Changes to the Blog and Japanese Earthquake Relief

NEW YORK, March 18 – I apologize to my readers about the infrequent blog posts in the last several months. I’ve been dealing with a lot of life changes. I’ve also decided to move the blog over to a private server due to the increasingly prohibitive restrictions of blogger and the personal desire to expand the content on the site. Over the next several months, I will be transitioning slowly over to my own domain name (www.raiwebs.com). Hopefully by July, the entire blog will be fully transferred over to the private hosting server.

Welcome to the Future of Hong Kong

HONG KONG, December 24 – Saw a trio of mannequins that freaked me out at the Hong Kong Museum of Science. They projected video face onto the lifeless humanoid forms and gave them voices in order to narrate the exhibit. It was very trippy.

Black Dub in Full Force

Left to Right: Brian Blade, Daniel Lanois, Trixie Whitley, and Jim Wilson
NEW YORK, November 17 – I usually don’t post two similar pieces back-to-back on this blog, but I'm making an exception. After being blown away by Black Dub’s stripped down show at the CMJ Music Marathon, I decided to attend their full band performance at the Bowery Ballroom.

I was eager to see the complete band including Brian Blade and Daryl Johnson. They were a super group jam band therefore the live performance is supposed to be top notch. I was already somewhat familiar with Brian Blade’s solo work, and I always admired his skills behind a drum set. Also Daryl Johnson was pretty amazing on the Black Dub recording.

Black Dub: Stripped Down and Devastating

Left to Right: Daniel Lanois and Trixie Whitley
NEW YORK, October 23 – While I was attending the CMJ Music Marathon to see other indie acts, I checked their overall schedule of performances and noticed Black Dub was set to play on Saturday evening. Black Dub is the current incarnation of Daniel Lanois’ super group with a rotating roster of rock/jazz/blues virtuosos. If you don’t know Lanois’ name, he has produced some of the biggest landmark rock albums such as U2’s The Unforgettable Fire, U2’s Achtung Baby, Peter Gabriel’s So, and Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind. He is also an absolutely brilliant musician.

Paul Weller's Night in Harlem

Crowd waiting to enter the Apollo Theater.
NEW YORK, November 6 – As I rolled up from the A train onto the Harlem streets, I eagerly made my way down the block to the see the amazing Paul Weller at the Apollo Theater. There was no wind that night, but the air was a bit chilly. I pulled up the collar on my coat and soldiered on. The brisk November couldn’t deter me from this potentially awesome performance.

When I reached the legendary venue, I noticed a massive line of people. I quickly asked the last man in line about the crowd. He responded with a nod and assured me that this is the line to get into the theater. I was astonished at the large number of concert goers for Weller’s show. I took my place in the back of the line and waited in the cold with my fellow music enthusiasts.

Accidently on 34th Street

New York, October 2 – It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the television weather forecast promised an idyllic day. I couldn’t waste it, so I head over to Bryant Park to do some manga shopping at the local Japanese bookstores.

As I walk up to Herald Square, I was overwhelmed by a sea of Koreans with flags and Hanbok dresses. I found myself in the middle of Korean American Association of Greater New York’s (KAAGNY) autumn parade. I totally forgot about this parade, but it was a pleasant surprise. This kind of thing that only happens in New York City. The rich multi-ethnic culture and the pedestrian nature of the city leads to some amazing experiences.


Click on the image for higher resolution.


Since it was the 30th anniversary, the parade seemed exceptionally grand with huge floats and tons of spectators. It stretched from Harold Square (Koreatown) to Bryant Park.

New R2 Unit

I just bought a new R2 unit (a.k.a. portable air conditioner) from some filthy Jawas. I hope it doesn't have a bad motivator. Wait, I think it speaks Bocce!

SCION 6

Breathing Underwater Short by Eric Nakamura and Saelee Oh
NEW YORK, June 4 – As a major promotional tour, Scion (division of Toyota Motor Corporation) sponsored a gallery installation consisting of avant-garde short films. Touring under the name of Scion Installation Six, the gallery show held an exhibition opening at the Eastern District in Brooklyn.

Surprisingly the gallery space was a small sliver of real estate that was probably someone's garage in a former life. In terms of set-up, the show consisted of three different projectors which played several short films simultaneously. Each projector was focused on different spots along the gallery's bare walls, and gallery visitors were constantly shifting their attention from one spot to another.

The gallery installation tour featured videos from many different artists including Eric Nakamura (Giant Robot Magazine), Saelee Oh, Dust La Rock, Funeral Fog, Ill-Studio, Josh Graham, Mark Mothersbaugh, Monihan Monihan, PMKFA, and Sage Vaughn.

There were a few notable film shorts.

