Crying crying. Babies crying. Wah wah wah... "I'm so hurt! Carry me. I'm not getting what I want! Where's my toys. I'm so tired. I want what that guy has in his hand, even though I don't know what it is. I just took a crap and it's running down my leg! Where's my mom? I'm hungry, where's my candy? I'm special though cuz I eat veggies! Who are you taking my photo?"

"Ok, mother fucker. That's enough! I'll remember you when I get big.

I'll crush your skull, while you fart dust."

Fruits of Labor? The Giant Robot Car

So this is all I can show of the car right now. It's the custom Scion art car. I won't get into the concept, so you'll have to wait on that one, but this is the Giant Robot car that I designed. In the end, I'd say to concept is tight, and it's not just a Pimp My Ride car, there's a meaning and backbone to this. You'll see when it's done. I'm proud of it and it's still a work in progress.

Here's the fruit part. I show up to the shop, and there's fruit. People are so obsessed with truck food. This too is a truck. Is it any less valid?

That's Len holding a coconut. Drink the juice, then they'll cut up the fruit... I prefer a coconut bra, but oh well.

It's on like Donkey Kong!

Film Fest and Yoshi's in SF

Terence Yin and Daniel Wu have the sunglass thing going on near the Japantown Plaza. Terence Yin and Eugenia Yuan are in a film called Fog. I didn't get to see the film yet, but it showed in SF for the film festival. This year, I wasn't there for an official project as in the past, but instead, there was plenty more to do. Visits to GRSF, hanging out with tons of folks who are friends or who have helped GR, and more. I didn't see any film festival folks however, I didn't know where they were. At the same time, I feel like GR and the fest are far apart these days. Maybe we'll close the gap one day.


Here's an example of Automator's music and towards the end there's Emily Wells singing. She's quite great and is part of a future project together.

Eugenia Yuan holding a pooch.

Patrick Lee doing the AnD merch section at Yoshi's. Big smiles, and he should have one.

Princeton Day 1.5

Hail Satan! This is an amazing detail from old art. All of the kids who are doing metal looking art, check this one out. Done hundreds of years ago. The guy who did this was probably possessed and now it's all metal album covers and t-shirts. How many mouths does Satan have? That one near his crotch isn't the one to be near.

I see it. I'm bad with names sometimes, and this painting is evidence of that.

Modigliani

This one is awesome. Nara described one of his works in the same way as I'd describe this one. There's a line that comes from that girl that goes through the painting.

The Princeton University Chapel here's a link. The building looks amazing, and when I walked in, someone was practicing the organ which resonated throughout the building. I was hoping to hear a Star Wars theme, but it didn't happen. It's an amazing building, but it's from 1924. I thought it would be a couple of hundred years old.

Ben's Jewelry GR2 Sawtelle

Ben's Jewelry! This is the front of GR2. Believe it or not, it was a jewelry store way way back when I was little. I actually remember the place. The facade got removed today and we found out, there's actually really nice architecture to the building. We got columns! So now it's up to figuring out a design for our space. What will we do? How will we not mess it up? Are you a designer with ideas? Hit me up quick. We have a cat and dog adoption about to get underway!

So the dudes are ripping stuff down and then this cans falls out of the front facade. Why is a beer can even in there? Look how old it is. 88 Olympics - Seoul - which Bud commemorated. Check out the Budweiser font. Classic.

Last day Japan

I didn't quite finish telling my trip story. The last day, it's a day when my plane is taking off. Luckily it's at 6:30pm, but the train takes off at 3:30pm. So what do you do? I tweeted it, and I got some condolences. Yeah it's a tough thing to figure out. You don't want to waste a day, but at the same time, it's not quite enough time to do a lot of things. Some of you said, have a good meal, or get stuff for the plane ride. Here's what I did. The shrine you see above. I went there. But that was quick and a diversion.

I met with the king of turtles. Dr Koieyama. This man knows how to operate on turtles! I asked if he went to school for it and he said no, he learned it on his own and is the only doctor of his kind in Japan. That's amazing! See the turtle in the tank? So rad. If you bring a turtle in, he puts on that metal tray and gets busy.

We're at a little sweets shop next to the shrine. That's Kohei again. Yes, he and my friend Nao, ditched their work to hang out with me for just a bit. This shop is quite old and cool. I liked how Nao said, "I'm going to use it." Meaning he's going to use the spot to take a companion friend as a cool gesture and to look cool.

