Socks for Kaoru

Attention RPers/Writers!

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:10:21 GMT

I'm currently in the process of cleaning house in an old RP forum that was started a couple years back: the idea behind the whole setting is pretty kickass. If you're even vaguely interested in Jrock/Jpop Rp writing, you might want to check it out. Here's the premise of the story:

**DISCLAIMER: I did not write nor come up with this. This is the work of the forum's creator who has long since moved on. She remains credited for her work on the main site.

The Storyline

In modern day Japan, male prostitution has been on the rise ever since the type of "old-fashioned" licensed brothel has seen its revival, and since then, the industry has found a loophole in the laws that say prostitution is illegal. As a result of this revival and the discovering of the "loophole", the Kyoto prefecture has transformed over the many years into a more metropolitan area while keeping very few of its past traditional ways, revolving mainly around one thing: the sex industry.

Large brothel-like houses now populate the streets of Kyoto, Japan, and are often referred to as "the modern-day okiya*" despite the many distinct differences. Rather than acting as an entertainer, the brothels workers are paid primarily for sex although they are often encouraged to "provide for their customers' every wish and whim," depending on the brothel owner and the instruction they may or may not provide their workers with.

Like a traditional okiya, the brothel will supply for its occupants (or, workers) and pay for their clothing, food, housing expenses, and any other needs, although, unlike a traditional geisha would have been, the brothel workers are handed a paycheck every week depending on their earnings as well as tips, which depends on their patrons.

Although the brothel workers have much more freedom, they, like geisha, are not to form serious intimate relationships. Unlike geisha, on the rare nights they aren't working, they may come and go from the brothel house as they please, though often with a set curfew, depending on the owner.

In short, Kyoto is now littered with, literally, whorehouses; although, the workers occupying these houses are not looked down upon as much as those in regular "brothels." These houses' service's are very expensive and an important part of industry in Japan whether you're a customer, a worker or anything in between.

*Okiya-Traditional Japanese living structure that housed geisha.

---

The Title

The reason I named this RP what I did is because in this new time in Japan, with the "brothels" on the rise, it's almost as if they're replacing old traditions of geisha and okiya, and so therefore I chose the word "dentouteki" to attach to the front of "Red Motel". As far as I know, 'dentouteki' means something along the lines of "traditional", so it's kind of like a pun, because really, what's going on here isn't traditional in the least; it's the exact opposite. The "Red Motel" part is also attached because it is the name of an awesome song by The GazettE, and it kind of seems relevant to this RP because the brothel workers won't perform their services in the brothel House they belong to but instead, the patron will take them to a hotel/motel. The "red" part kind of reminded me of the phrase "red light district," and since that refers to prostitution and the sex industry in general, I'd say it's relevant.

They Say The Empty Can Rattles the Most...

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:23:25 GMT

God...

I love how all these new whelps don't even know anything about the type of music they're listening to, and subsequently try to belittle others who do know.

For example.

On a community I was browsing not a moment ago, one type of music that was used to describe Dir en grey's sound was "industrial". Some punkass 20 year old comments: "Industrial? Lies!" And then went on to spew a bunch of vomit that made no sense to me- an old school rivet head who's been listening to Skinny Puppy since 1985- about what makes an industrial band thus and why Dir en grey cannot possibly be one.

Uh...what?! Dir en grey are absolutely industrial! When's the last time that fucker listened to "Dozing Green", or "Embryo", or "The IIID Empire?" Shit, Al Jourgensen would be proud of those songs!

And for y'all who don't know who Al Jourgensen is...well, you should look him up. Without him, the current rock music scene would be VERY different. Without him we would very likely have no Trent Reznor, nor Marylin Manson. And like it or hate it, the fact remains that these two have had probably THE biggest international impact on visual rock music worldwide (because guess what, kiddos, Japan isn't the only country with a thriving visual rock scene these days. Look at Germany and Denmark and the upper midwestern United States).

Anyway, I digress.

And further I digress.

I have a question for all of you out there: who has heard of the writer Regina Tudor, or her forthcoming book "Amongst the Beautiful Gods"? Please comment if you read this, and let me know whether or not you know anything about her or the book. I'm...curious.

MORE STUFF!

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:40:58 GMT

I have updated my previous auction, and it is once again open! Feel free to browse and leave a comment if you wish to bid.

Here's a link: kisakiuta.livejournal.com/57255.html

Make me happy...buy stuff!

Selling...

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:58:26 GMT

Ok, I hate to part with most of this stuff...but at the same time, I can't afford to miss these events in Japan in December.As such, I'm selling a LOT of my stuff: CDs, DVDs, clothes.

UPDATE: this is no longer an auction! Items are available on a first come, first serve basis! Prices marked are firm.

PLEASE NOTE:
~~-All items here are available for BID. The price I've listed is the opening bid price; leave a reply with the name of the item and your bidding price if you're interested.~~
-MAKE SURE you read the comments to ensure the item you're interested in is still available. Items will be marked with ~~strikethrough~~ once payment has been received.
-Shipping for items varies from $3.00 to $18.00 per single item (discounts on multiple items) and is NOT included with the bid price.
-Items available for shipping within the 48 connecting United States. If you live outside these borders and wish to purchase an item, please email me at kisakiuta@gmail.com for consideration.
-Sale will remainopen until all items are sold, or until further notice.

