Poo on you

Andy from the Quiet Life is having a video contest for his label's band, The Poo Poodles. The songs are lo-fi, catchy, and short, and if songs like "Little Bastard Girl," "Freddie Mercury Is Punker Than You, Punk," and "Bananas (Monkey Mix)" don't get your juiced flowing, nothing will. Prizes include Quiet Life gear, Lakai snakers, Poo Poodles merch, and other excellent stuff! MP3s and details here.

Ewing on Yao

Ring-less New York Knick Patrick Ewing says he would have scored 50 on Yao at NBA.com.

Sproul 5N

We received advance copies of Giant Robot 45 at the GR stores today. I'm biased, but I think it's pretty hot. Check out the Murakami cover.


The first customer in L.A.? Doug, a guy that lived in the same dorm as me back at UCLA, happens to be in town from Maui. First, he had the good fortune of seeing the Bruins basketball team crush CSULB at Pauley last night. Then he had lunch with me at gr/eats the same day that the new mag dropped. Dang! Let's hope his luck continues when he attends the big game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.


These days, he's starting a T-shirt line called Erosurfer. The vibe is not quite smut and not quite action sports, but somewhere in between. Pop stars are showing up wearing his gear in Japanese magazines like Fine and Crea. Here's proof.

Live in Los Angeles

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is Burning

-BR

Juicy fruit

Mmmm. Persimmons...

Stitches, bitches

So this pirate walks into a bar and takes a stool. He has a big ship wheel mounted on his lap. The bartender serves the buccaneer, trying not to mention his wooden boat fixture. But after the knobs knock over a few drinks and poke a couple other customers, the bartender's curiosity finally gets the best of him and he says, "So what's with the wheel on your crotch?" The pirate looks him in the eye and says, "Argh! It's driving me nuts."


Likewise, the stitches on the side of my face have become a real drag. They itch like crazy, although I've been pretty good about not touching/irritating them. From afar, they look like a parasitic bug or hairy scab. The dermatologist clips them off tomorrow morning. I hope that it heals up as promised--leaving a little white line--and not a big kiloid.

Hard-boiled cop

PS3, Wii, Xbox360... Whatever. All I know is that I'm still waiting for this.

One down, three to go

Three more limited-edition PW shirts are now available from Fred Perry! They're not in my budget, but wouldn't they make a killer gift? Hint, hint.

Kings of L.A.

Oddly enough, I was taken to my first hockey games by female friends. When I was in college, my friend Monica had an extra ticket to a Kings-Oilers game. This wasn't long after Gretzky arrived, so there was a lot of animosity between the teams. I recall L.A. fans taunting Edmonton's Craig MacTavish, who spent a year in jail for driving drunk and killing someone. They kept waving car keys and yelling, "Have a drink on me, MacTavish!" The game set a record for penalty minutes and one guy got checked so hard that the plexiglass popped out. Awesome! My pal Joy invited me to my second game. She worked at Epitaph at the time, and her friend was on tour, so we sat in his season seats. It was great. When she got her own seats, I became her +1 whenever her roomate couldn't make it. All I had to do was drive her from Pasadena to the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. Once I picked her up when the dudes from Green Day were camping out at her place. They were whining about how they didn't get to go to the game. Now they probably have a box at the giant toaster in San Jose.
These days, I have to buy my own ticket and the Kings lack the star power and buzz that they once had. To make matters worse, expansion teams like the Ducks and Sharks have become conference powerhouses, while the Kings are welcome mats. But the new GM and coach have been making decent moves, and there are tons of exciting young players coming up. Kopitar, Frolov, and Cammalleri have loads of potential. Dustin Brown dishes out checks as well as he scores and Jack Johnson will be a defensive cornerstone once he leaves school. Too bad the new goalie, Cloutier, isn't so hot. At least Staples Center is closer than the Forum.
Last night, the sloppy-yet-spirited Kings came back twice from one-goal deficits to tie the game, killed key penalties, and beat the slumping-but-respected New Jersey Devils in a shootout. It marks only the second time the L.A. skaters have won back-to-back contests this season.
By now most of you have tuned out, but there's at least one guy out there who cares. MC Ren, I haven't forgotten you, and this is for you.
Look for a new best-of NWA CD/DVD after Christmas.

The horror! The horror!

The Japanese movie Duradeka (the rug cop) was released in September, but keep an eye out for the DVD. Its poster, site, and collateral utilize art by GR friend Yukinori Dehara!

