Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Talking at a the University of Illinois Chicago, which is a state school that’s supposedly not among the better institutions, it was a a great chance to talk to the people-the regular kids-which is pretty much how I got my education. 1) The school is 25% Asian, and even with that, there’s no Asian American studies as a major. There’s a student Asian American office, but it ends there. One office, and 25% of the campus who’s Asian. It doesn’t compute, does it? The majority is probably 1.5 generation, which is maybe why it’s splintered. 2) We talked for about 40 minutes to a decent amount of people, and then answered questions, then it became an impromptu signing session. Usually people just gather and take, but in Chicago, they lined up orderly. 3) The best part of talking to schools is that the kids who aren’t forced to come, really listen as compared to talking at a class where people just don’t care. 4) Another good part about doing it out of town is that these are all new folks who are just finding out about the magazine. Hopefully, they’ll stick around. 5) The good thing is that we got to eat Greek food for dinner. The future of Asian America? I’m not sure, it’s always cloudy, but today, I think we talked good game.
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Inspection time. This is a preview shot of the new poster for Shipping News. The artwork is always by Jay if he's printing it, and it features a multicolored, geometric abstraction image that's more fine art than ever. He's using gradients and they come out perfect with a nice transition of color. Jay's an amazing artist from Chicago and it was great to see his studio. 
Jay is sort of an eco dude....
Inspection time. This is a preview shot of the new poster for Shipping News. The artwork is always by Jay if he’s printing it, and it features a multicolored, geometric abstraction image that’s more fine art than ever. He’s using gradients and they come out perfect with a nice transition of color. Jay’s an amazing artist from Chicago and it was great to see his studio. Jay is sort of an eco dude. He’s growing sprouts outside the studio door. That’s Tim Hugh who runs the Asian film fest in Chicago. Jay in his front room where the magic begins.
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Baby back Ribs. If you think of that Chili's song, that's a heartbreaker and maybe a dealbreaker. Refrain please. Instead, grab a pile of wetnaps, get your all you can handle Fanta Orange and get ready to rumble. These are the St Louis style, and the ribs break apart easily, and the flavor is both juicy and meaty with a bounty of taste. It's not heavy on the sauce when it shows up, and their BBQ...
Baby back Ribs. If you think of that Chili’s song, that’s a heartbreaker and maybe a dealbreaker. Refrain please. Instead, grab a pile of wetnaps, get your all you can handle Fanta Orange and get ready to rumble. These are the St Louis style, and the ribs break apart easily, and the flavor is both juicy and meaty with a bounty of taste. It’s not heavy on the sauce when it shows up, and their BBQ sauce works great on everything including fries. See the forks? You don’t need them for the main features. Brisket sandwich. The bread alone works with the sauce. It’s sort of like eating Unagi, you can put the sauce on anything, and it’ll taste good. But the brisket is tender and breaks down in your mouth. This a soft sandwich, and the thick bread isn’t too heavy, and compliments the meat. I found myself pouring a tiny bit more of the BBQ sauce in. Does that meat look amazing? Even you vegans and veggies have to admit, this is looking good, right? The sides aren’t a joke here. The beans are a winner and sports a great sweet and smokey flavor that blows a can of Bush’s to Uranus. Tiny bits of meat, tell me that it’s probably made with the “shake” from the ribs and brisket giving that extra jab to tell you it’s homegrown. The cole slaw might actually be a vegan dish. It’s void of the typical mayo, but instead is in a dressing, so it’s more like a mini salad. Vinegar, spices, and the onions make this work. I could have ate a bowl, and today, the following day, that’s what I’ll probably need to eat all day in the wake of this devastating to the body type of meal. Smoque3800 N Pulaski(between Avondale Ave & Grace St)Chicago, IL 60641(773) 545-7427
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