Friday I moseyed my way down to Renton for a birthday party straight from work, and got home from that past 3am. On my way there on the last direct bus, I had the snarky driver:

(After a standing-room-only beginning, the bus still had a dozen people left on it.)
"This bus is going to [destination], where no-one ever wants to go. Is everyone okay with that?"

(Two people left, wanting the other direction.)
"Well, at least I saved a couple people. What about the rest of you?"

(Later, only a couple miles were left on the route.)
"Anyone else want to drive for a while?"

Naturally the camera came along for a few shots, such as:

( The cake is not a lie. )

Saturday after sleeping in, I vegged and moped and shook myself out of it locally instead of heading down to GasuKan 7 (Lincoln Park). I haven't gotten around to posting my GasuKan 6 (Gasworks Park) photos yet, either. Where's that killer workflow app that solves procrastination issues? :p

Sunday started with a lunch and an convention meeting (my report when computers are left home: "Online things are online; anything announced today will be soon."). Later after a stroll and some more food, I covered the Sakura-Con group of about 120 cosplayers in the International District's Summerfest Parade. After some inevitable delays, things got going, at one point leading most (all?) of our photographers up the side of a parapet for higher-angle shots. With far too many spur-of-the-moment blurred shots (either motion blur or auto-focus at the wrong place blur), though, last year likely had better coverage (from me) with the video camera.

A couple teasers in the meantime:

( Before the chaos... )

( Mojo crossing guard )

Oh my poor neglected Livejournal, what's been happening in the last couple weeks? Other than my reading and replying elsewhere but not writing here? ^_^'

First came the "few hours notice" of a birthday party at a park located "I don't know where" according to the driver (no-one told me even the General Area until we were on the way). Then came the suburban maze of small twisty passages to find the right park, where my first request to stop at a local store for a rehydrating potion was ignored and the second sighting prompted a firmer request. After a call for details revealed, "Oh not that park!", we finally found it. Photos were had as the frustrations went away with shenanigans put on by a couple one- and two-year-old cousins.

Later that day, during a stroll came a conversation that I failed to avoid after years of letting things be as they are without any conversion attempts, either direction. So much for frustration avoidance. Here's to remaining civil at least, ne?

Alternately, at another small birthday dinner at a restaurant two weeks later, I was sure to bring the camera, but no photos were had after all. Oops.

In recurring news, the amount of walking I do still wears out "walking" shoes faster than the av-er-age bear.

And this looks like it's going around again:

If there are one or more people on your friends list who make your world a better place just because they exist, and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the Internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.
^_^

Timing being everything, the moment I post for the first time in a couple weeks, "brief emergency maintenance" struck. :p

The weekend had been gearing up to be a Meetup vs. Meetup challenge (Ready? Fight!), with a Saturday lunch location listed as "Not Chosen Yet", and a photo shoot at the Fremont parade at noon as a "just be there" mob. But around the time that the former's location was posted Friday night, a third contender came up in Bellevue.

So, camera in tow, after a lunch in the University District (the vegan pizzeria Pizza Pi this time) for a sandwich-and-salad combo, I moseyed down to the buses, skipped out on the Fremont fair, and bused over to Bellevue for a USTA Junior Challenger Tournament to support Chib before she moves on to national tournaments — first one this weekend. Ganbatte!

I must do this more often than once a year. "It's a moral imperative." ^_^

Now to pore though a few shots of a Through Tinted Mesh vs Through Reflective Glass And Tinted Mesh challenge.

"Just because there are things I don't remember doesn't make my actions meaningless. The world doesn't just disappear when you close your eyes, does it? Anyway, maybe I'll take a photograph to remind myself." (Memento, 2000)

Saturday I moseyed my way down to Gasworks Park for the GasuKan 6.0 photoshoot, after detouring into Fremont for a quick visit with Dismas at Stickman Coffee, his new hidden-in-an-alley cafe, and a sandwich-and-falafel lunch watching random people and a touring band frolic with the bridge troll. Troll was apparently cosplaying that day too, with chalked-on lipstick.

Amongst mostly Pokemon and Bleach cosplayers this time, there was also a gathering for Matt Harding's latest silly-dance travelogue Dancing Matt video, due out later this month.

We had 180 people turn out. It was the biggest (or at least very very close to the biggest) turnout we've had anywhere in the world. Great weather. Great vibe. By coincidence, there was a large group of cosplayers in the park too. Cosplayers are kids who dress up like characters from Japanese animation. It's sort of a subculture. Anyway, they were in the park and someone went over and recruited them all to dance with us, so we had pirates and Pokemons and space aliens. It was hilarious.
~ Matt Harding in an interview with Examiner.com

Hey Matt, some of those "kids" are older than you. :p

I was there as an alternate-Saiga from SpeedGrapher, much of the outfit but not the right hair, and mostly behind the camera, of course. There may be a shots of me around the various sites shortly, and mine will be put online soon too. Some need 35mm processing first, too.

Afterward we trekked to Uwajimaya for food and Kinokuniya browsing (no Japanese SpeedGrapher manga in stock for me, so it's online shopping time), then back north a bit for a group viewing of Kung Fu Panda. A simple plot and slapstick antics made it similar to a martial-arts CG "Tom and Jerry (and Spike) in China" with different animals, but hey, I like Tom and Jerry shenanigans sometimes. ^_^

Then back north to home for sleep before a few hours of rides and buses further south (and back) the next day for a convention Publicity-department meeting with managers and some coordinators. I need to contact some people for model releases for the newsletter.

Also, it was a weekend of leaving little things behind: a lens cap at Gasworks (though I have a backup), and a water/tea bottle at Mira's (for which I'll be back soon enough, with others to use in the meantime).

