For those of you keeping score, we’re running 2.5, now.

I just got back from SakuraCon in Seattle this weekend and experienced snow for the first time since my trip to Philly in 2005. It was a metric fuckton of fun, including conversations that bordered on the absurd as whole portions of dialogue from Aqua Teen Hunger Force seemed to be the order of the weekend. We went up with Teri and Kailee, sharing a hotel room that had these tiny-ass double beds and a toilet that reminded one of the Disneyland Hotel in 2000 for Anime Expo (it will suck the soul right out of your body).

Fun was had by all, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

By the way, I know you all want to sponsor me for the AIDS Walk this year. I’m going to start walking now to build up the ability to do five miles a day, if I can. So please do me a favor and put down $25 at the link above. Thanks!

Current Mood: awake & working

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Things I’ll remember from 2007:

- The New England Patriots choking hard in the AFC Championship and Tom Brady walking off the field, refusing to congratulate the Colts like a man. Of course, that’s ancient history now that they’re 16-0… but I’m still pulling for another choke in the playoffs.

- Punch an’ Pie starting in February. Though, I had no idea where that webcomic was going in the beginning, it’s actually starting to go somewhere, now.

- Getting fired from Shopping.com and then getting hired by Yahoo in the span of two weeks.

- Starting a crap fantasy league, and then having most everyone ignore it. That sucked.

- Turning 31.

- Taking Julia to her first AX ever in July, but the lead up of force feeding her anime was awesome, too. It’s too bad she’s not going in 2008. For that matter, my going is still up in the air.

- Restarting Dorama Night. Now, if only people would actually show up…

- The Year of the Facebook: Getting hooked on it and amassing a friends list to match my LJ one. Hey, wait a minute…

- Todd packing up and leaving for Sacramento.

- Another losing season for the guys in orange and black. But hey… my Tribe seemed to be showing signs of life.

- Starting the Repository.

- Quitting Yahoo and joining the team at Teneros, all in the span of 28 hours.

- Taking a piano class at San Jose City.

- Starting up a new tabletop RPG group with friends.

- The Awful Toshiba Debacle.

- Extricating myself from Livejournal, once and for all, and moving myself to a better, free, and ad-free Wordpress blog.

- Having an awesome time at Ani-Magic, and hoping they’ll bring it back for 2008. Because if they do, I’m so there.

- Autobots Assemble!

- Winning NaNoWriMo for the third year in a row.

- Experiencing the on-call rotation for the first time.

- Building the USS Excelsior.

- Doing Holidailies again, and actually sticking with it for 33 posts!

- Spending New Year’s Eve in Anaheim with my wife, and having a lot of fun.

So there’s 2007, by the bullet points. I’ll start talking about 2008 soon.

Current Mood: awake

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We made it down here in less time than I thought. We took 101 all the way down, because I realized that we do take 5 and the reason behind that notion is that it’s usually for Anime Expo… and we always go down the same day as pre-registration. Well, you have to leave early in order to make it there in time to get your badges. Otherwise, you’re waiting along with the other late schlebs on the first day of the convention, and instead of actually enjoying the convention, you’re sitting in the sun, baking. This is not the case, here. We’re here for a vacation, not a convention, so there’s no need to rush.

It was nice, taking our time in the car. We stopped once for food, twice to stretch our legs, and no times for gas. Yeah, we made it down on one tank of gas and no one was more surprised than Julia. I, on the other hand, was pretty sure we were going to be fine. Anyway, we got in before 3:30pm (better than the 4:30pm we originally thought). The GPS crapped out before the second rest stop, and it was pretty pissed that we didn’t take 5 down. Finally, I think it gave up, because Julia said that it said, “Continue,” it a rather indignant tone. I was quick to point out that I didn’t think it had the ability to feel indignant about anything, but when I thought about it, I thought maybe she was right. It ran dry of battery a little more than half-way through the trip, so it didn’t have to worry about it, but we sure could’ve used it to tell us about LA traffic.

Before I go, I want to share some pics we’ve taken already!

