SXSW blogging

Over the next few days, I will be blogging fairly regularly while I'm at SXSW Interactive, along with a few My Opera members who will also be at the event. Here's the blog we made specifically for that purpose: http://my.opera.com/opera-sxsw-2008

If you're planning to attend SXSW, you'll most likely find me at the Opera booth.

Anime exhibit in Frankfurt (Feb. 27th - Aug. 3rd)

For those of you who have been wondering what anime-related projects I've been up to lately, here's a bit of news that you might be interested in.

Last summer, I got involved with an upcoming anime exhibition being put on by the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. It's called Anime - High Art - Pop Culture, and it will run from February 27th - August 3rd of this year. Unlike exhibits of artworks that are inspired by anime and otaku culture, this exhibit promises to dive headfirst into anime itself and the fan culture surrounding it.

I've personally loaned a number of my posters and artbooks to the exhibit. For the time being, my bookshelves are bit less dense, and my walls are temporarily quite bare (until I put up replacements), but I'm glad that I can share some of my collection with visitors to the exhibit. I also wrote an article for the catalogue (described below). The article, entitled "The Fans Who Became Kings", is a look at the history of Gainax, focusing on their importance to the development of global otaku culture.

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Here's some text from the exhibit's press material:

/ Neopop meets fan culture /
Anime – High Art – Pop Culture at the Deutsche Filmmuseum presents the history, aesthetics and production of Japanese animation. From the early beginnings to the great cinematic successes and the popular heroes of late 1970s serials to current computer and video games, the exhibition illustrates the fascination of anime and their dramatic and often breathtaking visual language. Modules according to genres show a varied collection of materials on production, reception, fan culture and merchandising. The exhibition also features rare collector‘s items and artworks from anime producers shown in Europe for the first time.

/ Interactivity /
Professionals, interested visitors and fans will find many opportunities to become actively and creatively involved in the exhibitions at both museums. Interactive features include fan art exhibitions and competitions, drawing cels and producing short animations yourself and the chance to try out a selection of video games. Films and lectures accompany the exhibitions.

/ The catalogue /
A comprehensive volume (300 pages approx.) will discuss the multimedia aspects of manga and anime in innovative ways. With contributions from leading international scientists and experts, workshop reports and statements by manga and anime artists, directors and collectors the catalogue will close the gap in interdisciplinary documentation of contemporary Japanese popular culture. It will be both a new standard reference and a highly attractive collector‘s item for fans and visitors to the exhibition.

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Official website of the exhibit: http://www.deutschesfilmmuseum.de/pre/res/txt/anime.html

Bobby Fischer (1943-2008)

Bobby Fischer is dead. I've never been more than a casual chess player and observer (my parents let me take some group classes as a kid), but I've always been fascinated by Fischer.

Looking back at his life, I think:
What an incredible mind he had; such will and determination--an unrelenting need to win and dominate his opponents. His work ethic was amazing, and his sense of humor was biting (though not always in a good way). An obsessive student of the game and its history, the man wasn't just a player; he was a true chess otaku. Most of us can only dream of being as good at something as Bobby Fischer was at chess.

As many people know, however, Fischer was also quite troubled for many years before he died. He spent years as a fugitive from the law, and his anti-Semitic diatribes led many to the conclusion that he must be mad, or at least a horrible misanthrope.

In response to the dark side of Bobby Fischer's life, some have said we should only remember his brilliance at chess, his good years, and ignore the ravings of a demented old man.

I don't think it's wrong to be outraged by the hateful content of his ravings (which I first heard in the late '90s), and what he said should certainly be dismissed as racist garbage. But the tragic part of Bobby Fischer's story should not be forgotten or glossed over, even by those who choose to remember the good things about Bobby Fischer. Although he abandoned and denigrated much that was good, he himself was abandoned by a society that could not (or would not) get him the help and support he needed.

Intentionally or not, Bobby Fischer was one of America's weapons during the Cold War; his sole purpose was to disrupt the previously undefeatable Soviet chess machine. Is it any surprise that he was twisted by the paranoia of the time? It doesn't take much to fuel paranoid delusions, and it's been revealed that Fischer and his mother were both under FBI surveillance for decades. The details are vague, but the KGB took an interest in him as well.

I suspect that most of us would crack under the pressures faced by Bobby Fischer. And when a genius with an obsessive mind like Fischer's cracks, the consequences are dire, and what can we do about it? Not much, perhaps, especially when those who need help refuse to admit that they need it. Despite his glaring flaws, I'd like to remember Bobby Fischer as an American hero and a chess genius of the highest order. He was a victim of his time, his celebrity, and the very genius that served him so well on the chessboard, but which became madness in the end.

Farewell, Bobby Fischer. Some will miss you, and some will say 'good riddance', but at the very least, you won't be forgotten.

An unusually long week: wildfires and a rocking launch party

On Sunday afternoon (two weekends ago), I was happily playing with my 2-year-old son in our backyard when I noticed that the air was getting kind of smoky. We went inside and I checked on the internet to see what was going on. Obviously, there was a fire somewhere, but it wasn't close to our house, so my wife and I didn't pay much mind to it. After all, brush fires are not terribly uncommon in San Diego. A few months ago, there was a small brush fire not too far from my home, but it was put out quickly.

