Kozyndan. You saw a pic of Dan with that gnarly t shirt. Now you can see a documentary on them done by the folks at the Baltic. I wrote a story about the Baltic and going there in GR45. But for now, check out the documentary, and see the page of kozyndan "stuff."



Yep, there's that hat again.

Perfect. I was almost hoping someone would say this. (read the comment below.) I asked the webstore folks the question: Why aren't they just picking the packages up? mikemike said, "cuz they're assholes..." That's a strong response from a super mild mannered person.

I know you can order a pickup online. They are supposed to come and pick everything up the next day. Their excuse is that online, our address for giant robot isn't registered to the webstore address. But, it is.

The pick-up person shows up periodically, like, "here I am!" And why does he even do that if our address is "wrong?"

So the question is, who's right and who's wrong? And that's why I'm resigned to the fact that there's nothing one can do even if you're right.

I don't know who you are either, but we're not strangers anymore, right?


mariko said...

I have the mailman pick up my packages! Yay for free carrier pickup! That way I don't have to, you know, leave my house.

I feel kind of weird leaving a comment, since you don't even know who I am ...

Holiday orders have hit. Last year, it was different. I was the webguy. Myleen, the current manager of GRSF was doing mail order, the rest of the mag staff helped and it was a hardcore mad dash to the finish line. It was insane. This year things are different. mikemike is the webguy, Keenan is the mail order dude, and look at these packages... No one talks about customer service at the post office... sometimes great, a lot of times bad, and there's nothing we can do about it. I think we're all resigned to that fact. We also use UPS, they're not a lot better these days.

Everyone needs to be a star, and this is more proof of that. Phony holmes has karaoke samples of himself on singshot. Listen in, or not. Next will be video. I can make a commentary on how this is all going downhill, and how the quality of everything just drops, but you know, I can see my friend Phony Holmes, laughing his ass off, and that makes it worth it. It's for fun, right?

New issue is only at GR. The samples arrived. The cover image is by Takashi Murakami. Looks good even with the flash on it. Many choices of images, and this one seemed like the right one. It's DOB distressed and the black tooth makes it! It sticks out just right in the oddest way. Any design comments? T.M. gave me a call when he read the article and said thanks and so on. That was dope, hope I see him soon.

This might be one of the grossest shirts ever. Maybe my mind is in the gutter and it's not supposed to be hair. Dan of kozyndan wears it proudly. Scratch and sniff? Just scratch from dirty activities? I need to have a more open mind.

Dave Cockrum died. Being somewhat of a comics fan, from way back, this dude was one of the guys I liked. He might not have been the best, but he was the guy who drew the characters I liked at the time, the 80s. Him name is funny, go ahead and laugh a bit, it's cool. But he died wearing Superman PJs, in a Batman Blanket! WTF!

UGLYCON IS APPROACHING
The billboard outside of GR2 and gr/eats is taken.

Lily Todd, Tiger Lily, Seonna Hong!

Look at them glasses, fancy.

Surprise!

Souther giving the hi-sign. That's Caroline Hwang (pronounced like wong - not WANG!). She's in town for her show at New Image Art this weekend. Will you go? I may!

Saelee blowing out the candle. Look at Ely. He's on a billboard around LA. It has something to do with snow. It's his second billboard. That's sister Lana on the right.

I didn't know they served these up at Happy Family in Monterey Park. It's at 111 n. Atlantic Blvd. corner Garvey. It moved, fyi.

No wine needed.

Studio party! I'm the freeloader of the studio. I work there sometimes, at least this week, and I do nothing but take up the electricity bill. There was a party on saturday at the Yosemite studios.

Saelee created a store setting. Retail vs art. hmm!

Whoa. Danger! Waterbottle!

Souther spins tops from his collection. Did you know he collects tops?

Uh oh! Hello Kitty waffle maker and wine!

That's a souther painting about tops. There's 12 tops in the painting. Can you find them all? I don't think any tops are being blocked. That's a Saelee work about swimming.

Baseman and Calef Brown.

An intersection of Han! That's Ely on the left barely visible. Martin Cendreda is in the middle, and that's his wife Jenny. Michelle is the foreground person. Calef Brown is in the back on the right.

