I noticed that a lot of people are drinking the MAX Kool-Aid, and we're not even at the end of the calendar year. So many people want to jump to MAX because "AX doesn't have a refund policy" or "Lattanzio **bleep**ed everything up, therefore let's go to MAX because we know it's not going to be **bleep**ed even though the chairs of the SPJA have admitted to the mistakes of AX 2010 and are working to solve them for AX 2011."
Well, what about the other conventions? Last time I checked, conventions like Sakura-Con and Otakon don't allow refunds either, so why is everyone complaining that AX has a no-refund policy? I'm getting a sense that people want a refund policy so that they can book for AX 2011, then cancel when AX hits rock bottom without any penalty and then enjoy themselves at MAX while AX becomes the next Titanic.
People are jumping onto the MAX bandwagon without knowing what's going to happen at AX 2011 and at MAX 2011. There is a huge amount of uncertainty that I have for MAX 2011, and its all boils down to the "no badge fees." They are asking for a lot of sponsorships at both the general level ranging from a Media Sponsor to a Presenting Sponsor as well for specific events like the Masquerade or the AniMaid Cafe as illustrated in the Propsoal PDF that's available on their website, not to mention my earlier argument of how this convention is going to pay for everything. Like I said before, I'm not sure a convention can live off of sponsorships and dealers hall fees with no badge fees. You also have the remember that this convention has a short and in a way shaky history if you know the whole story. With AX, it's been an up-and-down type of affair but at least it's still one of the biggest cons in North America and still one of the most prestigious. And until AX disappears off the convention map, which is highly unlikely in 2011, it will stay that way.
So for now I'll pass on the MAX Kool-Aid, but most likely I won't be drinking any.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Zanney's Quick-Update
Well it seems I hit a nasty little speed bump early in the game. But worry not! Even though I'm missing YaoiCon, I can always try again next year. In the meantime, I plan to write a report of an event that I'm hosting at the end of the month--Global Hetalia Day!
I work as the spokesperson for the Los Angeles division of a global holiday for fans of the series Hetalia: Axis Powers that takes place yearly on October 24th, which is the same day as United Nations Day if you check your calendar.
There'll be a nifty little photo album that I'll post up here for my lovely readers out there, and I'll have a magazine-article style report of how things went for the day. For now, I'm kind of buried in preparations for that. I can definitely tell you that this event wouldn't be made possible without the countless volunteers that have given me and my co-host their time and effort and even some extra effort and elbow grease. We're hoping to put on a really great event this year!
After Hetalia Day, I've got Pacific Media Expo. I'm gonna be hitting the town with my good friend Avi, who's joined me and the guys here at CaliCon Blog on all sorts of other epic adventures, to bring you all the latest and greatest information on trendy Japanese fashion, music and art--not to mention coverage of the famous Lolita Fashion Show.
This blog doesn't usually cover Japanese pop-culture beyond anime, but since I joined up to bring you readers yet another perspective on the anime world of California, I might as well show you what's hot in SoCal--and right now, Japanese stuff is trendy. In fact, the fashion industry of both the East and West influence each other often enough to consider California a pretty accurate representation of the awesome mash-up that is the fashion scene.
I myself have been a fan of clothing styles like Elegant Gothic Lolita, which even branches off into several different styles within a style. I like to design clothing, so this convention happens to be a gold mine for me. I'm really looking forward to the new and improved fashion hall this year--especially since my favorite store 'Baby, The Stars Shine Bright' is bringing by one of their brand-managers for their store as well as the spin-off shop, 'Alice & The Pirates.'
I'm also something of an amateur Asian Ball Joint Doll fanatic, and since the cute Pullip I ordered earlier in the month will be arriving in the mail soon I'll definitely hit up the BJD meets. I feel like it'd be a pretty cool idea to show you guys the beautiful styles of clothing the dolls wear, not to mention some of them are based on anime and manga. A friend of mine has a Dolfie Dream based on Mikuru Asahina from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as well as a Pullip like mine who is designed to look like Suisei-Seki from Rozen Maiden.
Last year we had amazing Guests of Honor in attendance like Nabeshin, one of my all-time favorite anime directors. I actually met him in an elevator by chance last year, which was definitely one of the highlights of my convention experience for 2009!
