Summer Shenanigans - Part One

Why hello there, fellow ninjas. How have you been?

This has been a bit of a busy/crazy/tumultuous summer for the Ro. Big life changes, some minor(but salvageable) disasters, a constant thorn in my side that somehow also acts as its own morphine(I'm looking at YOU, League of Legends), and the day job(booooo). To be honest, it's been pretty hard to work up the motivation to come back and resume renovation and new construction on ACN, especially over the past couple of months.

That being said, I took a look at all of the things I have in the works, and it's actually been getting me kinda pumped again. I may be slightly(read: "woefully") behind on my convention entries, but I've also done what I said I was gunna long ago and started once again expanding my range of topics beyond just my travels, as was always intended for this blog. I'm looking forward to getting back to rambling on all things geekery, and not just the Convention of the Month/Week.

So along those lines, I hereby begin the first in a series I'll be entitling "Summer Shenanigans," to help y'all get up to speed on the things I've been up to lately, in no particular order. I hope you're excited.

Code Monkey Like Fritos

Note: The opening line to this week's post is from the song "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton. If you haven't heard it, go listen to it, because the song - and the band - is great.

I'd like to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart today, Ninja Faithful. I'd like to, but I'm too busy rolling a friggin' ball around a 3-D rendered plane to think about much else.

Not that kind of ball, but I like how you think.

OMGWTFACNBBQ - OMGcon 2014

Convention Info

Name: OMGcon
Host City: Owensboro, KY
Venue: Owensboro Convention Center
Date: June 13-15, 2014

2014's new base of operations

Greetings and salutations, ninjas!

You may be wondering why I seem a bit more enthusiastic than usual, given the caps in this entry's title. Well, that's because I am even more excited than normal. Every one of us convention addicts started somewhere, and OMGcon was one of the first conventions outside of my GenCon/SugoiCon bubble, back when I was still a shy, uncertain thing in regards to big events with lots of people. Yes, there was a time when Ro was shy and uncertain, and also quiet. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime.

OMGcon held a lot of "firsts" for me. First time visiting Paducah, KY(the con's original home). First time entering a costume contest, and first time winning a costume contest(though it was purchased and assembled, not handmade, and it was in a group with my Phoenix Wright buddies). First time meeting the staff of EvilleCon, another convention that is among my perennial favorites. First time rolling up to a convention at night with windows down, sunroof open, blasting Tachikoma music. The list goes on and on.

So as this convention holds a little bit of personal significance for me, I think it suitable for me to talk a little about where it comes from before talking about this past year. Though, really, that's probably a good approach for every convention going forward. I'll have to remember that.

My Kentokyo Can't Be This Chibi - Chibi Kentokyocon 2014

Convention Info

Name: Chibi KentokyoCon
Host City: Lexington, KY
Venue: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, The Mall at Lexington Green
Date: April 26th, 2014

Sup ninjas? It's time for another convention entry(*sounds of exultation and joy*). This time, much like with Lexington Comic and Toy Convention, I'm bringing it back local, with one of the small events held right here in my base camp 'o Lexington. Chibi Kentokyocon is the little brother of Kentokycon, the signature event of a group for Kentucky geeks, Bluegrass Otaku. Held since its inception at local book sanctuary Joseph-Beth at Lexington Green, this little shindig is free to attendees, and serves as a teaser for its bigger brother later in the summer, but does a fine job of entertaining on its own merits. Despite being just a single day, it hosts panels, an artist/vendor area, and even a costume contest, in the event that just hanging out with your nerd buddies in a bookstore en masse isn't reason enough to draw you. This'll be a shorter entry than usual, so let's jump right into it.

Reminiscing Mode, Activate - Ghost in the Tank

I have certain issues with Adult Swim. Though some of it still makes me laugh from time-to-time, I feel its brand of humor has drifted considerably from its roots to a point where it no longer resonates with me. Really, part of it is the fact that it's so entirely driven by humor now - when AS started, it was anime-driven, featuring Cowboy Bebop and Yu Yu Hakusho, as well as Pilot Candidate/Candidate for Goddess, Inuyasha, and several other series. But good luck trying to get AS to play anime on more than one night a week, now.

Which is why that one night a week - the revival of the Toonami block on Saturdays - has been pretty rockin'. Toonami was a huge part of my teenage years, serving as an introduction to many series that I had never heard of, and when Toonami Midnight Run premiered - featuring "uncut"(read: "with some of the swearing left intact") episodes of a few shows - I was glued to my TV every midnight. Shortly after I started college, TMR evolved into Adult Swim, and the rest is history.

My Little Eville - EvilleCon 2014

Convention Info

Name: EvilleCon
Host City: Evansville, IN
Venue: Clarion Inn
Date: March 28th-30th, 2014

Forget A.D., or CE. We're on the Anno Ninjae(AN) timeline now, baby.