Lana!

Whoa, tired.

Cinnamon is a fairly new vege vegan joint that's Mexican food! It's on Figueroa in Highland Park. Walking in, it's not hipster cool, it's typical new restaurant setting. Tables chairs, no music, little kids doing homework in the back sort of like day care who might yell and scream once in a while, a nice waiter guy who's probably the owner, and pretty good food. The menu is large, at the moment they have breakfast too, although the dude said they're going to change things around.

Shrimp cocktail Mexican style! You do miss out on the real shrimp seafood flavor in the cold broth, but it's not bad at all. Make sure you add Tapatio.

Pozole - I'm not quite sure what the real shit tastes like, but then you add the onions, hot sauce, turnips, and lettuce, it's good.

Fajitas. This was the prize dish of the night. With the hot corn tortillas, this was worth the trip there. The onions and peppers bring this to a high level.

Chicken leg mole. Definitely off from the Coloradito sauce I've had elsewhere, but not bad. Maybe this wasn't supposed to be Coloradito sauce, but it wasn't too dark, and was sort of red. The only negative strike was that the rice was bottom of the pot. It had a lot of dry hard as a rock pieces that spoil it. The beans were fine, and overall, this place is good.

Try the juices, of course, they're fresh ground and healthy... I didn't see Agua Fresca on the menu, but they do have Mexican hot choclate.

Sculpy Kids 3 - Return of the Clay

At their studio in Eagle Rock, CA, the latest hipster portion of LA, it was the third installment of SK. We start with Dinner which was at a sushi place called Mia. Not like the musician, this is a fusion arty sushi place. Rolls that have crazy names are all over the menu. Weird sauces, outdoor seating, this isn't a regular sushi joint. It's alright (right?) and medium pricey.

Souther meditates to the caterpillar roll.

Saelee's turtle and nest definite takes a prize. look at the teeth! The shell has a gradation that you'll see in better light.

Effortless! A few pinches of clay and voila! Souther magic.

Effort filled pain. This was a tough one, but it's done.

MIA. If you find hercall the digits.

Thanksgiving. I have no idea who reads this, but I told myself, before I jumped into Thanksgiving family bliss, I'd blog about the day, and maybe talk about what it means to me. It's less about pilgrims, indians, or stealing a country - as in, thanks for giving us America. For me, I hope I can enjoy the day, my family, and think about my friends who are with their families or friends. I'm thankful for the good people in my life, and at the same time, I'm thankful for the assholes too. Without them around, the good people wouldn't stand out just that little bit more than they already do. Here's 10 more things I'm thankful for and some might end up being super selfish and materialistic, but they make me happy. Some of these might even intersect with the upcoming top 10s in the mag, but I don't remember them all, so it's cool.

1) Ricoh GR camera. I can't stop talking about it.
2) Prison Break and Lost. Two great shows even if people are saying they're jumping the shark.
3) The great gr staff. A lot of you fall into the friends category above, but the ones who don't, I appreciate the good efforts.
4) Softball. It's fun every week.
5) YMCA. Not the song, but the gym.
6) Sawtelle. It's not just the stores, etc, but it's everything.
7) Sculpy. For the mind and hands and social times. It can even get me out of the house.
8) Art. Being part of it is the best. Too many artists to list here...
9) GR bimonthly. First year to do it, and it's made us/me stronger.
10) 2006. Lots happened, met a lot of great folks(you know who you are), and I'm thankful.

Night before Thanksgiving. Sculpy time. First dinner at Fatties. I had the vegan version of the Sloppy Joe. No I was too hungry to shoot it, but it's a good dish. I hear it keeps changing a bit.

Ms Saelee Oh is listening for her our waitress to come.
That sweater is inside out, but you can't tell. Saelee ended up eating an 8" pizza that didn't have dairy, but it had carrot on the dough that was sort of like tomato sauce, a lot of veggies that were mixed and chopped fine, but the kicker, brussel sprouts sliced thin.

Flowers. Holding flowers make people trip out. Standing in front of the Trader Joe's in Eagle Rock, people would smile, wave, and would even act like I was giving them to them. Flower do weird things to people.

For relaxing times, make it Sculpy Time...

sculpy kids till 5am.

