Ohayocon6

I can’t seem to think of a witty introduction, so I guess I’ll just give you a link to my Ohayocon 2006 photos.

I’ve found one photo of Aaron and me posted online so far. I’m sure there will be more eventually, though.

Aaron and I recorded a con report in the car on the way home from Columbus on Sunday. The audio didn’t turn out quite as well as Aaron had hoped, being that we didn’t take into account the sensitivity of his mics and the acoustics of the car. Still, though, if you haven’t already, check out our Ohayocon report on the Weekly Anime Review Podcast, scheduled for release this Thursday.

Ohayocon Countdown

Only two days left until our fourth Ohayocon, and I’m as underwhelmed about it as I was about Christmas.

I have two unfinished Kujian helmets sitting upstairs: one papier-mache, one cardboard and fiberfill. The papier-mache helmet I only started on Monday, and I knew when I got one layer down that there was no way I’d get it done by the weekend. Still, tonight I decided to prime it for painting, just to see… and, really, there’s no way it’ll be ready for the con.

The cardboard one is a retooling of the original helmet I made for Youmacon. It was too tall, and the plexiglas outer brim was too brittle to wrap around the helmet, and it cracked in three places. So, I’ve been trying to improve upon it this evening, to no avail. I’m just feeling… disinterested.

I really enjoyed cosplaying at Youmacon, so I’m not sure why I’m so blase about it this time around. Maybe it’s because I can see how uber-awesome my papier-mache helmet will be when it’s done, and I hate having to retool a funky fiberfill chop job instead.

Ah, well. I should get back to that, I suppose. *sigh*

Kick-Ass Mics + iRiver = Crazy Delicious

After a weekend of cooking, driving, and eating, Aaron and I drove up to Ann Arbor to meet a couple of podcasters, Erin and Noah — better known as the Ninjaconsultants.

It was a little awkward at first, meeting people we only knew from teh intarweb, but we all relaxed after a while. After we took a turn around Wizzywig and purchased our respective geeky otaku goodness (I got the cutest Nyanko Burger stickers and Post-Its and a Totoro wallscroll), we retired to a nearby coffee shop for some mobile recording.

We got some beverages and sat at a table in the back of the shop. After we’d all had the chance to get comfortable, and we finally got around to talking about some anime-related stuff (good fodder for Aaron’s podcast), Aaron busted out the iRiver and his new, handmade lapel microphones. We had two mics between the four of us, so Noah had the idea of clipping their mic to Erin’s wooden cappuccino stirrer and propping it up between them in his empty glass. We did the same, clipping our mic to both of our straws in one glass, making a bit of a bipodal affair leaning against the edge of Aaron’s cup. It may seem like quite the jury-rigged setup, but it worked smashingly.

We recorded for two hours.

We talked about all sorts of things: Star Wars, the homeless, anime conventions, public transportation, probably dozens of not-quite-related topics. (Aaron’s going to have a fun time sorting it all out later, so he can actually use some of it on his show…) But it was a really good time, as I’d hoped it would be.

Whether anyone’s interested or not, I’ll probably post a heads-up here when Aaron airs parts of the interview (and I use the term “interview” loosely). The audio quality turned out fantastic, we got a good amount of decent content, and Erin and Noah recorded a few bumpers and IDs for Aaron’s show. I think there’ll be a few fun one-liners he can use, too.

As we were leaving, I commented, “I feel so counterculture, podcasting from a coffee shop…”

Are you hip to it, daddy-o? Yeah.

Time To Go All Otaku On Your Ass

First, I would like to make you all aware of a new podcast out on the podwaves: the Weekly Anime Review Podcast. Which just so happens to be produced and hosted by one Aaron Schnuth.

Every Friday, Aaron will be reviewing a different anime; this week, he reviews Genshiken. He’s been trying to get me to watch this short series for some time now, but his podcast review was what finally drove me to drag it out of the stack o’ anime and watch it. (That, and coming to the end of my Muppet Show Season One DVDs.) I’m on episode three, but only because I’m pacing myself and not letting myself have a crazy Friday Night Genshiken-a-thon.

If you want to find out what it’s all about (both Genshiken and the podcast), check it out! Better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed in the podcast aggregator of your choice, and you’ll never miss a show.

If you’re at all interested in Japanese animation, I would highly suggest checking it out. And not just because my husband is the host. ^_^

Now that the WARP plug has been covered, on to Otaku topic #2: I need a cosplay idea for Youmacon in November.
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