91.8 The Fan » Site Updates

Celebrating Two Years Of Awesome!

Kanashimi — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:03:03 +0000

It has been an amazing two years, so 91.8 The Fan is proud to celebrate another birthday. The staff and I are wonderfully heart-warmed to see users who have been with us for the last two years. We’re equally enthralled that new listeners and visitors make the decision to support us by joining, commenting, liking, retweeting, and bookmarking the site and radio. This birthday is all about you, and as such we have a few gifts to you we’d like to present officially.

The most obvious transformation is the new layout, which isn’t a severe change, but a much needed one. As we’ve grown so has the content the staff has produced with genres not simply pertaining to anime, but also to facets of Asian culture, music, fashion, news, and more. With this new design it should be much easier to get to your favorite articles that much quicker or access portions of content that focus more on your individual tastes as a reader.

We’ve also moved the original menu up, as well as opened up a new form of advertisement that is both vibrant and attractive. The background will change from advertisement to advertisement of some of our favorite things. At the same time, our friendly mascot Brie will let you in on some 91.8 The Fan secrets. We’ve got some other new additions to be released through the week so make sure to keep your eyes peeled! Make sure to thank Kibs for all his hard work on the site.

For our listeners, we’ve added a new stream in addition to the two we already had. Our Icecast stream has been bumped to a 320kbps, which is what I’ve personally spent the past two months on. Many songs had to be re-ripped to accommodate the higher quality while there were plenty of new songs I wanted to tag beforehand. If I was to estimate there is probably close to 10% of our library that is 128kbps. It won’t impair your listening, but know that I am still modifying the last of these songs to give you the best quality possible.

The “lite” player is still available at its normal 128kbps, and the “standard” stream (or medium stream) is broadcasting at a 160kbp on Shoutcast 2. You’ll find that the top Listen Now, the biggest one, is the 320, the one next to Brie is 160, and the one under Brie is the 128. The standard stream will have its .pls files added around the web momentarily so please be patient with us.

Thank you all for your continued support and friendship, and let’s make 2012 the best year ever!

With Love,
Kanashimi

_____________________________________

P.S. As a gift to all of you loyal fans, Kibs has provided a special wallpaper for you to show your 91.8 The Fan colors during our birthday bash!

click to download

91.8 The Fan Presents Cyber Week Deals!

Kanashimi — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:23:40 +0000

Today is Cyber Monday, the day where internet sites everywhere offer great deals to entice Christmas shoppers to get more for less! 91.8 The Fan is no exception to this tradition, and as such we’re offering Fanatic subscriptions at a sliced up price. For this week only, we have some super special awesome deals for you, as well as a sneak peek of what you’re missing!

Our Fanatic subscription is an extra bonus we like to give to the fans who take the time to support us. Fanatic members have been treated to things like exclusive video coverage not seen anywhere else, all the pictures we take during conventions (even those embarrassing ones), behind the scenes snippets, uncut interviews, old shows you can’t find on the site anymore, and an area that’s all their own on the website.

A 3 Month Fanatic subscription is $4.50 today (an 18% savings)
A 6 Month Fanatic subscription is $9 today (a 21% savings)
A 12 Month Fanatic subscription is $15 today (a 25% savings)

These discounts are good for this week only! If you’re still not convinced being a Fanatic is a good deal, let our six minute teaser trailer do the talkin’ for us.

I’ll assume you’re convinced. Make sure to follow the instructions on the Fanatic page or if you want to renew your Fanatic subscription you can skip the steps and just head here.

If you wanna flaunt your geekdom with the entire world instead (or know a friend who does) why not try our new t-shirts? And if you make sure to type in the coupon “happyholidays” at checkout you’ll receive a discount on your purchase!

Just visit Shark Robot to buy the shirt of your choice. All these great deals for our lovely readers, listeners, and visitors who have made us what we are today. Stay tuned for more 91.8 The Fan goodness throughout the month of December as we give back to you.

Scheduled Maintenance – 7-22-11

Kibs — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:12:28 +0000

It’s Friday, Friday, gonna be down on Friday. We’re doing maintenance this weekend, weekend. Friday Friday, new music on Friday. Everybody look forward to the weekend.

