Eight in a row

Last night the GR softball team lost its eighth game in a row. In the top of the first inning, our opponents rang up 11 runs. But we never gave up, and actually tied the ballgame a few innings later. Timely hitting on their part and a few three-up-three-down innings for us resulted in a familiar result.

Because we actually scored more than 10 runs and gave the other team a scare, we didn't feel totally defeated. When Wendy called, I told her that we were going to celebrate at Norm's because we got the equivalent of a black eye instead of a busted jaw.

Is being happy with a decisive loss something to be proud of? Are our downsized expectations okay? The nice thing is that if we can pull off one more victory in the next three games, we'll double our wins for the season. Not only that, but we can still be spoilers in the other teams' trophy hopes. Sounds like a familiar role for a team populated by numerous Gutty Little Bruins (not Sky, a Trojan).

Seasons change

It must be winter. Not only has it been raining, but Breton Woo is driving from San Diego, where he spend his summers surfing, to Lake Tahoe, world headquarters of his company, Automaton Snowboards. He made a pit stop on Sawtelle, where we had lunch at gr/eats.


I think it's cool that he started a small brand in an industry geared for giants. He told me that you have to pay to get press in a big snowboard mag. Isn't that crazy? Time-Warner owns Transworld. Don't they have some sort of conflict-of-interest or journalistic integrity clause in their mission statement? Actually, I interviewed him for the next GR just because I thought he had a cool story and angle. I had no idea I could have gouged him like that.

By now he's probably driving past CalArts on the I-5. If you see his wagon packed with his worldly belongings and a bunch of art (from an Automaton-sponsored art show that took place in Costa Mesa a few weeks ago), give him a wave. Or at least don't cut him off.

Free, 99 Cents Only, and +1

Yesterday afternoon, I got yanked from the jury box. The weird thing is that while everyone else who got tossed practically skipped out of court with a big smile on his or her face, I felt rejected. Honestly, after hearing so many prospective jury members give their lame excuses I wanted the jury to set and get the case going. I was plotting to seize the foreperson position and orchestrate a decision, but never had a chance to make it happen.

Four or five other prospective jurists followed, which probably decimated the pool. I have a feeling that the judge is still coming up with a jury. The process will take longer than the case itself, which is a sad and expensive waste of time. But if that's what it takes to have as fair a jury as possible, so be it.

I noticed that all other other prospective jurors who were Asian got cut, too. What's up with that? It's true that English wasn't the first language for any of them, but that's no reason why I should get cut. Was I profiled? Maybe I should have answered the questions less decisively? Do I need a haircut? I'll never know, but I won't take the experience personally, either.


On Wednesday night, I saw From Monument To Masses play at Safari Sam's. I'm a big fan of the band's atmospheric and rocking instrumentals punctuated by sound clips from American and Filipino activists as well as other rabble-rousing dialogue. It's thought provoking and brainy stuff. I'd been listening to their CDs since the beginning, and have been corresponding with them for almost as long. Whenever they hit L.A., we were always in deadlines or I was busy. Finally, the stars aligned.

I asked my friend Ben to take some pics, and he took the band to the nearby 99 Cents Only store because that's where the best lighting was. As is often the case, the guys turned out to be really nice, and Ben actually had some mutual friends with them. FMTM is spread out between the Bay Area and NYC and don't play very often, so if you live anywhere near Pomona definitely check out the free show at the Glass House record store today.


Sort of headlining but going on before FMTM was Don Caballero. Damon Che is one of the most interesting drummers around--a huge force in the math rock genre. There are no vocals, but his sarcastic asides and attitude make him as legendary and divisive as Phil Collins or El Duce. A great show, always.

Downtown - prelude, aftermath, and gametime

Yesterday, I almost joined Lance Ito's jury. The case was too long for me to hang, though, so I asked to be let go. When he asked what I do, I said that I helped edit a small magazine, and that as one of two editors that the case would cripple our schedule. He asked how it would affect me, not the magazine, and I said if the mag doesn't get made, I lose a job. Then I added that the magazine was started in a garage. He said, "HP started in a garage," and I countered that we're still in one. He cut me loose and I was relieved. What if he asked for the name and recognized it from being on the wall of JANM? That show makes us look really big--larger than life in every way.

