You know how, when you’re a kid, you count how far away lightning strikes are from you? The flash happens. One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, and each “thousand” equals a mile? Well… Last night, the lightning and the thunder were simultaneous! Multiple times!
Part of me wanted to stay upstairs, where I might have a chance to see it all, but then the sane me remembered how the entire building shakes when the wind is over 60 miles per hour. I retreated downstairs to the living room. Kitty-mon had the right idea from the very beginning and hightailed it underneath the club chair for the storm’s duration.
It’s been a week-plus since the last check-in, and one of the two Saturdays was spent at Anime Iowa, where it was my turn to lead the industry panel.
The presentation went fine. It was fun answering the fans’ questions and then turn the tables to ask them questions, which I could tell they didn’t expect(!). I also got to say “hi” to my pal GA, and then it was time to shop.
At these events, I’m always on the lookout for things the workplace doesn’t carry, but fewer of the vendors seem to be bringing items like import art books and mid-priced import figures (Pinky:St), even to the larger conventions. So my haul consists of one Japanese music magazine (from the con) and the last several volumes of the Oishinbo manga, purchased from the workplace during the following week’s sale.
The magazine was the July 2010 issue of ARENA37℃. The one vendor had several issues available, but picking up this particular one was a no-brainer considering which group is on the cover. (V6!) The print and paper are closer to book quality than magazine quality and served the promotional and concert photography well.
If there were publications like this in the U.S. that weren’t geared strictly toward tweens and teenagers, I’d probably be buying them. The sad thing is that I remember magazines when I was a kid, but I don’t think they exist anymore. (You can get all that information on the web now, but it’s more fun to have it in print form. 😊)
When I moved away to college, I threw out several years’ worth of Song Hits magazine, which had articles and the lyrics to most of what was popular during elementary and middle school. They included stuff like Van Halen’s “Jump” and The Police’s “King of Pain” that we’d memorize and then sing after we finished chorus rehearsals.
On that nostalgic note, good night! 🎵