NYAF Mascot! Roar!

Over the past few weeks, the New York Anime Festival invited fans to design our 2008 mascot. What were the guidelines? None, really. We asked artists to create a mascot that embodied anime and New York City, but – beyond that – we wanted imagination to carry our artists away. Out of all the submissions – posted up on theOtaku.com – ten were selected as finalists, and these ten went toe to toe with attendees at AnimeNEXT last weekend in New Jersey. Attendees voted for their favorites all weekend long. And now, a week later, the dust has settled, the votes have been tallied, and we have a winner. Chibizilla!


Chibizilla is the creation of Quarteni, a 23-year-old artist currently living in Orlando, Florida. More of her work can be seen at quarteni.deviantart.com and betweenreality.com. I spoke with Quarteni over the weekend…

What was your inspiration for Chibizilla?: I was watching Godzilla vs. King Kong on TV. Then, when I sat down to come up with a mascot entry, it hit me. Chibizilla! King Kong is associated with New York City, which is why the Empire State Building is in Chibizilla's clutches, and Godzilla is associated with Japan – and chibis are synonymous with anime! NYAF brings Japanese anime and New York City together, so I did the same with Chibizilla!

What software and materials did you use to make Chibizilla?: I used pencil, paper, ruler, Sakura micron pens, and Photoshop.

What do you do when not creating mascots?: I really enjoy drawing, creating content for computers (icons, desktops, screensavers, etc.), reading a variety of books, editing manga, web/graphic design, and of course anime and manga! I'm also currently preparing my portfolio to go out into the market and start my career.

What do you ultimately want to do?: I'd really enjoy drawing or editing manga as a career. I’d like to try voice acting (not strictly anime related). It also would be nice to be able to run my own business someday, too.

What do you think of when you think of New York City?: I think of the amazing architecture of the older buildings, pizza, the museums, the intriguing history, and many of my favorite comic book heroes whose stories take place in NYC.

What was the first thing you thought when you learned you won?: OH NO!! I won?! XD There were a lot of really great entries this year. I'd like to tip my hat to everybody who entered, everybody who voted, and everybody who has a part in the NYAF and the mascot contest. I'm really very honored to have my design chosen as the mascot this year.

What’s the first thing you want to do at NYAF?: Meet Peter Fernandez and ask him to sign my Speed Racer VHS.

Do you have a message for aspiring artists?: Practice constantly! Look at the world around you and always try to learn something from it. Also, take criticism and build from it. Show your art to anybody and everybody you can – friends, family, and even the professionals, too!

Who would win in a fight, Chibizilla or The Cloverfield Monster?: I'm sure the Cloverfield Monster would fall victim to Chibizilla's cuteness! <3

Look for Chibizilla and Quarteni at New York Anime Festival 2008!

Boredom or Genius

The crack BEA marketing team chose to send almost 5,000 BEA labeled pens with Steve and I to the ALA show in Anaheim.  So in a stroke of complete genius Steve came up with the idea of building a tower of pens.  After several design variations and ensuing crashes, we believe we have found the proper architectural technique and have the infamous "BEA Loves Librarians" Pens piled up to the towering height of two plus feet!

Not just a time kill, our writing implement based quest for the heavens has drawn in more than 10 librarians at a a time (apparently as bored as we are) to watch us build, and much like a NASCAR race, secretly wait for a crash.  Like a magician at a country fair, we entertain them with our building style and clever quips, while we inform them about BEA.  

Ah, yes, the life of the BEA Director on the cutting edge of marketing.....

-L

Common Good Books in the Guardian

The Guardian has a nice piece on Garrison Keillors bookstore, Common Good Books (where my buddy Marty toils amongst the stacks) that you can check out here.  The only catch is that they mention that the store just opened when it's been in business for over a year.  My favorite part of the store (and there's a lot to like) is the sign over the mass market paperback table that reads, "Quality Trash."

-L

News You Can Use - Beer Prices at the Ballpark

Baseball and beer, two passions of mine.  Check out the chart I found on a CNBC blog. Note that not only are my beloved Twins riding a 9 game winning streak, but they offer a hell of a value on the suds.....

