January 21st, 2010 by Alice

Yay my first post! :)

The weekend of Jan. 8-10 was the annual AnimeLA convention at the LAX Marriott hotel.  It’s a relatively new convention and mainly known for being small, hospitable, and relaxing.  I was there with some friends, cosplaying of course.

This is me as Rimi (pink hair) with Colleen as Ayase (short silver hair) and Yoshiko as Sena (long dark hair) from the anime series, “Chaos;Head”.  We made our own costumes but the weapons were made by a friend.  Photo taken from American Cosplay Paradise.

Me as Haku from Spirited Away.  Photo by sklathill.

Two of my friends cosplaying as Chane and Rail Tracer from the anime, “Baccano!”.  Photo by me.

It’s pretty common at anime conventions to see people cosplaying from everything but anime… here we have the Progressive commercial girl and a frightening clown. Photo by sklathill.

As I mentioned earlier, AnimeLA is known for being hospitable and that’s through features such as the Con Suite.  Attendees can pop in for a quick snack or even a small meal completely free of charge.  It was a bit strictly regulated this year and only 20 people or so were allowed in at a time, but I remember last year being pretty hectic with everyone rushing in all at once. Photo by sklathill.

Something I had not seen at AnimeLA (or any anime convention) before was the Parent’s Lounge, which was run by LASFS.  I noticed that this year, AnimeLA seemed to be especially parent-friendly with this lounge and even with panels for parents to attend about “dealing” with their anime-crazed children or for parents who were fans themselves.  It was pretty interesting to see the convention making an effort in this aspect. Photo by sklathill.

Overall, lots of good fun and I was sad that Sydney and Senna couldn’t make it… maybe next year!

September 3rd, 2009 by Sydney

This is kind of old news but I thought I’d mention it anyways.  Our photos from Las Vegas Star Trek Convention 2009 have been up on the main site now for a while.  Here are some highlights:

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August 7th, 2009 by Sydney

Hello everyone.

Senna and Sydney will be at the Official Star Trek Convention at the Las Vegas Hilton this weekend, Friday through Sunday.  We’ll try to update the blog when we can with photos but if that can’t happen (because of lack of  internet access  or something) I’ll definitely be updating our Twitter.  We’re actually pretty unprepared as far as convention programming goes so if anyone has any suggestions of events and things to go to, let us know. Maybe we’ll see some of you there?

And thanks Amanda for always doing such a great job maintaining the blog while we’re away.

July 31st, 2009 by Amanda

We were fortunate enough to take some footage of Flynn’s arcade and Tron Light Cycle at Comic-Con this past weekend. Can I just say, I am so excited that Daft Punk is doing the soundtrack for Tron Legacy.

Here is the perimeter of the arcade:

Here is the Tron Light Cycle. I could have stared at it for hours:

And this one…I have no words:

July 19th, 2009 by Sydney

That’s right! And just in time for that giant squidless Watchmen director’s cut screening at Comic-Con! Underwire reports:
“…Hordes of fearsome, violent Humboldt Squid have invaded shallow waters off the coast of Comic-Con International’s host city San Diego, assaulting divers and anyone else that gets in their way…

The predatory squid — which grow up to 7 feet long, have razor-sharp beaks and tentacles spiked with teeth — have been migrating northward at an alarming rate, as temperatures warm and their food stores thin out…

Comic-Con attendees might want to think about if they plan a dive near the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.”

Hey, on the bright side, at least this thing isn’t what’s attacking the shores of San Diego, though I’m sure there are a few fanboys out there that probably wish that it was.

July 8th, 2009 by Sydney

Some photos from the Steampunk gathering at Anime Expo last Friday…

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July 3rd, 2009 by Sydney

Some of my highlights from today at Anime Expo…

And ZOMG LOOK WHO I FOUND…

One of the Steampunks from Fanime!

I’ll be posting the rest of the photos from Anime Expo in the Fantasy IRL Gallery and on Cosplay.com soon.

July 2nd, 2009 by Sydney

That’s right! We’ll be at Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center today through Sunday. If you see us, say hi!!!! We’ll be the ones with the big blue bows taking pictures and passing out flyers!

June 9th, 2009 by Sydney

On Sunday at this year’s Fanime Con in San Jose, CA, a panel called “How to Talk to Girls” was held.  Three people (two girls and a guy who’s names I didn’t catch since the room was so loud) sat at a table in a large conference room, answering questions and giving advice to audience members.  I wish to God that the panelists gave better (and louder) introductions about themselves because I’m reeeeally curious to know what qualified them to be up there giving the advice they gave.

(If anyone out there knows, please fill me in.)

