Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

This isn’t a Top Ten list like “Best Concert, Best Movie, or Best Toy”. It’s a list that’s as important and there are highlights in them all, but by no means is it a Top Ten of anything. They’re just important as everything else – family, friends, and so on. Maybe I’ll try and turn out a list that’s more like that…

 

 We painted the mural on the wall. That alone was an 11 hour project. 

 

Zen Garage – The year started off great with the Zen Garage art opening just a few days before the new year. Yet, the actual New Year’s Day kicked off with the Oshogatsu program at JANM. It was motor vehicles including the Giant Robot Scion Car I designed but also custom motorcycles and the now vintage David Choe Scion. Thanks to Len Higa and Shinya Kimura for jumping on board. The year began with a GR show in a museum – it’s a great start with you get to do a project with friends, new friends, and a place like JANM. Collaboration can be more fun than doing something alone.

 

 It’s great when artists install their own work. 

 

James Jean Art Show – Aside from it being one of the greater or even greatest art shows of the year, it also indelibly marked the night that the earthquake struck Japan. I recall, it was at the after party, the twitter messages were beginning. An 8.9 quake? The thought of a giant quake was one thing, yes there would be lives lost and yes a lot of damage, but less than an hour later, the Tsunami hit the shores and that’s when the things got real, it became internet news for days straight.

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After 25 years of Karate Kid, Tamlyn Tomita is one of the judges with me at the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) and she looks great. Yes, it’s part of her job to be toned, slim, and ready to be in movies. She’s part of a Karate Kid II program that takes place tonite which was mostly shot in Hawaii which depicted Okinawa. Time flies is all we can say about it. Tonite, she’ll introduce the film. With Nathaniel Kohn, we deliberated the best feature film while we stared at the sun setting below. It wasn’t easy and we considered each film one at a time. It’s interesting to be part of this group since each of us comes from a different background. “Nate” runs the Ebert Film Festival, and is heavily vested and involved in cinema everywhere. He understands the art and mechanics of filmmaking. Tamlyn of course watches performance quite well, and hopefully for myself, it’s a little of everything. Those are people’s heads in the infinity pool. At left is Nathaniel Kohn from the Ebert Film Festival.      
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