January 2010 Events

Well, anyone who was really interested already knows this, but I will put it here for completeness’s sake. Tomorrow, January 9th, Sakura Syndrome (well, basically Somnium in Tenebris) host their first Athens party for 2010 at Da Sein (Solomou 12, Exarheia), starting at 21:00 as usual. This party, in addition to everyone’s favorite music, will include a guest DJ set by long-time absentee Raven Sweetwater, as well as the European debut of XodiacK’s first album, “Shinra Bansho – Setsuri” (read more here).  Besides the established cosplay contest, keep your eyes peeled for more surprises and freebies during the night.

Sakura Syndrome Pre-Release Party.

On the 23rd of January,  don’t miss “Schoolyard presents Japan Meets New York”, an East meets West special party, also at Da Sein, a joint production of  DCpleen Blog and Nozomi Ongaku. You are invited to listen to the mingled sounds of both New York and Japanese Freestyle, Hip Hop and Electronica, with the extra spice of J-Rock and Visual Kei sounds: an explosive cocktail like no other, hosted by the one and only, mighty KrizD!!!

East meets West. Word!

More on this as I get my hands on the information.

Have a nice month,

Speedgrapher

Down the Rabbit Hole on Christmas Day (Photoshoot 10/10/2009)

As you have no doubt noticed, I have been under radio silence for the better part of a month: not a peep, nor a squeak, or even a feeble click. Some of you were concerned and even alarmed that I was not present at Akai Panda’s Christmas Special and I thank you all for your wishes. I really appreciate the sentiment. The silence and absence have a number of boring and depressing reasons, so I will refrain from tiring you with them. Suffice to say that priorities have been in a steady crash course for some time now and things will not get better before they get worse, so yes, it is very likely I will be in my semi-Houdini state for some time to come (do not fall victim to misconceptions: the complete Houdini state translates to complete vanishing for 3 or 6 months or even a year – it has happened before).

At any rate, that doesn’t mean I do not still have a bulky backlog of photographic material, so I will slowly endeavor to go through it. Today’s post is from the pre-party photo shoot on the 10th of October, initially Neuro’s idea, which – although not many people turned up – I believe substituted quality for quantity: a fine thing by my reckoning. I believe the meeting had been scheduled for 18:00 at Areos Plaza and at that time the only people present were Spirosk81, DJ Gaara and myself (Neuro arrived much later but in his defense, there WAS a problem with commuting on that day), while we were soon joined by Yo! Master dressed as Takahata Takamichi from an alternative version of Negima (I cannot remember the extremely head-numbing specifics, sorry). An hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half  later, an Alice in Wonderland ensemble showed up, featuring Wabbit as Alice, Epilogue as the Mad Hatter and Fireroses as the White Rabbit. By sheer coincidence, Evaofdawn’s choice of clothes made her a perfect addition as the White Duchess. Later still, Memole also showed up as Tifa Lockhart from the original FFVII (I think).

Well then, here they are, some 80 pictures in all: hope you enjoy them!

Blooper #1: Ooops! Wrong person in the background…!

Blooper #2: Tea does cause constipation.

Blooper #3: Bliss.

Right, ummm… since WordPress is being a fuckwit again and it lost my captions (yes, yet AGAIN), I am afraid you will have to do without. Besides, there weren’t as many as usual and it’s probably just habit that made me put them there. Right at the end, before we made off for Sakura Syndrome’ s party, we were joined by Kirenahana and KawaiiDobermann. You will notice that some backgrounds have been edited: that was because the street and cars were showing, so it was my way of showing the “Beyond the Mirror” effect, as if both realities were side by side but had a distinct barrier between them. In general, this is one of my favorite sets, not just because of the costumes and the in-character poses, but I think the colors came out really well and even the fast-approaching twilight worked to the advantage of Memole’s shoot.

Catch you later,

Speedgrapher

P.S. For those who might take the post’s title the very wrong way, let me clarify: I edited those yesterday.

December 2009 Events

Well, well… it’s that time of the month again, when the events of various teams have to be announced in order for the aspiring attendees to organize their time and cosplays. This month we have 2 events up north and one in Athens, so here we go:

First up is J.A.P 団 and Geek-Lover Productions’ Japan, Anime & Gaming Party on December 6th (that is to say, this coming Sunday), at the same location as their first party, To Kryfto (31, Valaoritou St., Salonika – see the poster for a map), chiefly sponsored by Byteme.gr. The party will feature, as last time, multiple contests in the following categories:

J.A.P 団 and Geek-Lover Productions' Japan, Anime & Gaming Party.

(1) Best Anime Cosplay.

(2) Best Gaming Cosplay: same as the well-known above, only with gaming characters.

(3) Best Photo-shoot.

(4) Best Role-Play Acting.

I believe the categories are self-expletive but if not, you can go here and read more details. Entrance is 5 euros including drink and for any and all information, requests etc., you can mail the team at japdan2009@gmail.com or visit their Facebook or MySpace.

Secondly, on Friday the 11th of December Sakura Syndrome are back with Christmas & Somnium’s Un-Birthday Party Special, combining Somnium in Tenebris’s birthday (which is on the 7th – many preemptive wishes girl!) with a Christmas Celebration, through Alice’s looking glass. This will also be a double release party in collaboration with Darkest Labyrinth, for Vanished Empire’s “Theater of Tragedy” (by DJ Chihiro and DeeLee, whom some of you may have met waaaay back with Gothika) and HimemaniK’s “I wanna be a figurine”. The party will also feature contests and other suprises. The party will take place at CoFiX (11, Lori Margariti St., Salonika) as usual and starts at 21:00. Entrance is 4 euros including drink.

"Why? Because each has 365 Un-Birthdays!"

Finally, just a week before Christmas Day, Akai Panda organize their last party for 2009 on Friday, the 18th of December, at the new MAD Club (12, Dekeleon St., Gazi). The party starts at 21:00 with free entrance and will feature Camus, Namida and… (?) at the decks.

Akai Panda's Christmas Cosplay Special.

Well, talk about a packed December and here’s hoping it all works out for the best.

Cheers,

Speedgrapher