This is a diary of my experiences at A-Kon X. It is merely a
collection of my reactions to the con and is not necessarily an
objective overview of the con itself.
Also, my con diaries are by now well-known amongst my circle of
friends. From time to time one or the other of them would grab my
diary out of my hand and write something in it. I'll put in headers
to indicate transitions. Most of it will be me, Richard.
[Richard]
<snippage>
Now, besides the Dealer's Room, a lot of tables had been set up in the
lower lobby of the hotel, at which sat various companies promoting
this and that. The table for Galactic Productions was empty, and I
sat at it along with Lara, Stephen Tsai, Sean, Ken Aromdee, and a few
others. We talked for a while. It was very pleasant.
[Ya know, I was thinking of changing my name to few others, maybe I'll get
recognized more often, ne? <evil grin>]
Then I went back to the Dealer's Room hoping to buy some T-shirts. I
had forgotten to pack any shirts with me, and I was *not* going to
wear the same shirt three days in a row. (I'd bought one shirt at the
airport when I'd realized what I'd done.) I found one table that had
a good selection. Sean decided to tell the dealer why I was buying a
shirt; I expressed my displeasure.
[Sean]
What Richard said to me was, "Thanks for telling everyone. Why don't
you tell them about my syphilis, too?"
[????? Um, maybe sharing that Mountain Dew wasn't such a good idea....]
<more snippage>
I exchanged my too-small OMG tee-shirt for a correctly-sized black
shirt with "U.N. NERV" on the collar. I immediately changed into it.
At 11:55am I stood in line to get my Minmay poster signed by Mari
Iijima.
[Yeah, now that was a cool shirt if I ever saw one....]
<still more snippage>
At 3pm I went to the Fanfic Panel. I was on the panel along with
Lara, Sean, Chris, Nick, and Megazone. We talked about script vs.
prose (which prompted me to grab the microphone and say "Script
sucks";
[Indeed.]
this further prompted Nick to take the microphone away from me
and turn it off). Megazone talked about why he gave up on moderating
r.a.a.c. We talked about C&C, flames, fanfic awards, and Anipike.com.
We mused on stories that never seem to end and the fact that Megazone
has two girlfriends.
[Well, you missed us giving a round of applaus to the sound guy and a another
guy who wandered in.]
I got up to leave at 3:55pm, since I wanted to attend Mari Iijima's
Q&A session. Fortunately, RpM stumbled into the room at exactly that
time, having just arrived at the con. Since he'd been scheduled to be
on the panel, I gave him my seat.
<snip Lawson's approach to Mari>
She's written a couple of songs for other singers,
<Oops, still snipping>
Her favorite bands are -
<Snip more trivia facts on Mari>
<still snipping..... check in....>
Mari Iijima is a very lively person.
<*Still* snipping>
The only work she's done so far in the US is the making of a radio
commercial for the MTV Music Awards. They seemed to really like her,
so she's hopeful of doing more work for them.
<Snip the rest>
[Uh, Richard, I knew you liked her and all, but uh, <nervous
laughter> Ummm, never mind....]
Anyway, after the first Q&A session, Ken, Lara, Sean, and I went to
the McDonald's in the airport. Talked some more; I was still in
nirvana from the Mari Iijima talk. :)
[Memorable (paraphrased) quote:
"So are you going back up to the room to change your underwear?"
Lara]
[Lara]
Richard plays with David's toys.
David mugs me for my photo.
[David]
Sean, don't look behind you. The Fan is watching. O_o
[Uh, correction there. I wrote that. David was too busy trying to
dislodge his Transformer from Sean....]
At 6:40 I get in line for the cosplay. I want to get a good seat to
see Mari Iijima's performance. Alas I waited a bit too long; the line
is quite long at this point.
[Quite true, it nearly reached one end of the floor and doubled back.
And what's funny is you didn't have to wait in line and you still could
get a close seat.]
At 7:10 the line begins to move. The ballroom is huge, with plenty of
space. Although the stage is hard to see from certain angles, a large
overhead screen enhances the view. The worst thing is the sound -
even with microphones, some of the people were hard to understand.
<snip>
Here are a few of the acts that appeared:
An Orion slave girl danced for Tim Thomerson.
[Quite hilarious and yet frightening....]
A young girl dressed as Hitomi from Escaflowne sang; the audience
waved its arms and held up lighters.
[Actually I think she lipped synced it....]
One of the acts left confetti all over the stage. Eventually the
Hyatt hotel staff came on stage with brooms and dustpans to clean it
up. They got a huge round of applause.
[I still think they should have gotten best of show, but that's just me...]
My personal favorite was "Central Dogma at 1pm", where we were
introduced, Troy McClure style, to "Kaji's Guide to Getting Some".
[One of my faves... not that having a friend in it has any bias...]
<snipppa>
After the cosplay was over, Mari Iijima got on stage and sang. The
first two songs were in Japanese, the next two in English. The last
was "Ai Oboetemasuka (Do You Remember Love)". Her presentation was
good, her singing excellent. She has a wonderful voice that projects
well; it's a shame the sound system was so bad. The audience reaction
was surprisingly lukewarm; they didn't get much into the songs, and
applauded warmly if not enthusiastically. I myself was enchanted, but
I seemed to be in the minority. Me, I was humming her songs all night
and into the next day.
[And that tune hasn't left me to this day. Damn you Lawson!!! <evil grin>]
Met up with Lara, Sean, et. al. after the cosplay ended at 11:15pm,
where I found out that Lara is carrying Andrew's love child. (That
comment produced a heart-felt scream from Lara.)
<snip>
[Lara]
I forgot my brush. I looked frightening all weekend.
[Oh give me a break, she couldn't have done worse than that forty-something
woman in that skippy Dirty Pair outfit. Oiyo!]
<snip>
A-Kon X was just great. A-Kon continues to be one of the best cons
out there - big enough to attract good dealers and guests of honor,
not *so* large that the crowd is out of control or that you have to
wait in line for hours to get to the best stuff. This was the most
I've ever enjoyed the programming at the con, and I had lots of
friends to talk to besides. :) Needless to say I'll be back next
year, and I hope that by some miracle I'll be able to free up some
time to go to Otakon so I can do this all over again. ^_^
[Yes. I had lots of fun myself. It was great to meet all of ya'll
for the first time. As a con virgin, you guys made my first
time the best.... oh wait that didn't come out right...
ANYWAY, I do hope to see you guys next year. Adios.]
Lurking in the darkness....
Bastion