Walk Softly and Carry a Big Schtick .

Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Chaz Boston Baden" journal:

[<< Previous 20 entries]

June 12th, 2009
07:33 pm

[Link]

...we used to talk. (Ya know) We'd stay on the phone at night 'till dawn...

Tadao Tomomatsu, helping with the tent. Photos now online:
Van Nuys Cosplay Potluck Picnic at Lake Balboa (30-May-2009) New 12-Jun-2009
LASFS/Aftermeetings part 346: Coral Cafe (04-Jun-2009) et seq. New 12-Jun-2009
Julia's Graduation, part 1: Chaminade Prep H.S. (06-Jun-2009) et seq. New 12-Jun-2009
Julia's Graduation, part 15: Party at the house (06-Jun-2009) et seq. New 12-Jun-2009
Photo of [info]friendlypinet (Tadao) is from the picnic.

Busy, busy. Commentary (and captions) when I get back from the picnics this weekend. Going to Fresno for a picnic Saturday and Bakersfield for one on Sunday.

(Continued...)

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
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June 10th, 2009
05:21 pm

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... Do you remember the time when we fell in love. Do you remember the time? Do you remember how...

Sarah Goldberg, getting ready to leave. The towels on the floor are because of the plumbing incident the day before. Photos now online:
Anime Los Angeles 6 meetings part 1: Creative Director and Publications Division (19-May-2009)
FanimeCon 2009 part 70: Monday (26-May-2009) et seq.
FanimeCon 2009 part 78: Driving Home Tuesday (27-May-2009)
The picture of [info]summoner_lenne9 (Sarah) is from Monday morning.

Did I mention the plumbing incident on Sunday? )

Lauren Bedford, Sarah Goldberg and Carissa Edwards getting in the car. Sarah's ride was leaving a little earlier than originally planned. And Monday being the last day of the convention, the elevators were extra busy with people checking out. [info]library_lynn and I managed to get her and her stuff downstairs and into the car by a little before 11, and she was off. (left)

Lisa Gochnauer and Lindsay Tallman. It was a day full of hellos and goodbyes, often two at a time. The famous "L-Squared" pair of best buds, [info]xkokuux (Lisa) and [info]fairegoddess (Lindsay), stopped by our table for a snapshot. (right)

Mike Young and Barrie Young, freshly married piratical couple, visited us for a moment, as did a dancing Crocodile Hunter... )

Julia and Caitlin again were quite helpful at the table, but they were both exhausted from staying up the night before... )

Stephanie Duchin, Lindsay Tallman, and Melissa De Mello. Once we'd packed up the table, it was time for dinner. [info]tenkuudragon (Stephanie), Lindsay, and [info]ladymaxstarr (Melissa) and I headed out to find something. On the way I realized that it's been a long time since I'd been out to dinner with a bunch of friends over 21 -- not counting Coral Cafe, that is -- and that we could actually all order beer. We went to Gordon Biersch to do just that. (left)

We stumbled across an old friend of Patrick Beckstead, and a perennial fannish translator... )

Stephanie Duchin in the suite they moved us to. The hotel still didn't have a 5th floor room to move us to. But they gave us an upgrade, on the 20th floor, in a large room/small suite overlooking the park. (right)

I wish I'd thought to ask them to knock something off my bill -- [info]neo_serenity (Tiffany) had a similar plumbing issue earlier in the convention, and got half a room night taken off.

Logistics crew, moving a cart full of equipment. We went downstairs, where the move-out of FanimeCon was in full swing. The gentlemen in the orange jumpsuits are the FanimeCon Logistics Crew, and they're moving carts full of equipment to wherever it is they end up between conventions. While I think it's cool to give the Logistics people a distinctive uniform that they can wear more than once during the convention, I'm not sure I really agree with the "just escaped from prison" esthetic. (left)

Melissa had been trying to meet up with Nikki (and the twins)... )

Lynn Baden, Chaz Boston Baden at Fosters Freeze. We headed out Tuesday morning, about as bright-and-early as we ever do, and made plenty of stops along the way... )

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Georgio (Moroder) - "Underdog"
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June 7th, 2009
12:33 am

[Link]

...Do you remember the time when we fell in love. Do you remember the time when we first met...

Becky Kramer, Lynn Baden. Photos now online: FanimeCon 2009 part 56: Sunday (24-May-2009) et seq.

Notes I don't want to forget, from the coin locker place... )

I've talked before about the FanimeCon venue. I want to mention the pocket program: Many people were pleased with how small and pocket-sized it was. Our days of a single folded-up sheet paper for [info]animelosangeles may have to come to an end. And they had a little one-page restaurant guide in it! Good work on that.

