I'm sitting cozily in my grandma's Tokyo apartment, eating very fat toast (it's a thing, here) and watching saucer-sized snowflakes falling. The snow is like a Californian's stereotype image of snow, thick and floaty and so impossibly large that if I were art-directing this scene, I'd have the crew ease up because it's unrealistic.
A couple thousand miles south of me though, things aren't so placid. If you own a TV or ears you know about the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that followed it. You might have heard that the epicenter was off the coast of Indonesia, and one of the hardest struck places was Aceh, a region close to my heart.
We had CNN on most of the past few days, and it's amazing to me that with all of the reports coming in from Aceh, none mention the 30 year civil war there.
A few years ago I wrote a story about the collision of big petroleum interests, the Indonesian military and the separatist movement based in Aceh. Here's the rough summary: Aceh has been wanting independence from Indonesia ever since it was colonialized by the Dutch. It happened to have huge natural gas reserves and so a joint company between Mobil Oil and Pertamina, the Indonesian national oil company, was formed. As in so many of these scenarios, all of the profits go straight to the central government and the locals are left with pollution and subsistance farming and --here's the rub-- the Indonesian military that is ostensibly "protecting" the gas plants.
The Indonesian military is corrupt, to say the least. Since the government doesn't fully provide its operational budget, it is left to create enterprises to make up the shortfall --and it does, in the form of shakedowns, brothels, and other illegal operations. The Free Aceh Movement, GAM, has been conducting guerilla style tactics for the last thirty years; the military retaliates by terrorizing villagers, disappearing possible insurgents, and in general making a bad name for itself. Think mass graves, villages abandoned in fear, babies burned to death, and other such unspeakable horror and you get the picture of what Acehnese have been living with for decades.
Mobil oil has been sued in U.S. courts for collusion with the military --providing arms and equipment and knowingly supporting a military accused of torture and murder. Fighting continues to this day.
Add to this an earthquake and tsunami, and you can only imagine the chaos that is still going on. My sources say that the fighting continues in spite of the devastation, and not all of the deaths in recent days can be blamed on the natural disaster.
Even without the war, the death toll is mounting like mad. One official estimated that the body count in Aceh alone might go as high as 100,000 and it will take at least two weeks for NGOs get the manpower and equipment necessary to commence organized aid.
At least NGOs and reporters have been allowed in --for a while foreign aid and journalists were virtually banned, and then strictly controlled. I only hope that with the spotlight of the world on the region, people start reporting on the strife that has plagued the region for far longer than this catastrophe.
In the meantime, we in our cozy, toast-filled worlds would do well to help those living under tarp and fear.
International Medical Corp is concentrating efforts in Aceh, and they could use your cash very well. A very extensive list of other NGOs is here.
PS: my apologies for missing my blogging day --I was playing in the snow.
Posted by jennifer at 6:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I'm sitting cozily in my grandma's Tokyo apartment, eating very fat toast (it's a thing, here) and watching saucer-sized snowflakes falling. The snow is like a Californian's stereotype image of snow, thick and floaty and so impossibly large that if I were art-directing this scene, I'd have the crew ease up because it's unrealistic.
A couple thousand miles south of me though, things aren't so placid. If you own a TV or ears you know about the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that followed it. You might have heard that the epicenter was off the coast of Indonesia, and one of the hardest struck places was Aceh, a region close to my heart.
We had CNN on most of the past few days, and it's amazing to me that with all of the reports coming in from Aceh, none mention the 30 year civil war there.
A few years ago I wrote a story about the collision of big petroleum interests, the Indonesian military and the separatist movement based in Aceh. Here's the rough summary: Aceh has been wanting independence from Indonesia ever since it was colonialized by the Dutch. It happened to have huge natural gas reserves and so a joint company between Mobil Oil and Pertamina, the Indonesian national oil company, was formed. As in so many of these scenarios, all of the profits go straight to the central government and the locals are left with pollution and subsistance farming and --here's the rub-- the Indonesian military that is ostensibly "protecting" the gas plants.
The Indonesian military is corrupt, to say the least. Since the government doesn't fully provide its operational budget, it is left to create enterprises to make up the shortfall --and it does, in the form of shakedowns, brothels, and other illegal operations. The Free Aceh Movement, GAM, has been conducting guerilla style tactics for the last thirty years; the military retaliates by terrorizing villagers, disappearing possible insurgents, and in general making a bad name for itself. Think mass graves, villages abandoned in fear, babies burned to death, and other such unspeakable horror and you get the picture of what Acehnese have been living with for decades.