-L

World Cosplay Summit Returns To NYAF

Last year was NYAF's first year. Looking back, I think we had a pretty good show, and one of our highlights was definitely the World Cosplay Summit Masquerade. A lot of anime conventions have cosplay contests, but none have one like NYAF. The winners of last year's Masquerade -- Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger -- were crowned Team USA and will be traveling to Japan at the end of July to compete against cosplayers from around the globe in the Olympics of Cosplay -- the World Cosplay Summit Finals.

This year's NYAF will be bigger and better, and I'm very happy to announce the World Cosplay Summit will be joining us again for an even more grandiose Masquerade, giving another team the chance to win a trip to Japan and represent the USA in an international cosplay competition!

This year's New York Anime Festival Masquerade takes pace September 27, 2008, and the clock is ticking. Get to work on your skits and costumes and register at newyorkanimefestival.com!

What's This?

What's this? Maybe the results of the 2008 New York Anime Festival Mascot Contest. When will these results make sense? Maybe tomorrow.

Come See Satoshi Kon!

What are you doing this Friday? Hmmm? Battlestar ain't coming back until 2009, so you've got no excuse to stay at home. What do I recommend you do? Welcome visionary director Satoshi Kon to New York City!

Satoshi Kon will appear at The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater for a complete retrospective of his work from June 27 to July 1. The Film Society of Lincoln Center is screening all four of his feature films, as well as the entirety of his television series -- Paranoia Agent.

And following the 6:15 PM screening of Paprika on Friday, June 27, Kon will come onstage for a conversation about the depths of his stunning career.

If you'd like to take in Satoshi Kon's Paprika and meet the man, you can get your tickets right now at http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/kon.html.

A Secret Lego Vault & A Practical Application for Legos

I'm drooling like homer does when he thinks about doughnuts after watching the Gizmodo vid about the secret Lego vault (see my previous post ). The link from my first post kind of sucks (I used the "auto blog" feature from Digg, and not very well apparently as the vid did not show up) so just try going here - Secret Lego Vault. It's amazing.

More amazing still? When I look at the still photos from the Gizmodo post, I have most of the kits (including the one pictured here. In fact this may be the first "space" kit I remember getting)

I decided to build a kayak holder this weekend and I can't really draw out plans in 3D (let's be honest, I was really proud of myself for attempting plans at all) so instead I built my proposed kayak holder out of Lego's and used that as my model. Not too shabby for the book and comic geek eh?

-L

PS - I realized after cutting all of the wood that I didn't have any nails.

PPS - That didn't stop me from still building it.

PPPS - Friendly advice, don't ever use my kayak rack, you'll regret it.

Lego Secret Vault Contains All Sets In History (VIDEO)

Amazing look into the Lego secret vault, where they store all the Lego sets ever created—4,720 boxes—since 1958: "Maybe that's why visiting Lego's Memory Lane touched me in a way I didn't expect. These were tickets to ride a time portal to emotions and simpler days long forgotten".

read more | digg story

Yoshitaka Amano Comes To NYAF!

I am very pleased -- very honored -- to announce the New York Anime Festival's latest Guest of Honor, Yoshitaka Amano. Mr. Amano is the artist behind the look and feel of Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D, and his work is known and loved by anime fans, gamers, and art collectors from around the world. He joins fellow Vampire Hunter D talents Hideyuki Kikuchi (the author behind the Vampire Hunter D novel series) and Kevin Leahy (the translator of the Vampire Hunter D novel series) at NYAF. All are Co-Sponsored by Dark Horse Comics.

Yoshitaka Amano began his career at Tatsunoko Productions where he served as a character designer for animated series including Gatchaman and Casshern. After 15 years with the studio, he chose to leave the comfort of a steady job to pursue his career as an artist. As a freelance illustrator, Amano contributed covers and illustrations to novels including Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, Kaoru Kurimoto's Guin Saga, and Yoshiki Tanaka's The Heroic Legend of Arslan, teamed with Mamoru Oshii to create the film Angel's Egg, collaborated with Neil Gaiman to make the award-winning graphic novel Sandman: The Dream Hunters, and partnered with video game studio Squaresoft to create the look and feel for the company's flagship Final Fantasy series.

Mr. Amano has worked with media including pencils, ink, paint, ceramic, stained glass, and fabric, and exhibitions of his work have taken place in cities including Tokyo, London, Paris, Berlin, and New York City.

