lainspotting

The diminishing value of friend recommendations online

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:44:00 +0000

I came across the following article (by Michael Bush) on Advertising Age:

In Age of Friending, Consumers Trust Their Friends Less

Edelman Study Shows That Only 25% of People Find Peers Credible, Flying in Face of Social-Media Wisdom

Here's my response, mostly in agreement:

With an overabundance of people who believe (and are being led to believe by social media marketers) that their personal opinions matter greatly to everyone around them, it's no surprise that the signal-to-noise ratio surrounding personal recommendations has gotten lower. Not only do we have more friends than ever (because of social networking sites), a disproportionate number of them seem to think they are (or deserve to be) prominent influencers and tastemakers.

In response, some people appear to be relying more on aggregrate recommendations, leveraging the so-called "wisdom of the crowd" to determine what they're likely to enjoy, whether it's movies (via rottentomatoes.com), restaurants (via yelp.com), or books (via amazon.com). Such an approach, widely-adopted, has its own problematic consequences (to be discussed some other time).

An alternative approach is to rely on select individuals for one's recommendations, people whose opinions you really value, even if you don't necessarily agree with all of them. For me, I rely on the person who knows me best--my wife Carol, and even she gets me wrong from time to time, or isn't necessarily interested in evaluating all the things that pique my curiosity. For what it's worth, I still trust recommendations offered by my friends--like around 10 of them, a much smaller subset of the 400 or so friends I have on Facebook (nothing personal, folks).

Crimson Tide is a continuation of WarGames by other means

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Last night, I (re)watched Crimson Tide (1995) on Bravo. I only intended to watch part of it, but I was sucked in. I think I've seen the movie twice before, but for some reason it never occurred to me until last night that it shares a lot in common with WarGames (1983), one of my top 10 favorite movies.

Both films, despite significant differences in how the stories were presented, dealt with issues including:

Decision-making complexity (whether or not to launch nuclear weapons, based on possibly inaccurate information) during unusually stressful conditions.
The conflict between flexible human judgement versus strict adherence to protocol.
The futility of war in a nuclear era.

Watching the personal conflict (especially the discussion about Clausewitz, hence the title of this post) between Commander Hunter (Denzel Washington)--educated and "complicated"--versus Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman)--simple, instinctive, and aggressively confident--reminded me of the 'Jocks versus Nerds' dichotomy humorously explained by John Hodgman in his address at the 2009 Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner. See below for the whole video.

Timothy Leary wrote about WarGames in an essay¹ in which he described the film's protagonists as examples of self-directed cyberpunk heroes who followed a critical mantra: "Think for yourself; question authority" (TFYQA)--especially when the fate of humanity is on the line and the authority in question is based on rigid protocols and machine intelligence versus actual experience and human wisdom.

The essence of WarGames is summed up when Professor Stephen Falken implores General Beringer: "You are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one."

Sound advice in any era...

Fair Share, possibly the best iPhone tip calculator and bill splitter

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:31:00 +0000

My long-time friend from college, Jerry Hsu, just released his first iPhone application. Now, I don't use an iPhone (and I philosophically prefer Web apps that are based on open standards and work across devices/browsers), but if you're going to make an iPhone app, it might as well be good, and Jerry's made a great one.

It's called Fair Share, and here's what it does. When you dine out with your friends and it's time to pay the bill, Fair Share...

Calculates the tip amount and bill, split fairly between every member of your party.
Provides an easy interface for entering different price amounts for the various items ordered and assigning them to specific members of your party.
Intelligently handles all kinds of ordering and payment situations.

Although Fair Share is one of many iPhone tip calculators and bill splitters out there, Jerry has worked hard (and done a ton of research) to make his version the best. The thing I love most about Fair Share is that it really embodies a part of Jerry's personality.

Back in the day, whenever our group of friends went out for a meal, Jerry (being the treasurer of our college anime club) would take on the task of making sure everyone contributed properly to the bill. Jerry is a fair guy, and Fair Share represents his personal philosophy as much as his technical skill and understanding of what people need in software.

To see it in action, view the video below:

You can find the app on iTunes: Fair Share - Tip Calculator and Bill Splitter

Jerry also writes about Fair Share on his blog: http://yarbars.blogspot.com/search/label/fairshare

I'm sure he'd love to hear your feedback!

Introducing Opera Unite

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Today is a really big day for Opera, and I'm proud that I have an opportunity to share it with people via an article I wrote for Opera Labs, the first in a short series to introduce our newest browser innovation--Opera Unite.

Here's the intro:

Taking the Web into our own hands, one computer at a time

My name is Lawrence Eng, and as a Product Analyst for Opera Software, my job is to understand our users and what they need so we can serve them better. Today, I've been asked share my thoughts on Opera Unite, a new Opera technology that I'm extremely excited about. I've been an avid Opera user since 2001 and seen the numerous innovations Opera has introduced to dramatically improve the experience of Web browsing. Of all the new features we've introduced over the years, none of them have filled me with anticipation as much as Opera Unite--a radical first step we've taken to address what I call 'the Internet's unfulfilled promise', which is about our ability to connect with each other and participate meaningfully online.