Notes about daughters of various people... )

Caitlin Doolittle, Julia Doolittle, Stephanie Duchin. [info]little_serenity (Caitlin), [info]magi_sammy (Julia), and [info]tenkuudragon (Stephanie) were again a great help to have at the table on Sunday. And the sisters are definite draw to have at the table -- people came over to look at them, and in fact Caitlin got compliments on her turquoise wig all day as long as she was wearing it. (right)

One of the things that nagged at me regarding the Artist Alley was the way that the badgers at the doors were blocking two of the fire exit doors... )

Stan Oh. The table was a fair place for people-watching and costume-watching. [info]daoutlaw (Stan) came by, as a shark, for example. (left)

I say "fair" because a lot of the people and costumes we saw were people who were coming specifically to find our Animé Los Angeles table.

Sunday was Disney Princess day... )

Gary de Guzman. With the increasing overlap between our staff and FanimeCon's (as well as others, of course) it means that attending other conventions becomes more and more valuable for keeping in touch. We have two Divisions and one major Department run by NorCal people, for example Gary de Guzman here in the white chauffeur's cap is in charge of Programming/Live Events at FanimeCon, and our Exhibition Division at Animé Los Angeles. (left)

Melissa De Mello and Stephanie Duchin. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Artist Alley was open most days until 8:00 pm. A grueling schedule, and when we left for the day we were all ready for dinner, or a nap, or both. (right)

Stephanie's ''Mario and Luigi '08 - It's-a-Merica!'' bag. I was struck by Stephanie's "campaign" bag -- she has a tote bag for "Mario and Luigi '08." (left)

Once we'd had dinner, we went back to the convention center. Lindsay and Lynn helped me set up the Peanut Butter and Jelly Party... ) At 12:16 am we were all done. (right) A minute shy of two hours -- a little longer than I was expecting, we had 50% more bread than the night before and it took more than twice as long.

FanimeCon fancy ''Convention Operations'' sign. ''Rovers'' sign. ''Logistics'' sign. ''Volunteers'' sign.
On the way to the elevator at the end of the night, I took pictures of the various signs that the second-floor Marriott departments had...

Signs at ''Video Main'' room. There's a place for a sign in the first two photos that might have used one. Just as here, under the venue's sign that says "Meeting Room B1" there's a signholder where the convention's own sign could have been slipped in. (right) Although I suppose they probably considered that superfluous, given the size of the big sign in front of it!

(Continued...)

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Opus - "Life is Life"
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June 4th, 2009
06:46 pm

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...Do you remember us holding hands, in each other's eyes we'd stare? Tell me...

29. Kyuubi as Kyuubi, from Naruto. Photos now online: FanimeCon 2009 Masquerade entries 26-44, Awards, and Late Night on the Concourse... )

#2. The Dragon Knight: Anele as Freya Crescent from Final Fantasy IX. I mentioned that the more-cumbersome props and costumes were front-loaded towards the beginning of the show... )

The halftime entertainment was a subtitled anime of some sort up on the big screens. I didn't have a good view of that, without getting up and moving six or twelve rows back, so I got up. [info]little_serenity (Caitlin) and [info]magi_sammy (Julia), and the rest of their group (Entry 13) were sitting in the audience section where all of the participants sat, and I went over and showed them that yes, I got a few shots of them on stage. I learned that [info]neo_serenity (Tiffany) and the rest of the group cheered when they flashed "Animé Los Angeles" on the screen as one of the sponsors. I think that if we do this sort of thing again, we'll want to be able to provide a title slide for them. Something splashy they can throw up there, with the [info]animelosangeles logo and perhaps Ala in a costume.

They had to get the awards presented before their curfew at the auditorium -- which I expect is also why the whole thing started so early (pre-show at 6:30 pm, first competitive entrant at 7 o'clock) -- so there wasn't as much stage time for photos as there might have been. Each winner did come on stage, but there wasn't a consistent "stop here and hold for 20 seconds for a photo" routine set up for each group. I grabbed some shots to the best of my ability, though. (left)

I tried to take notes as to which were the "Best in Class/Show" winners, and then joined the crowds heading back over to the Convention Center.

We're about to let people start making sandwiches. Sarah Goldberg watches at side. Almost everything we needed for our nightly Peanut Butter & Jelly Party was in Saltine in the convention center parking garage. Met an old friend of Victoria Shapero... )

55 minutes to go through 8 jumbo loaves of bread (equivalent to 10 2/3 ordinary loaves), about a hundred sandwiches or so. A lot busier than Friday night. Saturday is the big night of course, but I think the "Free Snacks" sign in the middle of the table helped a bit. (Which reminds me, I need to make it a double-sided sign.)

I packed up the car, then I sat around the Concourse for some time after that. I saw Sarah, Evan, and Death that night... )

And finally, at about 3:00 am, I went to bed. More than an hour and a half after packing everything back in the car for the night... I've got to stop doing that.

(Continued...)

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: The Sirens - "Don't Slander Me"
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June 3rd, 2009
11:06 pm

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...Do you remember back in the fall, we'd be together all day long...

Lynn Baden, with possible new set of bear ears. Photos now online: FanimeCon 2009 Saturday, through Masquerade Entry 25... )

Saturday at FanimeCon. The furry ear people were at the end of the row from us -- Bay Area Animation Society, I think -- so we shopped for new fuzzy ears for [info]library_lynn. We ended up buying one pair (above right), and special-ordering another pair with fur that Lynn liked.