So, without further ado, here is a list of items I'm selling:

CDs & CD/DVDs:
Asterisk (*) denotes item autographed by all members of the band
excellent condition= open disc; jewel case, booklet (if any) and CD in like-new condition.
good condition= jewel case and booklet may show some signs of use; disc in nearly-new condition.
fair condition= possibly an item I've had for a while: jewel case and booklet show signs of use, disc may have minimal cosmetic signs of use but still plays perfectly.
I am not selling any items in any condition I consider below "fair", or any discs I purchased/received second-hand. All music items were originally purchased from CD Japan, Brand-X, JPop House, or similar reputable dealer.

Alice nine.: Rainbows Type B w/DVD (limited)- excellent condition- $15.00
Ayabie: Mikazuki no Kiseki Type C- excellent condition- $12.00
Bis: Aka no Genjitsu- good condition- $13.00
        Ao no Riso- good condition- $13.00
      Nerichagi Otome- excellent condition- $10.00
      Heisei Comaneci- good condition- $8.00
        Extra Baka- excellent condition- $10.00
        Yashashi Kaze- excellent condition- $10.00
        S-S-I - good condition- $8.00
Chariots: Jade/Cold Pray Type A- good condition- $8.00
                 Jade/Cold Pray Type B- good condition- $8.00
Dir en grey:
               Decade disc II- good/excellent condition- $18.00
the GazettE:
               Guren optical impression (w/DVD)- good/excellent condition- $12.00
Ghost:    Blue Cloud (limited edition w/ DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
Jun (including side project attic):
       Look for "Mr. NAME" orange type w/DVD- excellent condition- $15.00
       Look for Mr. "NAME" blue type (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
       Mechanical Ugly Gang type A (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
       Mechanical Ugly Gang type B- excellent condition- $12.00
MUCC: Best of MUCC (U.S. release)- good condition- $8.00
              Ageha (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
              Shion- good condition- $18.00
Sadie: Crimson Tear- excellent condition- $12.00
             Crimson Tear director's cut DVD- excellent condition- $12.00
             Undead 13 +2 (w/DVD) -good/excellent condition- $18.00
             Grieving the Dead Soul (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
Rentrer en Soi:
             Protoplasm- good condition- $18.00*
             Unending Sanctuary- excellent condition- $12.00
             Karasu iro no Taiji- excellent condition- $12.00
             I Hate Myself and Want to...- excellent condition- $20.00*
             Amongst Foolish Enemies- excellent condition- $20.00*
             Misshitsu no Kodoku ni Doukusoreta Yuustu (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $25.00*
             Stigmata type A (w/DVD)- excellent/good condition- $15.00
             Stigmata type B- excellent condition- $12.00
Rosario:
              Kimi no Shizuku (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $15.00
T.M. Revolution (including side projects):
              Restoration Level 3- good/fair condition- $18.00
              End of Genesis TMR evolution Turbo Type D: Winter Dust- good/fair condition- $10.00
              Vestige- excellent condition- $ 8.00
              Billion [100000000000] (2-disc set)- excellent condition- $20.00
              Resonance (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $12.00
The Underneath:
              Moon Flower U.S. release- good condition- $23.00*
              Moon Flower Japan release (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $20.00
Villain: Discharge (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $12.00
12012: PLAYDOLLs (2 CDs)- good condition- $18.00
              WANA- excellent condition- $20.00*
              Diamond (w/DVD)- good condition- $18.00
              Merry Go World type A (w/DVD)- excellent/good condition- $10.00
              Taiyo type A (w/DVD)- excellent condition- $12.00

Clothing:

Corcoran military-issue black leather jump boots. Men's size 6.5, fits women's 7.5 or possibly a narrow 8. Steel toe and shank support, speed-lace eyes. Purchased used; in relatively good condition. May need new laces within a few months.Recently polished.
Opening bid: $30.00

That's it for now; more to come later. Thanks for looking!

Regina Tudor at New York Anime Festival

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:48:05 GMT

Attention NYAF attendees:

There will be a panel on Friday afternoon at New York Anime Festival entitled "It Ain't Easy Being Indie"

Regina Tudor will be on this panel! She'll be talking about freelance writing/reporting in the U.S. anime and Jrock scene, and talking a little about her upcoming publication, "Amongst the Beautiful Gods". The panel will be taking place at 4:00 pm on Friday, and will feature members of echostream and others.

-_- Book

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:22:33 GMT

Anxiety.

Suddenly I'm on my own for three cons in a row.

I think I'm gonna throw up.

BUT.

I found out today that the book project was announced on Myspace, so now I can talk about it.

For anyone who knows what I'm talking about (I may have mentioned it); there's a book coming out early next year called "Amongst The Beautiful Gods"; the author's name is Regina Tudor.

The book is about Jrock bands playing in America. I'm working on the project. In fact, I'm playing a pretty big role in its production. If you want to learn more about the book and will be attending New York Anime Fest, be sure to go to the echostream Q&A panel. For those attending Anime USA, go to the Animefood booth in the dealers' room for a sneak peek and to meet the author. If you're going to Nekocon Animefood will have a booth in the dealers' room there as well, with Regina making appearances throughout the day and in a panel to answer your questions about the book.

For more, please visit her Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/reginatudor

"I bleed as my way of compenasting
Everything to you
How heavy is blood?
Happiness and sadness lies too close"

(From "Glass Skin)

I wanna be a sharpshooter.

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:39:48 GMT

Goddamn. It makes me want to cry, or go on a killing spree, I can't decide which.

This fucking genre is so full of top-notch musicians who bust their asses to make this music, and what do they get in return?

Shat on.

People fuckin' requesting uploads on communities, people filesharing like someone giving out Halloween candy.

They're ripping these guys off. And to me that is the ultimate in NOT cool.

Okay...

