let's all fail a little more

lately, i've been thinking about all the failure that has led me to today.

i was listening to NRP's piece on why so many ph.d.s are on food stamps and couldn't help thinking that could have been me. i could have poured my heart into my essays, drained my bank account with application and test fees, cried and pulled my hair out anxiously, and spent 8 more years in school only to come out unrecognized for my merits and to be on welfare.

and while i did do all of those things, and did them hard, i am glad all 8 programs decided i sucked as a ph.d candidate.

i am glad i failed.

though it's hard and heart wrenching and down right shitty a lot (pretty much all) of the time, it's when you've failed, stripped of everything, left with just the very core of your being, that you remember you can start over.

i say this, not from retrospect because i've still got a seat on the strugglebus, but with hope and optimism. i guess that's all you're ever guaranteed.

so, go forth and fail more because with failure burgeons new dreams.

and no one said you're only allowed one.

- melissa

Tereza Lee and the DREAM

Tereza Lee

Over on the Hyphen blog, there's a great post about pianist, Tereza Lee, and how her story helped the DREAM Act come about.

While on the surface, her life seems like every tiger mom's dream: she was a child prodigy, accomplished pianist at a really young age, accepted into prestigious music programs, and now earning her doctorates, there were major hardships and struggles to get there.

it's a touching story and a call for action to get the full DREAM ACT passed. we want more success stories like Tereza's.

-m

houstonian wins Masterchef

Season 3 Masterchef winner, Christine Ha

i'd be lying if i said i know what this show is about or any other cooking show on tv. i just eat. pan-seared or flash fried, all i care about is if it's tasty.

but i have to give props to one Christine Ha, a blind chef hailing from my very own streets. in the finale, Ha's competitor whipped up "butter-poached lobster with sweet corn grits, rack of lamb with curry spice and spring vegetables and bacon pecan pie" which was no match to Christine's "Thai Papaya and Crab Salad, braised pork belly with kale and a fried egg, and coconut sorbet with a ginger tuile. "

cmon, it doesn't take a culinary aficionado to know pork belly trumps all. helloooo it's thicker-cut bacon. the only thing that can beat bacon is more bacon. obvi. plus, an egg on top? someone get me Ms. Ha's number. i've got a hunger that only pork belly and fried eggs can cure (it's like breakfast on steroids!).    

what's funny is this yahoo article states the show's host, Gordon Ramsey, was quoted saying Christine won by sticking to her Vietnamese roots---did i read wrong or was the winning dish she made Thai inspired? whatever right? asian is asian! it's all the same! yeah yeah, fuck you too.

to read more about the season 3 Masterchef winner, click here  or read about Christine Ha in the Hyphen Magazine weekly TV round up! 

-m

boba 'til i die...which apparently may be soon

say it ain't so! according to some german research and the huffington post: tapioca pearls cause cancer along with happiness and chew-induced-delight.

i'm waiting for the counter article calling bull shit. i'll be in the corner with my bubble milk tea if anyone stumbles upon it.

-m

calling all texans

today is the first day you can start registering for mail in ballots/absentee ballots.

contact your county voter registration officials for any questions/to register/to say hello.

REMEMBER, last day to register to be able to vote in november is October 9, 2012.
for more deadlines and dates, go here.

and one last thing, do the world a solid and vote President Obama for a second term.
thank you. no, seriously.

-m

gangnam ma

by now, you've all heard the obnoxiously (damn-it's-so-good) catchy song by a south korean rapper by the name of PSY. i first heard it when a friend had it blasting from his gchat window with the message: YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS.

it was a lot of strange images set to lyrics we didn't understand; we shrugged our shoulders and got on with life---and then 6 hours happened: because with the internet now a days, all you need is 6 hours for SHIT. TO. BLOW. THE. FUCK. UP.

it was everywhere. CNN covered it. WSJ's Jeff Yang got in on it. and even our friends over at the Asian American Writer's Workshop had something to say.

but it wasn't until i stumbled upon 'gangnam style mom' on the 'ol youtube, where a son teaches his 60 year old mother the gangnam dance, that i became obsessed--nay--enamored with this pop cultural blip. mama tuts like a boss and for damn sure, this kid got it from his mama.


fuck k-town, i say someone makes a show where gangnam mama battles punk kids in the streets set to a soundtrack of repetitive synthesized beats and the same one or two lines over and over again. the plot doesn't need to be particularly existent, just have people gather in large circles every few minutes, have mama do a lot of handstands, throw her hands up in the air like she just doesn't care, and dress her up in all different colored track suits. you've got yourself a 3+ movie installment (with 3D release!)---jon chu, you're welcome.

