AX '09 reports

[Shoujo Q]

.... Poor Saki, she looks like well I wont tell you who she looks like, I might offend someone. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Ai, JunJun, and LinLin all were rather pretty, though I really like Ai when her hair is down and not up.



As for Aika, up close she's one of nicest girls in the group and the most expressive mouth of them all. She hands down as the best lip curl~ :3. And unlike some of the other girls her face isn't covered in acne. (I'm looking at you Sayumi! Oh My GOD someone should give her some Proactive or SOMETHING! D:) Risa looked like she decided that eating for the last month was a bad idea and I don't know what's wrong with Eri, but she needs to lay off the peroxide. I totally don't remember Koharu, I think I blanked out, she was in the middle of Reina and Aika so she was more of a stepping stone you leap over. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />





Oh and Madara's gone famous over at H!O, they're plastering photos of him all over the place.

[eri]

[quote name='PQ' post='66374' date='Jul 12 2009, 06:17 PM'].... Poor Saki, she looks like well I wont tell you who she looks like, I might offend someone. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]



Charlie Chaplin is cute! I meant well though the stache is vaguely hitler-ojisan-esque (how appropriate).



[quote name='PQ' post='66374' date='Jul 12 2009, 06:17 PM']acne. (I'm looking at you Sayumi! Oh My GOD someone should give her some Proactive or SOMETHING! D:) Risa looked like she decided that eating for the last month was a bad idea and I don't know what's wrong with Eri, but she needs to lay off the peroxide.[/quote]

I don't understand because you can't see ANYTHING in pictures - including AX pictures. Sayumi seems to have this lovely peaches and cream color to her complexion and I'm sort of bummed to know she has acne (well, they are human and teenagers I guess). What sort of fantastic makeup do they use?! Risa did not seem particularly thin to me but agreed on Eri's hair. She's starting to look like every other boring girl in a Japanese fashion magazine with giant, light-brown Peg Bundy-esque hair.

[kitaoji]

I'm a sucker for Eri, and I too have to admit I don't like her style this time round. She's had it for quite some time, probably since Naichau Kamo or so. I heard from a Risa fan (who went to the concerts in May) that she'd gotten stick-thin around the final concert. She didn't look as bad as Madara's photo made her out to be, but there's an AX shot with nothing but her cheekbones, and I couldn't help but wince. I just hope she takes care of herself.



...and I'm going to go ahead and double-post my experience. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[kitaoji]

alright, since Madara's been pushing me to 'write an account of my experiences', I may as well join the party. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />



First off, MANY THANKS TO SADUDE AND PQ. I was the little kid hanging around them all weekend with AEUG (as well), acting all like an immature wota, and you guys are the best, considering how much trouble I caused from wandering around the con and shuttling between the Westin and the Sheraton and doing all sorts of things a functioning adult isn't supposed to do. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':nono:' /> Yeah, if sadude wasn't there I'd be even more of a disaster.



And then of course, PQ's niceness to H!O members really paid off, because there'd be no autograph ticket for me, no waking-up-at-4 AM and crazy queuing, and no unbelievable autograph session on Saturday morning.



BTW, Madara: I skimmed through about 80 pages of the MM in LA thread over at H!O, and I found a photo that clearly shows more than 10-ish people catching MM at the terminal, although it really doesn't look like 200. So for your question - how many people were there to see MM's arrival - I still have no idea. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':w00t:' />



-----

I was there at the opening ceremonies, and got a decent seat with Madara. Turns out the GoH were all on the other side, and those who'd actually lined up (since 7AM) managed to get photos of MM (by request, that is - smiling & posing at the camera) while Press was over on the far side with nothing and the worst angle ever for the ceremony.



The merchandise was a lucky stroke for us, since we (sadude, AEUG, myself, ShinUkyo, snowman & co.) were in the merchandise line which went incredibly fast and I didn't have to waste money getting CDs for the autograph tickets(I have them already, and eventually bought the US copies anyway, but that was just because it was the regular edition. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />).