Exterior, Las Flamas, San Jose. That morning, I'd gone on the shopping run by myself, to get more bread, peanut butter, and jelly. I stopped at Las Flamas, a Mexican restaurant on Market/Monterey, to get a chorizo and egg burrito to go. It was very tasty. (left)

I'd managed to talk to the Masquerade Assistant Director on Friday about giving some Anime Los Angeles memberships as masquerade prizes for some of the winners... )

Evan James, Julia Ha, and Jinni Prodhan. Evan James, our Creative Director, was serving as one of Julia's seconds. Julia Ha is our [info]animelosangeles Events Division head, and she has a similar post (Extravaganzas Director, I believe) for FanimeCon. Our new status as a Masquerade sponsor got me and Hillel a special perk -- we got to sit in the reserved seating area. (Row 3, to be exact.) Evan, Julia and Jinni (Julia's other assistant) were outside the auditorium, and showed us to our seats. (right)

Ric Meyer, with one of the props left over from entry #17. The emcee for the event was Ric Meyer, who kept snagging props from masquerade entries to hold for a while, by grabbing one before the appropriate ninja was able to remove it. (left)

Something that FanimeCon does is put the entries with the larger costumes or props towards the beginning of the evening... )

We're Not Twins Cosplay and Friends: Julia as Shiki Misaki, Caitlin as Rhyme Bito, Stan as Beat Bito, Deb as Neku Sakuraba, Carolyn as Joshua, from The World Ends With You. In any event, one of the entries that I wanted to make absolutely sure I didn't miss was the one that [info]little_serenity (Caitlin) and [info]magi_sammy (Julia) put together. (right) Unfortunately there was a lighting miscue, and I wasn't able to get a picture of [info]divine_sage (Carolyn) who played the part of their punchline!

(Continued...)

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Common Rotation - "Here We Go"
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12:14 am

[Link]

..Do you remember how it all began, it just seemed like heaven, so why did it end?...

Lynn Baden. Photos now online:
FanimeCon 2009 part 1: Over the Grapevine (21-May-2009) et seq.
FanimeCon 2009 part 8: Friday Morning (22-May-2009) et seq.

Dewar's, exterior. FanimeCon report part 1. We stopped three or four times going to Bakersfield... )

Sarah Goldberg, at a rest stop. She opened the graduation present from Maria. We were northbound out of Bakersfield by about 3-something. We then stopped at the Coalinga-Avenal rest stop where Sarah opened up the graduation present that [info]missmea (Maria) made for her. (right) You can't see it clearly in the picture, but it's a scrunchy made with Nepalese sari wool that Maria had lying around. Sarah was especially touched, because her parents met in Nepal.

Lynn and I traded off driving all the way up to San Jose... )

Nikki Costa, with new scarf made by Melissa. On the drive up, Melissa had been working on finishing a scarf for Nikki. It was ready, we ran into Nikki in the Swap Meet (Gaming Room), and Nikki loved it. (right)

Caitlin Doolittle, Julia Doolittle, and Sheri Jordan (SanjiCat). In fact, the Swap Meet and the Concourse in general was the place to meet lots of the usual suspects. We drive hundreds of miles to hang out with people we know from back home, such as [info]magi_sammy (Julia), [info]little_serenity (Caitlin), and SanjiCat (left).

Nikki and her boys helped me shop for some used PS2 video games, to get our video game equipment collection started. I ended up with 12 games that wouldn't be automatic if-you-sit-down-you'll-be-playing-for-two-hours time sinks. Thanks for the help!

We learned that FanimeCon has two kinds of advance registration: ''Pre-Registration'' and ''Early Registration.'' Snarky comments behind the cut... )

We went off-site, to buy peanut butter, jelly, and eight loaves of bread. We came back, got our badges, and headed down to Artist Alley.

The line extends nearly to the back of the room. Artist Alley setup was announced to run from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Mildly snarky comments here... )

Caitlin Doolittle, Julia Doolittle and Sarah Goldberg stamping postcards at the Anime Los Angeles table. I was very glad to have Caitlin and Julia helping me, in addition to Sarah. They really pulled their weight. Artist Alley was open until 8:00 pm, so there were some long hours for us to man the table. They committed to working two two-hour shifts a day, which was just amazing. (left)

[info]tenkuudragon (Stephanie) also showed up and put in a lot of hours at the table. We were giving away postcards, selling memberships, giving away snacks, and selling badge ribbons to raise money for the ones we give away at the convention.

Lindsay Tallman as ''Flo'' from the Progressive Insurance tv ads. It was a good day for people-watching... )

Someone, somebody, and Patrick Saul. ''Make your sandwich!'' We started with 8 loaves of bread. After dinner, we came back and started setting up our Peanut Butter and Jelly Party on the concourse... )

Victoria Erica (Traveling Valentine) strikes a pose. By being out on the concourse so late, I did get to see a bunch of folks as they came back for dinner or went to the dance.