-m

have you seen k-town?

frankly, these folks are crazy. 
i would be crazy, but it takes too much effort and i'm lazy. 

i was going to post about the texas primaries, but no one cares about that right?

instead, let's talk about the much-anticipated (i use 'much' lightly here) youtube show, k-town, which follows a group of young (again, used lightly) korean americans--though i think not all of the cast is korean--as they drink, smash, and smash-in faces all over los angeles' notorious korea town.

we've heard the buzz for this jersey shore-inspired show for the last 2 years, but it has just now debuted on the youtube channel: LOUD, after being passed up by different tv networks.

to be honest, it's rather boring to me. maybe because i know people like these 8 who go out and drink and drama, so there isn't that same "huh? really?" reaction like there is with snooki sayz jersey shore. but i don't hate the show, if anything i guess it breaks the stereotypes of asian americans as bookish, nerdy, asexual beings. these 8 are wild, sexual, and not the brightest crayons in the box, and i welcome anything that confuses the minds that try to hold us asian americans to flat, 2D caricatures.

the show just aired its 4th 15 minute episode and while the episodes have been filled with blasé backstory (she slept with him, he slept with her, she likes-hates-him-and-her...), next week's preview piqued my interest with the k-town social convention of booking. a friend told me it involves men paying for high-priced tables at clubs and a funneling of women: attractiveness and frequency depend on the price they paid. hm, that sounds like another social convention by the name of prostitution, but fuck, what do i know?

if curiosity (or boredom) is clawing at your back, here's the first episode of k-town:

but don't blame me if your eyes fall out of your head from heavy bouts of eye rolling, if you suddenly find that you've lost faith in humanity, or if you're just really fucking bored. you have been warned.

-melissa

(anddd just in case there is someone out there who was wondering about the texas primaries...)

houston's abuzz y'all

Wednesday's paper

this is what i, and the rest of houston, woke up to this morning! be still our hearts, could it be that big money j is coming to the H...again? i remember last time he was with the rockets, i was talking to my brother about getting season tickets but then, as we all know, he was cut after only 12 days or so.

here's the above article from the Houston Chronicle, and another stating the Rockets will offer Lin a contract anddddd here's some ESPN speculation on the offer.

i hope he accepts because we all know i love me some jeremy lin, and there's a huge asian american community down here in houston ready and willing to support the young point guard---you hear me, j? we're here and we are loudddd. 

in other news, sorry for the silence on here lately. Diane and Doug are off doing cool things that hopefully they'll share with us on here soon (please?) and i am, unfortunately, typing with one hand because i fell 10 feet while bouldering, not fun. real life ruins everything! 

--update-- lin accepts rockets offer sheet!! will the knicks match it?

--update 2-- IT'S OFFICIAL PEOPLE! J.LIN IS COMING TO HOUSTON!

-m

would you believe it? another asians, bikes, and dogs story

keep 'em coming, i say!


a group of cyclists in china threw a stray dog some chicken and wouldn't you know it? she followed them over 1800 kilometers!

what's that saying: you give a dog a bone, and she'll be by your side forreverrrr.
my friends at google told me that's 1100+ miles she trailed them, and by friends i mean i just googled that shit (for you americans who think the metric system is the bigfoot of numbers).

over the course of 20+ days, the little pup hiked more than 10 mountains and, according to the video snippet above, galloped along side automobile traffic too. couldn't anyone scoop her up when there were cars present? how about a nice basket and some streamers for your bikes, fellow cyclists? that's how i blinged out my roadster.

streamers add horsepower, google it.

i told charlie about the story, but he was too busy to pay me any attention:

holllaaaaaaaa.

-m

you have to see this video outta china

it combines 3 of my favorite things: asians, bikes, and dogs



sometimes people forget how intelligent animals are, that they understand what's going on around them. i'm glad moments like this are captured on camera and shared around the world. 
now, how can i teach charlie to guard my bike?

maybe next year we'll have an asian american idol

i've written before how much my family loves american idol and how we miss simon cowell's tight v-necks and pissy face; this entire season, i've been rooting for heejun han and jessica sanchez. one, because they both sound the way warm chocolate chip cookies taste and two, because i was hoping this would be the year we would have an asian american american idol.

alas, it was not meant to be. georgia crooner, philip phillips, has taken the title and i'm ok with it. he's talented, sultry, doesn't give a fuck about tommy hilfiger, and his eyebrow does funny things while he sings.

i'm confident jessica will go far and that this is just the beginning for the young san diego native. it's probably a good thing she didn't win. hollywood will have to wait a few more years before draping the child in drug habits and eating disorders.

here's philip singing his final song, and my favorite: home




 and as always, here's my girl jessica sanchez with the prayer at the finale:





   *

here's the video of philip being announced as the winner. he makes it halfway through his celebratory performance before letting it all out. it's quite touching and i'll admit even my blackened ice heart got emotional watching:




but i'll tell you what was really touching, i wasn't able to watch the finale live last night and so my family agreed to all wait to watch the recording tonight instead. i stayed off facebook, twitter, yahoo, and gmail all day for fear of seeing an announcement of the winner. i told everyone i came into contact with, "i haven't seen the american idol results yet. please don't tell me who won."

after we all finished watching the recording, my mother turns to me and says: i have a confession, me and dad watched it last night. we're so bad. 


yes, yes you are mother. but i appreciate all the effort that went into pretending you didn't know philip phillips won this year's american idol. <3


-melissa

happy national pet day!

well, yesterday was actually national pet day, but i was too busy rolling around the grass and sniffing butts with my furry friend to post. i figured on his special day, i'd let him choose the activities.

we also have a pet turtle who swims around his tank, eats lettuce, and taunts charlie come bath time. though mr. turtle (it was a rather uninspiring tuesday when we named him), having left his glasses in his other shell, wasn't up for photos.

do you have a four legged friend? what's your favorite thing about her/him?

until next time, american asians, keep those tails waggin'
-m

Fisher vs. University of Texas: the debate over affirmative action

so what happens when you shut down open and honest dialogue about racial inequality?

