Lando at Sac Sci-fi/Horror Show

Public service announcement:

This weekend there's a sci-fi/horror convention going on in Sacramento. It's called the Sac Sci-fi/Horror Show, and you can find the details here.

Sak and I will not be able to attend (nor the pirate-themed renaissance fair in Casa de Fruta either, sadly!) due to a gigantoid amount of work still left to do before our second reception party in October.

But I still feel like I should mention this convention, since the vaulted Billy Dee Williams will be in attendance.

(source)

You know you want to meet Lando. I sure do.

(source)

Rico Suave of the galaxy, Williams played Lando Calrissian, high-roller and friend of Han Solo.

And to fortify this Lando-themed post, here's a few of my favorite Lando-inspired products:

(source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

None of which I own, of course - as I'm still saving up for that taun taun sleeping bag.

Anyway, somebody go to this thing so I can live vicariously through you! :P

BART Posters

I don't take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) very often, as my typical method-of-transportation is a bit cheaper per month. That and the stinky, stained seats aren't so fun.

But when I did take the Bart the other day, I was pleasantly surprised to see these in the Embarcadero station:

BART's got their very-own weird posters that seemingly have no real purpose other than to make you go, "huh"! The duck one is my favorite, by far - though Sak likes the rocket ship one. I'm so proud of my local transit authority. We should all have more weird posters in life.

Anyway, I did some digging to see what they were for, and found BART's blog. I never knew a subway train could have a blog, but hey - why not?

Apparently, they are inspirational posters about a child's "first ride story". There's a contest where you submit the story of your own first ride, and you can win all three of the posters, autographed by the artist! How awesome is that? He's got pretty cool art, too.

Anyway, since I was doing all this research for blogging purposes, I figure I might as well enter the contest. Here's my 200-words-or-less entry:

As a brand new corporate recruit straight out of a small-town college, the Bay Area proved a big, scary place at first. With no car and an early appointment in the East Bay for work, I headed from my San Francisco office to the only 411 approved method of transportation: underground.

The quick swish of the red fare gates fascinated me. The long descent down the escalator quickly taught me to stand on the right, lest I be trampled. And the scream of the approaching car captured my attention much more than the automated voice warning that a nine-car train was headed my way. That first, short trip through the Transbay tunnel was unforgettable; the whole train seemed to howl as we sped through. There were clever ads thanking romance-novel readers for riding, a copy of the daily paper stuffed into the crack of my seat, and a large system map above the handicapped section. I studied the latter carefully - anxiously hoping not to miss my stop.

But eventually, I found myself on the other side of the Bay, safe and on-time for my very first Oakland meeting. A trip I have repeated many times since.

Okay. I feel like a total cheese-ball for entering a contest. But I really like the posters!

Anyway, if you take BART, take a second to appreciate the cute little art. And if you've ever taken BART, feel free to try and beat me out for that free set! I promise I won't hate you if you win.

Hyper-con 2010

This Saturday Sak and I went over to the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco for the debut of a brand new convention, Hyper-con.
It was a good chance to check out the scene and support a local start-up convention.
Being a small convenion, they had only one video room. I was a little disappointed at their 90's era offerings, though I admit that I'm not sure how convention licenses work. I'm sure royalties to play newer material are high - but could one not use fan-subs? Or are those somehow protected as well?

Anyway, I did appreciate the decision to play Shinesman. It's an old parody of Power Ranger-type shows - with the "rangers" having odd colors such as sepia, moss green and salmon pink. It's still hilarious after all these years, and very nostalgic for me personally.
The gym held swap meets and art shops,And another room had a Street Fighter tournament. We didn't stay for that though - since there was a bag check. I am paranoid when it comes to my Japan-exclusive Hetalia bag.
The con enjoyed a nice turn-out of people and cosplayers:

Local-con-resident, Craig, was in attendance. That boosts the legit-factor by at least 10.

And there were musical performances by several groups, including Akai Sky which has played at Fanime before. Due to Sak's hungry stomach though, we only stayed for a rock band called Phoenix Ash. They were good - but the acoustics of the parking lot were not the best, and it was hard to hear the singer over the over-powered instruments.

Overall, I feel like this convention has room to grow. I was a bit sad that they didn't have convention programs along with the $12 cost of attendance. Not so great for those of us that like memorabilia to remember the conventions we've visited. There wasn't much signage around the place for easy identification either. However, if they are still around in a couple years, we'd come back. I understand that it takes a while to really get one's feet off the ground.

