World pillow fight day

I missed it, but my photographer friend Doug did not. Check out his pics of the L.A. action here.

Go Davidson!

Where the heck is Davidson and what are they doing in the Sweet 16? Actually, I did a talk at Davidson College a few years ago. It's a tiny, private, liberal-arts school in North Carolina that Woodrow Wilson attended.

The talk went pretty well, and I've actually kept in touch with one of the students, Yin, who has become an email pal. So, of course, I had to set up a bet with her in case her alma mater meets UCLA in San Antonio. If Davidson wins, I told her I'd give some paraphernalia related to her favorite HK movie star--straight from the man. If UCLA wins, I get a gnome! Yes, Davidson is not only known for being a Cinderella, but gnome sculptures.

So far, so good. Davidson is leading the Badgers by 3 in the beginning of the second half.

The freaks come out at night

Last night, I went on a 1:45 a.m. mission to CVS and Ralph's. I like to think that Silver Lake is a pretty decent neighborhood, but I encountered no one but weirdos.

* The vato who pulled electronics out of his coat and asked me, "Hey, want to buy a PSP for 20 bucks?"

* The two skinny guys buying nothing but half-off Easter candy, paying all in one-dollar bills. (Then coming back to ask about being shorted 10 cents.

* The old dude with a ponytail buying one of those roasted chickens in a foil bag, going to his car, and coming back with greasy hands to get a paper towel.

* The dirty lady with a basket full of cat food.

* Everyone else in line was buying liquor, everyone outside asking for spare change.

Me? I bought two bags of grapes, a loaf of bread, frozen juice concentrate, and a toilet plunger. You can guess which one was the emergency.

Donger fan club

So the NPR piece on 16 Candles with our critical remarks about Long Duk Dong aired today. You can hear it at this link.

Moments after it aired, we already got our first hate email in response!

"are U kidding me...how can you take a movie role so seriously? Sixteen candles makes fun of every sterotype in highschool...how have you accomplished anything in life being so ridiculously sensitive. I was molested by my biological father and have to hear stupid jokes about incest and the south everyday, but that's life folks...people are mean...learn to suck it up and stop making everything about race!"

Björk in 3D

With the new issue in the works and baby at home, I'm in double lockdown. But maybe some of you can check this out:

The Museum of Jurassic Technology and The New York Stereoscopic Society invite you to a screening of the new Ghost Robot production "Bjork's Wanderlust in 3D" directed by Encyclopedia Pictura. Filmmakers Sean Hellfritsch, Isaiah Saxon and Mark De Pace will be on hand for questions. The evening includes a 3D slide show by stereoscopic consultant Greg Dinkins offering behind-the-scenes views of the production.

Thursday, March 27th, 8:00 p.m.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The screening and discussion will take place at
The Foshay Masonic Lodge
9635 Venice Blvd
Culver City, 90232

Followed by a reception at
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
9341 Venice Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
www.mjt.org

$10 General admission
$7 Museum members, students, seniors
Seats may be purchased online at http://museumjt.stores.yahoo.net/museumevents.html

Mysterious offering

We heard some rustling outside our house this evening and this is what we found... Sort of corsages? Who did this? They smell kind of nice, though. There are lemons inside of each one! Very strange but nice.

Ochango!

Our friend Helen came over this afternoon to read article drafts/check facts/look for mistakes. GR doesn't pay volunteers, but I do try to feed them with snacks. This afternoon, Helen was introduced to Snow Pea Crisps. I'm not sure if they have those in Whittier. And to wash it down, Ochango juice. Orange, cherry, and mango all in one--that was new to me, too!

The noodle man cometh

Coming soon in Giant Robot 53...

Easy reading

Hey, baby. I like your style. (Writing style, that is.) What are you doing Saturday?

GR53 is coming together and we could use some help copy editing and proofreading. You don't have to be a pro or know how to use carats and squigglies; you just have to be able to identify poor grammar, typos, or obvious misinformation. If you find just a couple mistakes, you'll have helped immensely.

We don't pay, but sometimes we have snacks and we're always appreciative. For those of you who are packing your resumes, you're also a lock to get listed on the masthead.

If you live in around L.A. and are interested, send me an email at martin[at]giantrobot[dot]com. Those of you who have come to our assistance in the past, call my cell! After Saturday, there will be more opportunities...