Such as [info]travel_valenti (Victoria). (left) Her report is up, by the way -- go check it out.

Carolyn Ayton and Tiffany (Neo_Serenity). [info]divine_sage (Carolyn) and [info]neo_serenity (Tiffany) were having a bonding experience -- Carolyn's joined the ranks of the legal adults, so no 10:00 pm curfew for her anymore. (right)

Sheri Jordan in her red loli dress (actually, a squaredancing dress) and her doll ''Wyvern.'' Sheri "SanjiCat" Jordan was out late, too, in her red loli dress and with her dollfie. (left) We talked quite a bit -- she wanted to videotape me answering the question "Why did you start Animé Los Angeles?" The problem with that question is the answer is long and involved, and it's a speech I haven't figured out how to edit down into a manageable, YouTube-appropriate sound bite...

(Continued...)

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Ramones - "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?"
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June 1st, 2009
12:53 pm

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Do you remember when we fell in love, we were young and innocent then...

Maria Rodriguez, shopping. Photos now online:
Melissa helps out (13-May-2009)
LASFS/Aftermeetings part 344: Coral Cafe (14-May-2009) et seq.
Secura Coin Locker (16-May-2009)
California Strawberry Festival, Oxnard (16-May-2009)
Mother's Day (Observed) at Faire (17-May-2009)
The picture of [info]missmea is from the Faire.

Things I've done recently: Went to the Strawberry Festival. On the way there, we stopped off at Secura Coin Locker in Chatsworth and looked at their products. We're probably going to buy a dozen coin-operated lockers, to use in the [info]animelosangeles game room.

On the next day, went to the Renaissance Faire. This was our traditional Mother's Day trip, delayed a week because of [info]missmea's work schedule.

The following week, [info]ala_mokita and I met up with Joyce Hooper and Evan James, to talk about the job of "Creative Director." Evan's going to be approving the designs for all of our convention publications. In the past, he's done all of the design. Going forward, the Publications Division and other divisions with other publications to design will work out the preliminary designs, then forward them to Evan for tweaking or approval.

To aid in this, Publications Division now has a copy of everything that's passed through Evan's hands for the convention, including all of the signs and publications produced -- so there's a thick file of sample designs.

Our Publications Division head, Arianna, joined us as well, and we talked briefly about what her team is going to do. Some of those are graphic designers yet to be recruited. We're going to post "Help Wanted" notices for her division on the website, and she's going to join us at Anime Expo to talk to potential volunteers (mostly, artists) for her division.

Then it came time to go to FanimeCon. We had our "Peanut Butter and Jelly Party" (or Frenzy) on the ConCourse each night. Staff aren't allowed to bring in food to the concourse; we're not allowed to prepare food; we're not allowed to sell anything, or take donations or deal with money in any way, out on the concourse. Fortunately, we weren't in violation of any of those rules: we just put bread, peanut butter, and jelly on the table and let people make their own sandwiches. Over the course of the weekend we went through 28 two-lb. loaves of bread -- which is the equivalent of about 37 ordinary one-and-a-half-pound loaves. Lots of sandwiches.

This past weekend we sponsored a picnic at Lake Balboa Park, where 82 fans signed the sign-in sheet. Recruited a few people to help with the convention in a number of divisions. We now have a Gaming Department head. I am pleased by how many departments and divisions showed up -- we had representatives from departments in all of our divisions.

And Sunday, yesterday, I collapsed with dehydration sickness. Too much sun[burn] and not enough water on Saturday resulted in a daylong headache and much sleeping on Sunday. I've got to watch out for that in two weeks, when I'm going to attempt back-to-back picnics in Fresno and Bakersfield!

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Michael Jackson - "Remember The Time"
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May 13th, 2009
03:33 pm

[Link]

...Oh then suddenly, it was hitting me right between the eyes.
Tiffany as ''Bubbles.'' Photos now online: Irvine SoCal Cosplay Spring Gathering at Mason
Park
(09-May-2009)


Here you see [info]neo_serenity (Tiffany) as "Bubbles" with a positively enormous bubble wand. I've volunteered to help her mix up a gallon or two of bubble solution. Preliminary results: "Rinso" liquid dish soap is worthless, and I need to buy glycerin. And if I make it out to Home Depot, one of those paint roller trays would help in getting her loop all gooped up with bubble stuff...

Surplus things in my house and garage: Several years of Scientific American from the 1980s, when I subscribed. Anyone want them?

Several years of fiction magazines - science fiction (for example Amazing) and mystery (such as AHMM). They're up for grabs, too.

A tank of helium. [info]library_lynn doesn't like balloons, so this is surplus. I may or may not have balloons that may or may not still be good -- but I'm sure the helium itself is fine.

An assortment of t-shirts, a lot of them with railroad or science fictional/convention topics, that are XL and therefore don't fit me anymore.

More to come... watch my Facebook if you like. I'll bring them to Coral, either tomorrow night or after Memorial Day depending on what kind of response I get online.

