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Random Thoughts of an Otaku
Feb. 27th, 2008
09:26 pm - How do Anime Cons better handle their attendees
http://forums.katsucon.org/viewtopic.ph
Do people know that they should take car of things? I heard from convention runners like Sue Monroe (one of the long time Otakon staffers) say that people don't look forward to anime fans. I know why after hearing about this situation. It makes me wonder whether we need to better integrate our own fandom as to the rules of having a convention. (A. People give something to the convention besides money. B. People take care of hotel property.) We have alot of people who go to Anime conventions who are not into anime. Anime conventions has become the nerd convention of the moment. How do we integrate these fans into fandom?
I think it is in a multi-disciplinary approach. First, we have to hold our own attendees to a higher standard. Anime Boston had this problem in 2006. They have instituted a set of rules for those staying in the hotel block. http://www.animeboston.com/location/she
Secondly, we need to make our rules more clear on everything. This includes making them a clearer link on our website and putting them in front of Registration. A lot of cons now say that this badge is the property of their convention or organzation and that it can be taken for proper reason including hotel violations.
Lastly, we need to change our members expectations. An example of this is calling a dance a rave. Anime Weekend Atlanta does not have Rave on their message boards at all. Informal Dances, yes. Raves, No. If we have to, we may need to narrow our focus to just Japanese animation. It may drop numbers, but may bring better members.
What I am afraid of is that all fanish conventions will not be allowed to go to hotels they would like. Besides Katsucon having hotel problems, Farpoint (700 person media Science Fiction convention in suburban Baltimore) had their hotel give their members limited dining options and their members had to sign a damage waiver when they checked into the hotel. It nearly made Farpoint move and it may still make them move for 2009. What do people think? Am I totally off base with these thoughts?
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contemplativeFeb. 18th, 2008
09:11 am - The weekend that was Katsucon
I am back from Katsucon and I had a great time. It was simply the best Katsucon in the four years I have gone to and finally see that Katsucon can be a good time. I have gone for four years and usually have been underwhelmed. Let me give my report on this con.
Friday
-The Train was on time and pretty much full of people. I am glad that I bought a ticket ahead of time. The train ended up 10 minutes late into Union Station due to a slower train that was running late.
-I found out on the train that one set of roommates had found cheaper lodging and the other roommate never made it to the convention. That is not what I wanted money wise. I will use friends next year for roommates and not total strangers.
-I got to the convention, had dinner and got the Registration. Pre-registration took 30 minutes on Friday night for some reason and had about 50 people in the line. It seemed like there were only two computers for the convention pre-registration. I think it they needed a third person with a paper list to help make things flow better. I wonder if this will discourage people from Pre-Registering in the future.
-I saw parts of the Geek Comedy Tour 3000, which is a very funny group of gentlemen who are from the Metro DC area. They all have lives outside of being wannabe Stand Up comics. They don't just talk about anime in jokes, but Science Fiction, Fantasy and Comic Books in jokes.
-Also saw Anime Match Game, It is set up very much the way Kevin Standlee does it. The two major differences were the tables aren't tiered (they are in one straight line) and they don't use as much tech or any of the Match Game show's music. The guys who hosted are Rym and Scott from the Geeknights podcast. They are entertaining people in the room. It was a very interesting event, all in all.
-I also saw Late Night Katsucon, which is an attempt at a Late Night talk show. They had a late arriving guest and did not know how to deal with it. They started with the Steve Bennett interview and it was getting interesting when Greg Ayres (who was the first hour's guest) finally showed about 11:20 PM. They immediately switched to that interview. I think they should have finished the interview you do because you don't interrupt an interview with another interview. This was done by the same Geeknights podcasting crew as the earlier one. I was getting tired at that point, so I went to bed.
Saturday
-I got up and had breakfast. I must note that the Omni Shoreham did some very good things including having Buffets for under $20 to feed people. It was the first time the restaurant was open during the weekend. People were eating there and it seemed like they made some money over the weekend. They make a much better eggs than I ever can.
-After breakfast, I saw most the Anime Music Video contest. It was a pretty good contest. The best one I saw was a salute to great Anime couples to Nickelback's Far Away.
-About 10:30 AM, I went around for a bit taking pictures of Cosplayers, talking to fellow Convention Runners and browsing the Dealers room. I talked with Ramonthe of Zenkaikon and AMA's con runner Edward Fortner along with bunches of Anime USA folks. I really didn't see Mark Pope (Anime USA's con chair) at the convention. It seems small, but I must not have found you where you were hanging out.
-I then got into the line for Tiffany Grant's autograph. She is the voice Asuka in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Chocolate in Sorcerer Hunters. It started 20 minutes late because Tiffany was in another panel that probably ended late. I think it isn't a good idea to have a panel before an autograph session.
