Posts tagged Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons

Disneyland + “Gir” + Anime Expo (aka I have a pretty odd life.)

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1 year ago
by Tom in

First off: I get on a plane for Tokyo in five days.  Expect a slew of blog posts once that kicks off.

Secondly: This blog has been slow lately due to being extremely busy with things like, say, planning to go to Tokyo. Gomen’nasai.

What that in mind, some pretty cool shit has been going down.

Approximately once a month I have been flying out to Los Angeles, California to work on an amazing new event called Project Anime (www.projectanime.org.)  For years, anime convention promoters have discussed the idea of a “convention convention” where con chairs and owners all meet up for a conference to discuss running their respective events and the state of fandom as a whole.  Project Anime is the realization of this thanks to the folks at the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.  They’ve spearheaded the concept and brought in Wasabi Anime to make it a reality.

It’s been a lot of hard work, but if this thing goes according to plan then anime conventions (and convention featuring anime) across North America will gain access to valuable information and resources making the fan experience that much more extraordinary.

That said, those of you who regularly read my blog know that I am cheesy tourist at heart, so I’ve done my damnedest to fit in some local sightseeing on these business trips.

I’ve posted the photos from my trip back in February here.

This one photo, though, defines the vibe of the trip more than any other:

That’s myself, some of the executive team from Anime Expo, Rikki “Gir” Simons, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons all about to enjoy pineapple ice cream goodness on in the Enchanted Tiki Room after a long day of business meetings and stuff.  (Disneyland is open until midnight on Friday nights!)

And here’s Rikki and I wearing “Dale” hats:

I make no excuses.  We were high on churros. 

Stay tuned, kids.  This summer is going to be one hell of a ride.

Orochon Ramen in Los Angeles, California…

2
1 year ago
by Tom in

I went on a business trip in November with Joey Snackpants. What does that mean?  Why, more Man v. Food goodness of course!  Here’s the list so far:

Let’s cut to the chase: No, I did not order or try to eat Special #2.  I was technically in town for a business dinner and dying of extreme spicy food didn’t seem like the prudent thing to do.

Joey and I met up with some of our friends from the Invader ZIM cast and crew to discuss the upcoming InvaderCON II: DOOMCON convention that we were going to host nearby in Los Angeles.  Joining us were Eric Trueheart, Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons and Tavisha Wolfgath-Simons.  Zaniness was guaranteed to ensue:

After we were seated, everyone started reading the menu.  Peer pressure started to bounce around the table and (at one point) we were all certain that Eric was going to try Special #2.  When the time came to order, though, he bailed on the challenge and opted to go for a normal level spicy ramen.  Someday, Eric.  Someday…

The misleading part about this story, though, is where I mentioned the “normal level spicy.”  There’s no such thing.  Check out the menu: http://www.orochon-ramen.com/menu/

Notice that Orochon 7 is the safe thing to order with Orochon 4 set to be neutral without being bland.  I ordered Orochon 3 which is four levels below ultimate spiciness.  I figured that should be safe enough, right? Maybe – except I was eating dinner with Richard sitting across from me and Richard (if you haven’t met him) tends to be a funny, funny guy.  See:

That @RichardHorvitz guy likes noodles!

SO. At one point during the evening, Richard was telling a story about an angry older gentlemen (who will remain nameless) he dealt with at an audition. The result? I laughed and the broth from my ramen went back in my throat and up my nose. INSTANT PAIN.

Little Tokyo in Los Angeles

See the tears in my eyes? Those are TEARS OF PAIN from the spicy flavor of Orochon 3. At that point, I didn’t even want to imagine the special oral hell endured by any human ever attempting Special #2.

(My eyes are watering this as I type this from the memories.  Seriously.)

All that said, it WAS a very tasty spicy.  As with all previous MvF locations – the food lived up to the hype.  The noodles and broth were both quality stuff.  Since we were there in November, the weather was chilly in Southern California, but not cold.  Thus the warm soup and the kick of spicy goodness really made for a quality meal.

One of the added perks to visiting may of the MvF restaurants is location.  Orochon Ramen is situated in the middle of the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles.  The result of which is that you experience an extra level of ambiance when having dinner there.  Right next to the restaurant was a hotel with a beautiful Japanese garden you could walk though.  From there, you are afforded a great view of the city:

Little Tokyo in Los Angeles

Orochon Ramen was good meal in a wonderful location with some great people.

Epic. Food. WIN.

Yes… I’m alive – and InvaderCON is finally completed.

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2 years ago
by Tom in

So my blogging has been pretty lax lately (except for the book reviews and a photos each week) due to working on Green Mustard‘s newest project: InvaderCON.

Well, InvaderCON over.  I’m sitting in the Marriott still processing it all.  The short version: it was amazing. The slightly longer version: it was really amazing.

I’ve been doing this zany convention thing for a long time now, but this was the first event I’ve help run that I saw to many families attend and enjoy together.  It was an impacting and unique experience for so many people.

Just.

Wow.

I promise to type more later, but I’ve got to finish getting the “technical stuff” done to wrap up the convention.  For now, though, here’s a great photo of some of the guests and amazing team from the convention at The Vortex in Atlanta, Georgia last night:

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