The post Q&A autograph panel was incredibly annoying, since we had no idea where it was and at any rate, I (unlike sadude & co) had no Hangry and Angry ticket to fudge my way in and was shunted off to the standby line. It paid off, since I found a severely distressed MM fan holding a ticket for the Japanfiles autograph session, which he couldn't make it to. I offered him $20 for it, and eventually gave him $30 because he remembered me while I was chatting away to sadude, and for his trouble. (I mean, why not <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> )



The concert was not the best, and I only say this because I went to the winter concert in January. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> AX staff kept on coming over and keeping us in place, but at least I had an aisle seat and could still see the members. I still say MM should have at least done another song as part of their encore, so the concert didn't feel so half-assed like a talk show. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



We skipped the post concert party, which was good because the party goers were bleary eyed and exhausted up so early in line for the autographs. PQ is simply the best, and I say this again, because she was keeping our spot with my bags - one of which was my daypack and the other full of Berkeley souvenirs for the girls - while I was panicking and running back and forth between the Sheraton and the center, and then running off to take pictures (I always do this).



Anyway, PQ and I got into the room where the girls were waiting, and I laid my eyes on MM on such close distance. Takahashi and I smiled pleasantly at each other, and we exchanged 'mornings' and 'how do you do's' before she got round to signing the concert visual book. My brain reverted to Japanese at this point; and once she was done, I pulled out a Cal T-shirt, saying that I'd heard she really wanted to study abroad (she's been saying this on Bijo Houdan, and an episode of the YoungTown radio show) and that it was a shirt from my school, handing it to her, and then I took out a copy of 'Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue', explaining that it was a book on the history of the English language. Takahashi SERIOUSLY lit up at that point, thanking me profusely and said that she'd definitely read it.



(I dunno what other presents the girls got - I heard of soap, t-shirts, CDs, but I still think Takahashi just really enjoys reading and learning English, and hence the book for her.)



Didn't have much to say to Risa, although I noted that she changed her autograph (this year) and that was it. Don't remember what I said to her, although I handed her a keychain <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



I moved on to Eri, and as the girl's my favorite member, I was completely braindead and shell shocked and we were staring at each other before she moved onto making the Eric Kamezou pose as an icebreaker and smiling like the sun. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':doh:' /> I dug into my bag to hand her a pair of Cal sport socks, and she was delighted (because she enjoys collecting socks - no, I am not making this up). Eri took them graciously and exclaimed "Use! Use! Use!" (in English) even though I'd explained that they were a gift in Japanese. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



Didn't say much to the others, although Sayu liked the magnet (and I wished her happy birthday), and Reina took her time signing while I handed her a cap. (I'd have loved to see Sayu's face if I gave her shot glasses, since she turns 20 tomorrow. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />)



The manager handed my book over to Aika, explaining that the ink needed to dry, and then back to Koharu. I also said happy birthday to Koharu, but just about don't remember what she said. (I don't even remember the handshakes. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />)



Aika was incredibly cute, and I thanked Junjun for coming all the way from Japan in Chinese. Clearly I've been out of practice, because she thought that *I* was from Japan, to which I hastily replied, "No, I'm from San Francisco", and then Junjun explained it to the manager behind her <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> Linlin was awesome, although I just remember thanking her <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



Stuck around after the signing, trying to see if I could catch them in the hallway, but then security cleared us out. I caught Junjun and Reina in the hallway while I was milling about in the food court, and once Reina was noticed me and waved I snapped and started bowing profusely on instinct (because jumping up and down like a wota does not appeal much).



-----

Headed leisurely back to the hotel to drop stuff, only to have Sanchy call me to hurry and head over back to the con for the afternoon session. I got impatient waiting for the shuttle (with PQ's pass) and instead took a taxi (totally worth it, and the driver was actually nice).



The afternoon session was really fast. I brought my Ribon no Kishi script for signing (it was for a friend), and exchanged nice words with two sisters all the way over from Louisiana (they were adorable!). Afternoon session had the members sitting out of generation order. I made a Usachan Peace at Sayu, and waved at Eri while in line. Then for no reason, Reina made a 'nyan' at me while we were staring at each other. She went all 'What on earth's this?!' at the script, while I was explaining that it was a bonus as part of the CD, and flipped through it <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



For Takahashi, I pulled out my notebook with my friend's name on a page, and asked her to write it, explaining that the autographs were a present for my friend. Ai complied, although she stopped at my cursive script and I had to explain that it was a 'd'. Then I had to remind her to actually sign her autograph. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



Asked Risa if she was going to Disneyland, and got a fake apologetic 'gomen ne~'. Jokingly questioned Eri if she was over her jetlag, and she replied with a 'maybe'. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



Then I went around the dealer's hall and lined up for second time to use up my final autograph ticket. I told Reina that I kept a cat at home, but I was so hurried that I couldn't ask how her cat was doing. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> Originally my plan was to have everyone sign the DVD cover of Cinderella, and then Eri sign MAPLE, but that never happened. Eri exclaimed "MAPLE! MAPLE!", but I couldn't get her to sign it. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> (I believe she signed a H!O member's copy as well as the CD.) I couldn't get her to scribble a turtle, either. So we were apologizing profusely to each other, since I was trying to break the rules, anyway.