In all seriousness, we’re going to be having Scheduled Maintenance this Friday, July 22nd at 11:59 PM. Since we hate to have to take the server down, we’re apologizing with a few thousand new songs. Want to know what the best part is? Most of that music is what you requested! Sweet Moses!

Keep tuned, and we’ll keep playing your favorite tunes!

iStalk – Hiatus

Kibs — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:48:24 +0000

Yo, Elk here, with a special iStalk update! If you were around last year, you know around this time we took a week long break from iStalk. This year we wanna be more prepared, so we’re taking a TWO week break. From now til the 10th, there will be no iStalk, as we focus on AM², and the radio. So this isn’t a comfy holiday and you guys will still get just as much (if not much, much more) awesome coming your way.

Seriously, that’s it.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Kanashimi — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:39:21 +0000

The staff here at 91.8 The Fan would like to wish you a happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of this sweet holiday the staff has composed a list of anime that girls out there might find suitable to watch with their special someone. Even if you’re all alone you might find a new show to enjoy regardless so make sure to hit the jump below. Also, where’s our chocolate?

Bargin Gamer
For V-Day I would recommend Yu Yu Hakusho as it has a ton of action in it for the guys but it also has some very interesting character interactions and romances for the girls. And if that fails there’s always Yoko-Kurama waiting in the wings! Seriously though scenes like when Yusuke squares off against Suzaku and gives his own life energy to protect Keiko are a great combination of action and romance, giving both sides something to enjoy here.

Cerulaine
Without a doubt Soul Eater!

Both males and females seem to love this show, there are many characters each gender can relate to and there is action, depth, and Halloween themed things all over the place which EVERYONE LOVES so girls should watch this with their guys because it’s completely perfect.

Christmas
For the one for girls to watch with guys, I think One Piece is a good pick. Not all of One Piece, but a good chunk of it. It’s got a lot of action, but still has a good feeling that should be shared with someone else.

Elk
The Japanese Valentines’ Day is a day where girls give to the people they like (or out of obligation). Keeping in mind the hetero-normative stance of most the world, I’mma assume that person would be a dude. So what better an anime to watch with YOUR dude than one you will BOTH enjoy, but seem like it’s FOR him.

So keeping that in mind, a good anime to watch with YOUR dude would be Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector! This is of course the sequel to the original Super Robot Wars OG anime, unfortunately, it’s not up on Crunchy yet, so I will direct you here, I don’t think too much is missed by having not seen the first series. And as the title implies, it is about a War, with Super Robots fighting each other!

Why should YOU watch it with your dude? Because besides the fact it’s a mecha anime, it has a lot of strong female leads, probably more strong female leads than there are male leads. Of course for the guys that’s because there’s some fan-service, but that doesn’t detract from the fact these girls kick butt.

Haku
I’ll be watching Clannad with the girl I like. I’d been trying to get her to watch it, and I finally managed to do it. Anyway, Clannad is a school-life anime, which are my favorite kind, and it was very moving throughout all of the different arcs. Every story had happy points and sad points, but they usually end on a hopeful note, even if they’re sad, which is something I admire about the series.

Kanashimi
Girls should take the plunge and watch something a little bit out of the norm with their guy of choice, but let’s not skimp too much on drama, tears, and emotional scenes! Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team is an impacting series that is about war with lots of explosions so it’s sure to get any guys attention, but at the same time the characters are very real and experience deep character growth. As such while your beau might be excited for the next fight a women could focus more on the tension pulsating from each character as they prep themselves for battle.

Kibs
For Valentines’ Day, I think girls should watch Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann with their guys.This anime has many female fans, but not enough, and a lot of it can seem off-putting to women in general…

…it being something Gainax brought into existence, however, the good far outweighs the fan-service bad. Any man who calls himself a man enjoys TTGL, I think it can be an enjoyable experience for both, if the ladies would give it a chance. So sit back, cuddle together and get ready to FIGHT THE POWAH!

Kusari
For V-Day I would have to go with Rurouni Kenshin. It has a wonderfully shounen storyline with beautiful animation and a pretty main character for the ladies to swoon over. Plus it has an overcompensating sword! Do your other anime have over compensating swords?! Probably. But this one’s FRIGGEN HUGE!

