Anime Boston, Day One. Erin and I went into the 1st day of Anime Boston, an anime convention. this is a mega event for Erin. I don't actually have much taste for animation, but can appreciate some. on the subway in, we both noticed 4 guys who were definitely on their way to the con. one had a headband with an emblem that Erin identified as pertaining to some anime and fingerless gloves and a long brown coat, tho it was warm. another wore a Matrix black coat, and looked like Keanu Reeves, albeit with hair at Bill and Ted length. changing from Red Line to Green got confusing to Intrepid Travellers but Erin saw the 4 anime guys and we got right. Erin asked if they were going to Anime Boston and they all hooted Yeah!!! and exchanged high fives. registration looked hectic. we had to get to the end of a very long line. we didn't pre-register. security bustled about making sure doorways were clear. it seemed hopeless but then someone came along and ushered a bloc of waiting folk and soon we too were ushered to registration. guy behind me called out rather despeerately, did anyone lose this?. it was a little Hello Kitty doll. I said not mine then thought of the woman ahead who'd been rummaging her bags. is this your Hello Kitty? I got to ask. why yes, it was. the event took place thru out the convention hall and in the Sheraton proper. we wandered around plenty. we caught the end of opening ceremonies, where we saw an actress who voices anime, and was the voice for Leia in the Japanese version of Star Wars. much excitement. I didn't mench that many at the convention dressed up anime style. I don't know the characters to be found in anime but I'm sure most of them were covered. as a rule, males wore a lot of clothes and the females wore little. the guys had long coats, cloaks, ninja outfits. anime women tend to wear short skirts or shorts so that's what the con ones wore. the vibe was a little like a Phish concert, that is to say, playful and good. quite a few preposterous weapons were lugged around by those willing to go that extra. outsized swords and scimitars, the coolness must wear off quick. I can imagine them taking public transit. some wore things like Darth Vader helmets and looked dorky. but the masked ninja tended to look cool, and others were masked such as really gave them an air of mystery. and there were goth vamps, and quite a few cross-dressing guys. a new world order of the hip and the nerd living together as one. I didn't take many pictures. taking pictures can distract from being there. plus, as an older geek, it felt a little pervy to be snapping pix. not that the crowd wasn't rather ecumenical in age, and people wanted to be photographed. spent a lot of time in the swag room, where Erin copped fingerless gloves and some manga and dvd. he had his karate headband on and means to wear his gee (I don't know how that's spelled) today. there was a lot of hair dye in evidence, in brilliant colours, giving an appropriately cartoonish effect. the swag room is full of avidity, which is odd to winess when there's so little there I wanted. many anime and manga from Japan, rarities. things like the trading cards, the jewelry and what not don't tempt me whatsoever, even tho I feel the eagerness all around me. I once went to a baseball card show, where people were more interested in the crispness of the card's edge than in what was on the card. I just like seeing pictures of Shoeless Joe or Old Hoss Radburn (I saw a team picture once with Old Hoss one of the team, and he's blatantly got his middle finger extended. this is a 19th century ballplayer we're talking here). we took in a panel by a manga producer, TokyoPop. under our chairs were pens that, when you pull them, make a fart sound. cool. this was in honour of a series of manga featuring these 2 boys who solve crimes or problems using their farts. true. for little children. this publisher produces new work and licenses stuff from Japan, Korea and Germany. a lot of sci fi and fantasy stuff, also edgy stuff. one was about a young woman who routinely cuts herself, which, it was explained, is a problem affecting 1% of the Japanese population. the crowd was eager for any and all info. I'd say there were as many teen girls as boys attending this panel, but quite a few older folk as well. they gave away manga, so I have one. I almost bought a few more, there were some cheapos in the swag room, but I was feeling a little weary of pouring the money out. maybe today, we're in for the weekend, tho maybe Beth will want to take my place sometime.