R.I.P. Gilbert Lee
Last Thursday night my wife and I were by her grandfather’s side in his final hours in this world. He lived to the age of 87 and a half. He was one of those old-school men – worked hard, sacrificed and took care of his family. He’s had a colorful life…coming from China to America & serving in the Army (during WWII) , being a butcher, rancher, running small businesses and being an almost magical gardener who could make anything grow. The man had an infectious smile and was always cracking jokes or doing something silly to make someone laugh.
My wife’s grandparents accepted me into their family without hesitation and always treated me as one of their own. My own grandparents were far away in India and I only saw them on a few trips back there. They’ve all long since passed away, and I am fortunate to have met my 3rd set of grandparents. How lucky is that?
I will miss him dearly. Rest in peace Gung Gung.
Bo Diddly, R.I.P.
Rock guitar legend Bo Diddly passed away yesterday.
He was there in the beginning of it all with guys like Chuck berry, LIttle Richard, Buddy Holly, etc. The man was an innovator in terms of rock rhythms and in terms of guitar technique and sounds. He used to build his unique rectangular guitars and played with a lot of fuzz, reverb and host of other sounds. His use of innovative guitars and effects, and his brand of bragging lyrics about himself have labelled him the creator of psychadelic rock and as the precursor of rap music.
Kristen and I had an opportunity to see him perform a few years ago, and it was one fo the best shows I’d ever seen. The man was a master showman coming from an era where a performer actually made you feel good as an audience member. He would remind us all that he was there to work for us. People give the Rolling Stones flak for being in their 60s and still performing. We saw him live and he was about 71 and rocking hard!
As a guitarist, it makes me sad he’s gone. A lot of us have gone through that phase where we learn Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly riffs. Fun as hell to play! Thankfully the music is still here. I’m listening to his “Who Do You Love” right now.
RIP sir.
Back from Nowhere
Hey, so I’ve been busy and stuff. How have you been? Everything going well? I sure hope so.
So where the hell have I been? Busy… mostly at work. So I’m thoroughly enjoying my work at Electronic Arts. Working on video games has been the most satisfying work I’ve had in my career so far. Last year I had withdrawal symptoms! I’m working hard and hoping to get my contract extended.
So since we last talked, here’s what been happening:
- March – Kristen and I celebrated our annual double anniversary. We’re now up to 8 years married and 17 years together total. I always say this but it’s true… It doesn’t feel like that much time has gone by at all.
- Been working on paintings. I’m a member of a little collective of artists working on original paintings for a gallery show in August. I think I’m 75% of the way there. In a few weeks I should be posting more info about the show. If you find yourself in the Bay Area in August come out and check out the gallery and our work.
- My former coworkers at the karaoke bar have started a podcast… it’s a wonderfully funny talk radio / comedy show they record every week from the bar after hours. I was in the original pilot episode (we used it as a test) and I will soon be sitting in as a guest very soon. A few weeks ago I built their site: www.kjboothcast.com. Be advised… you’re in for a lot of colorful language.
So I don’t usually do this but I’ve got some world events/political stuff to comment on. So here we go:
- OPEC – you SUCK. You love our money but you hate us. Yesterday on the BBC World Service, I heard a reporter ask the OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri if oil prices would come down at all? His response was, “Not likely as it is a crazy market.” WTF kind of response is that?
- Hillary Clinton – I used to not have an opinion about you either way. Those of you who know me in real life know that I can’t stand people with a sense of entitlement. Mrs. Clinton, I’m sorry but you’re not going to win. Stop dividing the Democratic party and help Mr. Obama win the election. If John McCain wins the presidency I will never forgive you. If you truly want to do what’s best for the country (and not for your ego)- you will gracefully step aside and go to work helping to repair our honor.
Ok, end of rant people.
I’ve got some stuff I’m working on, so stay tuned for the next update.
Back to the Business of Games
Well I just completed my third week at Electronic Arts. I’m back in the game industry. I’m currently working as an User Interface Artist on the next-gen sequel to the biggest selling PC game title ever.
It’s interesting to be back in a corporate environment. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen “corporate” like this though. EA certainly is an interesting place.
Most of all I’m excited to be working on a creative project. It’s also great to be reunited with former coworkers. Professionally, I haven’t been this happy in a while.
My Life as A Barman, Part 6
Well, last night turned out to be my last night as a barman… at least for now.
