Play to pay

I don't make a habit of sharing stuff I get via PR emails because most of them are terrible. But this one is really cool. In conjunction with the EA's "skate" video game, adidas is releasing a limited edition of Mark Gonzales and Dennis Busenitz kicks. They're custom colorways of Superstars and Gazelles with clear soles over images of the namesakes. Maybe it's easier to show you than explain...






The deal is that you have to play the game to unlock a chance to buy the shoes. Only 500 each, so prepare for some marathon sessions... I've had some first-generation adidas skate shoes in the rotation for years now, so I know these will be great for skating and not just some trophy shoes.

Unpacking from Comic-Con

My first San Diego Comic-Con was in 1979. Back then, a bunch of us little kids would pile into our mom's friend's van and go on day trips to the old San Diego Convention Center or the El Cortez. A few years into the tradition, it became a multi-day thing where we'd spend a night there, capped off by something like Sea World. For a kid who was into Silver Age comics, it was a dream to see guys like Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Will Eisner, John Byrne, Frank Miller, or Sergio Aragones wandering around. My brother and I used to pull weeds and do other housework to save 100 bucks to spend on a pile of back issues.

When my brother Greg attended UCSD and got an apartment, we began spending all four days there and began attending evening screenings (Natural Born Killers) and talks (Neil Gaiman midnight reading). By this time, we made the transition from buying comics to buying toys and gear and stuff. It was great when his now-wife Kelly had an apartment that was walking distance from the newly built Convention Center.

GR started having a table early on--maybe 1995--and it's different being on the other side of the table. Well, it's different all together now. There are mega booths by movie companies, video games, and anime with huge screens, booth bunnies, and swag. When I started going, there might have been a Toxic Avenger table, some Atari cartridges, and bootleg VHS tapes with fan subtitles.

But Comic-Con is still cool. Where else do you see Stormtroopers, Jedis, superheros, swords and sandals fans, goths, anime cosplayers, Federation members, Klingons, and nerds of all kinds getting along? I don't shop like I used to, but I have fun working the table with friends--and it's especially cool that my brother Greg will help, too.

In four days and one night, I probably walked around the floor for one hour total (including bathroom breaks) and spent exactly 30 bucks. Here's what I came home with:


I upgraded from the Upper Deck lanyard and got a Peanuts-themed one from my friend Zuniga at Fantagraphics. (They are the Snoopy hookup since they release the Complete Peanuts books, although Paige from the Santa Rosa compound would have probably set me up, too.) See those felt panda pins? Two high-school-aged girls noticed the enjoi skateboard shirt I was wearing, which features a panda and a turd. They asked if I like pandas, and of course I said yes. It turns out they were selling the pins for .50 or 1.00 and sending the profits to the San Diego Zoo or other panda-related charities. (They hadn't decided yet.) I bought two of them.


I also wore this crocheted ghost. Michelle from Crowded Teeth came by to say hi on Preview Night and gave one to me, and I kept it on for the rest of the Con! A ton of people asked me if I would sell mine, so I gave them her Web site. I hope they visit her because she's awesome.


Of course I bought the new book by Jeffrey Brown. Luckily, his publisher Top Shelf was right across from us. Now that the comic artist has got a family going, his life has stabilized and he doesn't have new stories of girls and heartbreak to share. Good for him and bad for his formula! Moving in the new directions of fiction as well as full-color, this is an interesting take on the whole Transformers thing. My favorite scene is where two of the robots make out and you just see clanking sound effects on black panels! I'd imagine this will be on the GR site shortly...


The only booth I got to see was Grass Hut. I wanted to visit Kiyoshi, but he wasn't there! (He and his wife Maja just had their second little girl!) I did see my old friend Bwana Spoons there, though, reacquainted myself with Jeffo Soto and Martin Ontiveros, saw my new friend Scrappers, and met a new friend, the artist known as LeMerde. I got a lot of their stuff.


This is the collective's latest sampler comic. It was the only trace of Kiyoshi I got to see! Other artists included: cover artist Bwana Spoons, Scrapper, Le Merde, Martin Ontiveros...