Mobil oil has been sued in U.S. courts for collusion with the military --providing arms and equipment and knowingly supporting a military accused of torture and murder. Fighting continues to this day.
Add to this an earthquake and tsunami, and you can only imagine the chaos that is still going on. My sources say that the fighting continues in spite of the devastation, and not all of the deaths in recent days can be blamed on the natural disaster.
Even without the war, the death toll is mounting like mad. One official estimated that the body count in Aceh alone might go as high as 100,000 and it will take at least two weeks for NGOs get the manpower and equipment necessary to commence organized aid.
At least NGOs and reporters have been allowed in --for a while foreign aid and journalists were virtually banned, and then strictly controlled. I only hope that with the spotlight of the world on the region, people start reporting on the strife that has plagued the region for far longer than this catastrophe.
In the meantime, we in our cozy, toast-filled worlds would do well to help those living under tarp and fear.
International Medical Corp is concentrating efforts in Aceh, and they could use your cash very well. A very extensive list of other NGOs is here.
PS: my apologies for missing my blogging day --I was playing in the snow.
Posted by jennifer at 6:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I'm sitting cozily in my grandma's Tokyo apartment, eating very fat toast (it's a thing, here) and watching saucer-sized snowflakes falling. The snow is like a Californian's stereotype image of snow, thick and floaty and so impossibly large that if I were art-directing this scene, I'd have the crew ease up because it's unrealistic.
A couple thousand miles south of me though, things aren't so placid. If you own a TV or ears you know about the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that followed it. You might have heard that the epicenter was off the coast of Indonesia, and one of the hardest struck places was Aceh, a region close to my heart.
We had CNN on most of the past few days, and it's amazing to me that with all of the reports coming in from Aceh, none mention the 30 year civil war there.
A few years ago I wrote a story about the collision of big petroleum interests, the Indonesian military and the separatist movement based in Aceh. Here's the rough summary: Aceh has been wanting independence from Indonesia ever since it was colonialized by the Dutch. It happened to have huge natural gas reserves and so a joint company between Mobil Oil and Pertamina, the Indonesian national oil company, was formed. As in so many of these scenarios, all of the profits go straight to the central government and the locals are left with pollution and subsistance farming and --here's the rub-- the Indonesian military that is ostensibly "protecting" the gas plants.
The Indonesian military is corrupt, to say the least. Since the government doesn't fully provide its operational budget, it is left to create enterprises to make up the shortfall --and it does, in the form of shakedowns, brothels, and other illegal operations. The Free Aceh Movement, GAM, has been conducting guerilla style tactics for the last thirty years; the military retaliates by terrorizing villagers, disappearing possible insurgents, and in general making a bad name for itself. Think mass graves, villages abandoned in fear, babies burned to death, and other such unspeakable horror and you get the picture of what Acehnese have been living with for decades.
Mobil oil has been sued in U.S. courts for collusion with the military --providing arms and equipment and knowingly supporting a military accused of torture and murder. Fighting continues to this day.
Add to this an earthquake and tsunami, and you can only imagine the chaos that is still going on. My sources say that the fighting continues in spite of the devastation, and not all of the deaths in recent days can be blamed on the natural disaster.
Even without the war, the death toll is mounting like mad. One official estimated that the body count in Aceh alone might go as high as 100,000 and it will take at least two weeks for NGOs get the manpower and equipment necessary to commence organized aid.
At least NGOs and reporters have been allowed in --for a while foreign aid and journalists were virtually banned, and then strictly controlled. I only hope that with the spotlight of the world on the region, people start reporting on the strife that has plagued the region for far longer than this catastrophe.
In the meantime, we in our cozy, toast-filled worlds would do well to help those living under tarp and fear.
International Medical Corp is concentrating efforts in Aceh, and they could use your cash very well. A very extensive list of other NGOs is here.
PS: my apologies for missing my blogging day --I was playing in the snow.
