Shed happens

After more than two hours of manual labor, the mags are finally back in the shed, where they belong. The shed looks great and I look like crap!

Kiyoshi came by and helped by moving a couple stacks, too. Yes, he kicks my ass in his self-defense article every issue, but he's actually one of the good guys.

The cutter

In the spirit of Eric's Japanese gardener article in the new issue, I snapped a picture of Don trimming the bush in front of Satsuma on Sawtelle. He's been doing it since the store opened, and started it as a potted plant. Now it's something Dr. Seuss worthy. I suggested he work on the GR bamboo afterward if he had time....

Phuket

Bangkok is amazing, but it's not what comes to mind for most people when when they think honeymoon. On the surface, there are street vendors selling meat on a stick, bootleggers of all kinds, and amputated beggers. Pushed right up against them is falling-apart storefronts, mega malls, and modernist hotels. On top of that, a state-of-the-art sky train. This mix of old and new, east and west, and rich and poor is on the roads, too: scooters, tuk tuks, buses, taxis, sedans, and a Ferrari or two all battle for lane placement, but not with middle fingers and cussing but blessings at each other. Oh yeah, it's hot and humid as hell--at least in June when we were there.

In contrast, Phuket is a straight-up resort island with beaches, scuba diving, and more malls. Like a ton of Asian, Euro, and hippie tourists, we broke out to take advantage of the half-price hotels and tropical setting during the low season. It was pretty sweet.


This is the first thing we saw at the Phuket airport: Wendy tour! Actually, we didn't hit many beaches, go on shopping safaris, see shows, or visit the orchid farm or zoo, although the gibbon rehab center was tempting. We just wanted to chill, and we mostly hung out at our little villa.


Phuket Pavilions was on a mountainside overlooking the ocean. Just about every evening and morning, it was raining like crazy and the winds were super gusty. Actually, that was kind of cool. We brought books and DVDs, but Wendy was addicted to the E! Channel since we don't have cable at home.


The pool was like something from a rap video with water that appears to vanish over the edge of the world. It wasn't heated, but the cool water felt good since it was so humid.


Where we stayed didn't really have a restaurant. They served food at the lobby, in the outdoor bar, and at your particular pavilion. We ate in a lot, and it was quite good. I miss the fruit plates, which came with every meal and were amazing.


One day, we ordered the all-day spa. I think it was about 9900 baht (about US$300) and it included four huge meals (plus two bonus smoothies) and a two-hour spa treatment for each of us--all delivered to the room, except for dinner which we had at the bar, which was on top of the hill and had a 360-degree view. It was a good deal. This picture shows one of the masseuse's setting up the tables for Wendy and me. After we had tamarind body scrubs, she had the Swiss-Thai massage and I had the Thai massage. The woman I had was pretty good, but I could tell she wasn't a strong at the dude I had at the blind massage place in Bangkok.


Most of the food around the beach area was overpriced and touristy. If you've been to the Banyan Tree, etc., you know what I mean. We walked to an Indian food place that was pretty good. I think it was called Little India. There was a two-person vegetarian fixed meal that set us up for lunch and dinner. It was really good, but not super cheap. I think it was about 600 baht-- a little less than 20 bucks, which is what you'd pay in the U.S.


It rained on the first three days and the conditions were junky for snorkeling, surfing, or whatnot. But on the last night, it cleared up and it was beautiful. The water was actually warmer than the air. I dove in, caught a nice wave bodysurfing back, and was done.


This is what it looked like eating from the lobby. This was taken on the morning we left. It figures that the weather was perfect. Not shown is the chocolate croissants and coffee, which were outstanding. Can you tell who I rearranged the dish to look like? It's Eric Gagne!

Phuket town itself, that's another post...

Boxing Rd. 2

After clearing out the shed on Wednesday, I didn't want to get out of bed the next morning. I powered through anyway, since the Giant Robot softball team was squaring off against the number-two team that night. Not surprisingly, I was weak on the mound and dug us into a hole that we couldn't climb out of.

Today's task.

Now that the mags have been counted and termite killer has been applied, it's time to put the boxes back into the shed. I'll probably start until 4:00 and hope to finish around 7:00, as the sun sets. Where are interns when you need them? (Mimi, that means you.)