-Rested a little bit around 3 PM. I didn't take a nap, but just some quiet time with TV and a golf from the room.
-Janice Gelb has a best Button contest at Worldcon. I saw some great sayings from the bookmarks and flyers of Otakon. The saying Liked the most was, "If we moved to DC, Baltimore would cry." That is too true.
- I had dinner early and saw Challenger on Fire and was part of the game show. It was done by the Geeknights squad. I did well except when they started to get to the 15 plus year old stuff and it was a blood bath. I think I need to see more old school stuff to be as good as Newton Ewell was. Maybe, Geeknights should have shown more obscure modern stuff to make it a challenge. I hope they do it again at Katsucon next year.
-I saw the Masquerade in the overflow room. It was a good show with about 18 entries, but I think 8 or so of them were Master skits. It made for one of the better shows I had seen. It also disappoints me that there wasn't alot of Novice entries, unless they put all of the Novice entries at the beginning. It could say that new costumers aren't being encouraged to be on stage to perform. The best of the show was a skit celebrating the tenth anniversary of Cowboy Bebop, A Le Chevalier D'eon skit where they tell the story and break out in Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up" and a Death Note Death off where Light and Misa go into a death off about who can kill the most and end up killing each other.
-I also saw a panel about the process of Voice Acting. I did get some of the audition portion of the event taped that I hope to put on Youtube this weekend coming up. I didn't tape the main part of it, since it revealed spoilers of a movie that is licensed and not out here. It is Media Blasters co-production of "the Machine Girl". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpCWJnn
-I saw the Anime Mid Atlantic preview panel. It was a good panel and at least got me thinking about making the trip to Virginia Beach for the convention. After that panel, I went to bed at about Midnight.
Sunday.
-I got up, got packed, got checked out and had a leisurely breakfast.
-I went to the Charity Auction. The charity that was being raised money for was the American Cancer Society. The auctioneer had three family members in the last year come down with Cancer and lost his Grandfather to cancer. That had to be hard on him because he is also Vice Con Chair of Katsucon Operations. I did win Hiroko and Hirohi Shot glasses (Otakon's Mascots), but got outbid on the Kimono's and Jewelry that I wanted to give to Mom. The auction raised $3,200. It was their best year ever. I hope next year they ask other conventions to donate things. They could get more if they asked some of the other cons for signed items or for Passes and hotel stays for their conventions.
-I had lunch and got some DVD's for me in the Dealers Room.
-I think anime conventions shouldn't do Opening or Closing Ceremonies. Worldcon seems to do a better opening or closing ceremony than almost any anime convention does. Closing Ceremonies had only two of the guests. You should have all of your major guests who aren't doing something at that point (the musical guests were performing at that time). Greg Ayres has just done his 104th straight convention without a single cancellation. That is amazing for anyone especially a voice actor. I have had to cancel attending a convention at least once.
I have some minor things that could be made better, but I will save those things for Katsucon boards. I think you see what fun I had this weekend and I can't wait for Anime Boston. I will talk more about that con in the next few weeks.
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cheerfulFeb. 17th, 2008
07:33 pm - Back from Katsucon
I am back from Katsucon. It was a good weekend. I will talk more about it tomorrow, since I am tired and need catch up time on the web.
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tiredFeb. 9th, 2008
02:06 pm - Starting to get excited for Katsucon
I am finally getting excited about Katsucon since I have a room and roommates sharing them. I offered it to my convention friends and since most of them are from Metro DC they didn't bite. I got the room filled from Cosplay.com. I am not a cosplayer, but you have to listen to your attendees and a lot of them are cosplayers/costumers (for those in the Science Fiction World).
The programming looks good for once at Katsucon. They don't have a major Japanese guest, but that is expected from Katsucon. It will be nice to do some shopping in the Dealers Room especially at Sasuga Books. They only come to Northeastern anime conventions and are one of the big Japanese book stores in the country. I can easily lay $200 in art books at that vendor.
I now have HD Cable at the house, which is very nice. There is alot of anime on demand and the picture is better than the regular cable. I would like to get more of the Digital Basic, but I want to see a couple of bills before I say I want my Game Show network. There are even movies on Demand, but the HD movies cost money. I may see Stardust tonight in HD.
chipperFeb. 6th, 2008
09:47 am - Katsucon and Kennedy Center Screenings
I will be at Katsucon over Farpoint next weekend. The Kennedy Center is doing screenings of Appleseed Ex Machina and other films on Sunday. I am very excited about this. I need to get a room, so if you have a bed for Katsucon on Saturday night and probably Friday night. I need to know soon. It looked like I was going to be at only one of the DC/Baltimore events this year (Anime USA on staff). Sometimes it is about what you are comfortable about. I will see people at Katuscon on Saturday and some of Sunday.
chipperJan. 9th, 2008
08:15 am - A change in the early 2008 schedule
I have decided that I will not be going to Katsucon next month. The reason I am doing this is that I am tired of going to this convention. The convention never does something to wow people. I have always been wowed at one guest of Anime USA or most any other anime/Science Fiction/Comic Con. I also think you should limit the amount of Webcomics people at a convention (unless you are Connecticon).