Breathing Underwater. The first was an animation piece by Eric Nakamura and Saelee Oh. Their brightly colored animation was a cut-out stop-motion video similar to South Park. The short featured an underwater world of sea creatures, fish, and bizarre characters. It was very serene. Behind the Scenes of Breathing Underwater


Video Montage by Dust La Rock
Dust La Rock. Another amazing short film was created by Dust La Rock. It was a bizarre film collage of famous images including Roman busts, religious symbols, and Black Panther demonstrations. The whole film was framed by graphics similar to a film leader countdown. I enjoyed the bizarre mixture of symbolic and historical references.


Holographilia by Ill-Studio
Holographilia. It's probably one of the most psychedelic films of the entire traveling gallery show. Ill-Studio's creation featured mannequin hands floating across the screen and disembodied human hands playing piano keys superimposed over a marble wall. A sad creepy piano melody is played during the entire film. Very creepy. Behind the Scenes of Holographilia


The Scion Swag Bags
Some gallery visitors came for the amazing videos, and others came for the swag. The gallery was stuffed with tons of Scion swag bags.

Related Links:

• YouTube - ScionART's Channel
  

New Tablet

After sitting in the box for 4 months, I finally installed my Wacom Intuos 4 Tablet. I originally bought it for inking and coloring images. Let's see... How do you use this gizmo?

David Choe's Nothing

As of the post date of this article, David Choe's Nothing to Declare has officially concluded it's run at the Lazarides Gallery. The exhibition had an amazing mix of figurative aesthetics, bio-morphic masses, and wild abstraction. Here are some of my photos from the Thursday opening:

LOS ANGELES, April 23


In the center of the gallery, Choe presented a huge squid-like bio-mass. It was a partially filled balloon-like structure. Extremely playful.


Choe has a gift for mixing amazing portraiture with other styles and themes. This one combines female portraiture with a wave similar to The Great Wave off Kanagawa


Another great portraiture amalgamation by Choe. He mixes female portraiture with energetic abstract expressionism.


Choe's opening attracted an interesting crowd featuring Rob Sato and Martin Wong.

Getting a Sugar Rush from Strawberry Donuts

LOS ANGELES, April 23 — I've been mainlining sugar for the last two days, and my current drug of choice is the strawberry donut from the local Donut Man. I have to thank Chi, my pusher, for the taste. Now, I'm hooked. I wonder how bad the withdrawal is going to be when I leave Los Angeles.

Most Dangerous Nachos (MD Nacho)

LOS ANGELES, April 23 — Ordered a Flamante Beef Nacho from the local La Flama Restaurant. It's pretty huge. Despite encouragement from Martin, I don't think I can fit this whole meal in my gullet.

Who Am I, Jack Woltz?

I found a headless Barbie Doll in my backyard. This is kinda like the reverse of the severed horse head scene in the Godfather. I felt like Jack Woltz waking up to a frightful scene.

Kanji Flash Cards and Listening to Ed

Making kanji flash cards and listening to the Ninja Consultant's coverage of Ed Chavez's Anime Boston panel.

The Last Video Rental Store

JERSEY CITY, April 5 — The last local video rental store in my neighborhood is finally closing its door after nearly twenty years. It’s the latest victim of digital media and high speed internet distribution. It’s quite sad really. I spent most of my formative years renting VHS cassettes.

As soon as my dad bought our first Panasonic VCR, I remember spending most of my childhood walking the narrow aisle of the video store looking for interesting VHS tapes. It was only a dollar to rent a single VHS for a day, and it was a bargain.

I frequently rented martial arts, horror, and crappy B-movies. It’s an informal film education that shaped my taste as moviegoer. I spent my younger days watching rented movies like Chinese Connection, Blood Sport, Dracula Versus Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, and Godzilla 1985 (ゴジラ). According to my Netflix queue, my taste in movies hasn’t really changed much… Jeez.


In the early 1990s, I rented some of the first anime titles legally released by Central Park Media, AnimEigo, U.S. Renditions and Streamline Pictures. Most of the releases were OVAs like M.D. Geist, Bubble Gum Crisis, Appleseed, and Gunbuster. I also remember the anime section being labeled "Japanimation". Along with a local tape trading circle, the video rental store became a good source for my voracious anime addiction.

As I walk past the last local video rental store, it was holding a huge "going out of business" clearance sale for all their DVDs. Regular feature film DVDs were priced at $8.29, and Anime DVDs were going for $2.88 each. I'm going to miss it.

Recession Hot Dogs

Did we hit a new low in the recession or a great new high?

Gray's Papaya on the corner of 8th Street and the Avenues of America, New York City.