Junjun was at the end of the line, and I said to her to 'enjoy the rest of Los Angeles', and that was it for the day. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />



Friday morning, I tried to see them at the Westin, only to get freaked out by the security guys hovering around the lobby (what can I say, I'm overly paranoid. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />) But I left early, because I probably caught the cold from ShinUkyo, and by surprise! saw the girls off at the airport. The Japanese wota were all subtly sitting in the food court, and it was all JPH!P and H!O crowding around security and taking photos and making Sayu birdcalls. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> We got polite waves, and only Ai and Aika looked like they were genuinely interested in the crowd. Then they disappeared into the gate and we finished off with a round of "Musume saikou!", and I headed off (yes, I had all my bags) walking to the domestic terminal.



From H!O, Tsunku showed up at the terminal some time later, and some lucky fans had a photo with him. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> But that's okay, I'm not that interested in Tsunku. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



So that was my experience, which was incredibly exhausting, and incredibly exhilarating, and definitely fun. Aika's definitely gone up in my book, since she's just too cute and bubbly in person. Eri is still the sweetest out of all of them, but then again, I'm heavily biased. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

[JFC]

Hey all, need to get a bit serious for a bit.



JPH!P member Jabronisaur has gotten sick, and I mean REALLY sick after he arrived back home after AX. Early speculation was that he contracted pneumonia, but for some reason the doctors haven't actually been able to diagnose him with anything specific.



[quote name='daigong at JPH!P']Jabronisaur is in critical condition. on a respirator I got a call from his brother and they need to figure out what's going on. Any communication is necessary!!! PLEASE HELP!!



We need to really pray pray for Jabronisaur, someone I can call my brother.



Basically, the last time I talked to Jab was last nite. He told me had been quarrantined for 3 days. Then got the call tonight and Jab's bro Chuck told me he had been rushed to ICU, he couldn't breathe on his own and they put the breathing mask on him (respirator? nebulizer?) His fever was at 104.



RIGHT NOW. A glimmer of hope. The breathing machine he's been on, the pressure has gone down. His temp has stabilized.



Already contacted a few peeps. Thanks so much, we really really appreciate it. And exchanged doctor info and hopefully they can get to the bottom of things. Props roddrommel of JPM (whom DroolBoy told me he got diagnosed with swine flu) but calling him earlier said he's better and going back home).



JAB GET WELL!! PLS!![/quote]



So this is a request of sorts, if anyone here who went to AX has gotten sick and has had to see their doctor for it, could you please contact daigong at JPH!P. We're looking for any info from anyone who got sick regarding what they were diagnosed with and/or what they were prescribed. If possible, it would really help if we could get your doctor's contact info as well, as the docs in the hospital are looking to consult since they're having trouble figuring out what Jab actually has. If you don't have an account at JPH!P but have any info that might help, please feel free to PM them to me here and I will then forward them to daigong. I only met him for the first time during AX, but I can easily say that Jab's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Snowman]

Loved your report Kitaoji interesting read. Glad to see you enjoyed yourself.



@ JFC - I'm really saddened to hear about Jab's unfortunate turn of events. To come home from what was probably the time of his life to lay in a hospital sick and have doctors not know what it is that's wrong. I didn't know him personally but I hope he gets better. I wish him a quick recovery.

[Sugoi Sama]

Via H!O Twitter - 1, 2, and 3!



On the bottom right of the first page! Snowman and I made the magazine!



The pictures we took from AX are coming soon. I uploaded a few to photobucket and the rest are going up later today.



It was great meeting everyone. I didn't know what to expect really, but after running into Sadude and taking a chance saying hello on day 0, it all turned out for the best. I had a blast meeting and hanging out with everyone.....and....just thanks. Thank you for all the awesome memories <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... pyeyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />!

[Shoujo Q]

<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /noway.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I can't see the pictures. Boo!

[Snowman]

How about this PQ?

