Cosplay, Fandoms, and Getting Involved-Oh My!

Everyone has a “thing” that makes their eyes widen and their mouths go a mile a minute. For some people, it’s Dr. Who, for others it’s Supernatural, and so on and so forth. So many fandoms and so little time! How do you find where you belong? The best advice I can offer is to get involved, whether it is with a trusted friend or a full blown convention of your choice. The sky is the limit and it is all about what you are comfortable with.

I never knew how true this was until I went on my fandom vision quest!

Pacific Rim Review

 

 If you need something to do this weekend here in Tyler, Tx then hit up one of our local cinemas and GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE ... *ahem* ... okay, so maybe you want reasons? Fine, buckle up!

Ani-What-Now? Anime and You PART 2

Anime and You
PART 2: Deeper Themes & Genres

   In the last blog I got to talk about a small section of the Anime-Cake which included what an “opening animation” was, as well as some genres ( although, obviously, not all of them could be included – I’ll mention some more here … )

Ani-what-now? Anime & You!

Ani-What-now? Anime & You! 

PART 1 - An Introduction! 

[Disclaimer ~ Anime is a huge topic. HUGE! It is about as 'deep' as trying to explain the diversity in literature or novels. As such, this blog covered very, very broad strokes of content. I'd love to go more into some weirder shows like Hellsing, Berserk, Kenshin, or others, but for now this introduction is possibly the best entry point into the anime waters. Deeper subjects to follow? We'll see! ]

Pink Hair? Ninja? Must be anime ...

One of my favorite things in the world is "anime", Japanese animated programming that has subject content that ranges from being OK for young adult audiences all the way to R-Rated content. Much like our own American TV system, Japanese anime can cover topics from the adorable to the violent, it just depends on what you like and what you consider "worth watching". While the legal rights system which governs showing copyrighted TV content here at the University of Texas at Tyler has prevented out long-standing Anime Club from being able to show these titles, it does not keep this topic from being particularly popular and beloved by many UT Tyler students.

   While I think it might be worth covering Japanese anime in more depth across different blog posts, I think an "Introduction to Anime" post might be fun! I'll cover the genres anime can (broadly) cover, the opening animations/songs, and the difference between anime for TV, OVA ( Japan's answer to Direct-to-DVD shows ), and movies that appear in cinema.

Out of City Experiences, or ... Why Presenting Is Awesome!

   One of the most important things a person in an Arts & Humanities field can do before graduation is to plan and get experience *ANY WAY POSSIBLE* in a professional sense before you walk the aisle to get the empty diploma tube.  

TL;DR ... or, Hello! [ My Name Here! ]

 
   Greetings to you Mr/Mrs Reader who has either found this blog via private discovery, or maybe because you are one of the people I have linked it to in order to gain more followers for this site! I am Michael Hale, a senior English major here at the University of Texas at Tyler.

    I feel the process of blogging must convey some inspirational, educational, and/or motivational component, otherwise I always imagine the reader ( you, dear person! ) are reading nothing more than a glorified Facebook post with far better font options.

   What do I have to say? What things will this blog cover?