My good deed. Driving down the road, I saw a man waving his arms. I thought what the fuck does this freak want? Then right as I was passing by along with other cars, I saw a jumper cable. You'd think who cares about this? It's actually nothing, but why did all of the other cars not stop? We weren't in a terribly busy area, it was still light outside and the dude was asking for help. Maybe it's because he had a van? Silence of the Lambs? Imagine Tom Petty singing, "An American Girl..." I thought the dude was an immigrant, but he ended up having a nerdy voice and was a nice guy. Happy Thanksgiving bro, from one van driver to another.

Mi casa brand Vanilla ice cream air freshener. Cut a fart? Spray a scoop of ice cream in your room! The weird thing is what's up with the cinnamon sticks? The logo of Mi casa is basically a rainbow text and a triangle for a roof. Bad quality, although the ice cream is done well with a drop shadow that actually makes no sense.

Your Yard Blows #3, but some of these don't.

YARD1. Multiple Yards.
This yard suffers from too much. It has a disorder. I'm digging the big tree, but the leftside Sago Palm looking thing isn't working. Nice rocks placed here and there, and the curved brick border made someone proud at one time. Should it be just dirt on the ground? Should there be more to cover that up a bit? Right now, I can see it being a haven for dog to shit in.

Whoa... but don't discount the tree in front! That's a mini bonsai that could have been done by Miyagi himself. You can see the parts of the tree that's been chopped off to make this look chill. The two rocks look like islands. Could it be representing LOST? The bush to the right of the tree looks like cousin IT or a Tribble (Star Trek). It's just a weird hairy tiny bush. Not feeling that part, sorry.

Part 3 of the same house!
This house has a weird wood wall. I'm not sure what that wall accomplishes. I don't feel relaxed by it because it's bamboo, and the mini roof on the wall? This isn't making much sense. Is it something people are supposed to climb or scale? Is it protecting anyone from intruders? Privacy? It's just a decoration, and I can accept it for that, but I still don't get it. From a different angle, the rock is looking sort of like a sea anenome. Overall, I gotta give this a 7.5

YARD 2. The Master.
This might be the king of yards on the block. The gourd pattern on the walk way might be seal the deal. Japanese and gourds. There's a symbiosis. This yard features manicured trees galore. On the left, look at the roots and the rocks in harmony! Each tree is trimmed like a bush should be. The round bushes aren't perfect, matching how nature really is, and I'm even digging the walk way railing near the house. It has a mid century modern pattern.

This house might have a bit too much going on. It's nice, and it's great, it's a big lawnmowing bill. But overall I have to give these folks a 9.

YARD 3. Gilligan's Island.
Here's a strange detail. This one doesn't have a yard, but there's a tree coming out of nowhere. Is this supposed to represent an island in some zen way? If it is, then I'd hate to be stuck on a one tree island. It looks nice, and maybe it covers up the front door, but I sort of feel sorry of this tree. Where are the worms gonna go? There's not enough dirt or grass on this concrete jungle. A 6, even though there's some efforts with the "yard" in the background. I see some tree, but in the end, the feature is this lonely tree. I'm gonna rescue this tree one day. A 6.

YARD 4. Lemme Killmeister.
My grandmother used to live at this house. 11572 Mississippi. It's a tiny house, but what's with the crazy ivy. I don't really dig the handlebar moustache look and if you live in this house, you have to love it. It's very Lemmy from Motorhead. The windows work in perfect composition to give those Tom Petty "Don't Come Around Here no More" glasses. A 5. At least there's greenery. This house is weird, all the way down to the patch of cement next to curb. What's that for? Cinderella?

YARD 5. Donger Need Food.
Do you use condoms? I would if I lived in this phallic house of love. Yellow house, the color of nervous jealousy. Twin green dongers in front. Walk in between and you better have that umbrella out. A 5 since the walkway has the bricks going perpendicular to the sidewalk, leading you in. The flowers on the path are a cute touch.

Whoa shit... here it comes. The mammoth of them all...



