JAN 16 11
NEW SERIES STARTING UP HERE ON RA:N
Azusa has been begging me to start a new series I'd like to call RA:D, or- "Run Around:Diaries" so I can update you on things in my life outside of the regular convention coverages and news articles. Once in a while I'll post one of these. I hope that maybe it will add a more personal touch to Run Around:Network as I invite you into my life throughout the week/month. (Still haven't decided whether to make this a weekly or monthly series though.
-We'll begin with some small updates, and later the article gets a bit sentimental. 
Near the end of last month I unveiled the new RUN AROUND:NETWORK that I had been working on for many moons. The site had been under construction since December after an almost fatal DNS crash that wiped out the previous, "Run Around Kazu". ^^;; Almost everything had to be rebuilt from scratch and I was barely able to save my posts.
The new RUN AROUND:NETWORK is my greatest creation yet- running off the Blogger/Blogspot platform, it is one of the most advanced type of blogs/websites to run off of Google's blogging platform- which is rivaled only by WordPress. Most blogspot sites are simple and plain, but I noticed there was a HUGE customiz-ablity factor that is unrivaled in my tastes, and I went ahead and rebuilt everything with Blogspot. Many folks seem to think I run on WordPress but I don't. ^^;; RA:N is completely custom, and with a bit of the coding ripped from the Arthemia theme. Fellow otaku and recommended blogger Alafista, also uses a somewhat similar layout. The switch to our new server and Blogger/Google integration took several weeks- Airi (above) became impatient and almost had my head with her scythe! There is a few hic-ups here and there, but working quite well overall. An update to the theme will be installed later this week. ^^
Other than web development- I've been developing a team of Poke'mon in the new Poke'mon Black and White versions after Azusa begged me to get them with that face of hers! "Please accept these Poke'mon versions Kazu" -Azusa says in the pic above.
RUN AROUND:NETWORK is beginning to develop a more solid readership. I've noticed more of you noticing me at conventions and meet-ups, saying hello, wanting to "glomp" me, and attending my public talks, or my convention panels. There's also been more activity coming from you around the network and our different social sites. That being, I wanted to take more pictures from around my town to share with my readers here.
I live in a very interesting and often overlooked city called Sacramento, in California. These photos are actually from North Highlands, which is a town on the outside of the big city. It is the capital of our State, and there's historic spots to be found everywhere. But the one thing I find most special about our city and surrounding towns, is that there is an ENORMOUS underlying otaku community, and boat-loads of creative individuals. That goes for our whole State, and is very fitting for Sacramento to be the capital of such a place.
Above is a photo from an event during Sac Anime Winter 2011. Twice a year, Sac (short for Sacramento) holds a winter con and a summer con. This is made possible by convention visionary Dan Houck and his trusty staff. It was here that I felt the combined energy of the people of Sacramento as they welcomed me at my panel I hosted there. I have been attending the con since it was established in 2004. Soon two new cons, Decepti-Kon and Kintoki-Con will be taking place here.
"The Capital City" as it's sometimes called, is just one city in our State of California. "Cali", also happens to be home to some of the biggest anime and video game related events in the world. Events like FanimeCon, Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon, SacAnime, Decepti-Kon, Kintoki-Con, Hyper-Con, Sac-Con, E3, Web 2.0 Summit, Anime Destiny, Y-Con, JPOP Summit, and so much more are just the tip of the iceberg. As much as I admire the Japanese Culture, Pop-Culture, and Sub-Cultures- I'm happy that God has placed me here, and that I have all of you who read and listen to what I have to say each week. There is an extraordinary community and love for the Japanese Culture outside of Japan. What was once a shameful otaku hobby in 1980's-1990's Japan, has spread and turned into a globally phenomenal unity of fandom, spread across our world.
This website humbly began as a way for me to test my web design, and also to make posts expressing my passion for the Japanese Culture. It has lead me to meet fantastic folks I never thought I would have the chance to meet and talk with. I now have 4 affiliates and 9 major partners. I have also collaborated on publications, TV, news sites, and much more that you can find on my about page.
A small snap from one corner of my workspace. I've been using my new PSP 3000 a lot ever since Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy came out. Old custom Darth Vader PSP 2000 ended up in a scrap-pile after it glitched so bad one day it passed on to the great beyond...
Old Samsung Omnia phone's contract has ended with Verizon and has finally been replaced by an iPhone 3GS through AT&T with the new $49.99 USD deal currently happening. I've had my Omnia since early 2009. All of the Sac Anime, FanimeCon, and Sac-Con coverages you may have seen around runaroundnetwork.com, all except the Winter 2011 con, were snapped with this phone. Thankfully at the end of last year I purchased my Nikon D5000, and have upgrade my images from being taken by 5 mega pixels, to nearly 13 mega pixels.
Photo above was taken near Mclellan Air Force Base. I thought this picture had a slight bit of ambience to it...what is it about this picture?
Will leave you now with this picture of one of our RT buses. RT stands for "Regional Transit". 'Tis growing late and today is actually the first day of a brand new convention- Decepti-Kon! I'll be there along with Mana-chan and Jacob Rose covering the event, and I'll be guest-speaking there tomorrow evening on consumer generated media and some other tidbits on social media in the otaku/fandom world, and what it could mean to you. Make sure to watch my twitter feed for updates and pictures from the convention as I'll be updating throughout the day! Full coverage will most-likely be released on or after this weekend. Have a nice weekend!