And I'm looking for a black and white line drawing (not grayscale shaded) of a droid. Preferably a mouse droid, but any will do.

EDIT: I also have a surplus hotel reservation at the Fairmont San Jose for FanimeCon. Don't need it. Anyone want it?

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Wax - "Right between the eyes"
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May 11th, 2009
01:30 am

[Link]

Your love for me was nothing but a mystery, just something only captured in a dream...
Notes on the SoCal Spring Cosplay Gathering on Saturday. (Shortened by some to just "SoCal Spring.")

It turned out I wasn't needed to pick up anyone at the train station. Got up early.. )

Because of my (perceived) arrogant attitude, and the big footprint our lemonade tent was going to take, we set up camp about 50 yards from Shelter 6 where the gathering was headquartered... )

The gathering organizers expected 400 people, and paid for the reservation space accordingly... )

We picked up our wristbands early, before the rush. Later we were offered a refund... )

A terrible blow, there goes your operating budget (or at least the at-the-door portion of it) and that's a rough spot to be in. She handled it with grace and fortitude. I'm impressed with her ethics and honesty, and I wish I had more friends and staff with her good qualities.

One lady brought a billygoat to the picnic, she'd made a dress for it. A few people asked "is that really a goat?" and she'd claim that it was really her dog, cosplaying as a goat with the help of some artificial horns... and then the goat would bleat and give it all away...

I mentioned the two anonymous critics I've accumulated, who are poring over my every post for clues to my evilness. Latest update from that crowd is someone who thought I was fine in person at the gathering, but has concluded (from my previous post about the logistics for the lemonade tent) that I'm a douche and a little Napoleon. Perhaps my style of writing is a separate issue from how I relate to people in person? Anyhow, nobody came up to complain about us at the park. In fact, two people came over to talk about the video game room and the fashion show and might be helping us with the convention.

. . .

Sunday was Mother's Day, [info]library_lynn and I went and helped my mother-in-law clean up her garage. She gave me a small portable barbecue grill. It might come in handy for a picnic at a park without any bbq facilities. And we took away about six boxes full of old carcare chemicals and cans of paint; I'll go to the hazmat dropoff in the morning. And all of this has really brought it home to me that I've got to get my living room cleaned. (A light just went off in my head: one reason I've put it off is I don't have a light fixture at the far end of the living room. Okay, I can take care of that.) And the room next to it. Inspiration...

And after that, we went to Crate and Barrel to get a "table in a bag" -- it's a coffee table that collapses down into a bag about the same size as my collapsing canvas chairs. Alec's got one, and it's been handy to have a casual table you can put your drink on. I'm not sure if it'll be more useful at picnics or conventions, actually. At [info]loscon our party had a large coffee table in the parlor -- it would have been handy to have had a smaller one in its place, because it was difficult walking past the furniture and the people.

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Wax - "Right between the eyes"
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May 8th, 2009
10:22 pm

[Link]

I once met a man with a sense of adventure. He was dressed to thrill wherever he went.
Hooray! The prodigal carts are returning!

In late February/mid-March, I was convinced that we'd lost some of the carts. The carts all have names - Ala, Alexander, Tuesday, Trixie, Nessie, Cookie, Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. And Ala & Alexander, along with most of the others, were missing. Oh noes! They weren't at the clubhouse, they weren't in the Pod, the only ones that had been seen were Tuesday and Trixie, plus Clyde (I think) was used at Gallifrey One.

Well, a month later I got a message from Erica. "Chaz, are you ever going to get these carts from me?" And a week or so after that a message from Jarod. "Chaz, are you ever going to get these carts back from me?"

So. Jarod's coming over in about half an hour. And I'll meet up with Erica real soon now.

Gathering-wise: The SoCal Gathering (Long may it prosper) tomorrow marks the fifth year of the picnics -- they started in 2005. Impressive, yes? (See also other well-meant enterprises that haven't been able to manage five events in five years; the SoCal Gatherings add up to 7 or 8 in five years, I think.)

EDIT: Or perhaps it's 6 events in only four years, my source of information may have been wildly inaccurate.

In other news, I have two anonymous admirers who've come here from 4chan, and apparently are hanging on my every word. Hi guys! Introduce yourselves! One of them's a Roadrunner customer in SoCal, the other one's a PacBell DSL customer in or near Irvine, but they haven't been signing their submissions so I don't know much more than that. Well, that and they don't have a very high opinion of me.

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Kirsty MacColl - "In these shoes?"
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12:49 pm

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Good day sunshine, good day sunshine; good day sunshine. I need to laugh, and when the sun is out
Update to the Great Pink Lemonade Plans: I've been asked not to set up the [info]animelosangeles pop-up canopy tent in the event space.

There are picnic tables outside of the Shelter 6 area, and those are first-come first-served -- so I'll just get there early and set up there. (Unless there's a great outcry for me not to come and bring the lemonade... but one anonymous poster on my LJ does not constitute a landslide of popular opinion.) We're still registering for the gathering, of course. (Even if it weren't a matter of being the right thing to do, there's the practical aspect: paying $10 sure beats dealing with packing a lunch, bringing charcoal and stuff to cook, et cetera, et cetera.)

