Metrocon 2008 Report
I wanted to type something so here I am ranting again;p
There are so many things I want to do before the end of summer, which is in like ONE week:/
This summer has been somewhat productive, but I wish I could've done more:p
My first accomplishment has been watching all those Asian Dramas- it might seem like a total waste of time (sometimes it is, lol), but every time I finish a drama, I feel like I've done my job in watching their performance and getting emotionally invested in it. This segues into my first disappointment: originally, I was going to start writing synopsis of every drama I've watched, in detail with pictures and personal commentary on my other Blog, but so far, I've only managed to watch and not write.
My second accomplishment was that I finally got to put up more videos on YouTube, including my mini-subtitling projects. Only two of them were actually subbed by me, but I'm proud that I could actually figure out (with some help) how to translate, subtitle, and encode the videos with limited resources. Also, I think I've improved my singing range, which is exciting:) Another exciting thing was that one of my subtitled videos gained me an 'honor' from YouTube, although it only lasted one day, I screen-capped it:P
My second disappointment was that I haven't been able to subtitle as many videos as I've liked. I found many videos on YouTube that were subtitled on Crunchyroll, which is a streaming site full of Asian dramas and movies. Since I was capable, I wanted to copy those translations onto the YouTube ones, for people who don't know of CR, but I haven't had the time, again;p
My third accomplishment is that I've started to learn how to make desktop wallpapers with interesting designs and themes, that people actually like on my DeviantArt.
My fourth accomplishment is that my muse, Kaylee, has finally come out of its hiding place. Of course, they are all related to my beloved bands, but at least I've started writing again. I feel super bad that I've abandoned my Stargate fanfics, but hopefully I will be able to return to that, after this obsession fades out, IF EVER, lol. Unfortunately, I still have not found enough extra hours in the day to complete all the ideas in my head, while doing the 3 things listed above. Let alone do homework and work 28 hour-weeks and still have time for my friends, lol.
I've also spent a lot of time learning everything I can about NEWS, of course, and I've started branching out into other Johnny's bands as well. Frances influenced me into liking some of KAT-TUN, which honestly can be really catchy, despite their rock and r&b influences. Because of "Yukan Club," I've started to like Akanishi Jin and Taguchi Junnosuke, as well as Yokoyama Yu from Kanjani8. Kanjani8 also has Ryo from NEWS; what more could you ask for? :p
I've gathered a wide range of songs from all my dramas and bands, and I'm very happy that I'm not just sticking to one thing, even though at this point, it might be better for me.
That's why this year I decided to go to Metrocon with Frances, which is an all Japanese convention, mainly showcasing anime and jrock. I was a little disappointed, but at least I've gained another convention experience, and dabbed my feet into some other Japanese related things.
"Vampire Knight" (my first animie, omw) being one of them, which has lead me to the band ON/OFF, which related back to the drama I was about to watch Fuma no Kojiro. And because of this convention, I discovered Eyeshine ("e-y-e-s-h-i-n-e, not like iPod"), a band lead by Johnny Yong Bosch, who was previously known as the Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. YEP.
Metrocon 2008: Friday
Pretty much uneventful. Not as busy as I'd thought it'd be. We went to the "Next Generation of J-rock," which was disappointing, because the TV wasn't very big and the speaker wasn't very loud. We wandered around for a bit and decided to look in our booklet to see what our plans were for the entire duration. We went into the sales room, and saw the same vendor from Megacon, who commented on Frances's Lolita outfit. We saw some cute Asians, which I said were all either taken, or what Frances said, "gay" lol. We wandered into the anime showing room and watch two episodes of "Vampire Knight," which now I've finished watching, and can't wait for the second installment;p
It was pouring outside, like a freaking hurricane, so we stayed and wandered some more. We went to see Eyeshine play, and their songs are actually decent. We went into a panel called "Lost in Ouran Land," which was basically lead by people cosplaying as the Ouran Host Club (anime) and leading discussion or whatever. Frances was somewhat disappointed, but it was amusing while it lasted. It was cute though, I might watch it after all is said and done;p Then, we stayed to watch "L: Change the World," the last Death Note movie. The screen kept blacking out every 10 minutes, and since I had already seen the movie on CR, lol, I volunteered to tap the keyboard every once in a while, so it wouldn't keep pausing like it did. Frances fell back in love with L, and though she doesn't know, I'm planning on making a wallie for her:P
Saturday a.k.a the day from hell, LOL.