Let's say you make a nice picnic lunch with your friends. I mean, you guys go all out: start the potato salad the day before so it'll have anough time to age to perfect taste and texture in the fridge; ham and turkey sandwiches on homemade bread that you baked yourself; an expensive bottle of white wine; brownies made from scratch... finally it's all done and in the basket and you've spread the blanket under the perfect tree... and then I come along.

I'm not one of your closest friends, but I know you guys are all great cooks.

I sit down on your blanket and start grabbing stuff: I take a bite out of each sandwich, take a sip of wine from the bottle, scoop out a dollop of the potato salad with my fingers, eat one of the biggest brownies. Would you be offended?

O_O You WOULD?!

Why? Because I'm STEALING from you? Relax! I'm just sampling. Just...downloading.

And believe me, it's a hell of a lot more difficult and more expensive to create music than it is to pack a fucking lunch.

THINK ABOUT THAT NEXT TIME YOU GO TO DOWNLOAD SOMETHING!

*breaks shit in frustration*

Now I'm going to vet and feed my ponies, then watch "Eclipse of Myth" until I shed tears of blood.

I bought that DVD, by the way.

Fucking JOB.

Next day edit: I didn't watch "Eclipse of Myth". Instead, I sat with it in my lap, drawer to the DVD player open and waiting, staring at the disc for about 20 minutes.
Then I turned off the DVD player and television and went to bed- dry eyed- with that and "Crystal Finale" under my pillow.

PRIZE

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:39:46 GMT

I'm dead serious about this one.

If anyone who reads this journal can tell me what the following picture is, then you get a prize. Seriously. And it's a prize worth having, too.

You must be the first to tell me specifically of what this picture is, and where it came from. That's the only clue I'm giving you, and the only rule.

THE PICTURE:

(click for a larger view)

LOL SNAAAAAAAARF @ 1:09

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:39:46 GMT

Never any answers.

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:29:25 GMT

I waited. I waited a long time. I thought she might come back around and we could watch it together as we'd said we would. But she's gone and she's not coming back, that much is evident.

I bought it in May. I watched it in its entirety today: X Japan "The Last Live".

I cried at one point, because Hide was crying (they were playing "Forever Love", which only a few short monhs later was played again at his funeral) and because Yoshiki was crying and because Phantasmagoria is gone and last night we lost bis.

Why did Hide have to die?
Why did Phantasmagoria have to go?
Why did we have to lose bis?

I don't want logical explanations ("Kisaki and Maru were burned out, it was their time to leave the scene"). I don't want cop-out excuses ("life's not fair").

I want to know what it's all for, in the end. What I'm left with.

I didn't expect bis's departure to affect me in such a huge way. Really, I thought I'd become numb when I'd recovered from Phantasmagoria's sealing.

Fine, then.

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 06:48:15 GMT

If it's gonna be that way, I'll play the "Claims" game again. And this is my first claim:

But there's a NEW RULE: only one claim in each 24 hour period.

Let's play.

Stolen from the best RP partner EVER.

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 04:12:24 GMT

Rules: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself.
People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.
At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names.

10. I love my dog more than any being in the entire world. If the choice came down to not being able to bring my dog or not movibg to Japan, I'd stay in he States to be with my dog.

9. I don't just 'listen' to music. I pick it apart, dissect it piece by piece and part by part like a surgeon or a microbiologist, listening to it in so many ways and so repetitively, that is has been said on more than one occasion that I have a 'producer's ear', and thus I certainly know well-made music when I hear it.

8. I still have as much adoration and respect for Kelly as I did before the Dentouteki drama incident.

7. I am working on becoming completely emotionally detatched from society, yet still functionally acceptable within society. Close relationships are not worth the time and pain to me anymore.

6. Music has always been my premier love in life, since I first became attatched to a band in 1984.

5. I nearly died in the wee hours of the morning of November 5th, 2007.

4. I absolutely adore Hanson's Christmas album, "Snowed In".

3. The one trait I absolutely loathe about myself is that I have an optimist's soul. I'm forever trying to kill it.

2. I am completely mortified by and terrified of aging.

1. Competition is the greatest fuel that could possibly be added to my fire righ now. Give me a challenge, go ahead. I'll do whatever it takes to win.

I'm not tagging anyone. If you feel like doing it, do it. If not, fucking don't.

The Nothing, The Never

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:11:00 GMT

In the black of night I'm beautiful
When the world can't see me
When I hide beneath seven levels of sleep
When you close your eyes and I'm silent
I miss you, but you'll never know.
It hurts, like a knife,
Like a tattoo needle.
But you'll never know
How much would I have done for you?
How far would I have gone?
Did you know you were my last chance?
And the void...
...the abyss,
The Bottom of Chaos.
Close my eyes,
And let the Nothing take me,
For what's left to believe?

EDIT: Decided. New favorite.

Fuck you. He may not be gorgeous, he may not be the best public speaker in the universe, but he's damn intelligent and a hell of a good writer. Not to mention he has a presence you can't ignore and knows his shit when it comes to playing bass...not just musical talent, but he knows what the best equipment is. That's plenty to earn my favor.

Wataru finished a close second. Again I say "fuck you" to anyone who's got a problem with that. I don't care about his little 'incident', if anything it expose a more human side to him and shed some light onto his depth of character. He'll always have my support.

So...

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 14:35:31 GMT

Here I go. Off to New York. I emailed an RP reply to mah Riku, even though it was short...beh. I suck.

Anyway.

The sun's coming out so hopefully that means it won't be too frigid up there. I remember in March 06 that when the sun was out, it wasn't unbearable to be outside. I'm dressed warmer this time...and may have things to do in the meantime.

