Backyard pomegranates

This is what happens when you leave a pomegranate on the branch a little too long. They turn almost inside out. When they open a bit, that means they're perfect for eating. This one is a little out of control. These grow well in Southern California. I had no idea, until my parents tree started shedding fruit.

Aside from just eating them like this, pomegranate is used in Persian cooking. If you haven't tried Persian dishes using pomegranate, then you're missing out. Faisinjan is a chicken and pomegrante sauce. It's something you need to try when it's homemade. There are other dishes I have yet to try.

I am Santa

Ho Ho Ho. Merry XMAS. At first, the idea was to look like every Martial Arts bad guy. Master of the Flying G, and so on. Instead I became Santa with no beard. The fake snow polyester works well, and it sticks to stubble.

It even sticks to Choe's face. He was going for the Kimbo Slice white beard.

Choe and Oh

Korean Drinking Games. That's what this looked like. I don't know how to play, but there's yelling, throwing stuff, and then drinking.

gr/eats food views

That's the Omurice. This was looking tasty. I wish I ordered it. Omelet Rice is a classic in Japanese food. It's something that kids like to eat. Perhaps because it has the breakfast thing going on. You can put ketchup on it if you'd like. But otherwise, it works just like how you see it. I haven't been taking enough photos of the food at gr/eats. We're closed for a private party on Saturday December 6th.

The pesto penne with tofu meat balls. Sort of custom since this is what Martin rocks.

Can't beat the seared tuna. I'm a fan and get this one all the time with the fries.

What's this?! Green tea lemonade.

Okonomiyaki

As seen in a previous issue of GR, this is what I've been eating lately. It doesn't take long, don't need a recipe, and it comes out pretty good. It's mostly cabbage, and whatever bits of veggies and meats you need. Kewpie mayo, katsu sauce, and fish shavings make this work well. There's still no okonomiyaki only shops around. They've come and mostly failed. Yet there are spots where you can get it and it's not bad. Raku in WLA does it well.

This is what it looks like half done. I still stink at flipping pancakes and okonomiyaki. I just slide it on a plate and turn it that way. Any tips?

David Choe goods Limited book

The book finally came out. It's a super limited book by Lazarides, supposedly in edition of 500 that's totally gone. The art is from the exhibition almost one year ago. High quality, we may release some through GR sometime soon. They're not cheap, but with only 500 and them gone, it'll be lucky to even see a copy.

That's just one spread. David added some text and kept it mellow.

This is the actual print. It's 7 colors and looks crazy, as if it's a Giclee, I had no idea kids could print this well. This is a printer's proof, and I lucked out on getting one. The cool thing is that David actually got one to Barack Obama's sister Maya Soetoro Ng and her husband Konrad Ng. They asked for one. Glad I could help.

Walmart Trampling Live Saving Effort

Crazy. Aside from gunfire at Toys R Us in So Cal - Palm Desert, where two people died (yeah, first you gotta ask, why are you packing to a Toys R Us?), this 34 year old worker was trampled at a Wal Mart. This video is disturbing since you see live saving efforts on this cell phone video. The man actually passed away in the hospital. I don't know if you need to see this, but this is ridiculous and shows everyone how stupid Black Friday hype is. Maybe it's just this year, when people are fighting to save a buck. It happens at concerts, fires, and maybe soccer matches, but at Wal-Mart, and while the dude was trying to unlock the doors? Now I realize why shops like Staples or Office Depot moderate how many can come in at a time. I know most clubs do this too, but that's another story.

GR57 to the press

It's always a nice feeling getting another issue to the print shop. The advertisers... thank you. Can't do it without you. This issue is a good one. I swear. It's an important one. There's new "things" added, to make it a little more fun. Maybe next issue, there'll be even newer things.

The SALE?! 20% off at Giant Robot

First time. Black Friday? Does that really mean something? We'll find out. Most of you hit the malls, but for what? We encourage you to check out the boutiques. It's the perfect way to support the small business. We're doing this in LA, SF, and NYC. Brick and Mortar! So get out and say hello!

Indian Pirates

Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh, two dudes who won a contest for throwing a fastball on a contest in India, got signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Freakshow? Maybe, but they throw 85 and 90, which is decent, but can they add a few more mph to their guns? They'll need to get to near 95 and throw curves for this all to work. With a huge population, there has to be some strong arms in India. What about recruiting a cricket player?

Murakami to LA

He's been coming through checking out spots. I've been hearing about it for a while. Real estate... While some of us plow away, doing our things, he's exponentially expanding. Another big spot, probably for animation and dealing with his high roller Hollywoodland stuff. Hope he likes Hollywood!

link

Photo credit! Mr T. Experience

Look at that photo credit. I wonder which photo it is...? Anyone know? I think it's me. I never saw this, but I did shoot Mr T Experience before, so I hope it's a good one! If anyone has it, show me a pic! It was a great time when I was shooting bands every week. I used to shoot at least 5 times a month. Maybe even more and it was mostly or always live shows which seemed to happen super often.