Two men and a baby

When Dan and I walked into L.A. Mill with stroller today, we knew what everyone was thinking: "Oh, it's two gay guys and their adopted baby from China." Then Wendy walked in after browsing at the Yolk shop next door and ruined everything.


Eloise was well behaved in one of her first public outings. No freakouts at all, and the food was quite good. Perhaps the portions are a little on the stingy side for the price, but this place is all about presentation and atmosphere. It turned out to be a pretty good place to take a baby.


Dan left us with some gifts from Hong Kong, and Eloise got her first Adidas gear. A Superstar top and bottom set as well as some prison-issue (no laces) shell-toes with the Team China colors and logo. Fresh!

Ya sei mei

I've been hoping that Prodip or Conroy would send over a 24 Herbs skateboard deck (designed by the former for the latter's HK rap group). I can stop hassling the postal deliverer now that Dan Wu personally delivered it to Sawtelle. Our mutual pal turns out to be a pretty good mule, and I wonder how got past the rubber-glove test.


He also brought the deluxe double CD, which has Prodip's hands all over it. Our favorite HK designer has been on a real roll with the Project After Dark documentary and his work with Michael Lau. The music? It picks up where LMF left off (Kit and Phat are in it), with more hip hop than rock. Maybe a little more than half is in Cantonese, the rest in English. The group isn't afraid of catchy beats or shit talking.


Why is HK's CD packaging the best? There's so much bootlegging that they have to do stuff like include a sticker sheet, not one but two booklets, and a second CD with remixes and bonus beats. No faker is going to go through that much effort. Prodip could have gone buck wild with the design, but kept it simple and tasteful.


Listeners are invited to use the bonus beats and share their creations for potential use in a future 24 Herbs remix album project.


HK is also crazy with collabs, logos, and partnerships. Check out the GR logo placed among the the 8Five2 shop, the Know1edge clothing brand, Project After Dark, Eric Haze, and other Kowloon homies. One day they're going to come after us looking for a favor...

Not only did Dan bring over the goods, but he's putting together an article on the 24 Herbs guys for our next issue. Read about the Q&A and photo sessions on Brian "HongMotherFuckingKong" Siswojo's blog.

Chido!

Shirt by Wrecks. Bandage by the Red Cross.

When the Red Cross sends an email, I can delete it in a second. When they call and I pick up the phone, I'm a total softie. So I wound up giving blood this afternoon. Really, it's not that big of a deal since I'm pretty healthy and have nice, juicy veins. I should do it more often. But what's with the crappy snacks afterwards? They test you for high blood pressure and then give you Cheez-its, Cheese 'n Crackers, Famous Amos, and Pecan Sandies! I had a Gatorade and some nutrition bars, then grabbed a water which I wound up giving to a homeless guy when dropping off a couple bags of old clothing at a D.A.R.E. donation kiosk.

I've racking so much karma, I should really be buying Lotto tickets instead of blogging.

Brave captain

It's a discussion we've had many times at the GR office. Who are the righteous athletes? No one can argue with Muhammad Ali or Bruce Lee. Both fought The Man and went on not only to revolutionize their respective fields but also became cultural icons and influenced how people see African Americans and Asians.

The third righteous athlete is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Besides being the NBA's most prolific scorer, only six-time MVP, and originator of the unstoppable Sky Hook, the student of John Wooden, Showtime Laker, and NBA Hall-of-Famer and is also a scholar, author, and activist. Now he's a blogger for the L.A. Times, too, and his posts provide extra argument for his status as righteous. Two recent entries were about his friend, Bruce Lee, and the next President of the United States, Barack Obama.

There are other athletes in this elite class--perhaps Robinson, Koufax, or Clemente--but that's another post.

Meatout

Thursday, March 20 is the first day of spring. It's also the traditional date if the "Great American Meatout," in which supporters take carnivorous friends to vegetarian restaurants. Not a bad idea. I don't eat meat because it reduces my impact on the ecosystem/environment and is healthy. (It's not bad for the animals, either.) But part of me thinks having a day like the Meatout is contrived--as if the meatless restaurants are filling in for Hallmark on Valentine's Day.

Then again, what's wrong with getting a free meal? If you get hit up by a well-meaning friend, insist on an Asian vegetarian joint instead of a "natural" one. Say yes to the house chicken at Happy Family III in San Gabriel or soy shrimp and baby snow pea leaves at Vegetarian Wok in Monterey Park. Say no to nut loaf in West L.A (or anywhere). Meatless monks' food has hundreds of years of refinement and flavor that stinky hippies don't have.

