New entries will appear at the top of the page with events in reverse chronological order.

Other feeds to check:
My flickr account (photos)
My twitter (tiny tweets)

Newest update:

I will be at ROFLcon on Saturday! And yes, I’ll be liveblogging/posting photos from that as well. Keep an eye on this site for that entry tomorrow.

[@9:19pm] Molasses slow internet connection at Middle East Upstairs, no liveblogging from here, that’s for sure.
But I managed to upload this for you guys:

Also we just ran into the Hello Kitty Avenger of Banditos Misteriosos fame. We’re getting our wires crossed! Oh noes!

[@8:25] This might be the final post of the night–dinner time in ROFLconland, we all invaded Central Square. Go fig, Miracle of Science was packed to capacity. Ramy and I went to Phoenix Landing down the street, deathly quiet. Another go fig. We’re now at Toscanninis and ROFLlers have invaded here as well.

Ramy got a cheeseburger at the Phoenix Landing. He didn’t realize why I started laughing when he ordered it.

A cheeseburger, he can has it. Rather he can… did …has it? And he says it was delicious. Thumbs up to Phoenix Landing!

In a half hour the ROFLcon music show (yes, the ROFLconcert) will start at the Middle East Upstairs — I’ll be taking photos but won’t liveblog from this, it’ll be pretty much impossible. When I get back to my apartment in East Arlington (I’m biking back!) post-show, I’ll upload my photos and do a brief write-up for you all.

One of the highlights of my day: I got my own post on UniversalHub. Sweeeeeeeeet.

[@5:51] Q: “How do you know when you’re fucking with the matrix?”
A1: “When the CIA contacts you.”
A2: “When more people are wearing gem sweaters.”

Good answers all.

Oh sweet. ROFLcon bingo.

[@5:42] Panel opened up to questions. Previously Bubble Guy made extended comment on public space ads versus ads on TV. That was awesome. Not entirely ROFLcon-y or geeky but still really fascinating. Now Bert is Evil guy is commenting on use of his images by protesters in third world countries, etc.

[@5:35] Hey, I’ve always wanted to be in The Guardian. Well, my writing isn’t there (… yet), but one of my photos is! Huzzah!

Applause from audience when Leslie Hall asked whether anyone on the panel has major ads/banners on their sites and everyone responded no.

[@5:29] twitter reactions seem to be on the same wavelength — this panel is really odd. Bubble Project, Gem Sweater, Bert is Evil guys are very interesting. The rest of the panel… I don’t get it. Plus moderator questions are unfocused. Ramy turned to me and asked: “Can we get a nominative definition of ‘pwnage’?” I agree.

I mean, what does this mean: “How do you think schools can integrate pwnage into the classroom?” Seriously. Someone explain this to me.

[@5:20] Sorry for slowing updates — battery keeps dying and outlets are scarce. I camped out at one and now things are better.

Am at the PWNing for the good of mankind panel. Bubble Project guy worked at Saatchi&Saatchi — that’s brilliant.

This is a much calmer discussion than the LOLpanel. Some of the questions: “How did you become internet famous? Were you trying to pwn” Hmm.

Also, ROFLcondom.



Hah. Like any of the geeks at ROFLcon are going to need these.

This is a weird panel I have to say — not really sure what the focus is here (kind of a scattershot panel gathering). Why is the ACLU in on a discussion of pwning? I would expect a bunch of lvl70 rogue with epix to be in on this discussion… not so much iJustine. *shrug*

[@3:46] OM NOM NOMed greasy calzone (yays), am at “I Can Haz Case Study” panel of the LOLcat/LOLspinoff phenomenon.

Quote of the panel: “What is it about cats? What is it about them that makes them so LOLable?”
ICanHasCheezburger.com CEO talks about the diversity of cat-related reactions. I wonder if Cat Fancy really IS here as I keep hearing they are? So many cat-quotable moments…great, now I miss my cat!

LOLphenom made up of “overwhemingly female” contributors? Does that contribute to the popularity of LOLcats in general asks LOLcode dude. This is a very philosophical conversation, given the topic at hand!

The LOLpanel with Tron Guy in the audience.

Obtained ticket to tonight’s internet meme music concert. Very, VERY happy about seeing Group X!

[@2:01pm] Latest Tweet: “awkward gender conversation sprung on unsupecting panel, but it was handled well. time for lunch: OM NOM NOM”

Explanation: The keynote turned to a discussion of race and gender — why was the panel all young white guys? Isn’t the internet the great equalizer? It’s an interesting discussion to have though I think the panelists were rather flummoxed by it — things got awkward mighty fast. I’m as sick as the “THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNETS!!11″ joke as the next chica but I don’t believe these guys were prepared to speak on that topic –keynote was about making money online, not gender/race dynamics of the internet.

