Michael Aushenker Palisadian Post

I was interviewed for the Palisadian Post newspaper. It's one of the earlier places where I got publishing experience. I worked there in 1989 or 1990, while I was a community college student in Santa Monica. I shot tons of photos, processed the film by hand, and printed camera ready art. I was the chief photographer in a small editorial staff of 5. The paper actually has an advertising staff, admin, paste up (which I'm sure is not digital), and their own printing press, which to me is a treasure to have, especially in an upper class neighborhood. Printing presses usually reside in crappy warehouses in industrial areas. This might be the richest press around - pound for pound! It sits behind the editorial offices on a chunk of commercial property in the Pacific Palisades. Recently they published a photo I took ages ago of a friends band, The Inclined, and now, they interview me for their paper. It's quite an honor. We'll see how it comes out.

Michael Aushenker is a familiar face from the comic book world. He's been working at the Post since January, and I'm sure he's doing a great job. He's able to extend his creativity for comics and indie culture to a neighborhood paper. I always knew that the job is what you make it, and it seems like he's having a good time.

Behind him a new billboard went up. I've never seen it happen, so this is what it looks like when they change the vinyls. The David Choe pieces got some air.

As did the Shepard Fairey.

But the big winner is Will Ferrell.

Squirrel Buddy

I'll be honest, I don't like squirrels, but it turns out, they actually have personalities. Most see a human and run for cover. Those are the ones I really dislike. There's one which I've noticed that doesn't run when people are around. It's skiddish, and freaks out if you make a sudden movement, but it'll get pretty close. It's she, so, she's been hanging out a lot lately, and today, I saw the thin tailed squirrel eating an avocado. Normally, I'd fight for that avocado, but not today.

I'm not sure if I like the paws on a squirrel, but maybe just this one is ok. I might give squirrels a break from now on out, just maybe.

Miya Ando Stanoff art Exhibition Bandini Gallery

That's sort of what we looked like at the Miya Ando Stanoff art exhibition. Her back story is amazing. She's the descendant of a sword maker. That's cousin Mike Idemoto and Eugenia Yuan. That's Miya above my cousin's left shoulder. This all took place at the Bandini gallery on Fairfax. The art is minimal style, sort of Rothko in a way, but it's all made out of metal, and with industrial finishing techniques, the work has tones and textures. I'm a little more into pop culture, so this type of work is something I'm not used to seeing.

Evidently, she's from Watsonville, a small town in California, where my mother's side has some roots. Miya now lives in Brooklyn and has art exhibitions all over. See her site here.

I liked this piece the most.

From the comments on Little Tokyo - a rehash - new place same story

Fooled you. I bet you thought it yet another tired food blog. I can't say I'm an expert or even near in on Little Tokyo or Japan town or any town. However, I am qualified to talk about the ownership of property, leases, and maybe a bit about the future. There's two comments I copied and pasted below after my post about Shojin. Never mind, that the food was really good, the comments are more about the dying mall in Little Tokyo where this great spot is located. It is a more important topic that happens everywhere.

Cue up Howard Jones song, "No One is to Blame" you can listen to this while you may or may not read this.



It's tough ride, when people or companies own properties. It's a balance of who's willing to put up money, and who's not. Korean businesspersons step up to buy, it's their right to do whatever they want, unless the city tags some kind of Historical Landmark on it. Yes it is too bad that the Japanese businesses will get pushed out. If Little Tokyo becomes the next Korea town, that's the direction that the dollars are going. Even in the micro version, Sawtelle, you're seeing more and more Korean owned businesses than ever. Pinkberry, TofuVilla... etc. Where are the third generation Japanese American developers and business owners? Where are the Japanese developers and or business owners? There's not a lot, and not enough, so that's how it goes. I wish I had a better answer, but there's not enough folks stepping up to the plate to make a difference. Instead, I do see greedy Japanese American landlords, who end up driving out other Japanese Americans from their own areas. It's a free market, right?

I've heard blame placed upon the youth who bring new cultures in. I've heard blame placed on the younger Japanese Americans as well for not stepping up, like I mentioned above. Yet, you have to also take into account the greed of the older Japanese Americans as well, who don't think about who they choose to sell to, and at what ridiculous rent amounts they attempt to stick onto their tenants. It's a cycle, and the truth is, it's not pretty. But then again, it's their land to do what they want, but when things change not to their liking, they have to look at themselves as well - but they won't. Keep in mind a lot of the landlords had the experience of WWII when they got their land and possessions taken away, so shit, if they want to cash out... you can't blame them. I've talked about this same exact thing before, but I'll keep saying it until people get it - which they won't.


Here's the comments:

1) Yeah, Little Tokyo is pretty much like San Francisco's Japan Town now. Koreans bought the New Otani. The Japanese Village Plaza was sold around the same time to another non-Japanese owner. And then I heard 3-D investment, the same people that bought the SF J-Town mall, bought the Little Tokyo Mall (The one that has the parking garage above it.

2) "While non-Japanese landlords of Little Tokyo properties have become common, this sale of the large shopping mall on Alameda Street will lead to a cultural change: Korean businesses, including a grocery, spa and electronics store, will replace the current Japanese tenants, said Ryan Oh of Coldwell Banker, who brokered the deal for the new owners." - LA Business..Article

Too bad the Japanese tenants have to go.

Shojin in Little Tokyo

The thin friendly waiter said that we have to try this. Before he did, he asked if we were vegan and how we found out about the place. Giant Robot was once in downtown LA. We were in a loft in Little Tokyo and I'd frequent the exact spot where Shojin restaurant is located. There was a spot called Cafe Lauren, which was one of the best around. Anyone been there? Recently, I took a walk through, just to see how things are in the mall. I ran into Shojin, it wasn't open for business yet, but it looked nice. Shojin to my knowledge is a Buddhist related meal. You'll eat Shojin food if you stay at a Buddhist temple. I'm sure the food won't be as extensive as what you get at Shojin in Little Tokyo.

Above: Organic Tomato Tartar. The white blocks: it's tofu cheese. I don't like cheese in general, so I had to ask what was in it. It's tofu and miso with tomato and avocado. It's a salad like appetizer that you pick at, and it's refreshing and tasty. The tofu does have a cheese like texture, but it taste like tofu. 

This is Tsukune or Fried Garden Seitan. It's a meat ball dish made with seitan that's quite simple, but the sauces were great.

