Shuto-con.

This past weekend was a first for Lansing: an anime convention to call its own. Now as any anime/manga fan would be, I was both excited and skeptical for this first-year con, not quite knowing what to expect from a venture that had been as of yet untested.

All in all, I am pleased to report, it was a total success. It of course helped that it had the full support of some high-proflie actors such as Michelle Ruff (Rukia, Yoko, etc) and the nearly immortal Neon-Genesis duo of Spike Spencer and Tiffany Grant (Shinji and Asuka). Now if you are not into anime, for one I suggest you become so, but otherwise this post will mean little to you so feel free to avoid reading it, if you can withstand my immense literary charm. There was a (to me) suprising turnout for an under-the-radar convention just unfolding its wings, and a special pre-screening type look at Evangelion 2.22 was a special treat. There was a considerable amount of cosplay, and while it didn't have quite the flair of some of the bigger cons, it had a unique intimacy with the voice actors. Not being pressed for time signing many hundreds of autographs, each session was full of time to get to know them and opportunities to have some insight into their persons, more than once they even went so far as to offer tales of their exploits, both in acting and otherwise.

As a convention, Shuto-con did exactly what it needed to. It was fun, it was colorful, and it has at least one return visitor in me. Here's hoping that it becomes an annual event in a convention center that has plenty of room to grow into.

Introductions.

After a more than a week's hiatus, I have returned to the fold! College keeps you busy and all that.

Now, it's been a good number of posts for me not to have introduced myself to any would-be readers. My name is Josh. Hi. I like to follow my name with a period when professionalism doesn't matter, it's my bit of character that I like to add to my signature. I'm 20 years old and a student at Michigan State, and you can get most of this from my profile page, but by all means keep reading. I am avidly into video games and books, and nearly as avidly into anime and manga. The Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda is like a breath of fresh air after a long day of classes or whatever else life has decided to throw at me. The worlds that they manage to create time and time again are such a total experience that I can let it suck me in and just be my character. Similarly, the Forgotten Realms' greatest legend, the epic tale of Drizzt Do'Urden as told by the genius author R.A Salvatore offers me a complete seclusion from the world around me. They are my beloved escapes. Anime and manga are more of an entertainment hobby interest. From the insane battle sequences of Tite Kubo's Bleach to the heart-wrenching tales of Daisuke Moriyama's Chrono Crusade or Key's Clannad, there is an entire world of stories to be told from our creative friends in Japan, and I can get lost in them as easily as any video game. As for music, nearly anything will do, but I'd much rather it is not Country or Rap. Post-grunge is my happy-place, and rock is my comfort zone, but I love a good round of Gaga from time to time as well.

If you're paying attention, I haven't mentioned school since I stated that I am attending MSU, well that would be because I severely dislike anything that includes class. I have been bored in school my whole life, and the added difficulty of college did little to change that fact. School talk done.

I will happily admit that I am a die-hard fan of NASCAR. There is just no other sport that can compare with 43 teams competing every week for 4 hours of mind-bending concentration and steeled-nerves. On that same note, however, I enjoy watching football and have loved "soccer" since I played it as a child (I put "soccer" in quotation marks as it is a silly term, and not its true name: yes, I am one of "those people").

That is really all there is to tell, as of yet. Should questions exist, by all means feel free to comment, and I'll answer what I can. This is, once again, assuming that there is actually a miniscule fraction of the world out there that cares to take the time to read my silly meanderings.

False King.

Made this story up on the spot to tell to my girl, and she rather liked it. Excuse the broken-ness and the punctuation, it was over a messenger. :P

once upon a time there was a king

now this king wasn't an ordinary king

his father had not been royalty, nor his mother

this king was actually totally unrelated to anything to do with the previous kings and queens

one day he was walking through town, and had been pulled aside by the guard

apparently, this man had looked exactly like the old king who had been assassinated the week before

seeking to avoid a panic, the guard and the kings closest advisors found this man and replaced the old king with him whilst the townsfolk remained none-the-wiser

the queen of course objected to this, as she felt it tarnished the reputation of her late husband. so, with the help of her personal escorts and the guard, she faked her death to escape the constraints of her position and left town

the townsfolk grieved her loss, but the king persevered, and they gazed in awe and respect at the man's inner strength

one day, a sickly man on his deathbed asked the kings presence

when he was denied the wish, he cried out in dismay

where was this king who had seemed so strong to his people only months before?