So, we got up at a decent time. Frances still had to buy a white tank to complete her outfit, but we thought we had enough time. Unfortunately, I gave the wrong directions and we ended up driving too far ahead. Then, when we finally got back, there was a massive, MASSIVE, traffic jam from the Redbull Flugtag that was going on too. Then, my car was running out of gas so we had to leave the AC off for a bit. We never found parking so we got gas and went home. It was a nightmare, because at one point, there was a chance we could've gotten a spot but neither of us followed our instincts, and the spot was taken:(
I couldn't get to see the panel that I came for, but in the end, it wasn't like we missed seeing the actual bands. The panel was about ALL Johnny's bands and there was also uchiwa fan-making. Uchiwa's are fans you wave around in support of your favorite member. I am generally a happy person so I tried to cheer Frances up, even though the real disappointment should've been mine. I was somewhat cranky and frustrated that weekend, but we will definitely be prepared for Dragoncon, if I have to become a Nazi and wake everyone up at 6AM:P
During that afternoon, Frances started playing Mario Galaxy but got bored. She decided to play some Guitar Hero instead and got hooked. I watched her play while reading some science magazines that were on the coffee table.
Around 5-6ish, we went back to the convention center and wandered back into the sales room to see if they added anything more, but it was also a disappointment, although Frances bought some cat ears:P
We were bored even after venturing into the anime room again. At first, we were even thinking about watching the Cosplaying Matchmaking, where you go around meeting random people for like a few minutes then switch (What is that called, again?). We wandered into a 2-D animation panel, about how the industry doesn't encourage people into doing that anymore, but it's still an aesthetic art form. We stayed to watch a Full Metal Alchemist (FMA-anime) movie in that room, and afterwards we were definitely bored. So bored, that we decided to watch people from the floor above. I spotted Johnny going up the escalators, so on a whim, I'm like "let's go find out what he's up to." So, we stalked Johnny Yong Bosch for like a minute. We lost sight of him, but we did see some girls going up and down the escalator. One of the girls had a Yamapi uchiwa fan, so we asked to take a picture with her, lol. Afterwards, we found out Eyeshine had another performance so we walked into the 'ballroom' and waited for the previous performer to finish.
The band's name was called 'Cipes and the People,' lead by Greg Cipes, who is the voice for Beast Boy from The Teen Titans:)
The band was pretty good, with a lot of reggae influences, but Greg Cipes was jumping around like crazy, with nothing on but bright green tight pants, acting like he was smoking something:P His lyrics weren't bad, I have to admit, but it was definitely and interesting experience.
One of his lyrics were, "light my fire, baby…" and Frances responded, "I don't want to light your fire, because you'll use it to smoke pot." I CRACKED UP!! That was brilliant!
I didn't pay much attention to him after that, because me and Frances started singing random songs by NEWS, lol, and even when Eyeshine appeared, they were having issues of their own. Johnny kept having to adjust his monitor, that thing they plug into their ears to better hear the background music, and then when it was finally alright, he kept saying, "Sorry, we suck." LOL- we love you, shut up!
Here's my little video on them:
Sunday!!!
Having survived the day from hell, Sunday was actually quite lovely. We knew how to maneuver our way through that part of Tampa by now, lol, so things went smoothly. First, we attended the Lolita Fashion Panel, even though at first they said they had cancelled. We happened by the room and saw people in it, so Frances got more information on her unique obsession with Lolita outfits. Luckily, our Japanese Drama panel was in the same room, so we got prime seats (front row) to see the tiny TV screen:) I was happy to say the least.
The person who 'lead' our panel was a massive Arashi (Matsumoto Jun) fan, so she showcased some of the dramas we were already familiar with: "Gokusen," "Stand Up!," and "Hana Kimi." She also showed us the lovely "Code Blue" with the lovely shirtless Yamapi- it's about newbie doctors- I don't really like Yamapi's new perm hair-do….
And then, she showed us the intriguing "Maou," which stars Satoshi Ohno (Arashi) and Ikuta Toma (Johnny's JR. even till now, when he's like in his mid 20s). The opening theme song, "Truth," is amazing!!! Too bad YouTube has been cracking down lately on 'illegal' uploads of music videos released only in Japan:P We all voted on which show that we wanted to watch a full episode of and most everyone voted "Stand Up!," which is a story about 4 virgin boys attempting to lose that status by the end of summer, as well as childhood friends coming back, and that bond of friendship despite outward appearances. I fell in love with Yamapi even more after this show, which I reluctantly watched after Frances's persuasion, and it was worth it:) Another Arashi member, Ninomiya Kazunari, more affectionately known as Nino, was in it, so Arashi had to make the opening song, "Kotoba yori mo taisetsu na mono," so we sung along when that came up- as well as singing along to "Ikenai Taiyou" for Hana Kimi's opening:P
Anyways- I think that's all there is to report FOR NOW. I have more to say, but that will be left for another blog yet!