today, i got into a heated discussion about affirmative action. 

it started when a man and his wife announced they wanted to 'fund a scholarship for average white guys' because they felt it was impossible for a white male to get a scholarship. after trying and failing to hinge their understanding of affirmative action on the events of history that lead to the inherent racial structure that exists with white men on top, i began to see something in their crossed arms and downturned lips that i hadn't noticed before.

they both frequently said it's not fair: just because historically white men have had an advantage, doesn't necessarily mean her husband did. they wanted autonomy or separation from the white community. he wanted to be recognized as an individual, an individual with his own struggles and set of hardships. 

what a privilege it must be to only have to think about yourself in every situation, to not have to think: how is what's happening to me right now affect the bigger picture? 

and what i mean by that is, near the end of the conversation, i realized i was asking them to think beyond themselves. yes, they are not the ones who wrote the jim crow laws, but they are shortsighted in acknowledging the advantages they gained from those laws and denying its propagation. 

by choice or grand naivety, they do not see their historically elevated status and what it would mean if they stepped back. as a man in a room full of women, in a world that tips toward masculinity, what would it mean for him to step back and allow the women to speak?

if a man in a room among women steps forward, does it not seem 'natural' for the attention (and sense of power) to be on the man? i know you'll push that if a woman steps forward in a room full of men the attention would be on her immediately; but i argue that it's for different reasons (sexuality, and thus, not the same sense of authoritative power as the man 'naturally' commands.) so, what would it mean for him to step back, to accept that he has this privilege and to consciously refrain from using it?

and regarding their inability or refusal to see the historical advantages laid before them, what a privilege it is to have that choice or to have that 'ignorance is bliss' naivety. it is the very lining of white privilege: to be able to say that doesn't affect me, why do i have to be punished? i don't see how i am a part of this. i don't have to do anything for anyone else. my actions don't have greater meaning. i am living only for myself. 

i think people of color don't get that same sense of independence. what happens to someone else in the community, might very well happen to us. we don't have that security of that happened to them. it didn't/won't happen to me. take for instance the murder of Trayvon Martin. hundreds marched in hoodies with signs asking: am i next?

whereas white folk are allowed individual status, people of color are denied that complexity.

this can be seen on tv/film. if a white person is on screen, they represent themselves. if an asian person is on screen, she represents her entire race. when a white man flew his airplane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas he was seen as a crazy man who flew his plane into a building. of course, there was no backlash on the white community, doesn't that sound silly just saying? but when 9/11 happened, those men represented not only an entire country but an entire religion. 

yes, i am asking you to 'give up your scholarship' to a person who perhaps scored lower than you did. 

what a privilege it is to be able to say, without even a moment of thought, i deserve it more. 



to read more about white privilege, click here:

I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks. 

for more on Fisher vs. UT, click here and here for what's  at stake with the ruling of this case.

-melissa

KONY 2012 filmmaker arrested

dear Jason Russell of the KONY 2012 video:

Joseph Kony has not been in Uganda for over 6 years. And masturbation is not something we do in public. 

location, location, location, sir.

-m


for more on jason russell's arrest, click here and here

how much do YOU know about kony 2012?

a still from the kony 2012 film

no doubt, you have seen all the kony 2012 posts on facebook and twitter. but have you watched the 30 minute film that launched this swift movement taking over your newsfeed? 

let's talk about this film with its cool, fast-paced editing, mumford & son's background music, and its aerial shots of white kids forming a peace sign---or even better, white kids with their fists in the air. 

look at this picture, what do you see? or better yet, what do you not see? 

invisible children, the nonprofit that put out the film, has come under fire for several things, most widely circulated online is the critique of their spending: it seems only about 32% of their $8.8mil earnings last year was spent on ground operations in uganda. the rest went toward movie production, travel, employee salaries, and such. but a big question a few people are asking is where is uganda in all of this talk? why aren't you targeting any ugandan leaders among your 20 culture makers and 12 policy makers?

the film absolutely has a western hero/savior complex that, by leaving africa out of the conversation, paints africa as helpless and incompetent. this we must save our little brown brothers complex is visually perpetuated in the movie 17 minutes and 35 seconds in with this shot and voiceover declaring, "the unseen became visible", implying that it takes being surrounded by (mostly) white people for a black child to become visible. 

Teddy Ruge from Project Diaspora, an american organization that works to "mobilize african diaspora in the states to engage with the continent" expressed his frustration with this imaging:

What I'd really like is for organisations like this to have a little bit more respect for individuals like ourselves who have the capability to speak for ourselves. By putting themselves as the heroes of our situation it debilitates our own ability to progress and develop our own capacity. ...it's not everybody's responsibility to come and rescue us. We're not babies. 

