign on the highway that said "Now entering central time zone" it hit me and I panicked briefly then called my dad to inform him of the interesting little blunder we had made in planning. I arrived at the airport a full hour earlier than I wanted to and i was to arrive back in Chattanooga an hour after I should have, causing me to miss my meeting.

All right, that was a bit more than just a side note, but who cares, I thought it was funny and worth mentioning. Anyway, after I made it to the Adams Mark Hotel in Dallas and got all moved into the single bedroom with all 13 of the other people who were sharing it with me (yes, 13), the convention began. It was an awesome convention. I loved every minute of it. Most of my time was spent hopping from panel to panel. I did plenty of wandering around though. Again, I was stupid and didn't bring a camera with me to shoot pictures of awesome cosplays. In fact, I didn't even cosplay myself this year. I got too lazy about it and didn't have either my Shugo costume repaired or my Haku costume finished. I did have my Kiba costume up and running and did in fact bring it to the convention, but was simply not in the mood to wear it while I was there, though I should have. They kept that convention hall COLD and Kiba's jacket might have been nice to have on. heh heh! Anyway, sorry for no pictures.

The cosplays weren't the best part of the convention this year anyway. The best part of the convention is a toss-up between Mell's concert on Friday night and Helen McCarthy. Mell's concert was amazing. Mell, if you didnt know, is the woman who sung the intro song for the anime Black Lagoon called "Red Fraction." Really techno and upbeat kind of song. A sonic treat. Now, if you've heard that song then you know exactly what the rest of her concert was like. High energy and loud. I loved it. I did something at her concert that I've never done at a concert before. I fought my way to the front. At every concert I've been to in the past I've comfortably sat at the back and listened from a distance while craning my neck to try and see the band over the heads of the people in front of me. Well I decided I was tired of that. So, for Mell I fought my way to the front so I could really have a good concert experience. It was worth it. By the end of the concert i was standing one person from the stage. If I had really tried hard I could have almost touched the stage. I didn't, but I could have maybe. It really made things interesting standing inches away from everybody around me, fighting off people pushing to the front trying to do the same thing I managed to do, and managing not to seriously injure myself or people around me with my energy during the concert. It was the concert experience I wanted and there wasn't a better group to have it for.

Now, as good as Mell's concert was, as you read, it shares the title of best part of the Kon with Helen McCarthy. You're probably wondering who this woman is. She's a writer from the UK who has written a few books on anime and gives weekly talks on anime at a movie theatre in London. Each week the theatre plays an anime movie or series and then afterwards Helen gives a talk and hosts a discussion about the anime. She talks about everything including the story itself, its influences, the filmmaking, the artistic expertise or lack thereof, etc. She brought abbreviated versions of three such talks to give to Kongoers. All of them were educated, in depth, and really got me thinking about movies and series that I really hadn't put a lot of thought into before. For an anime and movie enthusiast as I am, these talks were like gold. I didn't miss a single panel the woman gave. Every one was as good as the next. There were a few things that I disagreed with her on, but for the most part I thought her ideas and conclusions were valid. She really made the convention for me I think.

Unlike conventions past I didn't buy very many things. In fact, I bought just three things. Two of them were two of Mell's singles which I got autographed by the entire band. The other one and by far the most precious thing I have ever bought at a convention was a kimono. That's right. I've been looking for one for a while, and at this convention i caved. I knew they were expensive. I've been looking around for one on Ichiroya Kimono Flea Market for about a year and a half now. So far I had found none that were in my price range, that I liked, and that fit me. But, at A-Kon I found one. It was the color I wanted, it fit me, and it was the cheapest one I had yet found. I couldn't help myself. I bought it. Along with the kimono itself I got a nice blue obi (belt) to go with the blue stripes in the kimono and i got a green haori (jacket) to go with the green stripes in the kimono. It's a nice little set and it was worth every penny I spent on it. I wear it every night after I get home from work and shower. It's comfortable, it looks great, and it's just cool. The outfit is not quite complete yet though. I still need to get something called a jyuban. It's like the kimono equivalent of an undershirt. Its made of silk, worn under the kimono, and is typically very ornate and colorful but the only part of it you ever see is the collar area which is typically a black or white color. It's not essential. They weren't worn all the time but the only people who didn't wear them much were the very poor people. I'd like to get one eventually but it's not a priority. The whole outfit looks amazing as it is. I'm glad I finally got one. ^_^

The only other thing that happened at the convention that was worth mentioning was what happened on Saturday. Saturday was Micah's 21st birthday. Micah is a friend of mine from church in Dallas. I've known him for quite a while and he has accompanied me to three conventions now. For his 21st birthday we went out for dinner at T.G.I.Friday's in Dallas' West End and then returned back to the room and had drinks provided by Micah's parents. It was fun. Unfortunately Micah himself didn't drink much. He didn't have anything at dinner. I did manage to get him to take a couple sips of the rum we had back at the hotel though. That was satisfactory. Unlike what a lot of people expect of a 21st b-day party, the birthday boy did not drink the most. That qualification goes to either me or Sam. I'm not really sure who had more. But all that put aside it was a very entertaining evening. Happy birthday Micah!

If ya wanna hear more about the convention and a few of my experiences go and read Krustyknuckles' post on the subject. He is my friend Sam and he was one of the 13 other people staying in the room with. We spent a good majority of the convention together.

Well, with that I'll be done. I'm sure you're tired of reading by now. This was an exceptionally long post for me and I'll be surprised if anyone actually reads the entire thing. If you did, thank you. So, have a great day everyone and I'll see ya 'round TheO! Sayonara!