YARD 6 The infamous ghost house of Sawtelle.
I've been in the area when I was young, and now I'm here again. This house has always looked thrashed. It's sitting on a huge lot that's always unkept. The fence around it is a mess, but vintage! A bonus point. I've never seen the people who live here, but they are Japanese American. The house is super old, worn down, and hasn't had a coat of paint on it since I can remember. The backyard has that RV. I've seen a wire connecting power to the RV from the house. Later at night, there are light on in the RV. But the house is always dark. What's in there? Who's in there? Is it filled with bugs and rats?

So let's rate this... I'd give this a 10 or a 0. It's scary, it's bold, it's huge, it's hard is totally thrashed, and the house is just a beater. But it does have the most character of any house in the area. It's known by all and despised by many, but my curiousity gives this ultimate ratings. The land itself is worth a goldmine and the fact that it sits like this make me smile. It's one bit of tradition in the area still intact. Anyone out there know anything about this place? I want to know. Can I get a tour?

YARD 7. Treeasles.
Can you rebuild him? This tree and Manuel Noriega have a lot in common. This tree is all trunk, with no top. I think it got ruined from overtrimming. You guys killed the poor tree, gave it treeasles, and now look. You get a 3.

YARD 8.
I have to give these guys props. Southwest or maybe south of the border in design, the yard kind of matches, but they do it without succulents. So someone cut the bushes to look like cactus. I have to give this creativity props for doing weird shit to your yard. It's obviously 2nd rate gardner work. There's no way Miyagi put his hands on this one. The symmetry of each bush is extra strange, it's sort of looks alien. But... this actually fits the house and although I don't really like the house, it sort of works in the oddest way. A 7.

Ok, so this is amazing. Posting links is sometimes dumb, until you find Lumeria in Japan! WTF. Anyone tell me more about this.

For some of you, this post might be worth a lot since no photos are allowed, and this show is hard to get to. I took a bunch of discreet photos. Wunderground is a show of work from Providence or should I say Olneyville's (the tiny town closeby) finest. It's a show of work from Ft. Thunder... Slowly the Fort is becoming a distant memory instead of a near one. One of our friends Brian Ralph was a founding member. I remember calling him at the Fort, for project ideas and so on. He used the describe the place as being a spot where you needed to have shoes. He also would tell me how girls wouldn't like being there. I never got to visit which is a regret, but this show helps a little.

Amy opens the door for me. The show gets good billing on the facade of the building. It's great to see the RISD museum give these kids some credit they deserve.

This is one of the first things you see when you walk into the big room of installation pieces. It's huge.

I walked inside... When you pull on these ropes, bells, cymbals, and more. See the below photo.

Taken straight up, we're still inside of the first big room.

Walking around that first struction, this is what you see. Let's go towards the left building, I see a doorway over there. Common!

Unmistakably, this is Brian Chippendale's work. He has a CD of his side band playing.

For scale... I bet you thought a person could walk into that doorway on the bottom right. But no, it's small.

So walking out of B. Chip's room, there's this structure that has music coming out of the tubes. Not all tubes play the music, but it's pretty neat. Let's go by this music box and then go left.

Whoa... I dunno what this was, but it had this weird diorama in the middle. The sides were made of soft paper.

I passed this one up when I walked in. It's on the right.

This was on the left. You walk in, and pow! This huge beast's arm moves. Is this one by Leif Goldberg?

Slightly wider view. The piece behind it, I didn't get a shot of. The photo police roamed around at that time. Look above that noise tunnel piece... it's lit up like an alien beacon.

After leaving that room, it's time to see the prints. Tons of them. Thousands... This is what Ft. Thunder was known for. Silkscreening wrecklessly.

I looked and found a few Brian Ralph pieces mixed in.

Ft. Thunder is slowly building it's name back up, and I'm sure this is just a start. There's a catalog for Wunderground. It just begins to portray the story of who these guys are, what their space was all about. I'd think the book would need to be triple the size, with tons more photos. I propose someone do a show where the entire Fort is reproduced with mechanical dudes.

Julian's restaurant is like a punk rock institution in Providence. Just down the street from Armageddon records which will stock every Load Records release you can get, it's a meeting place for locals who want good food. But this isn't a restaurant review.