If you've been keeping score, you may recall that the very first convention post here on ACN was for EvilleCon - their 2013 Year of the Snake show, to be precise. That was my first year attending that convention, and it served as the jumping-off point for the New Era of Almost Certainly Ninja. As such, I think it only appropriate that the most Eville of anime conventions be the first con I do a second entry on. Thus I present to you, My Little Eville - The Year of the Horse(Pony).

Why Can't I Burn All These Dreads? - Persona 3

Soooo I have an obsession. And this time it has nothing to do with shuriken or maids or midday naps.

For some months now, I've been playing Persona 3. I realize I'm a little late to that party, but ever since the Great RPG Rush of '05(or whenever Dragon Quest VIII came out), I've been working on a tremendous and ever-shifting backlog of vidya games, especially RPGs. I was first introduced to the Persona series by my buddy Scrambles when Persona 3's trailers appeared on the Web nearly a decade ago. With my background in classical studies and mythology, I've been a sucker for games with a rich inner lore, so a series like Persona pretty much snagged me right away. I originally planned on playing through the preceding titles before getting into P3, and for some years I held onto that illusion, mostly thanks to the re-release of the original Persona on PSP(as well as that of Persona 2: Innocent Sin, the half of the Persona 2 story that never saw an original North American release). However, the Backlog of Insanity eventually defeated that plan, particularly since Persona 4 has been out for a long while, 5 will be released next year, and the Arena games are wildly popular among my corner of gaming fandom.

Colleague Shout-Out - Urbis Tenebrae

I've been the lucky recipient of some good promotion here at ACN, so I wanted to keep the good vibes going by returning the favor. A friend of mine named J-Puck(not his actual name, but I'm all about using hyphens in fun and obnoxious ways to give nicknames) runs a blog on gaming and fantasy called Urbis Tenebrae. He's got professional experience in the tabletop gaming industry, and I often pick his brain for information and ideas in my own work. This entry about the pitfalls of mono-cultures in game settings is an excellent example of his work, and was recently very useful in helping me make some changes to cultures in a couple of my own home-brew tabletop worlds(the legendary/soon-to-be-legendary Reyes among them).

So go over and give him a read. And tell 'im Ro sent ya'.

How to Convention - Artist Alleys

Hullo, Ninja Faithful!

Ever since Yours Truly decided to add a conventions aspect to this blog, there've been a few things here and there that I've been wanting to tack on, but didn't feel were at-home in my actual convention reviews. Thankfully though, in one of my meetings with the Shinobi Council, the idea was put forth that I should just have a category of entries for said thoughts, instead of trying to shoehorn them in elsewhere.

Thus, I give you the "How to Convention" series, geared towards little bits of information and tips that you'll find handy for any convention.

And what better place to start than with my usual base-of-operations, the artist alley?

Beam Me Up, Zordon - LCTC 2014

Convention Info

Name: Lexington Comic & Toy Convention
Host City: Lexington, KY
Venue: Lexington Center
Date: March 14-16th, 2014

Three years ago, Lexington Comic & Toy Convention(LCTC from here on out) debuted in the Lexington Center. It was a one-day event that drew around 4,000 attendees and used only a fraction of Heritage Hall. Year Two was two days and expanded into all of Heritage Hall, but also saw an uptick to 10,000 attendees. I don't have much personal interest in the comics side of geekery, but this con is on my turf, yo - and in a city of middling size like Lexington, a show that draws a crowd as big as 5% of the local population is kind of a big deal.

Enter Year Three.

Joysticks and Pinballs and Other Stuff Your Momma Warned You About - Louisville Arcade Expo 2014

Convention Info

Name: Louisville Arcade Expo
Host City: Louisville, KY
Venue: Ramada Plaza Louisville Hotel and Conference Center
Date: March 7-9th, 2014

Giggity.

Anyway, don't let the title fool you. This is going to be a very serious, grown-up entry about being an adult. Which, in this case, means playing Dr. Mario on a giant projector screen and making high-pitched swooning sounds over an Apple IIe. But before I get to that, a story:

Retro Froyo Yoyo(Yo Yo) - Game On Frozen Yogurt

Business Info

Name: Game On Frozen Yogurt
Address: 2001-2009 Pinoak Drive, Nicholasville, KY, 40356
Website: http://www.gameonfroyo.com/

Being a portly gentleman, possessed of a massive sweet tooth, I rarely balk at the chance to try new confectionery goodness. So the proliferation of frozen yogurt restaurants over the past few years has definitely been right up my alley. But with so many choices, it can be hard to decide where to go when you have a craving for the sweet stuff.

Of course, if you want to also enjoy not only shopping for old-school and new-school video games, but playing old-school and new-school video games, at the same time you're chowing down on froyo, there's only one place for you.

WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?! - Sukoshi Con: Bowling Green 2014

Convention Info

Name: SukoshiCon: Bowling Green
Host City: Bowling Green, KY
Venue: The Sloan Convention Center
Date: February 15th, 2014

Some conventions are a once-a-year deal, and with the amount of work that goes into them, it's not hard to see why. Coordinating people, places, things, and ideas - no type of noun gets left behind - to give a show to a thousand or more folks from different age groups, tastes, and backgrounds is undoubtedly a task for the mighty.