Posted by jennifer at 6:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I hope everyone had Happy Holidays. I've been enjoying time with my family, even though I've been sick as a dog for the past week and a half. Turns out I had a cold that morphed into strep throat and an ear infection, and I contaminated most of my cousins. (Well, I don't take all the credit. My younger cousin Erika [Hyphen's Issue 5 "presidential candidate"] has been sick; the two of us have wreaked sickness upon the Ednalino cousins.)
I'm still sick, taking bootlegged pharmaceuticals (long story) to kill the bacteria. The hearing in my right ear is muffled and I feel a pain in the back of my head whenever I cough. But, hey, at least I'm not the only one who's sick!
Despite my being sick or they're coming down with something, my cousins and I will attempt to bring in the New Year in Las Vegas. We check into our hotel this afternoon, matter of fact. I hope my cousin Camille (who is visiting from Australia) has fun. She's been having quite an experience in the States, learning etiquette, customs, driving on the "wrong" side of the street with her international driver's license, and soaking in the horrible radio music.
My cousins and I took Camille to the Gaslamp District the other evening. Camille bought a round of drinks and didn't tip the bartender (she didn't know about tipping). When we tried to get another round of drinks later in the evening, the bartender ignored us and Camille felt horribly about the faux pas. The other night my cousins and I took Camille to the mall to buy things at Victoria's Secret (they don't have Victoria's Secret in Australia) and Camille asked me, "Ate (pronounced "ah-teh," it means "big sister"), do I have to tip at Victoria's Secret?"
I don't know why, but I thought that was the cutest, most innocent thing I'd heard in the longest time. The image that came to mind was like, "Dolla-dolla bill, y'all!"
But I digress.
One thing that I find really interesting about my cousin Camille is that she "seems" less corrupt(ed) than me or our other cousins. Taking into account "The Tipping Incident" and some of the things she says/does, it makes me wonder if Australia is "backward" (even though I don't like to use the word "backward"). I suppose the right word to use would be more "naive," yeah?
Posted by Audrey at 12:41 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
I hope everyone had Happy Holidays. I've been enjoying time with my family, even though I've been sick as a dog for the past week and a half. Turns out I had a cold that morphed into strep throat and an ear infection, and I contaminated most of my cousins. (Well, I don't take all the credit. My younger cousin Erika [Hyphen's Issue 5 "presidential candidate"] has been sick; the two of us have wreaked sickness upon the Ednalino cousins.)
I'm still sick, taking bootlegged pharmaceuticals (long story) to kill the bacteria. The hearing in my right ear is muffled and I feel a pain in the back of my head whenever I cough. But, hey, at least I'm not the only one who's sick!
Despite my being sick or they're coming down with something, my cousins and I will attempt to bring in the New Year in Las Vegas. We check into our hotel this afternoon, matter of fact. I hope my cousin Camille (who is visiting from Australia) has fun. She's been having quite an experience in the States, learning etiquette, customs, driving on the "wrong" side of the street with her international driver's license, and soaking in the horrible radio music.
My cousins and I took Camille to the Gaslamp District the other evening. Camille bought a round of drinks and didn't tip the bartender (she didn't know about tipping). When we tried to get another round of drinks later in the evening, the bartender ignored us and Camille felt horribly about the faux pas. The other night my cousins and I took Camille to the mall to buy things at Victoria's Secret (they don't have Victoria's Secret in Australia) and Camille asked me, "Ate (pronounced "ah-teh," it means "big sister"), do I have to tip at Victoria's Secret?"
I don't know why, but I thought that was the cutest, most innocent thing I'd heard in the longest time. The image that came to mind was like, "Dolla-dolla bill, y'all!"
But I digress.
One thing that I find really interesting about my cousin Camille is that she "seems" less corrupt(ed) than me or our other cousins. Taking into account "The Tipping Incident" and some of the things she says/does, it makes me wonder if Australia is "backward" (even though I don't like to use the word "backward"). I suppose the right word to use would be more "naive," yeah?
Posted by Audrey at 12:41 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
I hope everyone had Happy Holidays. I've been enjoying time with my family, even though I've been sick as a dog for the past week and a half. Turns out I had a cold that morphed into strep throat and an ear infection, and I contaminated most of my cousins. (Well, I don't take all the credit. My younger cousin Erika [Hyphen's Issue 5 "presidential candidate"] has been sick; the two of us have wreaked sickness upon the Ednalino cousins.)