And no, we're not going to have a big in-your-face convention presence at the picnic. No big signs, we're not bringing the Animé Los Angeles tablecloth to set up a sales table, nothing like that. It's just a matter of the chairman, first vice chair, and a few other convention staffers hanging out in case someone wants to come over and talk to us.

Current Location: Santa Ana Ca
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: The Beatles - "Good Day Sunshine"
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May 7th, 2009
07:06 pm

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You're leaving now, it's in your eyes. There's no disguising it, it really comes as no surprise.
Anyone out there know YAWS? I believe it's a Linux-based open-source web server. We're having trouble talking to YAWS from a Windows server that's using SOAP and HTTPS, getting back "400" errors. Any ideas?

EDIT: Crisis over. My boss talked to the client who managed to get his tame Yaws expert on the case. My apologies for dragging my real-life job drama into the relatively drama-free world I've got here...

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Asia - "Only Time Will Tell"
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12:06 am

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Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look?

I've noticed that it's become easier to keep up with my LJ FL of late, and other musings about LJ, DW, Twitter and FB... )

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: The Beatles - "Golden Slumbers"

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May 6th, 2009
05:17 pm

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Streets like a jungle, so call the police. Following the herd down to Greece. On holiday

This Saturday is the "SoCal Cosplay Gathering" at Mason Regional Park, in Irvine. I've been trying to put my thoughts and plans in order... )

I'd like to make it clear that I'm not complaining. It's an interesting task, and the sort of logistics exercise that I take in stride these days. We'll have no trouble pulling it off, and I've got contingency plans in case some of the people can't show -- worst case scenario would be I leave the park after mixing up the first ten gallons of lemonade, go back to buy or retrieve the stuff we're missing and pay another five bucks to get back in the park. I just thought some of y'all might be interested in all this.

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Portslade - "Girls and Boys"
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12:21 am

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...It's sad, so sad. It's a sad, sad situation. And it's getting more and more absurd.

Decorative boulders. Photos now online:
Returning from Bakersfield part 5: Patriots Park (03-May-2009) et seq.

After a delicious brunch at Zingo's -- I got a peanut butter and bacon sandwich -- it's not really [info]summoner_lenne9 (Sarah)'s cup of tea, though; she likes Thai food and other cuisines a lot better than American Diner Food -- and pie, some of which were baked by our very waitress -- we made a detour to look at Patriots Park... )

Sarah Goldberg on the swings at Patriots Park, Bakersfield. Lynn and I talked a little about Sarah, who's not quite an adopted daughter or niece, and we're not quite adopted relations. It's a lot of fun -- I come from a family of six (two sisters, one brother), so I'm used to a large family situation, and now I get to enjoy having more "kids" of my own even though Maria's all grown up now. It struck me that we didn't pick Sarah out of the crowd; she picked us.

Nikki, Melissa De Mello, Carissa, Lynn Baden and Sarah Goldberg. Not everyone wants to have friends far outside their peer group. I try to be friends with everyone. I didn't have a lot of friends over 30 when I was in my earlier twenties, nor many under 25 when I was in my thirties. I give science fiction and anime fandom most of the credit for introducing me to cross-generational friendships, although I suppose they're more common nowadays thanks to the internet.

Finally it was time to say our good-byes and leave Bakersfield... )

Sophie Goldberg and Sarah Goldberg. We left the Screaming Squirrel just as Sarah's mom was leaving work too. We dropped off Sarah at her house (right), and headed home.

An hour later, we're stopping at the Tommy's near Magic Mountain for a bite to eat. Home about an hour or so after that. We made it home after about two more hours of driving, with two stops to trade drivers and get a snack on the way.

Current Location: Anaheim CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Buck Owens - "Ruby, Are You Mad?"

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May 5th, 2009
06:06 pm

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...What do I say when it's all over, and sorry seems to be the hardest word?...

Zingo's Cafe on Buck Owens Blvd. (old US 99-E) in Bakersfield. Photos now online:
Returning from Bakersfield part 1: Brunch (03-May-2009) et seq.

Lynn and I had booked a room for two nights at the Spring Hill Suites Marriott, in Bakersfield... )

Lynn Baden and Duchess Edwards. We drove over to Carissa's family's house, which is one of the places Sarah sleeps at when she stays in town. They have plenty of room, so she gets her own bed and everything. Carissa's dog "Duchess" met us at the door. (right)

Sarah Goldberg with most of her luggage. Sarah had plenty of stuff to take home, including her very heavy backpack and her gym duffle bag. (left) I was glad I'd freed up more space that morning! I almost regretted leaving the one cooler in there, but Sarah's skinny and had enough room.

We'd decided to go to Zingo's, a 24-hour diner on old US Highway 99-E (i.e. Buck Owens Blvd.). Great place, genuine atmosphere, family-run, good food. I'm surprised the BHS crowd doesn't know about it, it's only about a quarter mile north of the Denny's off Rosedale they go to!

