Giant Robot continues

It's now October, the stock market is scary and there's no fix in sight.
Many merchants worry about the holiday season coming up.
So what do you do in this time?

I'm not quite sure, but I'll shoot from the hip.

1) It seems like when times are tougher, you should actually work harder at any cost. Will it help? Maybe, but it can't hurt. Who will do this? My guess honestly, not many.

1a) Do you slow down because it's "slower"? No, again that can't be good. That means you're part of the herd, complaining and without an ounce of a solution and expecting the same things as you've always had. Or on the other hand, do you expect more?! That's not going to happen.

2) Do you find new ways to do things? New projects and more to move forward with? Yes. Again, you should do this anyway, but especially now is the time.

3) Is it time to be a dick and fuck with other people's business since yours isn't doing as well? Probably not. Yes, there is the notion of the strong surviving, but at the same time, that doesn't mean, fuck with your neighbors on purpose, does it?

I'd venture to say that during a tougher time, it's the innovative that'll be fine. I think the crime and incredible short sighted to expect everything to be the same as before. It won't be, for perhaps years. I'm still thinking long term, and I see a lot of short term minded folks around. That scares me more than the economy.

Little Tokyo

Quoted at the end in this Forbes story about Little Tokyo. Stuff's happening, and some like it and some don't. It's all perfect timing the happening of Imprint which brought an extra 200+ people who would probably rarely hit Little Tokyo. I'm sure some vendors and shop owners actually get annoyed when big groups come through. We were once in Little Tokyo and took off after a couple of years. The changes that were promised then, might be just happening now. We're talking 10 years later... There's to be a new train stop, and more, so it's still a work in progress. Will it attract more Japanese and Japanese Americans, probably not. Will more Japanese Americans or Japanese open businesses here. Maybe a little. But should we expect it to completely be different from what was once there. Most definitely - and that has to be embraced. "They" could all go elsewhere.

Forbes.

MBV coming up

Video link to the email story.

Ok here's that video. Sorry, I'm definitely not okay in this one. But I do get a lot of email. On slow news days, it's been showing all over the country. I heard Maine, in Santa Cruz area, and more. Either way, a lot of those 60k emails are junk, but whenever I put a filter on, I lose something important. There's no way to win.

here's the link to the video.

Imprint 3.0

Imprint Culture Lab 3.0 - One year ago, this happened, two years ago, it happened, yesterday, it happened. What a crappy intro, but I told myself I wouldn't do any editing, since we're on mag deadline. Imprint Culture Lab is back, and this year it featured guests from around the world, in mixed discipline. Cult is the name of the game, this year. 

A cult leader. Kenya Hara from Muji - gave the opening talk. Muji is still relatively unknown. Ask some random people, they'll say, "no, what's that?" Eventually, you'll know. It's creative and well designed products that are "empty" not simple. Kenya might slap you around if you say, they are "simple" but I have a tip. Say, "super normal" instead, you'll come off as smarter than the rest.

Not part of the exhibitions in the hall, or were they? I saw games like Flower and Spore, but then I saw a few of these trendy units locked up. Sculptural and sleek, these look as cool as the hipsters who ride them. 

More Cult devotees. They look happy drinking that clear Kool-Aid. Shutter snap! I'm now a member.

Michael Kuhle from Lomo shows me The Paul Smith Lomo collaboration. This can't be inexpensive.

That's the view from the nose bleeds. Really, it's not that large. Every seat is a good one.

That's my shadow. She followed me, help my bag, even held my water. I moderated a panel on crafts. Jill Bliss, Matt Stinchcomb from etsy.com, and Jamie Chan from Bazaar Bizarre. It went smooth like silk. Why is it that everything slows way down when I moderate a panel? I thought it and you were supposed to speed up.

Jeff Staple and Hiroshi Fujiwara: 1 on 1. A life story, from the womb to the seat he's in. His one word "no" answers were more plenty than I expected. 

People were interviewed and photographed. They asked me to jump, I didn't do it. I'd jump from Philippe Halzman, but he's no longer with us.

There were cars there at front of JANM. Cult of Transportation. These are drifters and they're real wheel drive. That Scion behind is rear wheel too. Weird eh?

I want one of these! You better have an ass crack made of steel. The handmade motorcycle by Shinya Kimura of Chabott Engineering.

That's me and Wan Lee, the guy who travelled across country on his Ruckus. He was in GR55. I'm sure his ass crack is made of steel too.

Ice sculptures with shrimp shooters. That's intense and part of the after event.

Hiroshi Fujiwara and Jeff Staple imprint

Fire kills 15 - at an overnight video shop

This sounds weird, but it's not, it's basically a cafe that rents videos. I had it pegged as some porno video shop. People sleep over in these, by renting a small room when has a tv, and a vcr or dvd player. Basically an overnight rate, is quite cheap. They have lay back chairs. You're supposedly watching dvds, but you basically use it to sleep over.