This was one of the many specials. Okay, so I picked a loser. This didn't do it for me. Spaghetti squash, coconut milk, tofu scramble. It doesn't sound right, does it? It didn't do it for me. The potatoes were good, but that's pretty normal no matter where you go. I don't think I've ever had ruined potatoes. They're good overcooked and mushy too. The bread was wheat and unexciting. I'm giving this place a bad rap right here, but it's actually quite good.

See how there's art on the walls?

More art on the walls towards the front window.

That's me looking at the art. Believe it or not, this where Jack Long had his first show outside of RISD, and it's where I first saw Jack's art. Since, he's moved to LA, and we've shown his work many times. He's one of my favorite artists and he'll be showing with us again at GRNY in January.

Solomon's Market
When I see this place, I'm inclined to think, this is what the American dream is all about. What was once a deli, now is something totally different. It's been there since 1935, and sits in a residential area on a corner. It's not necessarily a busy area, but a cozy one.

If you take a step inside, you realize, it's not a Korean restaurant. From living in Los Angeles, it doesn't surprise anyone that a Korean restaurant might pop up someplace, but this is in Rhode Island. Using a kitchen stove with a few burners, you'd see all of them with their fire's on with home cooking going on. A few employees are behind the counter, which most definitely has to be a family business.

The menu is awesome. It's Korean food all around. You'd think maybe they'd open up in an Asian area, there is one in Providence. Maybe they'd open in an area where there's other restaurants... no! These folks opened up in a spot that's residential and as local as can be.

The place look like Solomon's Market, sans Solomon and whatever he / she sold.

Kimpap looks right and taste right. I forgot to mention, you won't get a table full on banchan. But you will get a bowl of oikimchee (cucumber) and onion. It's quite good and just about makes up for the minimalism.

If this were 1935, you could easily picture an old dude maybe with a beard wearing an apron. Instead you get the folks who put their heart into their work.

Glass noodles - Chop Chae

Soon doo boo

I've spoken a few words to the folks at Solomon's. Their English isn't great, but they're always friendly, and happy to see their customers. I've seen it crowded, and sometimes, it's not, and it's a place for people to have something a bit different than the other Asian foods - Indian, Japanese, Chinese, or Thai. It would be too perfect to talk about it being kick ass busy, successful, owner in a Gulf Stream, but no, it's perhaps just doing enough. I'm not sure what the demographics are in Providence, but I do notice, this is where there Koreans come to eat. So back to what I said. It's the American Dream.

A man with a plan,
in a small New England town.
Korean food time.

Dinosaur party is going on now. If you're in SF bay, you should stop by. I hear it's "off the chain." Meanwhile get ready for Jeana Sohn coming up at GRNY next week.

Sawtelle People
If you're out on Sawtelle Blvd, here's some people you'll see. This is in front of Safe and Save Market, the hub of the area - in my opinion.

Christian. From what I can tell, he's the tough one. Wait both of these kids are tough... He's younger. I think! The brothers are a year apart, and I guess I can only be 50% right. Is he racking that bottle of Gatorade?

Jalen? Almost a sci-fi ish name, maybe something like Planet of the Apes Galen... but then again, think about Jalen Rose - one of the Fab 5. I should ask about where that name came from. If it's Jalen Rose, then shit... This kid has to be tough. After looking at the pics, I dunno which is which anymore. But what ever he has in the bag must be good. See them on their bikes cruising around.

That's Dee. Mommy dearest. She's usually camera shy, but I caught her. She works at Mizu 212 (the high priced shabu shabu joint) sometimes, and the steam from the pots is probably good for the complexion. The oils might not be, but that's part of the restaurant game. Big tips, stinky clothing.

RISD grad student open studio. This happens once a year, and I hear the undergrads might even be better. But here's some images and thoughts of what I saw.

Smash up derby painting. I think this was my favorite single work. The guy who's completely white... is this painting finished?

This reminded me of Aliens.

Jacob Goble paints red people and smash up derbys.

Blade was good too. I thought that was a fake name, but this kid is good.

I was on the fence on this. These works look good together, but alone? I'm not quite sure.

This is a great collection of paint. studios can be messy but this person wasn't.

Stylish studio. This was probably the nicest studio. Maybe it's the lamps.

See the page in the upper middle? That a GR page!