Melissa De Mello, Nikki and Carissa Edwards. I noticed that Carissa was getting along well with Melissa and [info]aesthier (Nikki), so I asked her if she'd like to join us for brunch. (right) Nikki, whose car didn't have any of our picnic equipment, agreed to take care of getting her there and back.

Neo_Serenity (Tiffany), Jennifer Morgan (FER) in background, Anthony Williams at right. We had an important motive for wanting to have some kind of time to sit and visit before we hit the road, because Lynn and I had a graduation present for Sarah. (We've been invited to three different graduations this season.) We like graduations. (left) More precisely, we enjoy being invited to the milestones in our friends' lives.

Sarah Goldberg, Carissa Edwards. We've given Sarah a big pink suitcase. We wanted to make sure Sarah got her present before her next convention trip -- a very pink suitcase (right), with a matching carry-on bag. Plus a small toiletries bag, where we'd put half a dozen new pairs of socks (some with flamingos on them).

Sarah Goldberg, Carissa Edwards. Sarah's started reading the book, as the food arrives. Sarah was pleased to receive the new luggage, because her old red suitcase is completely unsuitable. We also gave her a copy of Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, which (as I hope all of you already know) is a very amusing and educational tome. She dove right into it. (left)

Next: Patriots Park and Pine Mountain Village.

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Shivaree - "Good Night Moon"
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04:23 pm

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...What do I do to make you want me? What have I got to do to be heard?...

Julia Doolittle, Caitlin Doolittle, and their parents John Doolittle & Kimberly Doolittle Photos now online:
Dinner with Melissa (13-Apr-2009)
LASFS/Aftermeetings part 343: Coral Cafe (23-Apr-2009)
Oceanside Cosplay Picnic at Buddy Todd Park (25-Apr-2009)
Caitlin's Gallery Opening (01-May-2009)
Bakersfield Cosplay Picnic at Riverwalk Park (02-May-2009)
Zombie Prom at Bakersfield High School (02-May-2009)
The photo of [info]magi_sammy (Julia), [info]little_serenity (Caitlin) and their parents is from the gallery opening.

Busy, busy, busy: I've been to two cosplay picnics over the past two weekends. The picnic in Oceanside had a good turnout - 45 people put their names or nicknames down on our sign-in sheet... )

SoCal Cosplay Gathering will be at Shelter 6. With Melissa, Corwin, Alec and Pam helping it took about two hours to get everything set up. We'll want to allow at least two hours to set everything up next weekend in Irvine at the big SoCal Cosplay Gathering. (left) If you're planning to help me there (Christian, Alec, etc.) please try to get to our location (aerial photo here) by 9 o'clock.

Then, last weekend we drove to Bakersfield. We stopped by Caitlin's gallery opening at Scripps College. Go see it!... )

From there, we headed to Bakersfield for the cosplay picnic... )

Harvey Auditorium, Bakersfield High School. After the picnic, we went back to the hotel. I took a shower while Melissa and Nikki fetched us dinner from Carl's Jr. and then we boogied down to the BHS Harvey Auditorium. A very impressive theater, especially for a high school (left).

The show was ZOMBIE PROM... )

Sarah Goldberg, Random High School Girl #12 in the Ensemble, is surprised to receive such a bouquet. Sarah was flabbergasted to receive such a huge bouquet on the second night of the show. (right) I understand the male lead was jealous, because he only got one or two, and Sarah's "just" Random High School Girl #12.

Next: Having lunch and heading for the hills.

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Keely Smith - "Always True To You (In My Fashion)"
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May 1st, 2009
05:14 pm

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...What do I do when lightning strikes me and I wake to find that you're not there...

Theresa Mather, artist.Photos online: Xanadu Las Vegas part 1: Arriving late Thursday night (17-Apr-2009) et seq.
The picture of [info]theresamather is from the convention.

AniZona, then Xanadu. AniZona had a mix of a seasoned "old" (over 30) crew of concom, and its third batch of under 30 staff learning the ropes; while Xanadu had a small concom of over-30 people learning as they go. About 350 members attended Xanadu.

AniZona's supposedly trying to train up the younger generation. My conclusion: it's not working. If this is their third batch of staff, if they've managed to have a 100% turnover in staff twice, then there's something wrong with how they're going about it. And it's not because people don't want to make anime conventions happen in Arizona: Saboten-Con over Halloween Weekend, Phoenix Cactus ComicCon (they dropped the "Cactus" this year) in January, AnimeTuCon down Tucson way... (We'll gloss over Yaoi Jamboree for now.) Anime convention fandom has spread into Arizona.

As far as Xanadu: Jacqueline Mason, the lady who'd convinced me to sign up back in September, was no longer part of the Xanadu operation. I expected to find a con suite, but they didn't have one. They didn't have name badges for at-the-door members, just wristbands. And the hotel, the Plaza Hotel (ex-Union Plaza) stinks of cigarette smoke, not just the decades-old kind but the fresh kind from the guy standing outside the door to the ballrooms smoking. I'm not going back to that hotel for a convention again.