The soy sauce with scallion had some sweetness to it. The other reddish sauce is a homemade ketchup which had a slight salsa flavor. I preferred the soy sauce. 

Yes many things are organic. They do their shopping at the farmer's market in downtown. Even the lemon in the water (if you ask for lemon) will be an organic lemon.

It's the same layout as Cafe Lauren.

I got the Shojin Okara Cake. It's not okra, it's okara, which is sort of like the dregs of tofu. This one is mixed with cashew, mushroom , and garlic. Certain Japanese markets will give it to you free, and if you know what you're doing, it turns out great. Below it is a brown rice porridge which tasted great with the okara.

This is the bento box. This has a little bit of everything. The BBQ Seitan in the left corner was amazing. Then raw kale with tofu was simple, Japanese pumpkin with some pumpkin seeds had some veggie bitterness, and hijiki which is a seaweed with carrot and gobo was tasty. It comes with brown rice. This is the healthiest dish they serve.

Whoa there... That's what I had to say when this came. Green Tea Moss Cake. It's larger than it looks when it shows up. It's the green tea, azuki bean, and date, cake that comes with rice cream. There's toasted almond, dried apple bits, and oats and matcha sauce.

Shojin is located on the top floor of the Mitsuwa market building in Little Tokyo. Park at level four, walk across the bridge, and take in your parking ticket for validation. It's not a quick rush place, and it's not super slow, but it's comfortable, and a great vibe. No need to rush here. It wasn't crowded on a friday night, so this is a spot to support. They have simple stuff like pasta, curry, and other seitan dishes, along with soups and salads.

I don't want to be a downer and say that this mall is dying, but compared to ten years ago, when there was an arcade, and before that, a bowling alley, and then many years before that, a movie theater, I wonder what's going to happen here. Either way, this is a place to check out whether you're vegan or not. It's great healthy food and the staff might be the nicest I've ever experienced. You'll feel great leaving know that you're supporting the people, food, and the spirit of this place. Dinner entrees might be 10-17.

333 S. Alameda St #310 LA 90013 213-617-0305

wed, thurs, sun 12-10p.

fri, sat 12-11p

gr/eats lunch with Monkmus

That's Monkmus, a director, drawer, animator, who joined up at lunch time today at gr/eats. It's a nice warm day today, and a friday which makes a lot of people happy, but in the end, it's like another day for me at GR. Saturday is almost like a monday or a tuesday. A Sunday... well, that's like a wed or a friday. Monday is just like a tuesday, which is like a wednesday and thursday and a Saturday. I'm not making much sense, but you get the idea. Like in a Debby Deb lyric (or the opposite): Weekends are not made for fun.

Meanwhile gr/eats keeps rockin' serious. That's the okra rolls above. 

Tofu meat balls.

Tofu meal ball "oyako" donburi. Of course oyako means parent and kid, which is like chicken and an egg, but this is tofu ball and egg. Hmm, can they be related?

1/2 paella. Yes, this was good.

That's the middle of the tofu ball.

SPORE! Vote?

I don't know much about what this game is about, but you can work with the characters and build your own monster. This is mine, Green Machine. Know what a Green Machine is? It was like a Big Wheel for kids, but cooler. This has an eco vibe and can still kick ass in a "green" manner. You can vote for me, I'm on the second page, which is lame, and there's no direct link. I guess I'm at the bottom of their list. Vote!

Giant Robot Softball

It randomly shows up in the email today, this is the team that I play on thursday nights. We're actually in first place right now. See Jason on the far upper left? Then there's Greg, me, Sean, Marc, Sada, Will, and in the front left, that's Paul, Bill, Bryant, Mike, and Chi. It's weird how the entire bottom row smiled, and the top didn't (almost). We didn't set that up.

Tofu Villa Sawtelle

I'm excited. Usually, you have to go to Koreatown to get good soontofu. But now on Sawtelle, next to Beard Papa is Tofu Villa. At the spot of a past boba shop, this place is the first on the westside that I think actually rocks. I can't exactly say it's better than my favorite K-Town spots, but this isn't bad at all. Bad soontofu usually is watery with chunks of tofu floating about, but this one is just right.

They start you off with tofu in another form. Cold with a sesame sauce.

Then the banchan shows up. From left to right and top to down: Fried tofu, jopchae, dried seaweed, kimchee, broccoli with tofu curd, a sauce, I realize I dunno what that was for. Squid. Potato salad, and oi kimchee.

I forgot to shoot this when it first came. I order it mild, so you don't get that intense red color. If you're a fan of soontofu, I think this will do the trick. Of course, they have pibimbap, BBQ meats, and it advertises that they open until midnight, and on the weekends 2am! But keep in mind, that'll change as they realize people won't be there that late. Tonight they said they close at 10:30pm instead of midnight. 

Tofu Villa 2130 Sawtelle 112a, WLA, CA 90025

2 FREE TACOS at Jack in the Box THURS JUNE 26th

You'd think Jack in the Box in Giant Robot? Yes, they do advertise in GR. If the Lakers keep their opponents under 100 points, they're give away a free taco. But this is different and the focus of fast food is changing - I think. I suppose Jack in the Box is reaching out to tons of people who could use a break. It's almost weird.

So bring in a gas receipt, any receipt, it can be from a previous day or week. Take it in to any Jack in Box and you'll get 2 free tacos. In some people's books, this is a meal. Check out Jack talking about it here at the JIB's site.


Jack Feels Your (Gas) Pain!
Jack in the Box® Restaurants to Offer Two Free Tacos to Guests with Gas Receipt on June 26. Jack in the Box restaurants will give away two free tacos to guests who present a valid gas receipt. Limit of one order of tacos per guest. No purchase necessary. Duplicates or copies will not be accepted.

Rage at the Cage

That's king Bill swinging the bat. It looks like he cleaned up this little loopey dip he was doing. He was slamming the ball clean. That's big Jason on the bottom. He can hit the ball hard and if you're trying to do a double play at 2nd, guess who's going to slide into you. He was a linebacker in highschool. I'd get out of the way. These dudes go to the batting cage every week, and on thursday is game time. I'm on the team too, and I should go more often, but sometimes, I can't.

I notice batting cages are in Japanese movies a lot. When is the last time you've seen an American movie that has a scene at an amusement park-like batting cage?