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Beck, Black Lagoon, Blame!, Blood the Last Vampire, Bokurano, Burst Angel, Castle in the Sky, Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, Last Exile, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Midori?s Days, Milennium Actress, Mushi-shi, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Naruto: The Movie, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth, Ninja Scroll: The Movie, Other Worlds, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Pet Shop of Horrors, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, Prétear, Princess Mononoke, Read Or Die, Read Or Die: The TV, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven, Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

Anime I've Seen - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - .hack//Sign - 5 Centimeters per Second - Air - Air: The Movie - Akira - The Animatrix - Appleseed - Aquatic Language - Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror - Baby Blue - Beck - Black Lagoon - Blame! - Blood the Last Vampire - Bokurano - Burst Angel - Castle in the Sky - Cowboy Bebop - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express - Doorbell - Egao - FLCL - Fullmetal Alchemist - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala - Gankutsuou - Gatekeepers - Genius Party - Genshiken - Genshiken OAV - Ghost in the Shell - Ghost in the Shell: Innocence - Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society - Gin-iro no Kami no Agito - The Gokusen - Grave of the Fireflies - Grenadier - Haibane Renmei - Happy Machine - Hellsing - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Hikaru no Go - Howl's Moving Castle - Innocent Venus - Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Jyu Oh Sei - Karas: The Prophecy - Karas: The Revelation - Last Exile - Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Midori?s Days - Milennium Actress - Mushi-shi - My Neighbor Totoro - Naruto - Naruto: The Movie - Nausicaa - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth - Ninja Scroll: The Movie - Other Worlds - Ouran High School Host Club - Paprika - Perfect Blue - Pet Shop of Horrors - The Place Promised In Our Early Days - Prétear - Princess Mononoke - Read Or Die - Read Or Die: The TV - Samurai Champloo - Samurai Seven - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - Serial Experiments Lain - Shanghai Dragon - She and Her Cat - Spirited Away - Steamboy - Tekkonkinkreet - Tide-Line Blue - Tokyo Babylon - Tokyo Godfathers - Trigun - Trinity Blood - Vampire Hunter D - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Voices of a Distant Star - Witch Hunter Robin - Wolf's Rain - Wonderful Days - Wrath of the Ninja - X Total: 93

Anime I Haven't Completed - .hack//Roots - Ah! My Goddess - Angelic Layer - Avenger - Baccano! - Bamboo Blade - Basilisk - Binchou-tan - Black Cat - Bleach - Blood+ - Boogiepop Phantom - Case Closed - Le Chevalier d'Eon - Chobits - Chrono Crusade - Code Geass - Coyote Ragtime Show - D.Gray-Man - D.N.Angel - DearS - Death Note - Dennou Coil - Desert Punk - Digimon - Dragon Ball Z - Ergo Proxy - Eureka Seven - Excel Saga - Fighting Beauty Wulong - Final Fantasy Unlimited - Flag - Freedom - Full Moon - Gantz - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Gintama - Glass Fleet - Great Teacher Onizuka - Gundam Seed - Gundam Wing - Hayate the Combat Butler - Hellsing OVA - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Ikki Tousen - InuYasha - Jigoku Shojo - Kage Kara Mamoru - Karin - Kino's Journey - Love Hina - Loveless - Lovely Complex - Lucky Star - Makai Senki Disgaea - Marchen Awakens Romance - Meine Liebe - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Mononoke - Monster - Moon Phase - Mr Stain on Junk Alley - Naruto Shippuuden - Negima?! - Negima! - Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Nerima Daikon Brothers - NHK ni Youkoso - Night Walker - Ninja Nonsense - Noir - Peacemaker Kurogane - Pokemon - Prince of Tennis - R.G. Veda - Ragnarok - Rec - Red Garden - Robotech - Romeo x Juliet - Rosen Maiden - Rurouni Kenshin - Saikano - Sailor Moon - Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sci-fi Harry - School Rumble - Scrapped Princess - Shin-chan - Shingu - Shion no Oh - Shuffle! - Shrine of the Morning Mist - So Long, Mr. Despair - Solty Rei - Sousei no Aquarion - Speed Grapher - Spice and Wolf - Super Milk Chan - Tales of Phantasia - Tenchi Muyo - Tenjhou Tenge - Texnolyze - The Third - Tsubasa Chronicles - Urusei Yatsura - Venus Versus Virus - Welcome to the N.H.K. - Winter Cicada - X-1999 - Xenosaga - XxxHolic - Yu Yu Hakushou - Yume Tsukai - Zero no Tsukaima - Zipang Total: 116

Manga I've Completed - Cowboy Bebop - FLCL - Manga Messiah - Manga Metamorphosis - Q*Ko-chan - Saiyuki - Shirahime-Syo Total: 7 Manga I Haven't Completed - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - Black Cat - Blame! - Chobits - D.Gray-man - Darkside Blues - Death Note - The Demon Ororon - Desert Coral - Disgaea - Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl - Fruits Basket - Getbackers - Hayate the Combat Butler - Kamunagara - Legal Drug - Love Hina - Loveless - Megatokyo - Naruto - Negima - Read Or Die - Rurouni Kenshin - Tactics - Trigun Maximum - XXXHolic Total: 26

Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist

Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, InuYasha, Jigoku Shojo, Kage Kara Mamoru, Karin, Kino?s Journey, Love Hina, Loveless, Lovely Complex, Lucky Star, Makai Senki Disgaea, Marchen Awakens Romance, Meine Liebe, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mononoke, Monster, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, Peacemaker Kurogane, Pokemon, Prince of Tennis, R.G. Veda, Ragnarok, Rec, Red Garden, Robotech, Romeo x Juliet, Rosen Maiden, Rurouni Kenshin, Saikano, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sci-fi Harry, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

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