Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
The Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve been there a bunch of times now and the place never ceases to amaze. It has to be the best in the world, right? I enjoy all of it. I’m pretty sure my favorite place within is the jellyfish. You don’t get to see them often and the lighting helps a lot. I also enjoy the huge tank that has the Bluefin tunas which weight something like 400 pounds. When you see them swim fast, you know they could easily impale a human. Where was the mola mola? The sun fish might be my favorite fish of all. Maybe it’s better that they stay in the wild. This is great, it’s like watching a movie. You can sit back and take it all in. I like schools of fish. The stare down. Dragonfish. I think that’s what it’s called. It’s a seahorse in the end. The crab master I’m tucking this at the end:Here’s one idea. They sell memberships, and if you’re rich, sure, why not? But if you’re not, why don’t they make the memberships sort of like a subscription. You pay up front and you can go in let’s say three times which would cover the price of the membership (let’s say it’s $90 – an entry fee is $30) So basically you pay up front. Otherwise, you buy a membership, and if you don’t go back, then that’s cool, but these days, it would be nice to know that you can pay up front and just use it when you go back, whether it’s in two or three years or even more. I’m guessing a huge percentage won’t go back anytime soon, some will forget, some will even lose their membership card, so the aquarium is getting fronted money to operate with, and I’m sure people in the middle would totally do this.
Continue reading
That’s Dan Ryan and his wife who took the photos of the homeless folks in Japan over twenty years ago. The work was in black and white, and you can imagine the timelessness of the imagery. I’ve never met Dan, but he sent in a portfolio unsolicited and we used the photos. He was stoked, and he said that because of the excitement and maybe creative juices that flowed from the spread, he’s now pursuing graphic design! The art show itself was fun, the art looks great, Goh Nakamura did his thing, and it was nice to see friends. See photos in transmissions.The art will be up shortly here. Furie and Aiyanna Mai and Joe To From Mario to Parappa
Continue reading
One of my main points about ramen is that, it’s often judged by people with a Yelp like mentality. I enjoy Yelp, but imagine… you’re a kid who eats a lot of ramen, including the packaged kind, but you’ve never tried Ramen in Japan. You write reviews like you know it, but the best ramen you’ve had might be at a shop somewhere in LA. Do you really know what you’re talking about? It’s a huge genre, and a frank Japanese person might say, everything in the US is bullshit. There’s a few stellar places mostly in New York, Setagaya Ramen… Ippudo… But it’s food. Everyone judges food, since everyone eats it daily, and the reviews still help most of the time since maybe the reviews will steer you to the best in that city. Yet what is great ramen? What I look for in Ramen1 Soup. It obviously has to be right. It’s not just soy sauce and water. Some places make a strong broth that smells of instant packets. Good ramen shouldn’t be Oriental flavor. Ideally, it’s Salt, Soysauce, or Tonkotsu and done right. The “just right” is near impossible to describe, it’s a somewhat of a schooled taste. You have to try the best and the worst in shops in both the USA and Japan.2 Noodles. It has to fit the ramen. Is it straight, curly, overcooked, undercooked. Most ramen noodles in the US is typical, and they’re probably all using the same brand. It’s hard to judge based on the US parameters.3 Size. A lot of people judge ramen based on a huge bowl that they can’t finish. I’d rather have a small bowl done right.4 Toppings. A great way to judge a place is it’s simplicity. Try the first thing on the menu.5 Who eats there. If it’s a ton of Japanese folks from Japan, you’re on the right track. Busy doesn’t mean great. Behavior1 Fast ordering. Be ready and order quick. Most places will expect you to order the second you sit down.2 Leave nothing, leave fast. If it’s awesome, eat it all. Most don’t do this in this day of health and quantity of ramen served. Don’t sit around and talk about Japanese movies. Leave, there’s people waiting. Ramen is a fast food.3 Manga Reading. This is okay in Japan since it’s sort of part of the culture. People don’t pay attention to each other in ramen shops. Even if it’s a guy and a girl.4 Condiments. If you add a lot of condiments you’re doomed. I see people adding soysauce to their ramen. That can’t be good.5 Order Ramen. Some people go to a ramen place and order everything but the ramen. Does that tell you anything about the shop? Weird Ramens1 Tenshinmen. It’s a egg omelet with a gravy served over noodles. It’s massive. Ramenya in West LA has this. I don’t see this often, and I dare not eat it anymore.2 Mabo Ramen. Heavy since it’s ground pork and tofu,...
Continue reading
That’s the lot where I saw Transformers last night. Friends and Family related to the music element. One thing I didn’t know was that the music in the film is orchestrated from the Linkin Park song. So I heard bits and pieces of the New Divide songs in cover form. The movie doesn’t need any more help. It’ll sell a billions worth in a matter of weeks. It’s hard to say you hate it, when the special effects, story, and grandeur are over the top. That’s my review and that’s all I need to give. You should eventually see this. Of course the Paramount screening room is amazing. The sound and picture are crisp and tight. That helps too.
Continue reading
It feels like it’s been months since Papershapers took place, and the video documentary is finally done. It’s cool that they do this, but I’m not quite sure why they do this months later. Here’s my original blog post link to the show. Check it out if you haven’t, and this video is pretty cool too.link to post.
Continue reading