Under Our Flag, We Sing In Freedom

Holiday Anime Faire

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:12:37 GMT

A couple of us will be at the Holiday Anime Faire tommorrow. It's a bit different in that it's local community-oriented event as opposed to the usual convention setting. Instead of open mic, we'll simply be playing the music in our collection- so more like being a DJ as opposed to being a KJ. As it is Christmas season, we'll be breaking out all the anime-themed holiday music we can find.

Also, it will likely be one of the rare instances where the List of Shame is the actual requested playlist. :-)

If you're in the area c'mon by!

Friday Shouts Out

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:52:59 GMT

Some of you folks may know and remember lifftchi from Open Mic at Fanime and AX, with his spirited renditions of X Japan songs. He's also taken some pictures for AOD in the past. Well, he has just co-authored a book on Xen, an open source sysadmin tool . Check out his book here.

Also, the LA Weekly had an article yesterday on AX2003 Karaoke Contest winner Stephanie Yanez: http://bit.ly/2GENn9

We need to add these songs to the karaoke library

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:25:33 GMT

A song about Rugby, and Street Gangs...only the Japanese can mix the two and make it work. LOVE IS ALL:

I think part of the reason why rugby is so unappreciated here in the States is because it lacks good accompanying music. The NBA has its hip hop/rap, and of course there is the famous iconic music of NFL Films. Japanese rugby has...Bonnie Tyler.

Most Requested List From Fanime '09

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:11:51 GMT

These were the most requested songs from our main karaoke library during Open Mic this year.

1. Ready Steady Go
2. Simple and Clean
3(tie). God Knows
3(tie). I'll Make a Man Out of You
5. Still Doll
6. Pokemon Theme Song (English version)
7. Paper Moon
8. Tonight Tonight Tonight (Beat Crusaders/Bleach)
9. Still Alive
10(tie). Cha-La Head Cha-La
10(tie). Cutey Honey

Variants were combined. Does not include the separate American popular song library, or music that the attendee provided themselves.

You never realize how long that song is, until you do it in front of a crowd that hates it

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:46:09 GMT

I am so getting this book. Reasons:

It the first book I've ever seen about karaoke that's not a song book.
The first chapter (available for free reading here) is interesting once you get past the largely boring story of his childhood. Liked the bit about how his friend evaluated song books.
I've actually been to Village Karaoke, the place in New York he talks about in the first chapter.
The author knows way too much about bad English karaoke videos. I wonder though if he's seen Japanese ones.
It has Don't Stop Believin' in the title. Do I really need another reason?

Now if I had written this book, I think I would have called it Simple And Clean: How Karaoke Changed Convention Fandom And Overcame My Sanity. Or something like that.

p.s. AX Contest Signups are coming this week! I leave it in the capable hands of catsonmars to announce on the AX Forums.

Ultimate Transformers Fan Contest

Wed, 27 May 2009 20:33:23 GMT

Vote for lionboogy (aka "Bumblebee") for the Ultimate Transformers Fan contest!

Voting link below (he is entry 41-1241592935):

http://www.etonline.com/transformers

You can vote one per day. As they say, vote early and often and spread the word!

Nostalgia

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:27:56 GMT

It's probably been years since I've stepped inside a video room at a convention, but I got an advanced look at Fanime's video schedule, and they are dedicating a full video room just for older "classic" titles. Among the offerings are titles such as Lupin, KOR, Macross, Space Adventure Cobra, Video Girl Ai, and (gasp) even Rose of Versailles and Legend of the Galactic Heroes (although they put the latter in a crappy time slot).

There's also several titles from the "Age of just when anime was finally becoming popular here" such as Fushigi Yuugi, Lain, and Evangelion. All stuff I like, or liked. It's as if they went through the boxes of VHS fansub tapes I have in dusty storage somewhere and picked out a bunch of titles.

Different generations of anime fans consider different titles to be their vision of "old school". If you're a newer fan, it might actually be Cowboy Bebop or Outlaw Star. If you're really an old time fan, it might be Cyborg 009 (the original 1968 version) or Kimba the White Lion.

I'm sure one day, a not yet born generation of fans will look upon Bleach and Naruto with detached wonder, and think, "Wow, that's so old! My Dad used to wear those funny headbands!"

Hope to see some of you at Fanime. We'll be in the usual location.

Fanime Contest signups-

Mon, 04 May 2009 20:05:42 GMT

We set a record for Fanime Karaoke contest signups- the 25 spots were snapped up in about 25 minutes last night. We'll still be taking 10 people at con as at-con signups.

Assuming we are renewed for 2010, we'll definitely be expanding the Fanime contest.

This deserves its own post

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:01:05 GMT

Oh, and I would be amiss without sharing this link:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-02-18/canada-st-onge-to-sing-valkyria-anime-theme-song

One thing is for sure- I'll be buying at least one anime soundtrack this year!

Historical Article On Anime Conventions

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:38:29 GMT

Most folks today consider Project A-kon to be the first anime convention in the US. While A-kon is the oldest convention that is still currently running (this year will be A-kon #20), there were at least three events before A-kon dedicated to anime. This insightful article takes us back to those events and interviews some of the original organizers.

Highlights include:

Dealers room diagrams drawn by hand!
$3 registration! (or $5 for two days!)
A program guide created with a typewriter!

Read the original article

Okay, back to finishing the AOD schedule.