All ill roads are built on good intentions. Meaning well doesn't give you the right to march into my house and tell me how to live. It does not offer you that right. Uganda is my country, my brothers, cousins and countrymen.  

when i first saw the film, i couldn't shake the manipulative and emotive gloss and storyline; the narrator kept making the comparison between his son, dressed in a purple cardigan, khakis, and flip-flops, with the ugandan children. what is the role of his son in this film? while i agree wholeheartedly that children deserve the best life and opportunities, regardless of origin, i thought he was pandering or exploiting the audience's feelings toward this blonde, dimpled little boy. is america only able to feel sympathy if they can use a white child as a reference point?

and of course, there is the over simplification of the conflict and what was not mentioned in the film, like joseph kony has not been in uganda for over 6 years. is your mind blown? yeah, me too.

i understand that this man has overseen and lead the operations of heinous crimes, and i support the invisible children's desire to call attention to it. hell, i even admire how quickly they were able to reach such a vast audience; however, i do not agree with their approach. their film, and the reasons behind their call to action, is condescending, self-indulgent, and manipulative.

it is one thing to tell (white, according to their film) americans: hey, this is happening in the world. pay attention. but it is sometime entirely different to yell: hey, this is happening in the world and only you can stop it and save them. 


i don't want to discourage youth activism by any means, i only ask that you do your research and allow more than a shiny, well-scored film to shape your thinking. watch the kony 2012 film and the many that will come after it, and ask yourself: now what? what do i do with this information? 

otherwise, it's like journalist, Michael Wilkerson, writes:

it is unclear how millions of well-meaning but misinformed people are going to help deal with the more complicated reality. 

at the very least following this viral campaign, perhaps a few more fingers in generation y can find their way when asked to point out the country of uganda on a map.

perhaps.


for a lot of information, both critical and supportive, on kony 2012 and about the situation in uganda, check out the guardian's post.

invisible children also posted responses to several critiques, including the savior complex motif. (weak in my opinion.)

-melissa

happy holi!

on sunday, my friends and i made the trek out to rosenberg, texas for the holi festival.

holi, a religious festival celebrated in hinduism, is often called 'the festival of colors' because of the brightly pigmented powders tossed in good spirits and celebration.

after speaking to several people and asking, what is holi?, i've gathered that the story behind the festival and its origins differs from family to family; however, a common thread expressed by several of the answers is that the celebration is a gesture of welcoming to spring and happiness.

happiness, indeed, as holi seems to be one big party and i loved every second of it. the colors, the dancing, the food, everyone was just having a good time. there was no hesitation to dance alongside a stranger or to sprinkle color on one another. though i am usually a curmudgeon and hate when people i don't know touch me, i didn't mind one bit when folks came up to me--fingers brightly dusted with power--and patted my face wishing me a happy holi.

haaaaave you read american asians?

to all the new friends i met in rosenberg, i invite you to my living room to continue the celebration. bring your bags of color and your dancing shoes, and we'll worry about who will clean up the mess later...not it.

i wish everyday was holi

to read more about holi, its origins and its meaning, see here and here.


*to the folks that i interviewed, i am sorry that the footage couldn't be used in the video. the music was so loud all throughout the festival grounds that the audio was drowned out. 

All I Do is D-town Boogie

I'm placing an amber alert on our fellow blogger, Dougie Fresh. This post is specifically dedicated to you, in my desperate attempts to get your attention.

You're actually really motherfucking hard to find Doug. No joke.

Tehe. Actually, every time I look at this picture, I'm more like "teheheheheh." I really wanted to have a reason to post this picture so I found this post appropriate. Anyways, Melissa and I know you're busy, especially with planning a major special event for the anniversary of Vincent Chin this spring at your college. Or that may just be a front and you're really just avoiding us by crashing parties and drinking your life away. What say you?

-Diane

hands down the best whitney houston cover

16 year old jessica sanchez steals the show again with a cover of whitney houston's i will always love you. when she announced she would be singing the iconic ballad, america nodded along and spoke the words, "of course she is" to their tv sets.

with her big voice and even bigger stage presence, it just makes sense. my parents and i held our breaths while she sang for fear of disturbing the gorgeous melody with our jagged breathing. perhaps this only comes from the fat-cheeked little girl inside me, but when jessica was on stage, i felt like every little girl wanted to be her, in that blue dress, singing that song.

how exciting that we can add one more name to the list of asian americans that has america buzzing.

and fear not, i did not forget about heejun han. my boy was lookin' dapper tonight in his tux and french-cuffs, wasn't he?

his performance wasn't bad, but was no where near his best either. it was a little dull and flat with a few brief pitchy parts. the kid has mad swagger though and no doubt won a few extra votes when he presented jimmy iovine, who last week said he wasn't a fan of heejun, with an autographed picture of himself.

mary j. blige was the mentor tonight and upon hearing heejun sing for the first time mentioned, "he does not sound like i thought he would".  jlo said the same thing when he auditioned back in philly. there's the whole low expectations thing again.

listen, america, it has been 8 long years since william hung sang that horrendous cover of she bangs, and that shit still hangs over us and apparently weighs heavily on the judges' minds. we are not all william hungs. give us a fucking chance.

i think jessica sanchez will have america reevaluating their expectations of asian american artists.

re: diane's post on interracial dating

i wanted to add this on-point comic regarding interracial dating as often (read: fucking always) portrayed in hollywood movies.

films where white men win the local girl/female of color: full metal jacket, fast and the furious, james bond films, scott pilgrim vs. the world, the social network, pocahontas, avatar--which let's get real, was just pocahontas with blue paint and floating flowers, miss saigon (the film adaptation is rumored to be coming out this year)...there are more, i am certain. 

know of any films? leave 'em in the comments section. the most obscure title wins the hipster award. yayyyy.

also, be sure to read diane's post on interracial dating and to see more of asian canadian comic Daniel Ha's work, check out his page at dvhstudios.com. i am particularly fond of his Casanovice series described as 'sex and the city from the point of view of 20-something men.' 

