The 2006 Labor Day weekend marked the passing of another thoroughly enjoyable DragonCon. For those out of the loop, DragonCon is a massive general-purpose sci-fi/fantasy convention held annually in Atlanta, Georgia. Where many conventions of its type choose to focus on a narrow segment of fandom, DragonCon brings everything together in one place through a diverse set of programming. With everything from anime to Zork finding representation, there’s a little something for everybody.
2006 marked my third year in attendance at DragonCon. Here’s a few of the highlights from my experience.
I finally made it to “Drawing Anime 101″ this year, which I managed to miss in years past. This year’s rendition of the recurring panel was headed by Kittyhawk, artist and webmaster behind the anime-styled webcomic Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki. The panel ran a bit long at three hours and it was less structured than I had hoped, but our hostess quickly proved her competence and offered a bunch of useful tips. Much of the advice offered on the panel would likely have proven useful to artists in other genres as well.
While this year’s ART track had a plethora of interesting panels, I was only able to fit one into my schedule. “How I Learned to Stop Pirating Software and Love the GIMP” took an insightful look at the free software options available to aspiring digital artists. In a space largely dominated by pricey commercial offerings, capable free software like the GIMP and Scribus deserve due consideration. Now, if only they could help me understand the GIMP’s UI…
Dean Haglund of the X-Files and Stargate’s Gary Jones returned this year for encore performance of their excellent improv comedy routine. Donning the mantles of Spock and Kirk, respectively, the duo put on a highly entertaining parody of the original Star Trek in this year’s panel, appropriately dubbed “An Improv Enterprise.” With audience members providing cues, Dean and Gary filled in the rest for one hilarious hour.
“Mythbusting for Fun and Profit” was one of many panels featuring personalities associated with one TV show or another. Mythbusters host Tory Belleci did an admirable job of entertaining the crowd despite the absence of fellow hosts Kari Byron and Grant Imahara who were also scheduled to attend. Between tales of wild pyrotechnics and a fake IMDB biography, it was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the hour and a nice introduction to the show.
Titus, who also joined me for the convention, has posted his own thorough set of synopses for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
The 11th annual Anime Weekend Atlanta event was held on September 23-25 at the Waverly Hotel off Cobb Parkway in Smyrna. This year was the first time I have attended the event. The only other *con experience I have to draw upon is DragonCon, which is much broader, but still much the same in format. You’ve got your same basic elements: discussion panels, presentations, special guest appearances, video rooms, game rooms, costume contests, an artists’ gallery, and a vendor room. Basically, everything aimed to please a targeted fanbase. With AWA, there’s a noticeable shift in the emphasis on video rooms, as anime is a visual medium.
The first panel I attended covered anime production from the US side. It was headed by translator Neil Nadelman, ADV staffer Mariela Ortiz, and producer/voice actor Mike Sinterniklaas. Voice actress Monica Rial was slated, but did not attend the panel. Specific topics included deadlines, rush jobs, the trouble with acquiring materials, and working with our friends in Japan. I came away with the impression that producing anime is definitely for the dedicated.
Next up was the Production I.G presentation. The presentation consisted mostly of demo discs and closed with a short Q&A session. We were shown clips from I.G’s recent works including Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig, Innocence, IGPX, and the Prince of Tennis movie. CLAMP’s Tsubasa and XXXHolic were mentioned, but no trailers were shown. We also saw trailers from Production I.G’s sister company, Xebec, whose recent works include Negima. The closed Q&A was rather disappointing as the I.G representative was unable or unwilling to go into any great detail about current projects.
The most impressive showing at the Production I.G panel was definitely IGPX, or Immortal Grand Prix, the product of a collaboration between I.G. and Cartoon Network. It looks to be a violent and fast-paced form of mecha racing and the animation looked top-notch throughout the trailer. IGPX is scheduled to air in Japan this October and in America this November.
I perused the dealer’s room after the I.G panel and caught the tail end of Full Metal Fantasy, a live-action fan film based on Full Metal Alchemist which is currently only being screened at *cons, followed by J-pop idol Yoko Ishida in concert. The concert, while enjoyable, was quite short and I only recognized one song, the O.P. from Ai Yori Aoshi. Geneon, the concert’s sponsor, seemed intent on pushing "Para Para" dancing, which I can only assume to be related to the rhythm and dance game Para Para Paradise. I didn’t stick around to learn the details.