[peachgirldb]

I saw them shooting that jumping shot of the girls! xD After autographs on Saturday; I was kinda watching out the back door but all you could occasionally see were their heads when they jumped xD

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='kitaoji' post='66381' date='Jul 12 2009, 09:41 PM']First off, MANY THANKS TO SADUDE AND PQ. I was the little kid hanging around them all weekend with AEUG (as well), acting all like an immature wota, and you guys are the best, considering how much trouble I caused from wandering around the con and shuttling between the Westin and the Sheraton and doing all sorts of things a functioning adult isn't supposed to do. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Yeah, if sadude wasn't there I'd be even more of a disaster.[/quote]

Even though you were a little wota-ish every once in a while, the things you did are of no consequence, they were seriously NOTHING compared to what our two temporary and unexpected guests were doing the whole time they were with our group. You caused no bother to me, at least, for the whole trip, it was a pleasure having you around.



Anyway, I'll try to make a text version of my events here, since I still can't get a vast majority of the pictures that people took from them.



Day Zero:



Went through about 10 hours of airport/flight stuff to get to LA, arrived at the airport at about 1:30 and met up with kitaoji at first, but while we were waiting for the bus, as timing would have it, Ukyo arrived at the same time and all 3 of us shuttled out towards the Sheraton where myself and kita were staying. We had to go through Central Station first, where we took some of our first scenic "WE'RE FINALLY IN LA" pictures, then proceeded on the 5 minute train ride to the hotel.



Met up with sadude and dropped some cargo off in the hotel room just before heading to the con so myself and kitaoji could WAIT IN LINES FOR ABOUT 6 HOURS! We both still had to get our badges and concert tickets, so we had plenty of time to talk about everything under the sun and a few hours of H!P/convention discussion. By the time we got done with all the line-waiting, it was about 7:30-8:00 pm-ish and we finally found out we were trying to get everyone from the BBS over to meet for dinner at a restaurant right by the Sheraton. Kitaoji and myself met up with TightWetPucchi, Shin Ukyo, Madara, sadude, PQ, sugoi, maxemillian, Ruby, EmEl, and someone else I'm forgetting. It was a great dinner and we had a lot of meet & greet with BBS members. Headed back to the hotel for the night and we all crashed like nobody's business, and had to get up the next morning for all the preliminary H!P crap, since the dealer's room opened at 12:00 the next morning, but we knew there would be a colossal line, so we got up early.



Day 1:



Got up to get in line for the dealer's room, which was, in turn, getting in line to buy the MM/Hangry merchandise to get autograph tickets. By the time we got there, the line was about half a city block, with the Japanese super-wota, right off the plane, at the front of the line with their jackets and boom boxes all set up, but sugoi and Maxemillian let us in the line fairly early up (thanks a lot!) so we actually got in pretty quickly after waiting in line for about 5 hours and all got our merchandise and autograph tickets. I bought one of nearly everything at the merch booth, besides 2 of the MM items and the Hangry CD, since I already had it. After that, those of us who could manage to stick together through the crowds literally RAN to the MM panel to get a good seat. That kinda failed, since we got shitty seats, but they were still OK and in the front half of the room, but was still behind the cutoff for getting autograph tickets. After the panel we had to run to try to find where the hell the first MM autograph session was taking place. That turned out to be a huge waste of time, anyway, since barely anyone got in at the first session. So I stood in line by myself for about 2 hours just to be sent home, basically. I tried to use the little remaining time in the day to look around the dealer's room, but it closed at 6, so there wasn't much time. Found some great things and had a good time in there with Ukyo for a little while and also met up with Madara right as Yossi was leaving the H!P booth, I saw her back as she was lead away. I don't remember what happened after that, at night.



Day 2:



I got up pretty early that morning to go to the dealer's room, and sadude was the only one from our group who decided to go with, because for some reason everyone else thought it was a good idea to go wait in line to get into the concert about 7 hours early when we all had assigned seating anyway. Sadude and I took lots of pictures of cosplayers and crazy stuff, and I had a good long time to look at tons of stuff in the dealer's room. I got a good chance to see what interested me the most and also to get my own mini-schedule of things I wanted to do that the rest of the group weren't really interested in (the other idol concerts, etc.) I spent a crapload of money this morning, after I had planned out all the stuff I wanted to buy the day before. Then I headed to the MM concert a while later and cutting in line with the group.



The concert was honestly not all that exciting to me after a certain point. Yeah, the energy was really high and it was awesome to hear the old golden age songs performed live, but all-in-all, it wasn't all that ground-breaking. It just seemed like a much shorter version on a smaller stage of all the hundreds of concerts I've watched over the years, just with more new songs I don't like. My seat was pretty close, so I actually watched the whole thing without the big TV monitors, I could see everything from where I was at. After that, it was time to run over to the Hangry autograph session, which was a disaster.