I read stuff online all the time, but there's still something special about reading a stapled-and-folded zine. I got the first two issues of Scrappers' zine, Old Growth. It's loaded with interviews and articles on artists and bands from the Pacific Northwest. I probably knew half of them, and was introduced to a bunch of new ones. Nice. Yes, everyone up there has a beard but this has more a Built To Spill (I know they're Idaho, but that state is up there, too) aesthetic than, say, Lynyrd Skynyrd or 38 Special. It's totally indie and cool. I liked the "Mushroom Hunting with Bwana Spoons, Apak, Scrappers, and Hazel" article a lot. Artist Justin B. Williams has some interesting things to say and so does photographer Ann Ploeger. The Nikki McClure interview was cool, too. My wife and I actually own one of the pieces in the layout!


Martin Ontiveros knows a thing or two about drawing robots and toys. He's also a metal dude. The worlds collide in this nice piece made in collaboration with Gargamel. I don't collect a lot of toys anymore due to lack of space, but this guy can be squeezed in, no problem.


Check out this cool postcard by Le Merde!



Some more gear by Scrappers. He told me that the patch isn't just for fishermen and that the shirt design (the front has the Grass Hut logo, shown earlier in this blog) isn't just for bikers. The latter is from a Halo Benders song!


When David Horvath came by for signing sessions, he dropped off some Ice Lodge Uglydolls for us. I got Ice Bat (not actually shown)!

There's one more thing that I can't share due to lack of digital camera, the fact that it can't be scanned, and the fact that I look stupid in them. A woman left sunglasses at our booth and never came back to get them! Now I'm wearing some ladies' Gloria Vanderbilt shades when I drive around. Fresh! (If it's yours, send an email and I'll shoot them right back to you....)

Comic-Con Friday

Nothing exciting to report today... Just lots of people. It was a sold-out day, with is incredible. That's a lot of nerds. Some of the dressed-up fans included lots of Stormtroopers, Spiderman, Snoopy, Federation members. None really shopped at GR. Cosplay doesn't count.

I kind of wish more people would dress up. Maybe 75 percent to it at Anime Expo, which is how Comic-Con used to be. More indie shops selling books, people dressed up, etc. Less pavilions and stuff.

Tonight has been mellow. I picked up Wendy at the trains station. No toy partsy, comic receptions, or Fucking Champs at the Casbah tonght, because I'm waking up early to surf with Greg tomorrow morning!

Comic-Con Thursday

I got to the Convention Center way early at 8:00 this morning to help fix the booth. Everyone pitched in, and by 10:00 it was pretty much ready to rock. I did a lot of blabbing today... Lotsa selling of GR. In the morning, the hot sellers were Horvath's UMAs. I also sold a lot of Humping Dogs, Gloomy Bear things, and GR stuff. Lots of customers from past cons as well as folks who introduced themselves as longtime readers. Awesome. Despite the L.A. Times articles about Robert Downey Jr., Jessica Alba, etc., no celebs shopped with us, but who cares? Our readership and customer base is cooler than that anyway.

I took one pee break/30-minute stroll through the Con today to buy a toy for a friend, and saw that some other parts of the hall are way more crowded. I don't know if that means there's more business elsewhere. Just people in line for exclusives, signings, etc. At our table, we get to talk to just about anyone who walks up to us, which is one of the best things about working the GR booth.

Some people say stuff like, "It must suck having to work and be stuck behind the booth," and my response has been that it would indeed suck if I were standing at a shitty booth selling shitty things with shitty people. It's fun working at GR for the opposite reasons.

After the Con closed at 7:00, I parted ways with the crew (they were going to Con parties and stuff, more on that later) to play with my niece at my brother's house. We made a double-decker boat out of blocks. It was awesome. Then we all had Sipz (vegan Chinese) to go.

Everyone crashed out by 10:30, so I decided to hit the Rob Crow show by myself. It wasn't far away, it was only 10 bucks, he wasn't headlining so it wouldn't end too late, and it was a benefit for one of his Pinback bandmembers who has cancer. How could I miss a hometown show like that? It turns out the entire band Pinback was playing a short set of their new songs. I got there just in time and saw them play for about 30 minutes. The song were raw but perfect. Maybe the best part was after the set when keyboardist Terrin Durfey said that his treatments were going well and that he was so grateful to everyone for playing and being there. Rad!

