"Now, I don't get out to the States much but they 
were referring to American collectors as "anime 
geeks, fat overweight chicks, and weirdos". "

Well....DUUUHHHH!  Have you guys been to cons?  I 
have been to cons, and the above statement, 
however obnoxious and rude, is partially true.  
Now, I havent been to AX, but I have been to a 
number of other shindigs here and there.  I 
remember the first one I went to, AnimeFest in 
Dallas...and I have one word to say about 
it: "Yikes."  My grandparents and uncle went with 
me, and all they did was stand in a corner of the 
lobby and stare at people...as did I.  I was 
expecting kids...and I got lots of 45 yr old men 
dressed in Sailor outfits (read: DRESSES). @_@;;  
And I will never forget the smell...you know what 
smell I speak of...that "con smell".  It takes a 
couple days for it to come off of you when you 
finally get home.  I think Akon finally 
instituted a "MUST BATHE" rule after a couple of 
years of complaints from hotel staff and guests 
about the rankness of the con goers.  Hiyaaaah... 
>_<

I would also like to make it nice and clear that 
I dont think Im some sort of beauty queen, okay?  
Im about 5"2, I weight aproximately 115 lbs.  I 
dont consider myself ugly, or "geeky" (in the 
worst term) but I am definately not one of these 
Ralph Lauren pink and yellow plaid wearing, feaux 
blonde yups you see advertising cars on TV. Im 
not a 7 foot tall martian woman who can walk into 
the streets in a fishnet and ignite a fashion 
craze (thank God, dang those chicks have no 
boobs!).  I am, for all intents and purposes, a 
modern day semicoolish-nerd.  I love jeans and 
tees and bright sneakers, I love toys and knicky-
knacks, I love my car, I love shoes, I love the 
mall, I love LOTR!  BUT...I bathe, go out with 
friends, and I also dont make people refer to me 
as "Sailor_Hikaru12899". I still go to cons these 
days, and my goodness...while it has gotten 
slightly better than it used to be, it's still 
not the place to go if you want to strut around 
and find a hottie to take home..tho rare 
exceptions do occur. 

Hmm, on the flerp side..I met so many cool (i.e. 
normal, life-having, bathing, perfectly avg. 
framed) people in the last two years at cons.  I 
personally do not go to anime cons to 
judge...anymore.  I used to be bad when I was 
younger, but hell...it's just not worth it 
anymore.  The Cosplayers can be quite funky, but 
so what?  If you want models, go to Abercrombie & 
Fitch (hell yeah, nekkit ripply dudes!). 

Whoa, Im just realizing Im not making much of a 
point!  Rock!  I love not making sense..  
Anyways, if Japanese people think American fans 
are so bad...all I have to say is go through the 
cosplay part of YJ...aint all the folks in Japan 
teensy and cute. (I could say more, but there's 
no point in lowering myself to the status those 
women you overheard are standing at)  Uglies are 
everywhere, and I think it's unfair to judge the 
whole by a part. Americans do tend to be 
overweight (what is it, 65% of us now?), but I 
dont think we hold the monopoly on chunky 
nerds...FAR from it.  I believe the term "otaku" 
was birthed right there in good old Japan.

PS:  Here's a picture of me and a friend of mine. 
This was the first year I tried cosplaying, and 
my God was I self conscious.  Im no fishbone, but 
I had a good time.  I was able to dress up, pose, 
yada yada...and to this day I still never had an 
urge to put this get up on at home and pretend to 
be this character. ~_~  I may be a nerd, but I 
aint that bad ^_~  Am I, Glim? XD~~~  

PSS:  If this pic sucks, I appologize.  Im on the 
grandparents old 'puter, and the resolution is 
really nasty...my face looks like a peach square 
(squint squint)

http://bassanimation.com/media/mycosplay2.jpg

http://bassanimation.com/media/mycosplay1.jpg