And then there are some people just crazy enough to do multiple shows in a year. The folks behind Sukoshi Con are that kind of crazy(in a good way). They have at least seven shows in four states, which means they're at least seven times that kind of crazy by the Distributive Property of Insanity.

The Con with "Awesome" Right in the Name - SugoiCon 2013

Basic Convention Info

Name: SugoiCon
Host City: Sharonville, OH
Venue: Crowne Plaza Cincinnati North
Dates: November 1-3, 2013

Depending on which of my personalities you ask, SugoiCon was either my first or second convention experience ever, something like five years ago(the other possibility for Numero Uno being GenCon). Responsibility for initially making me aware of it, and thus exposing the world to my inner otaku in a big way, goes to the wonderful and talented owner of Sew Peach, who also provided me with the first home-sewn costume I ever wore to a convention, my trademark Giant Kon.

NaNo Hiatus, or "The Insatiable Maw That Devours My Life Every Year"

So November is almost over, and you may be wondering why I vanished again so quickly after such a dramatic return. Well, it's that time of the year again. A time for sharing with others. A time for personal introspection. A time for putting the hectic craziness of regular life aside for hectic craziness of a different kind.

That's right. I speak, of course, of NaNoWriMo(what were you thinking about?).

Snakes, Burgers, Dancing, and Maids - EvilleCon 2013

Basic Convention Info
Name: EvilleCon
Host City: Evansville, IN
Venue: Holiday Inn Evansville Airport
Dates: March 22-24, 2013


I first learned of EvilleCon thanks to some artist friends from the Evansville area at a convention last year. Word had it that it was a small con with a friendly atmosphere, but to be honest the name already had my curiosity piqued. And given that I'd already heard good things about Evansville from other folks, I was pretty stoked to finally have an excuse to visit. The trip there was pretty smooth and pleasant – I've driven through Indiana enough times by now to start getting used to the bizarre, mountain-less landscape – and without much trouble I found my way to the airport grounds, and the Holiday Inn.

2013: Year of the Snake? Mo' Like Year of the (Anime) Con!

So this year has been pretty crazy. I would like to blame my lack of new content on that, but it's actually been a combination of laziness, uncertainty, and straight-up fear. Not counting my old LiveJournal, I've never had a real blog before. The idea of writing stuff for anyone to read, not just a select group of my friends, is more daunting than I originally wanted to admit. This ain't the same as posting story excerpts and looking for reviews; it's a whole different game. And that game took a tire iron to the unsuspecting kneecap of my enthusiasm.

But I'm back. And I've decided to mix it up a little.

The Wheel Turns

Hello, ACN. It's been a while. I would put up one of those "holy crap I'm back!" posts that I've been prone to do in the past, but I think we're a little past that. No need for excessive theatrics today - let's get right to the coolness.

So on Friday, one of the best things ever happened. Brandon Sanderson came to Joseph-Beth again, this time for the signing of the last Wheel of Time book ever. In case you're not a fantasy fan(or you are and you've had your head under a rock for the past twenty years) Robert Jordan is a titan of the fantasy world, and his Wheel of Time series is one of the most influential works in the genre.

The Fury of a Thousand Suns

...is HOLY CRAP LONG OVERDUE!

'Allo, ACN. How've you been? I've missed you.

Lots of stuff has happened since August, so I'll list some of the more notable ones here:

• Went to GenCon with Mad Doctor J(was friggin' tres bien), basked in the undiluted awesome that is gamer culture


• Moved out of sweet apartment(sad face) in with two friends, but saved a lot o' money in the process


• Dressed up as Defense Attorney Diego Armando, of Phoenix Wright fame, for Halloween


• Got an awesome Giant Kon suit put together, and had my first full-on, recognizable cosplay at SugoiCon - much hotness occurred


• Found another job, working with a former classmate and a good buddy


• Won NaNo for the fourth year in a row, with Bitter Medicine


• Picked up a swanky new beast of a laptop - shiny="yes please."(still need to personalize it with decals, hopefully of cute girls and explosions)


• Went to Trans-Siberian Orchestra with a close friend, and got my face melted by their rock


• Got into not one, but two, car wrecks - ugh


• Bought flowers for a pretty girl on Valentine's Day, but celebrated in a more traditional way earlier: feasting on the heart of a powerful opponent. Yum!


• Finished three more short stories in the Kai Ravenloft cycle

Technically, the list could go on, but I don't want to bore you, ACN. Mostly just want to say that it's good to be back, and I'm gonna try to not let you lie fallow from here on out. More updates to come!

Post-GenCon

Hiya,

It's been a few days since I got back from the awesomeness that is GenCon Indy, and while I intend on making a blog post about it, I still find that I lack the mental faculties to effectively do so.

But never fear! Once I recover my ability to think properly, I shall update with the fury of a thousand suns.

Peace y'all.