Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

I’ll be in NYC for a day or so to talk to whoever shows up on this panel discussion. It’s about stuff I like, Toys! The Korea Society950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, Eighth Floor Please join us for a lively talk on Korean toys and their fascinating origins in the interplay between Korean, Japanese and American pop cultures. This panel is presented in conjunction with our current traveling exhibition, Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood. Panelists:Joshua Bernard, editor, CollectionDX.comEric Nakamura, publisher, Giant Robot MagazineJoanne Rudis, design director, Fisher Price/MattelSeho Kim, creative director, The Korea Society $10 (members) and $15 (non-members)Buy tickets online or RSVP to (212)759-7525, ext. 355 email. About the Panelists Joshua Bernard, editor, CollectionDX.comAs a child of the ’70s, Joshua Bernard was raised on Shogun Warriors, Speed Racer, Starblazers, Voltron and George Lucas. His obsession for Japanese toys and culture was the impetus behind CollectionDX.com, his popular Web site for toy collecting. Joshua collects Korean and Japanese toys, has written for Super7 magazine and co-authored the book Tokyo Underground: Toy Design and Culture in Tokyo. Eric Nakamura, publisher, Giant RobotAfter graduating from UCLA with a degree in East Asian Studies, Eric got his start in the magazine business at Larry Flynt Publications. He is currently the publisher of Giant Robot, a magazine and Web site dedicated to Asian American pop culture. Eric has also produced the independent film Sunsets, shot photos for punk rock bands and designed t-shirts. Joanne Rudis, design director, Fisher Price/MattelA 1993 graduate of FIT’s toy design program, Joanne Rudis began her career in Chicago at Strombecker (Tootsietoys). From 1993 to 1995, she designed Sesame Street wood toys, die-cast metal toys and Disney bubble toys for Strombecker. In 1995, she moved to Rhode Island to work for Playskool, the preschool division of Hasbro, where she focused on their Dollhouse line. Rudis joined Fisher Price in 1997. She is currently the design director for the Disney licenses at Fisher Price. Seho Kim, Creative Director, The Korea SocietyKim received his BFA degree from Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from Parsons School of Design/New School University, where he was the 2003 commencement speaker. He is the winner of the 2006 Spotlight Award, the 2006 American Design Award and the 2005/2006 Magellan Award for excellence in communications in design. He was worked on projects for W Hotels and The Store, and illustrated Go for Kids, a multi-paneled children’s book published in 2001.
Continue reading
Asia Institute got us in to speak today. It started off with a Thai to go lunch and a bunch of questions from the many students who are part of the Asia Pacific Arts and Asia Media web publications out of UCLA. Many have titles, some are interns, but they asked a bunch of questions relating to magazine making. I was challenging myself to remember a whole room of people. That's William with the...
Continue reading
Asia Institute got us in to speak today. It started off with a Thai to go lunch and a bunch of questions from the many students who are part of the Asia Pacific Arts and Asia Media web publications out of UCLA. Many have titles, some are interns, but they asked a bunch of questions relating to magazine making. I was challenging myself to remember a whole room of people. That’s William with the glasses, the woman on the right is Debbie, but the names started to fade away. Check out all of their links, including the Asia Institute. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/ This is what the talk looked like. Behind the project sat Tritia Toyota who’s a newscaster in LA. I assume she’s still active doing a lot of projects and she took a lot of notes during our talk. Why? I have no idea. She probably didn’t realize it, but I’m a long time fan and I watched her broadcast often. I remember her best on NBC. Check out the video below, it’s old, but her cadence is perfect and her hair amazing. A touch of blush and a more natural make up style made her better than the rest. In a way, I think she was the true prototype of the Asian American woman anchor. Connie Chung was a big name, but her style was over the top. A fun fact is that punk band, The Dickies, recorded a song called, “I’m Stuck in a Pagoda with Tricia Toyota” They spelled her name different, who knows why. I wonder what she thinks of the song? Had I got to speak with her, that would have been my first question.  The talk went well, and it was supposed to include a little about finding a job that’s untraditional. I think we did a fair job in showing how it is. The weird thing is that the event took place in the faculty lounge, even as a student, I never got to go inside. Now, I get to see what it’s all about. 
Continue reading
Walking around downtown Chicago, I couldn't help but notice this theater. I'm not offended or anything like that, if anything, I'm a bit nostalgic since I know this was created in an era when Oriental was a word, when Oriental could have been a rug, and if you look at the top of the sign, it looks like a genie's hat or a Taj Mahal. Ford makes it way at the bottom of the sign as well, which looks...
Continue reading
Walking around downtown Chicago, I couldn’t help but notice this theater. I’m not offended or anything like that, if anything, I’m a bit nostalgic since I know this was created in an era when Oriental was a word, when Oriental could have been a rug, and if you look at the top of the sign, it looks like a genie’s hat or a Taj Mahal. Ford makes it way at the bottom of the sign as well, which looks unfitting. I wonder, why does the McDonald’s have a green “L”? At the UIC men’s bathroom, I saw this sign again. I’ve blogged it once before. But this one had some additional lines added in implying, put finger in butt, and you get bacon. It makes strange sense, but it’s creative. This was in NYC. I’ve seen this before, but it’s funny to see a tag added to the “street art”. I guess I like street art when it’s neat like this.  Remember Ming Tran? Vegan Supreme Marshmallows? The song by Gob, Hookups ads, or the video below?  She’s in NY and might be piloting a plane you travel in. Yes, she flies now.
Continue reading