The line for the Hangry autographs was a huge mess, MM and Tsunku's translator/handler lady, Yan essentially ended up SCREAMING at lots of people and threatening to cancel the whole autograph session if they didn't listen. It was really out of hand, but this is mostly because of the AX staff not knowing their collective ass from a hole in the wall. Anyway, it was really cool to see Yossi up close and to really grasp how pretty she is. Seeing video and pictures of these girls for so many years holds no candle to actually seeing them in real life, having dynamic lighting and all the other factors of actually seeing things with your own two eyes that can't be duplicated with any camera. I didn't have much to say to her when I went up, besides just to thank her for all her music and tell her I love all of her projects. I gave her a copy of my CD with all my fanmix stuff on it, and she was really happy, and I just made my way out as she waved bye. I then met up with EmEl, ShinUkyo and TightWetPucchi and went back to their hotel (where everyone asked me where I got my Shin Koihime Musou bag at) for a few minutes after walking around the dealer's room for a while and meeting up with Furuya, Maki Kanatsu, Peach, Geof, and Ruby for a while. All of us just ended up going out to eat that night and settling down to plan for the next day.



Sadude, myself, and sugoi wandered down the the H!O party for a short time and didn't really stay for long, (it was stupid) just lingered around and talked for a while, then we all went off to sleep.



Day 3:



I got up fairly early for the Tsunku panel with sadude, because it seemed like an extremely exciting event from the way it was advertised, somewhat contrary to the way it turned out. I got the front row, center seat for the event, sitting right next to Madara and about 10 feet from Tsunku's seat. Sadude, EmEl, TWP, and Ukyo were the only other people from our group who were there, as I remember. There were lots of interesting questions and a lot of awesome insight from the man himself, but neither myself or Madara got to actually ask anything, we just went to sit down eventually, it was extremely disappointing. I wish they could've extended the whole thing somehow. Afterwards, they confirmed Tsunku wasn't going to do any kind of autographs or hang out with fans at all, he just walked out and that was it. I was really disappointed, but still happy I got to sit in and be that close to the guy I consider my idol in a certain sense and one of the greatest musical minds in the world.



I wandered around the dealer's room and went to the arcade upstairs for some Pop'n Music and Guitar Freaks action for a while with sadude, then he left to get in line for the MM autographs, but I stuck around and bought a bunch more crap at the dealer's room before getting in line for one of my favorite things of the whole convention, which was the mini-concert at the MangaGamer.com booth, which featured Aina Kase, Miru (Cy-rim Rev) and yozuca*. This was a really small concert on a stage that was maybe 7 foot by 7 foot, and I was literally standing 5 feet from the girls as they were performing. They all performed beautifully with live vocals that sounded flawless all the way through, had fun little skits and crowd interactions between songs, etc. I kinda wota'd out with glowsticks and stuff, but I was having such a good time, I couldn't resist (and some random guy gave me the stick for free, haha) EmEl showed up shortly after it started and then after the concert, I got my autograph ticket to come meet the girls about an hour or so later.



After I got that ticket, I went to get in line for my MM autographs. The line was almost nonexistent by that time, so it went fairly quickly. When I got it, I was again wowed at how pretty they were, but I still didn't really have a whole lot to say to most of them. I called most of them (except Aika) by name and they were happy. Only things of note were that I was a little taken aback when I first got up to Takahashi, because the way she greeted me when I came up sent me into deja vu from her Alo-Hello! DVD (one of my favorite DVDs) when she's greeting people in English with her absolutely adorable "HALLO!," a huge grin just came upon my face when it hit me and it made me really feel like it was worth all the trouble to get in there. I gave Takahashi a copy of my CD and asked in Japanese that she share it with the other members and enjoy, especially since someone at the panel asked a question about what they think of all the overseas fans who remix or re-arrange their music, to which I don't think they really had an answer, since they probably really haven't heard any of it. The other person I really spoke to was Koharu, I just wanted to go out of my way to tell her how much I love her music, since she's really the only person there who was a solo act, and I love her solo music to death. I talked to JunJun slightly in English before leaving the booth, but that's about all there was to that.



