So what're you waiting for? If you're reading this, then chances are that one of the following two things are true:
- You're reading this on the main page and have yet to click the "Please, Sir, May I Read More?" link that links you to the rest of the page.
- You're reading the whole entry from start to finish and you just so happened to start from here
If it's Option Two and you're already on the entry's page: just keep reading.
Alriiiiiiiiiight! Let's get this party started! Gear up, get something to snack on or nurse your thirst, and prepare for what very well could be the biggest post of the year! (The pictures have nothing to do with that. ...really.)
CURRENT MUSIC:
(Author's Note: The music here does not necessarily have anything to do with Pacific Media Expo. Some of it did actually show up; some of it was played on WinAmp due to some influence (and partly inspired so) by some of the cosplayers I've personally run in to while there; some of it just helps set the mood. Even without reading the commentary, you can probably tell which is which. Just thought I'd let you know what's going on here today.)
Steve Jablonsky - "Arrival to Earth"
Transformers: The Score
To this day, I've yet to see any cosplayers portraying any sort of character from the Transformers franchise. Rather, just listen to the music and imagine it playing as you look at the hotel and the convention for the first time...
Bear McCreary - "Wander My Friends"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 Original Soundtrack
Signs of a great musical score include when a particular leitmotif is flexible enough to be used in other areas. The beauty of the Adama leitmotif used in Battlestar Galactica is that it works for situations that aren't just heartfelt moments. Obviously, it does the job well for them, but for other scenarios - say, a victory celebration or a honor-swelled farewell - it possess the rhythm for it as well.
"Wander My Friends" uses the Adama leitmotif to aurally commemorate the first (much-needed) victory the Humans have against the Cylons: a battle for an asteroid packed full of raw ores that can be processed into much-needed fuel. (I feel comfortable with explaining this spoiler because let's face it: a show where humanity loses every struggle against the Cylons doesn't make to be a popular idea.) I felt like playing this particular rendition of the Adama leitmotif because it fits the whole "Congratulations, PMX 2011" and "Farewell until next year, PMX" feelings that swelled up within me on Sunday night as I drove home.
So much emotion in this piece... in the Adama leitmotif. Maaan...
Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori - "Released"
Halo 3 Original Soundtrack
Whenever I force myself to type something out that'll take me awhile, I turn to a "working music" playlist I have saved on WinAmp. Halo 3's "Released" is on here primarily because of its exploratory and "let's get to the nitty-gritty" sound. After all, this is the first track you hear when you finally have control of Master Chief in the first mission, so you need something that does that. This makes it fitting music for killing those slimy Covenant bastards and hammering out your term paper (or in this case: my blog entry) at the same time.
Good day, one and all, and welcome to a very special entry on The White Knight Chronicles! As always (unless hijacked), I'm your eccentric host Josh Blanco, and we're here today to relive one of the greatest weekends of my life this year: Veterans Day weekend at Pacific Media Expo 2011!
Explaining Pacific Media Expo
(Because I'm sure 97% of you are asking.)
Before I begin, I'm going to answer a question that a good portion of you are probably asking: "What (the frak) is Pacific Media Expo?"
Described by some of the higher-ups as "the crossroads of Asian pop culture," Pacific Media Expo (PMX) is an annual convention that showcases some of the many, many things going on in the entertainment world of the Pacific Rim. Ostensibly, Japanese animation (anime) is a focus, but other things are highlighted (perhaps even more so than anime) - music, films, television shows, fashion, cuisine, and (most importantly of all:) culture. With a little something for everyone who shows up, the young convention is sure to leave an impression with anyone who decides to visit.
(For those of you familiar with Anime Expo, think of that - except smaller, friendlier, and not just focused on anime.)