I’ve been interviewing for several weeks now and I’m going back to the video game industry next week.
So I was thinking, it’s my last night at this bar…it’s a Wednesday ( my favorite night of the week at the Encore) what could possibly go wrong? Some of you may be quick to point out Murphy’s Law. Last night was perhaps a variation on that theme. The evening just started out with a strange energy. Most of the regulars weren’t there and the annoying hipster kids were about. Not to mention the “Fratboy-has-beens” walking in after working overtime at their corporate jobs.
My pal Brent has an interesting way of describing drunks. “Oh yeah, he was three-flavors of drunk.”
According to Brent’s parlance, I myself was two-flavors of drunk. That’s good enough for me. If you’ve ever partied with me, you’ll know that I am a happy drunk and can keep a steady hand, remember my place in conversations and in general still operate at a maximum capacity of 80-90%. Some of our coworkers had jumped up to the five-flavors range and as such were more of a nuisance as the night wore on. As for our customers, our irregular crowd was getting drunker and creepier. I believe that there is a state of being called “Creepy Drunk.”
Anyway, as per my usual M.O. I stop drinking around 12:30 or 1, allowing me to safely and coherently drive home after my shift. Thankfully Brent was hanging out on his night off because he ended up taking care of several of our associates who were so drunk, they couldn’t function. So thanks Bro, I appreciate you being there last night. By the time we managed to get out of the bar it was 3:30 and we managed to get into the Grubstake diner, to grab a burger for their last 30 minutes of business. All around, it was almost an anti-climactic end to my tenure. I’m still mulling over the events of the night… the things I won’t say here. Maybe I’ll add a follow up to this in time.
Overall I had a very positive experience working at this bar. As you may remember I hadn’t worked a service job since college. I learned a lot about the logistics of running a bar. Sometime in the future I may open my own bar. Who knows? I learned about the wide spectrum of the people who work in bars. People from all sorts of backgrounds and talents… Some of the finest people I’ve met, and in some cases some of the most immature and selfish. Most of all I learned the most from the customers. It was one of the best educations in human behavior.
I’ll be hanging out at the Encore on wednesday nights. I’ve met a lot of cool people and I intend to stay in touch with all of them. Who knows, you may end up having a cocktail or two with me.
The Donnas Return to San Francisco
Happy New Year. As usual I’m late posting here. We’ve started 2008 with some crazy rainstorms in San Francisco. When we found out The Donnas were returning to play a gig here, Alan, Brent and I decided to go despite the torrential downpour.
We began our evening at The Chieftan, a very nice Irish Pub. It was my first time there and I was relieved to learn that they served dinner. Fish & chips and Bangers & mash filled our stomachs, and prepared us for the Guiness, whiskey, and gin & tonics that we knew would be coming our way throughout the night.
Standing outside the 1015 Folsom club was fun, even though we were drenched by the time we got inside. 1015 is a dance club, so going to see a live band, much less a rock band here was going to be a weird night for all. We walk into the darkness to find a crazy layout with each large room bathed in a solid color light. This first level was a dull blue. Mirrors on the walls and the rhythmic shots of the strobe lights made the scene seem more chaotic than it really was. It was hard to figure out where the stage was and where we were supposed to go.
Eventually we found the dance floor with the stage, and killed time while the 2 opening bands played their sets. Alan and I have a debate over gin & tonics going – which has lasted for a decade. I prefer Bombay Sapphire while he is a Tanqueray man. Brent stayed neutral with his Maker’s & Ginger. As the 2nd band was tearing down their equipment and the Donna’s roadies were getting their stuff ready we staked out our place on the floor.
The house sound system was playing random rock songs for awhile. The 3 of us sang along to Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”... and then it started. The house lights went down, and green and red lights flared up behind the drum kit. Tori – the drummer was the first to hit the stage. She was quickly followed by Maya (bass) and Allison (guitar) as they started playing the mostly instrumental song “Bitchin’” (which happens to be the intro and title track to their current album). It was a heavy metal march as the guitars and bass crunched along in unison. the last chord fades out… And as Allison starts playing a new riff high up on her guitar’s neck Brett ran up to the mic. They dive into the 2nd half of the song and as Brett sings fists and devil horns went up int he air as the crowd began to scream and cheer. And thus began roughly 90 minutes of some heavy rock and roll fun.
