GR at Comic Con video

Beth Accomando, a GR contributor in many ways interviewed us about the Comic Con for YouTube! Here's the video, we talk about a ton of things ranging from way back to the present. I think we break it down well. I hope you like it.

Comic Con last shots

Boof!

Matt and Aiyanna

Abby

DIY R2 unit

Drawing on the bruise

Dave smells his finger after the exam.

David drew a scene

The booth

Holly!

Dan showing off his gun

Le Merde, Martin Ontiveros, and Scrappers

Attaboy

Behemoth!

Alex Chiu

BRAWL-CON at the GR Concert!

The circles are on Greg and Martin. I don't think they saw it go down. That's Anne being pointed to via arrow. She was having a good time. Look at the arm of hers in the air. She has no idea what's going on. You can see the bouncer in black tackling the shirtless guy who just hit the curly haired guy that you'll sort of see in another photo. The way I saw it, the shirtless guy was having a good time, and the curly haired guy was fucking with him. I took my camera out and got it ready, I knew something was about to happen.

That's a half guard but also a strong position the guy with no shirt is pretty much taken care of. How does he escape. My jiu jitsu training tells me this. With the free leg, he should push himself out, so he's facing his attacker. If you go the other way, you're doomed.

Curly and the shirtless dude are split up. How did the shirtless guy get free from that hold? Martin and Greg say, "awwww".

The guy with the curly hair seeks revenge. Meanwhile Martin and Greg watch the show.

Upsilon Acrux cleared most of the room, but were having fun playing math rock. The guy on the right is the drummer of Flattbush. He was into it.

Free the Robots and Emilio. That's a big beer.

The Binges. The guy with the curly hair is standing next to Greg in this shot.

Saelee and Emilio getting down.

This was before the show. I sort of think this is how people make fun of the guy on the stage. You sit on the stage and make faces. There was terrible comedy before hand... as well.

Flattbush

Before the show, there was a robot being made.

Shot of the Comic Con - Junk in the Trunk

Some can go looking like Tank Girl, but then others shouldn't. The Comic Con rules sometimes.

Horvath Signing: on flippers and collectors

That's me with my new jacket. It's a jacket that only a few have since I hear it's quite pricey. It was gifted to me by David Horvath after his signing at GRNY. It smells of thick leather and made by the hands of Tony Nowak, the guy David Horvath's been obsessing over since he makes the Indiana Jones gear. I guess without having to get beat up, I've been jumped into the Uglydoll crew. Yes, in Babo I trust. It's the first Uglydoll I ever saw, the OG handmade version by Sun-min perhaps in 2002. It was the Uglydoll that started it all. And by "all" I mean the juggernaut that it is, but also the crazy fans who follow and collect.

The fans come in different shapes and sizes. I'll talk about the signing of the limited edition of 20 Pink Babo we had at Comic Con.

Evidently one of the early folks in line is a "flipper" which means, they buy and sell the product. What's the ruling on "flippers?" I know little of who they are by face. Can you spot a flipper just by looking at them? Evidently, before the pink Uglydoll went on sale, the flipper already had the Uglydoll on ebay. I recall what happened. We were alerted to the ebay issue about a 5 minutes before the signing started, maybe less. David and his manager seemed to know who it was, but there was nothing anyone can do about. Do we kick them out of line? He has rights as well, and how do we know if you're a collector today and a "flipper" tomorrow?

This is right before the signing. It's a strange baseball pose. David always looks happy, or strange! I got some "hate" mail after the signing, outlining some of these points. I won't reveal names, it's just unfair and not nice to do so although he/she chose to CC it to David.

1) He/she should have been able to get an Babo pink because he's bought from us before. We should have sold to him privately.

- No. Most everyone in that line has bought from us before. What makes you so special, or more special than anyone else is line? Do I pre sell them all to those who have bought from us before? If I did that, you would definitely not get one. There are bigger purchasers than you and surely more than 20 of them at Comic Con.

2) the line was unfair - we should sell them earlier to those who come. The signing starts at 11, that's when we should sell the Pink Babo.

- The sales did start at 11. The line at 10:30. Fair enough. Some people were there at 9:30 when the con opened, we shoo'd them away as best we could. How else would you do it besides pre-selling, which we won't do. If we did that, why even have a signing at the Con? We had people come and say it was unfair that we waited to sell until sunday. Again, why have a signing if it's on sunday but we sell the dolls on wednesday? Also some came early hoping we'd sell to them, and thought it was unfair that we didn't. If we sold to the first 20 who wanted them, then it's possible that they would be gone before you showed up.