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| Interior shot of the LAX Hilton's lobby - now with cosplayers. |
Explaining Pacific Media Expo - Security
(The Big Bads Who Are Not So Bad)
PMX 2011 marks the fourth year I've gone to the convention, and it also marks the fourth year I've worked as part of the Security team. Despite the name, we're not super-serious about our jobs (unless we have to be), and it's actually quite easier (and safer) than what one may expect. Before I continue, I'll briefly go over the basic objectives that Security has to complete and go through:
Guest Service
By "Guest Service," I mean it in regards to helping the convention attendees akin to how a retail store worker helps out a customer (I mean "guest" - Target culture prefers that word over "customer," and after constant use and understanding, I've adopted the term as well). Simply put: we help guide the attendees around. We give them directions if they get lost, help deal with any potential disputes that may arise, and just make them feel welcome in the convention in general.
Now, depending on where a convention is being held, people with no association to the convention in question (read: "other people") may get curious and want to inquire about all the hullabaloo. (This is especially true for a convention held primarily in a hotel - PMX included.) When that happens, we'll be there to guide them out of restricted sections (which kinda sucks IMO - how else would one cure their curiosity?) and/or explain to them what we're all about.
After all: Security personnel are the ones with the most time interacting amongst the attendees, so we might as well be there for anyone if they ever need assistance of some kind.
Peace Bonding
Anyone who's ever attended some kind of convention involving cosplaying will know that cosplayers love their props. Depending on the character they're dressed up as, a person will end up carrying something associated with them. French maids and butlers will probably carry feather dusters and platters of tea; Pokémon trainers will have Pokémon plushies on their shoulders or Poké Balls clipped on their belts; wizards and witches from the world of Harry Potter will have a wand and maybe a Nimbus 2001.
Then there are those cosplayers who bring in more... let's say "sensitve" material. Weapons. Fake explosives. That sort of thing. PMX is pretty lax when it comes to weapons props, but of course to ease the minds of the venue staff, we still check them to make sure they're safe and totally unable to kill anyone. (I mean, you could try very hard, but by then it's a little too obvious...)
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| Spot the zip-tie! |
Line & Crowd Control
Like any typical convention, Pacific Media Expo has its fair share of featured and notable Guests of Honor (GoH) that either host a few panels and/or give a presentation or show of some kind. Depending on how famous and/or popular these notable people are, the amount of attendees wanting to visit their panel(s), presentation(s), or show(s) could be a high number that may or may not either be a fire hazard or incite some kind of mob mentality. Some people relax and block off fire exits. Others will bum-rush a concert stage en masse hoping to get in contact with a certain performer. And then my favorite: dealing with people with not-so-ethical methods of holding spots in line for others.
As such, we as Security make sure to prevent such things from occurring by arranging and relocating crowds to ease congested areas (which in turn allows both convention and venue traffic to get by easier), pacifying any would-be overtly angry/excited attendees, and forming official lines for events so that we don't have to deal with the inevitable scenario of one person holding a spot for about ten.
VIP Escort
Someone's gotta make sure the Guests of Honor get to their rooms or events alive and in one piece (and preferably with the same amount of blood and sanity they possessed prior to the convention).
That's where Security comes in. (Gee, what a surprise.) We block off staircases and elevators to be used to quickly shuttle any GoH from "Point A" to "Point B," make sure no enraged/enraptured attendee gets close, prevent the camera/camcorder-equipped from getting any shots off (if the GoH in question or their support staff say so, of course), and pretty much anything that may interfere with the Guests of Honor's experience at the convention.
And now that that's out of the way, let's go ahead and see what exactly happened that made me feel so elated that I could've died happy right there...
The Story You've All Been Waiting For
("Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold.")
So where to begin, where to begin...? I have to admit right now that I may have already forgotten how some things went - all I remember for some of the many, many events that occurred was a high amount of elation and glee. After all, this entire convention was a menagerie of intrigue and delight.
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| I'm supposed to say something demeaning here - like a sarcastic thanks - to the guy who left me this white elephant after I was told to do an ultra-hyper-mega-super-zone of the entire toys and sporting goods department. |
PMX Day One - Friday, November 11
Then Friday began. I picked up my friend (who was also staffing Security) and while on the way to Los Angeles I got pulled over by CHP. As I mentioned on Friday, the whole ordeal went without incident (though my friend decided to "lament" about it on Facebook). However, this little side moment did make us arrive at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton somewhat late.