This looks like one of the many studios. Colorful, messy, but full of energy.

Awesome mugs.

King of patterns. This person's work looked good.

Overall, I didn't see everything, but I did like the painting floors the best. Wish there was more of that.

Goodbye Chunky Rice... You ate too much candy.

The GRSF show Dinosaur Party begins tonight. The piece below is mine. I found out just 3 days ago that my name was on the postcard. The curator put my name in, and joked around about it, then after being asked what the heck I was making, I kept thinking that it was all a joke, but the joke was on me. So I turned out a robot. This is the first art show I'll be in. This is made out of sculpy and paint.

Call Dr. Martin Wong at PP5-1Doodoo. He's in your corner.

Uh oh the hat! It's the hat. Here's another small article online on the cut and paste event.

Don't talk about Felt Club at the Echo. This event takes place every so often. A holiday one is coming up on December 9th, the same day as UGLYCON at GR2. It's cool to see a space for crafters to get together and sell their wares. They need one of these to happen on the westside. The Echo smells like the club it is, and that sort of blows during the day time.

Jordan Crane print master. Old schooler and still great, his prints are worth what he charges and then some. I've known Jordan for maybe 8 years... maybe more.

Woman making yarn balls using this spinning device. Is this a loom?

Christine and Rama Hughes

Cut + Paste Event Los Angeles
(the Los Angeles link will give you the contestants)

Hearing about this event from New York, it's now in it's second year, and it's taking place across the country. I was asked to be a judge (thanks Mr. Stpl), and it was an amazing event. Starting with 8 competitors who've had previous "tests" to qualify them for the night, this tournament format was surprising. You can imagine this to be unorganized, poorly formatted, and unfun, but this was looking good as soon as I walked in. DJ booth, people, hustling organizers and volunteers, giveaways, beer, a decent venue, computers, Wacoms, and projected screens set up the night. For at least one night, the kid who designs the flyers, schematics, website, or works secretly in their bedroom are the stars for the night.

This bike by Puma was a giveaway. $800 retail, and I hear they make no money off of it. It breaks down, and you can shove it in your trunk.

Also judging was Andy Mueller (Quiet Life), Emit a graf dude, Roger Gastman, and Buffmonster. The above photo is the backstage room. Free beer, booze, and water.

Buffmonster and Andy Mueller

Dennis, the most animated of the bunch, smashes his laptop. This thing still worked. I hope he didn't assume he was going to win the macbook 13" first prize.

The competitors sit side by side going at it. They have 15 minutes, and they know their topics one week earlier. I wasn't sure if that was the best way to do it, but it does insure that the work will be thought out with great quality. Turntablists do routines too. Freestylers may not, but they do have some chops set up. Us judges were introduced and stood right behind them. We looked over their shoulders. We were free to stand anywhere we wanted. Sometimes, we ventured on the floor to see the work on the big screen. I tried hard to pay attention to each workstation and to think about what concepts they were working on, what techniques they were using, and their overall final piece.

Hundreds came to check out this event. Some cheering, and laughter happened throughout. I'm sure a lot wondered why the heck they didn't enter, and I'm sure they will next year.

Emit and Mr. Gastman.

Elvis (foreground) and Jim (background) were the finalists.
It was a classic battle of the underdog (Elvis) and Jim who seemed like the favorite. Jim has super pro quality illustration and Illustrator skills. He's definitely schooled and definitely a working pro. Elvis, a working pro, has a raw style, he'll draw with the tablet, make crooked lines, imperfect circles, and somehow turns out a final product that has a lot of soul. Jim walked away with the MacBook.

A lot of us have grown up with computers. We've become more isolated chatting via icq, aim, or email, while we're working on our projects. People? Friends? We have them, but the definition's been turned upside down. Some are virtual, some aren't. How do we get together and see or meet other designers? The Cut and Paste event put the computer geeks center stage for a night.

Buff Monster king size.

The paper magazine panel. The woman with the crazy hair and exposed back pensively watches us talk about art and magazines. I recorded it, and it sounded bad (the speakers weren't so good), maybe they'll stream it somewhere.

photos by michelle matthews

Some sneak pics of Susie's show.