But imagine... a fire breaks out. This is what I'm afraid of in many of these narrow and tall buildings in Japan and have business. How do you get out of them? The elevators are tiny, you can't find the staircase half the time, and if you do they're also tiny. Everything is single file. In a room filled with people, you're doomed. There's different safety laws in Japan as compared to what you have in places like LA which is quite strict.

bbc news link.

MediaRights.org Shortlist

I forgot all about this. Did I ever show it to you? Someone wrote me an email saying thanks. It was Risa Morimoto who did Wings of Defeat... I made a list of docs that I thought were important. It was a fun one to make. It took a lot of thought to think of which films really mattered to me. I'm sure I'm missing something, but these are good ones. Check it out and tell me what I missed. This is pretty fun to do. 

Mediarights.org

E-mail Overload Is Our Generation’s New Anxiety Order

NBC NEWS CHANNEL
Published: September 29, 2008

Is the goal of your day to kill as much e-mail as possible?
If so, join the club.
Fortunately there are steps that can help you reign things in.
Eric Nakamura is the owner of the “Giant Robot” Asian pop culture franchise.
His inbox has 60,000 unread e-mails.
Michelle Boehle doesn’t have quite as much, but just mention the word “e-mail,” and the sales rep gets stressed...

Whoa, it came out. Here's a link to the text.

Yes I have a lot of emails. I get spam, and that sits around... Anyways, I haven't seen the video if you find a link, please tell me.

Eardrums music - Souther Salazar art.

Have you heard of these bands? I hear it's all Nordic Metal. They started off right with Souther Salazar's art for the cover. You can download the music for free via their website. Go check it all out. Oh and a bit of trivia, in the right hand corner of the art, there's that tiny little face. That's melted Ninja Turtle Ice cream. Maybe, but that's what happens when you fall asleep with ice cream.

Eardrumsmusic.com

Deadlines and Imprint culture lab

Sorry about the lull, we're still in magazine mode, but I will be speaking at the Imprint conference coming up on Wednesday. What's that  you ask? I've mentioned it perhaps for the last two years more than once and you probably forgot. Or conversely, maybe you recently heard about it for the first time. It's looking good, and a craft panel featuring Jill Bliss, the marketing dude from craft giants, Etsy, and a person from Bizarre Bazaar will be a fun panel. 

Imprintlab

Your Yard Blows 09/27/08

Don't Fence Me In. A lot of fencing for this yard. It's low and really, is to keep dogs out, or just to keep their yard, their own. It looks pleasant in a way, right? Like in a retro 50s style. Back to the Future? The cross cross looks louder than a white picket fence which would have been classic. It's still a lot of fencing, and I'm not sure if this is the way to go. You can hurdle the fence if you have hops. Grade: B-

This part bothers me. It's a long tunnel of fencing that actually makes your walk up filled with bugs, spider webs, and nice shade. It doesn't quite look right. Does it? Grade: D

The Champion of the block. This yard, is from the most expensive house in the area. There's those drought resistant plants again. I just saw them at Home Depot, and they're not expensive and look like they'll grow quick. I forgot what they're called, but they look like something you can dig up along the freeway. The little bushes around it on the right side look like tiny muffs. The trees sculpted...

This yard is a champion yard, and they spent arms and legs to make it that way, it's so good, I won't even show it to you, but the tree thing is interesting. It's coming out of plant that looks like a succulent. It's way taller than the house. Do you think this was supposed to happen? Think it was planned? How tall is this thing going to get? It's really tall and really not too thick. Some ass can run up to this and break it, that would be sad. Grade: A-

My Belly! This yard reminds me that people are people. We're just regular being and this one is just that. It's plants haphazardly set up. What tree is that on the right side? It's half dying and really look like crap. I can live with the bushes that are laying down on the sidewalk looking like a belly fat hanging over the belt. The other trees don't do much. Something about this little yard is confusing. It's sort of this, and that, in a tiny space. Grade: C-

Hacked! This tree behind the fence in the middle. It had the hopes of being a great one. A contender. A champ. Dirk Diggler from Boogie Nights! Maybe the tallest tree on the block! But no, it's chopped off. Totally castrated. That tree might think about those Viagra and Cialis commercials. Maybe it'll get it's groove back and one day... rise again. But for now, grade: D for the hacked tree. At least give it stump status.

Every Rose has a thorn, even it's among trash cans. This isn't really a yard, it's a side of a yard. Between the trash cans is a rose bush. I'm not a big fan of rose bushes or plants, but this one is odd. It's planted in the ground in a spot that looks like it's 1 foot x 1 foot. Talk about foot binding, this is an odd place for a plant that so many people love. Yes, it does give it the college try to be something, but it just can't. Grade: C- for trying.