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| This photograph was NOT doctored. |
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| And the best way to do it? With an automatic weapon. And a bayonet. At the same time. |
As soon as we got there, we were greeted with a very large line of people waiting for the Registration department to open their doors. It was 1145ish; Registration was set to open at noon. Then I remembered another long and upstanding "tradition" of PMX: Registration gets hit with a severe case of Murphy's Law at the last possible second and gets royally frakked.
It did - we found out that some of the computers used (namely, the ones handling the people registering at the con as opposed to those who pre-registered online) crashed. I'm not talking about a "BSOD and reboot" crash; nor am I talking about a "'0x000m0000a.exe' has caused an illegal error in '0x000m0000a.exe' and must be closed. The system must be formatted." kind of crash. I'm talking about a crash so bad that they had to go through every line of programming code to make sure the whole system worked.
I won't bore you with the details - the three-hour wait some of them had to endure was full enough of boredom already. As such, I ended up trying to keep up the spirits of those who seemed like the wait was going to be for-frakking-ever, and I chit-chatted with everyone in line. We had a few laughs, so I guess it was okay.
We were manning those lines for God-knows-how-long, and as a result we got hungry. Badly. So, after we got done with our excruciatingly long shift, we went back up to our hotel room and ordered ourselves some pizza.
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| Pizza A? |
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| Or Pizza B? |
After some time relaxing and digesting our pizza (mind you, we didn't eat all of ours in one sitting), we headed back down to the con to work line security at Richard Epcar's roast. After it began I split off to help do line security for the concert featuring Japanese visual kei band D.
Now, you probably just said something similar to "What." in regards to who D are. No, this wasn't a typo; and no, this wasn't a grammatical mistake. They're called "D."
To help familiarize yourselves with this section, I've constructed this handy little "introduction" to the terms in the above paragraphs that may not have made any sense to you. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)
visual kei:
Literally translating to "visual style," visual kei is a Japanese music movement. Characterized as a sort-of aural fusion between glam rock, metal, and punk (and to some, melodic rock with metal), the movement combines elements of the aforementioned music with a visual flamboyancy - makeup, (overly) elaborate hairstyles and costumes, and in some cases: androgynous aesthetics. These aesthetics are so well-done that guys will look like girls and girls will look like guys. If done well enough, then even people who listen to visual kei can be confused when first seeing an artist.
D:
One of the many visual kei bands from Japan. That is exactly how you spell their name - just a capitalized "D" and nothing more. It's a royal pain-in-the-ass to Google 'em for anything.
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| From left to right: Hide-Zou (guitar), Tsunehito (bass), Asagi (vocals), Ruiza (guitar), Hiroki (drums) |
I'm going to be honest: I was tired and in need of food and sleep. So, during the whole time I spent either managing the line of people waiting to see D or roaming around to make sure people elsewhere weren't causing a ruckus, I think I may have forgotten a large chunk of that night. (This wasn't said to make it look like I'm saving time typing this post... no, why would I do something so underhanded like that?)
So after the concert and after-show autograph panel ended (around midnight-ish), I decided to call it a (long) day and retired to my hotel room to catch up on sleep.
PMX Day Two - Saturday, November 12
...only I couldn't get any sleep, "because the one thing more reliable that symmetry is irony." Mind you, it wasn't because of the fact that I was sleeping on the floor or on the chair - it was because of my Disneyland High. I mean, look at that post's timestamp - 7:38 AM. I was up since 5:30. I was just that excited to be at the con and work Security, I guess.
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| I did it! I got an A! I mean, we're called "A-sians," right? |
So after accomplishing that and taking a shower, I went down to the hotel lobby. It was about 0830ish at the time (I like long, warm showers - sue me), and there were already people mulling about. I ran into some Security guys who were wondering why I was up (I wasn't scheduled for anything until 1500), and I just explained how I couldn't sleep while we went to the coffee shop inside the lobby.