Does it suck that I went rogue instead of going to dinner and the parties with Eric, Michelle, Dianne, and Rosanna? (Sasha, too, but she went off to see a sneak preview of the new Neil Gaiman movie.) I hope not. I have a lot of fun with them at the both, but I'm not good at bars or clubs. I don't drink or dance, and they're usually too dark or loud to really talk. If I'm going to be standing in the dark, I'd rather be at a show. I think the others understand... If not, they have to understand about me wanting to spend time with my niece, who I don't see enough.

I got back at the house by midnight and now I'm ready to sleep in preparation for tomorrow's Con. I hear it's sold out, which is ridiculous. I don't want to sound like a cranky old-timer, but it's getting to big with too much hype and too much emphasis on Hollywood crap. You shouldn't have to buy a ticket in advance for something fun like this.

Wendy may arrive tomorrow night, which would be nice. If not, there's talk about seeing the Fucking Champs at the Casbah...

More from S.D. tomorrow!

p.s. Sorry for no pics of the Pinback show (Rob Crow was wearing his Con badge, a Con T-shirt, and a Star Wars cap), cosplayers, people in superhero gear, giant LEGO Star Wars statues, movie props, prototype toys, GR board members who visited the table, or playing with blocks. I gotta get my hands on a new digital camera...

SDCC

This has been a pretty rough week. We've been in the middle of deadlines, which I love but is pretty tiring. Still no word on the laptop. My camera, which I spent $200 to fix, has ceased to function. My mail program got wiped out and now I an email Bedouin relying on webmail with nowhere to keep my messages.

But the mag shipped yesterday, and I think it's awesome.

Today we drove to Comic-Con. I think Eric already blogged about how tough it was to set up and how we have to finish setting up tomorrow morning at 8:00. "Preview Night" ended at 9:00 and everyone was starving, but I couldn't even move my car because of parking-lot gridlock. Perfect. I told the other GR cars to go to the restaurant without me so the place wouldn't close. I didn't even move my car until 10:00, and didn't get on the freeway for 20 minutes after that... Lame, lame, lame. I felt like Charlie Brown--alone, hungry, tired, and everything turned to crap.

Comic-Con. Just what I need when I'm fried and tired. Seriously. I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm stoked to be in S.D., see a lot of familiar faces, be surrounded by geeks and nerds, and finally get to hang out with my family down here. Hope to see you, too.

Fearless

Remember that part of Jet Li's last movie where he is shacked up in a farming village with a blind woman? Whenever breeze came by, everyone stopped their work in the fields and stood to face the breeze. The first time this happeneds, Jet kept toiling in the mud. Later on, he got it, and learned to appreciated the break, nature, and the community.

Yesterday at dusk, Eric, Pryor, Wendy, and I were working on the mag (still hasn't gone out yet) and we noticed a rainbow. The sky was this strange orangish-brown--a shade that only happens with the perfect balance of fog and smog--and we stood in the backyard, like Jet, or maybe an army of meerkats, checking it out.


Then it was back to work. The mag must go out before Comic-Con...

Animals strike curious poses

Two things that happen to me all the time: wishing I said something after the fact and Wendy telling me what I should have said.

Last night, the GR softball team played Norton. We needed a win to keep alive our slim chance of taking first place of our league. After we drove in 12 runs in the top of the first inning, I had a rocky outing, giving up six runs and walking in at least three of them. Our opponents had two teen-aged supporters on their side who kept making cat noises. "Rowr!" They must have thought they were getting in my head because they did it for the remainder of the game. It was kind of a drag, but I was actually okay with it since they were just kids. It's worse when adults do that sort of shit.


I collected myself, and pitched well. There were at least two innings when I struck out two batters. Strong hitting and aggressive base running didn't hurt. We ran with reckless abandon/stupidity, and forced the other team to make some errors. In the end, we mercy-ruled them. We circled at the pitcher's mound, piled our hands, and shouted, "Robot!"

This morning, I told Wendy about our win and she said that we should have gathered around the mound, started making chimp sounds, and scratching our armpits. Crap! Why didn't I think of that?


As is often the case, there will probably be no next time.