James Kochalka on youtube

I put it all together and get them all up. James Kochalka's interview with Martin as the host as part of his Little Paintings 3 art exhibition at GR2. He played music live, and that "concert" video that's in four parts because it's about 16 minutes total. Watch one, watch them all. He came all the way to LA from Burlington, Vermont!

Here's a link to his art!


James explains what he's painting, especially the new works that depicts the rich and wealthy people's cats.


The Dragon Puncher!


I swear this guy should MC.


This has a song that talks about underwear.


Beyonce acapella.

The Award

We won this award. Who presented it? The US Local Business Association. Who are they? If you go to their site, all they want is for you to put in your code number to access your award plaque. There are some business tips, but I don't know how legit they are. Do they even know what GR2 is? What's with the China communist emblem? We're not even a book store. I wonder how many people fall for this scam. If you see this in a shop window during the holidays, then hopefully you'll get a laugh. They paid near $100 for the frame job.

koznydan Bunnyfish meet Amos toys King Ken

They're both on it's way to the stores. Dan from kozyndan dropped off the Bunnyfish at the GR office - their labor of love, after learning about the ins and outs of manufacturing... It looks great and made by the hands of perhaps old ladies who crochet? Maybe not, it could be kids! King Ken was probably not made by too many hands, but I'll bet someone had to paint the teeth. Both sit in my Yoshitomo Nara ashtray. Did you get one of those while they were available?

Yes they come in two colors. Pretty cute, I'll have to say. 

Aaron Yoo

Hung out with this dude today. Comedy, ADD, and fun all the way. What's next for Mr Yoo? Vacation time. Actors... oh and his hair looks nothing like this today.

Kochalka at GR2

Kochalka throws down. Eventually, I'll be putting up some images on the GR transmissions, Flickr, and Youtube. Yes, there's video of the music. I shot it all. See all them pieces on the wall? They'll be for sale on the site soon.

Tao of Pig - how strong are you?

Sotukung Samgupsal. I say this when I wake up three times. I'm not that strong, but I went for it. That's pork, and tons of it. This restaurant has a lot of seafood, but before that, it was once known for it's pork. We went to try it. The Korean bacon scene has been around. What doesn't exist in Korean food? There's a lot of fat in the meat, but that's bacon. On a grill, the fatty part rolls off of the mountain peak like grill.

The bacon looks and tastes pretty good. I'm hearing that Honey Pig is a place to check out too. How can  you go wrong? Sotukung Samgupsal or Honey Pig?

Thats' what it looks like when it shows up. 16.99 per person at dinner. All you can eat. I think I ate three pigs.

That's Jean making a great face, and that's Harry

Song Kang Ho looking handsome peddling the Soju. I'm a fan, so it's ok that he looks up at me, while pork goes in my mouth. Want to challenge your body to a war it can't win? 

703 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90005

Fosik Lin GRNY and me - art show is tomorrow

Art show coming up tmw at GRNY. You should definitely check out the AJ Fosik + Isaac Lin team up. I guess I made it there for some reason. Shenanigans. i literally want one of these, and yes, they literally jump off the walls.

GRNY

James Kochalka Tomrrow at GR2

Amazing. This man is from Burlington Vermont, he's in town and he's going to play music at GR2 next to his art show. His music, and his art are cute and great. His graphic novels are amazing. There's a lot to say about a guy who's made his indie comics work for him and we'll see how far he can take it. I met him at Comicon years ago when we were in small press. I think that's about 10 years ago. He was funny then, and he's still funny now. Come down. We'll be there.

Sale, Same price!

Target has these all over the store. Maybe I have it all wrong, but this is what it looks like. The sale price, then the same price right under it. Even if it means something that totally makes sense, it's not that evident for as much as I care to investigate. But the sale must have been hot, since there were hardly any paper towels left. Maybe it's a psych test to see if red sale signs make a difference.

The IPA gave us a check.

Today the Independent Press Association gave us some money back. Imagine in early 2007, our distributor went belly up. They shut the door, and slammed everyone out. Basically they said, "Eric, all the money we owe for GR's sales etc, you can't have it. Fuck you." They disconnected their phones, their offices were dark, no one was around. All the employees went into hiding, hopefully with their face in between their legs since many roped us into higher hopes that things were fine. We're so dumb to believe any of it.

The money... well, it's not even the total amount at all. But I'm at a spot now where I expected nothing. Yeah, I still have sour grapes about it all. They fucked us and many others. I'm sure the employees who worked there, are marked by a lot of folks as being the enemy. Maybe forever.

Here's some old posts, in case you want to catch up.

My blog posts:
2007 . 1
2007 . 6

Punk Planet article.