This is the modern world, brah

In the latest GR, there's a lengthy Q&A with architect/critic/curator Dean Sakamoto about the work of Vladimir Ossipoff, who spearheaded Hawaii's modernist movement. If you've spent time in Hawaii, you've probably seen his work on the IBM building or the home by Kailua Beach, if not Punahou's floating cathedral or the Outrigger Club. I think the article does a lot to dispel the backwards Plantation style that most Hawaiian government buildings have or the cheesy facades of Waikiki, and I was proud when Sakamoto gave the piece a thumbs up. (The complementary shave ice article was well received, too.)

The exhibit on Ossipoff that Sakamoto curated at Honolulu's Academy of Arts has come and gone, but you can catch it at one of its next stops in Frankfort, Germany or Yale University. you can also buy the nice hardbound catalog, which is excerpted in the new Modernism mag, shown above. Whoa, they used our opener image as their cover!

Forest of Nice

Do you know who this dude is? Find out tomorrow when The Funky Forest: The First Contact is finally released on DVD by Viz for the U.S. market. The 2004 omnibus movie directed by Katsuhito Ishii (The Taste of Tea, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl) along with his buddies Shunichiro Miki and ANIKI is an arty and weird mix of sci-fi, slapstick, nonsense, and dance. It's not for everyone, but I'm a big fan. I'm excited that I can replace the expensive Japanese Region-2 release I bought (signed by Ishii and Miki at HIFF) and I lent out but never got back.


Yes, those are GR favorites Asano Tadanobu and Susumu Terajima flanking the chubby white kid on the box. It doesn't matter who this dude below is. What you're supposed to be looking at is the Funky Forest ringer T with the metallic but soft shield design that says "Forest of Nice" on it. Nice, indeed. (Did I mention that Ichii, Miki, and ANIKI have all been interviewed in the pages of GR mag?)


What have the three directors been up to since then? He has a feature called Yama No Anata, which opens in Japan on May 24. And then there's his "art movie as the interior" project called U-Bee coming out in June. Meanwhile, Miki's second Puchi EVA-Evangelion@School short is available online. There's also a how-to link that goes with it, as well as an interview. What ANIKI does is secret.


There's more coming up, too: Takeshi Koike's Red Line anime featuring characters by Ishii as well as original web animation from the crew at Nice Rainbow. (Thanks to Kensuke at NR for the updates--and the goods.)

GR53 update

For one issue, the GR office has been moved from Eric's garage to my house. Eric is out of town and we don't have enough articles to bring in Pryor yet, so here we are in Silver Lake. From left to right: Wendy is laying out articles on her laptop (and eating strawberry donuts brought from Donut Man by Brian). Brian is reading articles that I printed out on Friday. I'm finishing off my CD and movie reviews.

It doesn't seem like much, but it's a first. I don't think folks have ever gathered to work on GR at any location that Eric didn't sleep at!

Nate, does this mean I can write off the dining room as a business expense next year? Things go back to normal tomorrow...

LL Cool A

Word on the street is that certain women like to get drunk and look for pictures of GR shop dude/artist Aaron modeling T-shirts on the store site. So here's a sneak preview of the man and the Mountain Mountain x GR design that just arrived on Friday. It's up to you ladies to put two and two together. Just use your imagination.


Late breaking art! His pieces from the Year of the Rat show, up now at GR2.

Sleepwalk through Echo Park

Dengue Fever's Sleepwalking Through The Mekong is screening at the Echo Park Film Center tonight (Thursday, March 13th). The band members are friends of GR and their story is worth seeing on the big screen.

Just 5 bucks, and there will be a Q & A with Dengue Fever after the movie!

Echo Park Film Center
1200 N. Alvarado St. (at Sunset Blvd)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-484-8846

Project after dark

We've mentioned Prodip's documentary on UFOs before. It must finally be available since there's now an ad for it. If you look carefully at the layout, you'll see some friends of GR; Conroy Chan is on the left and Michael Lau is in the center. Were they abducted by aliens? The other info I don't know is where to buy it. That part must written in Chinese.

It's my understanding that certain copies of the HK-released DVD will include a mini Pascagoula alien figure by Prodip and Michael Lau (bottom right)!

BORIS is back

It's time to place an order with Enju at Inoxia. The band from Japan is back with cowbells, wah-wah pedals, and a statement.