After that I was called to another case. There were 35 of us, and I was sitting in the 34th spot. I was confident that they'd find their 12 (plus alternates) before getting to me. Nope. At the end of the day, I was sitting in seat 12. I go back tomorrow.

What is interesting is that perhaps a third of the prospective jurors who are being dismissed are Asians who can't speak or understand English very well. Now every time one of us gets in line, I worry about him or her having an accent. That's totally lame, but it's true. Is there a way to screen them out before they get to this stage and are put in the spotlight? Besides slowing the process, it can't be fun for them. I am definitely not a race traitor; I just want this jury selection process to go faster so the case can get going.

One nice thing about serving jury duty in L.A. is that we are assigned parking at REDCAT. So I've been visiting friends at the gallery who are in the process of taking down the Barry McGee show. I was there for some of the installation, so this is nice closure.





I left too early to see the van get rolled over and towed away. Oh well.

I don't want to sound like a realtor trying to sell lofts, but for a day or two everything has indeed been happening downtown. Last night, my sister hooked me up with Lakers tickets. They played Seattle, who have some talent but came and left with only two wins in the fairly young season. While there wasn't much drama, Kobe still makes some ridiculous plays, and is worth the price of admission any evening. Bynum had some huge ups and a few embarrassing down moments, while Turiaf is nonstop effort and Farmar made some nice plays, too. I hope the young guys keep progressing, and (1) keep the team intact and (2) inspire PJ to keep coaching.


One more thing. It's nice to see Fisher back in a Lakers jersey. He's not the missing piece, but he is a solidifying agent. A smart guy with heart that the team needs.

I, the jury

Crap! Tomorrow morning, I report for jury duty at 7:45 a.m. Actually, I've had some pretty interesting experiences doing my civic duty. Once I was an alternate juror and another time I was actually the foreperson. (I got us out of there in two days!) The problem is that it never comes at a good time... Right now, I'm amped on getting GR52 off the ground.

Anyone going to be in Downtown L.A. tomorrow? Call me if you want to have lunch or something. Or just give me a tip on where to go. Hopefully, I'll get this over with quickly.

Area 51

Lots of stuff to be thankful this year, but sending off the GR51 proofs happens to be at the top of the list at the moment. Honestly, it got out a week later than we hoped, but there was a ton of last-minute articles, ideas, and content that we think will make it better. Oh yeah, we were figuring out the proof-printing thing, too.


In the end, the three- or four-day process shrank down to one long night. That's Eric at the Captain's Seat probably around 1:00 last night. Pryor and Wendy were there for the long haul, and so was our pal, loyal reader, and future softball team member, Brian (left). Thankful for everyone pulling together.

I'm also thankful that Canada doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, so the mag can keep moving along. We should see advance copies next week...

Now there's time for a little cleaning up before heading off to UC Irvine for our talk. Hope we have some juice left!

Some new kind of kick

The magazine deadline means long hours in front of the computer, cereal for lunch, sleep deprivation, and no exercise at all. I feel sluggish and lackluster, so I'm amped about hitting the pavement/trail around the reservoir by my home. Good timing, I just acquired some new running shoes.


Puma is best known for soccer trainers, Clydes, and Kien Lieu, but my source says that the company has been making big strides (sorry, couldn't resist) in running gear, and is actually pushing some of the tech elements.


Here, you can see some design multitasking. The straps hold your ankle down but also reflect car headlights, etc. Are those Jordan-inspired laces?


The stitching here reminds me of a baseball. There are a lot of nice touches, keeping Puma's streamlined image and applying it to a shoe that's meant to be pounded provide a lot of support, and protect your knees and arches. Check out the pieces of the heel cushion.


One more thing: This is a prototype. I have no idea what the shoe is called or if it's even out yet. I'll do another writeup after a few test rides, but I wanted to put up some pics while the shoes are still pretty.

