Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
I like handmade things, and quilts are amazing when done well. I saw one of these quilts at the antique shop in North Adams. Both sides, hand embroidered, with imagery that looked like pure folk decoration, and not that pricey for something that's getting towards 100 years old. I pictured the person being an artist. If anyone made work that looked like this today, they'd be a hero. The date said 1928 at the top. But after folding it open, there it was! It said KKK.
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Friday evening's talk at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena turned out to be pretty cool. Maybe it's because I was already familiar with my co-presenter, Arthur Dong, who I shared the billing with on the venue's monthly Active Cultures program. Or maybe it's because there wasn't much pressure since a December event should have been pretty empty, right? Well, Arthur had a multimedia extravaganza putting the spotlight on his most recent documentaries. And the room filled up until it was fairly packed. No, high expectations and a good turnout do not suck. (Below: Not a rabid audience member but Pacific Asia Museum's Curator of Education/AV crew Amelia Chapman.)
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My year of rad weddings came to a conclusion on Saturday in Laguna Beach, where my friend and GR58 cover artist Stella Lai got married to Janak Dudakia. We knew it was going to be amazing when the two dropped off a punjabi for Eloise to wear a couple weeks ago. Cool and cute. After that, we knew we'd have to get a sari for Wendy as well. One of the first people we saw was our friend/supreme stylist Thy Mai, who met Stella at the GR Biennale 2 closing party and has gone on to become good friends with her. Naturally, she helped out with Stella's look. (We also saw Thy's dude/rad skater Tad Suzuki, artist seen in GR/ace curator Gina Osterloh, gallerist Danielle Laverty, and Ted and Angie from Poketo.) Stella's entrance from the rear stairs to the temple's front was unreal–like something out of a movie. She could have walked out of one of her own paintings, and her family from Hong Kong must have had their minds blown. The ceremony was traditional Hindu, consisting of seven marriage rites, and the modestly ornate room became more and more packed as they went on. It was obvious that Janak's parents are viewed in super high regard by the locals. After the ceremony, we managed to grab a few moments with Janak and Stella and had to take a picture. They don't usually dress like this. After the delicious meal, Wendy, Eloise, and I went to the beach and walked around. What a surreal and beautiful day that Stella and Janak will never forget and neither will we. Did I mention that Eloise really got into the Indian style and even busted out some Bollywood moves?
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Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
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Jack's founded in 1918. Amazing hot dogs. Well, pretty good, and only .95 each. The chili dogs 1.60. The place is old school, has about 12 seats, and they steam their buns. It's a great sight and good feeling to be in such an old school establishment. It has the feel of a place that's local, but also welcoming. I saw an older couple both eating two burgers each. They're small, and the food is meant to be eaten in quantity. I like the fact that they don't have either lettuce or tomatoes. If you go there, you'll see their system of work, and it's down to a science. They have contests and last month someone ate 26. The second place, a mere 13. See the website, the old photos are charming. They grill them right in front of the window and they make burgers too, which are just as low priced.
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