3) I'm nice in person but write biting emails later.

- the wrath of the collector.

4) We should ban the flipper, that's what another competitor does.

- I don't have a police blotter with photos of flippers. Do you? How do I know, that you won't sell them one day? Would you have purchased two, one to sell later, if you could? Also they outline that the competitor does a lot of pre-selling of goods to them. But is that competitor fair or are they chasing your money? Think about it from the other side. We're not chasing money by selling the rarest pink Babo for $60. If we put a $120 price tag on the final color run Babo, we would have sold them all, but we're all about the fans. We could have easily bought 5 to sell later at a higher price, which we also didn't do. Think about all of these points and tell me that we're unfair.

5) I got an Uglydoll Pink Babo. I shouldn't have got one, they should have been sold. I was rubbing it in by showing it off.

- I got Babo Pink #21. We sold the 20 pieces. The one I got is none of your business, it wasn't part of the official run. It was an unwrapped one handed to me by David. It was not for sale, and most definitely not for sale in front of the guy who gave it to me. Ridiculous accusation and completely wrong. I can hold a toy if I want to and it's has nothing to do with what you have, or don't have, or what you want. Yes, you have to buy it on ebay if you want it, that's the only place I can think of where you can get one.

6) I'll no longer buy from you. I don't feel special.

-GR does it's best to be fair. I'd think by following your list of demands, we'd be unfair to the next collector or fan who waits in line. Uglydoll isn't about competition or hoarding (if you read the box toys you'll know), it's about feeling good, being fair, and doing the right thing. It's about family and I'd guest most of the folks who got the 20, feel like part of a family. What toy line can do that?

David wears the GR shirt. That was rad. Among the crazy collectors, some of who probably hate us, David still supports.

Amidst the pain of some, David isn't fazed.

Who's bag is this? Wow... That was a great thing to see.

Blog NYC

JetBlue still rock. Right when I thought everyone else stepped up and took them over, I see what they have at JFK. Work stations (but those monitors are not for computers, it's to order food), charging stations, etc. And not just 1 or 2 around a pole, this is a bank of them. Maybe there's 12 or 16 total and a few outlets. This series of pics took place during my escape from Comic Con Thursday and Friday.

Interviews for the Toyota Matrix. A different crew, but it got done. Watch for this one soon at the thedirectorschairsite.com check out the latest from the SF and LA Asian American Film Festivals including Kelly Hu, Charlyne Yi, Tad Nakamura, and more.

Whoa a Muji at the airport. I thought I was going to buy something, but no.

Setagaya Ramen. I've been in Setagaya, Japan, and now NYC. It's decent, but alas, the one in Japan is better. The gyoza is a dead giveaway. It's totally different. But this isn't bad. Shio ramen is still underrated.

That Mark Palaganas, it's late, his hair tells the story. Chinatown is still open at this hour.

Me, Emily Chang, Dan - part of the team that created the short film, Humberville Poetry Slam which played at AAIFF.

A fancy dessert

A fancy meal. That's food blogger Lia Bulaong!

Did I spell that right?

I thought it was a Superflat homage.

Game shirts at Uniqlo NYC.

AAIFF

I wish I could blog from the SD Comic Con, but I'm in NYC, and I can blog a bit about the Asian American International Film Festival, but not really... I conducted interviews which was fun, but in the end, I did a bunch of interviews, went to the after event, ate dinner, then went back to the event and hung out a bit, met some folks, ate a tiny icecream, got keychains, a totebag, and that was about it. The AAIFF this year was different than year past, with a new crew, some different vibes, and we'll see where it all goes. But the good news is that before hand, after sleeping after the redeye flight, I got out of Uniqlo and got coffee at Dean and Deluca next door. Big deal, right? We don't have these shops in LA.

insane... hand made

I don't know how lucky I am sometimes, until something like this happens. Check out the handmade robots and the Bossy Bear. Thanks Hilda HCH. Guess which one I kept and which one Martin kept?

7-11 coming a short way

After loading in at Comic Con, I hit a 7-11. Did you know they carry Hi Chew from Japan in the regular candy aisle? Did you know they have their own branded stuff, like mech pencils? Those are cheap, and they come with lead. A bit over a $1. It's going to be hell today, flying to NYC... from SD, then the Asian American Int'l Film Festival!