Angry Asian Man

I had lunch with Phil Yu, aka, Angry Asian Man. He's been doing this blog for years, before the word blog existed - maybe. It's cool to hear about how he started, his view points, how he does his stuff, and his overall humbleness. This photo is probably the goofier side of him, and he's not really angry, and you'll see him smile just like this. angryasianman.com

La Isla Bonita

No one beats this truck. It's parked on Rose, between 4th and 5th. Everyday but thursday, not at night. Everything is good, although I don't care that much for the shrimp tostada. But everything else, is perfection. Ceviche, mixtas (which is a ceviche with a ton of seafood on top), cocktail camarones or try the everything - campechana. The tacos are great too. There's no wrong at this truck. I've been eating there since 1989. No lie. The two chicas are eating the ceviche, which are incredible. You can order, eat and order more and eat, and they'll run a tab for you. It's a chill environment. I always leave a tip. They're great folks.

That's Tony, he was showing off the new side of the truck. Little clay fishes that were made by his friend. We asked what that curl thing is. See it on the edge of the photo above, and on the left side on the photo below? He said that's the whirlpool that happens when the fish swim in circles. It looks like a cinnamon roll. Say hi to Tony. He's the nicest guy around. 

Buddhist Temple yard sale scores

So who cares? A plane, a tin airport, some firetrucks. I guess at one time, an airport set was cool. It was when flight was still glam. Remember days way back where you almost felt like you had to dress up to get in a plane? As a small kid, there were days like that. The idea of airbus didn't exist. The word bus and plane couldn't be in the same sentence, much less now one word. There was no Southwest, JetBlue, or Virgin, instead it was Pan Am where the stewardesses were all so hot and dressed to impress. There was actually cool silverware, and cups, and detail. So the kit above may not look it, but it embodies a time that's long gone. Meanwhile, look at the graphics of the Chinese Checkers set. 

Ok sounds gross but rice picker hat circle jerk. First one done, wins. Easy cleaning that becomes fish food in the pond. Yes, I'm gross.

Whoa there. Doggie. Looks at the kid holding up the table for the people in the cyclos.

This one is odd. He's even wearing getta.

Classic.

Strip checkers

That looks like a female Long Duk Dong in the back. The kid leaning on the lady is weird.

Deathcabforcutie

Dirty Hands World Premier - Harry Kim and David Choe Los Angeles Film Festival - The Crest

I like Photos of Harry Kim and David Choe. This one says it all, doesn't it? It was before the film, Dirty Hands was to start. Harry holds a bouquet of flowers. Harry with flowers! He's holding up a ticket to get in and he's wearing a tie-dye t shirt that says, Arizona on it. David stands next to him, with a Sharpie and film festival badge in hand, arm around his great friend. Both not knowing how other directors might handle a beginning of a film festival film, often with red carpet bravado and pompousness. This was the opposite. It was as if they handed the keys to the prison to the inmates. Everything was turned on it's head. Yet, a huge staff of support was there for the film, even if it was just from friends. Meanwhile, a line spanned down the block. It was long. 

Dirty Hands website.
Meet the parents. Harry Kim's parents on the left, David Choe's parents on the right. None had seen the film yet. They were proud to wear the Dirty Hands T shirt by Upper Playground. That alone was a great sight. They had no idea what was upcoming and what adventures their kids went on together over the last 8 years. Seeing each other was a great start. Here's a little back story. Evidently, Harry got into trouble perhaps at the hands of David's older brother. The Kim's were apprehensive of the Choe clan, they haven't spoken in years and years. The film brought them out and together last night. It was a sight at the after film party at Asuka restaurant next door. The elder Koreans sat at a table, talked, and were often seen pointing fingers happily at their kids. Something was brewing and only they know what that is, but being proud was definitely part of it.  The crowd was energetic, they laughed, clapped, and I only heard great things about the film.

Here's that long, long line. Some got turned away. The theater was packed for this film. If you got in, it was a special night. David Choe hid out and didn't want to be in the awkward scene of having his parents see him say and do the nuttiest things. I introduced the film, and that was actually tough, since, it's easy to talk about David Choe, but this time, it was about Harry, and he got a huge cheer when I mentioned his name. The film went off without a hitch. I video taped the Q and A, and I'll see if I can get that up soon.

My friend Bobby Hundreds. We stood next to each other after the film, taking it in. A nice dude walked by and said, "whoa, my two favorite bloggers next to each other." I figured that was Bobby's friend and I got to ride his coat tail for a second.

That's David before the film.

David and James Jean, the cover artist of Giant Robot 54. We sponsored the after party at Asuka. See the banner that's sagging? Dave put it up. He doesn't know tape as well as paint.

Dave signs Converse. He's featured in an ad for Converse, wish we got that ad in the mag. 

That's Jessica Sanders, filmmaker - a true paparazzi shot.

This guy got everything.

The scene at Asuka. You can actually make out the parents in the background in the black t shirts!

After after party at Barcade in Korea town. You can actually play games inside. We were there until near 4am.

It was Harry's night, and maybe year. I can't tell you how proud I am of this dude. People discount Harry a lot. Imagine, Dave's a world famous type of artist, there's been this dude tagging along shooting footage. No one has seen much, and it's been dragging so long, it seems like it would never ever come out. But lo and behold, this man has major talent along with his staff. Great editing job as well.

That's big brother, Jimmy Choe on the left.

Even though Harry had a great time, David sat on his face, sweaty nuts to the chin. In this way, these dudes haven't grown up at all. 

That's Yoshi Obayashi, he's a comedian, his brother is a pro skater with the same name.

The night obviously ends in Korean food. The weird thing was that at almost 5am, there was a soccer game on, and I'm sure it was Korea playing, and there were people actually there to watch.

Gabe Ritter X Jen Pak

There's that X... for collaborations. Does it apply to marriage? I suppose so. That's Gabe Ritter and Jen Pak. Gabe's written a bunch of articles for Giant Robot beginning with Ai Yamaguchi cover and interview. They've been dating since high school, and it's a very rare occurrence that they're going strong nearly a decade later. We were at Koehler winery in Los Olivos, CA. It's a nice looking place, and if you look at the next photos in the upper left, you can see an expanse of grape vines, almost as far as you can see. 

That's Ai Yamaguchi and Shingo Hayashi and Rei. He's 2 1/2 years old and like to take arty photos. Look at those curls!

Cupcakes taken to a new level.

That's Gabe. We knew him when he was a kid, but he's grown up now.

