Monthly update

Alright, let’s see, haven’t blogged in a while. *looks at one line summaries of what he’s supposed to blog about*

going away party
movies with jenny and lin
fanime meetup 2

Ok then.  So going away party, Aug 1.  It was for David and Joyce.  Joyce to Seattle, David to NY.  We decided to meet up at Berkeley since that’s where it all started.  Had some fun with the “death star” sculpture.  Saw Eric’s photo on one of the banners.  Then we had dinner at Chez Panisse since we’d wanted to go there for a while but never did it so it was our last chance.  Then we went to karaoke and I got annoyed at Music Tunnel’s new system.  If I enter in “a” in Japanese in the title search, I do not expect to be greeted with a blank screen. :P  We loitered around a bit more and then parted ways.

I’ll do the second #fanime meetup next.  This was August 15.  Met up with them at the bart station, and after almost losing people a few times, we finally made it to Japantown.  The actual event was sorta blah, but it was cool seeing Amano (who did FF artwork) and bumped into BayAnime people there.  We then ate at Shabu-sen for lunch before loitering for several hours in Japantown and parting before dinner.

Finally movies.  Wanted to watch Harry Potter, but Jenny hadn’t seen the previous one, so August 8, we used a card she had to rent out HP 5 and Coraline and watched it at her place with Lin.  I thought I would’ve been bored but I guess not.  And Coraline was a cool horror movie for kids.  Today, we actually went and watched HP 6 in the theaters.  But first, I went to the SF Street Food Festival and waited a long time for Jenny to show up (:P) then waited an even longer time to get to the end of the line to get Pizza Frita from the Pizzeria Delphina booth which turned out to be too salty.  I also got onigiri from Onigilly which wasn’t bad.  We met up with Lin at the Farmer’s Market at the Metreon and had our lunch before watching the movie.  Despite knowing about The Event, I still thought it was kinda moving when it happened.  After that, we had dinner at Katanaya and their BBQ pork is so good.  Then we went to find Jenny’s ex-roommate to give her her birthday card, which led to an interesting experience of Scientology.  We tried to be polite and just watch their vid, but the receptionist was kinda pushy so I pushed back, and I think she probably deemed me as a SP, or at least labeled as “very skeptical” which felt a lot like codeword for “avoid this guy, he’s bad news” :P

The ironic thing is, I’d actually be interested in watching their video (the same way I watch Creationist videos).  Just leave me alone and don’t try to start trouble yourself and we’ll all be happy. :P

VAMPS

A waste of $4.5 and 4.5 on free tickets to VAMPS that I won at Fanime.

First my review of the venue (The Regency Ballroom):

$1.50 for the two bottles of water they confiscated at the door.
$3.00 for making me coat check my bag because I had a “professional camera” (DSLR) and only “digital cameras” are allowed.

If you’re gonna coat check my damn bag then don’t grab and throw my water away without warning.  Also, when you do that to people, I’m not gonna pay $5 for your water inside.

Also, be consistent on the photography rules.
1) The MC actually said no *flash* photography allowed for the band, despite what your sign and security guy said.  Get it straight which it’s supposed to be.
2) If flash photography is not allowed, then it makes even less sense to force people with DSLRs to coat check those given those are the type of camera that can have the big ass lenses that don’t require flash in the first place.

Fire your idiot security.  Or management.

Next, my thoughts on the band/event itself.

1) A couple hundred people jumping on the floor = earthquake
2) What is up with those weird hand gestures.  Some people looked like they were having an epilepsy with the way they were shaking their hand. :P  Seems like most people were doing the satan sign  (index and pinkie) and the love sign (index pinkie thumb) with their hands, though looking at his videos on Youtube, I think this is a US thing as these weren’t nearly as common in those vids.  Hyde himself only did peace/victory (index and middle), which is more commonly mimicked in the videos.
3) Only two or three people with glowsticks.  Only one of them with a cyalume.
4) Again, girls seemed to get more in the mood.  Suspect boy band phenomenon a la Alice Summerthing.
5) Hyde talking in the middle was cool, through his Engrish.  :P  The best part was him noticing that SF has a Hyde street.
6) Hyde drinking and then spitting the water on the crowd, then tossing the water out of the water bottle at the crowd.
7) Lots of instrument switching.  KAZ would show off each new one.
8) One song I think had the bass player acting like a puppet.
9) They also did some covers.  Trouble – Shampoo and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – Beatles.
10) Needed to use my headphones as earplugs.  They were selling earplugs for $1 at the coat check.
11) I felt a little like the guy in this K-On clip.

