Water + Otakon = Meme?

“I got your ice cold water! And it’s only one dollar!”

If you were at Otakon 2011 for any length of time, you are not only familiar with the above words, but they are tattooed onto your brain.

From Thursday through early Sunday afternoon, one of the numerous beverage vendors lined up along Pratt Street outside of the Baltimore Convention Center is standing out from the rest. More ripped than Major Armstrong, clad in sunglasses, shorts, and (why not?) a weight belt, the vendor enthusiastically sings over and over into a bullhorn the following chant:

“I got your ice cold water!
And it’s only one dollar!
I got your ice cold water!
And it’s only one dollar!
I got your ice, ice,
Cold, cold
Ice, ice
Cold, cold
I got your ice cold water…”

The chant appeared to be set to the theme from “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.” Peddling nothing more than half-liter bottles of Nirvana brand water, his simple yet unique approach to advertising drew crowds and their cameras. At one point, even Otakon staff members were seen filming his pitch for inclusion on the website.

“Can I autotune you?” an attendee in the crowd asks, his Droid already recording.

The man behind the bullhorn goes by the name of Josh. He and his wife Candice, who assists with sales, are Baltimore residents and were also present at Otakon 2010, sans musical chant. During their four sixteen-hour workdays outside the convention center, the couple estimates that over 100 cases of water were sold. “Honestly, I’ve lost count,” Candice says. At twenty-four bottles to a case, this translates to a gross profit of close to $2500, minus the Baltimore street vendor fees.

During Otakon’s hiatus, Josh’s day job is living proof as to why he is so overzealous about hydration.

“Personal trainer,” he says before turning away to complete another sale.

He may be a quiet man when it comes to conversation, but Josh was noticeably appreciative of his new fans. He posed for photographs, performed for rolling video cameras, and never forgot a “thank you.” Before long, otaku passing by were giving the pair loose singles simply because of his notoriety.

His chant was being repeated by attendees. Pro- and anti-“ice cold water guy” messages were filling up Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Weight belts were flying off of local sporting goods store shelves, quickly becoming part of last-minute cosplay outfits.

OK, I made that last part up. Nevertheless, the fact that Josh and his catchy chant were circulating around the Internet like Google Plus invites could only mean one thing: he’s on his way to becoming the next meme. Cries of “ice cold water!” could very well replace “Marco!” or “Buttscratcha!” at future conventions. Heated, misspelled forum and Twitter debates will form over the exact words in the chant and to what melody it was set. And finally, Otakon enjoys a new stake of popularity that is NOT a fire alarm.

Meet Rachel, an attendee from Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has the distinction of purchasing the very last ice cold water from Josh and Candice. She laughed and admitted no real reaction when informed that she helped close the chapter of the net’s latest celebrity.

As for Josh and Candice? The batteries were removed from the bullhorn, the cooler’s lid was shut, and off they walked, presumably to watch “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.”

(Very special thanks to Lauren Orsini, who helped me out immensely with this post; do yourself a favor and check out her site, for her writing pwns all that is pwnable)

PinHat

Wizard World East 2011 may now be part of the past, but few people know that, out of it, something new was born.

Whenever I travel to conventions (or pretty much anywhere), I inevitably come across pins or buttons. Sometimes they’re free, a form of promotion. Other times, they cost a very low price (I’ve seen tables offering anywhere from one to ten pins/buttons for $1). As a result, I’ve managed to get my hands on a number of these things, all of which I swear I will add to my apartment’s Pee-Wee-Herman-meets-Ernest-P.-Worrell decor. Aside from a few comic book-related pins (proudly residing in my comic book-themed bathroom) and a set of buttons displaying Bowser and his seven offspring (who knew the “Super Mario Bros.” villain was one Koopaling away from being Mushroom World’s OctoKoop?), the majority of my pointy souvenirs have collected dust on various structures in my room.

Well, I’ve decided to change all of that.

I went into a thrift store close to Wizard World’s downtown Philadelphia location and bought the following hat for $3

A close-up of its price tag:

The apparent lack of a decimal point on the store’s pricing gun initially makes this felt accessory seem a hell of a lot more expensive than it actually is. I considered leaving it on there until I realized that ACTUAL $300 hats out there probably wouldn’t be marked so with such pricing stickers. Also, they wouldn’t have the scent of discontinued brand soap permanently engrained into their fibers, a dead giveaway that the item came from a store with the word “dollar” and/or “thrift” in its name.