Dude. WTF! As left in GRSF.
These are Tootsie peniiii sculpts
left by a stranger.

Tonite - paper magazine panel This is just a link to the postcard.

Tomorrow Cut and Paste competition all here in LA.

We lost the game, the battle, the catfight... 10-4 to a tough softball team known as VCA. They're a veterinarian team, although the lone vet wasn't even there. Going into the game, this team has destroyed other teams, they're city champs, they're practically pros (not really, but damn good). Yesterday, they weren't all that great, but they looked pretty human. They fucked up on the field at times, didn't hit super well, and who knows, maybe we'll challenge them again. Although we got the L, we didn't make many errors, and their hitting might be a bit better. There's no moral

victories for me. It's just a W or a L. And although they said nice things something like, "first challenge for us all season" and were gentlemen after the game, I wouldn't mind fucking them up next time. The photo is Hap and Greg from last week - the benevolent leaders

My Roommate came out last night and sampled a little...

But we saw my roommate this evening. I was surprised. What is my roommate doing?

Late at night, my roommate creeps out... it's time for an eviction. This behavior must stop.

Anyone remember the DCon Muhammad Ali commercials?

Your yard - Part 2.

This tree for some reason, has flies buzzing around 24-7. I walk the streets and this spot must have an invisible piece of shit floating in the air. When I walk through I make sure my mouth is closed. I can see one of these flies going down my throat. 10 if you're a frog.

You want to live in the Southwest? Walk around with a tribal G string? Want a house that looks like should be built within a mountain? I personally couldn't live in this type of house. It's just too weird. This person needs indian statue dudes holding bows and arrows hiding in the bushes. This peachy colored thing even has wood beams protruding from it. If you want southwest that bad, move there. I'd be embarassed to live here. A solid 8 if you're a Southwest fan, otherwise, it's a 1.

This is interesting. Big driveway with no yard. Instead of putting trash cans in these spots, this person made two mini zen type of Japanese yards. I don't have much bad to say about this yard, it's just making due with what you have. If I were a squirrel or a cat, this is my hide and go see spot to look up ladies skirts. An 8 for the effort in such a ridiculous space.

This is Fred Flinstone's club. Why it just sits in this yard, I have no idea. The dude who lives here is a big guy and maybe he leaves for work and grabs this, and then drops it off when he comes home. His lawn needs some work. Tiny props for the tree shapes, but overall, this yard is a 4.

This is one Barry Ave, and there's leaves tons of it. If you're going to have a tree that spits this shit out, you gotta clean it up. This a sidewalk believe it or not. The leaves are so old and trampled, the spot's a mess. A 2 for the litter.

Benley. It's a hit in Long Beach. Vietnamese food that has music by Stereo Total. It's not cheap, it's good, and it's sort of hipster. The chopsticks are fancy and they rest on two divots in hte black rock. The menu is nice on wood. The food is tasty. It's not big in portions, but you'll like it if you go there.

Some tender beef stuff.

Pork pho.

Sawtelle musings.


Chikara is part of the George's hardware crew. If you need a lawnmower sharpened, a key copied, or a big sack of cow shit, he's your man. He's a good person. That's all you need to know. If you need someone to have your back, he'll be there.

The sunday sunset. Southern California smog makes for nice sunsets.

Our friends from Asobi seksu on Tour again! It seems like they were just here, but why not? These guys have to work hard to get their brand of shoegazer out. These guys are great check em out.

5-Nov Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
6-Nov Des Moines, IA @ Vaudevilles
7-Nov Lincoln, NE @ Chatterbox
10-Nov Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour (w/The Wrens)
11-Nov San Francisco, CA - Be the Riottt Festival @ Bill Graham Civic
Auditorium (w/The Rapture, Clipse, Metric, and more)
14-Nov Portland, OR @ Holocene (w/Tokyo Police Club)
15-Nov Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey (w/Tokyo Police Club)
17-Nov Salt Lake City, UT @ Broken City
18-Nov Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
21-Nov Sacramento, CA @ tba
22-Nov San francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (w/Mates of
State)
24-Nov Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theater (w/Mates of State)
25-Nov San Diego, CA Epi Center (w/Mates of State)
26-Nov Tucson, AZ Congress Theater (w/Mates of State)
27-Nov Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room (w/Mates of State)
28-Nov Albuquerque, NM Launchpad (w/Mates of State)
29-Nov Lubbock, TX Jake's (w/Mates of State)
30-Nov Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory (w/Mates of State)
1-Dec Dallas, TX Sons Of Herman (w/Mates of State)
2-Dec Houston, TX Numbers (w/Mates of State)
3-Dec Austin, TX Emo's Outside (w/Mates of State)
5-Dec Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
6-Dec Atlanta, GA @TBA 7-Dec Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
8-Dec Baltimore/DC @ tba
9-Dec Philadelphia, PA @ Khyber Pass