We're heading out to Bakersfield tonight, for a cosplay picnic that [info]summoner_lenne9 (Sarah) is involved with. Should be fun.

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: calm
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April 16th, 2009
05:26 pm

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What have I got to do to make you love me. What have I got to do to make you care...

Nikki Costa with tattoo and ''Free Snacks'' sign (which has a tattoo in the corner). Photos now online:
AniZona 4: Late Thursday night (10-Apr-2009) New 16-Apr-2009
AniZona 4: Friday (10-Apr-2009) New 16-Apr-2009
AniZona 4 part 8: Saturday Morning (11-Apr-2009) New 16-Apr-2009
AniZona 4: Sunday (12-Apr-2009) New 16-Apr-2009
A stop at the PODS Warehouse (13-Apr-2009) New 16-Apr-2009
The picture of [info]aesthier (Nikki) as "Morrigan" with the [info]animelosangeles tattoo is from Saturday.

Part 1 of my AniZona report. The Friday night dance at AniZona was cut short at midnight, apparently because the DJ got tired or bored or something. Reportedly the fans weren't dancing that much anyway. Which reminds me of a card I need to write out and mail:

[info]lynxcat, I owe you a major apology for not asking you back as DJ at Animé Los Angeles 4. Your dances in the early years were always well-attended, and you kept the energy going all night. I still remember that night you told me "They won't die! I'm trying to kill them, and they just keep dancing!" I made a big mistake in removing you (in order to to try to solve a different problem). It was incredibly disrespectful and rash, and I shouldn't have done that.

I realize that you've moved away, and are now married with a wonderful son, and have a new life almost completely independent of everything you left behind here in So. Cal. But I would be honored if you would come down next year, our convention's fifth anniversary, and take a shift during our Saturday night dance at the LAX Marriott (2010-01-09). Show these upstart otaku DJs how it's done, put some of your manic "Adrenochrome" energy back into this convention, and leave the fans wanting more.

Yours in fandom, etc.


I'll look up his address and get that sent off real soon now.

I've been writing a lot of notecards lately, in fact -- I've written over 200 in the past month or two, thank-you notes for everyone who worked at our convention this year. When I have time, I write until my hand gets tired, then stuff the envelopes and stamp them; repeat. So some of them have Arizona postmarks if I worked on them last weekend.

Melissa De Mello at breakfast. We had a fan table at AniZona, which was nice. [info]ladymaxstarr (Melissa) rode out with me (left), and we took turns driving. A lifesaver, truly; if I had to choose between having a helper for the drive, and having one at the table, I'd take the drive to make sure I get where I'm going safely.

And the attendees at the convention seemed to have a good time. Which is not surprising: when people go to a convention expecting to have fun, they usually do.

Stephanie Bannon in the convention office. The schedule grid is on her computer. If I remember the numbers treasurer Stephanie Bannon (right) told me, 70% of the members pre-registered in the last month before the convention. (They maxed out their cap the week before, so there were no at-door membership sales.)

What did I think of the convention? I saw lots of people having a fun time. There were some details that were lacking, such as the signs... )

There were a lot of good feelings among the attendees. But there are some major issues with the staffing, so this is the last AniZona weekend convention for the forseeable future... )

It was an odd convention experience for me. AniZona's as old as Animé Los Angeles, so for it to end on such a conflicted note -- the regular attendees having a great time, but clear signs of early burnout on the part of the staff -- is hard for me to internalize.

I'll have more thoughts on the convention in my next post, along with some ponderings on the Arizona convention scene.


Tonight we hit the road for Xanadu Las Vegas. [info]ala_mokita (Christian) is on the road already, to set up a movie illustrators exhibit. (As I write this, he's about 60 miles from Vegas, while I haven't left Orange County yet.) Lynn, Melissa and I plan to wait until the traffic dies down a bit after rush hour and then we'll hit the road ourselves.

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Elton John - "Sorry seems to be the hardest word"
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April 8th, 2009
02:07 pm

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...You want a piece of my heart. You better start from start. You wanna be in the show.

Sarah Goldberg and Hannah Whyte, at U.C. Irvine. Photos now online: Sarah and Hannah (05-Apr-2009)
Sarah and Maria went shopping (06-Apr-2009)

Sunday was an easy day, mostly... )

The goal for Monday was to get Sarah ready for the prom. Two dresses behind the cut... )

All that remained was to get Sarah safely home... )

Maria and I were back at the house by a quarter after midnight. I've come home later that from Coral Cafe on a Thursday evening! (I've left Coral later than that...) Coral would be another good choice for a halfway point, come to think of it. We sailed past that vicinity about 11:00-11:15 pm.

(Many thanks to Maria for riding along there and back again -- I didn't end up tired enough to need her to take over, but that was probably because I had her there to talk to. I would have been more likely to have zoned out without her riding shotgun.)

Current Location: Santa Ana CA, USA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Pet Shop Boys - "West End Girls"

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