If you're going to the 9:30 screening of Does Your Soul Have a Cold? at the L.A. Film Festival tonight, you may not want to sit next to me.

Holy shed

Amassing stuff is fun; organizing it is not. Even when I was a kid who collected comics, taking out a couple stories to read was easy. So easy that there were stacks of FF, MTIO, and Marvel Premiere all over the place all the time. That's still the case, but now I have CDs and magazines all over the house. And how about money? Everyone wants to make some, but who enjoys balancing his or her checkbook?

Yesterday, I started taking inventory on certain issues of GR that are stored in Eric's backyard shed. We've done it before, but this time I opened up every single box that wasn't sealed from the printer and counted each mag. It's back-breaking work (seriously, my back is killing me) but there has been satisfaction in looking at old covers and recalling some of the kick-ass stories we've run. Also, I realize we've printed a hefty load of mags!

I can't say that I carried each and counted each and every box (Eric moved some boxes and Kiyoshi counted some mags), but if you buy one of these back issues in the future, you can be pretty much assured that I moved it and probably dripped sweat on the box. It's hot out there.





Holy shit, termites!

At the movies

It takes 17 hours to travel from L.A. to Bangkok and 16 hours to get back. Luckily there were movies to keep me occupied. I've always thought that screens on the back of vehicle headrests are ridiculous--yet another sign of humanity's decreasing attention span and need to be entertained all the time--but now I can't say anything.


Casino Royale (USA, 2006) - The last Bond movie I saw co-starred Michelle Yeoh. I wondered why her character even needed Bond and why I was watching it as well. In this installment, Daniel Craig was pretty badass, and the "extreme walking" wasn't as annoying as I expected. A lot of good sequences, but the part where he falls in love was pretty far-fetched and seemed out of character. Although the card playing scenes were pretty good, I think the God of Gamblers movies' scenes were better. Likewise, Chris Cornell's song was pretty good but not nearly as catchy as Duran Duran's. A nice reset for the franchise, nonetheless.


Radio Star (Korea, 2006) - It was hard for me to get into this movie. The protagonist, a washed-up rock star, was such an asshole that I had no interest in getting to the redemption part of the movie. Then I realized that I'd never get to the end of 75 percent of all Korean movies if I thought that way! The protagonist has to swallow his pride (to an extent) and take an afternoon DJing gig in a small town. The show is a lot like Jonesy's Jukebox, since he invites people in to talk in a spontaneous manner, ramble about whatever's on his mind, talk shit, and play acoustic guitar. I wonder if the writer ever listens to Indie 103? The movie turned out to be all right--sappy yet rocking and pretty satisying.


Deja Vu (USA, 2006) - Mixing elements of Law & Order and Back to the Future, this action movie's crime-solving is as solid as as the science is wacky, but Denzel Washington is so confident and cool that I fell for it. Val Kilmer is pretty good, too, in an understated role.


Udon (Japan, 2007) - This crowd-pleaser is sort of like Tampopo without all the whimsical side stories. It shamelessly pulls at your heartstrings with an understated love story and a dysfunctional father-son relationship, but the idea of food making everything okay will be hard to resist for even the most stoic audiences. Kinda cheesy, but really well done.


Guru (India, 2007) - This rags-to-riches story is pretty straightforward, telling the true story of Gurukant Desai's rise to become the Polyester king of India. The protagonist focus is unwavering and he never loses faith in himself, and the way he bullies his way though every situation makes him kind of unlikeable. Nonetheless, the fact that his wife is played by Aishwarya Rai makes the story extremely watchable. It's kind of like Rocky, actually. The movie was only about 2 hours long, which leads me to believe that a lot of song-and-dance sequences were cut out of the version I saw.

Laff in

Last night I did the L.A. Film Festival double header of Owl & The Sparrow and The Exiled. Sometimes I forget how awesome film fests can be.

Outside, I saw Anderson from HIFF and I witnessed a Marvel Team-Up of Koream and VC.




The first screening had tons of guest stars, including director Stephane Gauger and producer Ham Tran, who have made appearances in GR48 and GR47, respectively. The dude who composed the music (awesome) and actress who played the lead stewardess were there as well as other behind-the-scenes types.