Can't stop taking pics of food, sorry. The beef which was grilled onsite (you could see them grilling) was good. Potatoes rocked, chicken got a bit firm, and the beans were smokin'! Definitely a good meal and a pleasant wedding, especially when it began to cool down. Weddings are tough, I guess I can't say I'm into them, but seeing people happy in their maybe once in a lifetime day is alright.

WLA Buddhist Temple Yard Sale

Yard Sale! Some people look at a Yard Sale and wonder why people are digging through other people's discarded shit. It's not people with the true need for "stuff" who go to these, it's bargain hunters, antiquers, and ebayers. I fit in the latter for sure, and while the folks at the WLA Buddhist temple wonder why would a guy who own shops filled with "stuff" would be looking around, my answer to that is: it's because I look around that I own shops filled with "stuff". 

Lines form 2 hours early. I went to one maybe five years ago, and it was actually larger than they've become. It's still cool and there's plenty of great things, but they get swapped up in moments, literally. I didn't wait in line, and just walked in when everyone else was in.

One woman showed up and tried to cut in, I didn't understand why she's say it was unfair that she had a wait for everyone else to go in before she did. Some people are just ridiculous. I'm glad they didn't let her in because she raised a stink. People (yes both men and women) can't get awarded for being bitchy.

See the Chinese checkers set in the bottom right corner? That's now mine.

I particularly like seeing the fishing gear. It's very Japanese American for a yard sale to have this. It made me laugh that while, book, toys, clothing were in sections and fairly haphazard, this got it's own "table cloth" and table. If it were anywhere else, all this would be shoved in a box with the poles pointing towards the sky. This means a lot to me for some reason.

Indoors, it's Japanese stuff. Kimonos, pottery, cups and more. Again, this is something you'd only see at a Buddhist Temple yard sale in LA.

This bike was small. I hope he bought it for himself.

If I could do the voice of that woman... 

"Wicker baskets! I love these. Easter's almost here."

There was a time, when I'd want all of those suitcases in the background. I refrained.

The cool thing is there's plenty of people to help out. Everywhere you looks there's a volunteer.

The covered section up front has the nicer stuff like jewelry. There was always a crowd of people there. It's a nice hot saturday in Southern California and it's officially yard sale season.

Jack Long GR2 opens tonight Convolvere

Jack Long changed his color schemes and if anything, the work has more detail than ever. There's a range of sizes, and the show overall looks great. Jack's friend asked me from where I met Jack. I told the story. I was eating at Julian's in Providence. It's a great spot, if you ever get a chance. Jack's art was hanging on the wall. It was his first show, and he was just finishing school at RISD. The work was amazing. I couldn't tell if the work was by a kid, or an older man who's into fantasy. It had maturity with a youthful spirit. As soon as I tracked him down, I found out he just finished college!

I put him in art shows. Artist Susie Ghahremani knew him from classes at school, so it made everything easier. Since then, we've shown Jack many times. He's one of the nicest guys around, and he's now lived in LA for three years. I'm glad that I was able to help him out. He even worked at GR stores in LA. Tonight's his "next GR" art show. Convolvere. 

I took this photo off of a site called artbusiness.com

I've taken many photos like this and I think this is a photo from our space. That's a shadow around his neck, not sweat, but I'm sure he works that hard when he paints.

Esurance Pwrfl Power

We've featured him in GR before, and the next thing we know, he's in a commercial and animated. I like the end when he says in his crooning voice... "it feeeeeellls gooood..." I haven't seen this dude on tour yet, but at some point, I'd like to see this dude.

David Choe and Harry Kim - Dirty Hands - World Premiere

This is my favorite pic of David Choe and Harry Kim. Harry is often referred to as David's sidekick, and in many ways, maybe he is. For nearly the last decade, where David's been, Harry's been right there behind him - with a video camera. This picture was from London, on our way to the Tate Modern. Look at the image... Harry's hands out explaining something, perhaps that he did wrong and David looking like Sid Vicious. The film was done shooting at this point, and it's now show time - saturday June 21, 2008. Dirty Hands website.

I'm proud to say we're sponsoring the film screening along with Upper Playground and RVCA. We've been there from day one of David Choe's career and it's great to see it keep rolling along.

That's Steve Lazarides and David Choe

A still from Dirty Hands.

That's Dave and his brother Paul in NYC.

L.A. Now

LA Times blog L.A. Now linked my post of Watermelon Agua Fresca. It's hot in Southern California, we're in a heat wave, and perhaps this is a perfect way to keep cool. The blog post is called, Stars sans stylists, a taco truck in Tokyo and a time-travel dome — it's last links!

Shave Ice from Shaka's can't beat it.

cooking lesson time - Mahi Mahi, Brussels sprouts and onion

I'm not the best cook. No, not even close to being decent. I enjoy it though, and I happily eat my own meals. I cook for one almost all of the time, so I don't have critics, but the few times, people have eaten my cooking, they seemed to like it. The above is the final product. It's Mahi Mahi. It's simple. Here's what I do. Maybe you do it different. I put a tiny bit of oil on a plate. I flop the fish around it, then I add salt and pepper, thyme, and the mystery ingredient. Furikake. It's flakey seasoning grannies put on their rice. I grew up with it and I saw a recipe for Hawaiian cooking where they put it on chicken. So I figure why not on my fish. 

It looks like this when it gets going. Don't over cook it, I put it on medium heat, and once a side gets brown, I turn it over. It'll keep cooking even off the pan, so take it off a hair early. 

Brussels sprouts rock. I used to hate them, but they're pretty good done this way. Chop em finer. I saw pizza with thin brussels sprouts on them, and that's when I realized that cooking them this way will make the difference.

Onions. Cook them just right and they're good as is. 

Watermelon agua fresca LA style

I had a half of a watermelon sitting in my fridge. I couldn't eat it, it was just okay. What do you do with watermelons that don't quite cut it? I happens often, you spend a few dollars and you get something that's not awful, but just not good. Make juice. You have to have a juicer, and thanks to mine, this worked out decent. Slice up the watermelon. I do them up in long strips, so they can fall into the juicer, much like if you were juicing celery.

That's mint. Off to the side, I boiled a few table spoons of honey and a cup of water and mint. Of course, once it's boiled down, the mint will turn brown. Remove the mint. Hopefully, it'll infuse with the honey water mixture. Mix it with the watermelon juice.

