Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Earthquakes in China happen, and the results are usually swept under a rug. China is nearly the same size as the US which means a huge vast land especially away from the coasts, but what happens when a disaster happens in a poor zone? Death, bad services, no help, which then translates to less news and for those who live elsewhere? It’s a disaster that’s forgotten or overlooked when meshed with “our” own problems. We hope the survivors can get past this without our attention. (Buzzfeed – Earthquake)
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14th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival – Asian Showcase! All on April 29th. The Asian Showcase will feature the Regional Premieres of Key of Life as the Japanese Spotlight, A Werewolf Boy as the Korean Spotlight, and One Mile Above as the Chinese Spotlight. Key of Life is a highly comedic tale of a down-and-out actor who decides to take over someone else’s life — only to find himself filling the shoes of an elite assassin. The mega-blockbuster from Korea, A Werewolf Boy, follows an elderly South Korean woman as she reflects on the time when her family took in a feral boy whose fierce loyalty resulted in a painful sacrifice. The film stars, Song Joong-Ki, Park Bo-young, and Yoo Yeon-seok. The multi-award winning film, One Mile Above, is the inspiring and true tale of a young man who picks up his late brother’s challenge of cycling to the highest point in Tibet. The emotional power of the film is matched by the stunning beauty of the Tibetan landscape. 7:15 p.m. – Key of Life (Kagi-Dorobo no Method) (2012, Japan, 128 min) 7:30 p.m. – A Werewolf Boy (Neuk-dae-so-nyeon) (2012, Korea, 122 min) 8:00 p.m. – One Mile Above (Kora) (2012, China, 90 min) 10:00 p.m. – Post Screening Gala (Fashion Island, Newport Beach)
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I have waited and waited and waited for this one to come up. I didn’t want to be the one who brought up this guy from the tombs of baseball. But it’s not the tombs. Sean Ochinko isn’t the guy I remembered as a kid and giggled when his name came up. Ochinko is in the minors, currently. Who was I thinking about? Let’s back to why I’m giggling. Chinko means penis and Ochinko I suppose is the honorific of penis. So in the end, this guy’s uniform is a joke in Japan. Years ago, another similar name stood firm. Bob! Bob Owchinko with the “w”. Owchinko. I remember laughing every time an announcer would mention his name. “It’s Bob Dick pitching!” He played a 10 year career that remained fairly unremarkable, but he did carry that familiar name. Meanwhile, check out Kotaku‘s article that pokes more fun at meanings of foreign names in Japanese.
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The Wall Street Journal’s Japan Realtime reports on an interesting show at London’s Wellcome Collection, “Souzou: Outsider Art from Japan”. The venue is intriguing – a home for the collection of a wealthy pharmaceutical magnate who traveled the world and collected art and objects related to medicine – an interesting residence for this particular group show. The artists are all disabled beneficiaries of Japan’s social welfare program, Haretari Kumottari, which is engaged in the arts as a means of self-expression for marginalized members of society. Over 300 pieces represent the work of “disabled” people with no formal training in the arts, but an uncanny knack for creativity and imaginative expression. They look like a pretty capable bunch to me. The show is being blogged about, featured in international media, and perhaps raises the aesthetic bar for some people who thought Outsider Art was just scrap metal welded into zoo animals by people who’d never been to a zoo. Now it’s also Gundam mecha made out of shiny twist ties! It definitely looks like a show worth checking out if you’re in London. It runs through June 30th, with free guided tours, and a ton of educational events tied in. We’re not really fans of the label “Outsider Art”, but it’s not going away as long as it still appeals to the mainstream art market that relies heavily on “Insider” art existing. The WSJ article seems a bit behind the times on the rise of the Japanese art world beyond what makes it to MoMA, but they still get kudos for spotlighting Souzou. The work being shared from this show brought me back to 2006, when Eric was invited to be a juror for Takashi Murakami’s GESAI art festival. GESAI has been pivotal in opening up the Japanese art world to more than just the juggernauts, and creating access and exposure for its “outsiders”. I was lucky enough to go in 2008, and was completely blown away by the wall to wall magic. Every other exhibit booth had work that felt completely original, earnest and gallery-worthy. It felt like home, and we all came back from that trip re-energized and enthusiastic about what supporting artists meant to all of us. I love when art can do that, when it can create (sometimes inadvertently) a world that you feel a part of. I’m not sure the Souzou artists would want us all up in their heads, but I thank them for sharing these pieces which brought me back to a very special experience, and a reminder of how powerful creative expression can be.
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Kowloon Walled City. It’s remembered again. It’s a shame it was destroyed!? Imagine thousands living on top of each other in a place that was built upon itself. Just the illustration is amazing. In a past GR issue, we interviewed Greg Girard the photographer of this crazy building and dreamed that we walked through the place. (Gizmodo – Kowloon)
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