PJTV has this video that says Thanksgiving and America sucks!

Special thanks to Jan Scott-Frasier who found this article in the Wall Street Journal.  

Anime, Japan's stylized animation that has become hugely popular around the world, helped reshape the country's image as a cultural trend-setter. But behind the scenes, things aren't so rosy.

Japan's animation industry is struggling. Anime workers are unhappy, toiling long hours at low pay. Sales have been declining. On top of that, there is fast-growing competition from across Asia. Studios in China and South Korea now churn out high-quality anime-style programs, helped by cheaper labor and, in some cases, government subsidies.

[snip]

 A shrinking population of children in Japan has discouraged toy makers, television networks and other traditional sponsors from funding new programs. That has driven many anime studios—most of which are small shops—toward making animated soft porn and violent movies targeted at adult audiences. At the same time, YouTube and other free Internet services have hurt sales of DVDs. Sales of Japanese-made anime DVDs slid 18% from a year earlier to 72.8 billion yen (about $800 million) in 2008, after peaking at 93.7 billion yen in 2006, according to the Japan Video Software Association, a trade group.

Morale is low. Industry executives estimate nine out of 10 new workers quit within three years, with the many talented employees leaving for better-paying jobs in areas like videogames. A survey conducted this year for industry executives showed that animators in their 20s made just 1.1 million yen ($11,000) a year on average, while those in their 30s earned 2.1 million yen.

Yasuna Tadanaga, 23 years old, left her position as an animator at a small Tokyo studio last year, only six months after landing what she thought was her dream job. To meet deadlines, Ms. Tadanaga worked 13 to 14 hours each day. During one month, she was given just one day off.

When I go to conventions and I mention how difficult this industry is to get into let alone survive in. You will often have a bunch of starry-eyed kids who think that once they are in the industry they will be flying first class to Tokyo at living at their penthouse in Ginza.

Nope.

Take a look at the numbers the article sites.

A survey conducted this year for industry executives showed that animators in their 20s made just 1.1 million yen ($11,000) a year on average, while those in their 30s earned 2.1 million yen.

To put that in perspective: The minimum wage in California $8.00 USD per hour that would be $16,640 USD (on a 40 hour week at a 52 week cycle)per year. Now the article clearly states that in Japan the animators are working more hours and making $5,640 USD less than California minimum wage. To be blunt a high school kid working full time at McDonalds in Newport Beach is making more than a adult animator in Tokyo.

The article continues.

Yasuna Tadanaga, 23 years old, left her position as an animator at a small Tokyo studio last year, only six months after landing what she thought was her dream job. To meet deadlines, Ms. Tadanaga worked 13 to 14 hours each day. During one month, she was given just one day off.

"The unspoken understanding was we worked on weekends because we loved the work," Ms. Tadanaga said. "We had to have a very good reason to take a day off."

She is so right! If you are expecting a 9-5 job you are going to get a nasty surprise. 

Go read the whole article. 

Hat Tip to Hot Air.com for finding this!

To start your Thanksgiving weekend off with a smile I give you Bohemian Rhapsody preformed by the muppets. 

Animal steals the show as always and be sure to stay to the very end.

I'm pleased to announce two new BankofKev World Wide Partners!

StixBlog:   No it has nothing to do with Mr. Roboto but you many of my readers are going to enjoy this. Stixblog is based out of St Louis and if your looking for the owner I suggest you look in the bar first.(But you will have to pick up the tab.

MidnightBlueSays.com: Run by the mysterious "Skye" who has been the subject of serval Day by Day cartoons. When Pat Tommey scores a direct hit on Arlen Spector this is where I go to get the best analysis.

So you know I met these two in the back of the bus on the way to the Media Malpractice Premiere while in DC last Feb. (yes I have pictures but no I'm not going to show them to you). I plan on wrking with these two (and a few others) on a event in DC in 2010. They will see that we have come a long way from the rafters of the RNC in 2008. (I still cant believe they put them up there and not down on the floor)

Last Tuesday I went to Borders books in Westwood with one purpose: To purchase a copy of Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rouge.