-melissa

asian american singers battle it out on NBC's The Voice

something is in the air, and it sounds delicious. i am lovin' all the asian american talent on mainstream tv right now.

i've written about heejun han and jessica sanchez, the two asian american american idol finalists this year, but last night on the voice, i was able to catch the battle round between two asian american female vocalists: angie johnson and cheesa laureta.

the two belted out  bonny tyler's total eclipse of the heart. there were a few pitchy parts on both sides, but cheesa made it through to the live show on cee lo green's team.

hailing from hawaii and recently relocated to LA, cheesa will get her big break on this season of The Voice, while angie is sent home after being discovered on youtube when a video of her singing adele's rolling in the deep to her military comrades went viral.

tune in monday nights at 7 pm CT to NBC's The Voice to cheer on cheesa and to join the debate outside of NBC studios on which one-hit wonder judge/cast member is the most washed up.

hello, carson daly.


-melissa

Fetishes About Asian American Women? Dislike.

Ok, so I’ve been itching to write this. Interracial dating and these weird ass fetishes men have about Asian American women. Men, take heed because this advice will drastically improve your chance of getting some ass….wait, I don’t want to help you creepers get ass – scratch that. This advice will help you not get your ass kicked or tased by some crazy female (I don’t have a taser, I promise).

Tip #1: Never ever EVER say “Me love you long time.”

This happened when I was living in Austin back in the day. I walked into a bar with my friend and we passed this group of white guys. Two of them decided to tag team us – which by the way is creepy and we’re not meat, k thanks. The first one strolled up to me and believe it or not, this ridiculous line was the first thing to come out of his mouth, “Me love you long time.” The other just simply told my friend that he “loves Asian women.” Really? Oh! Here is my taser!

Tip #2: Don’t talk about your balls.

Houston, Texas. My friend was at a really chill bar and wanted to play some skeeball. However, there weren’t any balls on the table. (Alright, alright you already know where I’m going with this but please bear with me. This is as painful as waiting for the dentist to fucking drill a hole in your mouth…I hate the dentist by the way). So these two guys sauntered up to my friend and one of them said, “Are you looking for some balls? These balls are too big for Asians.” I don’t know if I’m more offended that 1) you just mentioned a play on words about your own balls or 2) that you just insulted my vagina. Hold up dickwad, let me take off my earrings.

Alright, so I’m done giving tips. If you’re spewing shit like this to Asian/Asian American women or any other woman of color, it’s rightfully so that a female will open up a can of ass whooping on you. Whatever happened to approaching a woman in a respectful manner?

I think it’s important to draw the line between fetishizing someone and actually liking the individual for who they are. I don’t go around expecting something from someone i.e. how mostly white men expect Asian women to be submissive and fulfill their sexual needs OR perpetuating stereotypes i.e. me love you long time (Here is that extra shit - broken English! You so funny! HAHA! Fuck you.). It’s like me going up to a black man and saying, “Hey, I heard you’re hung, let’s get together.” Yeah – real smooth, Diane. But back to my point...men, if you take anything away from this post, just remember – no one likes fetishes. Contrary to what you may believe, you are NOT cool. And if you get your ass kicked, it’s your own damn fault.

-Diane

The University of Texas' Heman Sweatt Symposium: The Asian American Male Experience in Higher Education

Left to right: Dr. Eric Tang from UT Austin, Dr. Mitchell Chang from UCLA

I was very sad that I missed this event in Austin. To give you some background, the Heman Sweatt Symposium came about from the legacy of Heman Sweatt, the first African American to be admitted to an all-white institution. Consequently, Sweatt v. Painter was the only case to involve The University of Texas at Austin with the U.S. Supreme Court. It foreshadowed the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and Grutter v. Bollinger, pivotal cases in the argument that there were educational benefits for students exposed to diverse ideas. Props to my Higher Education Law class for this knowledge!

This year, the symposium featured a panel about "The Asian American Male Experience in Higher Education." You can read about this here: http://blogs.utexas.edu/ddcecentral/2012/03/05/aamales/

This is an important issue that often is overlooked. And that brings up another question: "What about my Asian American females in higher education?"

-Diane

Raging Racist Edition Part 1

So anyone who knows me well, knows that I am very passionate about social justice and racial/ethnic relations. I’m particularly interested in learning about the commonalities between the Asian American, Latino, and black communities. Now, I wasn’t as open-minded back in the day as I am now – I was actually scared of black people. But this was what I learned from my parents and by society at large as I was growing up. I was fortunate, though, to be exposed to a number of opportunities in college that made me step out of my comfort zone. Joining a multicultural sorority (Theta Nu!) and learning more about my own culture and history through Asian American courses at UT were two of the main stepping stones that started this process of change for me. I find that it’s my charge now to educate others, or at the very least, to challenge their way of thinking. Seeing how my parents immigrated here from Vietnam to the U.S., how they worked their asses off to raise my siblings and I in a good home, and seeing how other immigrants and people of color are exploited in the U.S. gives me more reason to continue the work that I do. That being said, I have no tolerance towards blatant, racist comments.