I'm still sick, taking bootlegged pharmaceuticals (long story) to kill the bacteria. The hearing in my right ear is muffled and I feel a pain in the back of my head whenever I cough. But, hey, at least I'm not the only one who's sick!
Despite my being sick or they're coming down with something, my cousins and I will attempt to bring in the New Year in Las Vegas. We check into our hotel this afternoon, matter of fact. I hope my cousin Camille (who is visiting from Australia) has fun. She's been having quite an experience in the States, learning etiquette, customs, driving on the "wrong" side of the street with her international driver's license, and soaking in the horrible radio music.
My cousins and I took Camille to the Gaslamp District the other evening. Camille bought a round of drinks and didn't tip the bartender (she didn't know about tipping). When we tried to get another round of drinks later in the evening, the bartender ignored us and Camille felt horribly about the faux pas. The other night my cousins and I took Camille to the mall to buy things at Victoria's Secret (they don't have Victoria's Secret in Australia) and Camille asked me, "Ate (pronounced "ah-teh," it means "big sister"), do I have to tip at Victoria's Secret?"
I don't know why, but I thought that was the cutest, most innocent thing I'd heard in the longest time. The image that came to mind was like, "Dolla-dolla bill, y'all!"
But I digress.
One thing that I find really interesting about my cousin Camille is that she "seems" less corrupt(ed) than me or our other cousins. Taking into account "The Tipping Incident" and some of the things she says/does, it makes me wonder if Australia is "backward" (even though I don't like to use the word "backward"). I suppose the right word to use would be more "naive," yeah?
Posted by Audrey at 12:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Back in Texas. Houston, my hometown. Everything, as always, is under construction. I can't remember a time when the giant concrete ribbon of freeways weren't torn up or haf built, pillars like cut-off trunks of trees reaching up to nowhere. There's lot of car decals here in the shape of yellow ribbons that say "Support our Troops."
My family went out to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas. I have a confession. I think I must be the only Chinese person on this planet who does not love Chinese food. People always look at me like I'm insane when I say so. I don't know any Asian Americans, whatever generation they are, who do not love the cuisine of their motherland. I think I would appreciate Canto cooking more if I did not have so much of it growing up. It was almost all we had and I was always craving other things, any thing. Airplane meals were exciting to me simply because they were not Chinese. I'd never had anything but Canto and the occasional Italian or Mexican meal until I went away to college. Which is a shame because Houston is such a great food town, with large immigrant populations, and anything you could ever want to eat. I intend to eat my way through this town while I'm here. And I carry a list around in my head of all the places I want to eat when I come home. But not one of them is Chinese.
Posted by Melissa at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back in Texas. Houston, my hometown. Everything, as always, is under construction. I can't remember a time when the giant concrete ribbon of freeways weren't torn up or haf built, pillars like cut-off trunks of trees reaching up to nowhere. There's lot of car decals here in the shape of yellow ribbons that say "Support our Troops."
My family went out to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas. I have a confession. I think I must be the only Chinese person on this planet who does not love Chinese food. People always look at me like I'm insane when I say so. I don't know any Asian Americans, whatever generation they are, who do not love the cuisine of their motherland. I think I would appreciate Canto cooking more if I did not have so much of it growing up. It was almost all we had and I was always craving other things, any thing. Airplane meals were exciting to me simply because they were not Chinese. I'd never had anything but Canto and the occasional Italian or Mexican meal until I went away to college. Which is a shame because Houston is such a great food town, with large immigrant populations, and anything you could ever want to eat. I intend to eat my way through this town while I'm here. And I carry a list around in my head of all the places I want to eat when I come home. But not one of them is Chinese.
Posted by Melissa at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back in Texas. Houston, my hometown. Everything, as always, is under construction. I can't remember a time when the giant concrete ribbon of freeways weren't torn up or haf built, pillars like cut-off trunks of trees reaching up to nowhere. There's lot of car decals here in the shape of yellow ribbons that say "Support our Troops."
My family went out to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas. I have a confession. I think I must be the only Chinese person on this planet who does not love Chinese food. People always look at me like I'm insane when I say so. I don't know any Asian Americans, whatever generation they are, who do not love the cuisine of their motherland. I think I would appreciate Canto cooking more if I did not have so much of it growing up. It was almost all we had and I was always craving other things, any thing. Airplane meals were exciting to me simply because they were not Chinese. I'd never had anything but Canto and the occasional Italian or Mexican meal until I went away to college. Which is a shame because Houston is such a great food town, with large immigrant populations, and anything you could ever want to eat. I intend to eat my way through this town while I'm here. And I carry a list around in my head of all the places I want to eat when I come home. But not one of them is Chinese.