With the amount of water involved, Tuesday's weather must have assumed I'm part duck, which is just wack! :p

Leaving work, it wasn't so bad. But nearing a nearby bus stop during the usual walk, the clouds just released their whole contents, and there I was without a hat, umbrella or other such fun things. The boss drove by at that point and drove me over to where I was headed for dinner and quick pickup of minutiae, which was a quick few blocks of a catch-up update on the quiet day.

The day ended with a bus-stop conversation with someone who's glad they live in an area that does get rain. It's good to keep perspective.

Wednesday was a day of more minutiae, bussing, and walking around being prepared for more. So of course it was moot. ^_^'

Just before getting off the bus home, an increasing-volume chat (between two people that slowed the bus earlier by arguing about the fares) escalated into a loud standing announcement to everyone that since there were many albums released after he had supposedly died, Tupac is still alive! Someone needs to lookup "posthumous". Or maybe he's kickin' it with Elvis and JFK against the undead.

"No offense, Jack, but President Kennedy was a white man." - "They dyed me this color! That's how clever they are!" (Bubba Ho-Tep, 2002)

Dug out the old point-n-zoom 35mm camera which still had half a 24-roll of ISO 400 film lying in it after wiping the box dust off.

On Sunday I moseyed down toward Uwajimaya/Kinokuniya to try finding some SpeedGrapher manga goodness, but distractions along the way included pricing camera equipment (though paychecks come first), picking up some film, and being snuck up on by Roy. Didn't get down to the real target until nearly closing and ran out of browse time. There should be another (earlier) trip soon for "research" without waiting for the first English translation coming out in September. Just the finale disk left in the show to peruse too, with enough outfit changes during the "on the run" moments of the series that "closet cosplay" would be canonical, but I do want certain things for the final "obvious" touches.

At least one part of the outfit is a "custom job" in progress. Sew desu, ne? ^_^'

While I was there, I finished off the film roll at a couple places so I could get the mystery roll finally processed. The first half had been waiting in the camera since Fall of 2001. Parts of my bedroom hold time capsules, I tell you.

Speaking of bedroom, it's sleep time. Alarm sounds in little more than three hours.

Note to self: stop getting cosplay ideas with only one week to prepare them. You're too much of a perfectionist to pull it off to your own satisfaction with a rush job. This is also where I point out how long it's taken to create the "perfect" prop for another plan.

I might find the time to modify a couple closet items while keeping them real-world functional. Because, as Alton Brown would say, we have rules about unitaskers here.

Besides, there's less of the proper effect without a long-haired blonde or brunette (depending on the manga/cover art or anime scene) to protect, or a scantily-clad silver/white-haired policewoman who wants me all to herself.

( less cryptic visual reference attached )

Smile for the camera.

Adventures in exhibitor-booth staffing, now with pictures (of others), though not so many from when I was behind the booth, naturally. ^_^

-> Emerald City Comic Con (2008) Photos <-

( A few highlights... )

Mostly...
Chris (picakuma) as Street Fighter's Akuma;
a plethora of Marvel and DC folks to come "fight" with Chris;
Carlos (yusuke) as Speed Racer, and Bleach's Ichigo;
a few of Kirsten (Kumi-chan) as female-type Ranma;
and more.

^_^

Classic Costume Confounds Cosplaying Crazies while Creators Clap
"Milo Bloom", Sakura-Con Man-in-the-Halls

The young'ns didn't recognize the outfit on Saturday, while a few exhibitors who remember newspaper comics from the '80s—and paper-only characters not seen since—gave kudos and a few snapshot moments. Most wondered if I could see out of the glasses, though walking through the busied aisles avoiding bumping into people was a visual "yes" to others. Plus, in reality, I'm no "chibi". ^_^

I was right that the convention center is brighter than the house so that wearing the "glasses" went well enough for close vision. But without the real specs for details, even without the phonies behind the camera, I did miss out on some shots when the auto-focus selected "wrong" areas.

Another problem for my own part is, there weren't any signature poses I could think of at the rare moments when people pointed a camera at me. Milo tends to just stand or sit around giving quips and punchlines. Nor were there any photos on my own camera (though I think Carlos got one).

Here's a more dramatic (and timely) moment from the original native habitat for moments when I took a break:


The second day I played general Convention Staff and brought the basic 18-55mm zoom lens, reacquainting myself with the right settings with that lens (the 50mm comparisons are ƒ/1.4 primary vs ƒ/5.6 zoom). It was tough Saturday getting aisle shots via "sneaker zoom" without others in the frame. Other photographers swarmed in to the space I left open or were right up front with wide angles. Such was the strength of picakuma's Saturday "Best Performance" contest-winning Akuma cosplay-fu.

Some comics only show the shape of the frames, never the eyes behind them. We'll see how this works out, though my perfectionist streak says these are too small on me for the character planned. Also "see" may be the operative word with the fabric I used; I can barely walk around the house with these unless I'm looking at a light source, but the house is darker than convention space should be, too. Plus, being sunglasses isn't helping with that part (heh). Maybe sheerer fabric "next time", or finding a way to forge some clear lenses without being in "pre-con Friday night" rush mode. Those "big black frames" don't typically come with light shades.

Any guesses what my attempt at a cunning plan is before it's revealed? Suggestions?

Hint: It's not SinFest's Slick. His are Aviator-rounded, and I'm not half-dying my hair (this time), nor is it long enough to spike the right way. :p

Hint2: "Big round frames for Ranma ½'s Mousse" is an automatic future yes; I'd rather be in better shape, though. ^_^

I go sleep now. (Emerald City) ComicCon weekend is upon us.