July Better Than June

Above, The Beast at the Manzanar visitor center parking lot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Where the heck is this year going? It seems almost recently that we were in January. Now we're in August.

While the first half of the year was rather crappy (with some exceptions), at least the second half started out better. At least July was a better month than June was.

July began with my cousin's annual 4th of July (held on July 2) bash down in Wildomar, California. It was great to see family members in a festive mood.

Above, a meadow in Devil's Postpile National Monument. Photo by Armnd Vaquer.

Following that, Jes and I went to the Ventura Beach RV Resort for a few days of relaxation. She had never camped in an RV before and she enjoyed it.

After this, I headed up the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra with my cat Sierra and visited places that I hadn't been to before such as Manzanar Relocation Camp, Devil's Postpile National Monument, Mammoth Lakes and Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park. I am happy that I'm getting plenty of use out of The Beast.

Above, at Japantown in West Los Angeles. Photo by Anastasia Lipovetskaya.

I commissioned a portrait in July and it was only completed a few days ago. I am working on holding an "unveiling party" to be held in the not-too-distant-future.

I bought DVD sets of Dallas and finished watching Seasons One through Three. Yesterday, I picked up Season Four (the "Who shot J.R.?" storyline) and now in the middle of side one of disc one. It is fun watching my onetime favorite television show after all these years, especially the insults J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) threw at people ("Sue Ellen, you're a drunk, a tramp, and an unfit mother.") Classic!

That reminds me. There's still some legal matters to attend to this month, but I feel confident that I will prevail in them. Most, if not all, were forced by the actions of a couple of female jackasses. There's not much to do except to deal with them and move on.

July ended with an enjoyable dinner at Maria's Italian Kitchen in Encino with Dawn. We'll see how August shapes up.

Photography and Sushi

Above, Asya at work photographing me. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The photo shoot, sketching and dinner meeting with artist Asya went very well tonight.

We met up at Kula Revolving Sushi at Sawtelle Place in Japantown in West Los Angeles. I arrived first and found a line of people waiting to get seated. Asya was en route via Uber. I checked in with the electronic check-in gizmo that was mounted at the entrance. According to the gizmo, we had about an hour wait.

Above, a reference photo of yours truly by Asya.

When Asya arrived, we used the waiting time for the photo shoot of me for the painting. She used my Canon Rebel camera for this. She took photos of me from all angles and in different lighting.

We had just completed the photo shoot when we were notified that we were next to be seated.

Above, the crowd waiting to be called to be seated. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We were seated at a table near the front windows of the restaurant. The system was a simple one. Everything on the conveyor was the same price, $2.25. All we had to do was to send our empty plates down a chute to be counted. If a patron reaches 15 plates, they win a prize. We ended up sending 17 plates. I let Asya keep the prize.

Above, the food conveyor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Despite that, the total bill for the meal was around $55. Not bad! The food was pretty good, too! This was the first time Asya tried Asahi beer. Apparently, Asahi Beer isn't available in the Russia, where she's from. She liked it!

Above, Asya sketching me. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, yours truly enjoying a glass of Asahi. Photo by Asya.

After dinner, we went outside for more photographs and then we headed out. I drove Asya to her home in the Olympic/Robertson area (I guess it's called Mar Vista).

Above, Asya reviewing the photos she took. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We both enjoyed the evening.

Getting Started

Above, Asya with one of her abstract paintings.

Last night, I met up with Asya, the artist who will be doing a portrait of yours truly and we came to an agreement on the work that I am commissioning, including size, medium (oil), price, etc.

I asked her which medium she feels most comfortable in doing a portrait and she chose oil. I was pleased by that. We are planning to do a traditional portrait, but with a Japanese-themed background. I have to send her some photos I took in Japan to give her some ideas.

She (kidding, of course) asked me if I wanted to be painted as Batman, after I showed her a sketch of Batman I did last weekend at my cousin's.

We are going to meet up again in the "Little Osaka" (or Sawtelle Japantown) tonight for a photo shoot, sketches and dinner to get the ball rolling. "Little Osaka" is a Japanese enclave in the West Los Angeles area bordered by Santa Monica Blvd. to the north, and Olympic Blvd. to the south. It is several blocks long along Sawtelle Blvd. I am very familiar with the area. My grandfather lived on Sawtelle Blvd. until his death in 1966 and I have frequented the Japantown area many times during the past several years. Asya lives in the Olympic/Robertson area.

The Los Angeles City Council designated the area as "Japantown" last year by a unanimous vote.