The gist of the video is: She’s rejected by the guy she likes because he likes wild girls.  So she changes for him.  But in the end, he tells her she’s gone too far and she’s rejected again. :P

Recent Saturdays

7/11 – Bayanime karaoke meetup.  Bunch of people from BAUU showed up as well.  They picked Fillmore Karaoke which is a meh place AFAIC.  Very few Japanese songs, which is weird given this is an anime group.  A bunch of us ate at On the Bridge again.  The waitress this time wasn’t as good.

7/18 – Jenny and Nick’s birthday.  After much panic trying to get food from the restaurant and catching the Muni on time (came pretty much at the same time), ended up being delayed for over an hour because there was a train wreck at West Portal station.  Incredibly aggravating.  Lots of strangers.  Not many BST people left.  Learned, played, and won Race for the Galaxy.  Would not teach that to new players.  I find I don’t have much patience nowadays.  Parlour games were basically hide and seek and tag.

Recent events

Two weekends ago, I was supposed to go help volunteer at the API Equality booth on Saturday.  They never showed up.  I walked around but didn’t really feel like taking pics.  Sunday, decided I didn’t really want to be in the crowd so didn’t go to the parade.  I notice several days later they’d left a message saying they didn’t have a booth so it had been canceled, but that we could join them for the parade if we wanted to.  Don’t think I would’ve really wanted to. :P

Last weekend, met up with Jenny and her friends in Moraga to watch fireworks.  I think for once, I may actually have fireworks pictures not obscured by cloud/fog.  Though the wind still creates some odd effects.

Today, met up with #fanime people.  Meeting people from online is a bit odd but people were friendly and we had fun.  Without my guidance, they ended up taking the very scenic route through SF. :P  We met up at Pacific Catch for dinner.

Alice Summerthing 2009

Well.  As usual food there is overpriced and not that good.  Why do I always decide to eat there though? :(

Was still eating lunch when Parachute came up.   By the time I got sorta close they’d just finished.  Waited for Sugar Ray, who were kinda entertaining.  Then I napped under a tree away from the crowds and got sunburnt (the shade moved) while Matt Nathanson was playing, and didn’t stay for Gavin Rosdale.

The concerts and the crowd was generally pretty mellow.  Which was actually kinda disappointing as I was trying to see if there were songs which were suitable otagei.  Sugar Ray did eventually do a couple rock songs that I felt would work, but nobody’s put a video up of that.  The DJ they had was fun though.  But generally, the crowd responsiveness felt sort of lukewarm.

I mean, compare with :P

Though watching the videos now from further back, looks like the girls were getting into the mood.  Maybe it’s a male-band thing.

Someone had a huge-ass $5000 lens attached to a full-frame camera.  Another photographer next to me joked about how that lens cost more than his last car. :P  I think that was probably overkill for the concert.

Also, thank goodness for earphones doubling as earplugs.  Don’t think I could’ve been able to withstand standing so close to the speakers for so long otherwise.

Not directly related, but I got a voicemail from Radio Alice the previous week thanking me for listening to their radio/going to their site and inviting feedback.  It was definitely a personalized call though as they were trying to say my name and talking about butchering the pronunciation

BayAnime, Bird Nest, Ankle

Saturday I met up with people from BayAnime in Japantown.  First meeting for the group actually.  I’ve been looking for some group to expend my excess energy ever since Fanime so this is a good thing.  I actually met some of the people before I reached the meeting place (On the Bridge).  I actually thought they might’ve been going to it beforehand, but it wasn’t when they mentioned On the Bridge in their conversation that I was sure. :P

Anyway, 13 people showed up.  Food was actually pretty good and with proper portions for the price.  The waitress also gave us all a free soup or salad because of such a large group.  The owner talked to one of the group members a bit in Japanese, and then later gave us all some marshmallow with chocolate-filling for dessert.  Very good service.

Pretty varied backgrounds.  SFSU anime club co-presidents, someone from Gaia Online, Sailor Moon, people who’d gone to Fanime.  A lot of people were working (or even came from work) so I didn’t feel like the age group was too young.  Lots of interest in gaming too.  Got a beardog pin.

Sunday, while outside, I saw a bird nest on the ground.  Thought about putting it back in the tree, but unfortunately it had flipped over when it fell so the two eggs were cracked.  A boy walked by and asked me what it was, when I told him, his instinct was also to put it back in the tree.  I liked that pure, innocent nature, though he too gave up when I told him the eggs were already cracked.