I had the honor of introducing The Exiled on behalf of GR and it was awesome that there were so many people in attendance who were familiar with the mag. It was cool to see so many die-hard movie fans out there to see Johnnie To's excellent movie. All we needed was some tea and dried mango, and it would have been like a night at the Garfield or Kuo Hwa.

I'm going to see the new Mike Mills movie on Friday... Can't wait.

Got back

Look what I found in the slush pile.


Is Rob Crow the new hardest working man in showbiz or what?

People in your neighborhood

It's cool to grab street food, check out wats, and cool off at the mall when you're visiting Bangkok, but sometimes you need the help of a local to find the best dinner spots.


We spent a couple evenings with VER gallerist and fine artist Toh (right) by the river. From the spot in this picture, you can actually see Chinatown and the spires of National Palace. Beautiful. A couple nights later, we ate by the historic pier, where I had the best Pad Thai ever. It was folded in an omelet! Toh will be going to Paris pretty soon for a show and possibly a residency.


Joe (right) took us to a restaurant off Sukhumvit--not far from our hotel yet totally off our radar. The translation is Royal Kitchen, but good look finding it. There are probably a hundred places with a name like that! The radish and kale were superb, and so was dessert at a place called Summer. Although Joe's latest movie, Syndromes and a Century, was banned in Thailand, he was leaving to be a juror at the Shanghai Film Festival the next day!

Joe is featured in GR48. Toh, in GR47. Me? I'm knee deep into GR49...

Crash course

Tonight I caught a screening of What We Do Is Secret, the Germs biopic at the L.A. Film Festival. You won't walk out humming "Lexicon Devil" or "Manimal," but you'll get a pretty good impression of first-generation L.A. punk. I don't really know the band members, but the depictions of Rodney on the ROQ, Kickboy Face, and especially GR friend Chris Ashford are awesome. (Belinda Carlisle is too skinny, though.) Seeing local spots like Oki Dog and The Whisky as they were in full big-screen, low-budget glory is cool, too.


There was a Q&A with the director afterward, and he said this is only the second time the print has screened. (The first was the film's premiere over the weekend, hot from the filmhouse.) No distribution is settled yet, so try to catch the Wednesday night show.

Tomorrow night, GR is presenting The Owl & The Sparrow and The Exiled. See you there...

48 hours (minus 15)

Since returning from Thailand on Friday night, I've been waging an ongoing battle against jet lag. Having a packed schedule has helped.


Half of this cake was vanilla with strawberry filling. I liked the side with chocolate with banana.

Saturday afternoon was Lucia's red egg party. If you're Chinese, you know what I'm talking about. This was at Happy Family Restaurant... What could be better than zillion courses of vegetarian Chinese food and the entire family gathered to announce the arrival of my sister's first baby?


Wendy and her gal pals, Lucia and Saoirse.

We had more cake on Sunday for Chi's birthday (which is actually tomorrow). Softball teammates Eric and Mike often say he's someone you want on your side--the type of guy who will dive and shove his hand between your foot and a land mine in a moment of crisis.


Chi and Jenny fuel up for some karaoke action. I mangled "Ant Music"...

In between, just about all my family went on an outing to the Police concert at Dodger Stadium. It was epic, with a massive stage and light show. During the two-hour set, they played three of the four songs I really wanted to hear ("Message in a Bottle," "So Lonely," and "Can't Stand Losing You," but not "Canary in a Coal Mine"). Yes, some of the songs were jazzed out and had gratuitous jams, but it was amazing to finally get to see a band that I really dug but never got to see when I was in junior high or high school. When they played "Next To You," it was a little too smooth. Yet when they turned it up for a moment, proving they could still rock out in a raw manner, it seemed weird for the guys to be playing like kids. In the end, they picked up where they were when they broke up, in Synchronicity mode, which is where they should probably be.

I feel good where I am, too. Going to places like Bangkok and Phuket is incredible--and I'll share some photos and stories over the next week or so--but I'm happy to be home with family and friends and doing stuff I love. The deadline for GR49 is already looming, and I'm recharged and ready for it.

In Thailand

Back soon...

Heroic trio

Last night a bunch of us went to see The Pipettes at the Troubadour. Imagine Heavenly with three singers playing Supremes-style songs. Wow!


