Husking Bee

I had an epiphany while driving today and listening to this album. It's Husking Bee from Japan and "Anthology" is their greatest hits. Let's start by me telling you I'm a fan of this band, although I think their music videos give them no justice. They broke up in 2005 and the three videos I dropped in are from their three eras. Beginning, middle, and end.

I was thinking about how in work, business, or whatever you want to call what I do, the best person for the job always works out the best. Here's a super-round about way of explaining this.

I popped in this CD which basically is a chronological greatest hits, it starts off with their pop punk songs. Imagine something akin to an older Green Day album (1ooo Hours), it was younger, high energy pop punk. Edging on the skate sound, they had an east bay punk thing going on, but from across the pacific. I remember reading an early album review and it said these guys rocked.



But back to the story, I fast forwarded some of the early mid-90s songs and then got the later 90's songs from Put on Fresh Paint, which got some distribution here, through Doghouse records (ironically, these guys owed us money for years for the advertisement they put in GR for this album!) The songs begin to shape up a little. They go from being youthful punk to being a bit more mature in punk. The songs begin to get organized. They do a key thing that I think changed them for the best, they had Mark Trombino engineer and produce them. To me, it's a turning point that shaped them into a much different band.



Track 16 comes on from a later album, and their sound become crystal clear. They've arrived. It's about the time I got to interview them. It's as if #23 was in his prime. Perhaps they trust Mark Trombino more (who drummed in Drive Like Jehu - one of the greatest bands of all time) and they add a guitar player to become a quartet (like Drive Like Jehu - btw, I took that photo that's used on their myspace page and on many others!). The guitars now sound like brothers (much like Drive Like Jehu's Rick Fork and John Reis), you can hear how they tandem, intro, weave, and harmonize together while they still work into punkish songs. It's as if they grew up and their sound progressed. With as many similarities for just an album with DLJ, I wonder how much influence Mark T had on this band. Was it too much? Did they capture some of the DLJ magic?



Mark T. produced them until their end in 2005, and their last album changed a bit again. Their sound goes a bit away from punk, and they're turned into more of an emo/rock band, and now they're legends. A covers album by Japanese bands is coming out later this month. I wish these dudes were still around playing.

Yaba Daba

This is a story run about YABA in the Nikkan Sun newspaper. I'm in the photo in the left in the middle. But what does it say?

home cooking

This one went into the oven. That's mahi mahi. My friend in Japan was telling me to try using the foil technique. Truthfully the last time I heard anything called "foil technique"
was to make a pipe. I've always like cooking and this one was a fun project. What's in here?
Tomatoes, green beans, edamame, corn, celery, wild rice (but that was cooked already), and mahi mahi piece. I put some olive oil, mirin, salt, pepper, and a bit of soy sauce. I folded it up like a burrito and put it in the oven for a bit longer than 10 minutes at 450. I put the entire thing on a plate, opened it and grabbed a spoon. This was the first time, and I'll do it much better next time.

Pho Hanh Restaurant

Those leaves of basil and bean sprouts...

Plastic menus that are dirty and spiral bound.

Bun with tofu and meat.

Special pho with weird fuzzy meat parts. The broth was pretty good, and with some lime, this medium size bowl of pho was filling and great. I added a couple of jalapenos and it was about $5.50. I killed it. The bigger size is an additional quarter. The fresh lemonade makes a great compliment. Wtf!

at lunch this place fills up with all kinds of people. It's one of those spots that you go in to get a cheap meal. It's a standard and I hear it's less authentic compared to other Vietnamese places, but I saw a lot of Vietnamese folks scarfing away, so it's all good.

Pho Hanh

881 E Anaheim St
Long Beach, CA 90813
(562) 599-5305

Little Tokyo - JANM and Imagawayaki

Little Tokyo - JANM meeting today, we met up to talk about this cool show that's coming up in the early summer that's about Japanese American landscaping, which for me more or less means, an exhibition about the JA gardeners who've changed the way people look at yards in Southern California. What was I doing there? Suggesting things to hopefully make the show better. It was informative and hearing words from a humble "gardener," to landscape professors to curators made this interesting.


Imagawayaki. It's a little disc of red bean. The outside is like a pancake, but a bit tougher, inside is warm red bean. One of the coolest things about Little Tokyo is that they make this in the little walk through area among new and older businesses. It's cool to see a person making it in the window. You walk in one step and get it fresh. Before she passed away, and while she knew she was ill, my grandmother went there. Imagawayaki are sort of heavy and big, and although her appetite wasn't great then, I think she knew it was the last time she'd have one. She finished the entire piece.

I stopped by here to pick up some manju. You can easily pick it up at the local Japanese markets, but there's a great feeling to get it from the company's flagship store.

Margaret Kilgallen's book

In the Sweet Bye and Bye is now in it's second reprinting. We'll be distributing this to stores! It looks great.