Well I read the book cover to cover and I’m going to give you a mostly spoiler free review. To make it easy for everyone to skip a potential spoilers I broke down into questions.

So with out further ado…

What Did You Think of Going Rogue Overall?

I enjoyed the book immensely and found it difficult to put down. There are other Sarah Palin books out there (The Persecution of Sarah Palin by Matthew Connietti ) that suck.  Going Rogue, on the other hand, is one you cant put down its that good.

How Is The Writing Quality?

The writing is clearly Sarah Palins voice, yes  I know she worked with her collaborator, Lynn Vincent, to put the book together. When you read the book you will have no doubt that its Sarah Palin, not a ghost writer, writing this. (all the Palin inflections that annoy the coffee house overlords are there). This gives the book a surprisingly relaxed feel and keeps the pacing very fast.

How Much Of The Book Is Devoted To The 2008 Campaign?

About ¼ of the book is devoted to the 2008 presidential campaign.

That’s All? So You Mean The Book Is Very Weak On The Campaign?

No its quite detailed…

Does She Name Names On Who Fucked Up On The Campaign?

She does name names. There are McCain Campaign Staffers who if they are hired by a politician in the future, will show that politician is a idiot.

What Most Surprised You About The Book?

There were two things:

1.     You will learn that some candidates outsource their campaigns to incompetent campaign operatives.

2.     That Alaska Ethics laws are severely screwed up. So much so that the cure that was done is far worse than the disease.

What Most Disappointed You About The Book?

I was hoping to see a personal view of the immediate aftermath of the 2008 Campaign when Palin returned to Alaska. She talks about how DNC operatives were going crazy, but there is no mention if her personal life was changed.

Does She Talk About Policy?

Yes. However, the book is NOT a wall to wall policy manifesto. There is policy talked about , but it is interwoven within her personal story. I disagree with those who say its deep on policy and those who say there is nothing. She uses her life experience to talk about her policies.

How Long Did It Take You To Read The Book?

It took me nine hours over three nights.

UPDATE: I rewrote one answer a bit to make it more clear.

Andy Zoric is going to need all of his superhuman powers id he wants to get an autograph of Sara Palin!

BankofKev reader and Robotech.com moderator Andy Zoric had created numerous elaborate plans to get his copy of Going Rogue signed by Sarah Palin. Here is an excerpt from his blog on the start of his quest. 

I am a Buckeye fan, but today I am more excited because I might get to meet the biggest celebrity in the country: Sarah Palin.

On Monday, the day before her book, "Going Rogue" I just happened to catch the news saying that Sarah would be signing her book at the Borders on Sawmill Road. This particular store is only a couple miles from my house so I cleared it with work to stand in line by taking half the day off. The plan was to get in line around noon and be part of the masses who can't get enough of the conservative governor. That was plan A.

 

Zenkaikon 2009 was held on November 7 and 8 at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel.

Zenkaikon , the final stop on the 2009 Robotech Convention Tour, has issued a press release about the number of attendees .

 

VALLEY FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA - November 18, 2009: Zenkaikon is pleased to announce the attendance numbers for its 4th annual convention, which took place on November 7-8, 2009. The staff of Zenkaikon 2009 welcomed 1988 paid attendees over the course of the two-day event, which is a 47% increase over the previous year. This number does not include guests, dealers, staff, or complimentary memberships.

"Zenkaikon has been growing extremely rapidly, with over 180% attendance growth in the past two years," said Public Relations Coordinator Kristyn Souder. "Due to the surge in interest, we had to implement an attendance cap this year. We know this left some people disappointed, but we want to assure them that we are already working on acquiring a much larger venue for next year's event! Thank you to our many attendees for making Zenkaikon 2009 our biggest year ever."

The Zenkaikon staff looks forward to announcing their 2010 dates and location shortly.

Check out our Zenkaikon videos on CNN here - http://tiny.cc/6e2Db and YouTube here - http://tiny.cc/Ajvx6 #robotech #anime #zenkaikon

 Since I have many fans of Twilight reading this blog here is the (mostly spoiler free) review of Twilight: New Moon.