I Mapquested the whole thing this morning and as it turns out, everything is super close to Penn Station: The Javits Center is only about a mile away to the northwest, and Studio B is only a mile and a half away to the southeast. So all total, nothing greater than a two and a half mile trek in one direction, which for me ain't bad.

Now if I can just keep my sore throat at bay, I'll be good. Yippee for being a Starbucks partner, and free tea. *snort*

And no, I still haven't eaten ANYTHING.

NY Freeze

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:04:45 GMT

I leave for New York in the morning. It may be a chilling experience, it may not. I might have fun, I might not. I might learn something new about myself.

A number of other people certainly will be learning something new about me.

I'm in demon mood tonight. I haven't eaten anything in almost 60 hours.

Yeah, that glazed donut is still sitting on its plate. Haven't taken so muc as a nibble. Caloric intake has consisted of nonfat milk, and three cups of tea (approx. 10 calories per cup).

I rock. ^__^

And Now I'm Left With...What?

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:56:01 GMT

No, I meant what I said, She was the best friend I ever had up until a few minutes ago. Misunderstandings and separation is the biggest happiness killer out there.
Well, I suppose I shouldn't be crying. But what is the point now of doing what I was about to set out to do if I can't take her with me?

Alone.

It would just suck to do it alone. But I suppose it's time to be like Momoko again. Momoko at the beginning of the story, anyway.

I was supposed to have an announcement tonight, something I was going to tell everyone in LJ, something it's taken me a while to work up the courage to share with you all. But if I say it now, it will just come across as stupid and sobbish. Maybe when I feel better, if I get to that point.

Good night, and to those whose voices I may never hear again...
Sayonara.

The Pain in the Ass

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:44:22 GMT

I have everything yet nothing to say today. I have an appointment I've been putting off and putting off in an hour, and I'm nervous. I don't know why, it's not like there's anything wrong with me.

I went turtle rescuing at Church Farm today. Poor bastards are in bad shape over there; they're draining the natural lake in order to reconstruct it and make it deep enough for boats, and it's thrown the entire area's ecology completely out of whack. The eagles are gone, and only one great blue heron still hangs out there. The wading birds are gone, too. Fish and turtles are dying due to the poor water quality. Fish we can't do anything for, but the turtles can go into the Farm's ponds. We only found two that we could catch, and mine may not make it. She was really weak.

Anyway: December. New York is going to be cold as fuck. The ticket issuer screwed up and sent me 2 instead of 1 ticket. I may have found a taker for the second, so don't everyone go getting your panties in a bunch over the fact that there's a free ticket floating around in PA. But yeah, I'm gonna freeze my ass off. Worse than March 2006, I promise.

I'm so sleepy. I'm drained, and I owe a certain RP a reply. I'm, unfortunately, too distracted by the impending 'office visit' to be capable of a worthy reply. Hopefully later?

Stuck, The Rain, Curlin, and Everything About Why I Should Just Stay Single.

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:53:07 GMT

My AiPod and cellphone both hate the rain. I went out to Winners' Circle on Friday in the deluge. It was so bad that I actually lowered my umbrella at one point and SCREAMED at the sky "WOULD YOU JUST STOP?!?!"
Anyway, AiPod's screen would just light up after a good hour outside, displaying nothing. Just a blank white screen. Aki da Razr as continually trying to record a voice message, or the camera was constantly in autoshot mode. Weird. This continued through what ended up being an impromptu dinner with my folks at Houlihan's, at which I got pretty blasted on wine, vodka, and mojitos.

My parents. Psh. That's for later, though.

AiPod came around that night shortly after a battery recharge. Aki da Razr was on the blink til the following morning.

The following morning was Day 2 of the Breeders' Cup meet at Monmouth. 2 year old to watch: Pyro. Sure, he finished 2nd in the Juvenile Classic, but he was closing like a freight train on the winner. Give him another 16th of a mile and a fast track...it's all over! But...who did I day to look out for in the 3 year old department way back in March, at the beginning of the Spring meet?

Curlin. I said "keep your eye on him" before the Kentucky Derby, and he finished 3rd, then I said, "don't count him out" and he WON the Preakness. In the Belmont, he finished 2nd by a head to a much fresher horse, and the horse who finished 3rd in that race was no competition for him whatsoever. I said Curlin all the way, and he now:

-has gone from a maiden to a Grade I champion in only 8 months.
-has finished in the money (never worse than 3rd) in every race he's ever run.
-is the ONLY horse to finish in the money in all three Triple Crown races.
-has WON 7 out of 10 starts.
-is the #1 contender for Horse of the Year at December's Eclipse Awards.

Back in March, I said "Keep your eye on Curlin." Now I say, "Keep your eye on Pyro."

*sigh*
Ever think that you're better off alone? I do. Now more than ever. Goki is still trying to call me every night, sometimes after 2:30 in the morning. What the HELL is he thinking? Clearly, he's still NOT.

He fucked me over, twice now, with his babblings of my plans. He's cut me off from everything. Now...well, I ended up buying a ticket to the Anti-feminism show. 'Nuff said.

Ah, I don't want to talk about this. I'm bitter and depressed. Point is, I'm staying single for a long time now. My last three outings ended in abysmal failure. I'm done.

BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW!!!!!!!!!!

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:47:44 GMT

THIS IS NOT BULLSHIT, NOR AN EXAGGERATION NOR ANYTHING ELSE BESIDESS THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH! THIS IS WHAT WE WERE WARNED ABOUT, AND YET IT'S HAPPENING ANYWAY!

The following was taken directly out of the Livejournal of Chris Ayres, voice actor and ADR director for ADV and FUNimation. PLEASE take it seriously, I do NOT want my livelihood taken from me!