7-down

Apparently CJ7 didn't do so well at the box office last weekend, and I'm wondering why. Are hard-core Stephen Chow fans holding out for import or bootleg DVDs?


Maybe the fact that it's a family flick about kids and an alien dog--and not a martial arts movie--is alienating the audiences that went to see Shaolin Soccer and Kung-Fu Hustle. Perhaps a lot of the right moviegoers are too unseasoned or young to watch a subtitled film. A guy like me--who tries to promote the best and most interesting aspects of Asian culture--gets depressed when the good stuff gets out there but fails.


CJ7 is a true crowd-pleaser, and I hope it builds up some word of mouth and buzz before it gets yanked from theaters and inevitably winds up on everyone's Netflix queue. Go see it while you can. If you're cheap, you can smuggle in your own arare and seaweed to make your hurricane popcorn.

Red Dawn

This morning, Wendy's parents came over to commemorate Eloise's 30th day of existence. The little one made it this far, so now she's legit. Time for some Old World traditions...


Wendy's mom rolled a dyed red egg over Eloise's head. Red is luck, eggs are fertility, etc.


Then some hair was shaved off. Back in the day, she would have been turned into a skinhead!


After that, there was tons of food. Chicken is a typical birthday thing. There might have been some ginger somewhere. We already did the pig's feet thing, so that was out of the way. (There were some veggies and tofu for me, too.)


Where's the little tiger hat? Is it okay for Wendy to stop bathing in secret/when her parents aren't around? How can we make these eggs last until Easter?

People, plates, and things

This morning I made a new friend. Caroline could have been a J-pop star in Tokyo but chose to toil amongst mortals in L.A. to pursue her own brand of indie electronica. I'm a fan, and it was cool to to meet her. One more perk of editing GR.


We met at his place called Romancing the Bean, a few blocks from the Media Center in Burbank. The spot has a reputation for huge, fluffy croissants and is the type of place were you can lounge--and not feel pressured to get your drink and split. Even in the morning it's dark and comfortable, and serves its drinks with a little heart dropped onto the surface. Awww... Too bad you can't see it in the pic. There aren't too many indie-sort of places like this in Burbank, and this one's all right. Free street parking, too!


This photo was taken on Friday. I did a morning interview for the next issue of GR on the other side of the Silver Lake Reservoir and then intercepted Wendy and Eloise a couple blocks away at The Coffee Table. The two ladies in my life go for walks every day, and coordinating a lunch with them was a chance for me to squeeze in some bonus time with them.


In my opinion the eatery--which also has a spot in Eagle Rock--is a bit overpriced, but the food is pretty good and the patio makes it ideal for bringing an infant. It's wide open and casual--another place where you feel welcome to just hang out. (Not so far as to offer free wireless, though.) Despite the fresh air and easygoing atmosphere, the little one started to freak out after half an hour so we had to bolt.


On Sunday, I received a surprise phone call from my friends Thy and Tadashi, who happened to be at the Cheese Store in Silver Lake and asked if they could bring over some afternoon treats. That place sells some serious gourmet fare (cheeses from all sorts of livestock as well as an amazing assortment of crackers and chocolates) and it was an offer we couldn't refuse.

It turned out to be an impromptu gathering, as our architect John came over, followed by Wendy's brother and sister-in-law. After having such great company and excellent snacks, dinner was optional. If you ever want to bring food to my house, I give it a big thumbs up. Highly recommended.

Rock 'n' Roll High School

"I don't care about history 'cause that's not where I wanna be" - Joey Ramone

This afternoon, Eric and I gave a talk at Culver City High School's after-school arts program. When we were asked, my first reaction was, "We're not artists!" But our friend's response was that we cover artists, work with artists, and inspire artists. True, so why not?

We talked about the mag, the shops, and the galleries, specifically focusing the details and anecdotes towards student who are interested in pursuing the arts. The talk was well-attended, everyone stayed awake. How did they do it when so many UC Irvine students can't even hang for a grade?


There were some pretty decent, honest questions (no one asked how much money we make), and a few of the students even had work to show Eric. Will their product ideas or work be featured in GR shops or galleries? Time will tell.

In the end, our talk was geared toward art but we tried to make it applicable to whatever a student might wind up doing. Themes of doing working with friends, due diligence, and giving a crap are universal.


We've given a lot of school talks--Harvard GSD, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Duke, Davidson, Bates, Michigan State, Mizzou, DePaul, Columbia, juvenile hall--and this was a good one. (When is Canyon High School going to ask me back?) Thanks for setting this up, Karol! Does this mean you're going to help us copy edit the upcoming issue?