That's the juice pouring out. Juicer by Jack LaLane.

Add some lemon or lime to the mix, and there you have it. Add a tiny piece of fresh mint, and this is looking pretty good. If you have the fancy but sort of impractical ice cube trays by IKEA, then it's just that much cooler.

Nooka Nooka - Brooklyn Circus Watch

Nooka Nooka makes me think of Little Caesar's "Pizza Pizza" line. It's more than just a toy, you can put your watches on it's head. The one on the left is the one I wear. The one on the right as you see below is by Brooklyn Circus. A good looking watch for sure. I'll try it out and see how it rocks on my skinny wrist. The band for the Brooklyn Circus watch is detailed and seemed at first glance to be something that will come off easy, but it's on there well. Simple design overall, but effective. Multi use toys are cool and give those who'd say, they're not into toys a reason to get into them.

Takashi Murakami Monogramouflage Louis Vuitton line, at Steve Wynn Las Vegas

I get a call inviting me to Takashi Murakami's unveiling of his new line of Louis Vuitton bags, Monogramouflage. It's made appearances at the Brooklyn Museum, and yesterday June 16th, it made a one day appearance at the Louis Vuitton in the Wynn Hotel. A line formed outside, of course, they were checking credentials, and at the same, I saw a Wynn K-9 unit probably there to sniff out bombs. It was 6pm, and the scene inside was mellow. A DJ, bags, people, drinks, snacks, and people buying bags.

Some of the designs are on denim, like the above.

I preferred the more solid, leather looking pieces. I did hear them say it was coated canvas.

Sort of like a retro aviation jacket.

Alexander got a roller bag

The scarf looks nice. That little thing is an iphone or ipod holder.

Yes, it's limited. Look for it more widespread on July 1st.

This is the Speedy 35. If I were getting a bag, this would be it. 

It was strange, no one recognized Takashi for a while. We were hanging out talking for a while, then once one autograph happened, a quick line formed. Sayonara bro! He got mobbed. That too is the Speedy 35

Steve Wynn, Takashi Murakami, and Dennis Hopper! That's why the K9 was there first. That's Steve Wynn's wife in the dots.

At SW - a restaurant in the Wynn. Guess who's place this is? The chopped salad was quite great. 

Takashi's film showed on the white screen/waterfall. It lights up, there's a lake in front of it, and it has a crazy Hollywood Bowl feeling. It was only a 12 minute piece, but it was quite grand. Two screenings and a short opening speech. Takashi's been to Vegas years before, he told me it was 8 or 9 and liked the crazy theatrics at the hotels.

Keep in mind, the footage is only 10 seconds, just to show what it looks like, but keep tuned in and watch the rest of the weird stuff they projected afterwards. I hope people didn't think it was work by Takashi...

20oz bone in rib eye. Steve Wynn was a few arm's lengths away. I almost hit him up for suggestions on what to get, but didn't need to. Thanks for dinner Mr Wynn, or was it Takashi... I didn't know who to thank.

Ronald's Donuts

Visited Ronald's Donuts. In the middle of nowhere in Las Vegas is this cool little shop. It features donuts, a lot of them, and most of them are vegan. People from high and low come here, and most have no idea that a lot of these donuts are vegan. They're just good. More on this later. They open from 4a to 4p 4600 W Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas Nevada 89102

Rio Carnival World Buffet

The buffet at the Rio is much better than what you get at The Palms. Some say it's one of the best. It's almost a work out getting to see all of the stations of food. The place is gigantic. Food from almost every nation and too much of it. This one costs more. I'm not sure if I really like buffet, since after looking at all of the food, you get full. It's amazing at how some people will go straight to the crab and the more pricey stuff that you may not eat often, and some go straight to all the cheap fried food. Onion rings, fries, etc. Next to me say three girls who were partying, and all they ate was fried food and the bad Mexican food selection.

Then as I walked around the grounds of the Rio, I saw this. Is this sign racist?

What to do in Las Vegas - Pinball Hall of Fame

What else to do in Vegas? Check out the Pinball Hall of Fame. 200 games, many vintage and in great working condition. Row after row, machines side by side, it's amazing and a non profit. The profits get donated and the checks are on the wall. Pretty incredible. It's free admission, and if you're not into pinball machines, there are also other video games too. Crazy Climber, Asteroids, and so much more. The classics.

Their website. Keep in mind, there's no telephone there. It's in East Vegas, an area that I'm told to not be walking around alone at night. 

Juror's Lunch at Simon in The Palms - Cinevegas

The juror's lunch took place at Simon, a restaurant on the sixth floor at the Palms Plaza, which is down the tube corridor from the actual hotel. It's more quiet there, which is nice. It's less frat time, and nice. The restaurant especially on a sunday lunch time wasn't busy at all. Even though it's on the sixth floor it's quite nice and has a little bit of the outside feel, since there's a pool next door. I got the crab and avocado entree, of course it had tomato and sprouts. I forgot about the salmonella issue. I also got a mixed vegetable gazpacho which was great, but it looked like grilled tomato salsa. 

Thats' Karina from spout.com and Patrick Walsh from cinematical.com. The good thing about being on a jury for film is to hear other perspectives of the same films, many of which I didn't like, but they liked. 

In the foreground is Humberto Guida, who writes for a few places including BPM mag. In the background is Rob Smith from Cinevegas.

That's Mike Plante, a honcho at Cinevegas. I used to review his zine, Cinemad when he lived in Tucson, Arizona. Now years later, he lives above the GR Silverlake shop. Now he's the man here. So I'll say it here: I think he looks like a cross between Robin Williams and Steve Zahn. He's a good guy.

After talking and talking, we came up with our choices. We used these sheets to remind us of what we saw. Some of us liked some films, some the others, and in the end, we came up with a consensus, which is always about give and take. I know some films some liked didn't make it, and so forth. But I'm good with the picks we made of the 40 or so shorts. I think we thought about them a lot, and talked about almost each one, giving them their due. They'll announce them next week. 

The party at The Palms starring Bijou Philips - Cinevegas

This is what the nighttime pool party looks like at The Palms. The lights in the pool revolve colors. I think the blue is the best. It was a fundraiser for New Orleans through a film called Dark Streets. A band played, and Bijou Philips who stars in the film came up and sang two songs. Overall, it's party as part of the film festival, and I'm not sure how many people there actually see the films, but it's culture in the desert.