If you're at all curious as to what I did for Megacon 5 MONTHS AGO, please follow this Link :D
There are so many things I want to do before the end of summer, which is in like ONE week:/
This summer has been somewhat productive, but I wish I could've done more:p
My first accomplishment has been watching all those Asian Dramas- it might seem like a total waste of time (sometimes it is, lol), but every time I finish a drama, I feel like I've done my job in watching their performance and getting emotionally invested in it. This segues into my first disappointment: originally, I was going to start writing synopsis of every drama I've watched, in detail with pictures and personal commentary on my other Blog, but so far, I've only managed to watch and not write.
My second accomplishment was that I finally got to put up more videos on YouTube, including my mini-subtitling projects. Only two of them were actually subbed by me, but I'm proud that I could actually figure out (with some help) how to translate, subtitle, and encode the videos with limited resources. Also, I think I've improved my singing range, which is exciting:) Another exciting thing was that one of my subtitled videos gained me an 'honor' from YouTube, although it only lasted one day, I screen-capped it:P
My second disappointment was that I haven't been able to subtitle as many videos as I've liked. I found many videos on YouTube that were subtitled on Crunchyroll, which is a streaming site full of Asian dramas and movies. Since I was capable, I wanted to copy those translations onto the YouTube ones, for people who don't know of CR, but I haven't had the time, again;p
My third accomplishment is that I've started to learn how to make desktop wallpapers with interesting designs and themes, that people actually like on my DeviantArt.
My fourth accomplishment is that my muse, Kaylee, has finally come out of its hiding place. Of course, they are all related to my beloved bands, but at least I've started writing again. I feel super bad that I've abandoned my Stargate fanfics, but hopefully I will be able to return to that, after this obsession fades out, IF EVER, lol. Unfortunately, I still have not found enough extra hours in the day to complete all the ideas in my head, while doing the 3 things listed above. Let alone do homework and work 28 hour-weeks and still have time for my friends, lol.
I've also spent a lot of time learning everything I can about NEWS, of course, and I've started branching out into other Johnny's bands as well. Frances influenced me into liking some of KAT-TUN, which honestly can be really catchy, despite their rock and r&b influences. Because of "Yukan Club," I've started to like Akanishi Jin and Taguchi Junnosuke, as well as Yokoyama Yu from Kanjani8. Kanjani8 also has Ryo from NEWS; what more could you ask for? :p
I've gathered a wide range of songs from all my dramas and bands, and I'm very happy that I'm not just sticking to one thing, even though at this point, it might be better for me.
That's why this year I decided to go to Metrocon with Frances, which is an all Japanese convention, mainly showcasing anime and jrock. I was a little disappointed, but at least I've gained another convention experience, and dabbed my feet into some other Japanese related things.
"Vampire Knight" (my first animie, omw) being one of them, which has lead me to the band ON/OFF, which related back to the drama I was about to watch Fuma no Kojiro. And because of this convention, I discovered Eyeshine ("e-y-e-s-h-i-n-e, not like iPod"), a band lead by Johnny Yong Bosch, who was previously known as the Black Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. YEP.
Metrocon 2008: Friday
Pretty much uneventful. Not as busy as I'd thought it'd be. We went to the "Next Generation of J-rock," which was disappointing, because the TV wasn't very big and the speaker wasn't very loud. We wandered around for a bit and decided to look in our booklet to see what our plans were for the entire duration. We went into the sales room, and saw the same vendor from Megacon, who commented on Frances's Lolita outfit. We saw some cute Asians, which I said were all either taken, or what Frances said, "gay" lol. We wandered into the anime showing room and watch two episodes of "Vampire Knight," which now I've finished watching, and can't wait for the second installment;p
It was pouring outside, like a freaking hurricane, so we stayed and wandered some more. We went to see Eyeshine play, and their songs are actually decent. We went into a panel called "Lost in Ouran Land," which was basically lead by people cosplaying as the Ouran Host Club (anime) and leading discussion or whatever. Frances was somewhat disappointed, but it was amusing while it lasted. It was cute though, I might watch it after all is said and done;p Then, we stayed to watch "L: Change the World," the last Death Note movie. The screen kept blacking out every 10 minutes, and since I had already seen the movie on CR, lol, I volunteered to tap the keyboard every once in a while, so it wouldn't keep pausing like it did. Frances fell back in love with L, and though she doesn't know, I'm planning on making a wallie for her:P
Saturday a.k.a the day from hell, LOL.
