Target

I love books.

Target by Kathleen Jefferie Johnson.

It's about a teenage boy who was raped, and it is really, really. good. It sort of reminds me of Speak by Laurie Anderson - but not in that copy-cat, shadow-of-the-original way. It's more like, a similar situation with a different person. It feels individual and unique, but is the same 'kind' of story.

It's a short book, only took about four hours to read, but the characters are Real. They are people, not words on a page. On top of that the story telling is excellent, there were times where I was literally laughing out loud with how wonderful these guys were, and times where I was shriveling up because I just wanted to cry.

Very good book, I highly recommend it. It's one of those books that reminds me why I love reading so much.

KUMORICON, DAY 1

Because it is...
KUMORICON, DAY 1.

(WARNING: The following post is IMAGE INTENSE, and not friendly to low-level internet connections!)

The day starts with waking up late. No one remembered to set the alarm clock, unfortunately. So we RUSH to get to the convention center, by the time we get there the Opening Ceremonies have already started. So we drop into the Pre Reg line and grab our badges, which takes about ten minutes rather than three hours, as everyone is at Opening Ceremonies. SUCH a blessing. We get to opening ceremonies as the Taiko performance is finishing up, so we're not too late, but we're way back in the nose bleed seats (thank god for cameras with telescopic lenses).



Then our awesome Master Of Ceremonies makes his way onto the stage~!



After him we get briefed on the Convention Rules by some in-character Organization members who seem to believe we're applying for a job rather than attending a convention. They show us a video, which is actually pretty funny.



Master of Ceremonies than introduces us to the Pirates VS Ninjas Bucket Game. On the Pirates side we have Luffy, on the Ninjas side we have Sasuke. The most FANTASTIC match up, like way.



Luffy wins.
(I never doubted him.)

I wander around the convention center for a while, finding some fantastic cosplayers and the like:







...and eventually find the Dealers Hall, which for some reason is in the sub-basement parking lot. Don't ask me why, I haven't a clue. The line to get in is pretty short, but it still takes half an hour to get in. I wander around slack jawed and in happy awe for quite a while.

Eventually I find the dealer with the One Piece PVC figures (not the POP's, while I slobbered over those, I couldn't afford them).



I sink some cash and buy me Law. He's fantastic and standing next to me as I type this. I'll shoot some pictures of him later this weekend.

On the way up out of the Dealers Hall I run int Edgeworth~!



And Klavier!



They could tell I was a fangirl right away, as I happen to be wearing my "I BELIEVE IN MILES EDGEWORTH" T-Shirt. Which, by the way, I've had quite a few people tell me the love.

I continue to wander around happily until my first Panel, the FUNimation Sneak Peak. I got quite lost, but was helped along my way to the panel by a wonderful Yaoi fan by the name of Jason. He hung out with me for the FUNi panel. Which had a good turn out. Here we have the crowd:



But I didn't get many pictures other than that. They showed us some clips of upcoming shows, many of which were hilarious and the crowd laughed uproariously for. I was hoping for some news on One Piece, but no luck. I'll have to check out the FUNi industry panel later this weekend.

Next Panel was an Intro to Cosplay Photography, where we covered some basics. It was really fun, and we got to practice on some poor sap (AKA: Volunteer) from the audience. Here's my best shots (withOUT photoshopping them):




Then I went to go stand in line for the Apples To Apples: Convention Edition panel.



As for Convention lines, some things never change.

The Panel was really fun, I ran into Jason again and we played in the same game. It was insane and funny and quite fantastic.

I then went out to get some lunch with my dad. The convention was bleeding out onto the streets, cosplayers everywheeeere!




After lunch it was time for the next funtastiac panel of the day, Kumoricon Comedy Event. We got there early while the guys were still setting up, and said guys played 20 Questions with the audience until it was time for the panel to start.

The Panel was fantastic, really fun.The comedians were a little bit rusty, new to the game and all, but that didn't detract from the performance. I laughed a bunch and it was worth the time.

(The room lighting did not lend well to photos)






Although after a while in that underground room, I started to feel like a mole or something. XD The sunlight when we got back up to ground level was quite a surprise.

I took a spin around the gaming room, which is back underground and really does feel like you're back in your mother's basement:


...and that brings us up to now, where I'm taking a break from the Con. I'll head back over later this night at 8:30 to pick up my last panel of the night, a "Mini-Manga Contest" (no clue what that entails), and then I'll probably be off to bed. It SUCKS not to have an 18+ pass for the night events. >.>;

Also worth noting:
I never actually found the Artist Alley today. Apparently it's located down in the parking lot next to the dealer's hall, but I didn't find out until it was already closed. I'll have to make my way over there tomorrow morning to waste - I mean INVEST - the rest of my money.

(IF YOU ARE A COSPLAYER AND YOU SEE YOURSELF IN MY PHOTOS, EMAIL ME AT ONECOOLC@HOTMAIL.COM, AND I WILL SEND YOU THE LARGER SIZED PHOTO.)