I hope you'll join me this September at the New York Anime Festival as we welcome Yoshitaka Amano to NYC.

Next NYAF Guest of Honor Coming Saturday!

The New York Anime Festival is at AnimeNEXT in New Jersey all weekend long. We're manning a booth, giving out posters and chopsticks, and running our 2008 Mascot Contest. We've also got a panel at 12 PM on Saturday where we'll generally make asses of ourselves and -- oh yeah -- announce NYAF's next Guest of Honor.

If you're not coming to AnimeNEXT, no worries. Instead, just be sure to head on over to www.mediumatlarge.net at 1 PM, as we'll be revealing our newest Guest of Honor right here to the whole, wide internet.

New York Anime Festival Mascot Finalists!

The New York Anime Festival and our friends at theOtaku.com have narrowed down all the entries to this year’s mascot contest to 10 finalists. It was tough. It was very, very tough. We have to thank everyone who participated and were floored by the quality and creativity every character radiated. But, we had to choose only 10, and here they are…

http://theotaku.com/fanart/view/254669/summer_in_the_city
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255709/the_city_that_never_sleeps
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255731/nyaf_mascot
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255626/nyaf_mascot
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255603/ninja_cabby
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255599/chibizilla
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255604/nyaf_mascot
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255476/nyaf_mascot_contest
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/255321/ny_sun
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/254757/umami_%28contest_entry%29

The New York Anime Festival will be set up all three days at AnimeNEXT, with its attendees voting for the winner. (We’re glad we don’t have to make the call.) We’ll be reporting back with the 2008 Mascot next week!

One Day Left in the NYAF Mascot Contest!

Just a reminder that there's one day left to enter the New York Anime Festival's 2008 Mascot Contest. We're giving you a chance to get your art seen by over 15,000 fans (and also get some awesome prizes)!

You can enter here...

http://theotaku.com/worlds/official/view/17883/nyaf_mascot_contest_announcement/

You can see the current entries here...

http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/tags/nyaf_mascot

A big thanks to our friends at theOtaku.com for hosting the contest!

Tim Russert at BookExpo 2006

Tim Russert was the Opening Night Keynote Speaker at BEA in 2006 and we've podcasted his talk from the event on the BookExpo Cast site and in the player I've posted here.

I got the chance to meet Tim and his son Luke in the green room before the event and the stories that have been told for the last 4 or 5 days about him rang very true in my brief encounter with him. He immediately struck me as a warm guy, intensely proud of his son and eager to learn about other people......
During his speech Tim welcomed BEA to Washington D.C. and shared his insights on family life as well as Washington politics. Tim is introduced on the podcast briefly by myself and Random House Senior Editor Susan Mercandetti.

On behalf of BookExpo America and booksellers and bookbuyers everywhere, Tim’s wisdom and words will be missed.

-L

Tim Russert and My Friend Connor

I came in this morning and had an email waiting for me from, Deb, on of my co-workers on BEA regarding Tim Russert and one of her customers. Deb is a sales executive on the show who works with literally hundreds of companies to help them have a great experience at BEA. This is not a small task to take the time to work with each of these businesses to assure they have the best event possible, but Deb does it marvelously. This year she had one customer in particular that she was really passionate about helping and it turns out that this customer of Deb's also had a friend in the late Mr. Russert. I'll let Deb share the storey with you......

-L

BookExpo America has had many remarkable keynote speakers over the years. From Presidents to Comedians, they were all entertaining and all drew a crowd. Some made us laugh and some made us cry, but Tim Russert was probably the keynote speaker we "trusted" the most. He was kind, persistent and often asked the questions that were the hardest to ask and got the answers Americans were waiting to hear each Sunday.

In addition to America caring about what Tim Russert had to say, he also cared about what the average American had to say. For instance, "Wisdom of our Fathers" is made up of letters and life lessons collected by everyday people who shared stories of their own relationships with their fathers. Part of my job at BookExpo is to work with the first time exhibitors to make the best of what being at BEA can offer them.One such book I had the pleasure to help get off the ground at BEA this year is called "America according to Connor Gifford" with Victoria Harris. Tim Russert shared in my passion for helping Connor and Victoria to make this book become a success and had plans over the next few months to help share all that Connor has to say with America. That's just the kind of man he was.Thank you, Tim Russert, for caring about new authors and for helping them to be heard thru their words.

