Little Tokyo: Shoshi Watanabe Creates Very Singular Art
For our final episode of the Little Tokyo series, of Season 1 and of 2019, we spoke with the immaculately metered ceramicist Shoshi Watanabe. Get ready to not be stressed about anything.
Even-keeled assessments of Russia seem to be in short order these day. Shoshi might not have any of those but he certainly has some insights into life in the USSR, where he grew up. From there, he moved to Japan before finally landing America. It’s a winding path that led to a diverse professional life that includes teaching, ceramics and shakuhachi (which we learn is good for meditation specifically because it’s difficult to play). There’s only one place to discover the intersection of all these places and professions and that’s right here on The Hollywood Fishbowl. As always, thanks for listening!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 36
Little Tokyo: Shoshi Watanabe Creates Very Singular Art
Recorded on November 16, 2018
Released on December 27, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:28:03
Shoshi Watanabe can be found on Instagram @flappingdeer and on the web at www.shoshiwatanabe.com.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Darin Maki Has Studied Divergent Timelines
Darin and Jesse have one thing in common - a deep,undying love of Back To The Future 2: The New Batch. From there, it’s all basketball, brand management and clothing manufacturing, all topics on which Darin is an expert and Jesse is not.
Darin just wanted to be good at basketball and here he is with his own clothing line. It wasn’t a straight line that got him from those early days of practice (and subsequent ability to dunk on some fools) to his pop-up shop in Little Tokyo. There were some detours to Asia, parties at Feria, a stint with an airline and, through it all, a fascination with paper cranes. What does this all have to do with Back To The Future 2: The New Batch? Listen and find out for yourself!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 35
Little Tokyo: Darin Maki Has Studied Divergent Timelines
Recorded on November 13, 2018
Released on December 25, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:14:19
CRFT By Maki can be found on Twitter @crftbymaki, Instagram @crftbymaki and on the web at https://crftbymaki.com/.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Scott Oshima Is Looking For A Bookstore And Pizza
We’ve covered the history of Little Tokyo. We’ve spoken with those making tracks today in Little Tokyo. Now, it’s time to get the perspective of the community organizers, starting with Scott Oshima.
Scott’s job title is a monster; He’s the Lead Community Organizer and Project Manager Of Sustainable Little Tokyo at the Japanese-American Cultural Community Center. While we’re not exactly sure what that job title means, we know what Scott does. He works to keep the public and community spaces in Little Tokyo public and communal. This involves working with businesses, politicians, and the residents to ensure that Little Tokyo doesn’t lose itself to gentrification. Basically, if Scott could get transported into any 80’s Slobs Vs Snobs movie, the slobs would have a reasonable chance of protecting their community from the heartless developers. When we turn to The Fishbowl, we get a string of sexy questions before debating the best highway in LA and ultimately talk Advice Advice Advice. Thanks for listening!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 33
Little Tokyo: Scott Oshima Is Looking For A Bookstore And Pizza
Recorded on November 14, 2018
Released on December 18, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:09:05
Sustainable Little Tokyo can be found at www.sustainablelittletokyo.org and @sustainablelittletokyo
Japanese-American Cultural Community Center can be found at www.jaccc.org and @jaccc_la
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: James Choi Succeeded A Bit Later Than Planned
As the owner and operator of Cafe Dulce, James Choi is the perfect guest to talk about business building in Little Tokyo. Funny story - more interesting than the successes are the challenges faced along the way and the businesses that didn’t make it.
Cafe Dulce can be found in the heart of Little Tokyo. And also down at 777 Alameda. And at any of the mobile or pop-up cafe experiences that they do from time to time. With so much happening in his business, it’s a real stroke of luck that we could pin down owner and operator James Choi to talk about his experiences growing the business. More revealing still are the stories of the businesses he operated leading up to Cafe Dulce, the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t. Listen along and see if you’re not inspired to run a few failed businesses yourself, all in the pursuit of the one that succeeds and succeeds repeatedly.
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 32
Little Tokyo: Little Tokyo: James Choi Succeeded A Bit Later Than Planned
Recorded on November 12, 2018
Released on December 14, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:12:11
Cafe Dulce can be found on Twitter @cafedulcela, Instagram @cafedulcela and on the web at www.http://cafedulce.co.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.