As some of you may know from my channel, I am an avid con-goer. So I decided to start a series where I give tips and trick that might help you with your con adventures! Now this was originally supposed to be for those who were new on the con scene, but honestly, it could be useful for anyone! And if you have any tips you want to request from me or add to my other topics, don't be afraid to drop me a line!

How to Cut Down on Convention Costs

How to Talk to Your Con Crush

The Ins and Outs of Con Etiquette 

How to Choose Your First Con (Big vs Small)

How to Choose Your Cosplay

Why Vine is better than Youtube

                                      

    So a couple days ago I stumbled upon a Fine Brothers "Youtubers React to" video. The topic of this particular installment was Vine; the new video networking site that I like to describe as the "mini Youtube." Now I was really excited to see how these YouTube celebs would respond to vine since a lot of people compare the success of popular Vine personalities to that of YouTube stars. The Youtubers  seemed to have an overall positive reaction towards the actually vine video, the site however, received some skepticism. At the end of the episode, the Fine Brothers asks their guests whether they think the current Vine trend will last. A lot of group said they really had no idea, which is a reasonable answer; things like this are often hard to predict. However, some felt as though Vine is just a fad. Olga Kay stated, " I think it's going to be very successful for a year and a half, and then...it's going to go away." While Shane Dawson argued, " I don't think a social network can be huge, if it relies on people be creative." Um, what? What do you think YouTube is? I just thought these statements were weird because Vine is literally a spitting image a YouTube, so why can't it have success and longevity? For a while, I though these statements can from a place of jealously. After all, comedy YouTubers like Shane and Olga slave over scripts in hopes of creating popular videos while their Vine counter parts seem to spit out viral videos with ease.                                                                                                            
    But, honestly, I don't think Vine is really in the position to replace YouTube. While it does seem to surpass it in the comedy division, I have yet to see an attempt at a 6 second makeup tutorial or life vlog. However Vine is definitely something special; I feel like its a compilation of all the good parts of Youtube . You can follow people, you can write comments, and you can share videos. But what's Vines special appeal? The video are actually funny and are done in a manner that's short, sweet and to the point. Now, I know some of you are going start arguing on behave of high profile YouTube favorites like Smosh but after the disaster the was YouTube comedy week, I kind of have this theory that while some YouTubers are kind of funny, the bulk of their views and subscribers come from people who like them personally, not necessarily because they make them laugh. Because Vine is fairly new and there's no place to "get to know" Viners, the only way to become popular is to be funny. In fact, I recently noticed that while I used to turn to YouTube during bouts of boring, now I head over to Vine ; there's just a greater chance that I find something interesting and funny. But what lines in store for Vine? Will it spawn a new generation of internet celebrities? Will it eventually be over taken by sponsorship and ads? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

-RCUJay

Yaya Han apologizes to Jessica Nigri

The rivalry was put to rest?

   So yesterday, Yaya Han, uploaded this video to her very own YouTube page. Basically the video addresses the controversy surrounding some words utter by Yaya about fellow cosplayer Jessica Nigri in the second episode of the new Syfy cosplay show Heroes of Cosplay. For those who don't watch the show, basically Yaya said that when it comes to Jessica's coplaying style, she's a bad influence (in attempts to dissuade cosplayer Monika Lee from following in Jessica's footsteps) because she tends to forgo the craftsmanship side of cosplay and instead focuses on being sexy. Now, of course, upon hearing this, I was completely confusing, knowing that the two are good friends. But in the video Yaya apologizes and both girls explain the editing in the show makes things seem a lot more dramatic than they actually are, confirming what we already knew; the show is fake. 

      Now from the very beginning, I knew this show was going to be a riot. I don't care if it's on Syfy, the Disney Channel, of the History Channel; reality T.V. will always be...well...fake.

The people working on the show can't just wait around until someone says or does something interesting, they have to make things happen themselves. But that's the thing, these people making the show, don't care about cosplay or at least how it's viewed. They just want the views, which they'll get whether the actually cosplay world is portrayed in a positive or negative light. In fact, the more negative and dramatic it is, the more discussion it will render, hence while you'll often see utter trash on T.V. (see Miley Cyrus' VMA performance.) That being said, it is up to the cosplayers on the show to try to stay true as possible. I get that the magic of editing can twist and turn things, but at the end of the day, no one can force you to say anything. Despite whether she may have meant them or not, it's Yaya who said those words, she said them. 

