Slush, Stella, soda

Had slush on Sawtelle with Stella Lai this afternoon. She got lychee, almond jello, and rainbow jelly, and I got lychee, almond jello, and lemon jelly. They were out of mochi. Yeah, we're wusses who can't hang with the hardcore red beans, buckwheat, and whatnot... The artist from Hong Kong gave me the scoop on her recent trip to the HK Art Fair (meh) and her bracing for upcoming showings in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and the Giant Robot Biennale! In return, I told her about Eloise and ongoing GR deadlines. Does that sound like a fair trade?


What's that in Stella's hand? It's her contribution to a series of Pepsi cans designed by various international artists. You can tell by the logo that the project took place before the brand's reboot, but apparently it's still out there. A friend of hers recently spotted the cans at Heathrow Airport. Happy hunting!

Death and taxidermy

Amazingly, the ground floor of Natural History Museum is largely unchanged from how it was when I was a kid. The taxidermy is as old school as can be, crossing the line well into tacky and looking scary good at the same time. But even better are the backgrounds. If I ever get a '70s van, I'd want the NHM staff to paint the sides of it. If I ever form a metal band, I'd ask them to paint my album cover, too.


Needless to say, Eloise was blown away as well.

Kumquat Outlet - sneak peek

After months of preparation, my sister finally opened her Kumquat Outlet in Eagle Rock. Opening a shop wasn't something she planned until a spot opened up on a happening block between complementary kids' clothing shops. It had cheaper rent than her previous workspace, provided a chance to move some back stock, and increase the brand's local visibility.


The inside is bright and airy, and uses Kumquat's identity originally introduced by Hero Studios, Jane Ward's graphics with elements of the bird print designed by Wendy, and furnishing ideas from the fine folks at Formation Association. Our mom (left) did a lot, too, and so did Carlos.


Among the products for sale at a reduced price include many of Wendy's classic patterns such as the elephants and pandas. As for the fixtures, most are stock Ikea, but arranged in a really clean, smart manner. I believe the chandeliers are on loan from Bucky.


It was really important for the space to be both kid and parent friendly, with space for strollers as well as a bunch of toys and books and mini-sized furniture in the front area. Eloise approves, and so do I.

Check out the shop at: 5054 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041. Call first, though, because the hours are not quite set: 323-254-5074.

Pavilion of Wing

Went to the Natural History Museum this afternoon so Eloise could check out the butterfly exhibit. Wing was there to hook us up...


The exhibit takes place in a tent right outside the main museum. You can get in for $3 with our without museum admission (although if you're with a member, like our friend Thy, you can get in free).


Thy shows Eloise some very hungry caterpillars.


There are butterflies everywhere, fluttering through the air and sunbathing on the strategic vegetation.


This one reminded me of Mothra.


Above, Wendy's favorite species.


Luckily, Eloise isn't old enough to wonder what was going on. These two were making a caterpillar.


An allusion to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion: Watch out for hitchhiking butterflies!

Here come the judges

On Friday, Wendy and I were invited to be guest judges for her old boss/our good friend James Chu's Advanced Product Design 3 class at Art Center. It's an interesting course; the students are challenged to choose a brand; identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and then come up with a number of products to strengthen it. They are also asked to do a competitive analysis and demographics study, as well as come up with a load of interesting, innovative, and realistic products. Not easy.

It was interesting to see the amount of work that is asked of a student at the top-rated art and design school, which is super, super expensive ($17,000 a term?). Most of the works we saw were quite thought out and well executed, and obviously took many sleepless nights. As for the rare exception... well, there's a reason why students are in school and not out in the real world yet. No matter how much tuition you pay or how good the school is, it's still true that you only get what you put into anything.

And this is no insult to the students, but more of a warning: I think we work twice as hard on the mag as any of them...

Kumquat shop

My sister's Kumquat retail shop is opening tomorrow, Saturday, June 27! If you're in SoCal, check it out at 5054 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041... It's my understanding that it will feature classics from previous seasons at great prices, as well as some surprises. The hours will be limited, so you might want to call before heading out there: 323-254-5074.