These two shots are the views from our room. We specifically asked for a Disney view, and we got it. The weird thing is that while here, I feel like I need an Anime Expo and the gang with me. I love this Hilton, but it feels empty without 7 people in the room. The other weird thing is sleeping on a California King-sized bed instead of our smaller full-size at home. It’s huge! We’re looking forward to the fireworks show at 9:25pm tonight. They even provide like a little wicker couch that you can turn around and face the window so we can snuggle up and enjoy the show.

More later!

Current Mood: happy

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I’m really liking this series. I started watching it this week and I’m pretty hooked on it so far, into the fifth episode. Has anyone watched this series and if so, did you like it?

———–
Now playing on VLC Player: Death Note - Kakehiki

Current Mood: enthralled

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I finally broke down and created myself a Flickr account, which is something I thought I would never ever do. But given the fact that I have a crazy amount of pictures on my hard drive and the fear of losing all of them through a hard drive failure or some other circumstance has me a little afraid. So, I started uploading the old stuff, like all the photos I took at JTAF1 and Anime Expo earlier that same year. I’m also trying to track down all the photos I took of Anime Expo in 2000, which was the best year ever.

To the right, you will find one of my favorite photos of the Pagoda in Japantown San Francisco’s Peace Plaza. This photo ended up being on the cover of the First Annual JapanTown Anime Faire’s program guide. If you’ve got a flickr account, you can add me: http://www.flickr.com/people/ncc1701

Current Mood: geeky

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I’m a twenty-something thirty-something native of Silicon Valley, I’ve lived in this part of California all my life. I have four sisters and no brothers. I live in San Jose, California, with my wife, Julia. I am an aspiring novelist. I co-host and co-write a radio show called Unwound over at Japan-A-Radio. I am childfree. I love music to the point of singing and playing a musical instrument.

About the header graphic: The guy in the corner with the beard is the character, Jet Black, from the anime “Cowboy Bebop.”

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Every year in July, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation raises money through the AIDS Walk. Last year, my wife, and one of my best friends, , participated and raised about $1500+ between them for AIDS research. I thought this was a great cause and I have long donated money to AIDS research, personally. I think everyone can agree that raising money for such a cause is a good thing.

A week ago, I was chatting with a friend and he asked me when I was going to start running my own anime convention. Interestingly enough, he was the millionth person to ask me because I seem to be getting that question A LOT. I figured, hey, if people want me to run one, it seems like people want to go to it if I do. I think somehow there’s a guaranteed audience right there, but I didn’t really want to do for profit, yanno? If we were going to raise some money, I wanted the proceeds to go somewhere that needed it and so I’ve chosen to combine the idea of running an anime-related event and a donation to the AIDS Walk.

So, here is my plan:

• Hold an anime marathon in San Francisco, at the Red Vic Movie House
• Find 20 people to donate $100 each ($2000 total) in seed money to cover the venue.
• Sell the remaining 127 seats at $35 each for a 12 hour show.
• $35 times 127 people is $4,445 which would go straight to the AIDS Walk for my wife’s team.
• We’re calling it “Big Mike’s Anime Festival” on the advice of others.

The event would be held two weeks before Anime Expo on a Saturday, to help ease the cost. Plus, I think people can do $35 for charity given enough notice, and they get: 12 hours of anime with good friends, a special badge (which I’ll create), and a ‘program guide’. If we do this every year, I think we can start helping to make a difference.

Who’s with me on this?

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In spite of all the horror stories about Anime Expo, I had a ton of fun. I will most likely return in 2008, 2009, 2010, and so on. Remember, it’s not all about the convention, it’s about who you go with. And my running crew rules all.

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In preparation for Anime Expo, Julia has watched:

• Bishoujou Senshi Sailormoon R: The Movie
• Aa! Megamisama (OAV)

She has yet to watch:

• Bannou Bunka Neko Musume
• Gunsmith Cats
• Mononoke Hime
• Otaku no Video

I think we need to root her on!

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1.
song: Jewel Song
artist: BoA
any special meaning to you: Not really
any memories: Not really
who would you dedicate it to: to all those seeking something to sleep by
who do you think would dedicate it to YOU: No.
are you a fan of the artist: It wouldn’t be on my iPod if I wasn’t.