After splitting off, I decided to do a recon of Registration and see if it was going to be just as bad as Friday. Fortunately, it wasn't - there were five people sitting down next to the doors, lined up and patiently waiting for 0900 (the time Registration opens). Whoo-hoo - not so chaotic.
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| Because I'm that famous and awesome. |
I roamed all over the place, checking on attendees, looking at random places, and even had an accidental firefight against some steampunkers and some guys from UBCS while they were "patrolling" the con for zombies. Then I got hungry. I looked at my watch and it told me it was about 1315. Wow - time flew by fast. It was at that time where some of the staff told me of a food truck that was visiting the LAX Hilton at the time. Piqued, I decided to check it out. Now, what was this mystery food truck, you ask?
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| "Clever girl." ...I mean pun. |
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| Food truck lines - now featuring cosplayers! |
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| Short rib meat "chopped and served in a corn tortilla with cabbage dressed in a honey chipotle aiole topped with a kim chi salsa." |
After making my stomach super happy I kept roaming around until it was 1500. Originally, my friend and I were scheduled to work security. Then I got news that I was to work more lines - this time, managing an interview panel featuring D.
After that was done, I was free to roam around until D's concert began at 2000. During my free time I spent it talking with a bunch of writers at a fanfiction panel. Much to the hostess' surprise, there were a decent amount of guys present - guys normally don't write fanfiction, but I guess the guys in there (along with myself) were an exception. After that was over I went over to the "Artist's Alley," a section PMX hosts every year where yearning artists go showcase their work and sell any wares they might have with them. Lots of talented people there who I need to check out on deviantArt and what not.
Then the D concert came, and I was told that I'd be up at the pit. In the four years I've staffed as PMX Security, I've never actually done live concert security - I've always managed lines and checked for badges/tickets at the door. That changed this night.
Now, using a crude schematic made by me in MS Paint, let me show you how things were organized.
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| Everything was supposed to be okay. |
D did a pretty damn good job, I'd say. I went in to this con not knowing who they were, and after the concert, I told myself I'd look them up - I'm always in need of someone new to listen to. The crowd (barring one or two overly-ecstatic fans) seemed pretty under control as well, I thought.
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| BUT SOMETHING WENT TERRIBLY WRONG. |
The front section of VIP attendees charged forward to reach out in the hopes of making physical contact with the visual kei band. Almost simultaneously, the rear parts of the VIP (along with the standing people in General Admission) broke through the roped-off area and added even more pressure to the crowd up front. Security (along with one of PMX's main photographers) ended up jumping in and pushing the mob back. At my part of the crowd, the rope still held (somewhat), so I ended up pulling the rope to secure that section while another Security team member charged in front and pushed them back (simultaneously helping me pull the rope back). It was almost absolute chaos, but eh - it was fun. Totally don't want to relive that part, though.
After the concert, I was told that my friend and I would be part of the escort team to get D out of their post-show autograph session. Our part: secure an elevator, bar anyone from using them, and hold it until D shows up from an undisclosed route to shuttle them up to their room.
As we waited at the floor we were posted at, I remember thinking to myself: "Hey, this was technically a rock concert, so where's my obligatory and complimentary contact high?" No sooner did I finish that sentence that a group of people who reeked (heavily) of marijuana show up to take an elevator down. Hell, that entire floor smelled of marijuana, which makes me wonder just how many rock fans did we have at this con (or, was there a secret 420-friendly "convention" going on somewhere else?)
I shrugged it off after D - now armed with a cake and a giant greeting card - showed up and took the elevator we held for them. It was funny - D's roadies said a group of fans presented Hide-Zou with them in regards to his upcoming birthday. Amusing.