Thanksgiving leftovers

Carson recalls the plight of the Native Peoples.

Aaron thinks about flowers.

Saoirse forgot her soy milk.

No sweeties, just sweets.

Attack of the Mole People pt 2

"Wendy finally got fed up with all my junk around the house and socked me." "I was attacked by a squirrel." "Fresh tattoo." After a dinner, a concert, and two family gatherings, I ran out of snappy responses to questions about my bandaged face. So I decided to stop hiding the gash left when my dermatologist scooped out a suspicious mole.


My hair is long and unruly enough to cover up my cheeks most of the time anyway, and from afar it looks more like a hairy mole or a bug than three stitches. They get removed on Wednesday, so here's a picture for posterity.

Salad days

When my friend Ken was in Tokyo to attend a design show, he picked up this CD for me --a belated birthday present. The Romanes are an all-female Ramones cover band from Japan!


They sing in Japanese, so it takes a split-second to figure out each song... Most of them are older ones: "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," "Chinese Rocks," "Rockaway Beach," "I Wanna Be Sedated." I think the newest songs are "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio" and "Pyscho Therapy." All classics. The playing is no perfect but the vocals are spirited, bordering on breathless. I'm pretty sure the handclaps are real.

I wonder if they play The Romanes' version of "Blitzkrieg Bop" at baseball games in Japan?

The bitter pain of disappointment

I made another dent in my stack of unwatched DVDs this weekend... On The Edge reunites Anthony Wong with pork-bun killer director Herman Yau. Star Nick Cheung plays an undercover cop who finishes his assignment by busting a crime boss (Francis Ng), and is welcomed back to the fold. But his problems are really just beginning since the cops (including his partner, played by Wong) don't trust him, his buddies in the gang hate him, and the girl that he was hanging out with doesn't want to be seen with him.


The plot is depressing and so is the tone. The closest Yau comes to humor is when Cheung's superior tells him to stop hanging out with hoods, and that there are some good-looking girls on the police force. But I like how the movie never deviates from the somber mood. I also like Cheung doesn't look like he should be a hero. It's said in the movie that his character doesn't look right in a uniform and it's true. With his scarf and choppy haircut, he makes a much better crook.

With more brooding than fighting and frustration than retribution, On The Edge is not a crowd pleaser. But it's a well-told, well-acted movie with no filler that is worth tracking down. There are no frills but when fights erupt and car chases occur, they don't disappoint. Most importantly, despite understated melodrama you care about the protagonist until the bitter end. At the very least, it will keep you satistified until Johnnie To's The Exiled (featuring Cheung, Wong, and Ng) comes out...

Bad call

"I can tell by your phone that you are a simple man." WTF? Wendy and I went to the cell-phone shop to consolidate our plans, get her parents with the program, and pick up some new gear out of it. I didn't ask to get my palm read.
To be fair, the guy who helped us seemed like an okay guy, and we worked it out so that we received fancy new phones for free. My fresh Nokia is so deluxe that I can't even download Tetris on it! But who cares. Next time I'm walking around the supermarket blabbing on my phone, it will be clear to my fellow shoppers that I am no simpleton.

Their Satanic Majesties

In addition to eating turkey and chow mein, my family's going to see the Stones at Dodger Stadium this weekend!


Have a good one, and don't let the holiday craziness get you down.

Hans Moleman

Looking at my bandaged face, Greg asked me, "Who did that to you?"

I visited a dermatologist to have a mole checked out this morning. I expected to be looked over and told that it was nothing. Or if there was something, I thought I'd be told to return. Well, the doctor told me that it was probably okay, but should be removed just in case. Then he had me lean back, injected me with pain-killer, sliced it off, and stitched me up! Now I look like someone socked me in the cheek.

FYI, there's an ABCDE checklist to consider when deciding if a mole is dangerous. You look for asymmetry, borders that are jagged, colors that are weird, diameter larger than a pencil eraser, or elevation. Mine was just a different color than the rest--nothing compared to the crazy photos on the wall. Nonetheless, it's been removed and being sent to a lab to see if it's malignant. I wonder what they do with all those flaps of skin after they've been tested?