To read the entire article, please visit: Taking the Web into our own hands, one computer at a time

After (or before) you've read the article, I hope you'll try Opera Unite for yourself by downloading an Opera Unite-enabled build of the browser. Visit http://unite.opera.com/ for more info.

Summer 2009 anime events in SoCal

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Anime Expo is coming soon (July 2-5). If you'll be attending, please feel free to join my colleagues Mikhail Koulikov, Alex Leavitt, and I for the follow panels we're hosting:

Friday, July 3
10:30 a.m.
Live Programming 3
Title: Introduction to Anime/Manga Studies
Description: The Anime and Manga Research Circle is an international community of scholars of Japanese popular culture and its reception worldwide. The AMRC has hosted similar panels at Anime Expo several times in the past, and this year, looks to return with a talk that will introduce the concept of serious academic study of anime and manga, provide tips on researching and writing school-level and college-level papers, introduce a guide to sources and resources, and share our members' own experiences as beginning and advanced anime/manga scholars

Saturday, July 4
6 p.m.
Live Programming 2
Title: Anime and Manga in Academia
Description: Building on the earlier 'Introduction to anime/manga studies' session, this panel is aimed at students at the undergraduate level and above who are already seriously pursuing the study of Japanese popular culture. The panel will provide a brief history of anime/manga studies, introduce the prominent figures in the field, and provide advice on finding programs and courses to pursue, writing thesis papers and dissertations, and even publishing anime/manga research in established academic journals.

Edit (7/3/09): Due to illness, I won't be attending Anime Expo (and the above-listed panels) this year. Sorry about that.

In other news, Hayao Miyazaki will be appearing at a tribute event (in his honor) at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, hosted by John Lasseter. The event will be on Tuesday, July 28th, at 7:30 p.m. Further information, including details on how to get tickets, can be found here: Summer of Anime Heats Up at Academy (press release)

The Academy is also currently hosting the "ANIME! High Art ? Pop Culture" exhibit, running until August 23rd. I happen to have a small handful of items on display there (loaned to the exhibit) and got to attend the opening reception in May. I also contributed an article on Gainax and otaku culture to the exhibit's program book--which might be on sale at the gallery (if they're not sold out yet). The exhibit is definitely worth a look if you're in the area. Best of all, it's completely free to visit!

More info here: ANIME! High Art ? Pop Culture

Raspberry Dream revisited (Rebecca, Ayu, and SpringS)

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:05:00 +0000

It's always interesting to see how some tastes change over time, while certain other things retain their appeal and have a timeless quality about them. I'm a fan of Japanese rock/pop music; while spending some free time on YouTube, I came across a set of related music videos that I wanted to comment on.

Here's the same song, Raspberry Dream, performed quite differently by different people in three distinct eras. The original (1986) is by the 80's Japanese rock band Rebecca, featuring Nokko (b. 1963). Some of you know that my favorite one-shot anime is To-Y (1987). In that anime, Nokko was the voice of Niya Yamada. Because of that role, I became a fan of Nokko's solo work and her prior work as the frontwoman of Rebecca. Watching the video below, you'll see that Nokko is an honest and exhilarating performer and musician.

The video below features Ayumi Hamasaki, one of Japan's most prominent and prolific female pop artists. The following video, however, is from her "Idol on Stage" TV show performance in 1995 when she was only 16 years old, prior to her debut album. It's not quite fair to compare an amateur performance against a polished music video, but the quality and potential of Ayu's singing is already apparent (and stylistically different from Nokko), and it's entertaining to see Ayu before she became a superstar.

Finally, here's a video from 2003 featuring SpringS, a short-lived girl band. SpringS is mostly known for its member Aya Hirano, a well-known anime voice actress.

At this point, I suppose some weighty topics could be discussed, such as authenticity, postmodern creativity, the value of derivative works, changing aesthetic sensibilities, the nature of the music industry, etc. There are things to ponder, for sure. For now, however, I simply enjoyed watching the three videos and invite you to do the same if you haven't done so already. Personally, I still prefer the original. It's got a sense of purpose and energy that can't be matched by CG, special effects, and a higher BPM.

Defining and thinking about anime

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:05:00 +0000

I recently met a student online named Alex Leavitt. Alex is one of the new generation of scholars in the US studying otaku culture, and I couldn't be more pleased, as we desperately need more serious investigations of otakudom (from all angles).

On his blog, Alex posted some interesting thoughts on the meaning of 'anime', especially in light of works like Kunio Kato's La Maison en Petit Cubes, which recently won the Academy award for 'Short Film (Animated)': Reflections on Anime: Animation and the Academy.

Here's my comment on his post:

Hi Alex,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I generally define anime as the following:

Animation created (primarily) in Japan by Japanese creators for (primarily) Japanese audiences.

I use that definition because it's useful to me as both a fan and scholar, allowing me to delineate the aspects of 'anime' (re: context, production, and reception) which I am most interested in. In the end, the word 'anime' is just a container for whatever concepts we want it to hold.

That said, I certainly enjoy (and find important) many things that fall outside of 'anime' as strictly defined above.

In another sense, my definition might be considered less strict than most since it places less emphasis on specific anime styles and genres, allowing us to recognize as anime historically important but stylistically distinct titles (such as Tezuka works, as you mentioned), along with modern Japanese works such as La Maison en Petit Cubes.

