This is the off-season for us, you may have noticed, and that means that sometimes I have trouble coming up with column topics. So I figured that I'd instead talk about what "off-season" means, and why the concept is, for us, at least halfway obsolete.
Begin with the mists of vanished history, the once-upon-a-time when we were kids who really liked anime. Fortunately, we lived in LA, home of Anime Expo, the largest anime con in the US. We'd go to it each year, and at that time, the calendar seemed to revolve around July 4th weekend -- the traditional date for AX. In those days, the season lasted for a three-day weekend, and it was good enough for us.
As time went by, we added more cons to our basket, and the "season" kept getting longer and longer. Fanime in May gave way to Katsucon in March and ALA in January. At the other end of the year, we pushed all the way back to Yaoi-con. Thus far, there isn't much during the winter, but we're still in LA, and winter's over in an eyeblink here.
To be sure, there's still an off-season. Things are quieter between fall and spring, and we get the occasional free weekend. But we go to events here and there, now and again, and of course there's always something to work on, even if there's no place to go.
And here I am, writing a daily column, which -- despite all appearances -- is going to continue being
daily goddamnit. Truly, we have no off-season any more. But there's still the legacy of that season, in that sometimes the world is reluctant to yield interesting column topics, and I have to dig a little deeper.
words from chris, 2009-03-25 22:32:12, los angeles