I’ve seen The Donnas live several times and it’s always a treat to see these Bay Area (Palo Alto) girls come home. The Donna’s sound has evolved a bit. The basic formula of AC/DC meets The Ramones is now more of the 80s Glam Metal sound heavily spiced with influences of The Cult, Ratt, Motley Crue, Metallica, Van Halen , Joan Jett, and The Runaways.
Sadly, there aren’t enough girl-groups that are actual BANDS... you know, writing their own material and actually playing their own instruments. It’s precisely that reason why The Donnas rock – not only do they ROCK, but they don’t have much competition in that department. I say it’s a shame. I like the confident female lyrics and vocals over what is typically thought of as a male-centric music. So if you get a chance to see them live, please do so. You won’t be disappointed. These ladies are beautiful, clever, sexy, fun and and most importantly excellent musicians who can strut, swagger and bring the rock as good as any of the guys.
After the show we hit the Encore Karaoke Lounge to hang with some of our coworkers. We stayed through closing and Danny joined us an early breakfast at the Lucky Penny.
\m/
The Searchers
Check out my latest painting. Yes, as you might have guessed I’ve named this piece “The Searchers”.
client illustration: 5 page comic!
Hi, it’s finally up for the world to see. I recently completed a 5-page comic for the video game news site Ripten.com. You can check out Lara Croft: Tomb Raider vs. Pitfall Harry by clicking on the image or link below:
http://www.ripten.com/2007/11/30/king-of-the-game-lara-croft-vs-pitfall-harry/
Client Illustration: Velvet Martini
A few weeks ago I finished this logo for Velvet Martini Entertainment in Hollywood, California.
Gandhi Jayanti 2007
This is the man who defeated the most powerful empire in history, all through the power of non-violence and non-cooperation, freeing India from over 200 years of British rule and oppression.
Today is the 138th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. In addition to being one of India’s 3 national holidays the UN has declared October 2nd to be International Day of Non-Violence.
Posted with love, respect and profound gratitude.
The Donnas Rock San Francisco
Last night Kristen, Alan and I got some yummy Vietnamese food for dinner then headed on to the Great American Music Hall for some rock and roll. Side note: Opening act Stellar Moments (featuring the singer and drummer from L7) were awesome.
The Donnas got a lot of love from the San Francisco audience especially because they’re originally from the area (Palo Alto). Having last seen them live 2 years ago, one thing was obvious from the beginning of their set – The Donnas are a much heavier band now! Read more
My Life As A Barman part. 4
This is a true account of what occurred the night of August 29th. Some names have been changed, but the events are true!
It was an awesome night as most wednesday nights tend to be at the Encore. Mellow, full of the usual suspects of regulars. It’s like a little party and I get paid to host it.
So everything was going as smooth as it could. Enter the major players of this drama:
Friend X, an expert bartender of several SF venues came to hangout and visit. Cool guy. He can hold his liquor, but that night he managed to get himself plastered.
Stinky H, a young guy who has been hanging around the bar the last few weeks. And no, I’m not being mean… the guy usually has a powerful stench with roughly a 6 foot radius. Funny? Yes, except when he is standing near you. In addition to being high most of the time, he apparently is also a bisexual-hustler using his charms to score free beers and cigarettes. Bar staff have seen him take men and women home with him at closing time. If you like the stinky, he is your man. (Side-note: he was asked by bar management to take a shower or never come back again. Cleanliness lasted 2 days and the malodorous vapors returned.)
Associate Y. Cool guy who is only a minor player in our little drama. (Wait for it…)
Associate Z. He had the night off and and I blame him for being the “instigator” that night.
We hit the 1 am on the clock and aside from about 5 of our staff either working or hanging out, we were down to about 13 customers of which one was a woman. Stinky H had gone around the room and made out with at least 9 of them. I really don’t care about whatever someone’s sexual preferences are, but have some self-respect man! You don’t need to go around the room behaving like a slut! And as for the customers he was all over, most of them didn’t seem to mind his foul stench. How drunk do you have to be to get turned on by monster-caliber body odor?
Around this time Friend X says that he is super drunk and super hungry. He didn’t drive and I offered to drop him off at a 24 hour diner or his friends place but then I would have to go, on account of my new job and would I had to be in the office early.