Choi Jeong-Hwa installation at LAMCA/BCAM

Making good on my promise to Choi Jeong-Hwa, I returned to LACMA with Eloise so she could check out the artist's installation made as part of the Your Bright Future show. Surrounded by goods purchased at the 99-Cents-Only Store, she was as happy as a clown fish in a sea anemone.


The group show featuring 12 Korean artists is only open to LACMA members until Sunday, but Choi's installations can be viewed by anyone on the museum grounds. You don't even need to buy an admission...

Giant Robot 60

Holy crap! Giant Robot 60 is now available at the GR shops and on the way to cooler newsstands and bookstores across the country (and then some). It's our fifteenth anniversary issue, and here's what's in it...

Star Wars pilgrimage in Tunisia
Cover art by/interview with Deth P. Sun
Factory Records co-founder and graphic designer Peter Saville
Chocolate/Nike/Stüssy skater Richard Mulder
Quick Gun Murugan's Shashanka Ghosh
Paper Hearts writer and star Charlyne Yi
Goh Nakamura has guitar, will travel
Asian American Movement documentarian Tad Nakamura
Daniel Wu vs. MC Jin
Stranger-than-fiction essay by Tokyo!'s Ayako Fujitani
Epic Japanese rock band MONO
Instant Karma by Sarba Das
Death Sentence: PANDA!
Plus: A fairly humble 15th anniversary celebration of awesomeness, tidbits on cool stuff, reviews that don't suck, a Perfect Day in Hawaii, bonus comics, and a finger puppet (!).

Freed Seed

R.I.P. Sky Saxon. I saw him play in the early '90s and he was still great...

Robot Power rangers

Returned to the office only to discover that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Nah, not really. But here are their cover suggestions in case we revive the Robot Power zine, the half-issues that we made between issues 17 and 21. Above, Julienne Carrot's racy take. Below, Emilio Pocket's "Brown Issue."


Bears, bakeries, booze, Hot Cheetos, and Don José--actually not bad article ideas...

Best of Sawtelle

GR friend and photographer and now active blogger Ben Clark oversees the carnage at my favorite restaurant, gr/eats. He was in the area for some photo meetings, and we talked about music, the mag, and his work. He said that he's been really happy with his GR work, except for one photo. Can you guess which one it is?


The best non-GR publication at the GR store is this thick, comprehensive, and gorgeous Sonic Youth book. It's loaded with art, essays, band trivia, and two 7" singles, with each side dedicated to a band member. I try not to buy much of anything anymore, but this was really, really tempting. Chris made sure I didn't try to get a five-finger discount.

Your Bright Future at LACMA

This morning I attended "press day" at LACMA on the cusp of the opening of Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists from Korea. The event is at the new BCAM space, but the main structure has been decorated by the plastic art of GR friend Choi Jeong-Hwa.


Many of the artists were on hand to meet and greet the press, and so were the curators. Second to the left in red is Christine Starkman, Curator of Asian Art (MFAH), who introduced herself to me and was really cool.


If you walk in a clockwise direction, the first pieces you'll see are by Do Ho Suh (being interviewed). The RISDI graduate depicts the collision of his Korean background and American education in a dramatic and incredibly detailed manner.


This detail is of his bedroom. The chair is probably about one-high high. The model kits, much smaller. The work is colorful and beyond crisp--as if you're looking into a dream.


I'm a fan of Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, which presents snappy black-and-white dialogues with a jazzy soundtrack that somehow reminds me of Pizzicato 5's space-age jetset distillation but in a digital, not mod, background.


Gimhongsok (being interviewed) juxtaposes gigantic animal suits, video, and the scrawling words of a crazy person in a multi-pronged attack on what is cute and what is real.


Outside, I ran into Choi Jeong-Hwa, who put together a colorful hanging assemblage of plastic goods from the nearby 99 Cents Only store. When I told him that I was going to bring my baby to the installation, he thought it was a great idea.


There's also a DIY plastic sculpture behind the museum, closer to the La Brea Tar Pits. Guests are invited to hang their own recyclable goods on the fences, and I'm totally bringing some when I return. Choi seemed pleased when I told him that the two guys in work clothes were discussing and defining art instead of doing their jobs.


Thanks to Christine at LACMA for hooking me up. If you attend the gala at the museum tonight, buy her a Coke for being awesome.