Still, I think it was inevitable someone was going to bring it up. But boy oh boy, the angst was palpable once someone asked that question.

Lunch break time now, Ramy is here and we’re going to grab something to eat. All I had this morning was a tiny thing of yogurt and then a gut-churning can of narsty Brawndo–after a half hour bike at 9am and many hours of sitting around, I am ready to gnaw my damn arm off. See you at the 3:30pm panel!

[@1:24pm] Interesting keynote. Panelists: Million Dollar website guy, One Red Paperclip guy, JibJab, RocketBoom, Chuck Norris facts, Marmaduke Explained.

You come away feeling so, so much of internet “fame” is pure dumb luck. You put your content out there and spin the roulette wheel. Some of the panelists are more surprised that they’re up there than I would have believed! (Especially Chuck Norris facts guy. He’s been sued?!? Poor dude. We should start a pool for his defense. FTW)

Says the Chuck Norris Facts guy: “I’m completely 100% a fluke.” Honesty!

I wonder… what really is the takeaway from this? It’s fascinating insights but not much actionable knowledge here. Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised about it though. (And not that I’m looking to become famous on the internet.)

My laptop battery is near-dead and I have a gnarly headache from the Brawndo (avoid avoid avoid). I think it also gave me a heart murmur. Yeesh.

Fun fact: Stuff White People Like guy grew up near Greektown in Toronto. Yay! He says “gyro” correctly. Props man, props.

[@12:35pm] Keynote about to start — guess who I’m sitting behind?

LEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNKINS just introduced himself as the MC for ROFLcon.

BEST. MC. EVAR.

I wonder what he drops if we gank him onstage….

[@ 11:39] And now Christian Lander of Stuff White People Like! I freaking love his blog. We’re asking about how he came up with his blog. “It was entirely a fluke… didn’t expect any of this.” His site was picked up almost instantly since he started it–shows when you have a really good concept, people will find out about it!

I told him about the Asian Girls entry and how a friend (an Asian girl) sent me a link to his blog and how bizarre that was.

He then asked me why I don’t have a Mac (EVERYONE liveblogging ROFLcon is on a Mac but me, it’s kind of pathetic).

He’s the third person to sit in what we’re now calling the meme chair.

[@11:35]
Alex Tew got out of one seat, Kyle MacDonald (One Red Paperclip) sat down. What is this, the meme seat? He’s presenting at 1pm.

Aaaand Denny Blaze just walked by. O_o

[@ 10:42 a.m.]
Registered! Got my schwag, badge. Biked over to Cambridge from Arlington– a great ride on a beautiful day, but it only ended up taking about 25 minutes (a lot shorter than I’d predicted!) so I got here awfully early, wayyyy before they were ready for registrants.

First girl in line though, w00t. (Geek cred +1000)

Now we’re all chugging Brawndo (this stuff is uber-YELLOW) and twittering or updating blogs. Poor MIT wifi server, it’s going to get hammered today. Caffeinated geekery.
Lots of Firefox stuff around, he’s our hero~

I’m hearing squeals from people recognize their favorite internet celebs. It’s a very surreal who’s who. Seeing Tron Guy in meatspace, whoa. What?

This whole thing is going to get liveblogged to death, isn’t it? Worse than SXSW, I’m thinking.
Lots of college students from the area around here. At 24 I feel a bit old in this crowd.

Already ran into Wired, heard NYT and NPR are wandering around as well. Just saw the Reddit dudes too.

Man, this Brawndo stuff. Dyes your skin yellow if you drip. But but! It’s got ELECTROLYTES.

Am still trying to decide which panels to go to.

Schwag obtained:

Freakin’ love the lunchbox.

Also, lots of free stickers (Firefox ones from Japan–CHOUUU KAWAIII) and as much Brawndo as we can chug.

ROFLconners — did you bring your DSes with you for PictoChatting? I didn’t, though I’m wondering if I should bring mine tomorrow. Pictochat? Anyone? Anyone?

OMG. I’m sitting right across the coffee table of Alex Tew (the Million Dollar Homepage guy). *___* Whaaaat!

I also went to Martha’s Vineyard for a weekend and it was really lovely.

… Can you tell that I love flickr? Heh.

