Kawa Kon 2010, Day 1

Chris and I attended Kawa Kon last year, but she felt we looked a bit out of place. Yes, I was wearing my Steamboy t-shirt, but we were obviously much older than the typical attendee.

Now, those of you who know me know I am a "person of girth" and (except for military service and play roles) I have worn a full beard ever since I was first able to grow one. There are very few anime or game characters with beards, save the generic grizzled old sea captain, so we were having a tough time deciding upon an appropriate character for me. (The character I'm best suited for is Sailor Bluto from Popeye the Sailor Moon, my crossover of Popeye and Sailor Moon: "Spinach makeup!")

Chris, however, decided that I would make a perfect Totoro. While I had encountered the character, I had not yet seen My Neighbor Totoro. So I borrowed a copy from the library and wound up agreeing to do it--at least for the next con.

Now, Chris isn't Pennsylvania Dutch, but I'm beginning to see that she can be just as stubborn. Even though she was sick last week, she managed to complete Totoro costumes for us last night. Her niece, Meaghan, is cosplaying Mei and giving out soot sprites. Her sister, Jennifer, is cosplaying Satsuki. I don't have acorns to give out, but we do have almond Hershy kisses...

Based on the reactions so far, Chris "done good".  I'll be posting pics and links as soon as they are available. (I didn't have any taken with my camera yet.)

Our big activity for the night was to watch the Bunraku Bay puppet performance (and later participate in the workshop). We had seen them perform previously at the 2009 Japanese festival. Tonight we got to see Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso, Yaoya Oshichi, Lion Dance, The Dance of Ebisu, and Hidakagawa Iriaizakura. (Ebisu was a special treat, since the puppet was just finished at 3 am this morning.) During the workshop, Chris and I (along with our friend Cathus) got to work with the puppets.

While talking about his background, Martin Holman mentioned getting a Danny O'Day ventriloquist dummy as a child. This was a very cool connection. When I was learning ventriloquism, I had Jimmy Nelson's instructional record album (featuring Danny O'Day and Farfel, of course).

Tomorrow (or, more correctly, later today), Kawa Kon day 2.

Recently Read: Unclean Spirits

I've just finished another one of the books Christine gave me for Christmas: Unclean Spirits: Book One of the Black Sun's Daughter by M. L. N. Hanover.

Normally, I shy away from books that proclaim themselves the start of a new series. Too frequently, I've found myself invested in a story and waiting for installments that never appear or worse, appear but are unable to uphold the promise of the earliest installments. But hey, this one was a gift, so...

Jayné (pronounced zha-nay) Heller is about to turn 23, has turned her back on her religiously conservative family, and is technically a college dropout, having failed to register for the next semester. She has been called to Denver by her uncle Eric's lawyer to handle his estate--or so she thinks. As it turns out, her uncle was wealthy beyond her wildest dreams with properties all over the world--and she is his sole heir.
She is also heir to his fight against the dark forces at work in the world, with her first objective being to avenge his death.

In Hanover's world, the forces of evil are the riders, various demons who take possession of humans to become the various monsters with which we are familiar: vampires, weres, et al. Magical powers can be marshaled by many humans, but ability and study are required to master the more powerful magics--but the costs can be severe.

I enjoyed the pacing of the plot and the character development (particularly that of Jayné) in this first installment. I also liked Hanover's metaphysics and the self-consistency (so far) of this world. From the beginning the use of the term "riders" evoked images of voudoun worship, ala Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring. I do have qualms about future installments: between Jayné's as-yet undefined magical abilities and virtually unlimited wealth, it may be difficult for Hanover to keep the stories interesting and the characters grounded. It's one thing for our heroine to solve problems by throwing money at them in the initial flush of her new wealth, but I'll probably lose interest in continuing the series if deus ex automatic teller machina becomes a recurring theme.

Then again, maybe I just have more sympathy for economically struggling characters like Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden or Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson....

The story continues in Darker Angels (The Black Sun's Daughter, Book 2).

My rating: 4 stags.

Screen Scenes: The Impostors

Chris is sick this weekend, so I'm getting to spend some time going through DVDs I got at the local Hollywood Video's going out of business sale. One of the gems I found was something I've been looking for ever since I first borrowed a copy from the library: The Impostors.

I have loved Stanley Tucci ever since I first saw him as Muerte in Undercover Blues, so discovering this gem (written and directed by him) was a real treat for me.

If you read the reviews at IMDB, it should become clear very quickly that people either love or hate this movie, with a small handful giving credit for the attempt. I think it's brilliant. It is filled with slapstick, witty dialog, and subtle details that make it even funnier the second time around.

For me, this movie works on several levels. It is an homage to the legends of early film comedy: Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers. Perhaps more importantly, it is a self-aware celebration of the craft of acting.

My rating: 5 stags.

Happy St. David's Day!

Christine is Welsh, so how can I not give out a shout for the feast day of the patron saint of Wales?

So send your loved ones daffodils or leeks and enjoy some Welsh cakes or some cawl.

Tomorrow you can start stocking up on Guinness for St. Patrick's Day...