Messages

Next year, I'll just have a sign that says "No."

Simle as that. :3

sounds like something Registration that should put into the bag of goodies when you get your badge...

i could see it now, everyone carrying little speech bubble like signs that basically say [ Yes , bubble says DO WANT ] or  [ NO, bubble says DO NOT want ]

i wonder if publications as the budget for throwing that into the fanime goodie bag :P

IIRC, this was discussed before and was shot down because it would imply some level of approval of the huggers/glompers on the part of Fanime, and thus inviting a legal mess as a result.

Wow, that's some really nice work there! :D

So just when my PCD starts to die down, I go to SubZERO in downtown last night and I see the Fanime banners on the same street as SubZERO, which kinda put a damper on my experience.

Heh...I kinda make it a game to guess how long it takes them to take the banners down.

The Beatles: Rock Band – To quote Kotaku: "it just felt like...Rock Band, only playing Beatles songs. Same mechanics, same display, same instruments. It's instantly familiar. Perhaps a little too familiar."

Actually, as I understand it and viewing the trailer, we'll be getting harmonic vocals with this iteration.  Yeah, familiar, but with an interesting twist in having multiple vocals going.

That is pretty much the only big difference. And do people not forget how hard it is to get people on the mic in the first place? Now we need 3? lol

True, it is hard to get people to take the mic.  However, it's still a step up from what Activision has done so far with the Guitar Hero band spinoffs.  At least they added something to the actual gameplay.

The Beatles: Rock Band – To quote Kotaku: "it just felt like...Rock Band, only playing Beatles songs. Same mechanics, same display, same instruments. It's instantly familiar. Perhaps a little too familiar."

Actually, as I understand it and viewing the trailer, we'll be getting harmonic vocals with this iteration.  Yeah, familiar, but with an interesting twist in having multiple vocals going.

Oh, checking the official site, it's actually PS3 and PC.

Ok so stupid question but what does witnessing mean?

In Christian terms, it's spreading the gospel of Christ (from "bearing witness").  It's another term for proselytism.

Unfortunately, these guys are doing it wrong.

My first Fanime meal was at Peggy Sue's, setting things off to a good start :)

I honestly think we should just put them down as some sort of alternative gathering...  and yeah idk why they seem to think preaching hate is any less sacriligous then whatever con-goers are doing.

In their minds, it's okay if they're doing it if it's in service to the Lord.  They seem to take their witnessing philosophy more from "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and less from the Bible.

Talked to a Christian cosplayer who said the protestors gave religious people a bad name, how's that for irony?

They wouldn't be the only one.  There's probably a fair number of con-goers who are Christian and found those guys to be an embarrassment.

I just wanted to say that I had a blast playing Maid on Friday.  Hopefully we can do it again next year :D

Well here's the crappy part about my PCD:

I feel so distant from my non-con friends now. I feel like the only non-family I want to be friends with right now are my con friends. I've had a crush on a classmate for a year, and going to Fanime kinda...retarded that crush, because she's not an anime fan, let alone a congoer.

heh, you should talk to more chicks at the con, or find people at your school that go then :P

I agree with that.
Actually, I've been having the same opinion...con-friends have a LOT more in common with me than my friends I've met in school. Of course some of them still like anime...but not a congoer. (I know, OMIGOSH).
A really good way is to start a Facebook event or group and just invite everyone you know. If they go, good for you and them! xD

I really think that Fanime (and any other con, but Fanime in particular) has a friendly atmosphere. You can walk up to complete strangers and strike up a conversation like nobody's business. That can't happen anywhere else without it feeling weird. Take advantage of this and talk! :)

I agree with this one. if anyone has a facebook account, pm me with your facebook profile and I'll add you.  I have 21 more days before I go on vacation and AX lol.

Yeah, the Facebook idea is a good one.  There's already a Fanime group here, though it still has '08 in the title.

It was their idea of proselytism.  They saw themselves as witnessing to us, albeit in a fire-and-brimstone manner.

Just tell them you don't feel comfortable taking pictures with random strangers.

Being polite but direct works fine.

And remember, if they ever give you problems about that, just flag down a rover.  It's your own privacy, and you can decide whether you want someone standing close to you for a picture.

Very true, especially the last part if they don't take the hint.  Folks like that make the rest of us look bad.  It's one thing to ask if you can have a picture with the cosplayer, but entirely another to force yourself into the picture without permission.

You obviously don't understand that it is open to the public.  I have given you an example of a private convention, and you're just basically saying its private because you pay for it. Wrong.  You pay for public transportation, does that make it your private bus? No. Anyone can ride the bus as long as they pay.

Yet the Jesus protesters weren't allowed to get any closer to the convention than the sidewalk, let alone even get in the registration line to pay, thus making Fanime a private event.

I say if people want to hold up "hug me" signs, they can do so on the free sidewalk with the protesters. Two problems solved.

Hmmmm...I like that idea.  The protesters and the free-huggers annoying each other while the rest of the con mocks them both at once.  Nice.

Here is a simple test... would those same people stand around in a mall and do the same thing? Would the mall let them do it?
The answer would most likely be no to the first question and the mall would most definitely not let it happen in the first place.

That's not a very good test. By that same token, since it would be ridiculous to cosplay in a mall (let alone have large gatherings of cosplayers), take pictures of people dressed interestingly, or make friends simply by unprovokingly saying hi to somebody, I shouldn't be doing that at cons either.

Comparing a mall to a con is like comparing apples to oranges. They're both very social places with lots of people walking around, but that's where the major similarities end.

Here's the difference: cosplay generally doesn't involve unwanted physical contact or expectations of unwanted physical contact.  You may look odd in the mall, but unless you're wearing a mask over your face (hiding your identity), wearing a particularly baggy costume, or carrying around prop weapons, you're not going to get into much trouble at a mall for cosplaying unless you're seen as a threat or otherwise a potential criminal.  The way the hug line behaved at times (especially as they started to move away from the wall later in the day on Monday) could be seen as harassment as they began to bother passersby for hugs, and that bothered people as seen in this thread.  There probably should've been some reporting to the rovers as things progressed, but I suspect a lot of people decided not to bother as it was the last day of the con.

Was it better than previous years?  Yeah.  Could it be better controlled still?  Yeah.

You know, at this point I don't expect any photographers to actually say, "Hey, here's a pic of you" to anyone, what with all these requests. But it sure would be nice to have any links to uploaded archives that we could just look through ourselves. :3

True, there are a lot of requests to sort through and find the pictures for.  There is the FanimeCon 2009 Photos thread over in the General Convention Discussion subforum though.  My own Photobucket account is linked below in my sig.

I'm reusing mine from last year, and I prefer them.  You don't have to hunt for a place on your clothes or costume to clip the badge on (and hopefully not lose it) and as a result they're more easily visible for staff to see them when you're going into various rooms.

The link to my photos is below in my sig, and since I'm commuting to/from the con this year, I'm uploading pics on a nightly/morning basis.

Edit: Here are the direct links to this year's Fanime galleries

Thursday
Friday
Satuday
Sunday
Monday

Happy Belated Birthday, and what a day to have it on!

Well, it looks like CC is coming back...

http://www.circuitcity.com/

Essentially, a company called Systemax bought up the online operation and is continuing to sell through it using the Circuit City name.  They also own Tiger Direct and CompUSA, among others.  It's not the Circuit City of old, in other words.