I don’t really associate with raging racists; and in my circle of friends, fortunately, no one is like that. But, they could still have preconceived notions about different groups – race is always going to be a complex and controversial matter – that is almost always going to be the case when you are raised and influenced by specific factors. I can certainly say I’m more aware than some of my friends about race issues but shit, I study this for a living so of course, I’m going to be more acutely aware of my surroundings and put on my critical analysis glasses when I feel the need.

So when it comes to raging racists, I have to bite my tongue or get someone to hold me back because I get that close to punching that bitch in the throat. There is a friend of a friend of a friend who has a tendency to say some really hateful stuff and it just blows my mind how you can judge someone based on their skin color.

She won’t hang with you if a black person or a Mexican (I really hate the word “Mexican” by the way) person is going to be with you. Shit like: “I’ll pass because Mexican people scare me” or “That black person must have some watermelon and fried chicken.” She isn’t the only one who shares these same opinions – there are plenty of racist people out there; but in my life, she is the closest one I’ve heard about who says these outrageous things. In the bigger picture, she continues a vicious cycle of pitting minorities against minorities when really minorities are up against a system that supports white privilege.

So the big question is: How do I approach this person when it takes every living thread in my body NOT to punch her in the ovaries?

-Diane

world, meet jessica sanchez

if you read my earlier post, you know i'm all aboard the heejun han american idol train, but last night's episode may have just made my ride a little bit more tricky thanks to 16 year old filipina american, jessica sanchez. during hollywood week, she did a beautiful cover of celine dion's the prayer and this week, jessica sang and danced her way through jennifer hudson's love you i do. the girl has got pipes. she was sick during this performance too. if this is how she sings with swollen vocal chords, one would probably see jesus while listening to her sing at 100%.

while she certainly has the vocals to elicit one of steven tyler's closed eyes, head back and forth, just enjoying the music responses, jessica sanchez is so much fun to watch on that stage that i wouldn't close my eyes for a second for fear of missing one of her sassy moves.

2 very talented contenders that may just give us our asian american american idol for 2012? i'm digging' it, and diggin' hard.

-melissa

next stop, american idol

we've got a basketball sensation, how about an asian american american idol for 2012, huh?

my family and i have watched american idol fanatically for as long as i can remember. we scoff at other singing shows, and yes, we even remained loyal during the shuffling of the judges. oh, simon cowell, how we miss your pissy face and tight v-necks.

this year brings a talented bunch, but there's only one soulful, bespectacled, korean american standout in the group, and that's 22 year old heejun han from flushing in queens, ny.

be still my heart because homeboy can sing. he left the judges with stunned faces and eyebrows raised (shall we bring up the low expectations conversation again? nah. we've had enough of that these past few weeks, haven't we?) in his pittsburgh audition with michael bolton's how am i supposed to live without you? and wowed them again with broken strings during the grueling and always comical group week in the hollywood round.

but there's something in addition to heejun's buttery, warm voice worth noting: he's funny as hell.

before crooning a single note, he had the judges smiling and laughing with his nervous and endearing arm wiggle, reminiscent of those flailing armed air dolls you see outside car dealerships and other businesses. outside the audition room, he told ryan seacrest his head was much smaller in person than it looked on television. he also tells ryan not to stand by him because the side-by-side comparison would be too much.

has he won you over yet? how about when he yells "hollywoooooooooooooooood" for 13 straight seconds the way "goooalllll" is yelled in soccer games, ending it with a big smile and a quick, "i'm coming!" need a little more? what about last night's final judgement episode announcing the top 24 who would go through to the live voting rounds; ryan asks heejun, "so you said you're sweating, heejun. what are you sweating?"

his answer? "mostly water". he made it through to the top 24.

it takes a lot to take the attention away from the frosted-tips, radiant smile, and tanned skin that is ryan seacrest, and heejun han does it every time he's on camera.

live voting shows start next wednesday, february 29th, 7 pm CT on fox. tune in to the talent and hilarity that is heejun han and make sure you vote. i'm sure jeremy lin wouldn't mind a little break from the limelight (or at least all the academic and social analysis articles). heejun han, let's give them something to talk about.

for more heejun hilarity:

and also check out jessica sanchez, another asian american ai season 11 powerhouse with a breathtaking version of celine dion's the prayer:

-melissa

so valentine's day is coming up

...must resist posting about jeremy lin (or whitney houston. yes, sad.)...

so instead, i'll write about the next big thing looming around the corner: february 14. the ladies over at disgrasian posted a vlog with romantic gift-giving tips that i thought i'd share here. though it's from 2009, i think the sentiments are still pertinent:

 

i've never been big on gifts on holidays; though i enjoy both giving and receiving gifts, i always find it an awkward dance given the implications behind gifts. if you are given something expensive, then you feel obligated to match it despite how you may really feel about the giver. if you are given something cheap, then you begin to doubt your relationship. and worst of all, if you are given something lame, you are forced to put a grin on your face and list lies as to why you have been in such a need for bedazzled oven mitts, for a $20 giftcard to walgreens, or for an iDog robot pet that neither shits or cuddles with you.

let's not lie, i want all three. but i'd rather avoid the confusion and awkwardness that comes with giving gifts and usually agree to just sharing a good meal and if i'm not too full, some extreme snuggling.

homemade gifts are always nice but if we're being completely honest here, i get really weirded out when people put too much effort into it, like once a guy handed me a box that was wrapped in white paper. on the paper were illustrations of our phone conversation from the night before and inside was a small painting of a peacock crying tears of blood.

it's a mighty fine line between homemade picture frame and bleeding peacock art, so proceed with caution.

have an awesome gift you know is going to get you some lovin' this week? leave it in the comments section so we can all crib your ideas and get laid. or even better---received a gift that trumps the crying peacock? let me know, i need a good laugh because someone didn't get me an iDog and now i have no one but myself to fake-lick my toes.

