Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Of course it’s on our Youtube page if you care to see the other videos that have recently gone up. I shot this from my seat, and after the Q and A, there’s a little extra with David Choe’s parents. Hear what mom has to say about her son. Man, I’m evil, but her answer was telling. They were proud. The dad was all smiles, and he also went to each of the three screenings. That’s a proud dad. Check out our Youtube page here. There’s some art exhibition video to see as well. Thanks much and Happy 4th.
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PHOTO REMOVED by request of the PHOTOGRAPHER.
Whoa there, that's a funny pic by Rich Schmitt. David Horvath, the Uglydoll man, wrote me to say, "you have a good head on your shoulders." This is the article that's in the Palisadian Post newspaper which I told you about before. I used to take photos for them back in 90 or maybe 91. I forgot now, and it's sort of a blur. They featured me in the...
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Whoa there, that's a funny pic by Rich Schmitt. David Horvath, the Uglydoll man, wrote me to say, "you have a good head on your shoulders." This is the article that's in the Palisadian Post newspaper which I told you about before. I used to take photos for them back in 90 or maybe 91. I forgot now, and it's sort of a blur. They featured me in the...
PHOTO REMOVED by request of the PHOTOGRAPHER. Whoa there, that’s a funny pic by Rich Schmitt. David Horvath, the Uglydoll man, wrote me to say, “you have a good head on your shoulders.” This is the article that’s in the Palisadian Post newspaper which I told you about before. I used to take photos for them back in 90 or maybe 91. I forgot now, and it’s sort of a blur. They featured me in the lifestyles section which is an honor. We’ve had articles about Giant Robot in different places including big ones like the New York Times, LA Times, LA Weekly, Orange County Register, and many others, but for some reason being featured in a local paper where I partially grew up is a great honor. I had to look up the Rick Caruso reference, I’ll have to admit, and he’s a developer in LA. If writer Michael Aushenker said, ‘Magic Johnson,’ I would have understood that one easier. One quote that stands out a bit weird is this one. ’He’s good at English,’ Nakamura says. ‘That fits my shortcomings. He’s less of a business person, but he knows how to write a magazine. And he loves film.’ I suck at English, yes, I’m Mr Verbal 400 on the SAT. Martin’s great at English. “Less of a business person” – part sounds weird, since I do know juggling finances with a baby and house remodeling takes business sense, if you didn’t have any, the baby would be bumming, but maybe “less of a business person at GR” might make a bit more sense to me. There’s quotes by Lisa Strouss, Adrian Tomine, and Bill Bear Poon! Thanks much. I also forgot to mention The Rock. Not the actor, but there was this white rock on Temescal Canyon that would be a gathering spot. Sometimes, you’d see 100 kids there at night. And the Jack in the Box part, was totally real, that’s one of the only fast food places in the area. There’s no Burger King, McDonald’s, or anything like that there and it was the only thing open late. They do advertise in GR now, and well, maybe that’s payback for those late nights of meeting up there. I talked with Michael A. for about 2 hours at a Starbucks in the center of the Palisades. He does it with no tape recorder! How do you do it?! My “stones” are too small to rock articles that way. While we sat, I saw familiar faces around from a decade ago walk by including a Palisades Post staffer who was there when I was working there. It turns out there’s a bunch who are still there. Some for well over 20 years. It’s great that a community paper is run by a community of employees. That’s amazing, and on it’s own a great story. I didn’t go to my reunions, I can’t say high school was this time that I want to remember that bad, but for this instant...
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Anonymous said:
It is also said, besides the greediness, there is a lack of trust between the Japanese-Americans. Supposedly it is a problem that stems for the internment camp experience. I hear a lot about Chinese and Korean business people who bring their money together and help new businesses out, but I don't hear about Japanese Americans doing that.
And then there is also the problem of the...
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It is also said, besides the greediness, there is a lack of trust between the Japanese-Americans. Supposedly it is a problem that stems for the internment camp experience. I hear a lot about Chinese and Korean business people who bring their money together and help new businesses out, but I don't hear about Japanese Americans doing that.
And then there is also the problem of the...
Anonymous said:It is also said, besides the greediness, there is a lack of trust between the Japanese-Americans. Supposedly it is a problem that stems for the internment camp experience. I hear a lot about Chinese and Korean business people who bring their money together and help new businesses out, but I don’t hear about Japanese Americans doing that. And then there is also the problem of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans not seeing eye to eye.The Little Tokyo Business Association was started and run by Japanese Americans, but they never invite the new Japanese businesses to their meetings. So the Japanese businesses have their own organization. Who knows, maybe the Japanese businesses wouldn’t go even if they were invited. But it is just another frustating factor, that I’m sure looks like it doesn’t make sense from the outside. At this moment, I’d have to say, I can’t necessarily blindly trust Japanese Americans either. I’m not sure if it’s prudent to blindly trust anyone, but I’d say, JA’s won’t hesitate to burn another JA. There’s nothing special about being a JA, that makes people be better to you, or not. And as far as the JA vs Japanese national, yeah, definitely there’s little going on in the handshaking. It’s two separate worlds.1:05 PM Comment said…Trying to place blame among an ethnic enclave is just plain arrogant and ignorant and smacks of elitistim. This outlook simply fails at basic business sense. They should look around. Perhaps their drop in business relates directly to the drop in the Japanese American population. From the 1990 to the 2000 census those identified themselves as Japanese dropped by 6%. That was the only Asian ethnic group to be in decline. This trend looks like it will continue as less Japanese immigration and more mixed-Japanese couples continue to grow. Another factor may be that there are more 4th and 5th generation Americans of Japanese ethnicity that view themselves as fully acclimated into American society. This demographic may see little social need nor business sense to brand themselves within an ethnic enclave. Particularly within one that is literally dying off each day. For comparison, in LA county you can look at the drop in the black population and black businesses compared to latino and asian populations and businesses. There are 50% more asians in LA than blacks and that separation is growing. Along with that growth is competition for land/businesses. This next census will also have a built-in real estate ‘fraud-bubble’ as well as soaring energy costs. In a sprawling city/county like LA how much premium was there and will there be for living closer to work? How much will this commute-cost further change ethnocentric enclaves? How much of an effect will these gas prices have on housing/businesses near our rail system? J-Town will soon have its own gold-line extension. What new opportunies will follow? I don’t how elitism comes into play, but beyond that, I agree on a lot of points there, except for the fact that I’ve...
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