Heaven & Earth

Today I had lunch at China Beach Bistro and it was awesome, starting off with some intense Vietnamese coffee and fresh spring rolls. They were tightly packed and, well, springy. Not dry or boring but light and tasty. Proprietor Hiep Thi Le hooked me up with the vegetarian soup (with faux meat and shrimp as well as veggies) plus fresh pho noodles. It was great--mixing the Westside's appreciation of fresh and healthy with Westminster's full menu. The broth was dark and interesting, maybe because of the pineapple in it?


The restaurant is tucked between a cleaner and liquor store on the corner of Venice and Pacific. It's easy to miss and the parking lot is pretty small. But the orange sign is there if you're looking, and I easily found street parking and there's a lot right across the street.

Next time you're hungry in Venice, skip the slices or burritos and check it out. Say hi to Hiep and he dude Djinn, because they're as nice as the food. It seemed like everyone that walked in loved them as much as they did the food.

Proof positive

We received GR45 proofs from the printer today. Besides a couple minor corrections, it's solid and ready to rock. I can't give you the total scoop yet, but here's a shot of one the GR Web dudes checking it out. Maybe you can look over his shoulder and get a sneak preview? (Hint: Hooooo!)


Dang. Is blogger ever going to load full images?

Hal & Bons & me

GR is mentioned in the Nice Rainbow blog! What does it say?

Foundation

Years ago, I used to go out a few times a week to see bands play. True, there were tons of great shows going on back then (mostly at Jabberjaw) but it was also cool just to see friends. It was like going the Cheers bar, but with indie and punk bands instead of beer. Staying out late on a work/school night was not an issue.


On Saturday, Wendy and I went to Spaceland to see Lassie Foundation, which features our friend Happy on bass and keyboards. (She also plays vibes for Ray Barbee!) Pretty much right after the opening band played, we saw Happy's husband, GR outfielder, and friend Bret. Then Angelyn and Carlos showed up! What, no Doug? Standing around in a lousy bar is fun--much different than sitting in a big arena show next to strangers.


It doesn't hurt that the shoegaze-turned-new-wave band was super fun and pretty tight--amazing since they haven't played since April! David Newton from the Mighty Lemon Drops made a guest apparance for the cover of "Inside Out." I totally remembered their own hits like "Face Your Fun" and "Money Money" (not the ABBA song). It was rad, and Happy rocked out with the bass pedals.


The other bands were probably good, too, but it was almost midnight so we split. I guess some things do change.

Whoa, blogger's still acting crazy. Maybe I'll try reloading pics later. I kind of like the pixels, though.

Hammer and cycle

I finally watched the end of the Re-Cycle DVD last night. In case you don't know, it's the latest Pang Brothers flick reuniting the HK filmmakers with Angelica Lee, star of their breakout movie, The Eye.


As you'd expect from the two, the movie has a great look. It starts off with Lee's character trying to write a supernatural novel, wishing she'd see ghosts for inspiration. When crazy stuff starts happening--a "greatest hits" of Asian horror--she's freaked out but seems more curious than crazed. Her relationship with her ex is more problematic than floating sheets of paper, mysterious phone calls, or a hairy ghost.

About halfway through the movie, the paranormal world starts taking over. Is it in her head or real? That's not the point as she steps out of a haunted elevator and the hallway widens into scope ratio--in the movies at least, according to the commentary which is subtitled in English. Stunning.

The ghost world is awesome: equal parts Kowloon Walled City and Labyrinth, with a little bit of Cronenberg thrown in. A grandfather figure and little girl help the novelist find her way out from the zombies and restless spirits. I was drawn in, but I could see some people getting bored by the lack of dialogue, etc. Lee proves to communicate without lines well.

The line between twist and gimmick is a fine one, and the end of this movie straddles it. There's a message about aborted ideas/unborn babies that stands out, too. But neither of those should distract you from the visuals, which will stick with you for a long time.

Sorry for the half-loaded pics. I'll try uploading them again later...

Jay Boy

New Dogtown photo book to check out... Pics of Jay Adams by his step-dad. Only 3,000 copies.

Help Indonesia via iTunes

My friends Dag and Wing have been spending a lot of time in Indonesia shooting footage for a documentary. After seeing earthquake damage firsthand, they set up a music comp of local music tas a cool way to raise funds!

Well, blogger sucks now so you can't see the whole thing, but check it out at iTunes and CDBaby.

Short shorts

Received a package from Lance Hahn last night! This vinyl fix should help me make it to the release of the long-awaited full-length J Church record on No Idea. Wasn't that supposed to come out in January?

