Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

Kid Koala does a victory lap during one of his songs. That’s him with his hands almost covering him. I’ve never seen a DJ have so much fun while he’s supposed to be playing a show. He’s on stage completely into what he’s doing, and always with a smile, that makes other people happier. His set was swift and deft. It being on a monday night and pretty late, he didn’t have the huge crowd, but at the same time, it was a loyal one. He mixed up his music from hip hop classics, to classic rock, to the new classics, whatever that might be. This is a section where Kid Koala played the most commercial sounds of the night, so I taped it. His screen was tiny, but you can see his fingers, if you so care. Bigger screen please! On the way home, coming down the hills of Brentwood, I finally saw a deer. It was 4am and that’s when they come out. The deer didn’t run at all, but just stood it’s ground and kept picking at the ground.
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What am I getting myself into these days. A keynote speech at a conference. It all sounded great at the outset, but I’m still unsure of it’s focus as compared to other conferences. It’s creative at least, and that’s pretty cool.
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Yes, I swing the rackets. I used to play back in the day. Elementary school, junior high, high school, and very little afterwards. I might get into detail one day, but the key right now is the footwork. I use a cross over step which is Jimmy Connors style. My last coach reworked my entire mechanics to bring me to this style. I previously had an open stance which is ala Nadal, but he switched me to this classic style. My forehand is the strongest of my shots. That was the main weapon I had. Some of the forehands you see are as hard as anyone’s forehands can be. They’re just inches off the net and landing near the backline, super low. I need some work on the backhand side for sure, but it comes from rust. I haven’t played much in the last 20 years, so it’s slowly coming back. Yes, I’ll admit I wanted to play collegiately and even professionally, but I wasn’t even close. In the background, you can hear my cousin Jon. Unlike skatevideos, where you hear people say “whooaahhh,” his words are encouraging in another way. That’s why he teaches.
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Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment. They graciously invited me to be the subject of a talk. The weird thing is that Daniel Wu moderated, instead of being on the hot seat. This event would have probably worked better the other way around. I’m sure many thought that’s how it was going to be. The only thing… I wish Martin could have been there. His household had girls night out, so his wife, Wendy came along with his sister, Angelyn. As Martin said, “that’s the next best thing.” Cool. That’s Laverne McKinnon, she’s the President of CAPE and did a great job putting this event together. I dressed a bit better than normal. Daniel said he was going to wear some nice threads, but came in street attire. Daniel was great as a moderator. I’ve known Daniel for 10 years perhaps, and usually we’d ask him questions, but not today. He actually refused interviews with Chinese press since he didn’t want to take away from the event. This is when we first sat down. A bit nervous… a bit excited… Daniel had trouble getting his mic off the stand. Half the crowd. It was nice that over 130 came through. Double their normal attendance. I see some smiles, which is really nice. Yet another pic. I think people laughed a little, and hopefully thought a little more. I heard the words “inspiring” a lot after… and it was nice to meet people who were from CAPE, and who were just interested in being there. Thanks Cate Park for helping set all this up and taking these pics.
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