After that, I had to go back to get my autographs at the MangaGamer booth, which was amazing. After waiting in line for a while, I finally got to go in and got a really nice autograph card with all 3 girls' signatures on it, as well as getting all my CDs from them signed. I shook hands with all of them and talked a bit (they all had fairly decent English skills) and it was a great experience in a weird way and was more exciting than some of the H!P events, because in the short time during and after the concert and autograph session, I actually felt like I was becoming friends with those 3 girls, because they seemed so appreciative of some fans being there and supporting them. I ended up going back into the booth multiple times to talk with them and buy more CDs after the concert, as well as get my picture with them, which again was just awesome. I talked their manager guy a lot throughout the day, too, so he actually let me hold up a line to take a picture with them later on. And I still don't have my pictures.



After that I had to run to try to catch the end of the C-Zone concert that was going on at the other side of the dealer's room, which I only caught one song of. Thankfully they were just lipsynching, so I don't think I was missing much even though their music is really good. Right after that, they had the autograph session for the group at another booth, and I waited in line for a while for that. We managed to con their manager guy into letting me take a picture with them since it was my birthday and I had to leave that night, so I got an awesome picture with them, as well as their autographs. They were super nice and really weren't pushing me down the line, they were almost inviting me to stay around longer and talk to me, it was really bizarre for idol behavior, it was great. After that, Ukyo and myself headed back to my room to meet with sadude and a ton of other people including TnA, Liana, and aisasami before heading out for dinner.



This turned out to be sort of a birthday dinner for me, since it was my birthday, but it really never dawned on me until near the end of dinner, they brought out a big ice cream desert thing to me with a candle in it, only to find out sadude had been plotting this all along! I was pretty taken by surprise, but it was awesome going out for a final dinner with you guys, sadude, PQ, Ukyo, kitaoji, it was fun and thanks for everything. Afterwards, we just went back to the hotel and swirled around in delerium, laughing at cell phone ringtones and watching H!P videos for a few hours before I actually had to head to the train station and start my way back home. The trip sucked ass, but I'm back in one piece.



Summary



I really had one of the greatest times of my life for a number of reasons, and as strange as it may seem to some, most of the great memories from this event don't directly have to do with MM at all. Hanging out with so many of you cool people and having so many other unique opportunities really made everything worthwhile.



Holy hell, this is long.

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='JFC' post='66386' date='Jul 13 2009, 12:22 AM']Hey all, need to get a bit serious for a bit.



So this is a request of sorts, if anyone here who went to AX has gotten sick and has had to see their doctor for it, could you please contact daigong at JPH!P. We're looking for any info from anyone who got sick regarding what they were diagnosed with and/or what they were prescribed. If possible, it would really help if we could get your doctor's contact info as well, as the docs in the hospital are looking to consult since they're having trouble figuring out what Jab actually has. If you don't have an account at JPH!P but have any info that might help, please feel free to PM them to me here and I will then forward them to daigong. I only met him for the first time during AX, but I can easily say that Jab's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Any help is greatly appreciated.[/quote]

Just kinda curious, where is this guy from? I've heard from a lot of people they started getting kinda sick after being LA, myself somewhat included, because of how different the weather conditions are out there. I come from Chicago, where the humidity is usually just completely overbearing and ridiculous year-round, so when I went to LA in the dry heat, I had to drink a lot more water than usual to keep myself feeling right and such. Judging by how severe his condition sounds, I doubt this was the sole cause of his sickness, but that drastic and quick of a change in conditions can really throw someone's body for a loop if they're from a vastly different place.

[JFC]

^

Jab is from Florida, though I'm not sure where he specifically hails from in the state. Not entirely sure how much of a factor the weather/climate might have made in his particular case, but apparently people from many different parts of the country/continent have been falling ill to various degrees. Again, any help that anyone can provide would be appreciated. At JPH!P at least one of our members has said their doctor was contacted by another doctor in Florida, so hopefully some progress can be made.

[Shoujo Q]

H!O put up bigger scans from the FLASH magazine, Sadude and I made it into the group picture at the concert in that Flash Magazine on the first page. You can see me trying to call in some animals or maybe I'm trying to be a little wota! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> While Sadude just stands there being so serious. The photo was taken at the beginning of the concert, because I hadn't lost my glowsticks yet.



Oh and my H!O shirt made it into print also~ Yay! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ohyeah.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />

[Sugoi Sama]

I see you and Sadude lol! If you look hard enough you can see myself and Snowman 3 rows behind you guys!



I'm gonna put up my AX report in the Digital Pictures thread, unless its okay to spam here with pics?

[AEUGNewtype]

You can see me in the magazine as well! I just noticed myself my head is just sticking out because everyone around me was so short! You can see Maxemillian all the way on the left of the frame, and I'm two people to the right of that.

