Kyrs Lee, Chris Grace, Alfa, Giant Robot + More Stuff

Because you wanted to know about some cool things going on this week.

Saturday
6:30pm until 10:00pm
Giant Robot 2 (GR2) presents: They Are Us
Solo exhibition by Ako Castuera

Ako Castuera often shows at Giant Robot in group exhibitions. This will be her first solo effort at Giant Robot. Castuera’s work involves a look into the past which has brought us into the present. Along with her sweeping watercolor hills and valleys are dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. Castuera relays their significance as a dreaming point as well as their contribution in our ecosystem. Also in this exhibition will be sculptural work also depicting prehistoric animals captured in a modernistic style. Castuera’s work is colorful, dreamy and captures a concept that explains who we are and where we came from.

They Are Us – New Work by Ako Castuera
April 7 – May 2, 2012
Opening reception Saturday April 7th 2012, 6:30-10pm
GR2 – 2062 Sawtelle Blvd LA, CA 90025 http://gr2.net/
310 445 9276

Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries in Los Angeles as well as an online equivalent.

For more information about Giant Robot or Ako Castuera, please contact:

Eric Nakamura
Giant Robot Owner/Publisher
eric@giantrobot.com
(310) 479-7311


Monday, April 9, 2012
7:00pm in EDT

KRYS LEE’s debut short story collection, Drifting House, explores the heartbreaking forgings of Korean identity in the wake of war and economic collapse. Haunted their tragic past, Lee’s cast of characters include a spurned wife who seeks to rescue her kidnapped daughter in America and a tenant who believes his mother has been reincarnated in his pet goose. The much heralded Drifting House is a portrait of the enduring grief of contemporary Korea and its diaspora. Krys will appear in conversation with Whiting Award winning novelist ALEXANDER CHEE, the blogger behind Koreanish.

@The Asian American Writers' Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor
Between 6th and 7th Avenues
Buzzer 600
$5 suggested donation

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KRYS LEE was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in California and Washington, and studied in the United States and England. She was a finalist for Best New American Voices, received a special mention in the 2012 Pushcart Prize XXXVI, and her work has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Narrative magazine, Granta (New Voices), California Quarterly, Asia Weekly, The Guardian, The New Statesman, and Condé Nast Traveller, UK (forthcoming). She lives in Seoul with intervals in San Francisco.

ALEXANDER CHEE was born in Rhode Island, and raised in South Korea, Guam and Maine. He is a recipient of the 2003 Whiting Writers’ Award, a 2004 NEA Fellowship in Fiction and residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony , the VCCA, Ledig House, the Hermitage and Civitella Ranieri . His first novel, Edinburgh (Picador, 2002), is a winner of the Michener Copernicus Prize, the AAWW Lit Award and the Lambda Editor’s Choice Prize, and was a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year and a Booksense 76 selection.

Friday, April 13, 2012
8:00pm in EDT

We know- we can't believe it's time for another one of our lavishly funny Open Mics! This month we are delighted to host talented singer/songwriter CHRIS GRACE as well as sassy documentarian MANSEE KONG. Chris's seductive vocals will knock you flat and ManSee Kong’s sharp chops will glue you to your seat. Our favorites and yours, comedienne JEN KWOK and novelist ED LIN will be MC'ing and pumping you up! Booze, books and you; our perfect Friday night!

@Asian American Writer's Workshop
112 West 27th Street, Suite 600
Between 6th and 7th Avenues
Buzzer 600
$5 suggested donation

Sign up for Open Mic slots at 7:30PM!


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CHRIS GRACE is a familiar face on Cold Soda, The Faculty, Starkey & Grace, Hello, and Baby Wants Candy. He’s a contributor for College Humor and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. In days of yore, he was a founding member of the PIT house teams Boldfaced LIAR and Fancy Dragon and went to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

MANSEE KONG Currently an MFA Film Candidate at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, ManSee Kong is best known for her documentary, Here to Stay, which portrays the effects of Manhattan Chinatown's gentrification through the lens of tenants awaiting the results of an anti-eviction lawsuit. Mansee aims to create films that expose the struggles and beauty of underrepresented communities as well as the inspirational commitment of organizers fighting for justice.


Friday, April 13, 2012
10:00pm until 2:00am
POPST★R
Friday April 13

Our resident DJs
STEVE BOK & ASTRO
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Steve-Bok
http://www.facebook.com/astrosf

LIVE Performance by
LESLIE DEEP
Performing his new single "Just Do Me" and "Don't Need Nobody"
Leslie will be doing meet 'n greet & CD signing after her performance!
http://youtube.com/OfficialLeslieDeep

CD & Poster Giveaway
SHINee 4th Mini Album "SHERLOCK"
Download now in itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sherlock/id511290379

CD Giveaway
KWANZA JONES "Time To Go"
She's back with MORE ENERGY and tight, dance-pop sensibility fused with an electro-vibe! The NEW single from the forthcoming CD "Supercharged" coming this Summer 2012.
http://www.kwanzajones.com/

$5 Drink Special or $150 Bottle Service Special ~ all night
STOLI VODKA
http://www.stoli.com/

21+
Doors at 10pm til late ~ continuing into The EndUp's FEVER Party
Free entrance before 11pm.
For FREE GUEST LIST signup, please send your FULL NAME to popstarsf@gmail.com (one name per email address).

POPST★R is every 2nd Friday of the month at the famous
The EndUp
401 6th Street (x Harrison)
SOMA, San Francisco, CA

Friday, April 13, 2012
9:00pm until 10:30pm in PDT
Hey friends!

Our musical pseudo-powers are combining on the spookiest night of all - Friday the 13th - and we'd love to have you join us for some fresh tunes, scandalous dance moves and heartfelt confessionals. It will be a night to remember!

Love and music!
Alfa & Andrew
http://www.alfa-music.com/
http://www.andrewandthebrots.com/

VIDEOS:
Alfa: "First Sight of Land" at The Living Room NYC
http://youtu.be/Q_tR0BB-9Tw

Andrew Figueroa Chiang: "Jilly"
http://bit.ly/GQ7P4a

$8, All Ages