So, we got up at a decent time. Frances still had to buy a white tank to complete her outfit, but we thought we had enough time. Unfortunately, I gave the wrong directions and we ended up driving too far ahead. Then, when we finally got back, there was a massive, MASSIVE, traffic jam from the Redbull Flugtag that was going on too. Then, my car was running out of gas so we had to leave the AC off for a bit. We never found parking so we got gas and went home. It was a nightmare, because at one point, there was a chance we could've gotten a spot but neither of us followed our instincts, and the spot was taken:(
I couldn't get to see the panel that I came for, but in the end, it wasn't like we missed seeing the actual bands. The panel was about ALL Johnny's bands and there was also uchiwa fan-making. Uchiwa's are fans you wave around in support of your favorite member. I am generally a happy person so I tried to cheer Frances up, even though the real disappointment should've been mine. I was somewhat cranky and frustrated that weekend, but we will definitely be prepared for Dragoncon, if I have to become a Nazi and wake everyone up at 6AM:P
During that afternoon, Frances started playing Mario Galaxy but got bored. She decided to play some Guitar Hero instead and got hooked. I watched her play while reading some science magazines that were on the coffee table.
Around 5-6ish, we went back to the convention center and wandered back into the sales room to see if they added anything more, but it was also a disappointment, although Frances bought some cat ears:P
We were bored even after venturing into the anime room again. At first, we were even thinking about watching the Cosplaying Matchmaking, where you go around meeting random people for like a few minutes then switch (What is that called, again?). We wandered into a 2-D animation panel, about how the industry doesn't encourage people into doing that anymore, but it's still an aesthetic art form. We stayed to watch a Full Metal Alchemist (FMA-anime) movie in that room, and afterwards we were definitely bored. So bored, that we decided to watch people from the floor above. I spotted Johnny going up the escalators, so on a whim, I'm like "let's go find out what he's up to." So, we stalked Johnny Yong Bosch for like a minute. We lost sight of him, but we did see some girls going up and down the escalator. One of the girls had a Yamapi uchiwa fan, so we asked to take a picture with her, lol. Afterwards, we found out Eyeshine had another performance so we walked into the 'ballroom' and waited for the previous performer to finish.
The band's name was called 'Cipes and the People,' lead by Greg Cipes, who is the voice for Beast Boy from The Teen Titans:)
The band was pretty good, with a lot of reggae influences, but Greg Cipes was jumping around like crazy, with nothing on but bright green tight pants, acting like he was smoking something:P His lyrics weren't bad, I have to admit, but it was definitely and interesting experience.
One of his lyrics were, "light my fire, baby…" and Frances responded, "I don't want to light your fire, because you'll use it to smoke pot." I CRACKED UP!! That was brilliant!
I didn't pay much attention to him after that, because me and Frances started singing random songs by NEWS, lol, and even when Eyeshine appeared, they were having issues of their own. Johnny kept having to adjust his monitor, that thing they plug into their ears to better hear the background music, and then when it was finally alright, he kept saying, "Sorry, we suck." LOL- we love you, shut up!
Here's my little video on them:
Sunday!!!
Having survived the day from hell, Sunday was actually quite lovely. We knew how to maneuver our way through that part of Tampa by now, lol, so things went smoothly. First, we attended the Lolita Fashion Panel, even though at first they said they had cancelled. We happened by the room and saw people in it, so Frances got more information on her unique obsession with Lolita outfits. Luckily, our Japanese Drama panel was in the same room, so we got prime seats (front row) to see the tiny TV screen:) I was happy to say the least.
The person who 'lead' our panel was a massive Arashi (Matsumoto Jun) fan, so she showcased some of the dramas we were already familiar with: "Gokusen," "Stand Up!," and "Hana Kimi." She also showed us the lovely "Code Blue" with the lovely shirtless Yamapi- it's about newbie doctors- I don't really like Yamapi's new perm hair-do….
And then, she showed us the intriguing "Maou," which stars Satoshi Ohno (Arashi) and Ikuta Toma (Johnny's JR. even till now, when he's like in his mid 20s). The opening theme song, "Truth," is amazing!!! Too bad YouTube has been cracking down lately on 'illegal' uploads of music videos released only in Japan:P We all voted on which show that we wanted to watch a full episode of and most everyone voted "Stand Up!," which is a story about 4 virgin boys attempting to lose that status by the end of summer, as well as childhood friends coming back, and that bond of friendship despite outward appearances. I fell in love with Yamapi even more after this show, which I reluctantly watched after Frances's persuasion, and it was worth it:) Another Arashi member, Ninomiya Kazunari, more affectionately known as Nino, was in it, so Arashi had to make the opening song, "Kotoba yori mo taisetsu na mono," so we sung along when that came up- as well as singing along to "Ikenai Taiyou" for Hana Kimi's opening:P
Anyways- I think that's all there is to report FOR NOW. I have more to say, but that will be left for another blog yet!
If you're at all curious as to what I did for Megacon 5 MONTHS AGO, please follow this Link :D