Today, went for my 6-month checkup on my ankle.  X-rays look good.    I still have a little stiffness when I lift my ankle-inward.  Doctor said there should be improvement up to a year, and my surgery was in October, so it may still get better.  Still weird seeing all that metal in my leg.

Dine about Town and Up

Thursday I went to Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine with Jenny for lunch for Dine About Town.  The appetizer sampler was nice in its variety (Sampler Trio – Crunchy Golden Lobster Potsticker, Teppanyaki Seared Shrimp and a daily Sushi Bite).  I liked my main course, which was “short ribs” (Honey Mustard Garlic-Charred Beef Short Ribs – Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Natural Sauce) though it had no actual rib.  Jenny had fish (Roy’s Classic Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with Lobster Butter Sauce) which she thought was a bit dry.    The dessert was Hawaiian Passion Fruit Tart which we thought was meh.  She doesn’t like fruit, and I thought the fruits were too sour.

After work, we went to see Up in 3D.  Story itself was kinda touching but predictable in all aspects.  The 3D effect was well-done.  Haven’t actually seen 3D movies since I was a kid at Disneyland and the glasses were still red and blue.  I guess the glasses they have now are basically polarizers.  I wonder what would happen if I used my camera polarizer, would it work, or are the 3D effects tuned for these glasses?  We did notice that without the glasses, everything looked blurry, and fast moving things didn’t look smooth.  The glasses were also a bit uncomfortable, hanging out further out on my nose than my normal glasses, making it feel weird/itchy.

20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square and the Chinese censors are running amok

http://www.danwei.org/net_nanny_follies/twitter_domain_blocked_in_chin.php

http://www.danwei.org/net_nanny_follies/chinese_websites_under_mainten.php

Those are the two main articles to look at.  The funny thing is, while trying to post these links on Xiaonei, I ran into some interesting censorship.

The link to the second URL, the google spreadsheet link inside it, a tinyurl link to the spreadsheet, and the words “tiananmen” and “中国网站维护日” all cause the following error to pop up:

“请不要发布政治敏感内容、色情内容、商业广告或其他不恰当内容”

Edit: Looks like even “June 4″ and “20th” is blocked.

More Fanime Halko Momoi concert

Interestingly, I still have not crashed.  I think the energy of her songs (which I’ve been listening to, esp. someone’s recording of the concert) is continuing to keep my mind in a pretty hyper state.

Here’s a nice video showing the complete otagei of her LOVE.EXE song in Japan, which means I at least have one video from which to practice.  Whee.

If you have a niconico video account, http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/1236649570 is even better, esp. since it has all the scrolling comments (which helps in understanding what the people are yelling)

Here’s someone’s recording of the same song at Fanime.  In retrospect, I am very glad I didn’t make it onto the stage now. :P

This is probably one of the only ways to make me dance willingly. :P

Fanime 2nd half report (Halko Momoi concert)

Sunday – Finally the wallet comes out.  I got some figurines for Joyce basically as thanks for the help with the hotel room.  Got myself some Touhou playing cards from the Dealer’s Hall and a Patchouli Knowledge bookmark in the Artist Alley.

So the original plan was to go to the MusicFest, but while going there, I saw a couple girls sit down next to the guy who was the start of the line.  I thought they were crazy and went in and put my bag down.  But after a bit, I decided screw it, I don’t really care about the bands for the MusicFest anyway, and so I went and plopped myself down with the line as #4.  This was about 1:45.  The concert wasn’t going to begin till 8.  Yeah. :P  I just decided I may as well do something crazy for once.

Eventually people start lining up.  I think they thought it was weird that even though I hadn’t heard of Momoi until a couple days ago, I was in line this already. :P  I got Ultra Orange #2 and a bottle of water for that though, I think.  Thankfully, the sun moved and we got the shade for most of our wait.  Eventually while they were passing out the glowsticks to everyone else, I got Ultra Orange #3.  Despite this, I ended up having to get another 2 glowsticks during the concert (a blue one for one of the songs, and another orange one for the encore).

There was a bit of confusion when we were finally allowed in and we thought we weren’t allowed to sit at the front.  But we were.  Unfortunately, the hesitation meant there weren’t enough seats for all of us at the front and center row, so some of the people who were waiting with us went to the side.  The first act wasn’t actually Momoi though, it was the Makenai group from the afternoon.  Apparently, the girls were only interested in that and left after that so the seating turned out ok.

