Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and the Comets
Music choice today has been determined by my current class, aptly named "The History of Rock." A 300-level class taught by Dr. Brewer, it seems extremely laid back and entertaining thus far. I feel a faint sense of repulsion due to the extreme saturation of 50's memorabilia and nostalgia in our culture, but that isn't the music's fault.
So, Anaheim. The drive through Colorado and Utah was quite nice, actually. We had an excellent cloud cover with occasional rain all the way through (both going and returning). Vegas traffic blew, and the Mojave is always a bitch, but those were expected. Traffic into Anaheim was slow, and locating the hotel took more effort than I would have liked, but we eventually made it to the Best Western Raffle Suites. After settling in, we wandered over to and around the Anaheim Convention Center for registration. After registering, we hung around the con center to enjoy the early cosplayers before returning to the hotel for the night.
Saturday was Day One, which consisted of dressing in costume (pictures will follow soon) and waiting in line for the AMV exhibition that night. Tori and I made a few Fatal Frame fans very happy, but we soon decided the costumes would give us heat stroke if we kept them on. So, after acquiring tickets, we went back and changed into street clothes. Regrettable, but unavoidable. The AMV's were top quality (as expected), and due to a technological error, we were treated to a kung fu dance troupe performance while the techies fixed the error.
Sunday, we went to the fabled Anime Expo Idol finalist competition. The singers were all ordinary and expected except for the champion, who was a cut above the standard pop anime singers. The voice acting competition was extremely disappointing, however. Again, none but the victor were worth noticing, but this was vexing to me. Had I known the competition was going to be so lax, I would have entered the competition myself. I'm not saying I'm professional caliber, but I could have at least offered the champion some real competition. That's what next year is for.
After AX Idol, we hit a Crispin Freeman (the esteemed voice of Alucard in Hellsing and Will Turner in Kingdom Hearts II) panel. A charming and witty individual, his panel was diseased with hordes of screaming fangirls. Fortunately, the rumors of a Hellsing OVA were confirmed with all of the original cast. w00t.
Monday was another day of waiting in line for the masquerade/costume contest that night. Unfortunately, whilst Tori and I were in line, Kayla and Lauren (our esteemed companion) witnessed a legendary event. They were returning to the con center after changing, when they witnessed a large group of people in a circle outside. What seemed like a ordinary group of otaku turned out to be a ritual circle. For what, you ask?
The summoning of Man-Faye.
Yes, the cosplay legend Man-Faye was summoned (successfully, I might add) on the stoop of AX 2006 by a crowd of devoted fans, a high priest, and an organ player. Kayla and Lauren witnessed the summoning ritual, then came back later to see Man-Faye himself in the center of the circle. They took pictures and got his autograph. Jealousy, green is thy sickly hue.
The masquerade itself was good, with Captain Planet winning the Best in Show award. Many fine costumes and many semi-fine ones paraded on the stage, and we were treated to yet another kung fu demonstration. As a result of those demonstrations, I've decided to study a weapon art, preferably kung fu, to supplement my shotokan.
Fin.
So, Anaheim. The drive through Colorado and Utah was quite nice, actually. We had an excellent cloud cover with occasional rain all the way through (both going and returning). Vegas traffic blew, and the Mojave is always a bitch, but those were expected. Traffic into Anaheim was slow, and locating the hotel took more effort than I would have liked, but we eventually made it to the Best Western Raffle Suites. After settling in, we wandered over to and around the Anaheim Convention Center for registration. After registering, we hung around the con center to enjoy the early cosplayers before returning to the hotel for the night.
Saturday was Day One, which consisted of dressing in costume (pictures will follow soon) and waiting in line for the AMV exhibition that night. Tori and I made a few Fatal Frame fans very happy, but we soon decided the costumes would give us heat stroke if we kept them on. So, after acquiring tickets, we went back and changed into street clothes. Regrettable, but unavoidable. The AMV's were top quality (as expected), and due to a technological error, we were treated to a kung fu dance troupe performance while the techies fixed the error.
Sunday, we went to the fabled Anime Expo Idol finalist competition. The singers were all ordinary and expected except for the champion, who was a cut above the standard pop anime singers. The voice acting competition was extremely disappointing, however. Again, none but the victor were worth noticing, but this was vexing to me. Had I known the competition was going to be so lax, I would have entered the competition myself. I'm not saying I'm professional caliber, but I could have at least offered the champion some real competition. That's what next year is for.
After AX Idol, we hit a Crispin Freeman (the esteemed voice of Alucard in Hellsing and Will Turner in Kingdom Hearts II) panel. A charming and witty individual, his panel was diseased with hordes of screaming fangirls. Fortunately, the rumors of a Hellsing OVA were confirmed with all of the original cast. w00t.
Monday was another day of waiting in line for the masquerade/costume contest that night. Unfortunately, whilst Tori and I were in line, Kayla and Lauren (our esteemed companion) witnessed a legendary event. They were returning to the con center after changing, when they witnessed a large group of people in a circle outside. What seemed like a ordinary group of otaku turned out to be a ritual circle. For what, you ask?
The summoning of Man-Faye.
Yes, the cosplay legend Man-Faye was summoned (successfully, I might add) on the stoop of AX 2006 by a crowd of devoted fans, a high priest, and an organ player. Kayla and Lauren witnessed the summoning ritual, then came back later to see Man-Faye himself in the center of the circle. They took pictures and got his autograph. Jealousy, green is thy sickly hue.
The masquerade itself was good, with Captain Planet winning the Best in Show award. Many fine costumes and many semi-fine ones paraded on the stage, and we were treated to yet another kung fu demonstration. As a result of those demonstrations, I've decided to study a weapon art, preferably kung fu, to supplement my shotokan.
Fin.