-Deb McManus

The New York Asian Film Festival is Here!

New York City is home to hundreds if not thousands of film festivals, and it’s amazing that amid all the prestigious and red carpet events that a little black sheep could come into town and quickly become one of the biggest, best, and most quirky film festivals in New York City and the entire country. This little sheep? The New York Asian Film Festival. Since 2002, it has brought Asia’s brightest, most explosive, and most important films to New York City, and 2008 is poised to be the Asian Film Festival’s biggest year yet -- with 43 feature films screening between June 20 and July 6!

The New York Anime Festival knows the team behind the New York Asian Film Festival, and the show’s acclaim and fanbase are no accident. They are the result of the hard work and sleepless nights of everyone whose hands are involved in the event, and I strongly encourage you to head out to the New York Asian Film Festival this year as there’s a wide world of Asian cinema out there -- with anime just the beginning.

Some highlights from this year’s New York Asian Film Festival…

L: CHANGE THE WORLD -- The Death Note movies were massive hits in Japan, and now the latest installment in the series hits screens courtesy of Hideo Nakata, director of the landmark horror film The Ring. This time around it's L, the teen, goth Sherlock Holmes who takes center stage to solve a new, sinister mystery. This summer blockbuster is like a candy bar for your brain.

DORORO -- Osamu Tezuka's rip-roaring action manga hits the big screen in a big-budget movie that's like Lord of the Rings on acid. A female thief teams up with a swordsman who's hunting the missing 48 parts of his body, stolen by a whole cursed zoo of demons who scuttle across the screen in all their spider/slug/baby monster glory.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES -- Kiriko Nananan's manga Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries hits the big screen in a movie that refuses to insult your intelligence. It's what Sex and the City would have been if it had been about the lives of real women in a real city, rather than a cartoon for adults set in a fictional New York. Considered by many to be the best Japanese film of 2006, this is essential viewing and the best of what manga on the big screen can mean.

Excited yet? For the full film listing, showtimes, and tickets, visit subwaycinema.com!

Lolita Day Pictures!

The New York Anime Festival, Kinokuniya Bookstore, Del Rey Manga, Samurai Beat Radio, and VIZ Pictures teamed up for Lolita and Maid Fashion Day on June 7, 2008. If you missed it, you can experience it now online thanks to the photography of Petrina Cheng!

http://www.nyanimefestival.com/en-us/591.cfm

See Bleach! Win A Prize!

Tomorrow night is Bleach: The Movie - Memories of Nobody's NYC premiere. Taking place June 11 at 7 PM at the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 Theater, the premiere will be introduced by Masashi Kudo, Bleach's character designer, Ken Hagino, the movie's producer, and a giant suffed Kon. Tickets are available now at fathomevents.com.

And! And! And! If you're one of the first 50 to print out this post and bring it with you, you'll receive a special present from VIZ! What is it? You'll have to go to the premiere to find out!

Check Out The NYAF Mascot Submissions

Our contest to find a mascot for the NY Anime Fest this fall is only a week or so old with another week or so to go and already we've got some amazing art. Check out the submissions so far at The Otaku.

Don't forget that you've got until June 18 to submit your creation to become the official NY Anime Fest Mascot. Get all the details from Peter's post here.

-L

Win Tickets To Bleach: The Movie!

The New York Anime Festival -- thanks to our generous friends at VIZ Media --- is happy to announce we have four pairs of free tickets to a New York City screening of Bleach: The Movie - Memories of Nobody!

The tickets are all to a screening that begins at 7:30 PM on June 12 (this is not the NYC premiere event, but a screening that takes place the day after). What do you need to do to win? Simply be one of the first four to make a post in the Bleach: The Movie section of the NYAF Messageboard...

http://www.newyorkanimefestival.yuku.com/topic/590

I'll be Private Messaging the first four to post, and they'll each take home a pair of free tickets!

If you're not one of the first four and want to attend, you can buy tickets to Bleach: The Movie at fathomevents.com.

Lolita and Maid Fashion Day at Kinokuniya was a success!