[peachgirldb]

I think I see Ruby's head in that picture. (We were 3 rows behind PQ/Sanch)



jk there is Pumo's head too! I was next to him but obvs wayyy too short to be caught on camera.

[alita87]

[quote name='PQ' post='66420' date='Jul 14 2009, 08:01 PM']H!O put up bigger scans from the FLASH magazine, Sadude and I made it into the group picture at the concert in that Flash Magazine on the first page. You can see me trying to call in some animals or maybe I'm trying to be a little wota! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> While Sadude just stands there being so serious. The photo was taken at the beginning of the concert, because I hadn't lost my glowsticks yet.



Oh and my H!O shirt made it into print also~ Yay! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ohyeah.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />[/quote]



Ah so that's you.



Although I couldn't go to AX since I'm having enough trouble with money here in Japan, it seems to be getting rather good press coverage. I'm actually surprised there hasn't been too much of a backlash from the wota here. When i checked 2ch before the con there were a few angry comments but most were along the line of "ah let them have their fun it's the only time MM will be going to america anyways". I should probably check now that these pictures have surfaced.



Since most have only seen the scans, I must say it amuses me that this article is in essentially a tabloid/porn magazine. X_x I got a very strange look when I found the magazine then got the nerve up to bring it up and buy it. Two pages before the Musume article there are naked pictures. Ah well, the Musume article makes it worth it as I love the picture of them jumping.

[Pucchi-Mo]

The jumping pic should be our new BBS banner. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ohyeah.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />



Oh wow, I see myself. My awesome glasses are just a Cyclops-like blur.



Sadude is in green. Is that your Saa! Koibito ni Narou inspired shirt? GUMBY

[eri]

[quote name='alita87' post='66432' date='Jul 14 2009, 04:51 PM']I'm actually surprised there hasn't been too much of a backlash from the wota here. When i checked 2ch before the con there were a few angry comments but most were along the line of "ah let them have their fun it's the only time MM will be going to america anyways". I should probably check now that these pictures have surfaced.[/quote]

Just curious but, why would there be a backlash? I don't understand wota mentality. Shouldn't they be happy that their precious group is getting such attention?

[EmEl]

Extreme wota are a jealous and deluded lot. I think that's like asking why someone would be upset if their wife went abroad to meet another guy.



What I heard is that some of the Japanese wota were upset because of the close access the Expo was providing in terms of autographs and stuff. Although I thought they got handshake events and such, but I guess not often?

[sadude]

[quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='66433' date='Jul 14 2009, 09:10 PM']Sadude is in green. Is that your Saa! Koibito ni Narou inspired shirt? GUMBY[/quote]

I guess so. I don't remember what I was wearing that day. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... cratch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />

[Pucchi-Mo]

[quote name='sadude' post='66439' date='Jul 14 2009, 11:55 PM'][quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='66433' date='Jul 14 2009, 09:10 PM']Sadude is in green. Is that your Saa! Koibito ni Narou inspired shirt? GUMBY[/quote]

I guess so. I don't remember what I was wearing that day. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... cratch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />

[/quote]



I realized that it had to be, because Friday was the day I saw you around the food court near Carl's Jr. (and said "Nice shirt, Gumby")

[kitaoji]

[quote name='EmEl' post='66438' date='Jul 15 2009, 12:37 PM']Extreme wota are a jealous and deluded lot. I think that's like asking why someone would be upset if their wife went abroad to meet another guy.



What I heard is that some of the Japanese wota were upset because of the close access the Expo was providing in terms of autographs and stuff. Although I thought they got handshake events and such, but I guess not often?[/quote]



Oh no, the wota have been getting handshake events for every single since Onna ni Sachi Are (with the exception of Mikan, and that's one of the reasons I think its sales were particularly bad). I think they've also had these Haro10 fan events and some other ones that escape me, but mayhaps alita87 can fill things in.



When you consider it all, we got a concert (not too spectacular, but that's okay) for $20 or $70, depending on how you look at it, and the tickets for the concerts in Japan alone are 8,400 yen. (I'd presume the extreme wota don't even factor in the cost of traveling all the way out here, since they do the same for the Hawaii fanclub tours.) Then we also got a Q&A panel where you could ask questions directly, autograph sessions where the handshakes and conversations went at an extremely slow pace (unless you were in the guaranteed one, but that was a mess anyway) and each member signed your stuff of your own choosing in front of you, and for the really informed lucky few, photo opportunities and the Breakfast event.