-melissa

let's talk about linsanity

so if you've been on facebook, twitter, espn, the ny times, colorlines, or just tuned into the last few knicks games, you've heard of new starting point guard and harvard graduate, #17 jeremy lin. you know he scored 25 points with 7 assists against the nj nets, and you know he racked up 28 points and 8 assists against the utah jazz. of course you do, my bad. 

but now that the initial buzz about this newcomer with his sick drives to the basket and shot-clock beating 3s has quieted a bit, the discussions have turned to linsanity off the court.

as a prominent asian american athlete, it is inevitable that race is going to be part of the story. a lot of people have asked: why does race always have to be brought up? 

well, for starters, there aren't many visible asian american nba players. colorlines says that lin is the first in over a decade. so give us this one, ok? let us celebrate our asian american brother. let us drink beer and cheer every time he adds points to the board, regardless if we live in new york or not. we're a tight-knit community and like phil yu from angry asian man tweeted: When I see @JLin7 play his ass off, I feel like a proud brother cheering from the bleachers 

that's how we feel when a fellow asian american does something awesome, like we're watching a family member go forth and wreck shop. 

because there hasn't been much precedent, we've jumped full force on the storm that is jeremy lin. a few people have asked why other asian nba players haven't received as much attention: yao ming (though i argue that we all love yao and i remember all the cutesy commercials back in the day), wang zhizhi, and yi jianlian, for example. there's a huge divide between asian (born in asia) and asian american (born in america). asian americans are forever trying to prove that we are american. we're american born, american raised, thus true americans despite what we may look like to others. so this is, i think, a big reason why the asian american community has fallen so hard for mr. lin: he's american like us and he plays ball real well. 

let us not forget the most glaring obvious reason as to why linsanity has come about other than his skills on the court---jeremy lin defies stereotypes placed upon the asian american body. how long have our men been seen as weak, emasculated, unathletic, playthings for women who just want their homework done? how many hollywood movies show asian american men as nerdy, awkward, sexless objects whose only real value is for comedic relief?

now, i don't know the guy, but i'm going to guess that after 53 points and 15 assists in the 80 combined minutes of his last two games, the man is getting some. 

so when all these negative portrayals or a previous absence of asian americans is obliterated by a 6'3 taiwanese american with a mean crossover, hell yeah we're going to talk about him and you betcha his race  will be part of it. we're proud and we want people to know that new kid? yeah, he's fucking asian american. that's right, asian american, so stop bowing at him and calling him an avenger of nerds, and no more underestimating how hard we asian americans can ball, okay?

this fight's personal

-melissa

The Importance of Black History Month

So today, as I was just starting off work and I login to Twitter, the first trending topic I see is #blackhistoryhoodfact. All I can think of is "Really??" I don't want to start off my morning punching somebody in the throat.

However, today marks the very first day of Black History Month!

Now, obviously I'm not black - well, I like to think that I am and many of my friends are convinced I am - but this month excites and energizes me. This is a month of celebration for the black community and an opportunity to bring awareness to the contributions and innovations this community has given to the world.

Now, some of you must be thinking, "Why the hell are you celebrating Black History Month?" As a woman of color, I think it's imperative to support other communities of color. Many of the civil rights movements that formed in the past were results of how the community wanted to take change into their own hands and bring to light the struggles they were facing. These movements were powerful because various communities of color came together and fought together. It didn't matter if you were black, Latino, Asian, these groups intersected because of a greater common cause. Without these fights, protests, marches, etc. we would not be living in a society that we are fortunate to be a part of now. Now, this isn't to say that everything is perfect - it is far from. Progress still needs to be made and fights still need to be fought. But we wouldn't have what we have today without the contributions, dedication, and fierceness of these activists.

So today, for the rest of this month, and hoping it continues, learn more about this history as well as your own community's history and take pride in the fact that you are who you are. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Happy Black History Month!

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

-Diane

Why Did I Choose "American Asian?"

By Diane Nguyen


I chose American Asian because it is symbolic of the two worlds I live in. Although I was born here in the United States and lived in Texas for years (yes, there are Asians in Texas by the way…except for the Panhandle area. Wait, sorry Dougie Fresh – poor soul), I still am connected to a rich culture that my parents have kept in this “home away from home.”

However, navigating these two worlds was and continues to be a challenge. I was constantly asking myself, “How can I fit in?” In middle school and high school, no matter how hard I tried, I was either an outcast from the Viet kids or from the popular clique. If I tried to fit in with the popular crowd, I was too “white-washed”; and if I tried to hang with my Asian folks, I was considered too “fobby” aka “fresh off the boat.”

Shit, I couldn’t do anything right!