First of all, they kept encouraging the boys in the room to stick to the “Friend Zone” strategy when trying to obtain a girlfriend.  Picture this: Only a few minutes into the two hour discussion, a boy approaches the microphone that stands at the center of the crowed, musky room and says something like, “So I’ve been in this girl’s friend zone for like six years.  How do I like get out of the friend zone?” The panelists tell him that the Friend Zone isn’t always bad and that he should stick with it while showing more obvious signs that he’s interested in this girl-friend of his.  For example, maybe he should get a little more physical with her, hugging her hello and goodbye or something like that if he doesn’t already, patting her on the back or arm, etc. Seconds later, a group of girls dressed up like Nintendo controllers, who happen to be sitting directly in front of bloggers Senna, Kristy and I, jump up and stomp over to the microphone.  They start squawking about how every boyfriend they have ever had started out in their Friend Zone and that sometimes a guy’s just gotta hang in their until the girl is ready to go out with them.  The panelists nod their heads in what looks like… agreement?  Or maybe they don’t really agree but their “Uh huhs” and “Yeahs” certainly don’t make them sound like they object much to what the Controllers have said.

Moments later, another girl runs up saying that her current boyfriend and her were friends before they took it to a more intimate level.  She goes on to suggest, “You should invite her out, preferably at night so you can light some candles get some mood light going. Then put on some Barry White.” Or was it Barry Manalow.  Shit, I don’t remember.  But it was something along those lines.  I look around the room and the sea of fanboys that surrounds me appear to be absorbing every word these girls say like they’re coming from the mouth of George Lucas himself.  Or Hideo Kojima.  Or whoever it is that they worship.

To my left, Senna is shaking her head and crying, “No! Don’t listen to them! The Friend Zone doesn’t always work!” I then turn to my left and see a frowning Kristy, who let’s out a simple, “Oh God,” from under her breath.  I join in with their cries of concern.  First, a soft “No.” Then louder.  And louder. “No… no… NO!! OH GOD, NO! DON’T DO IT!”  Senna and Kristy join in, “No! It doesn’t always work! It’s not a perfect system! Just be up front about it! If she’s interested, she’ll let you know! Don’t be creepy!” I look up and I see that the Controllers are back sitting in front of us again.  Oh shit! I think the Super Nintendo Controller just shot me the Evil Eye!

Finally, the three of us have had it, or at least Senna and I have.  The two of us get up and wait in the line that’s now formed behind the microphone.  When it’s finally our turn, we let ‘em know what’s good:

“Sorry, guys.  We’re not trying to rain on anyone’s parade but we just thought that you should know that the Friend Zone DOES NOT always work, despite what everyone here has been saying.  You run the risk of freaking the girl out and losing her as a friend by making moves on her out of the blue.  Sometimes the best thing is to just be upfront about it in the beginning.  If she’s into you, she’s into you. If she’s not, let it go.”  The panelists finally start talking a little sense.  “Oh yeah.  Sometimes the girl just isn’t into you, even if you’re her friend first.”  And then Senna says out of wholehearted empathy, “Oh, and also, don’t put video games before your girlfriend.  And don’t be an idiot.  It’s that simple…”  The room chuckled as if that was not a possibility-I mean video games or your girlfriend, come on!  No wonder you are sitting in a panel about how to talk to girls.

Senna and I go back to our seats and let out a sigh of relief, relief that only lasts maybe two seconds as another nervous-looking boy steps up to the microphone. He asks, “What do you do when you’re talking to a girl and it gets awkward?” The panelists’ advice? “Sometimes the best thing to do when a situation gets awkward is to talk about how awkward it is.  Say something like, ‘Hey! This is awkward!’” I almost fall out of my chair.  Are you kidding me? For the next 15 minutes, the panelists reiterate to the group over and over that the best thing to do in an awkward situation is talk about how awkward it is.  Uh, are you kidding me? This isn’t some cutesy Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy!  This is real life!  With real girls! Sure maybe some guys can pull that off but come on! At this point, the three of us have had it.  Holding nothing back, we start shouting, “No! No! Don’t do it! DON’T DO IT!” But alas, our cries fall flat, inaudible and lost among the mumbles of the misguided lost boys and the musings of the “How to Talk to Girls” panelists.  It’s no use.  We keep our mouths shut for the rest of the discussion and eventually leave quietly.

Of course, these were only two situations brought up during the two-hour talk.  I’m sure some advice they gave was at some point helpful to somebody in that room.  But honestly, we can’t really remember much of anything else that was said.  Maybe we mental blocked it.  Who knows? Oh! Except for the first kid to ask a question during the panel.  I don’t remember what he asked, only that it started with, “So me and my girlfriend– ” Before he could finish, some guy in the back cut him off, shouting, “LUCKY.”