That, and this is the largest group of people since Yossi's graduation (OMG, it's been such a long time) that MM alone have performed to. Granted, probably half of the 7500 people in the audience were there on a whim, but that doesn't stop the Japanese press from throwing that figure around.

[eri]

[quote name='kitaoji' post='66442' date='Jul 14 2009, 09:35 PM'][quote name='EmEl' post='66438' date='Jul 15 2009, 12:37 PM']Extreme wota are a jealous and deluded lot. I think that's like asking why someone would be upset if their wife went abroad to meet another guy.



What I heard is that some of the Japanese wota were upset because of the close access the Expo was providing in terms of autographs and stuff.[/quote]



When you consider it all, we got a concert (not too spectacular, but that's okay) for $20 or $70, depending on how you look at it, and the tickets for the concerts in Japan alone are 8,400 yen...Then we also got a Q&A panel where you could ask questions directly, autograph sessions where the handshakes and conversations went at an extremely slow pace (unless you were in the guaranteed one, but that was a mess anyway) and each member signed your stuff of your own choosing in front of you, and for the really informed lucky few, photo opportunities and the Breakfast event.

[/quote]



Hmm that makes some sense. There must be some resentment especially if they feel like they are the only "real" fans. I remember hearing how Glay performed at House of Blues in LA -- a teeny tiny venue-- last year and (even with waning popularity) I couldn't help comparing that to their famous concerts in the 90s where hundreds and thousands of people came. They must not be very good fans though if they selfishly want to limit mm's exposure to other fans.

[truehappiness]

Wow, so there were a bunch of mm-bbs people there too! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />



Hope you all had fun~ if anyone here saw a guy holding an iPod playing random H!P.. that was me! Haha.

[Madara]

I started a flickr account to post photos here, but when I try to post one, I get this message and I don't know what it means:



"You are not allowed to use that image extension on this board. A valid format is: http://www.domain.com/picture.gif, an invalid format is: [url="http://www.domain.com/picture.one.gif""]http://www.domain.com/picture.one.gif"[/url]



Here's the URL for the sample photo I wanted to post here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40529317@N08/3724514494/



What's so wrong with it that the Image Attachment thing won't accept it?



Any suggestions?

[Hana]

The "@", I would assume. But mostly, it's not an *image* specifically as far as the board is concerned.



I fooled around with a test account I set up. Here's the image URL flickr gave me for my image when I clicked on it in my account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40488061@N03/3724852028/



If I right click the image and say "open in new tab" (or copy URL or anything like that), it then gives me this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/372485..._b5eef4a696.jpg



You can't put image tags around the first one, because it's not a valid *image* URL. It's a URL, but it doesn't go to a picture and only a picture, it takes you to the Flickr page. The second URL, however, it will gladly accept (I tested it to make absolutely sure). If you plan on having your photos set to private, you'll have to get the URL for the actual image itself. Otherwise you can throw up a regular text link to the URL flickr gives you.



If you want any more help (visuals), you can PM me. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />

[Madara]

[quote name='Hana' post='66455' date='Jul 16 2009, 05:39 AM']The "@", I would assume. But mostly, it's not an *image* specifically as far as the board is concerned.



I fooled around with a test account I set up. Here's the image URL flickr gave me for my image when I clicked on it in my account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40488061@N03/3724852028/



If I right click the image and say "open in new tab" (or copy URL or anything like that), it then gives me this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/372485..._b5eef4a696.jpg



You can't put image tags around the first one, because it's not a valid *image* URL. It's a URL, but it doesn't go to a picture and only a picture, it takes you to the Flickr page. The second URL, however, it will gladly accept (I tested it to make absolutely sure). If you plan on having your photos set to private, you'll have to get the URL for the actual image itself. Otherwise you can throw up a regular text link to the URL flickr gives you.



If you want any more help (visuals), you can PM me. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' />[/quote]





So, what does everyone else do differently from me that enables them to post photos so that they appear in the post and not just as a link or a URL?

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='Madara' post='66456' date='Jul 15 2009, 03:57 PM']So, what does everyone else do differently from me that enables them to post photos so that they appear in the post and not just as a link or a URL?[/quote]

When you're making a post on the BBS, there's a little icon just above the place where you type your post that has a little landscape thing in it, if you hold your mouse over it for a few seconds, it'll say "Insert Image." Click that and it'll ask you for the URL of the image. Or you can do it manually by typing [IMG] before the image URL and one after the image URL with a / (forward slash) in front of it.



Example:

[IMG]

Image URL goes here

[/IMG]