the king, upon hearing of the situation, decided he should grant this man, one who was of no little importance to the small town, a visit before his death

with the king in audience, the dying man asked how the his majesty had been so strong after the passing of his wife

now the king was at a loss

this man wanted his advice to help his family after he had passed, but the king had never experienced anything like he was going through

the woman had not actually died, and she had not truly been his wife in the first place. taking these into account, there had been nothing to grieve

with regret filling his eyes, told the man that he could not help him, and returned to the castle

after two restless and troubled days, the man posing as king received news that the sickly man had passed

another sleepless week passed the king by, his mind unable to forget the sickly man

with a firm resolve, he decided to create words to comfort the grieving family

upon meeting the family, he told them the story of how his wife had looked truly peaceful after her passing, and how it had let him know beyond doubt that, wherever she was, she was not suffering

his telling lacked conviction, however, and the widowed wife looked at him with skepticism

once again returning to his castle, the king felt a slight better about the ordeal and was able to sleep for the first time in a long while

unfortunately, his sleep was far from restful

waking nightmares were replaced by dreams filled with shadows and voices calling out his deceit

with a tired resignation, he returned to the widow, seeking to remedy his conscience

he explained to her how he had come to the town as a traveler, how the previous queen had not died but rather left the realm under a veil of secrecy, to pursue her own end in life and how upon her husband's deathbed he had been unable to help not out of arrogance or reluctance, but because he truly did not know how to be strong

the woman smiled and told the unfortunate king that he did, in fact, know how to be strong. he had just proven it to her. she also told him that his impressive words did nothing to sooth her aching heart compared to the humble words just spoken to her

in apology for his actions, the king invited the widow and her children to live with him in the castle, to assure them a sturdy household in repayment to the sickly man

after a few years, the talk about town of the favored widow had died down considerably, and the kings daily meals and time with the woman led to a fondness that turned into a smoldering affection

when he finally asked her to be his queen, there was no talk of a woman taking the favor of the king, but rather the romantic gossip of a widowed wife and a grieving king that were to become a proper couple

the end.

Titles.

Now, many of you have asked why I titled this the way I have (not really many, but it sounds better that way, no?), and the answer is quite simple, really: you can change it whenever you want. My lawyers did not, in fact, help me write any of this. I don't even have a lawyer. Unless you count the one provided in the court of law if you do not have your own, but I generally choose not to consider that my own personal lawyer, for obvious reasons. I merely could not come up with a title at the time, and so what comes to mind first? Fall Out Boy, obviously. I'm honestly not sure where lawyers came from, and I almost-promise that sometime in the future I will change it, but for now, it's the best title I've got.

Little Steps.

Not that anyone has paid attention to this since the first post sometime last night/early this morning (I think it was then, but I get my days mixed up), but for those lucky people who are revisiting for a second time (heres hoping third or fourth) there are some new additions to the "room" as it were. I've added a fancy music player, for those of you inclinded to listen while you read, containing the world's greatest music. I've also messed around with the color and even added this post explaining all the additions I've made. It's all quite exciting (sarcasm intended). I have also used many parenthesis in this post, I shall have to work on that. Here's hoping that I get this blogging stuff figured out before investing half a year into a substandard endeavor.

First.

I am being pulled into this blogging thing sheerly though peer pressure. She never even said I should do it. Yes, there's a she. There's always a she. If there weren't ever a she, the world would never have a purpose. Luckily, my "she" is the best.

Now if anyone ever considers following this, I would advise them to reflect carefully on that action before hand. I am generally bad at keeping up with this sort of thing. I can guarantee that my punctuation will slowly degrade and I will eventually stop capitalizing words such as "I." If you find yourself to be okay with those conditions, then by all means enjoy my whimsey.