Pygmy time. Imagine, every plant is only 3 feet tall. It doesn't matter what kind, as long as it's three feet tall. So the good thing is that they can see out their window, they can see from their porch, nothing is obscured by plants. They even rock the plant on the right into a ball on a stick! The tree to the left of that looks stunted and old. What's going on there, buddy? The rest looks alive, but this yard is in need of some love, something look all wrong here. Grade: C

Don King. He's the boxing promoter with the crazy hair. Know who I'm talking about? Look at the plants that divide the two yards! They must hate each other. I'm digging the harsh division of the homes, I want privacy too. If they were orange, I'd think it's a flame. Grade: B. This grade has nothing to do with their front yards. It's just about the division of property and how much of a story it tells.

Siamese twins. This is odd. Two houses next to each other with one type of bush and so flat too! The houses are totally different, but the bushes are the same. Why? There must be some kind of unity that these neighbors want to achieve. They even circle the fronts together as if they were a mirror. I remember this type of bush, it's typical and can be shaped well creating a powerful barrier. But is this what you'd want? Unity? You better be related to that neighbor since this is a conversation topic for anyone who comes over. Grade: B-



No Commitment. I wonder if this is planning. The plants and flowers are in planters. There's one that's stuck in the middle of the driveway. What purpose is this really serving? It makes it just that much harder to park your car in the drive way, but at the same time, it does say, "hey I got two garages, you only got one". Maybe it's just a little extra somethin' somethin' for the driveway. I'm not sure. Grade: B-

Jessie. I don't know how to spell her name exactly, but she's the girl from Jabberjaw, the punk rock club I frequented in the 90s. I see her walking around and she busted me taking pics of people's yards.

Have Blog, Will Travel!

Variety Japan picks up on the Domokun Target entry. I can't read it all, but at the time, I see many of the things I wrote about in there. I'm realizing, that I'm not just being mean, but there's a lot of agreement as to the quality of the product. It is some of the ugliest versions of Domokun and licensed goods in general that I've ever seen. Perhaps the folks think something like, "people haven't seen Domokun, so they won't know what's wrong." It's still more authenticity issues and the grabbing of the quick buck.

Imagine another case study. Uglydolls. Yes, he blogs here, so I'll only say nice stuff, right?! But imagine, each product is scrutinized, there's no Target Uglydolls, no K-Mart, or other mega chain blow outs. Who's going to last longer?

Some things might work blown out, but I never thought Domokun would be that character.

Variety Japan link.

Target Sightings

Extreme sports and icons. The big red head who's the new young symbol of extreme is now at Target! Buy pants, shirts, and other stuff that has nothing to do with skateboarding or snow boarding since it's at Target. I wonder if he designed any of it. Jeans are 29.99 which is a great price. But what happened to Dickies and Wrangler!? I think it's great to have affordable gear, but the way it's being done isn't the way I would do it.

This is an Ed Templeton ripoff. Not just 1 eye like the Templeton character, how about adding a shitload of eyes. It's not that it looks exactly like an Ed work, but it's definitely made to look like it's part of the Ed cannon of works. I'm sure a Target designer is saying... "no way, this looks nothing like Templeton! I know Ed, and this is nothing like it." Sorry, it's just like it. What would I do? How about smoothing out the lines, not having thin legs which are very Ed, maybe a different angle or posture, and less alien more creature.

Isaac! you too? Go back to bartending on the Love Boat.

Graffiti and spray cans. Authenticity issues at Target. 

There goes that Target ad.

Domo @ Target - In Killed Fashion - It's Over

Domokun died at Target. Hit by a bus and left for dead. Imagine, licensee. I got the Domokun license... Chaching! We're going to blow it out as fast as possible because our license will expire. It's as if we're going to make the Roger Corman Fantastic Four film! So Domokun, the NHK character is now at Target, and exploited just for the Halloween section. Take a look at what came out of this.

This is looking terrible. It doesn't even look like Domo. I wonder if this candy tastes like Cola. If it does, then just maybe it'll get a pass on candy alone. Look at the mouth. It's as if Domokun is foaming. It's eyes look like toasted sesame seeds.

Candy Corn? Domo eats candy corn? Tattoo that one on your chest. It's not a good thing at all.

Domo pinata. Bad. Bad. Bad. What happened to 3d? This is two pieces of cardboard, and crappy tissue paper sides. My fart would rip open.

Domokun on a broom? It's way over.

Have your own Domo mouth. This is a poor excuse for a product. It looks like someone sat on it. 

Domokun candy. More candy that looks like Domokun stood outside during a nuclear melt down. A mummy and Frankenstein done Domokun. Who designed this stuff?

A misshapen Domokun hangs from the ceiling with an eyepatch, just so you'd think he's a pirate. 

This was the only item I thought was cute. Bracelets of candy with Domokun. 

Someone out there will buy this and that someone will think that Domokun is pretty lame. They'll think that Target invented this character. It's also interesting how it's just Domo. Maybe it's because it's almost like the brands, people, and label: Lomo (camera), Homo (the great label), Tomo (a hotel in SF - yea I worked on that), Nomo (Baseball pitcher), and Romo (the QB of the Cowboys).