They haven't posted too much information on who we'll be expecting for 2010, but I'll definitely keep you guys posted as I hear more about it.
Last but not least, I'll be in attendance at Anime Los Angeles 2011 with CaliCon Blog and the SoCal Host Club to reprise my amateur-role as Mistukuni Haninozuka from Ouran High School Host Club. We're gonna be working with the lovely ladies of Mochi Cafe, so I'm really excited for that.
Also, I will be joining Matt as his lovely assistant for the Shin Megami Tensei franchise meet-up this time around for the unveiling of my first female character in ages, Minako Arisato from Persona 3 Portable!
The winter convention season is looking good, so stay tuned for updates from everyone on the blog--not just talkative people like me.
I work as the spokesperson for the Los Angeles division of a global holiday for fans of the series Hetalia: Axis Powers that takes place yearly on October 24th, which is the same day as United Nations Day if you check your calendar.
There'll be a nifty little photo album that I'll post up here for my lovely readers out there, and I'll have a magazine-article style report of how things went for the day. For now, I'm kind of buried in preparations for that. I can definitely tell you that this event wouldn't be made possible without the countless volunteers that have given me and my co-host their time and effort and even some extra effort and elbow grease. We're hoping to put on a really great event this year!
After Hetalia Day, I've got Pacific Media Expo. I'm gonna be hitting the town with my good friend Avi, who's joined me and the guys here at CaliCon Blog on all sorts of other epic adventures, to bring you all the latest and greatest information on trendy Japanese fashion, music and art--not to mention coverage of the famous Lolita Fashion Show.
This blog doesn't usually cover Japanese pop-culture beyond anime, but since I joined up to bring you readers yet another perspective on the anime world of California, I might as well show you what's hot in SoCal--and right now, Japanese stuff is trendy. In fact, the fashion industry of both the East and West influence each other often enough to consider California a pretty accurate representation of the awesome mash-up that is the fashion scene.
I myself have been a fan of clothing styles like Elegant Gothic Lolita, which even branches off into several different styles within a style. I like to design clothing, so this convention happens to be a gold mine for me. I'm really looking forward to the new and improved fashion hall this year--especially since my favorite store 'Baby, The Stars Shine Bright' is bringing by one of their brand-managers for their store as well as the spin-off shop, 'Alice & The Pirates.'
I'm also something of an amateur Asian Ball Joint Doll fanatic, and since the cute Pullip I ordered earlier in the month will be arriving in the mail soon I'll definitely hit up the BJD meets. I feel like it'd be a pretty cool idea to show you guys the beautiful styles of clothing the dolls wear, not to mention some of them are based on anime and manga. A friend of mine has a Dolfie Dream based on Mikuru Asahina from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as well as a Pullip like mine who is designed to look like Suisei-Seki from Rozen Maiden.
Last year we had amazing Guests of Honor in attendance like Nabeshin, one of my all-time favorite anime directors. I actually met him in an elevator by chance last year, which was definitely one of the highlights of my convention experience for 2009!
They haven't posted too much information on who we'll be expecting for 2010, but I'll definitely keep you guys posted as I hear more about it.
Last but not least, I'll be in attendance at Anime Los Angeles 2011 with CaliCon Blog and the SoCal Host Club to reprise my amateur-role as Mistukuni Haninozuka from Ouran High School Host Club. We're gonna be working with the lovely ladies of Mochi Cafe, so I'm really excited for that.
Also, I will be joining Matt as his lovely assistant for the Shin Megami Tensei franchise meet-up this time around for the unveiling of my first female character in ages, Minako Arisato from Persona 3 Portable!
The winter convention season is looking good, so stay tuned for updates from everyone on the blog--not just talkative people like me.
Monday, October 11, 2010
YaoiCon 2010 - Are YOU man enough?
How'd you all like my intro post? As you can probably already tell, I'm a bit of a jokester. Consider me this group's comic relief, I guess. I'm also the only girl at the moment, which is sort of a cliche novelty, but also a bit interesting. Most male anime fans don't have a reason to get into genres like Shounen-Ai, what with the demographic and all, so that means a blog with an all-male writing staff wouldn't do much with it.