Below is a video filmed by Cameron Williamson of AniLogTV, asking attendees of Anime Punch 2008 "What is Anime?" (I'm at the end of the video)

Blogging, Twitter, and Comments

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Here's a comment I posted on the blog of my colleague, Henny Swan, in response to her post entitled Did Twitter kill commenting?:

Some additional thoughts (expanding on the excellent points above):

When you comment on a blog, nobody but the blog author, random visitors to the blog, and yourself knows that you commented. I guess I could comment here and Tweet that I did so, but that's two steps instead of one (for both me and my Twitter followers).

It's also hard for me to keep track of all the different blogs where I've commented online. On Twitter, at least, I can look through my own update history to see the things I've been interested in and writing about. Similarly, most web forums retain a full posting history of each user.

We want our impressions to matter; for many of us, that means we it to be part of our recorded history. Others go farther, and want that recorded history to be public. Unfortunately for them, blog comments are easily forgotten and difficult to recover once memory fades.

Blog commenting doesn't usually allow one to keep track of responses. After I respond here, I won't know if you or anyone else responded to this comment unless I make an effort to check back here (forever)? Some blogs allow you to subscribe to comment feeds (via RSS), but that's potentially a lot of feeds to keep track of, and a lot of irrelevant comments to wade through. Mail notification when new comments are posted also results in a lot of unwanted messages, especially if the topic generates a lot of comments.

Finally, I noticed that Twitter produces an interesting curiosity effect. People link to content (often obscured by tinyURL and other such services), and people get curious about it (because of the mystery). The effect is even more pronounced when people publically reply to each other on Twitter, and they're saying things that only make sense in the context of their own conversation, so third party observers find themselves following the Reply trail to see what they're talking about.

By removing context clues, it's like Twitter added/maintained a level of inconvenience/opacity to encourage users to be curious about other people's conversations and have to dig a few levels before getting a payoff (generating a gambling-type of thrill, perhaps).

Following Miquel's lead: twit back on @lawmune

This topic is also related to the alleged death of blogging.

lainspotting at Sitacon 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:45:00 +0000

So far, I've been to 4 cons this year:

Anime Punch (guest)
Anime Expo (panelist)
San Diego Comic-Con
Otakon (panelist)

For 2008, I have one more to go. This weekend, I'll be a guest at Sitacon in Utica, NY. I have three panels scheduled:

Old School Gainax: From Daicon to Eva
Anime in Academia
Otaku Studies 101

Should be fun. If you'll be there, please don't hesitate to say hello.

Here's the official website: http://sitacon.com/

Sitacon's listing on AnimeCons.com: http://www.animecons.com/events/info.shtml/1547

Thoughts and clarifications: MSNBC article on sexuality in anime/manga

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:24:00 +0000

This is my response to the MSNBC article in which I was quoted. Or more accurately, this is my response to the Anime World Order podcast episode which includes their response to the MSNBC article:

Hey guys,

Lawrence Eng here. By the way, I live in San Diego now. I just wanted to comment on the MSNBC article discussion.

After all the protests about Patrick being misquoted and things being taken out of context, how about a little benefit of the doubt regarding the other quotes/interviewees?

I stand by my quotes in the article (and feel they contributed positively), but I wasn't paraphrased completely accurately regarding the demographic of people attending early anime cons in the US.

Ignoring for now the simple fact that what even counts as the first anime con(s) is debatable*, I only started con-going in 1996 (not counting a Robotech Creation convention around 1986 or so I went to as a kid), so I don't claim to have perfect demographic data regarding who went to every early con.

For a better idea of what I actually said, referring to my personal experiences as a fan, rewind to an article (by Jeff Yang) that was published 3 years ago in SFGate:

The fan mix isn't just getting younger -- it's also getting more diverse. Lawrence Eng, a doctoral candidate at Renssaeler Polytechnic Institute who's made the anime fan community the primary focus of his research, remembers the era when he first became a fan, back in the early '90s. "When I first started going to conventions, everyone looked like me: males in their late 20s and 30s, a lot of them Asian," he says. "Now at AX, there are so many women there; they make up at least 50 percent of the attendees, maybe more. And you have people from every race and background. It's become much more of a normal distribution now."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/07/07/apop.DTL

Regarding the "colossal factual errors", I know we should hold MSNBC to higher standards than your typical blog post, but some of the errors seem fairly minor considering the level of fan outrage I've been observing.

I agree that the clarity of the Gurren Lagann/Overfiend sentence was problematic, but when interpreted correctly (re: adjective agreement, as you discussed), it's not strictly an error.

Lolicom was incorrectly described as coming from "lolita" and "comics", but the section heading it was discussed under was called "Lolita-complex culture". Based on that, it could have been a minor slip-up during the editing process, and not poor research.

Regarding otaku as "techno-geeks": Some of the earliest, widely published writing on otaku in the English language was the Greenfeld Wired article you mentioned, itself heavily influenced by Volker Grassmuck's essay on otaku which was written even before Otaku no Video put the word "otaku" on the radar of American fandom. Whether or not you agree with their description of otaku, it's not incorrect to say that was how otaku were written and thought about in the early 90s, and the term has now evolved into something a lot less academic and much more widespread.

