Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Imagine, you throw the napkin off of your ice cream cone and it flies away in the wind. You figure, “it’s ok, not that big of a deal, it’s just litter.” But Mr Kim is watching you through his viewfinder and taped the entire thing. He’s spying on you and with that evidence, he might make a few dollars and you’ll be busted. It’s amazing that in Korea, one can make money by filming people who are committing law breaking actions. Some might be a larger scale project, such as a business ripping people off, and that might take a hidden camera. It’s not easy to make a living just taping in Korea, but it’s possible. It’s also hard to believe that citizens who do investigative type of work can actually earn money. It makes sense, but it does put people in danger. (NY Times – Koreans Taping)
Continue reading
It’s not new, but it’s still new, if you know what we mean by that. Asians on the screen? That’s still new to the majority of the US, it’s just not on their televisions. It’s online. Articles like this get syndicated and make their way everywhere, even to places that print papers. Kev Jumba, David Choi, Ryan Higa, Clara C, they’re all mentioned. Huge reach, and imagine there’s wave after wave under their million views and subscribers. The content is free to watch, and they’re getting the hits. (VOA – Asians Find Fame on You Tube)
Continue reading
[youtube]_zx_co2cc0k[/youtube] A huge percentage of us drink coffee. It’s part of a ritual at work where it’s dripping free all day or a first match.com meeting at a safe haven Starbucks. It’s part of our breaks, wake up routine or social life. Years ago diners served coffee almost free. Forward some decades and the conglomerates arrived and featured fattening mixtures using over roasted beans in gigantic cups for a few dollars. Then more recently, the fast food drive throughs threw in their hats with their own methods of sub $1 cups. Where there’s a low end, a high end usually emerges and it’s timed perfectly with the boutique food movement and it’s coffee. Ray Sato is the owner of Balconi Coffee Company in West LA. He once operated a shop on Santa Monica Blvd near the border of West LA and Santa Monica. People often will say, “Oh he’s open again? with genuine excitement.” He’s known in the area as a shop that offers siphon or “syphon” coffee which was once prevalent in America decades ago and lives on strongly in Japan and Taiwan. It’s now making it’s way back to the US, and Sato is one of the forefathers of it’s reinvention. He spends at least one part of the day explaining what and how the scientific kit works, and you get to smell the grinds first. A cup of his coffee might not be Big Gulp sized, it could be a svelte 6 ounces of distinct and crafted flavor, but features an equal amount of caffeine, and ranges from $3.50-4.50. A cup of “Joe”, it’s not. It’s taste is specialized and each cup is brewed one at a time. It’s guaranteed that the same beans dripped at home will not taste the same. His menu explains the subtle flavors of his international line up of coffees that change practically each week. Some are described to taste like apricot and some blueberry much like the descriptions of lines of wine. He has a few desserts and can also make the fancy coffee concoctions using dairy or non dairy products. The Almond EssenceLatte is one of his creations and is a local favorite. Balconi is comfortable and clean and you’ll begin to recognize his regular customers including myself. Sato features a no nonsense cafe without wireless and powercord plug-ins. Bring your charged batteries. If not, he does have a vintage manual typewriter if you need to express yourself. You’ll find Sato more often than not behind the counter and he loves talking about coffee. Balconi Coffee Company.
Continue reading
[youtube]eeYocHjFjWY[/youtube] Giant Robot also hosted Bonnie Burton at the Giant Robot table at Comic Con. Bonnie Burton works at Starwars.com and is part of the Lucas family for numerous years. You can find her at her site: grrl.com
Continue reading
[youtube]8b3vpLoUkB0[/youtube] Mari Inukai is an artist living in Los Angeles. This is a short message about what she thinks about signings. It was shot during Comic Con 2011.
Continue reading