Sushi in the OC Ushi no hi

Shibucho Sushi might be one of the best places around. Of course a large percentage of you think sushi is all about the fried rolls, or combinations of fish to make one gigantic roll. It is those things now, in a hybrid USA, but there's also the simple and I'd say, more pure. Sushi Shibucho is one of those places. It's not too pricey compared to others who load you up with sushi pieces with a variety of sauces and styles, this one gives you sushi that's clean and simple, and therefore, super rare. Above is a few orders, from Spanish Mackerel, squid, octopus, red snapper, and abalone. Each piece was nothing short of amazing. Shibucho on Yelp.


This is battera. It's Osaka style boxed sushi. It's mackerel with a pickled gourd on top. I think this is the best I've ever had.


Ushi no hi. Read up on it. That was the actual point of this post. In old times, and with old school folks you actually don't eat the eel. It's an animal that you worship in a way. Eels have whiskers and some think it's a reincarnate of some sort. Here's a better article.

Scheduling Big Week Comic Con

Next Week:

Tuesday: SD Comic-Con for set up.
Wednesday: Comic-Con for Preview Night. Red Eye flight Wednesday night from SD to NYC.
Thursday: Do interviews for thedirectorschairsite.com for the AAIFF Thursday and Friday.
Friday: Fly back to SD and be there Friday night.
Comic-Con Saturday
Comic-Con Sunday

Come back Sunday night or Monday.

Truck time

Truck Mayhem. There's maybe 20 new food trucks in LA, maybe more. Kogibbq, other Korean tacos, Japanese, ice-cream, shave-ice (it should have no D in it), and more... They cruise around together making food and serving it to people who are willing to wait over an hour. Lunch breaks gotta be extended if you want to eat at a truck. I'm still not willing to wait it out. Martin got a shave-ice. It was good. I've also heard recent news that Baja Fresh is making Kogi Tacos. Read about it on laist. Kogi supposedly means "meat" in Korean, so I guess although there might be confusion, the name is pretty pedestrian. I think a problem happens with confusion, so who knows, maybe there's a case. If BF used Kogibbq Tacos, that would be a big time bust... but for now, this is what I think.

Kogibbq still has lines.

Shinjuku Incident - No Bootlegs!

US Border Patrol! I wonder if they say who the package came from? What's in there turtles from Hong Kong, maybe bootleg DVDs? No, it's Shinjuku Incident featuring Jackie Chan and Daniel Wu. I'll check out the film, but the Customs folks mangled the envelope! It's the price of freedom...

drawing: Santa Monica Blvd West LA 9pm

I have no idea why I decided to draw, but I did all with a ballpoint pen. I know I could do this better, but this is pretty much how it would come out anyway. Drawing is fun sometimes. I wish I could draw every day. It would be fun to color this, but I probably won't.

_____ Art Collection

I guess I mean this one to be sort of funny. No blogging of art, no publishing of photos, but you're allowed to take shots of the work in this unmarked building. It's pretty rad that people with resources (money), can have buildings that are 5 stories + roof in the Westside of LA and fill them with art work. It's like walking around a museum, it's huge, the work is gigantic, and I hear they need work that fits in the elevator, or they have to bring it through a window via a window washing type apparatus. There's no freight elevator in the building. It must have been an old bank. It would be fun to curate a place like this. I'm sure people fight over it. I'm not sure what the criteria is to see this, but I think students and maybe friends of curators can get in. I'm friends with Clement from JANM. That helps.

Weekend Events and people

The food. A good day could include a BBQ. When Mr Hahn does it, people come over. It's an effort filled spectacle that includes everything you need. Food, drink, dessert, and things to do.

David Choe on the right with his new hair. The back of Mr James Jean. Cam and Wen.

Joe Hahn, saying goodbye as he leaves on tour tomorrow. He's cooking good burgers, burgers, weiners, sausages, chicken, dogs, and more. I may meet up with Joe in Tokyo when his band does their thing at Summer Sonic.

Moukari Makka? That's comedian Yoshi Obayashi. The Japanese is Osaka dialect for making money? It's a greeting actually. Can you believe it?

Mary Ink folks. I saw nice t-shirts, and they're nice folks from Tennessee. They were in town for Renegade!

Carl Choi and Daniel Wu. Carl works with Far East Movement. It's arguable, that my bowels make far east movements daily, however, he works with the popular hip hop group of the same name. Little did he know, it's possible the food we all ate gave him number 3. Daniel Wu ponders something. He's wearing the Helvetica Metallica shirt. Cool guy.

