Ray Reports: Animation on Display 2012

Location: Hotel Kabuki (and unofficially, the Japan Center), Japantown, San Francisco, California
Date: 2012.02.18 (Sat) to 19 (Sun)
Cost: ???
Website: http://aodsf.org
Prior attendances: 2011

Relevant links: Tweets from morning of AoD to "going to bed soon" on Sunday | Most photos

After attending Sac-Anime W'12, going to Animation on Display (AoD) is a breath of fresh air.

Animation On Display 2012: Robbie's Report

Well now, Animation on Display 2012 was quite the convention for me. Not necessarily because I had so much to do, but because everything that happened made it so much trouble for so much fun.

Fun with Anime & Economics, Revisited

As I continue to pursue a degree in Economics, I find myself applying more economic thought into how anime conventions are, as seen in the "The Mathematics of Conventions" series.

But, I remember about two years ago when I did such a thing, applying the CPI Index to the cost of a Ouran Private Academy uniform. Here, I will revisit that post and add in some new numbers reflecting new points in my "cosplay career."

CCB Report: Inaugural Capital Fight District Tournament - Feb. 11th, 2012

When I heard about Capital Fight District, I was basically jumping for joy. After all, a stand-alone fighting game tournament in Sacramento - or even the Central Valley region - is rare outside of SacAnime and SacCon. There have been some attempts to start a tournament in the region, and Capital Fight District is the latest attempt to start something that we usually see in the Bay Area and in Southern California.

The Mathematics of Conventions, Part 3: Room Stuffing

With FanimeCon opening their hotel blocks to the masses this week, the question of "to room stuff or not to room stuff" always comes up around this time up until the actual convention. Of course, we all know why most people room stuff: splitting a hotel room eight ways seems a lot cheaper than splitting a hotel room two ways or even four ways. We also know the risks and consequences associated with room stuffing: people can get kicked out of the hotel room, and often room stuffing will be used as an excuse to raise room rates for the next convention.

But my question is this: is it mathematically reasonable and economically viable to add in that next person when you already have a full room?

Friends & Associates Network Page

Dear Friends and Associates,

With the growing numbers of friends and associates within the network of the California Conventions Blog, I have branched off the Friends & Associates Network to its own page. This also allows for full banners to be placed on this page. If you have a banner that you would like to place, please let me know in an e-mail!

The URL for this page is http://www.caliconblog.net/p/friends-associates-network.html and soon friends-associates.caliconblog.net will redirect you to the same page.

Thank you, and have a great Super Bowl weekend!

Return To Our Roots, Modern Japanese History Edition

This may not be the "Return To Our Roots, Part 2" that you might be expecting, but I do plan on having a "Return To Our Roots, Part 2" if I ever make my return to Round 1 in the near future.

As I enter my final year here at Sacramento State, I'm taking a history course about Modern Japanese History from the 1800s to the present. The professor asked this question on the first day of class: How did we get from samurai and "Old Japan" to "New/Modern Japan" with cars and anime?

Notice: Staff Member Leaving

I was hoping that she would post this herself, but she has left me to do this task.

I would like to inform everyone that as of right now, Avianna Tiscareno is no longer part of the California Conventions Blog. She has moved to San Antonio, Texas due to unspecified reasons and can no longer perform the duties as a staff member.

Avi was part of the first wave of people that I hired back when I first expanded in 2010, and she did a wonderful job covering such events as Anime Five Cities and PMX in addition to anchoring coverage at Anime Expo and Anime Los Angeles. She was also the lolita expert and had much insight into Japanese fashion and music.

You will be missed Avi. Thank for you everything that you brought to this blog, and I wish you the very best in your future.

- Matthew

The Mathematics of Conventions, Part 2: Nendoroids

As of late, I've been collecting Nendoroids, starting with the Hatsune Miku Support Ver. I got back at Anime Expo 2011. I was able to pick up one at SacAnime Winter 2012, nabbing me another Hatsune Miku Nendoroid, this time Snow Miku Ver. 2010 (there's a 2011 and 2012 versions of Snow Miku as well).

The word around anime conventions is that convention dealers will markup their items versus buying online. But if you look closely and find the right dealers, you can actually save money versus buying online. However, there is always a downside.

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 5 - Epilogue