Leviathan Mist
I hate stereotyping males and females, which is why it’s taken so long to choose some anime for this. It really depends what type of person you’re looking at, regardless of whether they’re male or female. I know of lots of guys who like girly anime, and I used to have female friends who obsessed over male-oriented anime such as Dragon Ball Z. Assigning a gender to an anime is near impossible, unless you follow a set of stereotypes. That being said, I would probably say something like Death Note for Valentine’s Day.

Molly-Bibbles
Nothing says Valentine’s Day like giant robots. Enter the Galactic Pretty Boy! Every girl should sit their boy down for some overly fabulous mecha action found only in Star Driver. The story takes place on an island when a mysterious boy washes up on the shores of a prestigious academy. Besides his femininely dashing looks, this boy is the key to saving the world from the bad guys (more or less). Okay, actually, he is trying to save the maidens of the island (more or less). So, you may wander why this series has garnered a name such as F*ing Fabulous. The fact that the main character is called the “Galactic Pretty Boy” should make it obvious to you. Sparkly giant robot action. Something here for all! The story is pretty basic, but a robot in high-healed boots is something you just can’t possibly pass up! “It’s a pinch!”

So get to watchin’ because now you have a list of serious you need to check out!

91.8 The Fan’s Birthday Bash — Streaming Directory

Kibs — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:44:27 +0000

Day four has come upon us and while we’ve eaten all the cake, our speakers are still cranked to eleven as we party the night away. We’re nearing the end of this celebration, but it doesn’t mean you should be shedding any tears considering the new addition revealed after the jump.

One thing we’ve talked about extensively for as long as 91.8 The Fan’s existence was our directory. For those not in the know, before we had a radio our site was made up of our show iStalk and updates to where users could find legal ways to consume the media we all know and love. The directory as it was still exists, but has only be accessible by staff. After evaluating what we had and planning out exactly what we were doing when the radio was to go up, we decided to take the list down until we could bring it back with a punch. What we’ve done is essentially made the directory a separate entity, and before Kanashimi knew what she was doing the code was essentially beyond her. We’ve pulled plenty of strings and done our best to complete the project regardless with all the features we really knew users wanted.

91.8 The Fan can proudly announce that the first phase of the directory will be going live by the end of the month for Fanatics. What Fanatics can expect is the skeleton to the directory, which means it will be very plain at first glance. In this beta release it will have all of its functions instigated one by one for testing such as series summaries, episode summaries, links to legal streaming sites, places to buy these items, single previews, voice actor lists, and more. This version will be stable for use, but will also help us iron out any bugs that come forth.

The prototype above was made during development stages and does not represent the official release.

Before the final release we will be adding some skin to the directory. We can’t give an exact estimate as to when it will be available to the public, but we can promise that it won’t be released until it’s ready. In addition, this is only step one as said previously, which means we hope to expand the directory to other things besides just legal streaming. We’ve enlisted the help of a few voice actors to aid in our next phrase, which will focus majorly on them and their work, but until then it would be best not to give too much away. We’re thankful for your everlasting patience with this project, and we’re very happy to announce it finally to you.

Tomorrow is the end of our birthday bash, and tomorrow is one that is very dear to our staff’s hearts.

91.8 The Fan’s Birthday Bash – Request System

Kanashimi — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:55:41 +0000

It’s day three and this is a day specifically for the Fanatics. As stated yesterday, we will be revealing something brand new that pertains directly to them; however, this will also effect regular listeners in a different way. Hit the jump to see how!

It’s very standard that if a user wants to listen to their favorite song they have to jump into the IRC and speak with the current on-air DJ to do so. Alternatively they can call our radio hotline to leave a message or request a song. For some, this is a hassle since some people have trouble getting into the IRC itself or they’re not all that experienced with the protocol. We’ve debated in a few ways how to simplify this process, and have taken some inspiration from “Festerhead’s Now Playing Plugin”.

The above image is a prototype and in no way represents the official release.

By the end of the month the system will be streamlined to include information about a currently playing song for every user. Fanatics on the other-hand get more than just general information. They will be able to see and interact with multiple parts of our playlist such as what we have in the radio database, looking up lyrics, being able to request songs, etc. The requests are sent directly to our on-air DJ to handle without any additional middle-man (such as IRC or the hotline).