Sooyoung spotting

We had a visitor in the office today. Turns out our friend Sooyoung Park had a business meeting right down the street, and he dropped by. When he parted, the ex-member of Bitch Magnet and Seam/sometimes-current member of ee was going to take the bus Downtown and then deep into the Valley. If it weren't deadline time, I would have given him a ride. Instead, I could only recommend the express bus that I take going east (704) and give him the last few issues for his long ride.

Calling all Stormtroopers

Nerdfest U.S.A. (a.k.a. The San Diego Comic-Con) is coming up next week. If you're going to be there, take a break from the all-night role-playing games, mini-comic sessions, anime marathons, and toy parties to hit this fundraiser for Terrin Durfey, a local rocker and family man who is battling cancer. It's just 10 lousy bucks.

Thursday, July 26 at the Belly-Up
Earthless
Rob Crow
Years around the Sun
Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects

Damn! That's got DNA from Pinback (grab a new song here), Three Mile Pilot, Black Heart Procession, Hot Snakes, Clikatat Ikatowi, and who knows where else.

Best of all, you don't have to change out of your Stormtrooper or Boba Fett outfit. The Force is strong in the lineup...

Friend of a friend of a friend...

Can I get in free? Yes, you can. Louie Cordero arrived from the Philippines yesterday and dropped by Sawtelle to check out GR2, where his art show will be on Saturday night.


You can probably gather from the photo that he's a friendly guy. See all that art on the wall? It's not his. That goes up on Thursday... What a great excuse to break out from the mag office. Can't wait to see his stuff in person. Some of it is pretty gig!

In case you missed the issue in which Manuel Ocampo interviewed him for us, expect an unholy mix of Basil Wolverton, Robert Williams, and Peter Bagge–Maynila style. I'm serious.

Easy readers

With our old intern in China and our usual readers busy, I've had to seek out new blood come in to help us proofread articles for our upcoming issue. I'm grateful that we have readers who will donate their time and brains to the cause, and I think they're doing a solid job. We don't pay, but I did buy some rice crackers and make some coffee. Even better, I offer a limited-edition bottle of Mountain Dew since a PR agency supplied us with a load of them. Here's Naat enjoying a cold one. I gave him the "Oriental" design.


Cheers, Naat! Gam-bai, Eric, Brian, Sharon, and Vincent!

Are you otaku

Do you stay up until dawn watching anime? Spend your free time dreaming up your next cosplay outfit? We could use an anime freak to help us out with a GR-related project. As usual, there's no pay, but you'll get our gratitude and your name listed in tiny print somewhere in the next mag.

If this sounds something you'd be into, send email to me! martin@giantrobot.com

Night off

Last night I played hooky from the GR deadline to attend a wedding in Chinatown with Wendy's family. Driving from Silver Lake through Elysian Fields, we got a call from Happy, who was playing a show at a Chinatown art gallery with her old Lassie Foundation bandmate, Wayne. Too bad their set started at the same time as the banquet, but I got to say hi to Happy and her husband/my pal Bret anyway.


The banquet was at Empress Pavilion, in a section of the big room where Wendy and I had our wedding banquet about 13 months ago. We rearranged seats so we young(er) folks could sit together.


After going to a million banquets, you'd think we've seen every dish possible. But there was a new one with a chicken head placed over parts of its body with ham, gai lan, and mushrooms making a feather-like texture. (All the dishes were meaty, so we had to order some veggie chow mein and tofu for me.)


It was hot last night, but sometimes it's fun to get dressed up. Wendy and I got to wear some of that new Ben Sherman stuff we bought last week....


Now I'm eating leftover noodles and back on the mag deadline...

Today's sponsors

Anyone involved in the publishing business will tell you that there isn't any money in magazines. Those of us involved in it--especially on the indie side--pay the bills and that's about it. But that's not to say there aren't benefits. I work with my best friends, write about and promote stuff I care about, meet incredibly talented people, and am stoked on life everyday. (Meanwhile, everyone seems to be bitching about how shitty things are.)

Not only that, but when I was on the bus today I realized that almost everything on me was given to me.


I got this shirt is from Prodip, who I met when I interviewed LMF in Hong Kong. He and I became friends through email, and send stuff back and forth across the Pacific fairly often. Since LMF broke up, he's been concentrating on designing CD covers and working with the king of figures, Michael Lau. The top I'm wearing is a collab between XLarge and Fingercroxx with Lau artwork. (Cargo shorts from the local army-navy store. Wedding band and watch from overstock.com.)