Had to take a moment to acknowledge this...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:20:17 GMT

Heard that Kimono My House is closing down its physical store (but will continue as an online shop). KMH opened as an anime/japanese toy store in 1980, back before there were even anime conventions. That's how old school the place was.

For those who remember anime before the age of eBay, Adult Swim, manga shelves at Borders, and convention dealer rooms, there was a distant memory when KMH was one of the few places outside of Japantown in my area to buy the latest anime stuff from Japan. And KMH got it straight from Japan- no middlemen, no Diamond Distributors. When you visited, you could ask them "hey what's new" and they'd tell you what they'd brought from their latest trip to Japan.

Getting there was a quest not unlike what you'd find in an RPG. One had to brave the industrial backroads of Emeryville (near where the Ikea is now), navigate your way through blocks of unmarked non-descript buildings, find the right portal (sometimes marked by a white weather-beaten sign), and then finally climb several flights of creaky wooden stairs all the way to the summit. Only then, sojourn complete, did you now earn the right to buy the stuff there.

In many ways, that trip was representative of what one had to do in those days to do anything anime-related, whether it be acquiring tapes to watch or finding a club, but that's another topic for another post.

I spent many a dollar there- they liked the same kinds of shows I did, so we got along well. For those of you who've seen my Harlock t-shirt and skull-and-crossbone pin that I still wear to cons today, that's where I got 'em. Many of the items there were special enough that I still have not seen them available anywhere else. Nikaku had a better selection of posters and videos/DVDs but KMH was great for just about everything else.

They used to sell at Fanime Con also, but iirc seemed to have faded from the convention scene just as Sailor Moon hit the airwaves, remaining an enduring but distant icon of the early days of local anime fandom.

Mabye I'll pay them one more visit in tribute, and raise a glass of red wine to them.

We could get it to say "FFFFFFFF" at least

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:57:30 GMT

Hmm, I wonder if we can somehow make use of this:

Vocaloid 3: Japanese Synthesized Singing Sensation Now Knows English

We should have this law at conventions

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:04:32 GMT

Michigan city bans being annoying in public

Just weird enough to share on LJ as well as Facebook...

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:11:33 GMT

It starts off so normal...and then the camera pans right.

Fanime 2009

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:40:35 GMT

We've been officially "renewed" for Fanime '09. We'll be doing the open mic and contest as usual, as well as reprising the Gong Show.

Interesting Article On Cosplay In The Olden Days

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:19:49 GMT

Just about all of this was well before my time (I'm old but not that old) but it was very interesting nonetheless just to see how far back cosplay (and anime fandom) goes in the States. It really puts things into perspective considering that some folks nowadays consider the late 1990s/early 2000s to be "old school". Would make a good documentary program.

Cosplay That Time Forgot

Some of you might have heard this already...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:54:27 GMT

Congratulations to 2002 AX Karaoke Contest Winner hime on her win in the Animax Singing Contest.

I knew you could do it all along, Catherine. Bravo!

edit: Gods that is a big trophy! Almost Stanley Cup sized!

Naruto Invades The Corporate World

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:27:37 GMT

Silly Corporate Profiles

By the way, if you haven't heard of it yet, Kayak is actually pretty neat for finding travel fares. It searches 100+ travel sites as well as the airline sites (except for Southwest, of course). Ironically enough, I heard about Kayak from a co-worker who just left to go there.

Oh wait, one more public statement I forgot:

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:17:21 GMT

RUN TO THE HILLS
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES

The best complaint I heard this weekend: "all the events are starting on time!"

The best question I got: "do you guys have Journey?"

The only public statment I am authorized to make Re: AX this year

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:18:44 GMT

I'M A COWBOY, ON A STEEL HORSE I RIDE
I'M WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

Gong Show Returns to TV

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:41:11 GMT

Hey the Gong Show is returning to TV, on Comedy Central:

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/gong_show/index.jhtml

Not much info yet but it'll start July 17 at 10:30PM. Eight episodes have been ordered.

Concert Update

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:54:27 GMT

So X Japan "postponed" its international concert plans, which to be honest was not a huge shock.

But GLAY is coming to the States! Two shows in August, one at the Fillmore in SF, one in LA at House of Blues. Might be checking that out.

Another Anime Goes Live Action.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:56:39 GMT

This could be good, or really bad.

A Sunshiny Post

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:31:41 GMT

(cross-posted in the other LJ)
Some song from some car commercial caught my attention, so after some searching around on the modern miracle known as YouTube, I found some interesting versions of it. The song is Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In, from the Broadway musical "Hair".

First, the version of the song from the movie. NOTE: It shows a spoiler of the movie ending.

Then, the version as popularized by The Fifth Dimension as part of Age of Aquarius. Love the key change in the middle. Yay for '70s special effects. This was the actual version from the TV commercial I first saw.

Now, a German techno remix of the song:

They say that a movie has only truly made it when a pr0n version is made of it. I think the equivalent for a song is when a Swedish remix version is made. I think Swedish law requires that every such group has to have two females and two males, and at least one of the males has to be, err, flamboyant:

Last but not least, the French disco version! By the contestants from the 2003 French equivalent of American Idol. Actually pretty catchy.

As If

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:17:13 GMT

While driving to work today, I heard Eyes On Me on the radio. Yes, that Eyes On Me.