"As I said I've got an important message for everyone. I don't know if you're all aware of the state of the industry, but right now the anime industry is in big trouble. We've already seen the collapse of one distribution company (Geneon) and there are likely to be more in the near future. Here's the thing, Illegal bit torrenting, downloading and P2P file sharing are destorying the industry.

Here's the cold hard facts, If the American companies fold it will be lights out for the anime industry in Japan, and then there will be no more anime. It's that simple. Right now the reason a majority of the shows in Japan are being able to be finished is because of the American companies picking up the Liscenses, if they fold shows will not only stop in mid stream, but will go away all together.

This is a crusade my brother has been on for 3 years now and has been met with anger, hatred and vitriol, but he keeps going because he doesn't want to see the industry vanish, and that's exactly what will happen.

Think about it, a few years ago when the parent company for Suncoast Video went bankrupt it was not long before several major anime studio's in Japan had to close. Could it be that the decrease in American Sales ment that the companies couldn't liscnese shows, and as a result the studio's had to close? Just makes sense my friends.

Anyway it's becoming a hot topic in the anime community. I personally think that fans helped create the anime industry and it will have to be fans that save it from themselves. If you want to know what you can do...
1. stop downloading and bit torrenting if you are.
2. let your friends who do this know how they're going to end up losing something they love, becuase of greed or whatever reason they have for doing it.
3. let your local conventions know that you don't want fan subs shown at the convention as it's hurting the industry, and will eventually cause it's collapse.

Other than that, We'll have to see if fans end up doing the right thing. Oh and for your friends who think the Japanese don't care about all of this. Take a look at the video of Nabashin on Greg's Bootlegging and Fansubbing panel from Onicon 07. It will help open your eyes. You can find it at
www.activeanime.com..."

Now, for those of you who just go to he cons for the Jrock, think about this: how will there be Jrock at a con if there are no cons, because there is no anime? Many cons are largely funded by anime studios both here and in The Holyland, and if all the studios are gone, then all the cons vanish too. Oh sure, there have been concerts and tours from Jrock bands that didn't have anything to do with cons...but think about this: which company sponsored that tour you saw? Where has that company had other artists it sponsors perform? Chances are, that company is tied in closely with anime cons and makes a large amount of the funding needed to bring the bands over here from the profits gained at those cons. Where will that funding come from if the cons are gone, because the anime is gone?

Please...think about it.

Somebody...

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:12:08 GMT

...Ate my brain for breakfast. I think it might have been me.

I'm mad as hell at Goki right now, considering some shit I just heard about. That stupid, egotistical, shallow, thoughtless bastard. He has SERIOUSLY jeopardized my plans for the next three years and I'm ready to fucking display it publicly on Myspace as a FUCKING BULLETIN so he'll know just how pissed off I am. He needs to learn how to think before he opens his fucking stupid ass mouth. Basically, here's what went down:

This past sunday while I was in Closing Ceremonies at Oni-Con, Goki was talking to Takumi outside the hotel. For some unknown and infuriating reason, Goki felt compelled to tell Takumi of my plans for furthering my education and what I want to do with that (in regards to a certain current publicity/promotion company that brings the ocasional Jrock band to the States for a gig or two). He even went as far as to make SURE Takumi knew who I was by MENTIONING MY TRADEMARK T-SHIRT!

Well, word has apparently gotten back to "The Big Man" at the aforementioned company and now he's gunning for me. Which means I'm marked, especially if I continue to wear that shirt, which is my absolute favorite garment of clothing of all time. THAT LITTLE MOTHERFUCKER!! I'm sorry, but I cannot date someone who's not going to think before he acts, consider the consequences of his words before he speaks! More than half of my plan's success depended on stealth factor, and now it's reached the ears of the one person it ABSOLUTELY should not have!

GODDAMNEDMOTHERFUCKINGSONOFABITCHASSHOLE!!!!!!

I have never been more angry with a person in my entire life.

And I have a lot of hate.
Now I have even more. Thanks, you fucking dolt.

You deserve the wading bird's fate.

You'll Never Hold Me

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:23:00 GMT

Give it up, all of you. I'm no one's except my own.

THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE!

I'll never belong to anyone except myself. Keep trying, you'll never tame the wind nor the forest nor the mountain nor the winding, wild stream.

I am my own.

Here There Be Dragons

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:13:36 GMT

There is love, yes: plenty of new love, and thanks to my sister fanning the flames on Thursday night, the old one's as strong as ever.

But the hate is there too. It's always there.

Like a...

Lessons from Oni-Con 2007

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:12:43 GMT

1) DO NOT BRING YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! Learn to speak, read, and write Japanese yourself, you lazy git. (Note: this is a note-to-self)

2) Never trust 'free' WiFi offers in a large public setting.

3) Working for Carmilla is GOOD.

4) Having a friend like Tomo is GOOD.

5) Even the most useless person can prove useful if he's fluent in Japanese.

6) Rentrer en Soi is NOT just an incredible band.

7) Greg Ayres still has a huge heart.

8) It's possible to come back from Oni-Con not completely broke.

9) Beer is good. Drink more. Buy more.

10) Line drama can be minimized and *gasp!!!* even eliminated if event communication is maintained.

11) Karma happens.

There are more, I'm sure, but I just can't think of them right now. I'm tired as hell, of course.

