Cat Café NYC

L. invited me to join her at the first NYC cat café the other day and I enjoyed the experience (although part of the beauty was also I didn’t have to make reservations, which I heard requires months). for $4, you can play with cats for 30min or just chill and observe them from a distance. all the cats have name/profiles with their likes/dislikes near the front so you can get to know them.

the place has a lot of cute cat themed containers and décor. and it’s close to the subway and food places.

To make a reservation, go to their website. http://www.meowparlour.com/

I wonder if there will be more cat cafes popping up in NYC soon!?

BBG Sakura Matsuri Cosplay Fashion Show

Brooklyn Botanical Garden hosts a cherry blossom festival every spring and usually garden visitors will see cosplayers gathering and hanging out during the popular event as well. I have been to the festival a few years in a row and got a chance to see the cosplay fashion show this year.

Since there is a limited number of spots on the fashion show and requires an application process, only the best get to be part of the cat walk! Since I was way too short, I missed most of the poses on the stage. Luckily, I happened to be standing near the exist and snapped these photos.

Kitana from the video game series Mortal Kombat. She was actually part of a trio of Mortal Kombat group cosplay. The other two were Sonia and Scorpion. The three of them managed to increase the tension on the stage with their deadly entrance. Don’t mess with Mortal Kombat… just saying.

I do not know the characters but the credits mention they are from the series Black Butler. I know it’s usually not fair to base my anime watching habits on cool clothes… but I may have to check this series out since the art style is also up my alley.

Disney princess remix (Belle, Elza, Snow White, etc. Genius!

One of two Attack on Titan cosplayers from the fashion show. I couldn’t figure out which character this was until the credits noted it’s Jean. The gear on this is just hotness.

Yes, the garden has a variety of tulips. I like the orange ones and also a few varieties that have a difference color edge than the petals themselves.

Magnolia plaza lives up to its name. I took a pic of the yellow magnolia because it’s one of the few trees that didn’t have pink blossoms.

More cosplay photos from the weekend on Gothamist: http://gothamist.com/2015/04/27/cosplayers_brooklyn_2015.php#photo-1

NYU CosCafe 2015

view from NYU Kimmel was awesome

Love Live, the cutest show with great music and cosplay too.

I like this song / dance number for including a lot of energy

MoshiMoshi, a rock band that specializes in video game / anime music.
their rockin’ rendition of Pokemon wowed the entire audience.

Notes

I was invited to this event by animemiz and was happy to be able to save a table near the front for the group. J. and I were both hooked on Love Live aftewards (he checked out the game, I checked out the anime). I am really impressed with the talent and organization of anime clubs of today. Previously, I was quite impressed with how Stevens pulled off an anime convention on their campus (see post link). Now after seeing this coscafe with people cosplaying and performing was a nice surprise too. If you enjoy cosplay masquerade events at conventions, the coscafe offers great entertainment/performances. I particularly enjoyed the Love Live numbers. The group did a fantastic job putting the outfits together and also a lot of rehearsals for the steps! I also liked some of the interactive audience games they played (especially rock paper scissors group play and also T/F with anime trivia). A group of us ended up at a diner where we chilled out and talked more anime. Maybe I’ll see more friends at Anime Next?

More Reading

Love Live on Crunchyroll http://www.crunchyroll.com/love-live-school-idol-project
Youtube videos of the event: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxlTbPZSVZ1LawtTLqAKx8Kv_LL-bZi-m
MoshiMoshi https://www.facebook.com/MoshiMoshiBand

Cosplay Notes

After chatting with Ishu and looking at her cosplay photos, I’ve decided to make an effort to learn more about cosplay this year. Starting out with putting this post together and also doing some ‘homework’ on figuring out my list of favorite characters in anime and video game series (casual and also formal outfits). Part of cosplay is the making of the costume and the other part is really to immerse yourself in your favorite character and share that with other enthusiasts. and some outfits are really too fantastic to believe until you see them made and worn by fans (Aoba from DMM and Erza Angel Armor Mode from Fairy Tail)…

Characters (ongoing list / dev)

yes I realize this is where pinterest boards would have been handy for brainstorm but oh well. will just to try without it.

1) brainstorm characters (done)

2) find reference pics (in progress)

3) break down the main outfit pieces and colors (not yet started)

• Yowapeda: the general manager of the club. Kanzaki (http://yowamushipedal.wikia.com/wiki/Kanzaki_Miki?file=Kanzaki.Miki.full.1565237.jpg)
• Korra: Korra, or one of the pro fighting team members? i even have many red pandas if required.
  (http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Korra)
• Sailor Moon: sailor mercury or mars (casual, school uniform, fighting uniform, other)
  (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/01/31-1/cartoon-redraws-sailor-moon-crystal-in-style-of-manga-and-original-anime)
• Rwby: Blake (casual outfit, uniform, or fighting outfit)
  http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Blake_Belladonna
• Fairy Tail: Erza (regular or casual, not super fancy armor)
  http://fairytail.wikia.com/wiki/Erza_Scarlet
• Fairy Tail: alternate universe Lucy Ashley (black outfit)
  http://fairytail.wikia.com/wiki/Lucy_Ashley
• Samurai Champloo: Fuu (although those shoes are hard to pull off)
  http://champloo.wikia.com/wiki/Fuu
• Hamatora: Koneko (somewhat minor character though)
  http://myanimelist.net/character/93439/Koneko