Souther Salazar's anti drug commercials

Yes, these are by Souther and they're on TV. There's 5! It's all for abovetheinfluence.com

JABA the Hutt

"Weak minded fool! He's using Jedi Mind Tricks on you!" -JTH

Being asked to be on a panel discussion for the Japan American Business Association with UCLA, along with Tofu records Yaz, dude from Tokyopop (they do kick ass), and Ko who's working in film and does the Chanoma film festival, I didn't know what to expect. Tech difficulties, and running behind schedule, what are you gonna do, but roll with it. The event went on, I explained what I could to some -maybe- skeptical folks who just needed more information and clarification, I think it went decent. But that's just one part. Going downstairs to the reception which I expected cheese and crackers, there was dinner! It was school catered, but not terrible. Rice, salmon, spring rolls, cookies, dessert, drinks, and the big thing was I picked the raffle ticket for the trip to Japan! I had no idea that was going on, and the winner was a member of the UCLA Japanese Anime Club! She gets to go to Japan! She was trembling and has never won a thing in her life. A good deed JABA!

unskateable

The more you walk around and look, the more you notice how society has changed the way they do things to prevent people from skateboarding. A person wearing soft pants (if they're about to go to a strip club), a skirt, or Dolphin shorts, might rip their ass crack if they sat and moved on this public seat. If you look elsewhere, there's bumps or vertical metal bars... I've seen a video of some people making spots skateable, I'd love to see them come here with a gigantic file.

Space Tow truck

Here's a Sculpey Kids project I've been working on. I think the thought of the day was to make towers. So I make a tower out of toothpicks... But it wasn't exciting, and I didn't know what I was doing, so it became a green man towing the apparatus wearing a yellow jumpsuit. I don't feel like it's quite done, but it's close enough.

JABA panel

I'll be on a panel at UCLA tomorrow evening. JABA - Japan America Business Association. The website isn't pretty, but you can download a pdf if you want! Yaz from Tofu records is on the panel! See you there? I dare you.

iL Chianti

24503 Narbonne Ave
Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 325-5000

Japanese Pasta? When you hear that, you’ll first think about ramen, udon, or soba, but I'm actually talking about Italian pasta, just done with a different hand. I'm lacking the true Italian culinary experience, since I've never been there, but I have tried plenty in America, ranging from the cheap to the pricey. Typical Japanese pasta usually lands itself at least in the flavor category, near the top.

What's different about pasta from Japan? Already being a noodle and rice culture, the pasta is usually cooked perfectly, al dente, maybe just for the sake of being able to say those Italian words. The sauces, and "fixings" are usually more delicate and mild than what you may see at pasta haven like Spaghetti Factory, C&O’s, or even the pricey, Campanelli on LaBrea. You might also find, the infamous Japanese pasta dish, containing mentaiko (pollack eggs).

iL Chianti in Lomita, is actually the American leg of a small chain of Italian restaurants in the Tokyo area. It's ambiance and style is a reason to go there alone, and the food rocks too. Walking in, you'll see a big wine aquarium. It's a glass box room filled with bottles. There's a front room, a large classy counter, and separate rooms including an outdoor area with more seating. If you don't have to wait, then you're in luck. It fills up quickly for the non-reservation lunch hours, and I'd suggest making a reservation for dinner.

It's far from being a place for you and your posse, this is more of a "date" place, especially at night. Its ambiance is darker, the style is classy but not dressy, and in a quick glance, you'll see that faces in the seats are Asian. Yet, it's a welcoming environment, although you'll have to ask for a translation of the special menu chalk board. Make the waitresses translate it! It'll be worth it.

On my trip there for lunch, there's a selection on the menu that's basically a taste of everything, a "bento box," that's 10.50. In it was the pasta of the day, which was spicy tomato in what seemed like angel hair. The spice factor was mild, just to taste, and it's a simple pleasure to eat. It's not flashy, saucy, or overpowering - it's just right. The salad dressing was too salty for my taste, but everything else was spot on. Also like Japanese bento boxes, there are small sides, this one had a pasta salad, a seafood and edamame salad, pickled daikon, and a piece of fried fish. But there's more, you also get a soup and small dessert.

Also on the lunch menu is the pasta of the day and the sandwich of the day. Today's sandwich was actually a taco-like baby squid sandwich. The menu isn't too huge, and ordering is easy. In a nearly must do fashion, one of my posse ordered the classic, mentaiko pasta bringing another meaning to "when in Rome".

Check out iL Chianti when you're in Lomita. Remember to park across the street and to make reservations at night.

Deep Sea Frill Shark

Deep Sea Frill Shark surfaces in Japan. I can't believe something like this exists. It actually looks like Alien 4, but nicer. It was sick and died shortly after, which actually makes me sad. Spill some out for this shark.

Albert Reyes Spit Art video

Just cut this video today. It's Albert Reyes doing his spit art on the sidewalk in front of GR2 on saturday night at Phodoborito!

Cut+Paste short doc

Finally uploaded this video I did a bit ago. I raised the res a bit since it's hosted at youtube. A short doc with Jenny from Cut+paste.