Highlights of my pilgrimage to Houston:

I was standing outside the hotel facing the convention center on Thursday evening, the sun was just going down. I was on the phone with Kim, who was just getting on the road. I was saying that I hadn't had a single 'sighting' all day, and she was trying to figure out her Mapquest clusterfuck. I was also verifying when Carmilla and Tomo were arriving. Kim couldn't concentrate on everything so I let her go...just as I turned around to see a certain set of five long-haired Japanese men descending the escalator from the second to the first floor inside the hotel. Figuring they were heading for the lobby, I stayed outside and began my round of calls to those who couldn't attend the con but had asked for 'sighting updates'. No answer from Jinx, so on to Nick. He answered and I told him what I'd seen. We proceeded to talk about life and other things, and lo and behold the band comes a-walkin' outside past me. Harry is at one end of the very crowded valet stand in the usual white van, the band is at the other, and I had moved to a pillar near its center. The band walks past me (wihin a few feet for those who want to know) and I nodded acknowledgement to Ryo and (I think) Shun as they passed. Takumi laughed at my shirt (of course, you should ALL know which one I was wearing!!!) and read it aloud. Satsuki turned to see it and also laughed. Then Harry pulled around the valet stand as the cars were not clearing from it, thus making it necessary for the band members to turn around and pass me AGAIN. I was still on the phne wih Nick when Satsuki reached me and paused. He bent slightly and looked closely at my shirt. I told Nick quietly to "hold on a sec" as Satsuki then looked up at me, pointed at the shirt, then pointed at himself, and said "me, me!" I replied, "Okay!" and all laughed and got into the van. Nick was asking, "What are you doing? What's going on? Who are you talking to?" And when they'd all climbed into the van, I said, "I was talking to Satsuki. He read my shirt and said, 'me, me'!" Nick replied, "I FUCKING HATE YOU!!" It was beyond funny.
Shortly after Goki arrived (he didn't even fucking recognize me at first! Some motherfucking boyfriend!!), I joined him outside for a smoke (he was smoking, not me!) as we awaited Carmilla's arrival. After several minutes, a very small man with long black hair, a dark-colored fedora, and badass off-white cowboy boots (the highlights of his attire, mind you- I didn't note the rest) exited the hotel from the door opposite our position. I noticed him and Goki The Oblivious did not. I redirected our path to lead us in the vicinity of the lone newcomer and saw that it was Ryo, just as I'd suspected. We passed him and I nodded but did not initiate conversation(though knowing what I now know, I wish I had). Goki continued his oblivion. Interesting, considering he'd professed again and again that Rentrer was one of his favorite bands and he was looking forward to seeing and meeting them. Lying motherfucker.
Carmilla's arrival was wonderful. I love that woman to death. I involuntarily glomped her, and I am so anti-glomp it's not even funny. Kim's arrival was just as good. She had no idea where to park so she asked me as she pulled up (we were all waiting outside), but no one else could hear our conversation. I told her I'd show her and got into the car with her. The bewildered look on Goki's and Carmilla's faces as Kim and I sped off was priceless.

Friday:
Picking up Tomo at the airport and 'losing' the car for nearly an hour afterwards. It was sometime that morning when I confirmed that my appetite has tapered off significantly. This, for me, is a very good thing.
Promoting Tomo's appearance from our booth in the Dealers' Room before he arrived, by which time I'd racked up a line than NO ONE was expecting. Fortunately they were all well-behaved and went where I directed them and remained peaceful once he arrived. Mind you, I was there ALONE handling all this for nearly two hours. I was rather proud of myself; my PR skills and crowd-control capabilities from the Ministry days hasn't diminished, it would seem.
Dinner #1 for Tomo. I bought him a mudslide as a belated birthday drink, which he told me later got him pretty well drunk. Goki and I cut out early to hit the concert line. We had numbered wristbands (thanks to my mad organizatinal and timing skills, and my parents' T1 line), but wanted to make sure we got there in time to go in in our numeric slot.
Oh God. Then came...
The Concert. The set was amazing; they played very little with which I was not familiar. They sounded phenomenal, and Satsuki's acapella rendering of "Sinwa" during their first encore was jaw-dropping. His voice has improved leaps and bounds. If he gets any better, he'll be rivalling Jui. I was fortunate to be bearing wristband #20, and was on the rail directly in front of Ryo and Shun. During the second encore, Satsuki came over to that side of the stage and sat on its edge three times. Doing so placed him in front of the monitors so he could easily hear us, thus his reaction the first time he came to have a sit. He sat directly in front of me and I SCREAMED his name, lunging at the rail as he reached out to the crowd. No one else around me reacted with anywhere near as much enthusiasm, and he gave me this huge smile and flashed me this look that said "WOW!" When he returned the second time, I tried like hell to reach for him, but the stage was too far. He returned a final time after the end of the set. They were throwing picks, sticks, stripping off the concert t-shirts they'd worn for the 2nd encore and throwing them into the crowd, and spraying us with water. Satsuki grabbed a water bottle and brought it over to the side of the stage where I stood. He removed the cap and glanced down at me as he took a sip. Replacing the cap, he perched on the edge of the stage again and aimed the bottle right at me, waiting until I had my hands up and out to catch it before tossing it RIGHT TO ME. He stood there for a moment as other hands grabbed for it, and when he saw that I indeed had caught and secured it, he flashed another smile and walked away. Ryo returned a few minutes later and tossed a few picks. Happy with the water, I did not attempt to catch any, but one green one bounced off the hands behind me and landed in front of the barricade between me and one other girl. She was huge and clumsy and smelled bad, and was trying to put her foot on it. I am small and weaselly so I beat her to it. She attempted to kick my foot off it and kneel down to pry it out from under my foot but I was much too spry. Before she could even fully bend at the waist I'd dropped into a squat and lifted my instep, blocking her with the bulk of my foot and snatching up the pick from under my toes. She didn't look very happy. I would have given it to her, maybe, if she hadn't been kicking my foot and grabbing at me to try to get at it. It's on my mantle now.