I’m going to attach all of my pins to this hat. The same goes for any pins I may acquire at future conventions or elsewhere.

When the entire hat is covered in pins and buttons, I will retire the “Blinky” hat, which has been a staple of my Inochiblog wear up to this point, and don this ridiculous accessory at each and every convention I cover in the future.

So far, the pins in my possession are the following:

Needless to say, they won’t do the job of completely covering the hat. With Otakon coming up in about a month and Intervention in September, my pin and button collection is certain to grow. My goal is to debut the hat at Anime USA 2011, assuming I have an appropriate (meaning embarrassing) amount of metal attached to it.

I’ve already started:

Pictured is a Link pin I acquired from Zenkaikon IV that originally joined the Blinky hat in my official Inochiblog costume. I figure it (and perhaps a soon-to-be-acquired Blinky pin) will be appropriate front-of-the-hat signage.

Wish me luck!

Free Stuff!

When you pay anywhere from twenty to seventy (yes, SEVENTY) dollars to get into a fan convention, only to be greeted by a floor full of dealers, artists, and celebrities thirsting for MORE of your money, it makes sense that free stuff is very sought after. At Wizard World conventions, where someone who hasn’t done even a sub-par movie since the advent of the VHS format charges twice the price of your admission to scribble down their own name, free stuff is pretty much all that the fans can afford before long.

As I spent Father’s Day weekend 2011 strolling around the floor of downtown Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center, browsing the offerings of Wizard World East 2011, I kept my sixth sense honed into any and all free stuff being offered. The most usual items offered include business cards, postcard-size fliers, posters, stickers, and pins. Very blah, in this blogger’s humble opinion (and if you don’t agree, start your own damn blog). Only truly unique freebies will have the distinction of making it onto the pages of Inochiblog here. Such as…

MASK

The folks at Avatar Press were promoting their latest offering, Crossed, with, among other things, an assortment of free masks. Presumably, the face held in place over your own by Burger-King-birthday-crown-quality straps is that of one of the main characters. I have no clue. All I *do* know is that the friends I was with at the time stated in no uncertain terms that they would refuse to associate with me were I to wear the mask. This greatly disappointed yours truly, who wished to view the entirety of “Green Lantern” later on that evening through the mask’s eye holes. According to a healthy number of critics out there, it would have served me well to have kept the eye holes covered while doing so.

BAG THAT IS LARGER THAN THE SWAG BAG OFFERED BY THE CONVENTION

I am in no way interested in joining the National Guard, primarily because I flat-out refuse to guard a nation that glorifies “American Idol” and overall stupidity. I must admit, however, that the bags its representatives brought to Wizard World were pretty decent, in that, as you can see, they are significantly larger than the bags given out by the convention itself. In fact, at many points, my official Wizard World East 2011 bag was INSIDE this one.

COIN

The National Guard does it again! This time, my tax dollars forged a freebie in the form of a rather colorful coin. Not a pin. Not a sticker. A damn COIN. True, the coin probably possesses the exact value (probably less) of the price I paid for it (jack shit), but it's still a damn COIN. I could, like, flip it and stuff. I could be an exceptionally patriotic Two Face. For all I know, that's where the former Harvey Dent is headed upon DC Comics' universe revamp this coming September.

MINTS

MyPHL17, Philadelphia’s Tribune Broadcasting-owned television network, had a presence at the convention. In addition to freebies like posters and stickers, the table’s underpaid associates greeted the top and bottom of each hour with a spin of a large prize wheel sitting upon their table. Spaces on the wheel were reserved for various MyPHL17 syndicated programs, including “Family Guy,” “Burn Notice,” “Big Bang Theory,” etc. If a contestant correctly answers a trivia question about the program in question, he/she/it will win a small prize. Since said prize costs nothing more than your knowledge of syndicated television, it thus counts as a free item.

My correct guess at some question concerning “Burn Notice” landed me a tin of mints. In a convention full of people emitting breath that smells so rank it ALMOST overpowers their body odor, a tin of mints would seem totally out of place. However, I and my then-current bout of halitosis welcomed them with an open mouth.

