Nobody ever called them "portable personal stereo players" -- maybe not even the sales staff at Radio Shack. In the end, they were Walkmans. All hail Sony, except for me, that is. I ended up on the Aiwa side of the game and had these models, which I just excavated from my old bedroom in my parents' house.


Ironically, "my" first walkman was the white Aiwa (on the right) which my dad picked up for my sisters and I to share. Three sisters and a single walkman? Ha, we could barely split a bag of Cheetos without wanting to kill each other. But if you look closely, you can see the "ON AIR" insignia. Yep, this baby released a radio signal so that when we were all wearing our portable AM/FM headphones tuned into a low frequency on the bandwith, we were, indeed, all in business. It also meant that we had to be within a certain proximity of each other, which didn't help if say, Michelle wanted to listen to OMD and Christine wanted Depeche Mode. As the youngest, I don't think I ever really got a say even if I yelled my little head off.

I forgot to post this earlier, but the Joy Ride/Bicycle Film Festival art show started two hours ago. Goes until midnight. Our pal Dave Choe's got something in it. And try to go to the Friday 9:30 pm program...it includes a short directed by yours truly. (My first feeble, yet joyous attempt in movie making.)

Don O'Melveny Gallery
9009 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, California 90069
JOY RIDE
Curated by Elizabeth Ai and Brendt Barbur



SWOON
MICHEL GONDRY
SHEPARD FAIREY
DAVID CHOE
MIDNIGHT RIDAZZ INSTALLATION
TALIAH LEMPERT
KAREEM BLACK
PETER SUTHERLAND
JULIA CHIANG
TOD SEELIE
FAST EDDIE WILLIAMS
RYUTA NAKAJIMA
STEVE MACDONALD
DANIEL LEEB
ERIK ZO
GOODS
MIKE MARTIN
MASSAN
SILVER WARNER
YOHEI
JOSEPH BECKER
CHRIS RUSSELL
ASHIRA SIEGEL
GARRET CHOW
CACHE
DOUG MURPHY
MADSAKI
BOB OSBORN
MEAR ONE
ANNA SUMMA
DINO DINCO
LOREN PURCELL

Valet bicycle parking provided by Bikestation Coalition
Don O'Melveny Gallery
5472 Wilshire Blvd. Near La Brea
June 21, 2006
6 PM - MIDNIGHT
Los Angeles, California

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/wednesday_la.html
Event Website: http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/wedne...

Over the weekend, I found an old notebook of mine. The first page was dated October 2003, and on which I'd scribbled a list of 20 "Things I want to do before whatever," like eat at El Bulli (done, March 2006), build a bench, and understand String Theory (perhaps never). Why I didn't include: "Go on a free, all-you-can-eat rampage at one of Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurants" is beyond me. But it don't matter now, 'cause that's exactly what I did last night at Nobu 57, suckers. (Perks from having a day job that includes being a food writer at a national consumer magazine.) I asked Nobu which of his restaurants was his favorite and he couldn't say, explaining that they were like his children. After that all I could muster up was, "I saw Jay-Z and ?uestlove from the Roots at your spot in Tribeca."

From the top down: Black pepper crusted black cod, seared scallop, oysters in filo, and halibut tartare with caviar.

"Wanna get some food in K-town and check out the soccer game?" I was about to go to the beach yesterday when my friend Won called to see about my lunch plans. It was 94 degrees and humid outside. I imagined sitting in the cool interiors of one of 32nd street's many restaurants, catching France vs. Korea while throwing back some OB and slurping up ice cold naeng myung (buckwheat noodle soup). But as soon as I got out of the Herald Square subway, there was this. They tied. Korea vs. Switzerland this Friday the 23rd.

In college, I studied 20th-century Chinese pop culture. I always thought it was strange how I could write an entire paper on, say, the relationship between rock music and gay politics in China without ever having talked to either a Chinese rocker or a homosexual Beijinger. Didn't matter if the professor gave me an A- on it, which I recall that she did. In any case, as I perused this collection of Ling Long, a contemporary Chinese women's magazine from the 1930s, I had that same feeling: here is a truly fascinating part of Asian culture that I'm never going to fully grasp, no matter how many books I've read on Chiang Kai Shek or the New Life Movement. Ah, but I guess it never hurts to keep trying. (Later, I actually did meet Cui Jian in person and watch him perform at Central Park's SummerStage.)

Anyway, here are some pics of things that resonated with me: an inset of two women with the caption "Same-sex marriage?," film stars Ruan Lingyu and Anna May Wong, and Ling Long ladies who dig photography.

So the best part of my weekend was when I was forcibly removed from the Long Island Railroad by two Nassau County policemen. Now, I just want to point out that nowhere on the rules and regulations posted on the LIRR Web site does it say anything about surfboards not being allowed or having to stand and hold one in the the vestibule for the duration of a nearly hour-long ride to appease the self-proclaimed "conductor." Particularly when the car you are in is completely empty and will virtually stay that way for this ride. Nor do the rules say that because he can't seem to get the "ass" out of his rank in life which is clearly marked on his cap ("ass't conductor") and which you point out in not so many words, that said ass't conductor will feebly reach out to whatever power he wishes he had (i.e. martial law) and kick a girl off a train because she won't, in so many words, suck his you-know-what. Maybe he was intimidated by the length of my 6'7" shortboard? Or maybe it was because I wasn't a 6'7" dude? Is this a small reflection of all that is wrong with America? Misguided power trips followed by unnecessary (law) enforcement that leaves people totally f'd over?

If anyone else in this world has ever had a problem with such matters on the LIRR, please file your concerns by calling their public affairs at 718-558-8228. The people I've spoken with in that office actually seem nice and logical.