Saturday:
I spent the worst 2 1/2 hours of my life tring to find someplace where I could ship my water bottle back home; the airline would certainly never allow it on board their craft. With that finally accomplished, I went on to the Q&A Panel. It was originally scheduled for 1:00 pm, but was then delayed for six hours for some reason (head of Con Safety Koji later told me the band 'coudn't make it' at the originally scheduled time), but when it happened it was very cool. Satsuki's English is not too shabby! Shun knows how to say "me too" which was an absolute riot for Shelby (another of Carmilla's writers) and me, who had been to AnimeNEXT's Q&A panel with 12012 and witnessed Yuusuke saying this over and over again. Shun was also wearing a brand-new T-shirt which read "Slumbering Green" under his sweet black blazer, on which I commented later. My last question to them was something along the lines of: "There seems to be a lot of industrial influence on your latest album. Are there any particular industrial bands that you admire or who influence your music?" Takumi gave me the answer of a lifetime: "Nine Inch Nails. Rammstein from Germany. And Ministry. I like Ministry a lot!" was how Modori translated his reply. I was freaking out inside, as many of you can well imagine.
Saturday night was Dinner #2 for Tomo. We arrived late, and by now Goki was shunning me completely in favor of the following of fangirls he'd gathered around himself. Fine by me, I had absolutely no problem with it. Someone else in our party did, but I would not find out about that until much later. Again I cut out early to attend Greg's DJing of the 'rave' (Jesus, I can't believe I've stooped to calling it by common con terminology. It is SO not a real rave! None of them are!). I planted myself in front of a stack of speakers with a concoction I called "Squirt" based on its appearance and the bottle in which I carried it. I went back to my room for a refill twice, and apparently missed "Super Shooter", but made it back for that amazing O-Zone song that I can't help but practically mosh to. Goki danced with other girls and occasionally tried to dance with me, but- fuck me, he dances like Gackt. Which means he can't, and shouldn't try. After the Rave Shelby and I were fairly deaf, but proceeded to each take an earphone to my AiPod and were jamming to "I Was Damned" as we followed Goki outside while he smoked. As we were walking to the valet stand where the huge outdoor ashtrays resided, we passed a familiar figure sitting on the half-wall outside the south entrance to the hotel off the valet stand.
It was Ryo, and there was not another soul around him.
Shelby and I froze and looked at each other with ever-widening eyes. We then flew after Goki, who'd walked obliviously past him, like a double-barrel buckshot. Goki made good, then, on his promise to translate for me and thus proved himself useful after all. I was the only one not too shy to approach Ryo. He was completely calm amd mellow, and seemed quite content to sit and talk for a few minutes. In fact, it seemed as though he welcomed our company. As he finished his cigarette and pulled out another, I asked him if he was going to be in that spot for a few minutes; I'd remembered the gifts I'd brought and wanted to give him his. He said he would wait, and Shelby and I ran to our rooms to retreive our gifts for him and the others. Ryo made good on his word and was still there, he and Goki talking away. I gave him the necklace and the ring and he put the ring on immediately. I was so glad to see that it fit! I then showed him the other gifts and told him which member got what, and he said he would give them out accordingly. He told Goki that he wanted a beer, and asked us if we wanted to go to the bar inside to join him. I was like, "hell yeah!" so in we went. But as it turned out the bar had just closed, so we went back outside to our original post. Goki offered our beer, and Ryo was happy to take us up on the offer. After fending off an attempt by Hie and Frankie to converse (telling them I was on an express beer run)I returned to my room and retrieved all the alcohol I could find (mind you, I missed some due to the fact that I'd removed my corrective lenses) and headed back ownstairs. In the elevator on the way down I met Aaron Dismuke, who was as sweet and nice a kid as everyone's told me. I handed out the beer to Ryo and Goki as needed, and drank the Bacardi Mojito myself. I asked Ryo about his bass, and talked a little about the show. I asked how much it hurt to break bass strings with your bare hands, and he showed me the bruises, blood blister, and welts he bore from the previous night's antics. Other than those marks, he has to have the most perfect hands I've ever seen.
Soon the guy who'd introduced the band the night before (who I'd also seen at 12012's show at AN and recognized from my Cell Block days) came outside with a few other staffers looking for Ryo, and he pretty much shooed them away, saying he was fine and enjoying himself. I accosted the guy (Acey) I recognized and he soon recalled me. We swapped information and made fun of the fools I used to hang out with 'back in the day', catching up on what the other had been up to for the last 15 years. Pretty impressive resumes we've both racked up, I must say! I then turned back to Ryo and we talked about playing bass, swapping stories on how long we'd been playing and who our favorites/inspirations were. And when the alcohol at last was gone, it was time to say good night (even though it was almost 4:30 in the morning). We all staggered into the elevator together and headed for our rooms.