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| Everything tastes better after midnight. Everything - including cardboard pasta and semi-dry salad and bread. (Don't get me wrong, though: it was pretty decent. I think this was from the LAX Hilton, but I don't know...) |
PMX Day Three - Sunday, November 13
...where I came to at about 1000 hours. My friend and I went down to Registration (where we were assigned that day), only to find that they didn't even need anyone there. There was, like, two people at most at any given time.
So I spent the day roaming around - talking with attendees, peace bonding things, eating some leftover pizza (that stuff lasted well until the afternoon), and browsed through more stuff at the Artist's Alley.
Then I came across a little table worked by a group known as We Heart Japan, a charity organization created after the events of the earthquake that hit the Land of the Rising Sun and founded by Asian artists and entertainers who have personal connections to Japan. To my surprise I met a familiar celebrity I had already met once before: Stephanie Sheh.
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| Pictures with celebrites are always fun. |
- Mikuru Asahina (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
- Hinata Hyuga (Naruto)
- Orihime Inoue (Bleach)
- Guu (Haré+Guu) (under the alias "Jennifer Sekiguchi")
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| "To Josh: 'That's classified.'" |
Afterwards, I attended an autograph panel featuring Tsuyoshi Nonaka. For those not in the know (which is just about all of you), he is a mecha designer who has worked in various anime series and (due to that,) one of the big names in the Japanese toy company Bandai for over 20 years. He is perhaps best known for his work in the Kamen Rider and Metal Hero series, provided designs for the Japanese versions of Transformers (G1 stuff at least, mind you), and is lauded as the lead designer for the Super Sentai series (known in the English-speaking world as the Power Rangers franchise).
Now, the crazy part about attending the autograph panel (along with about 15 other people) was that he wasn't technically doing autographs. I mean, yes: he was signing autographs, but anybody can do that. Nope - he went ahead and did more than sign pieces of paper...
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| No frakkin' way... |
For me, I'll be honest: I don't know much of the Kamen Rider and Metal Hero series, but I did know some Super Sentai and a decent portion of Transformers. So after deliberating on what to have him sketch for me (my original plan was to politely ask "Can you surprise me?"), I settled on...
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| Hint: he's a Transformer! |
With that, we all looked at the clock and noted that it was 1800ish - an hour until PMX officially ended. People rushed off to do various things - get packed, get one more hour of karaoke in (we have a dedicated Karaoke room every year), talk with people, drink, relax... whatever.
I spent that hour roaming around and talking with some other Security staff and one attendee. Afterwards, we all headed to the post-PMX "Con Gripe," where we discussed various pros and cons of this year's convention. Then the staff got together to celebrate a job well done... with Chinese food and swag. WHOO!
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| "VODKAAAA~!" |
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| There was even a panda walking around the celebration! |
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| Throughout the party, PMX staffers were invited to sign this daruma that commemorated 2011's con. |
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| D apparently signed it... |
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| ...as well as Tsuyoshi Nonaka... |
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| ...and even George Takei (who was a guest panelist on Friday - details below)! |
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| This led to the conclusion that autographs weren't technically "necessary" - just add-ons. |
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| Just some of the (free) swag I got at PMX 2011. |
*sniff* I can't wait until next year now...
The List of Things I Missed That You've Been Waiting For
(Because not everything can roll in your favor.)
Now, I'm only one person, and as such, there was going to be a multitude of events going on at PMX at the same time. I can't attend 'em all, either due to me being on duty somewhere else or another event that I want in on at the same time.
Here's just a bit of the things I missed out on that I wish I didn't miss out on:
Allegiance panel featuring George Takei
A brief history lesson for those of you who either aren't World War II buffs like me, simply didn't get a decent education, or don't live in the United States:
After the events of Pearl Harbor, the American government forcibly relocated and interred over 100,000 Japanese Americans and people of Japanese descent. (There were other races hit, but the Japanese were the majority.) Spread out amongst ten relocation centers, the Japanese spent several years isolated from the rest of the world asking themselves what did they ever do to deserve to be in a situation like they were in.