I'm about to change that, though. *evil grin*
Thusly, does this train of thought bring us to my first mission here at the CaliCon Blog:
YaoiCon 2010
Since it is now my grave duty to review a con that is notorious for quite a few outrageous rumors, I think it's my job to become something like the Mythbusters and figure out whether or not it really is true that all the attendees are single, easily-wooed-into-bed, women. So I'll pretty much be answering the age-old question of "Can a guy get laid at this con?" for everyone who's been dying to hear the answer we all already know.
Among the YaoiCon myths and rumors, there are also some unique guests of honor this year, such as Hidenobu Kiuchi--who provided his voice acting talents to series like Nana, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, and Prince of Tennis. We also have the standard regular, Ayano Yamane, who has attended YaoiCon as a GoH since 2004 when she was a rising star of Yaoi. Now she's a household name to fujoushi worldwide!
There are also countless sparkly-sounding events like Bishie Brunch, Bishie Bingo and Bishie Auction, there's a host cafe with REALLY good soup for lunch (which I sampled last year~), your standard fan-panels and copsplay meet-ups and the Masquerade competition, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show (as expected of a San Fransisco Area convention!) and since this year is YaoiCon's 10th Anniversary, there's even MORE shiny new events to check out, like a Carnival and a Hallowe'en booth decorating contest for fan-vendors.
I've also heard that the dealer's room at YaoiCon is pretty sweet, and last year they had two different rooms forindustry booths, plus the Artist Alley, Swap-Meet and Fan Vendors area. Since there's a pretty good chance most of the swag I return home with will contain explicit content, I'll probably just WRITE my swag list this time around, hahaha~
I was also invited to attend YaoiCon with a group of cosplayers from my local area known as CrazyOtakusPro, who are not your average cosplay crew. They're about the same size as the talkative Italian family that squeezes around a normal-sized dining room table for dinner every day in the movies, and they really do act like a loud and boisterous family of cosplayers. COP takes pride in their camaraderie and group-events, and they've got a very diverse range of interests in anime, despite most of their photo shoots involving just Naruto.
While they do draw influences from the more famous cosplay groups like FightingDreamersPro and KoiCosplay, they are their own organization and they just go with the flow. They have a member forum where they plan events and a deviantART group with tons of fun cosplay photos.
They also regularly update their YouTube Channel with all sorts of amusing cosplay shenanigans, such as a parody of a Lady GaGa parody called "Butterfish" which features the group's Kisame cosplayer, a charismatic fellow who goes my the name--you guesses it--Fish. The CMV is great for a hearty chuckle, and I recommend checking them out.
You can check 'em out on their dA here.
Note: California Conventions Blog is in no way associated with CrazyOtakusPro, FightingDreamersPro or KoiCosplay. The writer of this entry is simply an appreciative fan of all three, and glad to be able to tag along with COP for a convention this month. We do not share the opinions of any of these groups, nor do we endorse them in any way. They're their own people. We all just love what we do--cosplay. :-)
I'm about to change that, though. *evil grin*
Thusly, does this train of thought bring us to my first mission here at the CaliCon Blog:
YaoiCon 2010
Since it is now my grave duty to review a con that is notorious for quite a few outrageous rumors, I think it's my job to become something like the Mythbusters and figure out whether or not it really is true that all the attendees are single, easily-wooed-into-bed, women. So I'll pretty much be answering the age-old question of "Can a guy get laid at this con?" for everyone who's been dying to hear the answer we all already know.
Among the YaoiCon myths and rumors, there are also some unique guests of honor this year, such as Hidenobu Kiuchi--who provided his voice acting talents to series like Nana, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, and Prince of Tennis. We also have the standard regular, Ayano Yamane, who has attended YaoiCon as a GoH since 2004 when she was a rising star of Yaoi. Now she's a household name to fujoushi worldwide!
There are also countless sparkly-sounding events like Bishie Brunch, Bishie Bingo and Bishie Auction, there's a host cafe with REALLY good soup for lunch (which I sampled last year~), your standard fan-panels and copsplay meet-ups and the Masquerade competition, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show (as expected of a San Fransisco Area convention!) and since this year is YaoiCon's 10th Anniversary, there's even MORE shiny new events to check out, like a Carnival and a Hallowe'en booth decorating contest for fan-vendors.