Yep I shot video.

Cinevegas - Hi My Name is Ryan documentary

Hi My Name is Ryan is a funny documentary about a kid named Ryan Avery who current at 22 is on a Mormon Mission, but the film is about his musical career which is about punk rock, performance, art, poetry, and theater. He's a chubby angelic kid who's efforts have done more in a naive way for the underground of Phoenix, Arizona. The film is decently put together, you get the drama of his life, the fact that he has a so so relationship with his parents, a childish lifestyle, getting made fun of at school, and being the odd guy out. In some ways, a lot of us can relate, and it's great to see how this kid makes it work for him. It's amazing at 22, he can have a documentary about his life. He gets off of his Mormon mission in 2 months, perhaps we'll hear more about him. The only bad, is at times, I felt like the film dragged, perhaps it was 10 minutes too long, but at 78 minutes, that's the shortest it can be. It's a great effort.

That's what a Q and A looks like

This is a buffet plate at The Palms. Ham, Chicken, Beef, crab leg, pineapple, cookie, strawberries, collard greens, Lebanese rice, cantalope. I also ate a salad and had coffee and a tiny desert. Oh and roast beef too. 

This is what the hotel looks like. It's like Spring Break. Lake Havasu. Plenty of leg, ass, chest, cat calling, staring, beach balls, beer, "yeah brah", ho's, and I won't go outside again.

Viva Hanako

I almost feel like it's not right to post photos of Hanako this way, so I found one from a few months ago. She's old, but it wasn't just a month ago that she would run around in the backyard for just a bit with me. She acted like a pup, messing around and posturing in a ready to play stance. Of course at 17 years old, she's slowing down quite a lot. Today, her body's giving out and her mannerisms and sounds she's making are different. Shiba's are known to sometimes run away at the end of their lives. Some say, to die dignified and in private. Hanako seemed intent on walking around this morning and we couldn't get her to sit still. 

After We put on her collar and leash, it made her relax. She loved to go outside and the leash would make her happy. My mom pet her until she went to sleep. I hope Hanako is ok with this. Her days, if that, are quite limited. I stopped in, on the way to this trip I'm on, and said goodbye. This is the scene I left. 

Now I'm sitting in a hotel, trying to think of the many, many moments of Hanako. She's been around for a while - practically half my life and through the life of Giant Robot magazine. She was the first Shiba in a succession of them in our family, each family member getting a Shiba probably hoping theirs could match up to Hanako. People talk about their best dogs, and without a doubt, Hanako's the smartest, cleverest, and perhaps most human. Through past friends, family members, trips, events, and work, I can easily remember moments where she somehow interacted with them. A lot of things have come and gone, and Hanako's been around for it all. If she wasn't sitting at the dinner table being part of the action, then she was somewhere nearby taking it in. She's had a great life and ours have been alright too. 

Cinevegas

I'm at The Palms Hotel for Cinevegas, in Las Vegas, a film festival in the desert. It's already been a long day. I'll get to that, and I'll blog about it. However, the first photo is of the driver. It was an interesting and short ride from the airport in. I couldn't help but overhear the driver. He was a nice guy, but the entire ride he was on his phone, loudly. I guess that's ok, since it's his car and phone. It was a black Escalade. The contents of his conversation was of note. It turns out, he's a business person as well. I heard about some issues with his deals that ranged from lumber, wood items, and more from Ghana, a warehouse somewhere and issues about that. Then there was some kind of item referred to as Da Vinci, then I heard about $150 million and then a $200 million dollar deal. Then I heard about countries such as Dubai, Luxembourg, China, and a few others. It sounds like his business is gigantic and if it works, he'll open a hotel or something. I hope it works out. This was nonstop talking, and he did speak quite clearly about his business using great businessman words.

That's not the car, but it looks just like it. It's Hybrid. I'll find out what the gas milage is, later. This is the Cinevegas lounge.

sofas and snacks

There's rooms for reporters to do their broadcasts.

Thanks Mr. Turner

This morning, I let in a video guy from Travel and Leisure magazine and their online site associated with Turner in Atlanta. A simple shoot, they were pro and quick. They needed no lighting. In the July issue there will be something small on Giant Robot mag, stores, restaurant, and so forth. It's in a special pull out section on Los Angeles. The site and Airport CNN, and yet even another channel will run something short on Giant Robot as well. I heard it's be 20-30 seconds, which should be cool. I'm glad the writers, producers, and the people that decide this "stuff" put us in. The odd thing is they knew about a lot of random things in LA, that I was oblivious to. That's what happens in a large city in LA. 

Food, Chicken Soup from Tacos Por Favor and salmon burger from The Counter

Chicken Soup and Tacos Por Favor in Santa Monica. I really wanted the Pozole, and I forgot what it was called. I thought Chicken Soup was the same thing, but no. I ended up getting a tasty soup with plenty of chicken, and a decent broth. I'm not sure if you dig simple chicken soup, but this one wasn't bad at all. It does look like something you can easily make yourself, doesn't it? Maybe it is.

This looks terrible. But it's not. It's from one of the best burger in LA places, The Counter, which is actually in Santa Monica. That's salmon, with bean sprouts, and it came with a mint sauce similar to what you get at Indian restaurants. This was amazing. Because I took it to go, it sort of went haywire. If you order it there, it would look great. Pictures can deceive especially with food photos. 

10 points about a scam artist

Today at the office this guy calls. His voice, cadence, and confidence made me think he was a fairly smart person. I'll guess it's a scam, here's reasons why.

1) He was collecting information on Giant Robot for a business directory. That's already a red flag since of course, they want to sell you an advertisement in this directory.

2) He kept making interjections of opinion after any question I answered. Data collection doesn't include his opinion of Giant Robot. 

3) No website! When I asked, he changed the subject. Duh. Build a website for your scam.

Also it's important to note, that NO decision that's important and about money needs to be made right away. If there is something that needs to be made on the spot with a stranger, then it's a scam. Back to Kipling's... there are 100,000 members, it's a business directory, where they might list an executive for others to see. Ever heard of this book? Maybe if it's real, one of you can show me the site or show me the book. 

4) The book is bound with crazy design and red leather bound, and costs $400+, they also sell you a plaque, much like how newspapers get pimped by companies who want to turn an article on someone into a plaque and of course sell it to the person. They offer all of this. The guy said there are two options both being $900 and $600 respectively.