What does this mean for regular listeners though? Well, you can still request the way you have been, but Fanatic requests will be easier to access and will more than likely get to a DJ faster.

Check back tomorrow for another huge update that will blow your socks off!

91.8 The Fan’s Birthday Bash — Advertisement

Kibs — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:31:31 +0000

It’s day two of the birthday bash, and while this isn’t the biggest update we have of the week it definitely is a much needed one. We as a business have never expanded much out of our simplistic roots, and this year we’ve decided to change that to better benefit the site. For anyone with fan-sites, blogs, or other websites this is the post you’ve been waiting for.

We’ve recently opened our advertisement page, which will help open the door to better share sites about anime to anime fans. It will also help our staff get our butts in gear to produce higher quality promos, advertisements, and sound effects to enhance our listeners’ experience. As a business this will also be beneficial, as the more money we make the more we can do for you. We have very big plans for 2011, and this one is a definitive next step to a site that continues to grow and grow.

Make sure to stop by tomorrow for another announcement pertaining directly to our Fanatics. We obviously didn’t forget those members, and we want to reward you for a year of loyalty!

Get Those Birthday Hats On!

Kanashimi — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:55:20 +0000

Birthday? Isn’t it the holiday season? Indeed it is, but on January 3rd, 2011 we will be celebrating the birth of the radio you all hold dear. We are proud to announce that the best way the staff wanted to party was by giving our fans a chance to win free stuff!

Let’s get to the juicy stuff first! There will be two lucky winners of two very special prize packages:

A copy of Super Street Fighter IV for Xbox 360 that is signed by Kyle Hebert (Ryu), Laura Bailey (Chun-Li), Travis Willingham (Guile), and the vocal director Jonathan Klein.
Don’t have an Xbox 360? Well, we happen to have a shiny new God Of War III for PlayStation 3 fans to replace the top prize.
A random CD that has already been added to the station
A Bayonetta wall-scroll
An official Sawa’s Phool t-shirt

So I’m sure you wanna know how to win these fabulous prizes, and there are actually two ways, since we’re giving away two packages. We here at 91.8 The Fan know that our visitors have various talents, so we’re giving you guys the chance to be in the spotlight by showcasing your skills in the way you choose! So pick your poison below:

I'm artistic
Show us how good you are by drawing, constructing, painting, or inking a picture that represents 91.8 The Fan. It can be staff members, our mascot, or even something else! Whatever you decide is up to you. Any type of visual art is acceptable whether the medium is traditional or digital, but make sure that the art is made by you. In relation showing some creativity by including multiple members or themes will help in your entry’s favor.
I'm tech-savvy
If you feel you’ve got the skills, why not try making a promo for 91.8 The Fan? You’ve heard our DJs do it and now we’re giving you a chance to. So grab a microphone and a sound ediing program (such as Audacity) to create thirty seconds to two minutes of audio goodness. Make sure that any background music is Japanese, Korean, or Chinese in origin with no vocals, but feel free to insert sound effects from your favorite anime or movies.

If your entry is good enough, it might appear on the radio or the site! So if you’re ready, make sure to send your submission to birthday@918thefan.com. If you have questions or concerns, e-mails us or post in the comment section below.

Keep in mind you can only submit one entry and it’s due by midnight on January 1st, 2011. Make sure to follow 91.8 The Fan as we get closer to January 3rd where we’ll announce more goodies for you!

Buy Our Shirts, And Stuff

Kibs — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:15:41 +0000

If you weren’t aware, we totally have t-shirts. On Shark Robot. You know? That cool place where people go to garb themselves in clothing that screams “I’m a nerd and proud of it!”. So grab your mom’s credit card, head on over to Shark Robot, and buy like five. Don’t worry, your mom will be proud of you for taking the initiative to clothe yourself.

Keep in mind that the holidays are close too and it’s always fair if you get yourself a present. Though if you just want to party with a cool shirt like it’s 2009 for the site’s January 3rd birthday then that’s cool, too. Also keep your eyes peeled to SharkRobot for any future releases!