That's Nao eating some mochi balls in red bean.

This is amazake. It's non alcoholic and it's a sweet rice drink that's fermented, and sweet but without the use of sugar! Amazing. The bad thing about the last day is getting into a rush. So doing all these cool things, and then going to a camera shop made the time fly by. We weren't in the right area where my train was taking off to the airport. We had to get on a train, then transfer and then I had to retrieve my luggage from the locker! We were scared. Luckily the Rapid Express came and it stopped only once. We were timing that fact that I literally needed to run to the locker then run to the platform, and I might make it within literally a minute. Trains aren't late in Japan unless there's a suicide on the tracks.

The quick ending. The train pulls up, Nao flies out with the key to the locker and Kohei meanwhile figures out where the platform is at. I'm trailing behind running. By the time I catch up, Nao is already being a Samsonite monkey and is ripping by barely fitting bags out of the locker. Lightning fast and a funny sight! Kohei is helping and then we all run to the platform. We get there with three minutes to spare. I get on my train and my trip comes to a close. Not so exciting, but it was stressful at the time. Lesson? Don't pack too much fun on that last day.

When I take the train ride from Tokyo to Narita, I always think these things: I'd like to live in a place like the above photo. A rural place, with rice fields, that looks hundreds of years old, not too many people around, a river, and a river bank to walk on. Ironically, there's a dude in the photo perhaps walking his dog doing and living the exact thing I just mentioned.

I want to live in a little hamlet village adjacent to this rural place. It's 15 houses deep. We might know each other, but that's how it is. To survive, we have to be good and fair to each other. We might need to share things. There might be a tiny shrine in the area. A store might be sort of far away, but not too far. There are other hamlets like ours and we know them, and are courteous. Once in a while, we all hang out together, perhaps at a festival. The train that flies by, those are the people who have places to go and are super busy. We're not like that. We have a rice field and it gets us by.

Not too far away is this temple. It's big and sticks out among the tall trees on a hill. Everyone in the bigger town is shadowed by it. It's as if it's a beacon watching over everyone and keep people in check.

cosplay wonderfest

Yeah Cosplay at the Wonderfest happened. But I guess I got tired or something. The photo below tells it all. The girl though looks tired too. Compared to the rest of the folks who wear mostly black on black, I stand out. I really should pay attention to blend in better. Maybe for next time.

Muji x Lego Yurakucho

Muji Lego collaboration. The rumors are true. But at over $30+ for the larger set. Is it worth it? There's a few types, but in the end, I'll put the coolest Lego Muji thing in the magazine GR64. Yes, it's near done, and yes, we will get to press. The Muji in Yurakucho area is gigantic. Two floors, and it has everything. I've heard about this shop in the past and it's huge. You can even eat real meals there along with tons of fresh baked goods. You can almost live at this Muji. There's Ikea, which is quite different, and there are other great shops that are one step in this direction already in the US. So can a Muji make it in the US on this type of scale? I'd think so. Maybe not right now, but it can work.

Meal Muji! Behind the glass is the eating area.

Yoshi Kawasaki / ex-2k. There he is. The man the myth at the Tokyo Gift Fair. I was happy to see him. I also ran into a few others I knew there. It wasn't like old times though, so you won't be reading that from me.

Some great comments about the donations...

I've been a huge fan of the magazine since I picked up the June 2006 issue, but I have to wonder if the choice to open up storefronts as an extension of the GR brand was a wise move, since those were/are resources that could have been put to better use towards the magazine itself and seriously ramping up your web presence to attract more readers outside of Asian culture enthusiasts.

-Yes, the storefronts kept the print going. It was definitely the right thing to do. If there were Oscars for publishers who've done more than just print a mag, I deserve a few gold mofos sitting on my mantle. And look at what it's done for popular culture and boutique culture around the world.


" I don't normally go for this kind of thing. I feel like if you can't run your business with an actual business model, I shouldn't be responsible for propping you up...but in this case, it's actually a really cool magazine and I'd like to support it. "

-Thanks but you're not responsible for it. We are. Thanks for the support.


I don't mean to brag about our growth, but honestly shouldn't a business move to a model that works?

-And tell me, what business model works today? Oh the internet?


Any magazine that uses Impact as a title face needs more help than just cash.

-We've had Impact as the title font before it came with Apple computers. Seriously.