Long story short: talking about otaku in terms of technology (especially IT and mass media) is not a new thing. William Gibson, in particular, really ran with that idea, describing otaku as "pathological-techno-fetishist-with-social-deficit" in Idoru (1996) and really getting deep into otaku infophile behavior in Pattern Recognition (2003).

Given how many people have expressed outraged regarding the 'lolicom comes from lolita comics' thing, is it really a huge stretch for anyone to think that anime and manga in America is somehow affecting people's "attitudes about sexual expression"? I mean, before anime and manga were popular here, how many Americans would even know what lolicon is? Now, we have a vocal subset of fans who know the etymology of the term, distinguish between lolicon and shotacon, wonder why the author didn't talk about yaoi/yuri, etc. In that light, Patrick's final quote isn't that off. There is something powerful going on when kids are consuming media products from another culture. Even if that content isn't always (or even usually) sexually explicit, people are being exposed (in a generally positive way, I would add) to norms and values that are often different from the American mainstream. If it wasn't different, I don't think we as fans would be as interested in the content.

Notes

*How do we define "anime convention"? How many anime fans gathering constitutes an anime convention (versus a club meeting)? When talking about "the first anime convention", do we count the first C/FO meetings? Video rooms at sci-fi cons (like at BayCon in the late 80s)? Yamatocon (which I believe was pretty specific in its scope)? A-Kon (which wasn't a full-blown anime con until after AnimeCon, according to some)? AnimeCon '91? Since it's all a matter of definition, the debate continues. For example, Fred Patten defended his statement about AnimeCon being "the first all-anime convention" in the US (see his collection of essays: Watching Anime, Reading Manga, pp. 81-82).

CJAS turns 20

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:33:00 +0000

20 years ago today, the first meeting of CJS (Cornell Japanimation Society) was held in a townhouse on North Campus. Along with co-founders Masaki Takai and Kay Lillibridge, a small handful of Cornellians got together to watch anime and enjoy each other's company. The tradition continues...

http://www.cjas.org

serial experiments lain - 10th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:10:00 +0000

On July 6th, 1998, serial experiments lain debuted on Japanese television. Ten years later, the show's legacy endures and it continues to inspire new audiences who discover it. I haven't done a whole lot online to celebrate Lain's 10th birthday, but perhaps I'll do some more lain-related panels at conventions this coming year.

On a related note, I just got back from Anime Expo this weekend, where I had the opportunity (once again) to be on the Anime and Manga in Academia panel, along with Mikhail Koulikov of the Anime/Manga Web Essays Archive and Danielle Leigh, who writes about manga on the Comics Should Be Good! blog on comicbookresources.com (a site that I like a lot, by the way).

I also met up with my friend and fellow lain fan Ray (of Distortion Gallery fame) who I haven't seen in about 2 years. My wife Carol and I had a really nice time hanging out with Ray and his lovely wife Marie.

I also ran into some other friends at the con, which is always nice. I spent a lot of time in the dealers' room this year, but didn't buy very much. I'm saving up for San Diego Comic-Con, which I'm really looking forward to.

Lawmune's Netspace turns 10

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:31:00 +0000

Ten years ago today, on June 23rd, 1998, this website ("Lawmune's Netspace") went live. Some of the pages were created before June 23rd, but they weren't available on the Internet until that day.

1998 was the year I graduated from college, which is why I started this site in the first place--as a method of communicating with my college friends and whoever else was interested in reading what I wrote.

A lot has changed since then, but a lot has stayed the same, too. Most of the pages I put up in those early days are still up. Some of it is outdated, but that's okay. I like having it there for the historical record. Besides, the Web shouldn't be full of dead links, and taking content down just because it's old is bad for the Web. I'll eventually update those old pages, some day.

A personal website turning 10 years old might not seem like a big deal, but this site has been very important in my life. Because of Lawmune's Netspace, I've gotten the chance to express myself as a fan of various things, shared knowledge and opinions, gotten involved in other people's creative projects, been invited to speak on several occasions, provided the idea for a character, and even got myself a job. Furthermore, with a brief note of thanks, I reminded the woman who would later become my wife how important she is to me.

My friends know that I'm a fairly private person. I prefer keeping to myself (and my family), but the Web has been a great place for me to share at my own pace. After 10 years, you might think there should be a lot more content here, but I'm actually very happy with what I've got. (That said, I still have a ton of half-formed ideas waiting to turn into full-fledged webpages.)

If you happen upon this blog post, and if this site has helped or entertained you at all during the last 10 years, thank you for visiting and reading! With so many different kinds of pages out there--including social networking sites, wikis, news aggregators, blogs, etc--the humble personal page seems to have fallen out of fashion, but I still think they (personal pages) are important and rewarding. Here's to 10 years! Let's see what the next 10 will bring.

Moving forward from sad days in Akihabara

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Here are some links to articles about the recent tragedy in Akihabara, where a young man killed 7 people and injured several more:

17 Hit or Stabbed, 7 Confirmed Dead in Tokyo's Akihabara

Cry for help from comic book killer

Tragedy strikes Tokyo's geeks

Akihabara, of course, is the world's most famous otaku hotspot, known for its heavy concentration of anime and manga-related stores, maid cafes, and public cosplay (usually on Sundays). In recent times, there have been various reports of some otaku being mugged there, or of police cracking down on impromptu otaku gatherings, but in general, Akihabara has been considered a fun and safe place for otaku to visit. I've only been there once, but I had a good time shopping in the otaku specialty stores.

