I love living in a University town.
KU’s Center for East Asian Studies is presenting a conference at the end of October:
In Godzilla’s Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage
It’s free, although registration is required. Discussions of the Gojira phenomenon, and the appeal of Japanese Pop culture the world over (manga, Hello Kitty, anime, etc.) Capping the whole thing off are FREE showings at Liberty Hall of the original, unedited 1954 version of Gojira (minus the dubbing and Raymond Burr), Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (with the dubbing, monster-wrestling and psychedelia intact) and one of the most recent films, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack.
Quirky little academic conferences and film festivals are one of the main things I miss about living in NYC. Thank god for Lawrence.