All-Star Weekend begins

Today's Friday, but yesterday was the beginning of a three-day run of special events, friends coming from all over the place, and family, too.

It began with the Imprint conference. Eric actually attended it on Wednesday (and he's been toiling on it long before that) but the main event occurred yesterday. I'm not going to talk about how awesome the keynote talk by John Jay (the brains behind may of w+k's groundbreaking Nike campaigns), the panel on the power of blogs (Brian Lam from Gizmodo, jeffstaple, Danny Choo, and Rob Heppler from WeeklyDrop moderated by Josh Spear) or the panel on streetwear (Jennifer Yu from New Era, Bobby Hundreds, jeffstaple, and Alyasha Owerka-Moore moderated by Eric) were, since Eric will probably do that. David has already fended for himself and you don't need me to tell you how cool it was to hear jeffstaple and John Jay talk shop. So here's some scoop on the panels that I had the honor and privilege of moderating.


The first panel that I handled was titled "Star Power," and it featured Dan the Automator, Dan Wu, MMA fighter Andy Wang, and justin.tv. The topic was Asians going far in non-mainstream, non-Hollywood ways. It was a little tough because none of the guys are really fame whores and they don't even really want to be famous. So I tried to steer it towards what was it was like to have that sort of attention even though they never really strive for it. Later on, I overheard Rob tell Dan Wu, "What was up with that guy talking about that celebrity shit?" I got his attention and kidded him about it, but now I wonder if everyone thinks I'm an asshole for staying on topic. In the end, I think the panel went well. The gist of the conversation was that true cultural change doesn't come from flag waving but excellent work. (Actually, I brought up the example of X-Clan, but was received with silence. Dan the Automator said, "Too obscure.")


The two Dans are very used to public speaking and interviews. They were very succinct and smart. justin.tv didn't have too much to say about the topic, since he doesn't really see his experience in a cultural context at all--just business. Andy was the underdog coming in, and he gained a lot of fans just for being genuinely stoked to be there and obviously caring about promoting Asians as not being lame. He's from Torrance, so if you ever see him at Gardena Bowl or The Loft, don't be afraid to say hi. He can pound you into submission, but he won't. He's cool.


Yes, there were ladies there, too. Amy and Wendy with Julia's likeness.

My next assignment was a one-on-one talk with Dan Wu. This should have been a breeze since we are good friends and I follow his career very closely. What we didn't realize was that there would be a mob of Chinese reporters hoping to pounce on him! When we walked into the interview area, cameras, lights, and reporters were everywhere. That kind of ruined it for the attendees since they made a lot of noise, chattered, shined lights in everyone's eyes, and blocked the screen that clips were shown on. To prevent a wack HK-style press conference, Dan and I hogged up the entire hour and didn't do Q&As. That was fine, since the talk went well and I had an excuse to ask questions that don't come up in casual conversation.


When the talk we over we jammed to the green room, where Eric informed me that the reporters who couldn't talk to Dan wanted to talk to me! I went for it, and the lame thing was that they just asked questions that we answered in the session. They didn't want juicy gossip, just information that was already clearly stated! They could have just listened more carefully. In the end, they were more hack than evil, and it was actually kind of endearing when I pulled out my camera to shoot a photo of them and they all smiled.


One of the best things about this is that we got to invite guests. Here are super intern Janet and proofreader/softball prospect Brian. In the background, you can see Bobby Hundreds with Alyasha. We've known Aly for a long time, and it was great to touch base with him again. Also, in the first photo you can see Ben's camera. I didn't get pics of other GR friends and contributors (Cate, Michael, Anne, Mitch, Ken, Jack, you know who you are...) and I was really happy so many of us could be there to share the moment.


Afterwards, there was a mellow but triumphant reception at JANM. Here are the two forces that made it possible: Julia and Eric. They were tired but stoked. (What is Jon talking about in the background?)

When the VIPs went off to enjoy a carnivorous meal, Wendy and I stuck around J-Town to dinner with Brian and two hardcore GR readers that made the trip from the SGV. Here are Oscar and Louis eating at a ramen joint. Afterwards, we shared some gourmet cookies that Dan brought back from Toronto.

Before leaving downtown, I sent a text message to our friend Eungie to see if she needed any help or cookies at REDCAT, where the Barry McGee show was being installed. She sent a text message back: "HELP"


Wendy and I helped Clara staple zines. Later one, Andrew Jeffrey Wright came over to help. He has spent a few days screening the cover non-stop. Barry pointed out these weird forearm muscles that AJW had developed. (In the background, note the tagging mannequins.)


Eungie and Barry eating cookies. Look at that huge pimple on the right!


The brand spaking-new edition of Larceny (cover folded by Wendy, stapled by Clara, AJW, or me) and a steaming hot AJW zine.

And so the evening finally ended. But tonight is Barry's opening (see you there) and GEISAI comes up tomorrow night. (See you there, too, but I'll be late.) Did I mention that my brother-in-law Eric (NOT GR Eric) is getting married tomorrow, too?