Our next scheduled talk will be at UIC on April 23. See you in Chicago!

House of cards

Yesterday, my architect dropped by to meet potential contractors. I wasn't around, but when I got home this cardboard model was sitting on my dining table. I've posted pictures before, but now that the process is further along I can give you some more details. You can see that our planned renovation won't be too obvious from the street; it just peeks over the roofline.


The side view offers a better view of what's going to happen We're building out as far as we can within legal parameters. That means the additional space will be this weird, angled thing. The house has a history of various additions in different styles, so we're not worried about keeping a certain look--craftsman or bungalow, for example. In fact, we're going to accentuate the new space by using totally different materials. Probably metal.


The furthestmost section will open up into a patio that meets the existing stand-alone garage. Our lot is pretty small, so we want to utilize outdoor space if we can. As for the structure, it seems to be sized for a Model T and is full of holes. We're going to patch that up and turn it into a space for me to store toys, comics, media, posters, skate and snow gear, and other treasures. (And if there's room, a lawn mower and some gardening stuff.)


An aerial view offers a nice look at the roofline, which was partially inspired by Mazinga's spiky head. I'm serious! The square thingy in the top center is central air and heating. What you can't tell is that we're also going to do some internal work--moving some walls to add an extra bedroom and bathroom.


In the end, our house isn't going to be huge (2+2) but it will be suitable for a family of three and allow us to stay in our neighborhood forever. I'm under the impression that construction will begin in May. How long will construction take? How much will it cost? Who knows, but everyone is invited to the housewarming party when it's over.

Meet CJ7

You should have been at the free GR preview screening of CJ7 a couple weeks ago. If you were in attendance, you would have seen the excellent movie, could have picked the brains of Stephen Chow and Xu Jiao at a Q&A, and maybe even got some free stuff (like the plush, above).

If not, it opens in LA, NYC, and SF on Friday, March 7. Chow is a genius, and his movies are worth supporting and seeing on the big screen. See it again! Take your family!

LOS ANGELES
Laemmle's Sunset 5 (Hollywood)
Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex (Santa Monica)
Laemmle's Playhouse 7 (Pasadena)
Edwards Atlantic Palace 10 (Alhambra)
Edwards University Town Center 6 (Irvine)

NEW YORK CITY
AMC Empire 25 (42nd St)
AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 (Broadway)
Sunshine Cinema (Houston St)

SAN FRANCISCO
Embarcadero (San Francisco)
UA Stonestown Twin (San Francisco)
Shattuck 8 (Berkeley)
Camera 12 (San Jose)
Century 20 (Milpitas)
Century 25 (Union City)

Roll a 20-sided dice tonight

Gary Gygax, RIP.

It's not me

If you're looking for the Martin Wong Painting and Drawing Studio 2007, go no further than the Herberger College of the Arts at Arizona State University. But I have nothing to do with it. It was named in honor of the late San Francisco artist, whose foundation was run by his late father and ASU alum, Benjamin Wong Fie, and his mom Florence Wong Fie.


I met the artist and his parents and they were awesome. Not only did I spend the entire afternoon with them at their home near SFSU, but when his friend Gary showed up later on, all of us out for Chinese food. You can read the article in GR15 (Summer 1999).


Wong's art was a colorful and cool mix of San Francisco's Chinatown and New York City rubble (circa early '80s), inspired by graffiti and gay theater and populated by kissing firemen, clones of Bruce Lee, and severed hands doing sign language. His work was high end and museum quality, but very accessible. He was a predecessor to a lot of what is considered "outsider art" these days.


Martin passed away from AIDS later that year, and his dad followed. But Florence is going strong and even corresponds with me now and then--usually to let me know about the latest work by the Martin Wong Foundation. It's an uplifting end to a story that could have been tragic--she helped to raise a talented and creative son only to lose him, but carries on his legacy through scholarships for art students. (The foundation also benefits students at NYU, Wong's second home.)

I think it's time to write a letter back to her.

Only before lunch

Giant Robot editor, writer, production assistant, and janitor. To the list of my duties, you can add super model. Sometimes if I drop by the GR webstore at the right (wrong?) time, Michael will ask me to wear some gear for the online catalog.


Crap! In the close-up you can see the tag tucked into the collar area! If you bought this sweatshirt and found a hair or two in the hood, I apologize.