it seems like something important happened today at the Bulls game tonight

I recorded the Bulls-Cavs game that happened a few hours ago and I’m about to watch it now before bed (yes I know I’m up really late already).

Before I came on I checked on Twitter and saw that Bulls and Rose were trending (but not the Cavs or Lebron). I don’t know what that means but I don’t think anyone would be posting about them unless something of significance happened tonight. But the thing is, I don’t know if it’s going to be something amazing or something really terrible.

So I’m really worried and excited at the same time but I know this could go either way and I need to be able to deal with that and I don’t know if I can. I mean of course I can but look, I’m really excited for this season and feel more optimistic about the Bulls than I have since 2011. And yet that’s about half belief and half hope, there’s so many really good teams out there and anything could happen so you just never know.

btw LeBron coming back was really cool even if it did get blown out of proportion. I like him and hope that doesn’t change because why should you hate people you don’t even know?

edit: I shouldn’t have made this post and he’s going to be fine.

This does, however, set the table for the next post I’m going to make, which is pretty much done but might show up in a drastically edited form if I know what’s good for me*.

*edit 2 (Nov. 10): I’ve decided that’s a post I would definitely be better off not publishing. Trust me.

edit 3 (Nov 14): I kind of want to throw up right now.

Sakura-Con 2011

1. Seattle is a beautiful city. Clean, not congested, and full of friendly people. The homeless are a lot crazier and assertive than those in Chicago but still seem pretty harmless.

2. The convention center was easy to get around in. No panel or event required more than a five or six-minute walk to get to. Having multiple levels to one building, instead of spreading out across acres and acres of land, made getting around a breeze.

3. Panels seemed a little disorganized at times but you’d have to be a dick to actually complain about ten or fifteen-minute delays (usually caused by technical difficulties) at a con staffed by volunteers.

4. These things are really turning into 4chan cons, aren’t they? I mean, maybe that’s what they’ve been for at least 5 years, but never quite like this. I guess that’s fine but if the Internet is going to invade real life, can we at least retire all the memes from 2007 already?

5. Naruto cosplay and fan excitement in general was lower than at any convention I’d ever been to. This, on the other hand, was everywhere:

6. Hardly bought anything at this convention except for a poster from artists’ alley. Usually, I find myself wanting to stock up on DVDs but I can’t help but feel that I’m gradually beginning to realize that my collecting habits are not sustainable in the long run, and that we are watching more anime online than ever before, so… overall, I just enjoyed this convention for what it was, and not as a shopping trip.

7. The “Otaku 25 and older” panel needed to be more than a half hour long, but it was nice to be in a room where I was actually one of the youngest people, for once.

8. The Hyatt at Olive 8 is a wonderful hotel, comfortable and very close to the convention center. Despite offering a very reasonable convention rate (as listed on the Sakura-Con website during registration), it somehow wasn’t listed in the final convention program’s page of participating hotels. So maybe it’s kind of a secret, and one that you should really look into for next year if you want to be a truly savvy con-goer.

9. Were there more cosplayers in attendance than “normals”? As I rode escalators surrounded by Hetalia girls, people wearing animal pajamas (not sure what the deal with this was but these people were everywhere), guys dressed as soldiers and SWAT team members (again: why?) and girls in schoolgirl outfits, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe I was the one who was standing out in the crowd.

10. Pike’s Place Market is a wonderful destination for strolling, people-watching, and stocking up on actual healthy con sustenance and snacks. It’s also the most idyllic symbol of living, sustainable capitalism that I’ve ever had the pleasure to visit and participate in, at least compared to the strip malls and big box stores that make up my hometown. Also, people seem to really enjoy showing off their dogs there.

anime vs. politix

Do I support the Libyan revolution and our recent intervention in it against Col. Gaddafi’s forces because it’s the right thing to do? Or just because these are the last two anime series that I’ve watched and my imagination is primed for yet another story of against-all-odds revolution?

I’m an idiot, I know.

But seriously, consuming stories like these has got to make a person a little more interested,  inspired, and involved when the real thing starts going down. Or at the very least, a little less cynical.

For the record, I don’t think this is about oil, and to try to conflate our motives here with the misguided ones that got us into Iraq is cynical ignorance. I want to believe that, for once, we’re out to do the right thing. Time will tell.