Dawning of a new era

You've already seen our new and massive printer in Eric's blog. Tonight we're breaking it in.

The idea is that if we print our own proofs, we save time and money. These are the first pages. It seems like the longer we make the mag, the more we are able to do on our end. We started off writing and shooting pics, added layout, did some pre-press by making hi-res PDFs, and now we're printing our own proofs. Crazy.

What's next? Our own sheet-fed or web press?

But with great power comes great responsibility. The cost of saving money is learning how to do extra stuff and then having fewer people to blame if things go wrong.

So far, so good... Ideally on the readers' side, no one will be able to tell the difference.

Barry McGee speaks!

The Twister himself is giving a talk at REDCAT tonight (Tuesday). If you're not trying to get a magazine done, this is clearly the place to be for anyone in SoCal.

GR 5 MB 12

Another game, another loss. Last night, we were up 5-4 going into the bottom of the fourth (or was it fifth?) inning when the opposition raked in 8 runs. We shut them down the next inning, but couldn't generate anything but outs during our at-bats. They had nine players (and one hurt himself pretty badly by trying to get a fly ball and getting tangled up in the fence). We had ten and couldn't take advantage of the holes in their outfield.

This was our seventh loss in a row, which sucks, but what's worse is that we came close to having to forfeit due to lack of players. We had seven regulars and had to hustle for three subs. Are we going to be "that team" that signs up for the league and then doesn't show up?

Even worse than that, it doesn't look like our team is having fun. Even when we were ahead, there seemed to be an overwhelming sense of doom. Those moments have to be relished and built upon...

We still have one more round to go, so hopefully a turning point is coming soon.

Another reason not to die

Ex-Swans singer Jarboe and grindcore/metal/industrial/drone rock god Justin K. Broadrick are working on a full-length release for Spring 2008. You might be familiar with Broadrick's work in Napalm Death, Godflesh, and, most recently, Jesu. Jesu's latest EP features her on a song, and it's a standout.

Another thing. We're still plugging away at GR51. It's taking longer than we hoped, but it will be worth it. You won't want to miss that, either.

From blue to purple

No, not a bruise, but the color of your waist after you can't fasten the top button of your pants any more. Following the success of the All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion at Dodger Stadium, now there are A-Y-C-E tickets at Kings hockey games at Staples! What, no Labatt's and donuts? Anyway, I'm all over this. Who's down?

Expiration date

Death, taxes, and warranties. I just added the latter to the list of life's inevitabilities after going to the Mazda dealer this morning. I love my 2003 P5 (almost but not pictured above) and it has hardly given me any problems, but one automatic doorlock stopped working and a seatbelt no longer retracts. Of course, the warranty of safety-related parts ends at 60K. My odometer reads 63K. WTF?

How do manufacturers make things that break with such impeccable timing? That fact that the rear seatbelts are hardly ever used makes it even more impressive.

I told the dealer that I'd find a garage to do the fixes--just out of principle. Anyone know a good mechanic?

More brains!

It's deadline time at the GR editorial office, and that means there's an open call for volunteers to come in and help copy-edit and proofread. Some of you already know how this works. Give me a call if you still have my number. If not, send an email to martin[at]giantrobot.com for the scoop... We don't pay, but you will get a listing in our masthead as well as our sincere appreciation.

Listen to J Church

Mike Millett from Broken Rekids just reminded me that the Lance Hahn Memorial is on Sunday, November 11 from 6:00 - midnight at the Hemlock Tavern at 1131 Polk Street (between Post & Sutter, one block east of Van Ness Ave.). It will feature music, videos, and flyer art of J Church and Cringer. There will also be a pot-luck so feel free to bring a dish–or not.

If it weren't deadline time, I'd drive to San Francisco for it in a second. Instead, I'm working on a Lance tribute article for GR51. You might be surprised by the people who are responding but not by the fondness of their memories.

Good grief

Another game, another loss. When we stopped keeping score last night, we were down 16-4. They might have got another couple runs and so did we. It's demoralizing when I feel like I was pitching pretty high and close to the target, but they keep slugging the ball right to the holes in the outfield. So that's how it feels to be Brett Tomko.

