What Whitney Wants to Say #2
Welcome to What Whitney Wants to Say! Let’s get into it:
Anime conventions are a great time as long as you accept that you probably won’t get into the panels you want to get into. I learn this the hard way every year unfortunately but I think if you build a bit of disappointment into your expectations, you’ll have a great time. With the growing popularity of anime and manga globally and Conventions’ determination not to make any industry wide changes, getting into panels will become harder and harder. People were lining up for over 45 minutes to get into the panel I co-hosted this past weekend at Otakon and I’m not a famous voice actor or some experienced industry professional. It’s sad but it’s reality. If it’s any consolation, the large ballroom events are usually pretty easy to get into. Plus, there’s always shopping and people watching to do which is the main draw for conventions anyway.
Make sure to go outside and appreciate the natural beauty of the world once a day. It’s corny but it’s the best free thing we can do. I especially enjoy watching the trees, they’ll tell you a lot about how the local climate and ecosystem. I did environmental science in school so I get to be annoying about these things.
I respect Doja Cat’s desire to put up boundaries with her fans. I don’t respect attacking those same fans and putting out music you’ve acknowledged as “cash grabs” to try and squeeze money out of them. Fandom by nature is nonsensical and introducing that much “truth” destroys the fantasy and harms sales. Not to say it isn’t necessary to wake people up, but you should expect the response to be equally jarring. However, I’m sure she’ll be alright.
I am both excited and nervous for Beyoncé tomorrow. Excited makes sense but I’m not sure why I’m nervous. I think it’s because of the worry that every subsequent artist I see after her will pale in comparison and shows will just suck now. I hope not because I still have many concerts in me, I hope.
I find it increasingly hard to finish books these days. It’s too easy for me to get annoyed with a particular point in a nonfiction book or exhausted with a poorly written character so I just abandon it. Terrible habit, I know but after reading “The Spear Cuts Through Water” by Simon Jimenez, I’m find it hard to settle for anything less than that. That book was truly transformative for me and left me feeling sad that it was over when I finished it. I actually cried you guys! Truly, a beautiful story through and through. How can I read worse books?