       But, in all honesty, everyone's main concern is how this show is presenting the cosplay world. And in my opinion, I  don't actually think the drama that goes on will twist someone's opinion of cosplay in general.  It will affect their opinion on Yaya Han and the rest of the cast. Like, for example, it's a running thing on the show that cosplayer Scruffy Rebel always pushes down to the final minute when it comes to finish her cosplays. Now, I want to take a moment to just mention that the is the most accurate thing they have about cosplay on the show. I know every cosplayer had to pull at least one all-nighter to finish acosplay before the con! But I digress. Anyway, last time I checked, a last minute work ethic is not what a potential employer looks for. Do I actually think a top notch cosplayer like Scruffy is actually like that? No, but why would you want to be portrayed like that regardless? And as a huge fan of Yaya Han, I feel like while this show is giving her lots of "exposure" (honestly, though I find it hard to believe anyone who already didn't know about cosplay watches this show, but that's just my opinion) it's ruining her reputation amongst the cosplayers in this fandom that respect her so much. It's seems like after every episode, she has to go on Facebook of Twitter and apologize for the way she came off , or explain the way her words were twisted. Whether whats she is saying is true or not, it makes her look kind of messy.

      I think Jessica Nigri had the right idea when she turned down the offer to appear on the show. She doesn't have to participate in the week to week drama, and she still got to make a cameo and came off looking like an innocent victim. At the same time, I do understand why Yaya wanted to do it to. Even though many cosplayers can't relate to this, cosplay is more than a hobby for Yaya Han, it's her job.

You may use the cash you get from working overtime at BestBuy to pay for your cosplay, but she uses...well cosplay... to pay for cosplay. And in a business like hers, exposure is everything if you want to keep your sales and appearances up. I just hate that she has to drag her own name through the mud to do it.

National Cherry Blossom Festival!!!

Obligatory Sakura Tree Picture

      So a billion years ago back in April, I was lucky enough to attend the Nation Cherry Blossom Festival that takes place every year in Washington D.C. It was my first time going and let me tell you I did not know what to expect. In my head, the event would be similar to those festivals you see in those typical high school anime, where all the girls are dressed up in Kimonos, street vendors are selling ramen and meat on a stick in little huts, children are playing that game where you try to catch a fish with that paper net thing, etc. It was fun but over all it wasn't that spectacular. A big problem I had was the lack of Japanese culture. Don't get me wrong, they had a lot of Japanese related showcases and ceremonies, but for example, the parade had a lot of random acts like this giant Scooby-Doo float.

Scooby-Doo

Random, but pretty cool

Because what's a parade without the Subway Sub?

Clowns.

    The actual festival gave me mad convention vibes with all the cosplay and was probably the funniest part for me. Unfortunately there was one awkward moment I had to endure. If you might recall from the videos on my YouTube channel, I attended Zenkaikon in Lancaster, PA this year. Not only did I go, but I was granted a press pass, thanks to crunchyroll, which allowed me to interact with the guests and get much better con coverage than I'm used to. One of the guests I was lucky enough to interview was geek specific comedian Uncle Yo, and boy he was a great guy! So when I spotted him hosting an event on one of the main stages, I waited patiently and when it ended, I went up to him to reminiscence our Zenkaikon experiences and "catch up." But to my dismay, he...didn't...remember me...at all. ;.; At this point, my esteem was too far gone to try to jog his memory, so I simply asked for a picture and sulked away. Now, I know he's a busy man, and  he probably met hundreds of people between Zenkaikon and the festival, but I still felt kind of embarrassed.

Me holding in my tears ;_;

Shrine Exhibit

Why did I even take this picture when there are no Sakura trees in site?

Cute Luigi and Waluigi cosplayers

  Even though I went down to Washington D.C for the festival, I couldn't pass up the chance to explore the city and all its attractions. So I made sure to set aside some time to go down to the Smithsonian Museum as well as visit some historical land marks.

Smithsonian

Monkey!

From the Martin Luther King Monument

The Washington Monument 

Me becoming a caveman

I left D.C. Saturday night so I didn't take part in any of the Sunday festivities. Also, I heard there was one of these in California. Does anyone know if that one is any better?

[Ends post]

Attack on Titan is BACK!!!

Levi's Excited. Are you?

  Remember that one time, I used to review Attack on Titan? Yeah me neither. [Post Ends]

     Just kidding, Just kidding. Way back when Attack on Titan started, I did some episode reviews because I instantly fell in love with it! However, I fell way behind in the episodes so I just gave up. [I know, I'm just so dedicated, right?] Anyway between it's spring season and it's new summer season I was able to catch up on all the episodes, and now that I'm all caught up, I decided to take another crack at it. This means I will now be doing weekly episode recaps of both Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and this . This will probably get tricky when school starts but for now, it's pretty easy to manager. So let me leave you with my reviews of the to most recent episodes.