Galco's Old World Grocery

Sculpey Kids studios is near Galco's, the crazy soda shop which carries almost every tiny micro brew soda around the world. The shop is old and it's great that he changed the shop around to make things work. The small markets are pretty much going away with Trader Joe's, Ralph's, etc etc...

Check out those doors!

There's aisles of soda, some are in their boxes waiting for you to pick some up. The aisles and linoleum floor are old school.

On the left is Delaware punch, now called Pennsylvania punch. I used to drink Delaware Punch as a kid. It was one of my favorites. Hawaiian punch was too powerful compared. Bubble up is on top, and Quench is on the right.


That's John, he lost 60lbs and he still drinks soda. This man knows everything about soda and is always featured in anything soda. Galco's is one of those places that you have to see if you live in LA.

Crosnes

Crosnes
Crosne, also called Chinese artichoke, Japanese artichoke, knotroot and Chorogi. This is an Asian member of the mint family grown for its unusually shaped edible tubers. The were introduced to Europe in the 1880s (first cultivated in France near Crosne, hence the name) and enjoyed popularity until the 1920s. They have been 'rediscovered' lately and it's popularity has increased here in the U.S. The tubers look a string of misshapen mottled pearls (they are also described as 'petrified worms). They can be eaten raw, in salads, or stir fried, boiled, baked or in soups. - from www.foodreference.com

Saelee bought this from the farmer's market, she swears it's good when cooked in butter. I think anything cooked in butter might taste good, but these raw, are like turnips with no spice. It's just a cold little root that looks like something that's a part of your ear. Anyone know anything about these things?

Sculpey Kids Meet

I wake up and walk into my back yard, what's this I see? The snail jockey.

Then a tree sprouts from my lawn.

The P2D2 at your service.

Aww the family about to rest under Saelee's leaves. A bit premature, this is going to be a monster.

Souther's sitting man ponders the world of Sculpey around him.

Kozyndan came by and hammered out some clay.

There's a page on me?! at Discover Nikkei website. It's associated with the Japanese American National Museum. I had no idea. There, you can see transcripts of an interview and you can even watch video. I still haven't watched the video. (I think I might have put this up before, but it looks different now). Many thanks to the museum.

Ok this post is dumb, but since it's happening again...

Here's who people say I look like. I'll run down each one.

Richard Gere. I had this a few times in the late 80s early 90s. Then I had it more recently. There was a time when people said Richard Gere looked half Japanese, and maybe that's part of it.

Keanu Reeves. I've had this one a few times. Twice in a week once. This was in the later 90s.

David Arquette. I've had this the most, from 2000 and on, since that's when this dude "made it." I hear it's the goofy smile that makes any similarity happen. I've had this maybe 8 times.

Jason Dohring. I don't know anything this guy, but he's in some show I never watch. Veronica Mars. I had this one yesterday.

Johnny Carson. Way back, in elementary school, I was told that I looked like Johnny Carson, so much that for a little while, my nickname was "Carson."

Phodoborito is tonite! An art show by three with roots from the developing countries!

Someone I know thought there was going to be VietFilipexican food going to be served. This will be great.

Rochom P'ngieng
Lost in the jungle or maybe happily doing her thing in the jungle, this is the half animal woman. She's a miracle she survived the many years in a jungle with no family, no nothing. She's been lost for almost 2 decades, speaks no language, and "She's weird. She sleeps during the day and stays up at night." Image and quote taken from Fox News. Story links here.

The weird thing is look at that hand holding the wrist. I see a lot of strain in it. The half animal part might have been thrashing around a lot, but overall, she looks normal. Hope she learns to speak soon, so she can tell her story. Hollywood agents? A future film for you. Reference Rae Dawn Chong in Quest for Fire and Tom Hanks in Castaway. She was found naked, so definitely use Jessica Alba to play the role. The policeman dad will help in the dramatic element, especially with flashbacks. Erik Estrada for sure, but he's gotta slim down. Add a best friend in the jungle, say James Franco. Things are getting Blue Lagoon in this film depiction. Hope they make it, and give Rochom P'ngieng the red carpet treatment and a lot of cash.

Here's something that I wonder.

Mona Lisa's Grave found. Here's the link. (I saw this off of Digg.com by the way.) What bothers me is that why is a grave lost? Even at the end of Gangs of New York, the last scenes show how the graves of Butcher Bill get dilapidated and eventually forgotten. I know it's a morbid thought, but is that what happens to grave sites? When a few generations roll over, and the over-population of the planet catches up and we need more land for buildings, are the grave sites going to become high rises? Sometimes, they're in expensive areas and I can see how they'll need to be "moved" one day... Will that be you? Would you care? My great grandparents are probably buried in Japan, and if you go further back, I'm sure most are lost and forgotten. Is that how it works?

Hello, I am Mimi, the intern. I catch errors and fact check pretty well.

Giant Robot cookies. Actually these are cheap cinnamon cookies from Trader Joe's. We ate a container in a day. GR46 to the print shop tomorrow.

Hail stones - for maybe 20 minutes, we got pelted.