Right now, Akihabara is a site of mourning. I imagine that otaku in Japan feel the hurt on a very personal level, with their safe haven violated--by someone who shared their interests in anime and manga, no less, and many otaku in Japan probably relate to the suspect's alleged feelings of alienation. I linked to the 2 articles above, not because they're necessarily the best ones out there, but because they've tried to link (implicitly or otherwise) the suspect's actions with his hobbies, which is sure to flare up the never-ending debates about the harmfulness of mass media.

In fact, it's fairly safe to predict that we will see the following two viewpoints expressed in the media during the next few weeks:

1) Otaku culture is causing the breakdown of mainstream Japanese society
2) Otaku culture is a symptom of the overall breakdown of mainstream Japanese society

I suppose that point #2 is a bit more reasonable than point #1, but what we almost never see, however, is an idea I've tried to propagate for some time now: Otaku culture is neither the cause of the problem, or a negative symptom of the problem. Instead, otaku culture is a positive subcultural reaction to the problems of Japanese, American, and other postmodern societies. Sure, one could easily focus on all of the negative aspects of people who are called or call themselves otaku--people have been making fun of otaku for over 25 years--but considering that most otaku around the world aren't criminals but are instead doing some very cool and creative things, and belong to vibrant and diverse communities surrounding their interests, why shouldn't we focus on (and encourage) the positive?

I think's it's important not to let events such as these be the catalyst for others to judge otaku based on fear. More importantly, perhaps, anime and manga fans should resist the urge to point to their peers who might be more introverted, have more alternative tastes, or simply look different and beratingly call them 'otaku' to distance themselves from negative mainstream attention toward anime fans in general. Instead of continuing the cycle of alienation, propagated by divisive and sensational stories in the media, we can try to be inclusive and encouraging of pluralism, at least within our own community.

RSS Awareness Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:48:00 +0000

Given how infrequently I update this blog, I hope there's no one out there who actually types in http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lainspotting on a regular basis to see if there's anything new here. Instead, you should consider using RSS (for this blog and any other sites you want to keep track of).

What's RSS, you say? I'm glad you asked, because today (May 1st) is RSS Awareness Day.

Most browsers these days support RSS, and there are Web-based solutions as well. Personally, I love Opera's built-in RSS reader. I couldn't live without it.

Classic anime openings

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:00:00 +0000

I just posted my Anime Punch report. One thing I didn't mention there is that I helped Lillian Olsen (my good friend and fellow con guest) with the multimedia clips she showed during her Classic Anime panel. She promised that I'd post links to the clips here on my blog, so here they are:

Magical Witch Sally

GeGeGe no Kitaro

Time Bokan Yatta-man

Time Bokan Zenda-man

Time Bokan Yattodeta-man

Star of the Giants

Dr. Slump Arale-chan

Urusei Yatsura

Kinnikuman

and one of my own all-time favorites...

NG Knight Lamune & 40
(first 2 openings and endings)

Con Report - Anime Punch 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:19:00 +0000

I'm writing this on the flight home from Anime Punch 2008. This was my third year at the con as an invited guest, and once again, I had a very good time. My sincerest thanks go out to the organizers of Anime Punch for having me, and for hosting such a good event that was safe, fun, and always full of interesting activities to keep enthusiastic otaku of all ages occupied.

In particular, I want to thank con chair Mike Beuerlein and Susan (the head of Con Ops) for their hospitality and helpfulness, the guys in charge of the panel rooms for always coming through when I needed help with A/V issues, and everyone who came to my panels (I hope you liked them).

Anime Punch is a convention run entirely by fans, and is associated with the OSU anime club. Even though AP is not nearly the size of conventions like Anime Expo (in Long Beach, CA) and Otakon (in Baltimore, Maryland), there was never a dull moment--which is something I can't always say about those larger cons. There's something about fans at smaller conventions that always impresses me. The atmosphere is different at events where the con-goers, invited guests, and staff aren't so different from each other, and where strangers are eager to help other strangers have a good time, instead of complaining about minor snafus and inconveniences.

For the first time in a long time, I had a very balanced con experience. I went to the opening ceremonies, attended (and presented) panels, spent some time in the video rooms, played video games in the game room, shopped in the dealers' room, ate some snacks in the (very nicely stocked) con suite, participated in game shows, struck up conversations with people I hadn't met before, went out to dinner with friends, and genuinely got excited about new (and old) anime again.

Much of my time was spent preparing for and presenting numerous panels. Officially, I was responsible for being on 5 panels, 3 of them to be presented completely on my own (so those were more like lectures or moderated discussions than "panels", per se). As it turns out, at the very last minute, I was recruited to talk on one additional panel, and I recruited someone to help me on one of my own panels.

