Waaaa…..strangely disturbing and amusing at the same time…

It shouldn’t be a novelty for women to do this anymore. It’s 2011.

Sister Sin is a Swedish metal band that stays true to the 80s style metal genre. They have been together since 2002. Give them a listen ON THE INTERNET NOW, because no media in my country will cover anything without manjunk, which is disgraceful.

You would think that AT LEAST so-called “feminist” magazines would cover bands like this, but they don’t even do it. The thing that gets my ass in a tizzy is that it seems that even movements that started out being about freedom and solidarity end up being turned into a fashion label. That isn’t to say that there aren’t awesome people involved with these types of things, but there definitely is an overarching marketing concept in the media that to be X you must like Y. I don’t get it.

After being quite ostracized in my Women’s Studies major program for not wearing the right pants, I came to the conclusion that there is such a thing as being too up your own ass. Your own ass might be an awesome thing, but stepping outside your own ass to look at some other asses can be refreshing. Different types of pants are valid as long as the person wearing the pants is nice and respectful.

I have had such a busy few months! I think most of my time is spent on the phone with companies, going to other cons, or coordinating on-site activities.

We are forming a con-staffer MAFIA that spans most of the northeast and generally raising the bar all over. Being able to have a friendly relationship with most other events is really exciting because you teach each other different ways of thinking. THIS RIGHT HERE is how the scene gets better. This here is how we put GOOD THING back into our lives!

I never complain unless I am prepared to do something about it. Well here it is and there i be. I’m LIKE POPEYE WITH A CHAINSAW OH BOY YEAH!

The fans are strong! The scene has indeed been hit by the economic downturn, but the fans still organize these great shows – which BTW, if you care about fandom and the arts, you should be supporting your local independently run convention verbally if you can’t support them financially. Can’t afford to go? Bargain admission cost with them if you volunteer to staff in return. There are so many great way to make your mark.

These events are all started by people like you and me – now that I have my own convention I understand very clearly all of the logistics that go into them and how hard all of the staff of each event works to make it happen. Just as I was and still am a vocal advocate of cons treating webcomics and artists better, I am now also an advocate of artists realizing how hard these con staffers work. It surely give you a great perspective when you have worked on both sides. I HIGHLY recommend every artist volunteer as staff at least once and every staff member work a table at least once at an event.

Things with Intervention are smoking along nicely. Each week there are more big things popping up. I spend a large amount of time on telecons with companies figuring out how I can best help them reach their goals. That’s why I’m so good at the sponsorship thing- I really get in there and work my butt off for them.

Foam Brain Games, 4Imprint, Think Geek, Squishable, LH Productions, and Toy Vault have returned. Newcomers for this year are WACOM, who is giving me Intuous4 tablets and iPad styluses (styli?) to give away at Intervention and Smith Micro who is giving me a bunch of copies of Manga Studio Debut and EX and Anime Studio Debut and Pro to give away at the con.

This is just the start. I am already working with companies to get feedback from them to figure out how I can improve and serve their goals better.

My end goal isn’t me getting a jaunty yacht covered in diamonds or a Flaming Crown of Awesome. The way I stay focused is envisioning being able to hook up my staff and supporters and help other cons where possible. The people backing me up are really the investors in the idea. These are the people who look at me and said, “Hey this is crazy, but Oni might just pull this off.” These are the people who stood the hell up when I truly needed it.

There are 2 kinds of people on the planet. There are people who will stand up when you need it and people who will flap their gums at you and sit down. I cannot wait until I can make this the best that it can be so that the former knows how much I appreciate them.

P.S. REGISTER NOW for my awesome con. Because holy moly, it’s going to take EPIC up to another notch this year. And by the by – if you are attending, you have the power to shape our programming. Suggest your panel ideas here.

I haven’t tried it out yet, but I just downloaded it myself. :D You can’t beat the price of “Free”.

Click here to get t.

I recently watched some classic Sesame Street with Harknell. I cant get over how good it was! Many of the skits are still entertaining even as an adult! I cat say the same for the new version of Sesame Street. I have no idea what they are thinking – children’s programming has really jumped the shark today. They now have the Cookie Monster talking about vegetables to “combat child obesity”! How stupid!

Here’s an idea. You want to combat child obesity? Let’s stop cutting education and community resources for kids and focus on the parents having to take responsibility. My Mom never once blamed a TV show for something her kids did – she knew it was her job to teach them right and wrong.