Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Although it’s challenging to say that anything at Coachella could be considered ground breaking (especially considering this year’s lineups of reunions vs. new discoveries) it seems that Hologram Tupac may have led the way for the future of K-pop. The Korea Times reports that SM Entertainment, home to some of today’s most popular idol groups, are seriously considering investing in holographic theatres that would offer “concerts” of their top acts. As their story points out, they had to use a hologram Tupac at Coachella, because he’s DEAD. According to The Korea Times, SM Entertainment has been wanting to do this for a while, and after they pulled off a successful holographic Girls Generation concert, their passion for 1980s futurism was re-ignited. Just imagine how AWESOME it would be to be able to pay to go to a holographic concert, watch the whole thing through your Galaxy s3 screen (wriggling through the crowd of people in front of you with their giant phones blocking your view) while you record the show to post on your tumblr on the subway ride back home to your parents house. The future is bright for groups like Girls Generation and steady hitter, BoA. At least they get to have boyfriends and be “themselves” in real life, unlike their J-pop counterparts, AKB48. GR Familia, Anne Ishii wrote a brilliant piece about the weirdness of AKB48′s idol reality. It’s like K-pop is Jem and the Holograms, and J-pop is the Misfits – seriously, like with the evil manager, and the orphanage, and the holograms, and the Misfits always having hard times but better outfits… Everything we thought was only a cartoon futuristic techno fantasy is our now.
Continue reading
The Japanese whaling industry is dying, but the government is still spending millions to keep it alive. It’s getting a renewed financial boost now. Where is the money coming from? Taxpayer dollars and funds earmarked for tsunami disaster relief. Despite a decline in the demand for whale meat, nearly 30 years of a moratorium on commercial whaling, a Japanese public ambivalent to keeping the industry afloat, and international pressure to abandon the program, conservatives in government continue to shovel money into its gaping mouth. The Guardian reports on it, as there’s been increased concern about the government subsidy as the Japanese economy works to recover from the financial crisis topped with the fallout from March 2011. In an interview with Australian media, Masayuki Komatsu – the man who engineered the “research” program that kept the Japanese whaling fleet in business after the 1986 moratorium on commercial catches – says it’s time for an end to the subsidy. C’mon Japanese people, get mad and put an end to it.
Continue reading
There are Tiger Moms and Dragon Dads, and then there are just guys who shouldn’t be allowed to raise kids, like this guy, Mr. Yoo of Seoul, Korea. The Korea Times reports that he was waterboarding his kid for having bad penmanship, but it sounds like Dad tried to drown his 9 year old son, after beating him didn’t seem to get the message across. Another Mr. Yoo approved of waterboarding back in 2001. John Yoo, of the Department of Justice during the Bush Administration, was one of the authors of the “Torture Memos” giving the green light for waterboarding and more at Guantanamo. Not all Asian Americans in government are awesome. Big hugs to Korean kids who get half-drowned by bad dads, and to the detainees at Guantanamo. These guys are giving the Yoo Clan a bad name.
Continue reading
Top Five from January 2013 1 Oshogatsu Osecchi – January 1st, the best day of the year. It’s when our family gets together and hangs out all day. It starts early and proceeds throughout the day. It’s a pretty food fest and it’s like every holiday put together into one. Photos 2 Jawbreaker drummer Adam Pfahler‘s Talk at GR2. January 5th. We’ll have to try and do more of these. Hosting a retro talk about a beloved band was simple to put on, but fun to hear. Seeing the fans and friend line up to meet Adam afterwards was even better. [youtube]8aBdk6Grbyc[/youtube] 3 LA Times Calendar Section front page article. January 17th. An honor to be featured on the first column on the front page of the Calendar Section of the LA Times with such a long and bright article. Thanks to writer Deborah Vankin. (Link to Article) 4 JANM ends. Yes, it was that time. Jan 20th, 2013, the day the GR Biennale 3 ended. It’s hard to summarize an exhibition that lasted 4 months, but it’s all about thank your to all who helped, participated, JANM, and anyone who visited or even peered online. 5 Shooting video again. Back to messing around with production. I’ll show you later. Thanks to my old bud, Anthony Batt. (Thanks Martin for the idea!)
Continue reading
In the old print magazine, Eric and I used to give our Top 10s about everything that we had been checking out or into during the production of each issue. The lists could be random, ranging from what was on Eric’s thoughts on business to me being a new parent, with art, music, cinema, and other things in between. This was always done at the last minute, and it turned out to be one of the magazine’s most popular sections. It allowed readers to get to know our personal interests, habits, and happenings and, in turn, get to know us pretty well–even more than the articles which were pretty transparent anyway. On the same page, we’d ask friends and contributors to provide more highly edited Top 5s within a specific theme (favorite vegetarian restaurants, must-have art supplies, best starting five basketball players, etc.).
This is kind of in-between the self-indulgent Top 10s and the tighter Top 5s, mixed with music reviews.