5) When I said no, then he said there were yet other options that were lower, and that's where he tapped into the journalistic integrity and was trying to push me to tell him if I wanted these. 

6) The guy used my answers from his questions to try and get me to take one of his money offers. As in since you're honest and fair, you should buy this stuff.

7) When I told him that this is gone too far, he just got quiet. What happened to the confidence?

8) He called himself smart. Maybe he is, since his job is to scam people, but that's a red flag. If you're calling "executives" to scam them, you have to do a better job. I've seen tons of scam artists, he wasn't so good, although he started off great.

9) The guy contradicted himself a few times, and even used 9/11 as some kind of sympathetic starting point.

10) The smart money is that he let me talk, then tried to get on the same level, which is how he connects with people in order to have them stay on the phone with him. If he was more dry, it would be a 1 minute conversation, this guy made me think I was getting into a directory. I think I gave him 5 minutes total. Never again.

Celery hearts

Markets sell celery hearts, and those are great since they remove the leaves, but it's not what I'm showing you in this photo. I recently bought organic celery at a high price than the regular. But unfortunately or fortunately, here's what I got: 1) there were only 6 stalks total. 2 of these were eaten by bugs. 2) After I peeled off the stalks, I got to this thing in the photo above. It's a celery heart. It's all fused together.

Look at the size of this thing. Imagine it's a big solid piece of celery, and I was a bit shocked. I decided to eat thing and surprisingly the white part was quite tender and good. Sort of like the heart of an artichoke, which is like a solid piece of artichoke leaves, this worked for me. I don't know how to find this again, but it seemed like an anomaly. 

Watarium Barry McGee

The insane video of Mr Barry McGee will be for sale at Giant Robot. This video was super hard to get. It should have been easy, but the other end of the video, was super slow. This isn't inexpensive by any means, but I swear it's great. Barry will say this video is terrible, but I think it's quite great. It captures him at work, messing around, doing graffiti, and shows how he interacts with people.

LCA Lomography

The mail provides. Today it's a camera kit. The Compact Automat. I got invited to take photos and turn over the film in exchange for this camera and accessories. I'll do my best. With it, I'll shoot whatever I want, and the Lomo folks will choose some images and use them on their site. I have a bit of time to learn to play with this and it's trippy extra "stuff" that comes with it. I know Lomo has been instrumental is getting people who normally don't shoot photos, especially in an "artistic" way to do it, and that alone is a great feat. They've also managed to procure cameras that aren't so great in terms of quality, but work with them to the point of being accepted as an art form. They don't do the digital thing just yet, which I think is amazing. They're able to keep pushing film in today's environment, and that too is amazing. I'm sure they're going to have to push towards digital one day, and I'll bet they'll find a great way to do it successfully. Meanwhile, I'll shoot and shoot.

Eye drops and late mail.

First photo, my friend Julia got me these from Japan. Powerful minty eye drops. I've written about them before, and was disappointed at the weakness of one of my choices. These are supposed to be powerful. The one on the left looks strong, but in the end, it's medium. Much better than the eye drops I'm currently using which are too weak. Zi has high marks for power. The one on the right, I'll test later and tell you how it is. 

So far, "video tapes" is what people think when they see these. But I'm now hearing Japanese condoms. I'd hope that a condom box doesn't have a eye ball image on it. What would that mean? One eyed snake? Would the "FX neo" on the box on the right mean the condom is some kind of special effects condom? As in hologram?

Had to add, post office error. Got this today, and look at the ship date. Feb 16th 2008. 

Squirrels in the Tree

Arms folded. This Squirrel is brave and strikes the pose as if I'm nearing his tree (yes it had testicles) filled with avocados. I'll interject now, there are many trees like this one, but this one is mine. This squirrel must be used to people since he lets me get quite close without running away. The regular in the tree is the squirrel who's always around, and that one is scared of everyone.  

I did see this squirrel picking the upcoming baby avocados and eating them.

Saelee Oh cooking dinner

Artist Saelee Oh offered to come over and cook on my 1950s O'keefe and Merritt. I wondered if it was out of guilt because she was super late on some editorial writing for Giant Robot. She says it's neighborly. Either way, I was hungry, and she cooks well. I hope the guilt comes over her more. I'll eat well that way. She even did dishes! 

She made seitan and kale, and salad with salsa and beans and no dressing. The brown rice, she bought. She did a great job very quickly. She knows nutrition well, so this must be a very balanced meal.

Name this Root!

The photo isn't the best, but what root is this? Anyone know what it's called in Chinese? It's used in tea, it's medicinal, but I have no idea what it's called. 

Tristan Proper shoe store

Tristan from Proper and his new specs. He's a nice guy and runs a nice shop in Long Beach. I've purchased a few pairs of shoes here. I enjoy his style in working hard, not being a bruiser type, and running a nice shop. He keeps prices fair and in the long run, it's a good thing. Visit his site that has a pretty skyline of LBC. Proper.

Donutman is #1.

The Donut man. You saw the pic from the blog yesterday maybe. But if you didn't think is what he looks like. Jim Nakano. He's a great man. Really. A true American success story, and he even took his wife and friend to see Mongol at the GR screening, but furthermore, drove out from Glendora. He's a food person, and loves to go far just to eat a good meal. I'm glad he made it to the movie as well. But all this said, the LA times best Donuts in LA came out, and he got #2. I'd protest, since #1 is just a super fancy place that isn't open 24-7, but donuts are donuts. If it's a ring, I guess it counts no matter what.

Here's the list. Some of the other spots shouldn't even be on. If donuts aren't their main dish, then they shouldn't be on the list. Rockenwagner Bakery? No. Grace? No. Craft. No. Du-Par's Restaurant & Bakery. No. Most of the list is lame. Stan's in Westwood. OK. Tang's in Silverlake. OK! Randy's. OK. Bobs. OK. Frittelli's Doughnuts & Coffee. I've never been, but sounds OK. Who wrote this anyway? Frittelli's has two dollar signs. Donuts are $6-11? That's not a donut anymore. "Worth it at twice the price?" Donutman's Strawberry donuts are 2.60. I hardly doubt anything double the price can beat it. Ok. Donutman is on top at #1. I pity the fool who believes otherwise. And to the reviewer at the Times, dare not bring Portland into the mix. LA is donut city. 