Lolita and Maid Fashion Day at Kinokuniya was a success! A huge success! A we-couldn't-fit-any-more-people-in-the-store success! I couldn't believe that there were over 75 people waiting in line, some as early as 6 AM, to get in. And, as the day went on, I couldn't believe we fit well over 300 fans into Kinokuniya Bookstore for a celebration of lolitas, maids, and anime fandom!

My first thank you has to be to John Fuller and Kinokuniya Bookstore. I've got to thank John and Kinokuniya so, so much for letting us take over his store with cosplayers and chopstick fights. Second, thank you to Ali T. Kokmen and the good folks at Del Rey Manga for all the support, swag, and for bringing Maid Machinegun out in the USA. Third, thank you Megumi Sato and Samurai Beat Radio for coming in and joining the party. Megumi interviewed a lot of the attendees as well as me, and we'll all be broadcast on the radio in Japan. Fourth, thanks have to go to Mika and Manami from VIZ Pictures for supporting us with posters and Kamikaze Girls. Fifth, thanks must be given to Amber Rutland for her passionate lolita fashion panel and all the lolitas who came in to support her.

Finally, I have to thank the 300+ fans who came to Lolita and Maid Fashion Day in the 90+ degree weather. You could have spent this time waiting in line for a Wii Fit or watching Saturday morning cartoons, but you trekked over to Kinokuniya to spend the day with me. Thank you! I hope you all enjoyed yourself, and I hope to have more get togethers and meet ups soon.

The New York Anime Festival is in September, but I plan to see you long before that.

Lastly, if you couldn't get a copy of Maid Machinegun or Kamikaze Girls (as both sold out), just stop by Kinokuniya any time and they'll be happy to reserve a copy for you, and you'll be sure to receive it as soon as they're back in stock. And expect to see pictures from Lolita and Maid Fashion Day in the next few days, too!

A Twit who Tweets

Now, thanks to no popular demand, you can get more incoherent half witted thoughts from me on Twitter!

Check me out at Lance's Twitter site or by using the handy widget on the upper right side of Medium at Large.

L

Win A NYCC Exclusive Raiden Figure From Kotaku

Did you pick up the limited-edition Metal Gear Solid Raiden action figure at New York Comic Con this year? If you missed it, you've got another chance as the guys at Kotaku are giving one away. What's it take? A mustache. Really.

http://kotaku.com/5013768/make-a-snake-stache-win-limited-edition-raiden-figure

Lolita and Maid Fashion Day is Tomorrow!

What are you up to tomorrow? Trying to find a Wii Fit? Gazing through the Telectroscope? Some humorous third thing? Cancel your plans as the New York Anime Festival and partners Del Rey Manga, Samurai Beat Radio, and VIZ Pictures are proud to present the first Lolita and Maid Fashion Day at the largest Japanese bookstore in North America -- New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore. Taking place Saturday, June 7 in celebration of International Lolita Day, Kinokuniya Bookstore located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan will present a day-long series of events showcasing the diverse world of cute, cool, elegant, and hip fashion in modern Japan.

Lolita and Maid fashion have quickly become two of the most prolific ambassadors of anime, manga, and Japanese culture in America, and the New York Anime Festival couldn't be happier bringing these fashions to New York City -- the fashion capital of the world.

Kinokuniya's Lolita and Maid Fashion Day will include special all-day activities as well as a series of Lolita and Maid-themed speakers and presentations…

Kinokuniya Lolita And Maid Fashion Day All-Day Events

Anime And Manga Discount: Any customer who comes into Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Avenue of the Americas on Saturday, June 7 wearing a Lolita or Maid dress or anime, manga, or video game cosplay will receive 10% off all anime and manga purchases.

Lolita And Maid Sweets: Café Zaiya on Kinokuniya's second floor presents a special menu of Lolita and Maid-themed desserts made especially for Lolita and Maid Day

Lolita And Maid Fashion Day Giveaway: All customers who come into Kinokuniya Bookstore can enter to win a number of prizes from Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, and VIZ Pictures. Prizes include a collection of 100 of Del Rey Manga's best-selling and fan-favorite books, free tickets to this September's New York Anime Festival, and select films from the VIZ Pictures catalog. Winners will be drawn at the end of the day, and customers must be present to claim their prizes.