I've also heard that the dealer's room at YaoiCon is pretty sweet, and last year they had two different rooms forindustry booths, plus the Artist Alley, Swap-Meet and Fan Vendors area. Since there's a pretty good chance most of the swag I return home with will contain explicit content, I'll probably just WRITE my swag list this time around, hahaha~
I was also invited to attend YaoiCon with a group of cosplayers from my local area known as CrazyOtakusPro, who are not your average cosplay crew. They're about the same size as the talkative Italian family that squeezes around a normal-sized dining room table for dinner every day in the movies, and they really do act like a loud and boisterous family of cosplayers. COP takes pride in their camaraderie and group-events, and they've got a very diverse range of interests in anime, despite most of their photo shoots involving just Naruto.
While they do draw influences from the more famous cosplay groups like FightingDreamersPro and KoiCosplay, they are their own organization and they just go with the flow. They have a member forum where they plan events and a deviantART group with tons of fun cosplay photos.
They also regularly update their YouTube Channel with all sorts of amusing cosplay shenanigans, such as a parody of a Lady GaGa parody called "Butterfish" which features the group's Kisame cosplayer, a charismatic fellow who goes my the name--you guesses it--Fish. The CMV is great for a hearty chuckle, and I recommend checking them out.
You can check 'em out on their dA here.
Note: California Conventions Blog is in no way associated with CrazyOtakusPro, FightingDreamersPro or KoiCosplay. The writer of this entry is simply an appreciative fan of all three, and glad to be able to tag along with COP for a convention this month. We do not share the opinions of any of these groups, nor do we endorse them in any way. They're their own people. We all just love what we do--cosplay. :-)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Kintoki-Con 2011
So I found out through Facebook that there is going to be another convention in Sacramento called Kintoki-Con, and it'll be held June 18-19, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. Yeah, it's sandwiched in between FanimeCon and Anime Expo (assuming that I go to both in 2011), but I can always cut the costs down by commuting to and from the con each day and knowing all the cheap eateries in downtown Sacramento, plus it's not a con where I would be buying merchandise.
This is their website if you want to check out more information, as well as the Facebook Event page.
I will be checking out their press registration information at the beginning of 2011, and I look forward to pressing at the 1st ever Kintoki-Con.
This is their website if you want to check out more information, as well as the Facebook Event page.
I will be checking out their press registration information at the beginning of 2011, and I look forward to pressing at the 1st ever Kintoki-Con.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A New Blogger Appears! [Zanney's First Update]
Hello, ladies!
Look at your blog.
Now back to me.
Now back at your blog.
Now back to me.
Sadly, your favorite blog is not updated by me.
But if you stopped looking to pink-loving, sparkling, shoujo-bubble-headed bloggers on LJ, and switched to California Conventions Blog, your RSS feed would be updated by me.
Look down.
Back up.
Where are you?
You're on a boat, motherf*cker, and don't you EVER forget with the blog your blog's updates could look like.
What's in your hand?
Back at me.
I have it:
It's a DVD box with two tickets to that convention you love.
Look again--
The tickets are now mochi!
Anything is possible when your favorite Japanese pop-culture blog is written by someone who actually knows what they're talking about, and here at California Conventions Blog, we know our stuff.
I'm on a Cat Bus.
Look at your blog.
Now back to me.
Now back at your blog.
Now back to me.
Sadly, your favorite blog is not updated by me.
But if you stopped looking to pink-loving, sparkling, shoujo-bubble-headed bloggers on LJ, and switched to California Conventions Blog, your RSS feed would be updated by me.
Look down.
Back up.
Where are you?
You're on a boat, motherf*cker, and don't you EVER forget with the blog your blog's updates could look like.
What's in your hand?
Back at me.
I have it:
It's a DVD box with two tickets to that convention you love.
Look again--
The tickets are now mochi!
Anything is possible when your favorite Japanese pop-culture blog is written by someone who actually knows what they're talking about, and here at California Conventions Blog, we know our stuff.
I'm on a Cat Bus.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Already Looking Forward to Anime Los Angeles 7
By the time Anime Los Angeles 7 rolls around in January, finances should improve and any and all personal problems will have probably been dealt with.
There are so many things planned out for this year's con.
For starters, the SoCal Host Club is teaming up with San Diego's Mochi Cafe to provide this unique experience of a combination of a Host Club and a Maid Cafe! We have all our paperwork in, so we're waiting to hear what the plan is, but most likely we will be on Saturday around the same time we had the SoCal Host Club at ALA 6 then some. We are also looking at doing the same informational panel we did at FanimeCon and Anime Expo, but I'll come back to this in a bit.