Sunday:
I was up by 7:30 am, raring to go. It was at last meet and greet day. I showered and went through the hair/makeup ritual, then donned "THE Shirt" again and headed down to the con. I did more PR work and played gopher for a while for Tomo, then Carmilla sent me off to "get the hell in that line!" Fortuntely, some very sweet girls were holding a spot for me (understanding that I had to work that morning and thinking it unfair if I had to wait at the back of the pack with the lazy ones who slept in) so I got through the photo line fairly quickly. Shelby joined me in the autograph line, and I had a shit-ton of CDs I'd purchased...so I decided to get them ALL signed! First time through was the jacket insert for "I Hate MYself and Want to...", then I hopped back in line and took out "Amongst Foolish Enemies" and the full CD "The Bottom of Chaos". Shelby had nothing else for them to sign so I handed her the "Enemies" CD and had her get it signed for me. The line had tapered off significantly by the time we'd been through twice, so I hopped back in a thrird time with the "Protoplasm" single. By this time the band had agreed to sign the Polaroid pictures they'd just taken with the 'fans' (I use the term loosely; "insta-fans" is my term for most of them), so Shelby now had something else for them to sign. Ryo shook his head at me, an amused twinkle in his eye when he saw me come through a third time. I promised him it was the last time. I also noticed that each time I got to Satsuki, all he did was read my shirt and stare at my belt (it was the Mao crown/shield belt). I was tempted to give it to him, but ended up keeping it. Afterward, it was time to head back down to the booth and pack up; Oni-Con was coming to a close. I'd talked to everyone I knew: Greg and Chris, Jann, Emily DeJesus, Scott, Doug Smith, Travis (avoided Vic, thank Kisaki), Xero, Taleisin, Mike M...it was nice to catch up. I decided to go to Closing Ceremonies, the only panel I was to attend that was bandless. I hadn't seen Goki all day, and my one attempt to call him was given the "fuck you". I ended up carrying the magazines and posters and CDs and all the other bulk items back to my room myself- I wasn't about to let our Editor-in-Chief or Guest of Honor carry cardboard boxes, totes, or duffle bags full of merhandise! They were both very appreciative, as I found out later that night.
I finally found Goki outside, and he'd been conversing with Takumi and gotten us invited to the post-con party (useful!). We had to wait several hours but in that time made some network contacts that may prove very beneficial to me as I pull my Kansas City Shuffle starting in January. At length, Satsuki and Ryo came ouside lookng for Tomo and Carmilla, without saying in so may words that they had all returned from dinner and were ready to party. Carmilla, Kim, and Tomo all had to return home early the following day so decided not to go. I was the only one with any energy left at all so I went, Goki in tow for translatory purposes. By now, though, he had done a complete 180 and was becoming a pest- arms around me costantly, trying to kiss me every other second, etc. It was VERY junior-high school and I think I'm quite done with that whole deal. We got to the designated room and Takumi was there with the new acquaintances we'd made earlier. I was positively tickled to see that he was in posession of the Bath & Body Works bag I'd given to Ryo the night before with all the band members' gifts in it! It was now full of Japanese junk food, as Takumi didn't much care for American fare. Ryo joined us not much later, wearing a "Dozing Green" t-shirt and, to my pleasure, the ring I'd given him the night before. He had NOT known I'd be there, so to me that was extremely cool. We all talked, drank, messed with our ringtones, and got to hear the Japanese opening theme song to "Sponge Bob Square Pants" which was a riot- even moreso when you're tipsy. It was short-lived, but for me that was not necessarily a bad thing. I shook hands with Takumi then Ryo, thanked our hosts for their kindness and departed with Goki in tow. We returned to Carmilla, Tomo, and Kim outside and we all went up to bed.

Monday:
Woke up to the sound of pouring rain, Washed away a dream of you, But nothing else could ever take you away, Because you'll always be my dream come true, Oh Oni-Con, I love you!

My deepest apologies to Skid Row for that bit. It was TOTALLY spur of the moment.

It was raining, though, and Goki had become clingier han ever. It was now as unpleasant as gum on the bottom of my shoe and in my hair at the same time. Fortunately, the head of Con Safety was heading back to the airport at the same time, and he caught the same shuttle as us (he's actually a decent, interesting guy). He seemed to notice my growing distaste with my situation, and after Goki got out at the Continental gate, he and I chatted all the way through security, the food court, and at my gate until my plane started boarding. His nake is Koji, he's in the Army and leaving for Iraq in a few weeks...and WAY THE HELL too young for me, thank you. I've no interest in anything beyond friendship despite the fact that I could easily be. I know better...and I think I've made my choice anyhow.

Thusly, farewell Oni-Con 2007. You were better to me than last year, which was better to me than the year before, which was better to me than any other con I'd ever been to. You are my favorite amongst favorites, and you've left me happy, fulfilled, and exhausted. For all that transpired and all the new experiences I've gained, I am beyond thankful. I will see you next year.

Edit: The only thing I left out about Saturday night was Ryo taking my AiPod and scrolling through the songs. He commented that he liked the song "Kami Uta" by Phantasmagoria, and asked me which songs were the ones with encrypted titles from the newest Rentrer album. Not even knowing the names of the songs myself, I wasn't very helpful. :(

Shining Like Dulled Silver

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:30:50 GMT

...like the eyes of a demon, like the eyes of a shark who's just scented fresh blood.

Let the hunt begin, they say, but it already has. This is just a distraction.

I'm getting excited, and the guns are cocked and loaded. I know there's going to be drama and hate by the end of this, but whatever. Their drama has never had any massive impact on me, ever. They can't touch what I have inside.

I'm looking forward to seeing some friends, and becoming better acquainted with them. I don't get to see these people nearly as much as I'd like, and they're good people. Maybe I should take some cues from them.

Nah.

But that doesn't mean I like them any less for who they are. They understand and respect me for who I am, and anyone who can love a vulture for its nature is worthy of respect and love in my book.

Oni-Con. The Pilgrimage begins tomorrow at 5:00 am EDST. Its soundtrack is "I Was Damned" ...and maybe a few other choice selections from Rentrer en Soi.

Watch out for the Killer Claws. You'll never hear her coming.

Nature Red In Tooth And Claw

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:48:43 GMT

Viewer Discretion is advised.

Some of these might be a little hairy for a few of you...

This is me...and how I pray(prey):

Because I may be old, but I can still hunt.