Instead, I sat in on a two hour showing of Space Battleship Yamato: The Making of an Anime Legend. The documentary detailed the formative years of the Yamato anime dynasty, which included no less than three TV series and five feature films. I had only heard of the US release of Yamato, Star Blazers, only in passing, but I was impressed with the evolution of the animation over the course of the Yamato timeline and the formative role the title played in the sci-fi subgenre of anime.
My first AWA was a pleasant opportunity to immerse myself in anime fandom. I look forward to the spending more time there in the future.
I joined the throng of some 25,000 other geekish types this Labor Day weekend for DragonCon 2005. Last year was a blast and this year was even better. Titus was also in attendance and we attended many of the same panels. He has conveniently posted a more detailed summary of the panels for inquisitive minds.
This year, I attended various presentations and discussions including American sci-fi, anime, art, comics, and gaming-themed tracks. These included Q&A sessions with actors from Star Trek, Farscape, Firefly, Serenity, and Stargate. In the past I have avoided the celebrity guest panels for one reason or another, however, I came away with a very positive impression of this year’s guest panels. It takes a certain skill to be an actor and all of the celebrity panels I attended this year were immensely entertaining.
Alas, I neglected to grab any photos from the *Con. There’s always next year. In the meantime, there’s a DragonCon group on Flickr.
I was in attendance for the ASMS Class of 2000 Five Year Reunion held in Mobile this weekend. The number of attendees was pretty small, but it did include a few choice individuals that I hadn’t seen in years. My most enjoyable moment was touring the ASMS campus and recounting high school memories with old friends. Many commented on how much the school has changed since we were there, but I actually felt like remarkably little had changed. The Auditorium has been completed and the faces of the faculty and students have changed, but ASMS is still very much like we left it.
If there’s one thing the reunion did highlight, it’s how my peers and myself have or haven’t changed since we were in high school. In other words, it made me more fully aware of the need to fulfill certain goals in my life. Hopefully, next time I will be closer to where I want to be so that I can truly look at you without looking back on myself.
The 2005 Atlanta Auto Show started this Saturday and this year’s show will run for nine days, up from five last year. Mom and Dad came up to Atlanta this weekend to attend the event with me again this year and we also decided to go to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival that was also being held this weekend.
The auto show is a great experience for any car enthusiast. Concept cars tend to garner the most press, but I’ve quickly realized that the real treat of the show is getting the opportunity to sit in and play with the majority of the cars that are out there on the floor. Some noteables included the Mercedes-Benz CLS55, Chevrolet Corvette C6, Acura RSX, and the Acura RL.
The CLS55 featured the nicest interior of any of the models unlocked for public display; then again, at a price tag reaching over $90,000 with options, it should be pretty nice. The CLS55 comes from the AMG wing of Mercedes, so that same lush interior can be had without the special AMG engine at a slightly lower price point of about $70,000.
The new Corvette has garnered more praise and accolades than any version to date, but I’m still not taken with the interior after giving it another try. Snug describes the feeling aptly. All the floor models had the removeable hard-top taken out for display and I imagine that things could get very tight for someone of my stature with the car assembled in full coupe form.
The Acura RSX struck the best balance of features that appealed to me for the price. It has a nice, comfortable interior for someone of my height and it has a sporting nature that I find appealing. At the same time, it doesn’t go as far toward being a full-blown sports car as I would like, bringing only modest styling and power.
The Acura RL is easily my pick of the show, but I would never have come to appreciate its features if I didn’t get to sit in the car and try them out. The RL has a very unique voice-controlled console and navigation system. Just hold one button, speak a command, and the car will respond. For example, if you wanted to locate the nearest Chinese restaurant, you can say "Find nearest Chinese restaurant" and the navigation system will bring up a list of locations for you to choose from and then map a route to the point you chose. I actually tried this and it worked beautifully. It’s a feature with real geek appeal.
