Guys, I can make polls now!

[laceblade]

[Poll #1268291]

---

Anyway, Geek.Kon.

I spent time with sasha_feather and owlface1, and were_duck. I was also able to chat for reasonable amounts of time with berzerker_prime and britrock37, both of whom are heavy-lifting planners for the convention. I fangirled Sarah Monette (truepenny), telling her I loved her recent posts about revenge tragedies, and received book-buying advice from her in the dealer's room. We even saw bipagan!

I have enough brain functions for bulleted lists, so I'll do that.

*I liked that this year, more space was reserved for the convention, and all of the gaming stuff: RPGs, CCGs, LAN party, Super Mario Smash Brothers and what-have-you were all in a separate building (but still close and connected by a foot-bridge). I'm assuming that the people who like this stuff like it all being in one place. I liked it because I don't care about that stuff, and it was separated from all the stuff I was interested in: panels, vendors, and anime viewing.

*I watched the first two episodes of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles. Overall, I like the manga better, as expected. I think the art style in the manga is pretty neat, and it's lost in the nature of animation. Yuki Kajiura music gets pretty old pretty fast, too, and felt overly dramatic. I think this is just a general rule for me with CLAMP. In every instance I can think of, I prefer the manga version of their stories to the anime version.

*Attended SF Films of 2008; left pretty early on. Still, admired the comprehensive list of every sci-fi movie from 2008!

*Stuck around in SF&F TV Shows long enough to offer up my opinions of Terminator and Fringe. Was skeptical about panelist's opinion that Heroes is the best sci-fi show on TV. For white fanboys, maybe.
chrome_kitten has decided to stop watching the show after seeing the season 3 premiere (which I personally have yet to see), but she's had a great number of posts dissecting the show's representation of race and gender. This post analyzes the presentation of the Heroes centerfold in this week's Entertainment Weekly. This one offers a list of things she would have changed about season 2 to make it better. Pretty much every point involves giving more power to the female characters and people of color on the show. It might be hard for some people to hear.....because Heroes is their favorite show! But looking at how gender and race are represented in the media you spend time with is always important. It doesn't mean that you have to stop, but just give it some thought. It's hard not to read chrome_kitten's posts and not realize that Heroes really is all about white men. As she says:

to me, its biggest failing is that it still assumes that viewers can't get into stories that aren't centered on white, male characters. Characters of color are relegated to the background or to stories that are ultimately only important in how they affect the Petrelli storylines. Women are also generally either pushed to the background or are only foregrounded in terms of their gendered fucked-upedness (e.g. Niki/Jessica) or their potential for weekly torture porn (e.g. Claire). And as usual, heaven help the women of color. These portrayals are the primary reason why I've given up watching the show. I suspect that the writers, directors, producers, advertisers, etc. think they're being clever, insightful, or edgy; but really, they're just being lazy.

*Only lasted about 5 minutes in the Fanfiction panel. I didn't think any of particular depth was being discussed.

*britrock37's CLAMP panel was a delightful romp through all of CLAMP manga, ever, complete with PowerPoint slides. I thought it was a good overview for people wanting to know more about their work.

*Attended "Speedy Singularity" and "Build a World" panels. Lots of time was spent on Hard SF, which I'm not really interested, but I appreciated truepenny's presence.

*Purchases:
Revolutionary Girl Utena button
fanart bookmark of Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender
fanart bookmark of Sailor Moon
fanart bookmark of Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club
Hammered by Elizabeth Bear (as recommended by truepenny
Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly (as recommended by truepenny)
Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly (as recommended by truepenny)

*sasha_feather, make sure you find me tomorrow, because I have were_duck's copy of Buffy, season 6 for you.



Differences of Wiscon and Geek.Kon that stand out for me, for the curious
*Geek.Kon strives for PG-13 fun, and lots of high school kids go. I like this. It's a safe space for them to totally freak out with each other, which I'm assuming is hard to find in high school.
*I love Wiscon, but Wiscon sucks in regards to anime content. I don't have a ton of fun in the dealer's room at Wiscon because yeah, I obviously like books, but I can get them from the library, and only one table sells cheap used ones. At Geek.Kon, there's all kinds of anime merchandise that makes me ridiculously excited, and I can't buy it anywhere else. Wiscon's cool, but you can buy books all the time, and I like being able to buy unique things at a convention. Also, at Geek.Kon, there is a room devoted to anime viewing all day, both days. Easy to run, nice for relaxing, and lots of varied content.
*The panels are a lot better at Wiscon. Still, panels are pretty much all that Wiscon does, aside from allowing attendees to plan their own parties, so that makes sense.
*There's lots more cosplay at Geek.Kon, at least of the anime variety, which I can easily recognize and appreciate. Of course, this also means there's more scary cosplay, :[ How come so many young girls dress up as Chii from Chobits?!

Comments

[lavendersleeves.livejournal.com]

but not actually *obligated*. There are lots of blogs I read, even of people I know.

[were-duck.livejournal.com]

I don't feel "obligated"--I LIKE your blogs! It was lovely to see you last night! I agree with your assessment of the panels we went to. I think Geek.Kon could do better paneling--it definitely seems like an afterthought.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you!

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

answering in comments: because i like you.

also, you should propose an anime panel or three for wiscon.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Yay! I like you too!

Bwaha, maybe I will! When does that start, anyway?
The only one I can remember from last year was the Shojo Bodies one, but that was impromptu by oyceter and coffeeandink

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

programming proposals are in december, and then programming signups are in february. thinking about it ahead of time, and noting people who would be good for the panels in the proposal can pay off - heyiya's internet drama panel worked and was useful because of that sort of pre-planning.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I suppose that that makes sense.

