Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Radiation Exceeds Hiroshima. It sounds horrible and although the general feeling in Japan is to move on, this problem continues to persist. There’s not much point in repeating the digits and numbers, since how many of us know what becquerels and cesium, etc. Yet one reason why we’re not seeing the same amount of deaths so far is that the mid air explosion of the WWII bomb didn’t happen in this case. Imagine the air getting sucked out and a super heat ray melted your home. Fukushima is leaking and not exploding on people. (bnd – radiation)
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Since the March 11th earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, there have been a number of charity projects targeted specifically at raising much-needed funds and support for disaster survivors. Giant Robot has written about one of the most notable, 2:46: Aftershocks (Quakebook), and one of the newest, Kizuna: Fiction for Japan. And you are strongly encouraged to support these projects and their worthy causes by buying a copy of both Quakebook and Kizuna. Both books are quite different and remarkable. But if you want to donate to Japan disaster relief in a way that appeals to your inner (or outer) child’s love of toys, there’s another way you can help: click on over to Singapore toy company Play Imaginative’s website and buy yourself a Supporto-fu figure. Designed by Japanese toy designers Devilrobots and manufactured by Play Imaginative, Supporto-fu is a happy little four-inch figure whose message is “Little help from everyone can put smile on everyone’s face”. Supporto-fu will cost you U.S. $16 (excluding shipping), and all the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Singapore Red Cross for the 2011 Japan Disaster Relief Fund. The figure is limited to 1,000 pieces, but Play Imaginative spokesman Jacky Teo estimates around 450 of the figures remain in stock. Supporto-fu is a marvelous little toy figure (this writer’s is pictured above) that really will put a smile on your face. And he’s a must for Devilrobots fans. But the really wonderful thing about Supporto-fu is every time you look at him or play with him, you’ll know you did something to help “put smile on everyone’s face”. Play Imaginative’s Supporto-fu page, which includes figure artwork and ordering information, is here.
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The biggest thing this average-sized girl from USC wants and hopes for is a place on the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks roster. Her name is Jamie Hagiya; and if you followed American women’s college basketball a few years back, you know that this Japanese-American former point guard for USC has formidable basketball skills. And with these skill she helped the lady Trojans win three consecutive Ocean League titles, established USC records in three-point goals and assists, and helped get her team to the NCAA tournament twice. Now, after graduating college and playing for a professional women’s basketball team in Greece for a couple of years, Hagiya is back in L.A. and has her sights set on the WNBA’s Sparks. Her plan is simple and sensible: Attend the Sparks’ open try-outs next year, perform brilliantly, and earn a place on the team. What she has going for her are her top-notch roundball skills, and the considerable moral support of the Japanese-American community in L.A.What’s going against her, however, is her size. For real life, her 5-foot-4-inch frame is perfect. For WNBA basketball, it isn’t exactly ideal. In fact, her height was the primary reason the WNBA didn’t recruit Hagiya after she graduated USC. Still, no one denies that Hagiya has mad skills and a determined heart. And until the Sparks’ open try-outs next year, she continues to organize and host basketball camps for kids, passing on her love of the game and the skills she developed playing it. We will keep following her story and rooting for her to become only the second Japanese-American to play in the WNBA. Small woman, huge dreams. And that’s as American as it gets. (Rafu Shimpo – Sparks Are in Jamie Hagiya’s Eyes)
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Disappears gets a lot of run for carrying the torch of Krautrock, but there’s more to the Chicago band than that. Behind the metronome-like rhythms and droning riffs is a garage rock energy that shares the rawness of The Fall as much as the calculation of Neu! Following the release of the group’s latest EP, Guider, its original drummer quit. Then Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley stepped in not only to play the new songs live but to start a new run of deceptively repetitive sounding, absolutely addictive, and just plain ripping music. I caught up with singer, guitarist, and co-founder Brian Case and the crew toward the end of Disappears’ West Coast run with Obits. MW: I love how the newest EP is droning but succinct, brainy but not boring. Are those sorts of struggles ongoing for the band or is it pretty effortless for you guys at this point? BC: It’s taken us a while to learn how to cut the fat from our songs, so to speak, but it’s certainly not effortless yet. That said, the more time we spend writing and working together it becomes easier to see the final song. We usually start with a song crammed with a lot more than it ends up with, just play it over and over and simplify, extract. MW: One song clocks in at more than 15 minutes, but I feel like any one of the others could have just as easily been expanded upon. Why “Revisiting”? BC: “Revisiting” was the one song that we hadn’t been playing before we recorded. I think we only played it once, and it was pretty conceptual from the beginning. We wanted to have one side of the album be this piece or whatever–just try and stretch it out and see what happens. It turned out great. We used the first take, and I think we really captured something. MW: There must be a greater appreciation for playing and touring after a band faces a possible demise. Is there a sense of mortality? A feeling of a second chance? BC: I’ve been in lots of bands. They could end at any moment for any reason, no matter how good or bad things are going. Actually, the last two bands I was in stopped playing when things were going as good as ever! So there’s no sense of mortality or second chance; you just play and hope that people can get along and appreciate the hard work and sacrifices that everyone is making to be a part of something together. MW: Now that Steve Shelley is in the band, would you say that there are more fans wearing Sonic Youth T-shirts at Disappears shows or ones wearing Crucifucks T-shirts at Sonic Youth shows? (You might have to ask Steve about this.) BC: Ha ha, I’d have to ask Steve if Crucifucks ever even made shirts! There are definitely people checking out the band based on Steve’s involvement, but most of them seem to be leaving...
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Frontiers are hard to come by, especially one that looks to be something akin to a Gold Rush. Cinema in China might be one such frontier. Imagine, people are looking for a billion idle eyes who want to see something great. Brad Pitt? Leonardo DiCaprio? An extra billion possible dollars? The ticket sales have gone up, and it’s obvious it’s either, get in or not. This is just another article trying to push this idea forward. It’s not successful yet, but people are trying. Wayne Wang’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was one such experiment. Hugh Jackman was in this and it’s a Chinese movie that’s (and check out these abbreviations! A) made by An American Born Chinese, B. Backed by Hollywood, but C. Made in China. It’s like a triangle of effort. A, B and C. Wayne Wang (L) being filmed by Director Sheldon Candis (R) Here’s an LA Times article – Red China Wayne Wang talks a little about the Film at Huffington – Wayne.
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