Kinokuniya Lolita And Maid Fashion Day Event Schedule

10 AM: Kinokuniya Bookstore opens. The first 50 customers dressed in Lolita or Maid dresses or anime, manga, or video game cosplay will receive a Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Gift Bag including presents from Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, and VIZ Pictures.

10 AM to 3 PM: Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Tea Party. All customers who order a cup of tea from Kinokuniya's Café Zaiya between 10 AM and 3 PM will receive a complimentary assortment of Japanese treats along with their drink.

3 PM to 4 PM: An Introduction to Lolita and Maid Fashion. An overview of the diverse world of fashion in modern Japan. Lolitas and Maids are just the beginning.

4 PM to 4:30 PM: Akiba-Kei Music Scene. Maid fashion began in Tokyo's Akihabara. Samurai Beat Radio presents a look into Akihabara's music scene today, how it influenced Maid fashion, and how Maid fashion now influences Akihabara's music.

4:30 PM to 5 PM: A Reading from Maid Machinegun. Maid Machinegun, a new light novel from Del Rey Manga, follows the misadventures of Aaliyah, a recent recruit at one of Akihabara's busiest Maid Cafés. Del Rey Manga presents an overview of the world of Maid Machinegun, including a special greeting from the author written just for today and selected readings from the book.

5 PM to 7 PM: Screening of Kamikaze Girls. Momoko is a super-sweet Lolita. Ichigo is a tough-talking thug. They couldn't have come from more different worlds, but somehow the two become the closest of friends and embark on the most incredible of adventures. Screened with permission from VIZ Pictures.

7 PM: Raffle Drawing. 100 books from Del Rey Manga and free tickets to the New York Anime Festival are just two of the prizes up for grabs in the Lolita and Maid Fashion Day Giveaway. Customers can enter all day long, and to win, they'll have to be present at 7 PM for the giveaway's drawing.

Kinokuniya Bookstore, Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, Samurai Beat Radio, and VIZ Pictures invite anime fans, Lolita and Maid fashionistas, and New Yorkers up for a unique and unforgettable experience to come out to Kinokuniya's first Lolita and Maid Fashion Day tomorrow! I hope to see you there!

Bleach: The Movie Comes to NYC

The New York Anime Festival's friends at VIZ Media are throwing out all the stops with their upcoming NYC premiere of Bleach: The Movie - Memories of Nobody. Taking place at 7 PM at the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 Theater on June 11, the premiere will be introduced by Masashi Kudo, Bleach's character designer, Ken Hagino, the movie's producer, and a giant suffed Kon. If you're not planning on heading out to Bleach's NYC premiere, you better have an excuse. A good one.

Want tickets? Score them right here!

New York Anime Festival Mascot Contest

Earlier this year, New York Comic Con brought Stan Lee, Alex Ross, Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro, and many, many more American popular culture icons together. This Septembers, the organizers of New York Comic Con are going to bring the same focus and attention to Japanese pop culture with the New York Anime Festival.

But before the New York Anime Festival can take place, it needs a mascot – and the New York Anime Festival is looking for your help!

Just like the Olympics and Tokyo Anime Fair, the New York Anime Festival features a new mascot every time out, and for its second year, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival have teamed up to select the New York Anime Festival's 2008 mascot.

Between now and June 18, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival welcome artists and anime fans from around America to think about what “Anime” and “New York City” mean to them and draw these thoughts into an original character. Whether it's big, small, a towering mecha, or chibi, we want to see your entries!

Once all the entries are in, theOtaku.com and the New York Anime Festival will be selecting ten finalists that will be put on display at the New York Anime Festival booth at AnimeNEXT (June 20-22 in Secauscus, NJ). AnimeNEXT attendees will vote for their favorite, with the character receiving the most votes being crowned NYAF's 2008 mascot. On June 27, the winner will be revealed!

Sounds good? What are the rules?

1. You must be 13-years-old or older.

2. You must be a US or Canadian resident.

3. Your art must be original. (No using the characters from Gurren Lagann.)

4. Your art must be at least 300 dpi.

5. Your art must be in JPEG format.

6. You must fill in your full (real) name, e-mail address, age, and phone number on theOtaku.com's contest profile page.

7. Your entry must be tagged with the words "nyaf mascot".

What about the prizes?

