Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Tommy Lee Jones in a Suntory Commercial. If you don’t know about his other career away from Men In Black, he’s also a pitch man for Boss Coffee and a well known face who adorns vending machines. He plays the role of an alien who landed in Japan and the commercials show is adaptation to Japanese culture. He’s quite awesome. The photo below is great example of how his face is plastered everywhere and he’s important enough to sing Sukiyaki in Japanese. [youtube]p8ZA3IvZnCo[/youtube]
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Japanese Martial Arts commercial for gum. The ending is the best. “Shacho” means “company president”. Thanks Nao Harada for the link. [youtube]67lOqrjjkEY[/youtube]
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It’s bittersweet since the penguin looks healthy after two months of freedom in a crowded Tokyo Bay. Sometimes, the stupidest thing like a penguin thriving against the odds and not needed any human help is a great story in itself. Now, the Tokyo Aquarium has a new feature and it cost them nothing. Yeah that’s the business thinking in gear already. (CNN – Tokyo Penguin)
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TONGUE AND GROOVE AUTHOR READINGS FRIDAY, MAY 25, 8PM In celebration of National Asian American/Pacific Islanders Heritage month, Conrad Romo’s Tongue and Groove Series will make an appearance at Giant Robot 2 featuring Frannie Choi, Chiwan Choi, Ed Lin, Traci Kato Kiriyama and others bios Chiwan Choi is a writer, editor, teacher, and publisher Abductions is his second book of poetry. Ed Lin is the author of Waylaid,This Is a Bust and Snakes Can’t Run. Lin, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. The native New Yorker’s latest book is One Red Bastard, by Minotaur. He’ll be available to sign copies. Traci Akemi Kato-Kiriyama is the creator/ producer of Tuesday Night Café in Japan Town. She is a writer, performing artist, educator and grassroots organizer. Franny Choi was a finalist at two of the three most prestigious poetry slams in the country: the National Poetry Slam and the Women of the World Poetry Slam. She was awarded Best Female Poet and Most Innovative at the 2011 Wade-Lewis Poetry Slam Invitational, and her team was specially recognized for Pushing the Art Forward at the 2011 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational. She was also the top-ranking female poet at the 2011 Southern Fried Poetry Slam and the champion of 2010 Seoul Poetry Slam. GAME OVER VIDEO GAME CULTURE ART EXHIBITION JUNE 2 – JUNE 27, 2012 RECEPTION: SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 6:30-10PM Artists include: Aaron Brown, Albert Reyes, Alex Chiu, Ana Serrano, Andrice Arp, Aska Iida, Bradford Lynn, Brian Luong, Bryan Wong, Bubi Au Yeung, Cam Floyd, Carlos Donjuan, Christopher Chan, Cory Schmitz, David Horvath, Devin McGrath, Elizabeth Ito, Elliot Brown, Eric Broers, Erin Althea, Gabe Gonzales, Gary Musgrave, Grant Reynolds, Heidi Woan, James Chong, James Kochalka, Jarrett Quon, Jay Horinouchi, Jeni Yang, Jeremiah La Torre, Jeremy Tinder, Jeremyville, Jeromy Velasco, Jesse Balmer, Jesse Fillingham, Jesse LeDoux, Jesse Moynihan, Jesse Reklaw, Jesse Tise, Jiyoung Moon, John Lau, Kerry Horvath, Kevin Luong, Kio Griffith, Kwanchai Moriya, Lawrence Yang, Linda Kim, Louise Chen, Luke Chueh, Luke Rook, Maiko Kanno, Mare Odomo, Mari Inukai, Mark Ingram, Martin Hsu, Matt Furie, Meatbun, Miso, Nick Arciaga, Patrick Kyle, Peter Kato, Philip Koscak, Renee French, Sana Park, Sara Saedi, Sarah Lee, Sean Chao, Shawn Cheng, Shiho Nakaza, Shihori Nakayama, Sidney Pink, Silvio Porretta, Stasia Burrington, Stephanie Kubo, Theo Ellsworth, Tru Nguyen, Yejin Oh, Yoskay Yamamoto, Yumi Sakugawa and more. Also there will be playable indie games including the works of programmers Beau Blythe and Shelby Cinca who are creating a game with Sean Chao and Jeni Yang. It’ll be a welcome back to ArtxGames series. ED LIN – ONE RED BASTARD * SIGNED COPY * Fresh from the writing workshop at GR2. Signed by Ed Lin himself! GAMA-GO BITE ME BOTTLE OPENER This stainless steel vampire teeth bottle opener is sure to allow you to quench your insatiable thirst. GAMA-GO PEACOCK TREE T-SHIRT This peacock has many friends because his feathers are...
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(Art by spoon+fork.) Chuck worked out a deal for me and they released me to my overheated apartment. The first thing I did was go into the bathroom and feed my fish. I had been gone almost a week and was mildly worried I’d find him floating at the top. He seemed hungry but normal. I ran the water in the tub as I watched him eat. I turned the fish food can over in my hand and read it for the first time. I was shocked to see that the top ingredient was “fish meal.” I knew fish in the ocean ate each other, but I thought tame fish were too civilized to do the same. Would goldfish eat the flakes if they knew what was in them? When the water was high enough, I undressed and got into the tub. The reason I couldn’t eat the veal sandwich, and why I felt a little sick seeing Mr. Johnson eat it, was that my fourth-grade teacher Ms. Daley showed us some pictures from a veal farm. She had pictures of cramped stalls with no windows and said veal was the meat of baby cows who were fed very little and had their legs chained or broken so they couldn’t develop muscle and their meat stayed white and tender. She also had a picture of a dumpster that looked like it was filled with Corn Pops cereal. But when you looked close, you saw that it was a pile of dead baby chickens. The male chicks were thrown in the garbage and suffocated soon after they were born because they wouldn’t grow up to give as much meat as female chicks. About once a week, she’d give us another reason to be a vegetarian. Some kids were throwing their bologna sandwiches in the trash. Then one day, instead of telling us about how bad our food was, she gave us all copies of “The Corduroy Road.” After that, lunchmeat was okay again. It hadn’t been a problem for me because I only had peanut butter, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mrs. Daley went on quietly drinking a can of V8 with nuts and dried fruits on the side. She didn’t even say anything when the boy in the back killed his first deer and brought in some venison for the whole class to try. I remembered that the meat was tough and tasted like sweat. After a while the water in the tub grew cold and filmy. I had to piss so I climbed out. I lay in bed naked for a while. I wasn’t sure what to do. It was going to be some time before the trial and my big show. Until then I had to fight the urge to go to the hotel. Mrs. Aggarwal wasn’t there anymore, but I wanted to walk around on the motel roof again. We had had some good times together and it wasn’t just the pot, either. I had never...
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