These shoes are from my pal Kevin who works at Nike Skateboarding. I've known him since the early '90s, when he worked at No Life Records. I'd see him at punk rock and indie shows, as well as the Vans outlet in Orange. Eric and I split up a big ole box of shoes from him way back when, and I still break out a pair now and then. (Socks from Target. Boxers, too.)


This bag was given by Altoids at an art show in NYC. I couldn't attend the opening, but the PR person sent me the bag anyway! How cool is that? You can tell by the wear and tear that I use it almost every day. When I buy mints, I always buy Altoids.


The Western Edition deck is from Kent at FTC Skateboards. He's been a big supporter of GR since our earliest days, and is a big reason why we have a shop in S.F. The Shepard Fairey trucks are from Gary at Destructo. A lot of skaters obsess over things like limited-edition shoes and artist-designed decks, but he's gotten me into trucks. (I posted the KLF ones a while back.) Also, the bearings and grip are courtesy of Blitz distro, which has supported us since the beginning via Jeremy K. and his Hook-Ups ads.


This iPod is from Julia at Intertrend, who was appalled that I was still carrying around a CD player. She's so awesome. They really believe in GR, and it's cool that Eric has been working with them on projects... I'm sure he'll post about one of them sooner than later. (I bought the Piyo cell-phone holder at some Taiwanese department store for a couple bucks.)

I hope I don't seem like I'm spoiled or showing off. I just want to acknowledge the cool people out there who support what we're doing and hook us up. There are so many others, too. (You know who you are.) My closet would be lame without you guys!

Bottles in front of me

On the way to the office this morning, I made a pit stop at the recycling center. Four trash bags full of water bottles (mostly from Wendy's work) and a grocery bag full of random bottles and cans (from GR art openings and stuff I pick up out of the gutter) added up to almost 8 bucks!


When I go to Vons to cash in my voucher, perhaps I'll buy something fancy. I wonder if they have fresh lychee? More likely, more peanut-butter-and-jelly supplies for lunch or soy milk and cereal for breakfast.

This is a boring post. I'm saving the good stuff for the issue we're working on... (By the way, we have some excellent volunteers for proofreading. Stoked about meeting them this weekend.)

Reading is fun

We're in editorial crunch-time for GR49. If you live in SoCal, have spare time, and possess a decent grasp on spelling, grammar, and popular (to us) culture, we could use some help with copy editing/proofreading this week and next week! The mag office is in West L.A. and we work through prime time in the evening. We don't pay, but the setting is casual, there are usually snacks around, and we'll give you credit in the masthead. We'll even try to spell your name right!


Send email to martin@giantrobot.com for the scoop.

My favorite shops

I've already blogged about the super-expensive Paul Weller polo from Fred Perry and the incredibly limited Paul Weller track jacket from adidas originals that hang in my closet. I found out about the Ben Sherman button-down designed by the former singer of The Jam and The Style Council a few months ago, but never thought I'd see one in person--much less be able to purchase one. Last week, I was informed that the Ben Sherman shop at the Beverly Center carried the long-sleeve shirts. In fact, they had been sitting in the boutique for a while, didn't sell, and were packed away in storage! And so the trifecta was completed on Friday night.







Somewhere out there are some shoes designed by the Modfather made in conjunction with Hudson. I seriously doubt if I'll ever see a pair, but that's how I felt about the tops, too. (Rick, got any suggestions?)

Cake eaters

In Minneapolis, it's an insult to be called a cake eater. But if someone's getting married, what can you do? Today, I tagged along for some cake tasting at the House of Tang in preparation for Wendy's brother's upcoming nuptials.





Linda (right) prepared Strawberry, chocolate, and caramel versions, and each was super light and tasty. Strawberry won.





One more thing for the couple to check off their to-do list before the big day. Next, they should buy some Precious Moments figurines to go on top?

Rome is burning

Was listening to Jim Rome show on the way to work today. The Pimp in the Box was out, and the Sklar Brothers were filling in. Before reading an Ichiro Suzuki quote, they requested "Ichiro music," which consisted of new-age flute, followed by a gong. I don't know if they thought the Japanese All-Star's quote was deep or Zen; I thought it was just elusive... Following that segment, the hosts began referring to the "Ichiro quote generator," which made phony, haiku-like responses to topics that callers suggested. All were accompanied by flute music and gong.