There's also other panels that I want to attend and/or is being asked to be a part of. Based upon the track records of panels this year, you can probably guess what they are.
You can't forget about Cosplay Chess, and with a more accurate Junpei to showcase at the event I'll be better than ever! Plus I'm looking at filming the event for archival purposes and for the blog. Let's just hope that the SoCal Host Club Informational Panel doesn't run up against anything that I really want to do, especially panels and/or Cosplay Chess, especially if I'm asked to be part of said panels or put to the task of filming Cosplay Chess.
Of course, there are the cosplay gatherings that will be held. I'm looking forward to running a successful SMT/Persona Gathering after the dud at Anime Vegas. There's also Hetalia and Code Geass that we will be part of, as well as some other gatherings that we might attend. There's also supposed to be a kick-ass Highschool of the Dead group, and I want to get some shots of that group.
And finally, the "late-night events." Enough said.
Room is booked, roommates booked in, and I'm about to pay for my registration. All that's really left is the flight down there on Friday morning.
There are so many things planned out for this year's con.
For starters, the SoCal Host Club is teaming up with San Diego's Mochi Cafe to provide this unique experience of a combination of a Host Club and a Maid Cafe! We have all our paperwork in, so we're waiting to hear what the plan is, but most likely we will be on Saturday around the same time we had the SoCal Host Club at ALA 6 then some. We are also looking at doing the same informational panel we did at FanimeCon and Anime Expo, but I'll come back to this in a bit.
There's also other panels that I want to attend and/or is being asked to be a part of. Based upon the track records of panels this year, you can probably guess what they are.
You can't forget about Cosplay Chess, and with a more accurate Junpei to showcase at the event I'll be better than ever! Plus I'm looking at filming the event for archival purposes and for the blog. Let's just hope that the SoCal Host Club Informational Panel doesn't run up against anything that I really want to do, especially panels and/or Cosplay Chess, especially if I'm asked to be part of said panels or put to the task of filming Cosplay Chess.
Of course, there are the cosplay gatherings that will be held. I'm looking forward to running a successful SMT/Persona Gathering after the dud at Anime Vegas. There's also Hetalia and Code Geass that we will be part of, as well as some other gatherings that we might attend. There's also supposed to be a kick-ass Highschool of the Dead group, and I want to get some shots of that group.
And finally, the "late-night events." Enough said.
Room is booked, roommates booked in, and I'm about to pay for my registration. All that's really left is the flight down there on Friday morning.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
So, Who Wants A Banner Contest?
UPDATED 10/18/10 - Added Zanney to the Chibi Hetalia banner list
As we draw closer to 2011 and the 5th year of the California Conventions Blog, I would love to have a new banner, one that would be a permanent banner for the blog!
And for that, I announce the 1st ever banner and logo contest for the California Conventions Blog!
Here are the guidelines:
Also, permanent link to Banner Contest here!
As we draw closer to 2011 and the 5th year of the California Conventions Blog, I would love to have a new banner, one that would be a permanent banner for the blog!
And for that, I announce the 1st ever banner and logo contest for the California Conventions Blog!
Here are the guidelines:
- I am looking for two banners: one that has chibi versions of myself, Ryan, Lucas, and Zanney from our Hetalia cosplays and one that represents California.
- I am also looking for a logo for the California Conventions Blog, which will be part of the banner that you create and for promotional material such as our business cards and fliers.
- This banner must also indicate our 5th Year Anniversary.
- The dimensions of the banner must be 611x111 pixels. No more, no less.
- Please e-mail me the following when you are ready to submit: the banner with the 5th Year Anniversary notation, the banner without the 5th Year Anniversary notation so that we can use this banner past 2011, and the California Conventions Blog logo.
- There will be two winners, one from the Chibi Hetalia Cosplay banner and the California banner. Each winner will receive $20 in PayPal credit and the honor of being part of the California Conventions Blog as our banner and logo designers which will include future commissions for new banners and logos.
- The deadline to submit is December 26th, 2010 at 8:59PM PST/11:59PM EST.
Also, permanent link to Banner Contest here!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)