Dodgers.

spencer hansen Blamo

One of the nicer guys around, is Spencer Hansen. He's from Idaho, lives in Oakland, and does a fashion line and makes these toys. I'm not sure if toys are the right word for it. But they're super nice, exclusive, and hand crafted. His items are sort of the line between art, craft, and designer vinyl figures. 

They look great together, as if they're part of a family.

Mongol Screening at Pacific design center

"Hello Angels." That's what I thought when these three rolled up. But I didn't hear the "Hi Eric" response. Janet Yang, no relation to Margaret Yang from Rushmore, Kelly Hu, no relation to the late King Hu (look him up if you don't know who he is), and Lisa Ling. They showed up to see the Picturehouse / Giant Robot - Mongol screening, the film starring Tadanobu Asano, which is quite rad. Imagine, a Japanese actor on the culty side getting cast to star in this epic movie about Genghis Khan done by a Russian Director and actually done in Mongolese! He was great, and was the perfect person for the role. It was sort of hard to believe he did this project. It seems almost too good to be true.

That's the Donutman, Jim on the right. I heard he eats 4 donuts a day. (Yes he gets high on his own supply) I couldn't believe he came. It was nice to see him. Donutman, the best in the business.

Back to the film, imagine the epic nature of what this film has to be like. The history, the time span, the stories, it's a tough one all together. It's over two hours, but imagine... this is the first of a trilogy!

Beau Sia is deep. He walked up and said conversation got slow, and got a mag and went back in. He's a nice guy. I wanted to hear his voice break the sound barrier like it can.

Whoa Margaux in the house. She does the ads in GR. They got glowing smiles.

That's me, and filmmakers Ham Tran, and Stephane Gauger. Those two are probably 25% of the box office sales in all of Vietnam. Stephane is a tower. Ham isn't, but he caught one of the shirts I threw into the audience.

Funny shot - Imagine the owner of the restaurant got mad because of the extra side of meat. Every time she came to the table to speak Vietnamese to the dudes because she was mad, and the order wasn't right, and so on, Cate would duck her head into the bowl and eat like it was the greatest pho she ever had. She should act. We went to PHO 4000 on Western. I'd suggest it.

gr/eats Seafood marinara penne

I try and check out tons of places to eat, but then sometimes, in your own backyard, you can get exactly what you want. The seafood marinara penne. It's not on the menu, and I don't know when they serve it, (I hear it's special) but I also heard it rocks. And yes, it does. Quite great. The marinara is on the sweeter side which I like. I know it's not supposed to be sour, so it's on par with what marinara should be. We do make it ourselves, and with the seafood, it's spot on. The right amount, the right proportions, and I think perfect. Good work chef Nelson! That's why this is all worth doing. 

Obama time in LA

It was as if the Ultimate Fighting Challenge was on. Maybe Monday Night Football. People gathered at a Japanese restaurant called Hokusai down Wilshire near La Cienega. Then lo and behold, Obama's speech and the fact that he's "won" the Democratic nomination to run for President. He made a passionate speech which led to claps and cheers. That's Cate Blanchett, Martin Lawrence, and Anderson Cooper.

That's down the table. Everyone was watching.

Daniel "Boobie" Gibson, Matthew Broderick, Kelly McGillis

Chris Tucker and Carl Reiner

Very Clever Dinner

I'm not sure which is the best sentence to start with: 1) "The Donger need food" - yes, we were hungry, or 2) "I could hear your tongue." Hearing a tongue? I kid you not, the dude can hear tongues. I've tried to visit on a weekend, and it was too packed to get in. Wakasan on Westwood Blvd is a good spot that people don't get to often. It features chef choice or "omakase". It's $35 for a 12 or 13 course meal. I can't remember how many. Honestly. I thought he said 13, which may have included the ice cream. But my photos don't show all 13. The food is pretty good on the whole. There wasn't one thing I didn't like, and in another space, this meal would probably cost more. Take a look for yourself, actually try it yourself. I'd rate this about an 8.5.

1-3. A spinach salad on left - which was great, eggplant up top - I dig eggplant and these are pickled, and glass noodle salad on right.

4. That gourd is pickled like ume. The fish was really good. I forgot what kind now, but it's good.

This is tongue, which is different than Lisa's above. This isn't part of the deal. It's separate. They have a side menu which you can order from with a minimum of $20 if you're only ordering from it.

5. Sashimi. Yellow tail, seared tuna, and scallop - very good.

6. Crab legs. They're already broken and it's good when you dip it into the light sauce.

7. Skate wing. Tasty.

8. Dumplings. Maybe the weak link. It's meaty and good, but it's fried dumplings.

9. Chawan mushi. This was done well.

10 - 11. A fancy miso soup and a seasoned tuna bowl. Both winners, but I was full.

Lastly, no ice cream, and I swear I must have forgotten to shoot one item. I don't recall what it was, maybe it was renkon. I think... This was a pretty solid call. Wakasan 1929 Westwood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 446-5241

MONGOL Free Screening Tomorrow = just a screening for the fans

Sorry no Tadanobu Asano, sorry for any confusion, but he wasn't coming, and is probably in Japan, drinking delicious tea and rice crackers. I bet he practices nunchakus and collects robots, but that's a question for a later time. He's a nice guy though, that I know. So come and see the film. It's a great chance to check it out for free.

dried leathers

Does this look good? It's dried fruit I made myself with my food dehydrator. The fruit at the bottom are old pears, apple, and mango. There's more, this is just a little of it. The leathers. Those are cool eh? It's mixed berries and mango. I had some old fruit in the fridge and decided it was time to break out the dehydrator and get something out of it all. It came out great. Basically, you can take ground up leftovers from a food processor, or if you have a blender just make crushed fruit and pour it on these flat discs. If it's more like a juice puree, then it'll come out smooth, but if it's rough, then it'll be really bumpy. I made both kinds just to check it out. I have some frozen strawberries and pineapple. That's next.

Cooking sunday

Ever look leeks? I know it's not good to over cook them since if it's like an onion, it'll get gooey and bad, although it will sweeten up for sure. I figure a little bit of a light crunch would be ok once the bite of onion flavor cooks away. So the idea is to get them just right. I added some salt, some pepper, cooking sake, garlic, olive oil, and tiny drops of soy sauce. The fish is fish, that's simple too, salt and pepper, and it's fine. It's ahi tuna from Trader Joe's. The idea is not to over cook that one either. The sesame Japanese salad dressing is hard to beat. Happy sunday.