This one has never done that. It seems as if the convention doesn't care. This isn't true, but they don't provide guests or programming that interest me. I lean towards industry panels, game shows and other show panels. I know there are people that will say go do something about it. I don't have infinite amounts of energy to staff conventions at high levels. That is why when I staff at non-department running level at every other convention I help.
I will be at a convention that weekend, though. I will be at Farpoint con in Hunt Valley, MD helping Cindy Shockley in the masquerade green room. It should be a fun few hours of an event. I should also get to meet Marina Sirtis (Troi from Star Trek:The Next Generation), so that is a plus unto it's own.
contentNov. 29th, 2007
08:36 am - Starting to think 2008 Conventions
It is that time of year when you have finished and recovered from your last convention of the year and you start to think about conventions for 2008. I don't really commit to conventions definitely more than three to four months ahead of time. Here is what I am thinking and have committed for 2008 conventions:
Ohayocon January 4th-6th- I am committed to be on Live Events staff for this convention. I should have a fun time there. It will give me a chance to meet some different fans than I usually meet and also work something I haven't done. Variety helps keep a convention runner from getting burnt out.
Katsucon February 15th-17th-Saturday day only at best. I am not impressed with their guest list. They never seem to do different things or try to have a great convention. If they don't get much to impress me with a last minute guest, I may ask for a refund (this is one of the few cons you can get your money refunded from). You would think they would try to get an Japanese director or Voice Actor or a big name band every couple of years. They draw 7,000 people to the event. Since they are going to move to a new hotel in 2009, maybe they will finally put some energy towards making the convention better.
This is where things get merky. March-May is where there are a lot of maybes.
Anime Boston is the first choice of conventions. I want to get some roommates before I commit to a badge. I will start on that quest after the first of the year. Anime Boston is one of the better run conventions out there of any genre. They work hard on getting good guests and don't over extend themselves every year. New England fans are fans that can live without a big name Japanese band. That surprises me and maybe something Anime USA should try for 2008 and get a Japanese director instead. That convention is March 21-23.
If Anime Boston doesn't work out, I may go to MTAC on April 25-27. This is in Nashville, TN and they are supposedly bringing Kaiju Big Battel to the convention. It is also an expensive flight city, but that may be a little better since Southwest has posted their airfares. Note: NY Comic Con is a no go for me because it is the weekend of a family wedding.
Balticon (Memorial Day Weekend) is a definite even if it is for an overnight. I always have fun at the closest thing out there to a relaxacon out there. The Masquerade is always fun and I hope to help out Cindy in Green Room again. I would like to go to Marcon to meet the real Kevin Standlee in person.
From June Onward, it really gets merky. I am considering Anime Expo or Worldcon over Otakon and many other things. I want to see hotel rates for both before I commit to one. I haven't even started to think about what I am doing for Anime USA next year and how it impacts all of this. I need to talk to Mark about this at the meeting on Sunday since Anime USA is in October instead of the usual Mid-November timeframe.
contentFeb. 18th, 2007
08:28 pm - Katsucon 2007 Report
It was wierd for me to go to Katsucon and say I enjoyed it. I did enjoy it. It was nice to meet some new friends and get to see panels. I saw an interesting panel on How art is done for anime dvd covers with Antimere Robinson. I also had a fun time at Anime Match Game. I mentioned that Kevin Standlee (not mentioning him by name) did a Sci Fi Match Game at Worldcon last year and the host of it said said that must have been fun for everyone there. I hope I get to see it at Denvention next year. I also broke one of my taboos by rooming with an adult female. Two of my con rooming rules are not to room with anyone under 18 and/or a female of any age. It was funny to me that the Omni Shoreham staff on the phone called me Mr. (her last name).
If Washington, DC hosts the Worldcon in 2012, I hope they use the Omni Shoreham as one of the hotels. I really like the place and I wish I had used the spa during the convention. They have the best beds that a convention fan can have. I do wish that the nice restaurant was open. It was closed because they didn't do alot of business last year that weekend because of the con being there. The guests do need an improvement, but it seems like the con had no major hiccups except for programming. That was a mess and they know about it for next year.
