Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
That’s me with my new jacket. It’s a jacket that only a few have since I hear it’s quite pricey. It was gifted to me by David Horvath after his signing at GRNY. It smells of thick leather and made by the hands of Tony Nowak, the guy David Horvath’s been obsessing over since he makes the Indiana Jones gear. I guess without having to get beat up, I’ve been jumped into the Uglydoll crew. Yes, in Babo I trust. It’s the first Uglydoll I ever saw, the OG handmade version by Sun-min perhaps in 2002. It was the Uglydoll that started it all. And by “all” I mean the juggernaut that it is, but also the crazy fans who follow and collect. The fans come in different shapes and sizes. I’ll talk about the signing of the limited edition of 20 Pink Babo we had at Comic Con. Evidently one of the early folks in line is a “flipper” which means, they buy and sell the product. What’s the ruling on “flippers?” I know little of who they are by face. Can you spot a flipper just by looking at them? Evidently, before the pink Uglydoll went on sale, the flipper already had the Uglydoll on ebay. I recall what happened. We were alerted to the ebay issue about a 5 minutes before the signing started, maybe less. David and his manager seemed to know who it was, but there was nothing anyone can do about. Do we kick them out of line? He has rights as well, and how do we know if you’re a collector today and a “flipper” tomorrow? This is right before the signing. It’s a strange baseball pose. David always looks happy, or strange! I got some “hate” mail after the signing, outlining some of these points. I won’t reveal names, it’s just unfair and not nice to do so although he/she chose to CC it to David. 1) He/she should have been able to get an Babo pink because he’s bought from us before. We should have sold to him privately. - No. Most everyone in that line has bought from us before. What makes you so special, or more special than anyone else is line? Do I pre sell them all to those who have bought from us before? If I did that, you would definitely not get one. There are bigger purchasers than you and surely more than 20 of them at Comic Con. 2) the line was unfair – we should sell them earlier to those who come. The signing starts at 11, that’s when we should sell the Pink Babo. - The sales did start at 11. The line at 10:30. Fair enough. Some people were there at 9:30 when the con opened, we shoo’d them away as best we could. How else would you do it besides pre-selling, which we won’t do. If we did that, why even have a signing at the Con? We had people come...
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JetBlue still rock. Right when I thought everyone else stepped up and took them over, I see what they have at JFK. Work stations (but those monitors are not for computers, it’s to order food), charging stations, etc. And not just 1 or 2 around a pole, this is a bank of them. Maybe there’s 12 or 16 total and a few outlets. This series of pics took place during my escape from Comic Con Thursday and Friday. Interviews for the Toyota Matrix. A different crew, but it got done. Watch for this one soon at the thedirectorschairsite.com check out the latest from the SF and LA Asian American Film Festivals including Kelly Hu, Charlyne Yi, Tad Nakamura, and more. Whoa a Muji at the airport. I thought I was going to buy something, but no. Setagaya Ramen. I’ve been in Setagaya, Japan, and now NYC. It’s decent, but alas, the one in Japan is better. The gyoza is a dead giveaway. It’s totally different. But this isn’t bad. Shio ramen is still underrated. That Mark Palaganas, it’s late, his hair tells the story. Chinatown is still open at this hour. Me, Emily Chang, Dan – part of the team that created the short film, Humberville Poetry Slam which played at AAIFF. A fancy dessert A fancy meal. That’s food blogger Lia Bulaong! Did I spell that right? I thought it was a Superflat homage. Game shirts at Uniqlo NYC.
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I wish I could blog from the SD Comic Con, but I’m in NYC, and I can blog a bit about the Asian American International Film Festival, but not really… I conducted interviews which was fun, but in the end, I did a bunch of interviews, went to the after event, ate dinner, then went back to the event and hung out a bit, met some folks, ate a tiny icecream, got keychains, a totebag, and that was about it. The AAIFF this year was different than year past, with a new crew, some different vibes, and we’ll see where it all goes. But the good news is that before hand, after sleeping after the redeye flight, I got out of Uniqlo and got coffee at Dean and Deluca next door. Big deal, right? We don’t have these shops in LA.
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I don’t know how lucky I am sometimes, until something like this happens. Check out the handmade robots and the Bossy Bear. Thanks Hilda HCH. Guess which one I kept and which one Martin kept?
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After loading in at Comic Con, I hit a 7-11. Did you know they carry Hi Chew from Japan in the regular candy aisle? Did you know they have their own branded stuff, like mech pencils? Those are cheap, and they come with lead. A bit over a $1. It’s going to be hell today, flying to NYC… from SD, then the Asian American Int’l Film Festival!
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