Here's a list of what I presented:

Gainax (together with Mikhail Koulikov, maintainer of the Anime/Manga Web Essays Archive and fellow AMRC moderator). I focused primarily on the early history of Gainax and the studio's pre-Evangelion works, and Mikhail covered the more recent titles.
Otaku as Viewed by Media/Normals (with Laura). I introduced myself to Laura, who organized this panel, and she asked me to help out, so I did. We had a nice (if somewhat unstructured) group discussion about public perceptions of otaku culture (in both Japan and America). I hope Laura and I can do this panel again in the future, since it allows me to spend more time on other topics during my Otaku Studies talk (which I've presented at AP three years in a row).
Anime in Academia (together with my academic colleagues CarrieLynn Reinhard, Mikhail, and Dr. John Lent). Traditionally, this panel has been very well-attended, and we even had a bigger room this year, but for whatever reason, it felt like there were fewer attendees this time around. Anyhow, all of us had other panels that were well attended, so that's okay.

(This image, by OZinOH, is used in accordance with a Creative Commons license)
Otaku Studies. Based on my doctoral work, this is the talk I give every year (with updated content, of course) in as many places as possible. It's always very rewarding to share with my fellow fans what I've learned being amongst them and trying to make sense of our diverse community's various activities, values, and ethics. I always get really good questions and feedback from this talk. Hopefully, the more I give this presentation and make adjustments, the better it will get. Maybe I'll eventually turn it into a 2-part seminar or workshop.
Anime and the Internet (with Aaron). I didn't know until the day before the con that I was the only person who would be presenting on this topic. That was okay, I figured, since anime fandom's use of the internet was such a big part of my doctoral dissertation. Also, I work for a company that makes the world's best Web browser, so this was right up my alley. That said, I was very pleased to see Aaron of the WARP Anime Podcast in the audience. I asked him if he'd like to be part of the panel, which he kindly agreed to do--contributing some very nice insight and information about the world of anime podcasts. Our discussion topics ranged from pre-Web online fandom to the development of early anime fansites to the current-day landscape of corporate sites, blogs, social networking sites, and Wikipedia.
serial experiments lain. During this panel, I surely repeated more than once how happy and surprised I was that so many people showed up to hear and talk about lain, a show that will be 10 years old this summer. I was planning to chat with at most 4-5 people about my favorite anime TV series to celebrate its 10th anniversary, but there must have been a couple dozen people in the room, all of whom had watched lain and were fans enough of it not to attend the other, higher-profile con events of Saturday night. Since everyone in the room had seen lain already, it was a fairly high-level panel. We discussed the themes of the show, its influences, the shows it influenced, and how it affected us as viewers. I also showed some special video clips, shared information about lain merchandise, and gave away a lain artbook (to one very dedicated lain fan in the audience). Even though I prepared the least for this panel (not counting the fact that I've had a huge lain website for 9 years now), it turned out to be really fun, and I hope to do it again before 2008 ends.

I had a great weekend, and seeing all the smiling faces around me at the con, I know I wasn't alone. Anime Punch continues to foster a great intimate feeling amongst its attendees. As otaku, we're a community of fans that's all about having fun together, sharing knowledge, and being passionate about our interests, and that's why I still love going to anime cons and look forward to Anime Punch 2009!

Anime Punch 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:08:00 +0000

I'm writing this from Anime Punch 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.

As in previous years, Lillian and I are both guests at this con, and we're happy to be here.

It's not exactly a vacation, though. I have 5 panels scheduled: Gainax, Anime in Academia, Otaku Studies, Anime and the Internet, and serial experiments lain

This is going to be a good con. The event schedule is packed with all kinds of good stuff.

If you're at Anime Punch, please come by to any of my panels, and feel free to say hi at any time.

SXSW blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Over the next few days, I will be blogging fairly regularly while I'm at SXSW Interactive, along with a few My Opera members who will also be at the event. Here's the blog we made specifically for that purpose: http://my.opera.com/opera-sxsw-2008

If you're planning to attend SXSW, you'll most likely find me at the Opera booth.

Anime exhibit in Frankfurt (Feb. 27th - Aug. 3rd)

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:24:00 +0000

For those of you who have been wondering what anime-related projects I've been up to lately, here's a bit of news that you might be interested in.

Last summer, I got involved with an upcoming anime exhibition being put on by the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. It's called Anime - High Art - Pop Culture, and it will run from February 27th - August 3rd of this year. Unlike exhibits of artworks that are inspired by anime and otaku culture, this exhibit promises to dive headfirst into anime itself and the fan culture surrounding it.

I've personally loaned a number of my posters and artbooks to the exhibit. For the time being, my bookshelves are bit less dense, and my walls are temporarily quite bare (until I put up replacements), but I'm glad that I can share some of my collection with visitors to the exhibit. I also wrote an article for the catalogue (described below). The article, entitled "The Fans Who Became Kings", is a look at the history of Gainax, focusing on their importance to the development of global otaku culture.

Here's some text from the exhibit's press material:

/ Neopop meets fan culture /
Anime ? High Art ? Pop Culture at the Deutsche Filmmuseum presents the history, aesthetics and production of Japanese animation. From the early beginnings to the great cinematic successes and the popular heroes of late 1970s serials to current computer and video games, the exhibition illustrates the fascination of anime and their dramatic and often breathtaking visual language. Modules according to genres show a varied collection of materials on production, reception, fan culture and merchandising. The exhibition also features rare collector?s items and artworks from anime producers shown in Europe for the first time.