Anyway, we left early due to Sak's empty stomach. One good part of the convention was that it was held in the Mission - well known for it's great food. We ate at Pancho Villas, splitting a super burrito and cup of Horchata.

Oh how I love you, burrito.

A Saturday afternoon full of anime and tasty Mexican food - that's good living.

Vader on the Runway

You can't blame me for doing a double-take upon passing this billboard at some metro station in Japan:

Unfortunately, Vader's slick black look and formidable headwear won't be hitting the fashion scene anytime soon - the ad is from docomo, a major mobile phone company.

Though I'm not quite sure what they are advertising, I'm guessing cell phone covers. That, or if you join their phone plan - you'll be cool like a model or a dark sith lord? Or perhaps they are just prescribing to the well-known truth that anything with a Star Wars label increases sales.

The fangirl in me, however - would not mind taking fashion in a direction of another galaxy - far, far away. This guy is clearly on point, for example -
What do you think? Anyone up for making their own fashion-forward armor?

Melon Soda

I like to say that I don't drink soda. I usually don't. But there's always an exception, isn't there?

Melon soda.

The nuclear-waste colored, sugary smoothness of melon soda is my personal ambrosia. Sak's too. We love the sickly green stuff to a fault.

I don't know what looks better - the soda or the sak.

Mmm. Melon slushie wins this round.

It's a good thing it's not mass-produced on the American market. I have a hard-enough time keeping my fingers off the expensive Japanese stuff.


You want some too now, right?

Melon soda can be found in pretty much any Asian grocery store, so look for the bottle with a green honeydew picture on it. It typically comes in two kinds, "melon soda" and "melon cream soda". I'm partial to the non-creamy one, as I like the bring-it-on strength of normal melon soda. But you really can't go wrong with either.

And if you happen to stumble upon the Ramune melon soda - well then, you're in luck! Not only would you get the refreshing delicious taste of melon soda, but also all the fun of popping the marble in the Ramune bottle!

(source)

(source)

My willpower is faltering...so weak, so weak!

Do you have a soft-spot for a certain soda?

SLO is pretty slow.

Okay, so I won't claim my old college town to be the nexus of modern living, but I thought we were at least somewhat intelligent. I mean, we do rank #5 in terms of best college in the nation for undergrad engineering. You'd think we'd be all over this internet thing.

Well, San Luis Obispo, way to have our town openly mocked all over the internet. Or at least over at the SF Chronicle.

Oh man. If only getting real pedos to brand themselves with the scarlet pedobear of shame was that easy.

Anyway, if you're not familiar with pedobear (as the knee-jerk reactionists over at the San Luis PD obviously weren't), he was an innocent Japanese mascot that was contorted via 4chan into a "pedophile bear". People would make creepy/funny images with the popular bear image, and eventually it hit meme status.

(source)

It's a distasteful joke - I know. And definitely one that makes me groan rather than giggle. But it is a joke, and I highly doubt real offenders even know about the rather otaku-culture creation.

Pedobear in Japan.

Note to official people: please do your research before making up problems that really aren't there.

Note to creepy guys in pedobear costumes at conventions: Please. Please stop.

River Otter

Because it's Friday, and I didn't die trying to drive home from a Stockton meeting today - here is a video of a super-cute river otter with a skin disease:


Right around 0:25 is the cutest, zoomed-in part.

I would have set it to music if I wasn't so lazy. What song makes you itchy?

The Craft Room: Beginnings

Sak moved into my closet. Which, per the pre-marriage agreement - means that I get full use of his old room.

While we were in Japan, my mom stole Sak's twin bed to put underneath Penga-Sis's bunk bed. Meaning Sak doesn't have to sleep on the cot when we visit my parent's anymore?

Anyway, all my toys, crafts and crap was tossed into new-crafty-room, giving me the following rat's nest to work with:

Well, nevermind the clothes. I felt like air drying them since we have "drying racks" available for the time being.

So that gives me a couple plastic drawers, wire rack cubbies, a bookshelf, a desk, and a closet full of winter jackets. Any ideas where to start? My crap consists of half anime paraphernalia, half crafting supplies. Overwhelming is an understatement. Please don't sign me up for that TLC show on hoarding.

How do you keep organized?