But isn’t this the case for many people of color growing up? Just because of the color of our skin and physical characteristics, we’re forced to identify with a racial category and on the other spectrum, people place us in these narrowly, defined categories. With my fellow Asian Americans, one look our way and BOOM, we’re foreigners – where the hell did we come from? We don’t belong here. But all in all, American Asian captures the experience I had growing up as a second-generation Vietnamese American and the struggles my community, and many others like me, continue to face.

This blog is a meaningful and engaging way to encourage dialogue about Asian American issues. It’s an open, informal space to really discuss any topic but we also encourage you to question and analyze these different issues. Question everything, listen to others, educate yourself.

What is 'American Asian'?

I went back and forth with the title 'American Asians'. Whereas the conventional term, 'Asian American', describes an American of Asian decent, 'American Asian' can be taken as merely an Americanized Asian -- not really American, still foreign.

But, isn't that an issue Asian Americans face every day? When someone asks us: No, but where are you really from? Does that not make us feel foreign? Despite being born in Houston, Chicago, or New York City, isn't the underlying thinking behind that awful question that we're not truly American, that we must be from somewhere else?

For me, calling our blog 'American Asians' was a conscious acknowledgement of this foreignness thrusted on us. We are foreign despite where we were born or where we live, but instead because of the shape of our eyes or nose or the foods that we eat and the languages that we speak.

For so long, we have been back alley fry cooks manically yelling, "di di mau".  We have been broken-Englished nail technicians. Buck-toothed, squinty-eyed caricatures. "Hi-ya!" screaming, high-kicking, karate master bad guys. Bepectacled, quiet, uninteresting bookworms. Unattractive, asexual, boy in the background of the class. Short-skirted, fair-skinned, exotic temptress.

But there is a movement growing; if you navigate your browser away from Facebook, turn the volume down on the tv, leave your iPhone at home, you can hear the buzz: we are redefining what it means to be Asian American. And I don't just mean the 3 of us here, but all of us brothers and sisters: West coast, East coast, the dirty South and beyond, we're taking back our identities.

Diane, Doug, and I each have our own views, our own perspectives, our own thoughts on what it means to be 20-something Asian Americans, fresh out of school -- some of us back in school seeking higher enlightenment -- in different cities across the U.S., existing, carving out space and navigating day-to-day life.

I'd like to share these experiences with you here. This blog is just an open space for us to share our lives, talk about what's going on and things we see, whether it be about foods we love, stories we like, or media portrayals we hate.

I hope that you'll enjoy our words and add your own. Join our discussion, give us your perspective, and help us create a living, growing portrait of what it means to be Asian American in 2012.


-melissa

Who We Are

Diane:

Told you I was fancy.

Dallas raised, I spent most of my teenage days doing the usual, hanging out with azn gangs, pretending I was a badass as the #1 clarinet player in the city (I really was), and daydreaming about becoming a Hennessy spokesperson/model. The Hennessy spokesperson dream, unfortunately didn’t happen but I was later deemed “Henny” by my friends because of an incident I choose not to elaborate on, but hey, close enough.


I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a major in cultural anthropology aka the typical major for graduates who have failed at their life dreams in general. My parents almost disowned me for not becoming a doctor – whew, dodged a bullet – but I went on to work with higher education, social justice, and education policy issues, the epitome of lifelong unfulfillment.


Recently relocated to Washington, DC for a baller job, I don’t do shit and really, just serve as a complaint receptacle and doormat. I drink whiskey and party like my life depends on it. When I’m not in a drunken stupor, you can find me eating chicken wings or painting my nails because I’m so damn fancy. I’m so dope like the Louboutins with the red bottoms--that's all you need to know.

Melissa:

charming the pants off everyone i meet since 1987

Melissa graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in English and Asian American Studies, despite her parents’ cries of inevitable starvation.

After almost 3 years in indie publishing and inevitable starvation, she decided if she had to count one more stack of envelopes, she’d swallow a gallon of the publishing house’s black printer ink (rendered obsolete by the fucking Kindle). That night, she fell asleep with her contacts in and saw her dreams more clearly. She left New York City in hopes of finding a soul.

The journey continues.

Melissa’s biggest disappointment in life thus far is getting bronchitis and finding that it was not a new pet dinosaur.

Oh, and she's back in indie publishing––and still hungry. 

Doug:

Born into the backcountry of Texas, I grew up like your typical white kid…that is to say, thinking I was black.  I’m not talking the baggy pants, dealing-drugs portrayal that our media does so well to push into the limelight, I’m referring to the ebonic-using, rap-listening, subwoofer purchasing lifestyle that is so glamorized (I had rims on my car…so what!)  I hung around, associated with, and courted in that circle of people.  Yes, I said courted because that’s what gentleman do.  In retrospect, those were some good times.

It wasn’t until college that I rediscovered myself as an Asian-American…a bad one at that but still Asian and in America.  I met most of the prerequisites and thus they were forced to let me in.  Fast-forward four years, 3 major changes (I tried all the typical Asian ones – doctor, engineer) and I was ready to graduate with a degree in disappointing my parents – sociology can have that instantaneous reaction on Chinese parents. 

Post-graduation, not wanting to join the real world of 9-5 jobs and responsibility, I decided to continue on my academic career and ventured away from the distractions that Texas offers (beautiful women, fried foods, and country music).  I frolicked toward a fresh, new place where I could start over and apply my time to studying a topic to heal myself and others…or just avoid growing up.