Yikes this sucks! I wonder if the Hyphen crew ever worked with them. Wonder why these two magazines didn’t merge as one. Seems like same style and audience. I’m not sure if I’ve been to the SF store but I’ve been to the LA one and it’s super neat. Would hate to see it go out of business.

-The stores are one thing, the mag is another. How do we merge with another magazine? And no, our audiences are different!

You are a company and magazine that I hope to one day aspire to and this announcement broke my heart.
I will only donate my two cents.
The quality of your work and the image of your company was not reflected in your video. Boo! In this economy and in a country that felt cheated by a bank bailout, I think companies asking for handouts is really anti-America. You are in the creativity industry. The best you could do was sit in chairs and demand money? That was your best pitch? If you fail, you fail because you weren't trying hard enough, not because you didn't receive enough HELP. That's capitalism. If the entire print industry is failing, then do SOMETHING DIFFERENT. You do have a loyal fan base so dare to be creative.

-I've replied to this one in the comments from the donation post. I suppose we could have been more creative and stood up and forced you to send us money as an even better pitch. USA USA!

Giant Robot Needs You - www.giantrobot.com/donate

Some of you astute followers of Giant Robot may have seen this already. What is it and why is it important? Imagine, the same problems that are affecting so many magazines are now affecting us. We held out for the longest time, but we are in a situation that's making print publishing incredibly difficult. If you see the video I cut up, it'll tell the story in under three minutes.

The difference between us and some of the other magazines? We're working hard and trying to find new advertisers, even if it's friends, family friends, or old acquaintances - we can do this. We have our core of loyal advertisers, great readers, and a bunch of fine shops who sell us, but we're still coming up short. We're not asking for help to make just one issue, we're actually asking for a whole year and then some. Your help goes a long way.

Our printer has stepped up to offer us some help for the next year, and we've been able to reach out for support from a few new advertisers. But for the balance, we will need your help. Take a look, tell us what you think, or help us out.

Here's the link to http://www.giantrobot.com/donate

Photo time

It's been rainy in Southern California, so you see boots like these once in a while. They're not true NYC snow boots that break ice with each stride. These are the kind that look cool and fun even when you walk through inch deep puddles. If they're holding a GR bag with them on... even better. If you see Michelle Borok on Sawtelle and it's raining, she might be wearing these.

The hipster grifter 2. I saw this at ANAP store on Sawtelle. This girl is apparently well known on Sawtelle blvd as a thief. I wish the photo were bigger. Reportedly, she's Korean and she's holding a boba.

Childrens! These two were nutty and funny at Scion before the show.

Children part 2. That's Kika. She likes anything warm. My computer gets super hot, and she'll put her paw and face on it. If I leave, she'll sleep on the entire keyboard.

Tennis new year Bonenkai

Tennis Bonenkai... funny because it's sort of a year end party where you and your friends get together drink, eat, and sort of end the year and start a new one. I do play tennis more and more of late. This is the crew I play with some of the time. They do this in Japan in almost every industry and that's why there are so many people out in late December. Above is Takashi and Cousin Jon. Takashi is a sushi man.

That's Hiro and Yuki who's on the phone. Both are leaving back to Japan.

Osada looking faded. He went from Volleyball or skiing and now plays tennis.

That's Yuki again. The photobomb in the background is funny. That guy sat with his eyes shut most of the time looking like he was sleeping, but he'd respond to comments like he was wide awake.

We hung out at Wakasan in West LA until it closed at 2am

New Years 2010 countdown in Tokyo

This was in Shibuya, Tokyo at the scramble crossing which has to be one of the busiest intersections in the world. I'm sure the same thing happened at the same time in a few neighborhoods, but this one probably had to be one of the largest. That said, Happy New Year.

Greetings from Comiket

What do these dudes do with these photos?

Chad Mullane

Chad Mullane on left. People say he looks like Michael Schumacher, but he also looks a little like Ryan McGinness at the right moments. Either way, the other dude is this French actor, I'm blanking on his name. I'll fill it in when I get it. They're both in Nodame Cantabile, a film just released all over Japan. Or catch him doing comedy if you can understand, quick speaking Japanese.

Does he look like Schumacher?

Those miniscule dots where my red arrow points are a wave of people. Packed solid... and that's far down Omotesando street. There's no space. To take this photo, I waited for a moment of clearing in front of me. I go to Tokyo and see this over and over, but it never ceases to amaze me. What are they seeing, buying, and thinking about? The Xmas lights on the street are a rarity because of cost. I think it's because they're now LED, thus cutting down costs.