2.
song: Run All The Way!
artist: Megumi Hayashibara
favourite part of lyrics: keredo genjitsu no yume wa shindari shinai to shinjiteru yo
which genre would you put it in: Anime/J-Pop
which feeling does it portray (eg, love, heartbreak): Confidence
is it sung by a girl or boy: girl
favorite song by that artist: Natu no Uneri

3.
song: BYE! MY BOY!
artist: the brilliant green
which number is it on your playlist: it’s not numbered
who wrote it: they did
does it have any swears in it: no
which country is the artist from: Japan
would you recommend the song: Sure, it’s a fun song.

4.
song: Sou da! We’re Alive
artist: Morning Musume
does the title relate to the lyrics: Yep
does it describe your current emotion: I am alive, so I guess so.
What’s the first word in the song: Doryoku
how did you find out the artist: Thank you, Hey! Hey! Hey!

5.
song: White Reflection
artist: Two-Mix
does it make you sad: Only because it’s closely associated with the crappy anime, Gundam Wing.
do your friends listen to it: Yes.
how old is the song: More than 5 years, but less than a decade.
what mood does it generate: Up-tempo.
would you listen to it all the way through: Yep.

6.
song: Shiseikatsu
artist: aiko
which genre would you put it in: J-Pop
any special meaning to you: aiko always has a special place in my heart
does your mom like it: She’s not really into Japanese music.
which album is it from: Chiisana marui koujitsu

7.
song: A Boozehound Named Barney
artist: The cast of ‘The Simpsons’
who do you think would dedicate it to YOU: LOL, no one.
does it bring up any memories: Many.
do you sing along to it: Absolutely.
does it describe your life at this moment: heh, no.
did it ever?: Not really… I don’t drink.

8.
song: Last Dinosaur
artist: The Pillows
favorite song by the artist: Ride on Shooting Star
which genre would it be: J-Pop
are the lyrics meaningful: There are none.
how old is the song: 6 years
is it well known or no: Anyone who saw FLCL heard this song.

9.
song: Deep Dish
artist: Ani DiFranco
is it sung by a girl or boy: girl
how many times have you listened to it before: My iPod says none, but iTunes says 10 on the play count.
how long have you had it on your playlist: Since forever.
which number is it on the playlist: No number.
bring up any memories: My ex-wife.

10.
song: The Sign
artist: Ace of Base
similar to which other song: Don’t Turn Around (same beat).
who would you dedicate it to: Every ex I ever had.
what emotion is the song about: Shitty relationships.
is it hard to sing vocally: Nope.
do you like it: It’s in my playlist.

Continued:

Shuffle and write down the 5 songs that came up:

1. Give a Reason - Megumi Hayashibara
2. Boys & Girls - Ayumi Hamasaki
3. Bob - aiko
4. Forever Broke - The Seatbelts
5. Shiny Love - Kasahara Hiroko

1. Do you like number 5? Yes.
2. Favorite song by artist #3? Sakura no Toku - First song I heard by her.
3. Any special meaning with #1? Other than it being damn near a theme song for me and Todd while driving.
4. Which one of the five do you listen to the most? #1
5. Which one do you listen to the least? Sad to say, Forever Broke.
6. Does your mum listen to any of the 5 of them? LOL, no.
7. First song you’ve ever heard of the five? Give a Reason.
8. Which one of the 5 is the “soundtrack to your life”? Give a Reason, Shiny Love, and Boys & Girls
9. Favorite lyric of the 5 different songs? Nothing really springs to mind.
10. Which one is least like your current emotion/theme? Bob.
11. Least favorite lyric of the 5 songs? None.
12. Have you ever felt like dedicating one of them to anyone special? Not really.
13. Which one mostly describe the situation with your crush/partner? I could probably say Forever Broke, but I’ll go with Shiny Love. 14. Which one do you think you’ll still love in the next 10 years? All of them.
15. Which genre are majority of the songs from? Japanese (anime or J-Pop)

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