Recent Liebster Award Nominations

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A big thanks to somethingaboutlynlyn at Popculturemecha and One Stop For All Entertainment for the nominations!

 I have not had a lot of time lately to post new content much less read new content so I was very surprised and happy to get the nomination.

The Rules

1) Thank and link back to your nominator.

2) Answer the 11 questions given by the nominator

3) Nominate other 5-11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers

4) Create 11 new questions for your nominees

5) Let your nominees know that you have nominated them via social media or their blogs.

Questions from somethingaboutlynlyn

1. If you could take a roadtrip anywhere, where would you go?

I currently want to to go to a dark sky park : The Headland in Michigan, USA. So I can see the night shy unimpeded by light pollution.

2. You have been elected to be the leader of your country.  What is your first action as leader?

Public financing of all elections, kick all lobbyists out of Washington,and push forward renewable energy programs.

3. If you could instantaneously change your appearance to be that of any anime character, who would you want to be able to change into?

Major Alex Louis Armstrong: The mightiest man ever to sparkle!

4.  Answer 1 of the following: name your top 5 worst actors in Hollywood, or your top 5 worst anime characters.

I really don’t have a good answer for this..

5. Rescue an anime character, or be rescued by an anime character.  Which one would you prefer and who would be the anime character?

I always kind of wanted to pull Tomoko from Watamote aside and tell her: relax, it’ll all turn out alright eventually.

6. You take a walk in the park and encounter a bear (yes, a bear).  You reach into your pocket to defend yourself and you pull out…

Keys. Shake em and make lots of noise. Hopefully the bear will run away.

7. If you could make any planet be made completely out of a single food product, which planet would it be and what would the food product be?

There is a really good pecan sticky roll that I love here in my town. I can never seem to have those often enough.

8. Are you my mommy?

Nope. I have enough children. Go ask the cat.

9. Give me an idea of who you would be if you were a character in an anime.

The sparkling Armstrong again…

10. You are part of a classic love triangle.  You encounter the two other members, the item of your affection, and your rival, in an elevator.  You have 3 choices: kiss your darling passionately, uppercut your rival, or leave the elevator.  Wait a second, youhave a fourth choice, which is to…

Loose all control of bodily functions making it unpleasant for everyone.

11. And last but not least, who are you?  Please be brief.

I am a a 45 year old dad who watches anime of course.

One Stop For All Entertainment’s Questions

  1. Cats or Dogs? I like both, but dogs if I was to choose.
  2. Most favorite anime opening or ending song. Kimino Shiranai Monogatari by Yanagi Nagi from Bakemonogatari
  3. Swords or Guns? Swords are cooler.
  4. Most annoying and an interesting anime character( Name two anime characters where in one is annoying and the other is interesting)? Annoying: I find the constant yelling of some shounen characters bothersome. Interesting: It’s not officially anime, but I stand by my decision for General Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  5. How were you introduced to anime? Well, I got my boys Dragonball Z and Naruto DVDs when they were younger, but I didn’t get into it until much later when I decided to randomly check out Clannad on Amazon Video.
  6. An anime/manga character you resemble the most. (not physical features ). Not Physical??? Hmmm… Maybe Akio Furukawa. I am kind of a weird dad.
  7. Which genre do you prefer the most? It depends on my mood.
  8. On a range of 1-10 rate on how much you socialize with people. 5?
  9. Have you ever cosplayed? Yes. Twice.
  10. Favorite voice actor? Don’t know if I have one in particular.
  11. Anime you have watched more than twice. Clannad and Clannad After Story.

My Questions

 1. What are you watching now?

2. What are you most looking forward to in the next 6 months?

3. Favorite desert?

4. What do you want to see adapted from a manga?

5. What music do you enjoy?

6. What is important to you?

7. Have you attended any conventions?

8. Favorite authors?

9. Where would you like to travel and why?

10. Is there a deeper level than entertainment in anime for you? In what way?

11. Is there an anime you’d like to see remade?

My Nominees

Liv’s Lair

DesMommy2

Mage In A Barrel

Anime Corps

Thanks again for the kind thoughts in nominating me. Feeling the love….

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Liv’s Lair

Cosplay With Kindness Documentary

Cosplay: Literally “Costume Play.” Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character).

Cosplay is often a fun way to express your fandom. It helps show others what you like, escape into a character, and bond with other fans be it characters from sci-fi, comic books, or anime.

I have cosplayed. My sons have as well. I have done Kensei Ma from Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple and Yuugo Tennouji , aka “Mr Braun” (Steins Gate). My son has done Kululu from Sgt. Frog.

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It’s fun. And I have had nothing but good experiences, as has my son. In fact, earlier this year at Anime Milwaukee, my son got invited to participate in the Masquerade (Cosplay competition) where everyone was very welcoming and supportive to him.

This, however, is not everyone’s experience.

I became aware that bullying was a thing in the cosplay community last year at Anime Midwest while attending voice actor, Greg Ayres’s panel: “Why Your Fandom Sucks”. He told a few horror stories where some fans take things too far and ruin the experience for others. It was through Greg Ayres’s Facebook page that I became aware of the documentary: “Cosplay With Kindness”.

The film maker was inspired to do this documentary after attending Greg Ayre’s “It Gets Better” panel at Anime-Zap. It is to address, and hopefully combat, bullying in the cosplay and convention going community.

Please support this project if you are able.

Go like their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CosplayWithKindness

Or help support their gofundme:
http://www.gofundme.com/CosplayDocumentary

And please visit their website to learn more:

http://cosplaywithkindness.org/

Cosplay and conventions should be fun. I remember when I saw the “Why Your Fandom Sucks” panel Greg saying (and I paraphrase): “There is no wrong way to cosplay. If you are not the same size, race, or gender as the character that you are cosplaying as: Who cares? You are being a fan. If your outfit is not professionally perfect: It doesn’t matter. You are being a fan and sharing your love of something with others.”

That struck a chord with me. As a  parent, and as a bit of an outcast myself, I appreciated this message. Support this project.

And more than anything else: Be kind!

-As a side note. It was my experience at Anime Midwest and seeing the Greg Ayres panel in 2014 that inspired me to start this blog.