RIP Mitch Mitchell

When I saw this, I thought whoa, Mitch, our friend passed away. Yet it turns out, this is the famous Mitch Mitchell, the one who played drums for Jimmy Hendrix. As much as he'll be missed, I wouldn't miss him as much as the Mitch Mitchell we know.

Reggie Hudlin

Had lunch today with none other than Reggie Hudlin, a long time reader of GR. Know him? House Party! Yes, he's the man behind this flick starring Kid N Play, but he was also in She's Gotta Have It! The classic Spike Lee joint. His career definitely gets more current, with the Boondocks project. He was the president of BET for a few years, and now he's making it back into the fold of regular life. He's also writing comics, and is going to dip back into to making stuff again. Isn't he handsome in this photo? Good job Sears! 

Yuhi Komiyama

Whoa, I just met Yuhi Komiyama. He interviewed me for a web TV program that he does in Japan, and it turns out, he's been a long time reader of Giant Robot. Imagine, him in Japan, a fan of the mag, a recording artist who then told the label to promote him to GR. The Japanese label says, "yes, sure we will. anything you want." But no, they never did anything like that. I had to break it to him that seldom do Japanese music labels hit us up. And no, his label didn't do it. He remarked that I was pretty good at speaking to the camera. It's all the interviewing work, podcast, and doing school talks that help. I'll link it up when I find out more about it.

Meanwhile, check out this old school music video. he's the singer.

KOMIYAMA YUHI with ELEKIBASS [moonlight under]
Uploaded by panap44

Lights in the Parking Lot - the solution

In the history of parking lots, this is changing everything. How many times have you pulled into a lot and drove endlessly looking for a spot. You think you're smart so you decide to pull over and try and wait for someone to come out, only to wait and wait and wait, until you feel helpless since you're not moving and being pro-active. The Century City mall has a solution. Lights. From far away, you can see where there are spots available. Genius and so simple. Green lights? Go there. Why didn't this exist 30 years ago?

It's a light, and a big one too. I'm sure they could have used something much more similar. Perhaps just using green lights only to signify which are open, rather than waste the power on the red lights. Either way, this is the way to go. Imagine how much gas, energy, and anger people will save. The only worry, people looking at the lights and not at other cars or the road. 

E Waste Where Macs go to Die

E-Waste disposal is interesting. You can load it into your car but you can't unload it from your car. They don't want you taking it out yourself. They even stand there waiting for people to pull in. Why is that? I got rid of many pounds of gear. Old beige Macs and monitors. All working actually, but just so out of date that you can't put any new OS into it. It's strange to have to dump perfectly working gear, just because it's old. I'd feel better if it were broken.

The limit for gear is 6 pieces, but they said more is fine, as long as you don't pull in a truck load. I could tell the dudes unloading the gear were taking a look at it, perhaps wondering if it could still sell, but these? I doubt it. Mac 8500? 9600? I don't think so. Until this drop off, I had a pretty hard to beat Mac collection. 7100, 8500, 9600, g3, g4s, g4 cube, g5, Imacs, various laptops, and slowly i'm getting rid of the ones that are useless.

The Talk Part 2 at Ball State U.

Ball State! Here's a sampling of the folks who were there. Ball State has a small Asian population, many are from other places, but it all works when you listen to GR. Our magazine is international in content. And when we mentioned a name like Stephen Chau, I saw some fists pump. A photo of Rain elicited some smiles. People know, and that's pretty cool how international the Asian stars have become.

These yoyos are $100 each.

They belong to this man. Ranked #4 in the world. He's quite great at this "sport". Noel was the "warm-up" act to our talk. He does shred at the yoyo. Insane tricks.

Pizza, it was late night, and yes, pizza works.

 

Sarah #1, strikes the pose with a bowling ball. Her shirt says Tokyo or Bust!

That's Tim Hugh on the left who made the trip from Chicago. He's quite the bowler, until he had to use public bowling balls. 

Ball State campus Museum of Art - Muncie, Indiana

Expression is Art!!! Expand Your Mind!! Martin points that out as an example of Ball State street art. Yeah, it's a little behind the times. Maybe we can all say, "retro" style, echoing Brooklyn sidewalks... not. I did read that the Ball State Museum of Art might be one of the best in the state. 

Fall Colors, they're really amazing on the campus.

Check out the yellow. This was like a beacon. Super bright yellow. You couldn't miss it.

In the museum, you can see etchings and prints. This is from Picasso. Check out the hairy characters he was drawing. This could be a page in Kramer's Ergot.

Only if I could organize my junk like Leo Sewell. This guy is amazing. Now it's time to learn more about him.

Even the cock n balls are done right.

This is an Alexander Calder. You can even see the paint strokes.

Miniature Indian Paintings. The work is smaller than a 8 1/2 x 11. And the detail is crazy.

Amida Buddha. I don't know why there are coins in front of him. I suppose it's an offering, but the other Buddha had none. It's an amazing piece. 

In case you didn't know David Letterman went to Ball State.