Dealers Room selling went well, but that wore me out. I was hoping to do it on Saturday when I could take an hour or an hour and half in there and take an hour or two break. I spent 3.5 hours in there and I didn't get to all the dealer's I wanted to this weekend. I do have a good part of the room reserved and I am glad for that. The earlier you can sell out, the easier it is for the rest of your planning for the Dealer's Room.
chipperFeb. 9th, 2007
08:17 am - Last weekend at Home
This is my last weekend at home for the full weekend until the Middle of March. I am excited to just be going to Katsucon for a day, but I do have a room at the Hotel Harrington (if I decide to stay for the Masquerade.) The last train home leaves pretty early in the evening (8:30 PM) and the next train isn't until 3 AM. THat would make for too long of a day for me.
I am never really enthused by Katsucon. The main reasons to go are to see costumers and shop. The programming isn't as full as Otakon or the con I help run. The only day that has alot of programming (besides viewing rooms) is Saturday. That is why I am probably going to just go for the day to sell Dealer's Room Space.
I am excited about New York Comic Con the weekend after that. The American Anime Awards are happening there and I have a ticket for them. It is really a fun con to be a part of. I did volunteer, but I haven't heard much about that or my ticket for the event. I hope I get the ticket soon at least. The long fandom winter in the Northeast is finally over with.
contentFeb. 3rd, 2007
10:02 am - San Diego Comic Con, Here I come
I have my San Diego Comic Con plans decided upon. It is nice to have the only things for a con that I need to work on are a roommate and the membership for the convention. I got a steal of a Airplane fare with a Airplane Voucher. I got a voucher for Airtran for $205 bucks and with taxes it was $217 from BWI to San Diego. Airfares are $394 round trip from BWI to San Diego. I am not unhappy about the price. If you are flying to Comic Con from Baltimore, Washington, or Philly, Airtran is starting service to San Diego in May.
I will finally have a chance to be out of town for five days. The flight times aren't perfect times (Leaving at let's say 8:30 AM and coming back at 6 PM), but they are liveable times. For an east coast person, you may not get a chance to go again to San Diego Comic Con. I wish it was up the coast a little bit, so I can meet Kevin Standlee. There will be other chances to do that such as at SMOFcon or Worldcon 2008 in Denver.
I am doing the convention double in a couple of weeks. I will be at Katsucon on Saturday to start selling Dealer's Space for Anime USA 2007. The next weekend I will be up in New York City for NY Comic Con. If you need a room, I have room for you. Just replay with an e-mail address and I can give you more information. I really don't know my plans at this point as I will be volunteering at some point over the weekend.
Jan. 28th, 2007
09:26 am - Pan's Labyrinth and other things
I saw Pan's Labyrinth yesterday at my local cinema. I was very impressed with the film and it's mix of fantasy and reality. The next paragraph is a review I did for the Hugo Recommend Livejounal group.
Pan's Labyrinth is one of the most interesting Fantasy films of the last year. It is about a girl who is the princess of the underworld yet she is in human form. To arrive in her proper roll, she has to perform three tasks. What makes the film great is that it isn't totally fairy tale. It is set in 1944 Spain where Franco ruled with an iron fist and was trying to stop the insurgency there. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It shows his ability to meld the fantastical with the real world. It has an air of truth to it.
What I didn't say there was I think this film should have been nominated not just for Best Foreign Language Film, but also for Best Picture. It is ashame that he won't get a chance to get the top prize of the oscars. It will be on my Hugo Ballot (when I get my pin). I am not sure how I will rank (1 or 2) when I vote because of the decision of whether to reward the harder Science Fiction Film (Children of Men) or the more Fantasy focused film.
This is the second of four straight weekends at home before going to Katsucon (to sell Dealer's Space only), New York Comic Con and the March A-USA meeting. I am working on the Dealer's Packet, which I hope to send out this week or next weekend. I am also trying to get my room straightened up, so I can get ready for some painting in March. That isn't going as well as I thought it would as I am procratinating on it. This is the worst time of the convention year when you don't have alot to look forward to for a month or so. It could always be worst I could live in Idaho that has only one convention all year.
cheerfulDec. 8th, 2006
10:02 pm - Life and Fandom
It is a very busy time as I shop for family and friends. I am sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but this is the time of year where I focus on friends and family. This is what makes this time of year, so much fun. Family Christmas is tomorrow for me and I always look forward to it. We are not a large family and only see each other twice a year because of our hectic lives. I can't wait to see Uncle Lee and for him to pick on me on my middle of the road politics. These are days that I remember as much if not more than the conventions I go to.
Speaking of Conventions, I have decided that my first convention of 2007 is New York Comic Con. I can't wait to see the larger show floor and to finally meet Stan Lee. I really hope to get to see Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone complex: Solid State Society at the show and all the other surprises that will happen at the con. I do need to get the Friday off, so I can see some of NYC. One of my regrets from last year's New York COmic Con was not seeing some of NYC.
tired