What the fuck? Would they play hat-dance music and talk in Speedy Gonzalez English when quoting a player from Mexico? Afro-funk and ebonics to quote a black man? Hell no! (Well, a certain caller from Austin gets banjo music, but that is something else...) Rome fields his share of hick callers who try to make jokes pertaining to race and they get run. How can these guest hosts get away with such bullshit?

The weird thing is the co-hosts seem like pretty smart guys. They talk a million miles a minute and make obscure references on the drop of a dime. These guys shouldn't have to resort to weak, unfunny, lowest-common-denominator humor. It was just a lazy, unimpressive, unfunny show. A shitty effort and an irresponsible one.

That's what I get for listening to sports radio instead of Joe Escalante, anyway. His Barely Legal show is smarter and funnier, and what is there to sports at the moment beside the Dodgers having chances and coming up short?

Kwik-E Mart

To celebrate July 4, we went to Kwik-E Mart in Burbank. No Buzz Cola, Krusty-O's, or donuts on the shelves, but there were some familiar faces, plenty of Squishy syrup in the fountain, and nice graffiti by El Barto!

Such thing as free lunch

I scored some munchies today. How did that happen?


Oh yeah, I gave blood.


I used to donate all the time. I even received a gold-colored donor lapel pin ages ago. But this is my first encounter with the one-fanged vampire in at least a year. Maybe that's why it took less than 5 minutes for me to relinquish a pint! It was gushing.

What's up with appointment taking 1:15, though? Shouldn't online registration and computerized surveying made things faster? I guess having too many people donating is a good thing, though, so it's okay.

I should have left some back issues of GR in their magazine stand, though. It was kind of wack. I had to read Rolling Stone.

Garden of delight

Dig this cool Gardener short on YouTube.


Thanks for the link, Prodip!

Apu lives!

Whoa! 7-Elevens are being converted into Kwik-E Marts! Where's the one in L.A.?

Anime Expo pics

I attended Anime Expo in Long Beach on Saturday. It was hot, sweaty, and packed with cosplay action--like an otaku fest should be.


Most of the big companies were there, and some of them had pro booth bunnies and mascots.


Like the old days at the Comic-Con, there were tons of smaller booths selling DVDs, comics, and toys. A lot blended together, but some were more specialized, like this yaoi one.


This place sold corsets and frilly parasols for the hardcore Gothic & Lolita crowd.


This R2-D2 pachinko machine would look great in your cantina.


Coming soon, Voltron kicks by Reebok!


Even otaku need a break.

TV party

Any chance Homer will change the channel from Bumblebee Man so Wendy can watch the psychic soccer mom show? Maybe she should give him some chocolate...



This picture was taken shortly before we saw the indie flick Waitress last night. It's a food/relationship movie that focuses on amazing pies sans the typical "magical" parts where the food becomes salty from the protagonist's tears, etc. I thought Felicity was quite good in it, and the supporting cast was outstanding. I didn't know that the director was one of the waitresses and had no idea that she suffered a tragic fate... Check it out here.

Depression Pt. III

On Friday night, I saw Does Your Soul Have a Cold?, Mike Mills's documentary about the treatment of depression in Japan. As you might expect, it is a somber affair. Yes, it has the filmmaker's clean aesthetic and bold typography, but the message is conveyed purely by the sufferers and not by fancy edits or stylish graphics. There are no dramatic ups or downs, either; it's more like a constant battle for the 20- and 30-somethings to wake up, go to work, and maybe even be social. The film has a pretty neutral stance toward the commercialization of depression in Japan and its health trade's fairly recent use of drugs as a way to treat its sufferers, and the most lasting images of are of the subjects' low-key humor and moderate levels of hope.

Afterward, Mills and various crew members fielded a Q&A session. He described how he'd ask questions in English and have answers translated back to him via headphones on the spot. The editors used this English track while piecing together the segments. Pretty neat.

Representatives of the Directors Bureau, Fruity Pebbles, and Film Threat don't know whether to laugh or cry after watching the documentary.