/ Interactivity /
Professionals, interested visitors and fans will find many opportunities to become actively and creatively involved in the exhibitions at both museums. Interactive features include fan art exhibitions and competitions, drawing cels and producing short animations yourself and the chance to try out a selection of video games. Films and lectures accompany the exhibitions.

/ The catalogue /
A comprehensive volume (300 pages approx.) will discuss the multimedia aspects of manga and anime in innovative ways. With contributions from leading international scientists and experts, workshop reports and statements by manga and anime artists, directors and collectors the catalogue will close the gap in interdisciplinary documentation of contemporary Japanese popular culture. It will be both a new standard reference and a highly attractive collector?s item for fans and visitors to the exhibition.

--

Official website of the exhibit: http://www.deutschesfilmmuseum.de/pre/res/txt/anime.html

Bobby Fischer (1943-2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Bobby Fischer is dead. I've never been more than a casual chess player and observer (my parents let me take some group classes as a kid), but I've always been fascinated by Fischer.

Looking back at his life, I think:
What an incredible mind he had; such will and determination--an unrelenting need to win and dominate his opponents. His work ethic was amazing, and his sense of humor was biting (though not always in a good way). An obsessive student of the game and its history, the man wasn't just a player; he was a true chess otaku. Most of us can only dream of being as good at something as Bobby Fischer was at chess.

As many people know, however, Fischer was also quite troubled for many years before he died. He spent years as a fugitive from the law, and his anti-Semitic diatribes led many to the conclusion that he must be mad, or at least a horrible misanthrope.

In response to the dark side of Bobby Fischer's life, some have said we should only remember his brilliance at chess, his good years, and ignore the ravings of a demented old man.

I don't think it's wrong to be outraged by the hateful content of his ravings (which I first heard in the late '90s), and what he said should certainly be dismissed as racist garbage. But the tragic part of Bobby Fischer's story should not be forgotten or glossed over, even by those who choose to remember the good things about Bobby Fischer. Although he abandoned and denigrated much that was good, he himself was abandoned by a society that could not (or would not) get him the help and support he needed.

Intentionally or not, Bobby Fischer was one of America's weapons during the Cold War; his sole purpose was to disrupt the previously undefeatable Soviet chess machine. Is it any surprise that he was twisted by the paranoia of the time? It doesn't take much to fuel paranoid delusions, and it's been revealed that Fischer and his mother were both under FBI surveillance for decades. The details are vague, but the KGB took an interest in him as well.

I suspect that most of us would crack under the pressures faced by Bobby Fischer. And when a genius with an obsessive mind like Fischer's cracks, the consequences are dire, and what can we do about it? Not much, perhaps, especially when those who need help refuse to admit that they need it. Despite his glaring flaws, I'd like to remember Bobby Fischer as an American hero and a chess genius of the highest order. He was a victim of his time, his celebrity, and the very genius that served him so well on the chessboard, but which became madness in the end.

Farewell, Bobby Fischer. Some will miss you, and some will say 'good riddance', but at the very least, you won't be forgotten.

An unusually long week: wildfires and a rocking launch party

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:50:00 +0000

On Sunday afternoon (two weekends ago), I was happily playing with my 2-year-old son in our backyard when I noticed that the air was getting kind of smoky. We went inside and I checked on the internet to see what was going on. Obviously, there was a fire somewhere, but it wasn't close to our house, so my wife and I didn't pay much mind to it. After all, brush fires are not terribly uncommon in San Diego. A few months ago, there was a small brush fire not too far from my home, but it was put out quickly.

That night, we visited my sister's house (about 20 minutes south of me) to celebrate my niece's birthday. My sister's family had lived through the Cedar Fire in 2003, and were concerned about the current fire, at which point I finally got worried. It was definitely smoky in our neighborhood when we got in the car.

When we got home, we turned on the news and saw that the fire had spread quickly. In fact, there were several large fires burning in many different locations throughout San Diego. According to the news, many San Diego residents in affected areas were being asked to evacuate through reverse 911 calls. Looking at the fire map and seeing how quickly the fires were spreading (due to the very high winds), we were getting a little nervous. Not knowing what would happen through the night, we began packing important items into our two cars, just in case we would have to evacuate on short notice.

After staying up late packing crucial documents and our most prized possessions into suitcases, we went to sleep, but I made myself wake up every two hours to check the news. Around 4AM, I saw that the news was especially bad, with houses in the city directly north of us burning, and danger to our east as well. I didn't go back to sleep after that. As my wife slept, I watched the news and continued packing.

Finally, around noon on Monday, it became clear that we'd have to go, with mandatory evacuations occuring extremely close to us to our north and east, and it was only a matter of time before the authorities would recommend our area evacuate as well. Exhausted, we drove our two cars to my sister's house, where we'd watch more news and try to get some rest. (So that my nieces and nephew didn't have to watch news all day, I used Opera Mini to check whether or not my house was in danger.)

Our family and our neighborhood were lucky. The winds didn't blow south, and the fires to our east never got close to us. As such, we were able to safely return home on Tuesday afternoon.

