Portlandia.

In search of the brown bottle with the white label that said "BEER", I found that Fred Meyer has upped the ante in the generic alcoholic beverage game.

One dollar movies, pizza, and beer as you watch.

Cerf.

Boys from Philly.

Fiddle Fingers, or something like that, at the Farmer's Market. A good place to empty your wallet.

Culture downtown. Downtown Culture.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Man.

The Schnitz.

Mecca for the Literate.

Head West, Middle-aged Man.

But first, you must say goodbye. Don't forget me while I'm out and about.

Out to where the trees grow, turkey buzzards and drones circle overhead.

 Grey sky, green fields and trees. Poison oak and blackberries having their field day in the fields.

Different World. Same big box stores, but here is space, young buildings and streets, and big nature.

But, more West to come. And completely different.

The band plays Asian Celebration Month, 5/19/18.

China and Russia, hmmm...

Feeling dubious to see China and Russia on the list of countries with viewers looking at this blog.

Hack attack?

That is not to say that the other countries that appear on the "stats" page are any less questionable, especially given that they may just be ricochet shots for any number of miscreants.

Who knows what is what, or who is who.

Good luck, guys. I hope you love your mothers more than your nations and your paychecks. I'm not a fan of nations.

Van Life.

Article about people living small, living mobile.

Quit social media.

Dreaming Thomas & the Asian Americans.

Hey, Dreaming Thomas has a 45-minute set at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration...and we qualify! It's good to be a cultural minority, sometimes. And we're each a cultural minority within our own band, too. Beat that.

In the mix are original tunes that will become your new friends and covers by bands you've most certainly heard of if you didn't grow up under a rock on a small island this past century. We will regale you with melodies, harmonies, and...other stuff. Young Norm will crank up the Cuteness Knob to "11", Smooth Rahul will impress with his digital night moves, Ricky will keep it all in the pocket whilst groovin' it on both the up and down beats, and Chris will warble at full throatle and power up his rumble bass so youze can all shakes yer booty with the kiddies.

Come check us out on Saturday, May 19th, 2:15pm at Mifflin Square Park, at 6th & Wolf (or Ritner, whichever you prefer). We're on after "Every Heard" and "No One You've Ever Heard Of" (fo' reels, no joke, brah).

The festival goes from 11am to 4pm and includes performances by K-pop dancers, martial artists, bands, solo artists, and...FOOD. Thankfully, no comedians.

We will be aiming to blow yer socks off, so get ready...bring some socks so we can all make Asian America Great (again).

Last batch.

2018 Batch of animators.

They complete the run for me, starting in 2003. Arthur, Nina, Nichola, Patrick, Matt, Luis.

Lana, 2D studio-bound. Watch for them in coming years, in the credits of films, television, festivals, and the internet.

Annabelle, heading off into the Realm of Graphic Design.

Matt, going 3D.

Alexya, production manager for one of her profs.

Hugh and Tyler, off to new adventures, uncharted waters.

Lana, Megan, and Lowell.

The crowd of families, artists, teachers, and friendlies.

Luis, off to a year off before heading to grad school to compose more music.

Congratulations, you graduated from UArts the same year as me.

Classic color scheme.

Don't fall off the edge, Thomas.

Cinco de Mayo at the Headhouse

We played last night at the Headhouse Sushi Bar. Only our second outing with drummer Ricky, who did an excellent job of lifting us up to the next level. So good to have the full roster playing. Most often it's either myself solo or with Norm at open mics. Felt like a band.



Not too many other performers this evening, so we got a fair amount of playing in, starting with Chuck Berry's "Carol".



Ricky & Norm.



...and Rahul's smile can disarm the most worn-out cynic.


Thanks to Bob for joining in on the evening-capping rock'n'roll jam, and also a shout-out to all the performers: Mike, Jon, Joe, Marie, Dominic (who sang "acapulco"), and hopefully if I've forgotten someone it'll come back to me forthwith. Thanks to Saito-san for the great sushi and friendly atmosphere.

Aloha 'Oe

The sophomores put together a really terrific send-off for me at the Junior/Sophomore screening on Thursday. Qua made this ukulele cake, surrounded with a cupcake flower lei - completely impressed.

And this button-festooned guitar strap! Handmade images - wow.

We ate the uke immediately.

Really touched, guys. Mahalo for your warm aloha - I will never forget.

Make great films and keep feeding your passion for animation. Have a great summer, everyone.

: )

ps - and as for me...