Anyone coming to this? Paper mag has a lot of things going on, this is one of them.



I have no idea what we're talking about just yet, and really, I have no info, but oh well. I guess that's how stuff runs. It's cool to be included, when there was a time when we'd be left out. But sometimes, it's better to just be left out. Click on this to make it bigger.

My man Kohei will out otaku all of you. In a glass cup, he creates dioramas that win awards. This is all done when he's not working on his designs.

T SHIRT 101. I know the t shirt making game is huge now. Everyone is a fashion designer. But do you know what you're doing? Thankfully, I've been doing this longer than I've been doing GR, so here's a simple tip. Make your design. It could be good, it could suck. I can't help you there. But follow this easy step.

Print the thing out. If you have a color printer that's great. but if not, then make it on a white shirt, and print it with a white background. Print numerous sizes of it, and figure out what's going to work on a Large, Medium, and maybe small. Then print another one for the girl shirts. Try to have blank shirts in the sizes you care most about. Size does matter when making your shirt designs, do don't assume this step is easy, it might be the most important step in making your design look right. An important tip is to cut the design out from the paper, and tape it on. I'd even have someone wear the shirt with the design on it.

This is hwa-shi starting to cut up his design. This is going to be for GR. He didn't want to print it out first to check it. I told him he should. "No one listens to the publisher." He may not do this step again, and he'll pay for it one day, but not on my watch.

We won our softball game. Ho hum right? But tonite, in the dugout some muthafucka let out one of the smelliest farts ever. We were doing alright, I think I just scored a run, and I walked into the dugout half way triumphant in my mind. I hear a bit of laughter so I wonder what the hell I did wrong. Booger hanging out? Did I run weird again? I sat on the bench next to my glove, and I took a deep breath. NO! The laughs had nothing to do with me and my lungs were fucked for a minute. It was sort of like laughing gas, I felt a shock, then a weird euphoric energy. I think that's what everyone else was feeling too. Who done that? The big heavy dude Sean? Was it him? That belly might be a septic tank in disguise. Big Jay? My own cousin? He's got octane, he's a big fella, but he's all about the powerful sound. I think he'd be proud of it. Martin! Was it that veggie burrito? Cousin Mike? Taking Vicadin leads to gas? Captain Hap? BK the innocent? Or was it silent and deadly Jake!? I don't know his diet, and he doesn't talk much. Peg Leg Greg? Or George, the guy who hasn't played all season? That fart must have been memorable, since it's the only thing that enters my mind about the game.

This could be embarassing, and I'm too mortified to look at the videoclips. So tell me how they are.



I don't know much about the Discover Nikkei site. I hope it's a good one.

Cake Eaters! Let us eat cake. (and we did)

The Bat Robot by Linda "triple lindy" Tang. This cake amazed. It had lemon and pomegranate layers on the inside. She can bake cake. If you penmanship sucks, does that mean you can't ever decorate cakes for a living?

Invisible candles. Martin made a wish, I wonder what that was? Linda on left, Martin, Wendy, and Pryor! Photo took place at Pryor's house. Dude, you need to clean your house.

Jade Mui. This is a big ass container of seed. It's not cracked seed since it's not cracked, but same idea. I've been eating these since I was a little kid. It was probably one of my favorite snacks growing up. Better than candy, if you can believe that. Since it's tried, plum (prune), it should be good for taking dumps. I have no idea how that really works. Shouldn't fresh fruit do it too? This was a present from Martin from Hawaii, maybe it's a signal for me to take more poos.