For the past few weeks I, like so many other Greek diaspora, have been completely consumed by news of the wildfires there. Most of my family lives in the northern part of Greece—Macedonia and Chalkidiki—but I do have a cousin living in Kalamata, which was affected by the fires, and I have wonderful memories from a summer spent in the Peloponnese. It’s a starkly beautiful place and I’m heartbroken to think of the devastation that’s been wrought there and how many peoples’ lives have been ruined this past summer. The only silver lining in this entire disaster is that all of the ancient sites put at risk by the fire, such as Olympia and Mistras, managed to escape the blazes, in large part thanks to the absolutely devoted Greeks that wanted to protect these sacred sites at all costs.

Next time I can, I’ll try to find my photos from my trip in the Peloponnese, as I’d visited many of the villages that have now been completely destroyed. Who knows how many years, if not decades, it will take for those areas to return to something resembling normal.

On a brighter note about Greece, I was recently contacted by one of the co-organizers of JMusic.gr: “Where Greeks Turn Japanese.” These guys in Athens are doing what I’ve always wanted to do—throw a giant J-rock party. They’ve invited me to drop by next time I’m in Athens to hang out with them, and I definitely will. I’m excited as hell that there’s a healthy contingent of Greek J-rock fans, partying as only Greeks know how to the music that I love so much!

Finally, I’m thinking of embarking on a little project that might excite a few Gackt fans. Back in October 2001, the Gman went to Madagascar to record a documentary for NHK (which is the PBS of Japan to put it simply). I think it was originally supposed to be a documentary about the country, with Gackt simply being the celebrity vehicle. Instead, it ended up being a really fascinating portrait of him as an artist in transition. He was on the cusp of big-time success at the time, and he himself said in an autobiography that he wasn’t really sure what was going to happen to him. That trip to Africa, for him, was at a very opportune moment musically and emotionally for him.

Now, this documentary has never been subtitled in English, so most non-Japanese fans of his really have no idea what’s said in it. It’s a shame, as it’s probably the most interesting Gackt-related piece of media I’ve ever seen. So far removed from the celebrity trappings that generally define him in Eastern media, we, as you might expect, see him in a totally different, remarkably sincere way. I think I want to take it upon myself to subtitle this documentary so more fans can enjoy this piece of “Gackt history” as it were.

To quote from Gackt’s autobiography “Jihaku” (“Confessions”), as translated into English by my awesome friend Ger:

When I really look back at my own life, I completely think that the trip to Madagascar was the second great turning point for me.

Madagascar was a very poor country. There is only about 2-3 percent of the country’s population which can afford education. But the people there are overflowing with smiles. At that time, I happened to think, “I wonder if I can smile like that.”

At the same time, I was keenly feeling my own lack of strength. My existence felt very small. And so, I felt that I couldn’t be rescued by the people who were around me.

That feeling hasn’t changed even now.

What is the most necessary for people? I think that is the fact that people have to wake up and realize change is inevitable.

For example, because we say Madagascar is a poor country, there are people who give 100,000,000 yen to their cause. One village can probably live affluently on that money for a year. However, after a year, conditions return to what they were previously. And so, there is no meaning in doing that.

No one makes you bring food to your mouth to eat; if food is set before you, then you will pick up chopsticks and eat of your own will. That’s the same way I operate.

I dine on my own intentions. The things which are seen to be moved by my intentions and purposes are, to people, the most precious things, the most important things. If that’s not the case, nothing will change about people.

I want you to make me act on my intentions. I want you to change. I am not going to make anyone change of my own will.

Though this was something that I had thought about many times before I went to Madagascar, going to Madagascar refined it, and I felt then that the things I was thinking about were definitely not a mistake.

—From Section 5 “Creativity”, Chapter 7 “An Unending Vision of the Future” from Gackt’s “Jihaku,” 2003

This snippet alone to me justifies trying to translate this documentary, I think. My Japanese is really not as good as it used to be, as I’m sorely out of practice, but I’ll keep you guys posted if I make any progress .

And finally, speaking of “Jihaku”—the translator Ger just moved up here to the Boston area, barely a few streets away from me! I couldn’t be more excited as I’ve known Ger for many many years. Welcome to Boston, Ger! Glad to have you here :)

click to enlarge the picture

Reaction #1 (too-cool-for-this neo-geek-hipster wanna-be snark): O RLY?

Reaction #2 (cripplingly self-conscious): is my greek so bad that flickr assumes i don’t even know how to say hello?

Reaction I should have had: How many Greeks wrote emails to flickr to get “yasou” on the international greetings banner? And how long will it take for a counter-reaction of Turks to mobilize and demand “merhaba”? ;)