The Giant Robot softball team has been behind the eight-ball for most of the season. We came back to win our first game and have been on a five-game skid ever since. I don't think we've earned (or unearned) more than 10 runs in any of the contests. At least we haven't been mercy ruled.

But being in last place is still where I want to be on Thursday nights. No matter how long it feels like I'm on the mound, every inning is still fun and I still love playing with the GR dudes. I just hope we have enough players to field a team for the second half of the season... That's been a challenge in itself for the last two weeks, and it's just going to get harder when the holidays hit.

A perfect day

Ever have lunch at the Blue Bayou? It's the second-nicest restaurant at Disneyland, the candle-lit tables across from the boat-loading area of the Pirates of the Caribbean. My brother, brother-in-law, and I had our birthday lunch there on Saturday. I ordered the Portobello mushroom and couscous, which wasn't cheap but quite tasty.

We were a little worried about my niece, who isn't a fan of people in costumes or the dark. Her parents dimmed the lights for dinner all week and brought little flashlights. (No, they didn't dress like pirates.) She handled it fine, although she declined to venture onto the ride itself.


Afterwards, we had cake at my parents' house and then went to JANM for the Giant Robot Biennale. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been posted by Eric, but it was definitely a high point in the existence of GR as well as one of my best evenings ever. It was an art show, but it was also kind of like a birthday (50 issues!), a wedding (catered food and a band), a high-school reunion (tons of old friends), and company Christmas party (so many stoked co-workers) as well.


I have no idea who most of the 2,700 attendees were, but it was exciting to turn and see old, new, and unexpected friends all evening. The pics I'm going to share aren't necessarily the most famous people--just some (but not all) of the GR mag crew that braved traffic and parking to share the evening with us.


Here's Ben, who not only shoots great pics for GR but is also plays (played?) in the Ray Barbee Band. Kim is his wife, and she's super cool. In the middle is my twin brother Greg, who got a lot of handshakes and hugs from people who thought I got a haircut.


Brian has been coming by the office to help out for the last few issues. He's a die-hard reader, and a snazzy dresser, too. When we have an opening, I hope to get him on the GR softball team.


Did anyone travel as far as Conroy to attend the show? The ex-member of the boy band Alive, current 24 Herbs dude, and GR homie was interviewed our last issue. He's part of Dan's GRHK posse.


There was a time when I'd see bands all the time and bump into friends. These days, I go out less often and am usually by myself. The person I see most often is ace copy-editor Hane. This year, I saw her at Morrissey and Blonde Redhead. That's her dude Nathan, who has not dragged down her rock 'n' roll lifestyle one bit.


Jack is a super-talented painter and a full-on GR guy. He even worked at the store when he moved from Philly to L.A.! Over the summer we kept saying that we'd catch some games at Dodger Stadium, but I guess we'll have to go to Kings hockey games instead.


You know how most people hate lawyers and most lawyers hate their jobs? Not Mitch. We love our lawyer and he loves his job.


I hope the other artists don't mind me putting a spotlight on Pryor. He color balances GR, and he's also an incredible photographer. It was nice that the show allowed him to show his pieces at the large scale they deserve.


Okay, here's another artist. I had to put up this picture of Saelee because she looks so glamorous in it. The drink, the flowers, the blurry background, and everything.


Finally, "small" Michelle, who handles the e-mail blasts, online art shows, and more. She's a quiet dynamo in the office, so it makes sense that she'd be shy around cameras, too.

I could go on forever about the awesome people who help make GR magazine and the incredible art show that Eric assembled in honor of our 50th issue, but I'd better stop. We're already in deadline/lockdown mode for GR51...

One more hour

Stay until the bittersweet end of GR's 50th issue art show and event at JANM (featuring the art of Sashie Masakatsu, pictured) on Saturday night. At 2:00 A.M. on Sunday, you get to set your clock back and grab an extra hour of sleep.

Carded!

Happy birthday to me.