Another scattered, incoherent post coming up here. I suppose it reflects my state of mind this week.
Random: Good news for CLAMP fans, I read here earlier that William Flanagan, who translates xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle for Del Rey is in negotiations to translate Mangettes for Dark Horse. You know what a big fan of his xxxHolic translations I am (he also translates Mushishi, which I love as well), so I was pleased to hear he may be working on more CLAMP!
In unrelated news, I just want to point gleefully at another Banana Fish convert! :D
NYAF: Next week is approaching more rapidly than I realized, and suddenly I’m in a flurry of preparation for NYAF. I lived in New York City for a very long time, so it’s always nice for me to go back, because it means I can meet up with friends I haven’t seen for a while. So when I realized the NYAF dates were approaching, I e-mailed a few people, telling them why and when I was going to be in town, and assuring them I’d have lots of free time in-between panels and such to meet them for lunch, dinner, whatever. And then I made myself a schedule. Heh. Um. Maybe breakfast?
Granted, it’s tentative, at least two of the things I’m interested in are at the same time, and chances are, I’ll get there and decide not to attend half of them anyway, but still. Not much room for a social life, especially since I’ll be wanting to spend a little time in the dealer hall, and lots of time at artist alley, which will eat up a lot of whatever free time I make for myself. The yellow items are the ones I can’t bear to miss, and those aren’t so many, which is good I suppose. But the truth is, I love panels. I’m a panel person. I love listening to people talk about things that are meaningful to them, and joining in when discussion is appropriate. I tend to be a loner at cons, even when I’m there with other people (which will not be the case at NYAF), and I’m not exactly sure how to explain why I like it that way, but I do. I suppose it’s a selfish thing really, keeping myself free to do whatever I want, whenever I want. A throwback to my old single life, perhaps. In any case, there I’ll be, getting very well acquainted with room 1A24, from the looks of it.
The only con I’ve ever routinely attended at the Javits center is Macworld, back in the day. It will be nice to return, though much less convenient than it used to be, when I could just walk there from my apartment. If any of my old neighborhood folks are reading this, I’m thinking the Westway Diner is the best candidate for those elusive breakfast/lunch/dinner/whatevers. Just like old times, hey?
This entry needs to be put out of its misery, so. Yeah. Later.
Ed Sizemore says
September 18, 2008 at 7:40 amMelinda,
I’m a big William Flanagan fan too. Two years ago he set up a website to talk about his experiences as a translator. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Japan and stopped updating the site. One thing I gathered reading his posts was that he is the go to guy for translating esoteric works. I think that’s why he got hired to do Xxxholic and Mushishi. I really miss his posts and wish he had time to continue working on the website.
I’m working on my NYAF schedule too. My focus is getting my Vampire D books signed. Everything else is gravy. I most likely will got to the Del Rey panel since it’s the best chance to say hi to Brigid from Mangablog. I’ve also got to find time to make it over to Kinokuniya and get some more stationery supplies. They have the coolest stuff.
Hope you got some good reading for the trip to NYC. Safe travels.
Melinda Beasi says
September 18, 2008 at 9:51 amI suppose as long as he’s still translating the manga I’m such a fan of, I’ll just hope he’s really happy living in Japan. But I admit I would love to read his website if he ever updated it again. :)
I really wish I’d been a manga fan (or a fan of Japanese pop culture in general) when I was living in New York, because there are so many great stores there, and now I’m living where there are none. Heh. I’ve never even been in to Kinokuniya. I’m glad they have a booth at the con.
As for reading materials for my trip, I currently have squat. Hm. Better get on that. At least it is a much shorter trip than my last one.
Safe travels yourself! :) You are on my little list of people I hope to muster the nerve to say hi to, so I do hope I run into you there.
Ed Sizemore says
September 18, 2008 at 10:16 amIf you have some free time you have to go to Kinokuniya. The new three story location is awesome. It’s only about 1.31 miles from the Javits Center according to Mapquest.
Hope to see you there. We can show off our Xxxholic finds!
Melinda Beasi says
September 18, 2008 at 10:21 amAh ha, if it’s where they list it on the website, you’re right, and it’s almost a straight shot from the Javits Center by subway or on foot. I’ll definitely try to make it over there!