The goods (starting top left, going clockwise):

7" split-single with The Plungers - This is the song that you hear on J Church's myspace page. Loud, fast, and catchy--it rocks. So does the cover of The Fall's "Psycho Mafia." The flip is a mostly female trio from NYC that sounds a little like X with its rockabilly vocals (but slightly Japanese) and rock-solid drumming. One original, one cover, as well. This is on basic black wax from the Bouncing Souls' label, Chunksaah.

7" split-single with Minority Blues Band - Another original, another cover by each band. This time, J Church takes on Wire's "Ex Lion Tamer," which was also covered by Rollins way back when. These songs sound pretty raw, almost like demos. Minority Blues Band (from Japan) might sound the closest to J Church of the three, with its catchiness. On orange wax with an Underground Communique record label button!

Notes, Blurbs and Random Thoughts: '90s Lyrics for Pseudo-Intellectuals and Weekend Revolutionaries - Wait, which one am I? The contents are explained by the title. Lyrics include hits like "Bomb," "Fascist Radio," "November," and "Faye Wong." No frills, no poetry, but a must for true fans. On the Honey Bear Records label!

7" split-single with Off With Their Heads - On this Grin and Bear It EP, J Church played this Snuff cover, "Too Late," on its last tour. Awesome, and so is "Angel. They must know every indie band in Japan and Europe, not to mention Minneapolis. OWTH plays thrashy yet punky songs in a raw, infectious way. It's like they're still in the early '90s, but in a good way. What, no cover by them? A collaborative effort on black wax from 1-2-3-4, Rock Bottom, and Newest Indüstry.

There was also a "Somebody murdered Eric Dolphy" badge floating around the envelope, but I don't know if it came from a 7" or from Lance. FYI, Dolphy was a jazz guy who collapsed on the streets of Germany, was taken to the hospital, and allowed to die as a junkie. Actually, he was diabetic! Damn. More info (on the goods, not jazz history, although there might be some of that, too) at j-church.com.

Pickup games

Last night, the Giant Robot softball team played a short-handed Morning Wood squad. Traffic between West L.A. and West Hollywood was terrible. Everyone ran late, including Eric and me. We arrived at the diamond with 15 minutes to spare, only to find that parking was practically nonexistant due to a nearby fancy reception with spotlights and giftbags. Because I didn't stretch or warm up, my outing started off rocky. The first three batters scored three runs off one or two walks and a homer. But after that, it was (mostly) smooth sailing. It didn't hurt they only had eight players, and had three infielders and three outfielders. Too bad there weren't any ringers for them to pick up. We ran it up to 24-13, more than compensating for defensive lapses with strong, smart hitting.

After the game, we walked around the block from the park to a 24-hour coffee shop. It's kind of pricy, but the waiters are nice and they give you a lot of food. Mostly, it's just convenient since there's a patio that's always open--perfect for a bunch of loud, dirty, and possibly stinky dudes. But this isn't a restaurant review, so let's move on.

Walking toward the bathroom to relieve myself of Gatorade (thanks, Greg) and wash my hands, a skinny dude with sunglasses and a brown jacket walked out and then walked right back in. Maybe he had the runs or had to puke? I couldn't recall if there were stalls or if it was just a little room, so I waited even though the door was ajar. I was by the door long enough to grab a weekly paper and for another dude to wait behind me, decide to hold it in, and return to his booth.

When the guy finally exited, I entered and took my place in front of the urinal. He followed me in and asked, "Are you shy?" I'm not used to people talking to me while I pee, but didn't think much of it. I said, "No," and he said that he was waiting for me. Still looking straight ahead at the wall, I said, "Oh, I wasn't sure if you were done or not..." That's when he said that he thought I was cute, and I continued, "Oh, I just want to pee and wash my hands." He said, "Is that all?" and I said, "Yeah, it's cool," and split.

From the patio where we were hanging out, I could see the guy hanging out by the bar area for about 20 minutes. He looked out now and then, but I tried not to make eye contact. Eric said the guy was standing by the bathroom for a long time, maybe since we arrived at the restaurant. Eventually, I saw they guy walk out with a much older, dumpier guy. Yeah, I was probably cute compared to him.

Jocks, not johns.

Sugar walls - the other side

Funkay new video by Professional Assassins, featuring our friend from The Mae Shi, Brad Breeck.

