Japanamerica Night at Kinokuniya! Tomorrow!

Tomorrow night, starting at 6 PM, is Kinokuniya Bookstore's Japanamerica Night, featuring authors and artists including Roland Kelts, Hiroki Otsuka, June Kim, James Barry, and Melissa DeJesus all speaking about Japan and its influence on everything that they do. Also, the New York Anime Festival's donated 33 pounds of swag that'll be given out to anyone who shows up in costume. And, looking at the forecast, it's not supposed to be that bad tomorrow night. Snow flurries are expected, but it could be worse.

And there's an even bigger reason to show up to Japanamerica Night tomorrow night! Two more special guests! Newton Grant from The Escapist Magazine and... me! Newton's a long time friend who long, long ago used to be my boss. Now, he works at www.escapistmagazine.com, most known for Zero Punctuation by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, a delightful weekly videogame review that's filled with more cussing than actual review. Newton's in NYC on ultra top secret business that has nothing to do with playing Gears of War and watching The Venture Bros. in my apartment, and he'll be at Japanamerica Night to answer questions about why Yatzhee is so angry.

And, beyond Newton, as I said, you can also look forward to seeing me. If you saw me at the New York Anime Festival, I was the guy in the staff shirt and suit jacket who looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Tomorrow night, I'll be the guy in the yellow shirt and corduroy jacket who looks like he hasn't slept in almost a week.

Newton and I aren't technically special guests, but we'll both be there, both love Kinokuniya, and both helped put the night together. Wait, Newton didn't, but you should still talk to him. He's got three kids and great stories about each of them. His oldest dressed as Napoleon for Halloween. Honest! As for me, what'll I say? Don't know, but if Kinokuniya's gotten its liquor license, expect me to talk about New York Anime Festival 2008's bands and guests months before I'm supposed to.

If Kinokuniya still lacks a liquor license, I'll -- instead -- probably be chatting about their cafe's intriguing take on creme brulee. I've been a big fan of creme brulee ever since I ate ten or so bowls of it at a buffet in Vegas, and Kinokuniya has a dessert that's a conceptual creme brulee, kinda sorta inspired by the dish but definitely not what you'd expect to see in a traditional burnt cream.

I've got definite opinions on what makes a good creme brulee, and I hope to share them with you tomorrow!