Now, I've been familiar with this shameful internment process. I read Farewell to Manzanar in elementary school and usually call out people who believe America was just kick-ass awesome and totally noble during World War II. (From a military standpoint, it was; from an internal one...) However, I can safely say that I've never heard of any sort of talk about the Japanese internment in musical format.
Enter Allegiance, an upcoming musical set for a world premiere in 2012. "They took everything but our dignity" - that's one of the taglines for this upcoming musical, and in my opinion it also serves as a shared thought amongst the many Japanese (Americans) who were interred. From the site itself:
"Allegiance is an epic story of love, war and heroism set during the Japanese American internment of World War II, following the story of the Omura family in the weeks and years following Pearl Harbor, as they are relocated from their home in Salinas, California to the Heart Mountain internment camp in the wastelands of Wyoming."That caught my eye when I was going over the list of things going on in PMX. There was a panel at 1700 on Friday, and at the time, I was on duty. Which sucked, because not only did Allegiance seem to be something I'd probably watch, but George frakkin' Takei was there.
*foams at mouth* WHY WAS I ON DUTY AT THE TIME!?
To be fair, the Allegiance panel was a last-second addition to the schedule this year, so as such, I didn't hear about it actually being live until a few hours after I had checked in the Hilton. All I rememberd prior to showing up were a few rumors about Takei being there, but to actually be hosting a panel (along with other Allegiance production staff)? Damn; just my luck for me to be working.
Someone remind me to keep tabs on Allegiance. If they have a show out here on the West Coast (they may not; they're planning on hitting Broadway), I'm going to want to see it.
The Roast of Richard Epcar
Richard Epcar is a voice actor who's had numerous roles in anime and video games. His most-known roles include (but obviously aren't limited to):
- Batou (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)
- Dong Zhou (Dynasty Warriors)
- Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (Kingdom Hearts)
- Ziggy (Xenosaga games)
Well, apparently from what I heard I missed out on a lot of laughs (I mean a lot), and comedy's always been one of my favorite things to enjoy. Plus, I've never really attended a roast before. I know it's one of my deep-seated dreams to be famous enough to get roasted, but... until that day comes, I guess all I can do is visit roasts if I ever get the chance.
Or, you know, watch a YouTube video of the roasted person in question "strike back" with his own rebuttals. =P
The Cosplay Photos You've All Been Waiting For
(Because people paid me to get them photos. Not really, but still.)
Since I was on duty a good amount of the time I was at Pacific Media Expo, I didn't have many free opportunities to seek out any particular cosplayer I ran into to get perfect shots or what not. That, coupled with the fact that I was using my phone to snap the photos, meant they weren't going to be the best, but eh. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, I took my chance and got some pics.
So, to close this massive entry properly, here's some of the many pictures of cosplayers I ran into!
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| Alucard (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) |
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| Old Snake (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots) |
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| Bridget (Guilty Gear) |
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| Team Rocket (Pokémon) |
Team Rocket was present to cause mayhem for us Security folks. By my counts, there were about six grunts, one Cassidy, and two James. Yeech - not a good day for any Pokémon trainers out there, because they were jacking Pokémon left and right.
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| Gary Oak (Pokémon) |
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| Trolls - Photo by Shannon Cottrell |
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| Photo by Shannon Cottrell |
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| Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (Resident Evil) |
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| Chris Redfield & Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil) |
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| Albert Wesker (Resident Evil) |
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| Kitana (Mortal Kombat) - Photo by Kristopher Zoleta |
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| Chun-Li & Cammy (Street Fighter) |
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| Akuma (Street Fighter) |
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| Black Mage (Final Fantasy) |
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| "Chef Mage" |
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| Sailor Pluto (Sailor Moon) |
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| Major Zero (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater) |
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| Two Assassins ready to kill somebody... (Assassin's Creed) |
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| Deadpool (Marvel Comics) |
Until the 'morrow, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this fantabulous detail-filled entry!
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