Pranked (not punk'd)

Legendary Re/Search publisher V. Vale has finally made a follow-up to the infamous 1986 book, Pranks!, in which his friends from the underground (Timothy Leary, Henry Rollins, John Waters) pull fast ones on the mainstream, mixing malice with a dollop of humor. The newer volume features the likes of Devo's Jerry Casale (aka Jihad Jerry), Margaret Cho, and the Billboard Liberation Front discussing ways to uspet the norm, but Jello Biafra turns the tables by pointing out how George W. Bush has pulled pranks on the U.S.! It's a fascinating, funny, and inspiring read.


The S.F. book-release party has already come and gone, but its L.A. counterpart takes place at Beyond Baroque in Venice this weekend. Video, discussion, Q&A, and more, for just 10 bucks (5 dollars goes to a coupon good for buying the book).

Star aligns

"You look really familiar..." Our pal Dustin gets that all the time since he used to be on 21 Jump Street. He's been out of the country for a while and then we had our mag deadlines, but today we finally made time to have lunch at gr/eats and catch up. He told us about his latest movies as well has his jewelry side project. (If you ever bump into him, check out his wrists and fingers, and you'll see.) His wife just had a big fund-raiser! In turn, Eric and I talked about the latest GR news--mags, stores, and restaurants--and life in general, like me getting married.

We interview a lot of interesting and cool people, but it's rare that we keep in touch and become friends. Dustin is definitely the latter. His response to "you look really familiar"? "I eat here pretty often."

Suedeheads

Looks like you and I weren't the only ones who missed out on tickets. One more chance on Friday morning via Ticketmaster and Livenation... I hate buying through them, but what other choice is there? Do I get cuts in line if I wear my PW/Fred Perry shirt? Adi Speed shoes?


The latest press release (additional 100 are gone):

Weller VIP tickets sold out in minutes! 100 more made available exclusively to his fans!

The legendary Paul Weller will be bringing his full band over from the UK for three very special and exclusive shows at Irving Plaza in New York, presented by SPIN Magazine in association with Adidas Originals. Each night will feature a selection of songs encompassing his entire career, but will also focus on a specific time period as well. The schedule is as follows:
Jan 29th - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting The Music of The Jam
Jan 30th - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting The Music of The Style Council
Jan 31st - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting His Entire Career

VIP tickets sold out in minutes! As a special offer for Paul Weller fans, there are an additional 100 VIP 3-night passes on restricted preorder TODAY at ticketmaster.com. The code for purchasing tickets will be: HitParade. Get your tickets now! o

Triple star sighting

Living in L.A., sometimes we see celebs. Last night, Wendy and I had dinner at K-town with our friends Martin and Jenny. Not long after we settled in, Patricia "Medium" Arquette, her husband Thomas "The Punisher" Jane, their daughter, and Pee-Wee Herman took a corner booth. So we ate and talked and tried not to stare. I would have taken a sneaky shot of Martin and Jenny with them over her shoulder, but the camera was out of reach. Oh well, maybe next time.


I usually don't notice stars--much less even recognize them--but crap, it was Pee-Wee Herman! If I had a GR mag on me, I would have given one to him. For some reason, that's slightly less fanboy-ish than walking up and geeking out.

Brush me, daddy-o

Since sending GR45 to the printer, I've been trying to catch up on my movies. Last night I watched Dog Bite Dog, a brutal gangster flick from Hong Kong by director Soi Cheang.


Sam Lee plays an unhinged officer on the track of ruthless Cambodian hitman Edison Chen. The movie is more like Quest for Fire than The Killer, with a lot of grunts and people getting brained by rocks and stabbed to death. The grunts are good move, considering Edison's ebonics-laden blog. That thing cracks me up. Lee does a good job. It's great to see him act in a movie where he doesn't have wacky hair or play a goofball.

In the beginning Lee is shown to be violent guy with a soft side; he cares for his dad, a heroic cop in a coma. Meanwhile Chen is a killer and a loner in a strange country. With nothing to lose, he leaves a trail of bodies wherever he goes. As the dark plot unfolds, Lee's dad is revealed to have secrets that free the son from filial duties, and allow him to toss his place in society/common sense and pursue revenge to the fullest extent. Meanwhile, Chen falls in love with a sexually abused junkyard cutie, and that connection softens his don't-give-a-fuck survival instincts.

Obviously, nothing good can come from this plot, and the gruesome results are not for first dates or anyone wants a happy ending. But I liked it. The end went so far, I finally had to laugh. Ridiculous--which is perhaps the point.