That night, we visited my sister's house (about 20 minutes south of me) to celebrate my niece's birthday. My sister's family had lived through the Cedar Fire in 2003, and were concerned about the current fire, at which point I finally got worried. It was definitely smoky in our neighborhood when we got in the car.

When we got home, we turned on the news and saw that the fire had spread quickly. In fact, there were several large fires burning in many different locations throughout San Diego. According to the news, many San Diego residents in affected areas were being asked to evacuate through reverse 911 calls. Looking at the fire map and seeing how quickly the fires were spreading (due to the very high winds), we were getting a little nervous. Not knowing what would happen through the night, we began packing important items into our two cars, just in case we would have to evacuate on short notice.

After staying up late packing crucial documents and our most prized possessions into suitcases, we went to sleep, but I made myself wake up every two hours to check the news. Around 4AM, I saw that the news was especially bad, with houses in the city directly north of us burning, and danger to our east as well. I didn't go back to sleep after that. As my wife slept, I watched the news and continued packing.

Finally, around noon on Monday, it became clear that we'd have to go, with mandatory evacuations occuring extremely close to us to our north and east, and it was only a matter of time before the authorities would recommend our area evacuate as well. Exhausted, we drove our two cars to my sister's house, where we'd watch more news and try to get some rest. (So that my nieces and nephew didn't have to watch news all day, I used Opera Mini to check whether or not my house was in danger.)

Our family and our neighborhood were lucky. The winds didn't blow south, and the fires to our east never got close to us. As such, we were able to safely return home on Tuesday afternoon.

Most of the evacuations were precautionary more than anything, but it was still a very somber and nervous time, knowing that thousands of houses were burning in San Diego. We all witnessed a massive amount of destruction on TV, and felt for those who lost their homes and/or loved ones. Many San Diego residents who evacuated had to stay in temporary shelters, but from all accounts, they were well taken care of, and most of them would be lucky as well and eventually return to their homes. That said, the fires (which are still burning, actually, but mostly contained) destroyed so much, and the cost of rebuilding will be high, but everyone stuck together really well, and I feel more connected than ever to my local community.

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One of the most surreal parts of the whole ordeal was deciding what to take and what to leave behind, not knowing if we'd ever see again the things we didn't pack with us. We actually finished packing quite early, and it turned out we didn't really have that much stuff that we consider to be irreplaceable or extremely valuable. I walked around the house several times, looking things over to make sure we had everything we wanted, and I felt pretty satisfied that we were done. The rest could be left behind, and we'd be okay. It really makes a person reconsider the value of possessions in ones life, how much we have that we really don't need, and how we should value that which we already own (as opposed to what we want to acquire). And of course, coming home again makes one realize the value of having a home, period - a basic and comfortable shelter that doesn't have to be cluttered up with useless goods and accessories. In the coming weeks, I know that I'll be looking into places that are asking for donations of clothes, books, and other stuff.

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I was operating on an adrenalin high most of Monday and Tuesday, and when I woke up on Wednesday, my entire body hurt from the built up stress, tension, and fatigue. I can't even imagine how the firefighters felt after working for days on ends without sleeping. On Thursday morning, I was scheduled to fly to San Francisco to help with the Rock Opera party, where we'd be doing a major product launch, but I was feeling physically bad enough to consider skipping the event.

However, it's not every day that Opera holds a rock music event in the US, launches three new products (Opera 9.5 beta, Opera Mini 4 beta 3, and Opera Link) on the same day, and flies out the CEO to kick off the event with a rousing speech. I had to attend. Plus, we've been working on the launch party for a long time now. I also wanted to make sure our My Opera guests whose travel I arranged were well taken care of and would have a good time at the party.

I got on the airplane early Thursday morning and arrived at my "European-style" hotel in San Francisco a few hours later. On Thursday afternoon, I spent some time hanging out with our My Opera guests and helping to prep for the party.

The party itself was great! It had good food, drinks, lots of people asking and enthusiastic about our latest Opera products, and a ton of rocking music. During the party, I talked with people mostly about Opera Mini and Link, both of which were received very well. The venue was excellent, and the people we hired did a fantastic job making it look great (see photos here). It was the most exciting Opera launch event I've ever attended, and I hope we can do more of the same in the future.

I'd like to thank My Opera members Charlie (BAMAToNE), Anton (Captain Seagull), and Scott and Annette (skid94) for attending the party from out-of-state. Check out their party-related blog posts and photo albums. Anton was particularly great showing off the capabilities of the Wii's Internet Channel, and since it was a party, nobody was surprised or upset when partygoers spontaneously decided to play Wii Sports as well. :)

On Friday, Charlie and I wandered around a little bit before grabbing dinner at a Thai restaurant. Charlie got to witness his first San Francisco protest rally, with everyone on bicycles. Actually, I had never seen that before either.

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I got home on Saturday, and by Sunday, I was laid up in bed after a crazy week of fires, work, and work-related partying. It was one of those perspective-changing weeks you never forget. All in all, even though my physical condition is still not 100%, there's plenty to smile about.