This is your chance to get your artwork in front of over 15,000 anime fans! The 2008 New York Anime Festival mascot will grace the convention's program guide and appear on signs throughout the event, and to make sure the winner's name is known, he or she will be profiled in the New York Anime Festival's program guide beside the 2008 mascot. But it's not over yet, as the winning mascot will appear on the main page of theOtaku.com in September -- getting your artwork in front of all of theOtaku.com's visitors! And, there's more! The creator of the winning New York Anime Festival mascot will receive a copy of all of the New York Anime Festival's swag (T-Shirts, Posters…) and take home 10 weekend passes to both the 2008 New York Anime Festival and 2009 New York Comic Con! The nine other finalists will each receive a weekend pass to the New York Anime Festival!

So, break out the pencils, fire up the Photoshop, read through the official rules, and submit your original mascot right here!

Budo Grape at the Knitting Factory

I’m back in New York after a week in LA, and I’m happy to be home. I’ve missed the city, the people, and the culture, and almost as if throwing a welcome back party just for me, Karaterice and JapanFiles are presenting Budo Grape on Thursday, June 5 at the Knitting Factory.

The Knitting Factory’s at 74 Leonard Street, the show starts at 8 PM, and tickets are $10.

But what’s Budo Grape? A high energy, avant-garde band from Nagoya, Japan. All the members claim “Grape” is their last name and they come from “Neo-Nagoya.” You can listen to them online at http://www.myspace.com/budogrape. You know you want to.

Do You Have Pictures of the BEA Saturday Lunch?

Expect a candid (and maybe insightful) look back on what was a challenging BEA later today or tomorrow from me.

In the mean time, if anyone has pictures from the Saturday lunch when the BEA team served everyone thanks to the labor walk out, would you please let me know? I'd love to get some copies.

-L

A Little Green Room Chatter - Friedman

Tom Friedman delayed a trip to Israel to receive an honorary doctorate to speak at BEA. That's just the kind of guy he is, but what else would you expect from a Minnesota boy? Yup, Friedman hails from St. Louis Park, MN about 20 miles from where I grew up and a point I mentioned during my introduction for him (and a Twins update - they had beat the hated Yankees).

St. Louis Park also boasts The Coen Brothers and Al Franken - but they weren't at BEA this year, however the last time we were in L.A. was the infamous Al Franken - O'Reilly dust up. Perhaps every BEA in L.A. we'll feature another author from St. Louis Park.

-L

A Little Green Room Chatter - Baldwin

Damn it, I always forget my camera. Always. So no pic with Alec Baldwin, not even a pic with Stephen Baldwin. But I have a good story, and it'll explain this picture.

Alec was a very nice guy. He was the kind of celebrity that asks you a ton of questions. Maybe to deflect you from peppering him with them or maybe he really is interested in my job, where I'm from and what kind of high school student I was - who's to say?

Around the office it's not uncommon to end a meeting by saying "Mazel, Good Things" in the voice of Baldwins character Stan Indursky from Along Came Polly (a pretty forgettable Ben Stiller flick, but Baldwin's role is worth a Net Flix rental).

Just before everyone left the green room to go on stage, I gave an opening to Mike Carlucci from my team to do his impression in front of Baldwin. In turn Alec told us that the character is based on his entertainment lawyer and gave us about 2 minutes of top notch Indursky....

-L

A Little Green Room Chatter - Hodgeman

Wow, the weekend got away from me didn't it? Sorry for the lack of mogging but I just lost it on Saturday completely. Too many places to be, too many labor disputes to deal with, too many green room chats that I forgot my camera for to blog.

Here's a nice shot of John Hodgeman and I in the green room and after viewing it, The Editor In Chief commented, "Oh look, two nerds, in love." Yes, I fawned over Hodgeman a bit......

It was fun because, Just Some Random Guy, who did our awesome NY Comic Con viral vids, obviously patterned his wildly popular I'm a Marvel, I'm a DC vids after the commercial Hodgeman made wildly popular. So I was talkign with John about Random Guy and he knew of the I'm a Marvel, I'm a DC videos. Pretty cool, eh?

Incidentally, John was absolutely amazing on the Sunday morning breakfast panel - pure gold baby!

-L