I don't know how people could be so tacky. Under the black, I think it said Santa Rosa. So this van came from another city, but did it require black spray paint? How about black, then white over it? Anything? But instead it's just black spray paint.

I did Aikido with Fujitani Shihan and Take. It's just a seminar, so it might have been a one time only thing for me. We'll see. It was quite fun actually, and much different than my past experience at Gracie Jiu Jitsu. No, I didn't do the sword part. It looked pretty tough.

Sazae-san

The manga has been around since 1946, the animation still continues! It's supposedly the last show to use real animation. The drawings are still old style, but the confection isn't! Tasty pound cake like tea snacks in the shapes of the characters. It was given to me by Chad Mullane, a huge comedian in Japan who's an Aussie and was visiting America for less than two days. Thanks Chad! Here's a clip of him in Japanese on Youtube. The dude actually speaks in an Osaka dialect!

Tanabata - a day later

What do you do with the Tanabata wishes? Once upon a time, you'd take it to a temple or throw it into a river. But these days with the litter going on, you're supposed to wrap it in white paper and you throw it away. That's the word from Japan. Either way, Tanabata is special since in the end, will the wishes come true? Maybe. Maybe not, but you do get to express those wishes and go through a simple ritual, which makes you think about them and gives a glimmer of some new reality. Yeah, I said it in different words yesterday, but this is a new day, and it's where I'm at with it. Enjoy Tanabata.

Grinding

See those flat spots? It comes from grinding. At first I thought it was imperfections of the mold, like air bubbles, but no, it's flat spots.

Tanabata at GR2!

July 7, is Tanabata day in Japan. I can't dare get into what it means, but you can make a wish by writing it on some paper and affixing it to the bamboo tree. Aaron Brown puts his on. It's not bad to do more than one, so go for it. Today is the day. Here's the Tanabata entry at Wikipedia.








Martin and Julienne affix their wishes to the GR office Bamboo!

Death Cab for Cutie - Tegan and Sara and The New Pornographers Hollywood Bowl Videos

The Flip Camera does it again, sort of. At the Hollywood Bowl, I actually got stopped by security from shooting video with my Flip Camera. What's the difference between the Flip Camera video and shooting video from a decent digital camera, or shooting video with an Iphone. It's output is strictly Youtube or Facebook. So why even deal with a Flip Camera? It's as small as a digital camera, it does a bit better, but in the end, it's not professional video or sound.. so I don't get it. I am glad the new iPhones will create havoc on the security. When everyone has video, phone, recorder, and camera in one, things will be equalized. The show was fun nonetheless.

Before I was stopped, I shot a bunch of videos.

Oh yeah, the food photos. Seats and food compliments of Julia Huang and Takao. Amazing and rivals any show.



Death Cab For Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan


Death Cab For Cutie - Your Heart is an Empty Room


Death Cab For Cutie - Grapevine Fires


Death Cab For Cutie - You Can Do Better Than Me


Tegan and Sara




The New Pornographers


Back to Death Cab and the orchestra


Saying goodbye. No encores

4th of July, Japanese style

This is looking good. It's Takoyaki. It's an octopus ball, a treat that might have it's origins in Osaka, Japan. Done right, these taste amazing. I was at a Japanese BBQ. This is how it's done. Forget the hotdogs, that's junk, this is a different look at the 4th of July. It's a bit firm on the outside, and super soft inside.

Look at the outfit. She's the takoyaki expert.

It goes in like liquid and you put the fixins inside and let it cook. You need a metal poker to turn it around. At a BBQ, you need to put the foil to keep the flame from going out and keeping the heat in.

Once you add everything in, you use the stick to clean off the sides of the circles. Remember to prime the takoyaki grill first. 30 minutes on a hot stove with oil.

Money Mark back from Bonnaroo. Here's when I saw him last. blog link.

Steven Murashige, the host.

Yakisoba with kimchee and pork.

San Francisco Chronicle

Here's an 11 things: Giant Robot I did recently. Thanks much SF Chronicle!

Meena Horvath and the Datsun Bluebird Hotwheel

Children! Meena hams it up for the cameras every time. She knows what she's doing! Eyelashes galore. The Horvaths are back in town. It's great to have them here again. It's nice to see Sun-min who visits a little bit less often, but now I'll see them a lot.

David gave me a present. A Datsun 510!