COPIES OF “THE ONION”

The popular satire publication “The Onion” recently (within the past year) brought its free weekly newspaper to the streets of Philadelphia. Also represented via table at Wizard World East 2011, their offerings included the standard assortment of business cards, pins (including a great one reading “Fuck Off; I’m Reading the Onion”), etc. Also scattered around the table were free copies of a few past issues.

Works for me.

A HALL PASS

The Inkbot table got creative with their giveaways, at least when it came to their webcomic “Mallville.” Included among the assortment of postcards festooned with their URL and various titles was a mock hall pass, designed to tie directly in with the goings-on of Mallville.

Plus, the next time I happen to create extra-dimensional female trouble, I have proper documentation for my file.

Kotoricon 2011: Wrap-Up

Two days. Three campus buildings. Guests, vendors, performers, volunteers, artists, and of course otaku galore. Things have certainly come quite a long way for Gloucester County College’s Kotoricon anime convention. It seems like it was in its infancy only last year.

Oh, wait. It WAS in its infancy last year.

In the year’s worth of time bridging Kotoricon 2010, the debut convention, and Kotoricon 2011, the event grew by leaps and bounds in all areas. This is rather impressive for many reasons, a key one being that its freshman year was pretty remarkable itself. I appeared at Kotoricon 2010 to help promote Inochicon 2010 and was impressed with not only its offerings, but also the turnout. Anime fans and curious parties alike were drawn to this small college in a quiet New Jersey suburb to quench their anime/video game/comic book thirst while waiting for larger area conventions like Zenkaikon, Otakon, and AnimeNEXT to come back around again. It’s a safe bet, especially given the success of Kotoricon 2011, that not a single person left Kotoricon 2010 unsatisfied.

Sadly, I was not able to make the convention’s gaming tournaments on its opening day, but I was thankful to spend all day Saturday within the halls of the College Center. My sole complaint is that the time flew by too fast; I’m not sure if I can really fault Kotoricon staff for that drawback. While each of its many volunteers wore many hats and performed many duties throughout the day, slowing or outright halting the Earth’s rotation most likely wasn’t in the job description.

I have been to numerous conventions throughout the past few years, conventions which crowded fans of all sorts of genres into spacious convention centers and hotel floors. While Kotoricon of course is not on that scale, it nevertheless successfully captured the same positive, fun atmosphere that draws this blogger to such events. Everyone I passed had a smile on his or her face. Friendliness abounded.

A hilarious panel and screening by the group Underbelly, two stand-up comedy performances (Uncle Yo and Cosplay Comedian Joe), one of many musical acts (Reni), and the masquerade contest were the offerings in which I found myself during Kotoricon 2011. Additionally, I wandered the dealers’ rooms and artists’ alley, treating my eyes to the numerous pieces of merchandise being offered.

I’d personally like to thank Dr. Susan Glenn and her entire staff for not only continued assistance throughout the day, but also for the opportunity to blog for Kotoricon 2011. I look forward to Kotoricon 2012, which could very well encompass each building on the Gloucester County College’s campus.

Kotoricon Returns to Gloucester County College!

Kotoricon, a 2-day convention put on by the Gloucester County College’s anime club, is mere days away! The convention has the honor of being the first official event covered by Inochiblog.

On January 14-15, 2011, the convention will take over the College Center Building in the heart of the campus. Since the greater Philadelphia area is home to so few anime-only conventions, any and all anime fans in the region should do their best to check out the efforts of the Gloucester County College anime club’s staff. I personally attended the convention last year and was quite impressed with the offerings and crowd turnout.

Uncle Yo, Reni Mumura, Cosplay Comedian Joe, actor Robert Axelrod, and the L33tStr33t Boys are a mere sampling of the guests scheduled to appear and perform at Kotoricon. In addition to the guests, a schedule overflowing with panels, workshops, contests, and video screenings will keep attendees beyond satisfied throughout the event.

While a limited number of (cash only) tickets will be available at the door for $25, organizers urge you to pre-register online. Not only will you pay a mere $20 for admission, but you will also be guaranteeing an ample number of staff members to assist you during the event. The college’s Sewell, NJ location in suburban Philadelphia translates to easy access from not only the City of Brotherly Love, but also from Wilmington, Delaware; Trenton, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and all surrounding areas.

For more information, check out the convention’s website at http://anime.gccnj.edu.

See you there!