--

On a brighter note, the DVD has a mind-blowing trailer for Lethal Ninja, last year's Herman Yau flick with Waise Lee (aka Sidney Fung)!

Coming correct

Sun, sand, and shave ice were good enough for me, but the folks at the Hawaii International Film Festival made sure that I came home with some articles for the mag, too. That's where Christian, Ian, and Chantal came in, helping to coordinate interviews and make sure I was able to get around the city. I promised to give the latter two mags, but ran out because I gave my entire stack to interviewees! I left in shame.


Today, HIFF kahuna Anderson Le dropped by, and we had lunch at gr/eats. Being the film dorks we are, we talked mostly about movies and I totally lived vicariously as he told me about his film-fest travel tidbits from Pusan to Cannes to Berlin. (Whatever, I've been to Hawaii!)

Before he split, we went to the GR store where I bought shirts for Ian and Chantal and grabbed some copies of the new mag, too. Then I asked Anderson to be my transporter--a sucky thing to do to a guy who probably has a suitcase overstuffed with clothing, toiletries, etc., but least I didn't ask him to body-pack for me!

Centered

Yao Ming is the NBA Western Conference's Player of the Week.


Yet he's keeping it real with slippers from China...

A press release, but a good one

The legendary Paul Weller will be bringing his full band over from the UK for three very special and exclusive shows at Irving Plaza in New York, presented by SPIN Magazine in association with Adidas Originals.

For the first time ever Paul Weller will hold a three-night stand in the United States to perform music from his entire 30 year career.

Over the past few years, Weller has sprinkled his set lists with a couple of Jam and Style Council songs. However, with the forthcoming release of his first ever career-spanning box set titled Hit Parade, Weller will focus on each glorious segment of his vast songbook. Each night will feature a selection of songs encompassing his entire career, but will also focus on a specific time period as well. The schedule is as follows:

Jan 29th - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting The Music of The Jam
Jan 30th - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting The Music of The Style Council
Jan 31st - An Evening with Paul Weller: Spotlighting His Entire Career

All three shows are being presented by SPIN Magazine in association with Adidas Originals. These shows are exclusive to the US and similar evenings will not be scheduled overseas. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, November 17th and are sure to move fast.

GR45 update

This is guaranteed to be our best issue yet. The grammar hawk's apprentice, Saelee Oh, is helping us find typos and misspellings!

Grooves

I'm still in GR45 lockdown and have no interesting stories to share, but I can recommend some tunes for your Rasa Libre/IPath sort of weekend...

Options

If you need something to do after Susie's show at GR2 or in between movies at the AFI Fest, consider this. My pal Dustin freaking Nguyen sent me this invite for his wife's fundraiser, and said to pass it on to friends. This looks swanky, so don't wear your grubbies.

Crunch time

GR45 has been in hardcore deadline mode for more than a week now, and we're still not close to being done. But I think it's got a great mix of famous people--to GR readers, at least--and up-and-coming people that we think have a lot of promise and a lot to say. Plus, there's tons of travel-related pieces... I wish I could give you a more detailed preview, but if you read our blogs you'll find some hints. Anyway, there's a lot going on here at the office with a number of friends dropping in to help and Wendy and Pryor coming in after their day jobs to work late into the night. For us, it's party time.


This evening we'll take a break to play softball. The Giant Robot team is taking on VCA. They're the number-one team in our parks-and-rec league --a group of assassins that has been mercy-ruling opponents left and right. Eric and I missed GR's last match-up with them because we were doing the talk at the Walker in Minnesota, but we got creamed 27-3. We'll have to play a flawless game just to keep it close, but that's part of the fun.


In other non-deadline-related news, there's an art show with Susie Ghahremani at GR2 on Saturday! She's driving up from San Diego to L.A. today, and I can't wait to see her smiling face and awesome artwork. I wonder how her grammar, spelling, scanning, and path-cutting skills are?

AFI Film Fest

The AFI Film Fest is going on at the Arclight in Hollywood, and there's a load of cool Asian flicks on the big screen... I recommend the following:


The new Pang Bros flick with Anjelica Lee, Re-Cycle, is playing Thursday night and Friday afternoon. It's like an Eye reunion!


Johnnie To's Election plays Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The sequel plays on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Both are brilliant gangster movies.

If we finish the mag on time, I hope to see you there!

I did.

Did you?

(Not me in Birkenstocks. Pics courtesy of Google.)