Let’s get back to Stinky H. The guy can never just walk past you. He will insist on shaking hands, giving high-fives or worse, hugs.
Sadly i was assaulted by several hug attempts throughout the night. So in the course of 2 hours you will unfortunately be in contact with him an average of 20 times. No, I’m not exaggerating.
It’s finally 2am, and we quickly get everyone out of the bar except for a few bar staff, like my pal Brent, Associate Z, and Friend X.
Seemed easy. 20 minutes of relaxed cleaning up – BUT NO…
Associate Z lets Stinky H hangout with him while we are cleaning up the place. Suddenly Friend X walks up to me with a look a weird look on his face almost like he’s experiencing paranoia.
He says, “Dude, I can’t stay indoors anymore. I HAVE to go outside.” At this point I don’t know if I should laugh or not. “X, if you wait like 15 more minutes I’ll drive you to the restaurant. You drank so much, you should eat something.” “No Sid, I CAN NOT stay indoors. I’m going to walk up Geary. Call me when you’re done and I’ll tell you where to pick me up from.” A few minutes later I locked the gate behind him. “X, I’ll call you as soon as I get out of here.”
15 mintues later I’ve finished all of my clean up duties, counted out my tips, and was sitting at the bar with Brent enjoyed a tall glass of ginger ale. Stinky H and Associate Z come walking in from the back parking lot and head past me to sit at the far side of the bar. Stink H suddenly turns around and lurches towards me with arms open wide. “Sid, you’re my favorite KJ here…blah blah blah, blah, blah, blah, come and give me a hug.”
Let’s press pause here for a moment shall we? over the course of my shift Stinky H came and tried to give me roughly 8 hugs per hour. I stuck out my left arm and shoved Stinky H back about a foot from me and started yelling, “Man, what the hell is your problem?! You gave me 50 fucking hugs tonight! Why the hell do you need to give me 51?!” Let’s just say Stinky H didn’t take it well. He looked like he was gonna cry and kept saying “Are you mad at me? Please don’t be mad at me… you don’t like me?” The truth is no, I don’t like him. But I actually turned to him and said “Stinky H, you’re a nice guy, I just don’t understand why you have to give me 50 hugs? I don’t feel the need to be touched by every customer in here ok?” It didn’t matter. Stinky H jumped up and stormed out of the place.
Once that little episode was over, we soon found out that
Associate Y had passed out on the dance floor by the microphones. It took about 15 minutes to get him to wake up and go and sleep in his car. Great. By the time we finally walk out of the bar it is close to 3:15am. I start the drive home and realize I need to find Friend X. So I call his cellphone repeatedly and cruise up and down Geary till I find him. I get him in the car.
I then spend almost 30 minutes driving him back and forth till he gives me the right directions. I got home and in bed at 4am. I think I got maybe 4 and a half hours of sleep before I had to get up for work.
After all this, I’m not quite sure what I’ve learned from that night.
I’ve learned if that 4 and a half hours of sleep makes me really cranky! Maybe, I’ve learned to be polite but firm with people who are annoying at the bar, and from now on stop annoying behavior as soon as it starts. Perhaps don’t be a humanitarian and help a drunk acquaintance when he decides to drunk-walk across the city at 3am.
Happy 60th Independence Day India!
60 years ago today at the stroke of midnight, the jewel of the British empire gained its freedom. Anyone who knows me knows how fiercely proud I am of my heritage.
This anniversary of Independence seems to be a special one to me, as modern India is the same age as my parents.
I’m excited that despite India’s insane amount of internal differences: ethnic groups and languages, religions, and more – India has had a stable and vibrant democracy. The world’s largest democracy, that even had a woman Prime Minister as head of state…something we may see here in America after 200 + years of freedom. I’m also excited about the growing economic, political and cultural power India is having again. But enough of that…
India’s history is a chronicle of over 5000 years, but the arrival of the British East India Company in 1608 triggered the most dynamic chapter in the story. With profound respect and gratitude I salute every freedom fighter who did what they could to free India from foreign rule.
Jai Hind!
New India Shirt Design
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence, I’ve designed a new t-shirt.
These shirts are available now in my shop.
Portrait: Amitabh Bachchan
This is my tribute to one of my favorite actors, Amitabh Bachchan - a legend in Indian cinema.
You can read all about him at wikipedia.
This and more of my work can be seen in my gallery of course.