Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
I got this book today. It tells the story of Sawtelle from a few people’s points of view. That sounds ominous, but it’s certainly not the whole story, since I recall Latinos living in the area as well. Gangs? SOTEL13? But as a Japanese American story, it’s fun to check out. As a lot of you might know, I like the Sawtelle area. I enjoy it from way back when, I also enjoy it for the changes that are happening today. I’m part of that. GR is part of that. So it’s important. Jack Fujimoto, is the fella who put this together, and he’s a local “community” person. I recognize him, but never met him. I’ve seen his photo at the Japanese school I attended way back. He’s part of the “old” neighborhood. This photo is funny, since I was a kid eating the donut on the string. See how far back I go with donuts? I’m not in this pic, but I’ve played this game when I was little. Maybe that’s why I buy a lot of donuts, when I get the chance. I had to eat my donuts on a string, in a hurry, and just one! Check this dudes out. Who are they? What did they do? Check out their hair styles. That’s a pool table they’re leaning on. Where was that? It’s cool they’re fairly young, and all hanging out together. Do people in the area still do this? Where do they do it? What do they do? The “men of Sawtelle” from way back are sort of the folks who built the area up. It’s different today, you won’t get a solid crew like this. The guy with the smoke in his mouth, he’s the Joe Pesci. Starts battles but then pulls out a weapon. The mysterious dude who’s partially cut off with the glasses, he’s the hitman. Front right is the playboy. The dude on left is the party man. “Hey bro, I just drank 8 Kirins! I’m drunk.” Far left standing, the muscle of the group, sizing up how to break drunk guy’s neck. Who are the rest of the dudes? I was having some fun with the book, checking it out, seeing how it leaves GR out completely, as if we didn’t help the area, but oh well, but it does include a few folks I do know. The photo above is amazing. Not that amazing to everyone, but for me. The woman with the black hair fourth from left in the front, is my grandmother. Yeah, I guess at 80+ in this photo, she dyed her hair. This photo was a special dinner for folks over 80. I don’t know when it was photographed, or by who, or when this happened, but since my grandmother passed away a decade or more ago, it’s nice to see her in this book – curing any omissions from the story of Sawtelle for the minute. I guess it’s up to “us” to write the...
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The other day, while watching a Hawaii game and seeing fans do the SHAKA, we tried to imitate it. My mother was doing it and telling me that it made her hand hurt. Her pinky could quite stick out right. Then I started doing it, and realized, I couldn't do it either. See how the pinky sticks out? This hurts and it's not done right.
See how the pinky won't stick up right? It should be sticking out...
The other day, while watching a Hawaii game and seeing fans do the SHAKA, we tried to imitate it. My mother was doing it and telling me that it made her hand hurt. Her pinky could quite stick out right. Then I started doing it, and realized, I couldn’t do it either. See how the pinky sticks out? This hurts and it’s not done right. See how the pinky won’t stick up right? It should be sticking out better or up higher. I should be a hand model, right? Cousin Jason who should be the mayor of Waikiki looked alarmed with his plate of New Year’s food in front of him. “No. You’re doing it wrong! People always think your hands are all tight. You’re supposed to do it relaxed, like this.” Jason demonstrated it, super loose. Your hand isn’t supposed to close at all, and it’s super lazy and loose, as in “hang loose bra”. I guess Hawaii is a laid back place. People don’t have too many cares in the world, right? Crackseed, poi, and sumo. So a tight SHAKA is completely not necessary.
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Tons of boxes, this is our storage space. What's in them? Book distro, some back issues, old paper work, receipts, and spiders! The best thing about seeing the spiders is I'll know that my stock is protected from little critters. Gladly, I don't have to go out there too often, but it always feel good to see this spot. The converse is that ideally, it should be empty, which means, it's all in other...
Tons of boxes, this is our storage space. What’s in them? Book distro, some back issues, old paper work, receipts, and spiders! The best thing about seeing the spiders is I’ll know that my stock is protected from little critters. Gladly, I don’t have to go out there too often, but it always feel good to see this spot. The converse is that ideally, it should be empty, which means, it’s all in other people’s hands. On the way to or from the space, I stop at SHAKAS. I’ve been back from Hawaii for a while, but with that clear memory in tact, it’s nice to have Hawaiian food in LA. But why is it that Hawaiian food isn’t really “hot”? It tastes good, and you’d think it would be more popular that a Yoshinoya Beef bowl, but it’s not. How many Hawaiian food besides Islands, can you name? Mochiko chicken, sesame chicken, hulihuli chicken, chili rice, saimin, it’s all there. But again, why aren’t they more common? Is it too fatty? A lot of Hawaiian food is based on size and quantity, and savory flavors. Is it just weird, since Hawaii is a state with it’s own cuisine. As in, “let’s go to Nevadan Food!” and it’s buffet, or “let’s have some Idahoan food!” and it’s potatoes. Maybe they need another name besides, “Hawaiian food”. What else could it be? “Island food?” Either way, even if it’s not popular, I like Hawaiian food and wish I could have it more often. Maybe it’ll take Colt Brennan to win the Heisman, and Hawaii to take the Sugar Bowl to make Hawaii just a little more known. Check out this fan site / business. I do hope Hawaii wins the Sugar Bowl on January 1. In lieu of Christmas gifts, that’s what I want. Back to Shaka’s. Here’s their shave ice. On par with Hawaiian shave ice, since I hear they use the same machine as Matsumoto’s – as you saw in some blog photos past. The Hawaiian syrups make this really good. Strawberry and passion fruit are probably among the best flavors.
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