The convention people would turn out to be a little oppressive though.  The fans were doing a live web stream, but they were forced to close it down because the hall was unionized and they’d have to pay some union worker $3000 + $300 webcast fee.  Regular recording was apparently allowed though.  http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Ruezu&view=videos has some videos.  I’d be somewhere in the front row, with the regular dull glowsticks (compared to their battery powered glowsticks) and not entirely sure of what I’m supposed to be doing half the time. :P  There’s also an audio recording where you can hear the calls going on.

At one point, Momoi made Jun-chan (the head maid of the maid cafe) go up and sing the ENOZ song.  She also let people up on the stage for the LOVE.EXE song.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know what was happening till too late and got stopped by the rovers. :( Though I guess that’s better, since I wasn’t wearing one of her shirts like the others, and wouldn’t know what to do either.  Apparently someone also accidentally unplugged the guitarists’s guitar, and one of the guys noticed and plugged it back for him.

Another interesting point of note, her dress for this performance was made in Taiwan.

I got some goods after the concert (shirt, CD), and a lot of the fans stayed around to continue the live webcast.  The convention people continued to be anal about it though,  and turned off the lights on us (I went back later and the lights were on then too).  It didn’t matter, and people just used glowsticks/flashlights for lighting.  They actually started doing the Nico Nico Douga medley again.  Eventually most of the group left to get food I think, but some went to the convention center to finish the webcast, which was filled with random stuff.  I guess it’s somewhere on Nico Nico Video.  I decided to go back to my room then.  But then I noticed I couldn’t find my call book.  Went back down to find it and couldn’t find it.  Luckily I ran into them again and managed to get another book from them.

Momoists up on the stage with Momoi

Monday – Got up really early to check out and meet Joyce.  But Joyce overslept so I went to wait in line, which was already forming 2 hours before the signing event.  I got my CD case cover signed.  Convention people again imposed random rules and wouldn’t even let us take any photos inside (it was supposed to be no posing only).  I also decided to get a wristband.

Went to the Para Para panel and that’s when Joyce arrived.  Everything was completely foreign to her since this is her first convention, so I had to explain stuff to her.  What was ironic was that she was using a friend’s Industry pass.  Introduced her to Wei-chen and helped her pick out a couple wall scrolls for her brother.  Watched some AMVs, watched people para paraing (one of the instructors from the panel was at the arcade), put stuff in her car, and then watched the closing ceremonies, which consisted of AMVs and a charity auction.  The most interesting thing was when they were auctioning off a Wii guitar signed by every guest of honor, including Momoi.  Instant attention from every Momoi fan in the room.  In fact, Jun-chan’s boyfriend started the bid at $100, and made a gesture at me.  Quick bidding war that eventually ended at $250.  But he passed on that.  Then they announced there was a *second* guitar.  He gave in on that.  If he couldn’t do it, I think I would’ve been willing to help augment his bid by a few bucks.  Last thing to go was a Wii signed by last year and this year’s guests of honors.  Starting bid was $600… nobody was willing to do it.  Eventually a staffer made the bid and donated it back for next year’s auction again.  You could tell it was done as a “somebody has to do it” move, but very awesome regardless.

Some observations/thoughts now that Fanime is over:

1) The momoists are some of the coolest and most generous people I’ve ever met.

2) It’s a good thing I didn’t win the exclusive Yamaga invitation earlier, since that was the same time as the Momoi concert.  Would’ve altered my life a little bit I think.

3) The whole glomping/hugging thing is fascinating.  I’m not sure why it’s such a feature in anime conventions.  I think it’s the whole people letting loose.  I was still being my pretty introverted self, but I was quite a bit more willing to try things out.  Certainly talked to a lot more strangers than I usually would.

4) While at the convention, I was basically living in a completely separate reality.  Completely ignored everything from my usual life.

5) This convention has rekindled my geek interests by quite a bit.  I haven’t really been watching anime/listening to Japanese music for a while now, and I’ve pretty much spent the entire day listening to Japanese music, and Haruhi is now in its 2nd season which means something to watch (just as American shows I were watching are reaching their finales).

6) Kingdom Hearts cosplayers tend to uniformly have pretty cool costumes (their keys).

7) Wearing furry costumes will get you a lot of glomps/hugs.

8) Convention food/drink is way too expensive.  $4 bottles of water just should not happen, especially if you can get the same water a block away from a restaurant for $1.60.  This is a safety hazard as it causes people to drink less fluids than they really should be drinking.

9) I’m tempted to do some otage at the next American concert I go to with friends, just so I can have people stare at me and wonder what the heck I’m doing.  Bonus points if I can get said friends to do it with me (chance of that happening?  <1%)

10) I guess I should find some Para Para videos and just practice off that if I actually want to try the machine next year.