I am looking forward to this as I have been thinking about having a portrait painting done for quite a while. It's not an "ego thing", but a curiosity about seeing how an artist would see me in artwork. Asya estimates that the whole process will take about a week or so to complete. 

This is getting me "fired up" again to want to break out my art equipment and start drawing again.

Progress Made For Bay Area Presentation On Japanese Monster Locations

Above, the Super 7 store in San Francisco's Japantown. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Plans are currently being formulated for my talk on Godzilla and other Japanese movie monster locations of Japan for people to visit.

We are looking at two possible dates in March and it will likely take place somewhere in San Francisco's Japantown.

I visited Japantown in 2008 and, like Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, it is a major Japanese enclave with many businesses that cater to Japanese pop-culture enthusiasts, such as the Super 7 store.

I will be presenting a slideshow of monster battle locations and there is a possibility that a screening of all or part of a Godzilla movie will be included. Copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan will be available for purchase by attendees.

Stay tuned for details once everything's finalized.

Japan Plans To "Transplant" Trendy Tokyo Districts Overseas

Above, Harajuku Station in Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan is looking to "recreate" its fashionable Tokyo districts overseas, according to an article in The Malaysian Insider.

In the article, they reported:

TOKYO, June 4 — Japan is hoping to cash in on its rich culture by recreating fashionable districts of Tokyo in foreign cities, determined that enclaves of vibrant shops, cafes and restaurants can find new markets abroad. 

For decades, exports have been the driving force behind the world’s third largest economy with brands like Toyota and Sony becoming household names around the globe. 

But a key plank in the government’s “Cool Japan” strategy, which launched last year, is to transplant Tokyo’s trendy districts overseas, taking the shops to the customers instead of bringing the customers to the shops. 

It could see quirky areas like shopping district Harajuku pop up in cities around the world, boosting Japan’s brand overseas and helping to reverse the nation’s flagging fortunes.

Could the already existing "Japantowns" or "Little Tokyos" in the United States be included in this plan?  It is one way to revitalize Japanese enclaves outside of Japan.

To read the full article, go here.

San Francisco's Super 7 Store and Japantown

Above, Mama mia! That's one big poster!

San Francisco's Super 7 Store and Japantown

by Armand Vaquer

This summer, Haruo Nakajima will be the guest of honor at the Godzilla & the Monsters of Mass Destruction film festival at the historic Castro Theater in San Francisco. It is being produced by August Ragone ("In August By August", eh?). For those of you who are thinking about attending but are currently sitting on the fence, besides seeing a good show at the Castro, you would also have the opportunity to wander about San Francisco, especially Japantown.

In February 2008, I went to San Francisco to check out a possible job opportunity (I got downsized out of a job in November 2007) and while there, I met up with Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters author August Ragone in the city's Japantown section. This was the first time I had been to San Francisco's Japanese enclave. We agreed to meet up at the Super 7 store located there. As luck would have it, Japantown was only a 20-minute walk from my hotel.

I arrived at the store a little bit early so I could browse around to see what they have to offer and I was impressed. I was greeted by the store's clerk, Hiro Hayashi (who is also an artist) when I entered the store. At the cashier's desk, there's a nicely-framed Italian one-sheet poster of Godzilla vs. Megalon.

The store (below) carries all varieties of kaiju and henshin toys along with books, magazines, videos, t-shirts, posters and pictures. They also publish the Super 7 magazine for Japanese collectibles.



Hayashi indicated that they would like to contact G-FAN for some possible advertising business, so I provided him with the information.

After August arrived, we headed over to a local Japanese mall for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Along the way, he pointed out many of the landmarks in the Japantown district. The district has its own pagoda, which was a gift from Japan.

Above, August poses in front of a model of a Japanese castle at a Japantown mall before he does his best Haruo Nakajima impersonation.

There are many Japanese restaurants and shops catering to Japanese-American clientele including bookstores, clothing stores, toy stores and nightclubs. Like many Japantowns and Chinatowns in the major cities of the United States, they constantly have to battle with outside developers to keep the district ethnocentric to Japanese-American residents. Too many cultural and ethnic centers such as Japantown have to struggle to preserve their identities.

If you plan to visit San Francisco for the Godzilla & the Monsters of Mass Destruction film festival or any time soon, make sure you include Japantown and Super 7 on your itinerary. Super 7 is located at 1628 Post Street, San Francisco, California 94115. Telephone (415) 409-4700. Their email address is info@super7store.com.