Random Year in Review - 2009

Akihabara from my hotel room at Remm Akihabara.
NEW YORK, December 30 – 2009 has been a crazy and bizarre year in the life of this blog and Asian-American pop culture. There were great moments and scary ones, but I made it without too many scars. I've flown nearly 30,000 miles and visited five different countries. I've eaten amazing food and met some very interest people in my travels.

I know a lot of people are doing year end lists of the “Best and Worst”. These are some of the most interesting moments of Random Access Information Blog in 2009.

Surviving the Deployment June 16 -- I can’t really discuss the details, but I’m glad that it’s over. It was one of the most bizarre cultural experiences in my life. I was living in the desert with fully loaded weapons and some survival Arabic. Somehow we all made it back. I will never forget playing spades early in the morning and the sandstorms that turned days into nights. I will not miss the desert, but I will miss the people that I served with… I will never forget them. POST: Part I: Otaku War Journal: Did you find any Xilians today?

Giant Robot Family June 21 -- Living in New York tends to harden people, but my visits to Los Angeles seem to provide a little balance. I always try to visit my extended Los Angeles family at least once a year. They are amazingly chill. I enjoy hang out with the entire crew. I love all of my friends and family on the west side. POST: Giant Robot Magazine Headquarters: Pilgrimage or Loitering?

New York Asian Film Festival June 25 -- I absolutely loved the New York Asian Film Festival. They played some of the best films from Korea, China, and Japan. I met some great directors and film makers as they promoted their latest movies. I can’t wait until next year’s festival. POST: NYAFF09: Crushing and Blushing with Kong Hyo-Jin

Anime Week Atlanta September 18 -- I don’t go to many southern anime conventions, so I decided to head south. I flew down to Georgia to attend Anime Week Atlanta (AWA). It was quite a bizarre experience with crazy cosplayers, curtains falling on people, and Carl Gustav Horn holding court. It was quite a different experience than a northeastern anime convention, but still very cool. POST: Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) 2009: Part 1: Anime Hell

New York Anime Festival September 27 -- New York Anime Festival (NYAF), one of the biggest industry conventions for anime and manga, held its last stand-alone event. Reed Exhibitions plans to merge the NYAF with the New York Comic Con creating one large convention. This year’s NYAF is the last time a major anime only convention will be held in New York City. I’ve loved hanging out with industry guests, fellow anime/manga reviewers, and friends. POST: New York Anime Festival 2009: Pictures and Words

John Woo – Red Cliff Interview October 15 -- During the New York premiere of Red Cliff, I had the opportunity to interview John Woo. I have been a huge fan of his movies like the Killer and A Better Tomorrow 2. He was extremely gracious and entertained all sorts of questions. POST: John Woo's Battle of Red Cliff

P.K. 14 and Carsick Cars November 20 -- The best of Chinese punk hits the streets of New York. I was complete blown away by the post-punk sounds of both bands, and the crowd was lit. I also ran into Giant Robot photographer Ben Clark. He was completely chill. POST: Raw Chinese Punk at the Ding Dong

Pixies Thanksgiving November 26 -- I didn’t post about this, but it was completely awesome anyway. The Pixies played a 1 A.M. Thanksgiving show for their New York fans. It was completely awesome to hear the entire Doolittle album being played with some B-side tracks. As a long time Pixies fan, I was completely thrilled.

Hong Kong Cavalier December 10 -- I spent nearly two weeks eating my way through the streets of Hong Kong and Macau. I was able to gorge on every type of Southern Chinese Cuisine with the help of my Hong Kong family. It was a nonstop buffet of dim sum, noodles, hot pots, buns, grilled meats, and street food. POST: Dim Sum Delight

Tokyo Raider December 22 -- This was my first opportunity to visit Japan. It was a very education affair because I didn’t know the language or the city. It’s was a stumbling expedition of districts, shops, and eateries. After three days, I began to truly know the city, the train system, the restaurants, and I even picked up some basic Japanese. I’m already making plans to visit next year during Winter Comiket. POST: Akihabara@MIDNITE

Happy New Year! I hope next year will be just as exciting and bizarre as 2009.

All Points West Festival 2009

JERSEY CITY, August 2 – I came for the Echo and the Bunny Men and staid for the Coldplay and MGMT.


Outdoor Music Festivals = Mud


Echo and The Bunnymen performing "The Killing Moon"


Coldplay performing "Yellow" (with large yellow balloons filled with confetti)

Related Links:

• All Points West Music & Arts Festival

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Mike Toole is Not Moe for Moe

Oh Snap! Mike Toole rips moe fans.
NEW YORK, January 29 — Mike Toole, the pioneer behind Anime Jump, has started a humorous video podcast on Anime News Network (ANN). In his first episode, he rips on Kanon (カノン), and he infects the internets with the classic anime Alakazam the Great (西遊記).

You can see his first episode here: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ann-tv/2008-01-26