The group had great harmonies, choreographed moves, and banter with English accents that were tough to follow through but easy to adore. I had doubts that three could pull it off live, but they did. And how.

I have to admit that more than an hour of even the finest crafted 3-minute pop tunes can wear you down. They cut it at 60 minutes and everyone went home happy. Is the band doomed to be openers? Will they go disco? Record solo albums like Tracie Young? Who cares. Enjoy them now!

One year later

Last night, we thawed out some cake and had it for dessert. It must have been in the icebox for a year.




Happy anniversary, Wendy! (Thanks again, Linda for the cake, Dehara for the decoration, and Nao for the bodypacking.)

The banquet

Hap and Susan's banquet was at the Marriott by LAX. It's pretty fancy and there was a lot going on, but it was easy to find. You just had to listen for the mariachi band...

I was pretty blown away by the length of their set, but Michael says this sort of thing happens in Watsonville all the time.

Cuties resting their patooties: Happy, Ang, Wendy.

Dudes ready to roll.

This guy was bad–like Michael Jackson in the '80s bad. He's taller than he looks in this pic, but not much taller.

Guests of honor don't have to wait in line but they still have to serve themselves. Chi said the fried chicken was good.

Congrats, Hap and Susan.

There is a light that never goes out

On Friday, Wendy and I went to see Morrissey at the Hollywood Bowl. Not all rock concerts fit in at a place like that, but Moz pulled it off with ease. His smooth delivery and charisma are totally appropriate for the Old Hollywood atmosphere, and when he came out to a sold-out crowd of goths, boomers, and Mexican rockabilly and punks (in addition to GR regular Lana Kim, GR copy editor Hane and her husband Nathan, and Sticky Rick.), he received a hero's welcom. I was surprised that a lot of Smiths songs were mixed into the two-hour set. If you missed it, you can buy the DVD which is being directed by Bucky.

------

On Saturday, we went to Hap and Susan's wedding. We got to the church a few minutes late for the triumphant entry because I misplaced my keys, we knew that a Filipino/Mexican wedding will most likely be Catholic and long.

Fist pump by the guy upstairs.

Susan and Hap make their getaway.

Nate and the no-longer-alleged Nichole.

Jenny, Chi, and Bret.

Star sighting.

Afterwards, we killed time at Wendy's brother's house in Long Beach. Happy and I weren't sure if there was going to be meatless fare at the banquet, so we trolled around and found Chronic Tacos. How could we pass up a name like that? It was $4.50 for a pretty hefty veggie burrito.

Fear of grown-ups/No fear gear

We give talks to studnets pretty often, but yesterday Eric and I hosted a group of journalists at GR2. They were recipients of a grant given by Getty to promote coverage of the arts. This group had experience in everything from NPR to Spy mag, and came from as far as Lebanon. Yikes.

I'd be lying if I didn't think the tables were turned. Usually, we try to excite our audiences, and stoke them on new ideas and possibilities. What do we have to say to these folks, most of whom have way more clippings and experience than we'll ever have. In the end, it was easy. Because they were journalists, they came full of questions and curiosity. It was probably one of the easiest talks ever, and we even had to think.

Too bad we couldn't have lunch with them at gr/eats. We had an early game on the softball diamond and had to squeeze in some work.

---

Last night we played Eli's Auto Body, the only team that has beaten us in the first third of the Spring Summer season at the lowest level of L.A. Parks and Rec. Due to a park closure, forfeit, and bye week, it's been a month since we played and that showed in my pitching. The funny thing is that what I felt were my best pitches (high and smooth) were blasted for big runs. We were down by six when Eric came through with a clutch grand slam. Chi hit a two-run homer. At the bottom of the seventh, I got the winning run.

Too bad I hit into a fielder's choice. I robbed Hap of his chance to win the game a few days before his wedding day...

Two days from now in the South Bay

Prime condition--a real bargain!


The bride, not the gift. Congrats, OP!

Can I kick it?

Starting tomorrow night (Friday), Election 1 and 2 will be showing for a week at the Nu Wilshire! I've only seen Johnnie To's gangster masterpieces on DVD, and can only guess how amazing they look on the big screen. You'll have to smuggle in your own shrimp chips, dried mango, and jar of tea, since this is a Landmark Theatre, and not the Garfield or Kuo Hwa.