There aren't a ton of anime people who read my LJ and also go to Wiscon....off the top of my head, there's littlebutfierce and takumashii, and I think chr0me_kitten watches stuff on occasion as well.

Anyway, I'll think of ideas!

[snowystingray.livejournal.com]

Other: because I don't know how to say this without sounding weird, but I almost kind of think of you as a friend I know IRL -- that is, usually I have a clear delineation between online = fandom stuff, RL = personal/school/current events stuff, and I normally don't mix the two. With your journal, though, I always look forward to reading your comments on what I'd consider "RL issues," and feel comfortable sharing my thoughts/opinions as well (and there really aren't many people I'd say that about, so take it as a compliment! :D).

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's weird at all! My line between IRL and online friends is totally blurred (especially because my main way of communicating with a bunch of my Madison friends is via LiveJournal!). In the past, I would say, "These people on this messageboard I go to," and then it was, "These people I know online," and now it's just like, "I have a friend in Florida who...." and people will say, "Oh! How did you meet?" And I'm like, "Well, we've never actually MET, per say...."

It's good to know that you don't gloss over the RL stuff! Sometimes I worry that only some posts are interesting to certain people.

[bipagan.livejournal.com]

Of course I'm obligated. I get that threatening "anonymous" letter in the mail saying if I don't read your LJ that something "bad" will happen. I can't take those kind of chances! What if I wake up one morning with the great desire to eat enormous amounts of cream cheese? That wouldn't be right. That would be "bad." :P

Have you been to Odd Con? Anime wise, I think you would like it more than WisCon.

So I was introduced to this whole lolitas thing. WTF?

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I have not been to Odd Con! After Geek.Kon last year, they wanted me to run anime stuff for them, and I was like, "Bitches please, your con is in the middle of the segue from midterms to finals!" Maybe I'll try attending next year?

As for lolitas, there's not much to say, aside from the WTF? you already gave.

There is a movie called Kamikaze Girls, in which one of the main characters is a lolita girl, but she befriends a girl in a biker gang. Heinous and heartwarming, as are many things made in Japan.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

Because I know you in person and YOU'RE AWESOME!

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Awww! I think you're awesome, too!

[raanve]

I met you in person at WisCon, and you seemed really cool. Reading your LJ has proven this first impression to be true. :)

Also, I like the politics and fandom posts.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Yay! Everyone is so nice!

It's good to know that people aren't bored by the political and fandom posts. Sometimes I'm not sure, lol.

[raanve]

Well, you know... when you're into politics and fandom, sometimes you enjoy reading and conversing on those topics. ;)

[sasha-feather.livejournal.com]

I read your journal because I like reading your journal! And I like you! I'm glad we got to hang out yesterday. I'm on my way to the Con in 2 minutes...

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad we could hang out, too!

[jume.livejournal.com]

wofsers for the motherloving win?

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

YES.

[jesse_the_k]

Because you're interesting, and you're part of the awesome RL/LJ posse, and your Sarah Palin post wrocked my socks.

(And because now I know I have an anime/manga person I can fangirl).

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Yeah, RL/LJ posse FTW!

I'm glad you liked the Palin post.

[hederahelix.livejournal.com]

I started reading your blog at WisCon because you had good coverage of some events that happened there. I kept reading because at that point I felt like, well, we'd survived that WisCon together so we had something in common, and weirdly, I feel like I get little updates on how Madison and Bucky are doing from your blog now that I'm back on the left coast.

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

We did survive! That's interesting, too - a lot of people friended me after the Rachel Moss BS, but I wasn't sure how interested they'd really be in reading my blog from day-to-day. It's good to know that at least one person is!

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

Ditto to knowing you and not feeling obligated. I enjoy reading your journal!

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[britrock37.livejournal.com]

1. I'm sad I didn't get to talk to you much more than I did.

2. I'm glad you liked my panel. It didn't end up being the way I wanted it.

3. I'm glad you got a Sailor Moon bookmark. I was going to tell you about them, but then I didn't see you after I saw the bookmarks.

4. I agree completely with your comments on the number of young girls cosplaying Chi from Chobits. The same thing happened last year. And I never really know what to think about it. I just don't know. I don't understand why young girls LIKE Chi from Chobits.....I guess I just don't have that mindset. At least this year there seemed to be fewer old men oggling the young girls dressed as Chi. So that's an improvement????

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I am sad about #1 as well, :[ I got really exhausted, although I'm sure it doesn't compare to how tired you were!

Re: #2: Did it not go the way you wanted it to in a bad way? Or a good way? I thought it was a nice overview, and am also really glad that you thought to make a PowerPoint. I think it helped people a lot to see how their art style has evolved over the years, etc. It's interesting - even though I've read almost all of it, I forgot how much CLAMP manga there is!

I'm glad about the Sailor Moon bookmark, too! Also, someone spotted the Sailor Mars button that was purchased for me in Daisho Con and I was like, "No, my friends got it for me; it's so cool!"

[britrock37.livejournal.com]

I guess that really my vision for the panel was that people would all just sit down and kinda talk about CLAMP stuff and geek out, but then I made the powerpoint precisely to SHOW the way that the art style evolved over the years (so I'm glad that worked and that you liked it), so then I felt more like I was giving a lecture on CLAMP. And I didn't feel like I was necessarily qualified to be giving a lecture on CLAMP, so I wanted to have other people talk more, but it didn't end up like that.

And there was stuff I wanted to mention that I didn't. Like more about the recurring themes and things that happen.

I don't know, I'm glad you liked it though!

And I'm glad someone saw your Sailor Mars button. Lelah and I were really excited when we found those at Detour and we were seriously like.....OMG I can't remember which one Jackie likes the most...crap, I think it's Sailor Mars. (Or in my case, "I think it's the red one!!!") So yay!

I hope you had a lot of fun though. I had a lot of fun!