Most of the evacuations were precautionary more than anything, but it was still a very somber and nervous time, knowing that thousands of houses were burning in San Diego. We all witnessed a massive amount of destruction on TV, and felt for those who lost their homes and/or loved ones. Many San Diego residents who evacuated had to stay in temporary shelters, but from all accounts, they were well taken care of, and most of them would be lucky as well and eventually return to their homes. That said, the fires (which are still burning, actually, but mostly contained) destroyed so much, and the cost of rebuilding will be high, but everyone stuck together really well, and I feel more connected than ever to my local community.

One of the most surreal parts of the whole ordeal was deciding what to take and what to leave behind, not knowing if we'd ever see again the things we didn't pack with us. We actually finished packing quite early, and it turned out we didn't really have that much stuff that we consider to be irreplaceable or extremely valuable. I walked around the house several times, looking things over to make sure we had everything we wanted, and I felt pretty satisfied that we were done. The rest could be left behind, and we'd be okay. It really makes a person reconsider the value of possessions in ones life, how much we have that we really don't need, and how we should value that which we already own (as opposed to what we want to acquire). And of course, coming home again makes one realize the value of having a home, period - a basic and comfortable shelter that doesn't have to be cluttered up with useless goods and accessories. In the coming weeks, I know that I'll be looking into places that are asking for donations of clothes, books, and other stuff.

I was operating on an adrenalin high most of Monday and Tuesday, and when I woke up on Wednesday, my entire body hurt from the built up stress, tension, and fatigue. I can't even imagine how the firefighters felt after working for days on ends without sleeping. On Thursday morning, I was scheduled to fly to San Francisco to help with the Rock Opera party, where we'd be doing a major product launch, but I was feeling physically bad enough to consider skipping the event.

However, it's not every day that Opera holds a rock music event in the US, launches three new products (Opera 9.5 beta, Opera Mini 4 beta 3, and Opera Link) on the same day, and flies out the CEO to kick off the event with a rousing speech. I had to attend. Plus, we've been working on the launch party for a long time now. I also wanted to make sure our My Opera guests whose travel I arranged were well taken care of and would have a good time at the party.

I got on the airplane early Thursday morning and arrived at my "European-style" hotel in San Francisco a few hours later. On Thursday afternoon, I spent some time hanging out with our My Opera guests and helping to prep for the party.

The party itself was great! It had good food, drinks, lots of people asking and enthusiastic about our latest Opera products, and a ton of rocking music. During the party, I talked with people mostly about Opera Mini and Link, both of which were received very well. The venue was excellent, and the people we hired did a fantastic job making it look great (see photos here). It was the most exciting Opera launch event I've ever attended, and I hope we can do more of the same in the future.

I'd like to thank My Opera members Charlie (BAMAToNE), Anton (Captain Seagull), and Scott and Annette (skid94) for attending the party from out-of-state. Check out their party-related blog posts and photo albums. Anton was particularly great showing off the capabilities of the Wii's Internet Channel, and since it was a party, nobody was surprised or upset when partygoers spontaneously decided to play Wii Sports as well. :)

On Friday, Charlie and I wandered around a little bit before grabbing dinner at a Thai restaurant. Charlie got to witness his first San Francisco protest rally, with everyone on bicycles. Actually, I had never seen that before either.

I got home on Saturday, and by Sunday, I was laid up in bed after a crazy week of fires, work, and work-related partying. It was one of those perspective-changing weeks you never forget. All in all, even though my physical condition is still not 100%, there's plenty to smile about.

My new Flickr account

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 02 May 2007 07:07:00 +0000

My backlog of items I want to blog about continues to grow. In the last few months, I've done a lot of traveling, attended a bunch of events, read a lot of interesting things, etc. There's more than enough to write about, but lately, I've been playing around with Flickr instead. Flickr is nice and easy because I have a lot of old photos lying around, and uploading and organizing them doesn't require much writing at all.

Please feel free to check out my photos here: http://flickr.com/photos/lawmune

Upcoming talk: Otaku in America

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:37:00 +0000

Anime Punch two weekends ago was great (and I'll write about it soon), but now I have to prepare for more travel. This time, I'm headed back to Texas.

On Thursday, I'll be giving a talk at the University of North Texas. I've been invited by their Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to talk about my work on otaku culture in the US.

Here's the summary:

"The International Evolution of the Otaku Concept: Otaku culture in Japan and the United States". April 12th, 6:00-7:00 PM, Curry Hall 104

Come and explore the origins and history of the otaku phenomenon in Japan, and how the otaku concept has changed in the last two decades (in both Japan and the US). What can we learn from studying anime fans in America? What are the social implications of the otaku lifestyle? Hosted by Lawrence Eng, longtime anime fan and Otaku Studies scholar, all of these issues (and more) will be discussed.

Meet me at Anime Punch this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Lawmune) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:42:00 +0000

Quick note before I get on a plane to Columbus:

I'll be at Anime Punch this weekend as an invited guest. I'll be on the "Anime in Academia" panel at 2PM on Saturday and doing the "Otaku Studies" panel at 3PM on Saturday. I'm also helping Lillian Olsen with her "Kimono" panel at 1PM on Saturday and her "Shounen Manga" panel at noon on Sunday. I might participate on a few other panels, as well. Like last year, I'll have some cool stuff to give out (to people who earn it) during my otaku panel, and I'll definitely have some Opera gear to give out as well.