If you can't make it or don't live nearby, hang tight. The movies will get some more distribution later on. Check out a trailer here.

Cubist movement

Three-year old solves Rubik's Cube in 114 seconds.


I wonder what educational track she'll wind up in? Is Rubik's Cube an Olympic sport yet?

What's your type?

Miller would say that it's like when you think of a plate of shrimp and then someone says "shrimp" or "plate of shrimp"... All part of the cosmic unconsciousness.

We got this DVD in the review bin the other day. It's yet another release of Takashi Miike's infamous Ichi The Killer. You already know if you love it or hate it, but check out the packaging. I wonder what they used for blood?


Funny enough, GR48 has an interview with Susumu Terajima, who appears in the movie along with Tadanobu Asano an others... It's not shocking since Terajima is a regular in Beat Takeshi, Sabu, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa movies, as well as Miike's. In Ichi the Killer, he is suspended by hooks, sliced by stilletos, and spattered with tempura oil.


If this screen shot is freaking you out, don't watch the movie. If you're disturbed but if you can't help but look at it, then it will freak you out. If you're into the image 100 percent, I don't know what to say.

Above Average Joe

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (aka "Joe") is a brilliant filmmaker and artist, as well as a reluctant spokesperson for cinematic freedom in Thailand. He's also a really nice guy. I interviewed the director of Syndromes and Century and Blissfully Yours at the Unknown Forces installation opening at REDCAT in April. If you haven't seen the four-screen, bass-thumping, mind-blowing multi-media piece, it's not too late.


You can even check it out when a selection of his movies are showing this week at the space under the Disney Hall in Downtown L.A. They don't screen very often, and you won't want to miss them. Here's the schedule:

Mon, June 4, 8pm: Mysterious Object at Noon (2000)

Wed, June 6, 8pm: Blissfully Yours (2002)

Fri, June 8, 8pm: Recent short works:
"Anthem" (2006, 35mm, 5 min.)
"FAITH" (2006, video, 11 min.)
"Ghost of Asia" (2005, video, 8:30 min.)
"Worldly Desires" (2005, video, 40 min.)
"Luminous People" (2007, video, 15:22 min.)

Sat, June 9, 8pm: Tropical Malady (2004)

There's a lengthy interview with Weerasethakul in the new Giant Robot mag, too. I'm going to miss the screenings because I've got tickets to see Morrissey at the Hollywood Bowl, a friend's wedding, etc., but don't feel sorry for me. I may get to see Joe in Thailand next week! More on that to come...

12XU (U=4)

48 is a semiperfect number. Is the 48th issue of Giant Robot better than that? You tell us.



We received advance copies of the mag at our shops in West L.A., San Francisco, and New York City. Silver Lake, coming soon.

The goods:

Cover artist from Japan PCP
Thai filmmaker and artist Apichatong Weerasethakul (Syndromes and a Century, Blissfully Yours)
Chinese filmmaker Zhangke Jia (Still Life, The World)
Beat Takeshi regular, Susumu Terajima
Michio Kurihara, collaborator with Damon & Naomi, Ghost, and Boris
Herman Li from DragonForce, dude!
Bobby Hundreds
Cornelius
The Owl and the Sparrow's Stephane Gauger
Eagle vs. Shark director Taika Waititi
Kiyoshi vs. females
Japanese gardeners
Dan-ah Kim
and way more...

Stalin x Salonen

Love it or hate it, the Disney Hall really changed everything in L.A. Following the lead-off hit by the Getty, it drove in a run for local architecture. Planners had to try a little harder after that. In terms of art, the Gallery at REDCAT has booked exciting, relevant artists from around the world--some of whom we've featured in GR.

But what about music? I've taken friends to art shows there, showed the building to out-of-town friends, and even checked out the patio as a possible wedding location (way out of our budget), but haven't heard one note in the building. Well, maybe someone's ringtone.

That changes tonight, when Wendy and I check out "Shadow of Stalin - Music Behind the Iron Curtain." Are you familiar with Ligeti, Husa, or Lutoslawski? Me, neither. Good thing there's a free talk beforehand that will put everything in context. Hopefully it will be as good as the "The Red Detachment of Women" from the Yang Ban Xi.