Self-assessment on cosplay readiness/skills

• drawing – translate anime outfit into real outfit. can probably also research what other cosplayers have already done.
• sewing – can hand sew, that’s about it. can maybe borrow a sewing machine
• gathering /converting supplies – um, old shirts/fabrics which can be recycled?
• characters – should be ok to rewatch shorter series like RWBY. but for series with longer storyline (fairy tail), may need to do more watching and/or cliff notes.
• acting / role – playing the part.
• photography – would be good to learn more about taking pics and also posing (can take notes at convention and also through observation of what I like/don’t like from photos).

Next Steps

• Feb/March: go fabric shopping with Ishu (maybe also help with sewing process)
• Feb: attend Katsucon cosplay events to get inspired / motivated / observe photography and poses in a convention setting.
• May: attend Brooklyn Botanical Garden cosplay event to also get inspired / motivated / observe photography in an outdoor setting.
• assess next steps for making an outfit and/or buying an outfit

Resources

• http://www.crunchyroll.com/call-to-cosplay (cosplay iron chef style. I love how the participants get creative with the materials and turn them into great outfits.)
• http://www.cosplay.com/ (forums, photos, tips, etc)
• http://anyonecancosplay.tumblr.com/ (motivation and inspiration)

NYC winter jazzfest 2015

NYC Winter Jazzfest took place across several venues during Jan 8-10, 2015. On Jan 10, I braved the cold to choose my own adventure down in the village. This year there were 10 venues and 100+ bands which made itineraries and combinations a tricky affair. I tried the best I can to fit in different bands and different venues. Clearly, I can't seem to just sit still in one or two places (which would make things much easier logistically).  

The Prep

Prior to the weekend, I browsed through the bands' albums on the Winter Jazzfest itunes playlist. There I found I really enjoyed listening to Hadar Noiberg (I play the flute so always looking for flute performances) and marked her appearance on my prep list. I also think it's interesting to read through the personnel listing to find out what instruments / people are listed for the different groups. 

Check-in and Stop 1 - Piano

The check-in at the Judson Church was wrapped around two street block corners. I was in no mood to stand in line in the brutal, wind-chilled evening so opted to take my chances at the secondary check-in site at Subculture. Luckily, there was no line and I caught the end of a performance and grabbed a Crisp beer. While taking a break between acts, I took the opportunity to review the official program (paper is better than mobile phone) and mark up bands/venues with a small highlighter. Some of it is purely logistics (trying to make my way across the different venues) while others feature bands/instruments that I'm interested in (flute, cello, trumpet, etc). I also bookmarked the crowd report site which gave an indication of the space capacity at various venues every 15 minutes. 

Subculture http://subculturenewyork.com/

Alfredo Rodriguez Trio (band link)

I really enjoyed the ballad piece called veinte anos (20 years).  

Stop 2 - Electric Cello Hip Hop

Bowery Electric http://www.theboweryelectric.com/

Dana Leong Trio (band link)

I wish I had seen more of this performance. Very good crowd energy and really, what beats electric cello hip hop? have to look into more of their shows.

Stop 3 - Flute Melodies 

Now I know why there was a huge line last time I tried to go here. It's not a huge space and the immediate area next to the stage are sit-down seats/tables only (no standing). Luckily I got a seat not too far from the crowd and was able to enjoy the show. Very cozy space and good drinks, probably will come back for other shows.

Zinc Bar http://www.zincbar.com/homepage

Hadar Noiberg Trio (band link)

I enjoyed the piece called Persian love song. need to see what type of flute she has because it certainly sounded different. 

I ordered "the A train" with gin (with cucumber, lime, pimms, and white cranberry juice). 

Stop 4 - Sax Magic

Minetta Lane Theatre http://minettalanenyc.com/index.php

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls (Charlie Parker project) http://rudreshm.com/

Stop 5 - Dancin' Good Hearty Warm Jazz

Greenwich House Music School http://www.greenwichhouse.org/music_school/index

David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band (David link) - they perform every Wed at Birdland!

I loved "Dream a little Dream", "Stardust" and really everything they played. The crowd loved them too.

of course after reading a bit more about them, I realized that the band does not always feature the same members. Listing some other performers and their site(s) so you can check them out too. I listed them according to order in pic above (left to right)

Clarinet/ Tenor Sax - Adrian Cunningham

Banjo / Guitar - Jared Engel

Trumpet - Bria Skonberg

Tuba/Lead - David Ostwald

Trombone - Dion Tucker (official site?)

Drums - Joe Saylor (official site?)

some other pics

previous Winter Jazzfest write-up [link]
look forward to the next winter jazzfest!