Posted by Melissa at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
How much do you really know about us Hyphen peeps through bloggery? Not much. So let’s get acquainted. A good team building exercise is to say your name and give the story behind what you’re wearing. I’m Todd. This is what I actually threw on and it reveals something (bad) about male journalists’ couture. From the ground up:
Shoes: Green Adidas Spezials. Bought from Adidas outlet in Tahoe.
Pants: Levi’s 505 jeans. Bought at Costco. Super faded with scraggly bottoms.
Shirt: Scratchy grey thermal. Target!
T-Shirt: “Jamaica” black and grey ringer T. Another Target special ($9!)
Outerwear: Kappa jacket. Christmas present from 1999.
Outerwear: Grey “Metro MiniCooper” hoodie. Gotten this afternoon in lieu of a Christmas bonus.
Hair Product: Tea Tree hair glue.
OK, now you’re thinking, what about underwear? I could put something false and bougie like Costco Kirkland but it’s really Palermo Cotton Mesh Bikini Brief (Italian cut).
Skid mark. Hey, I was in a hurry!
Posted by at 3:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
How much do you really know about us Hyphen peeps through bloggery? Not much. So let’s get acquainted. A good team building exercise is to say your name and give the story behind what you’re wearing. I’m Todd. This is what I actually threw on and it reveals something (bad) about male journalists’ couture. From the ground up:
Shoes: Green Adidas Spezials. Bought from Adidas outlet in Tahoe.
Pants: Levi’s 505 jeans. Bought at Costco. Super faded with scraggly bottoms.
Shirt: Scratchy grey thermal. Target!
T-Shirt: “Jamaica” black and grey ringer T. Another Target special ($9!)
Outerwear: Kappa jacket. Christmas present from 1999.
Outerwear: Grey “Metro MiniCooper” hoodie. Gotten this afternoon in lieu of a Christmas bonus.
Hair Product: Tea Tree hair glue.
OK, now you’re thinking, what about underwear? I could put something false and bougie like Costco Kirkland but it’s really Palermo Cotton Mesh Bikini Brief (Italian cut).
Skid mark. Hey, I was in a hurry!
Posted by at 3:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
How much do you really know about us Hyphen peeps through bloggery? Not much. So lets get acquainted. A good team building exercise is to say your name and give the story behind what youre wearing. Im Todd. This is what I actually threw on and it reveals something (bad) about male journalists couture. From the ground up:
Shoes: Green Adidas Spezials. Bought from Adidas outlet in Tahoe.
Pants: Levis 505 jeans. Bought at Costco. Super faded with scraggly bottoms.
Shirt: Scratchy grey thermal. Target!
T-Shirt: Jamaica black and grey ringer T. Another Target special ($9!)
Outerwear: Kappa jacket. Christmas present from 1999.
Outerwear: Grey Metro MiniCooper hoodie. Gotten this afternoon in lieu of a Christmas bonus.
Hair Product: Tea Tree hair glue.
OK, now youre thinking, what about underwear? I could put something false and bougie like Costco Kirkland but its really Palermo Cotton Mesh Bikini Brief (Italian cut).
Skid mark. Hey, I was in a hurry!
Posted by todd at 3:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Here's a book I think I should read...
Not because I think it will explain the sad state of my career, though hey, I'm ready for any explanation. But because it seems like it may become one of those books that will become a reference point, whether you love it or hate it.
According to the Korea Times, "executive coach and career counselor Jane Hyun gets to the bottom of why many Asian Americans have been unable to move ahead in the workplace. As the title of this book suggests, Hyun explains that Asians have not been able to break the 'bamboo ceiling' because many are not aware that the Asian upbringing that shaped their individual characteristics, career choices and workplace behavior might also be causing them to be misunderstood by their colleagues and bosses."
I'm curious to hear how my "Asian upbringing" in Kansas influenced my career choices of journalist, documentary filmmaker, obsessive crafter and overall dilletante. And how nice it will be to explain my social ackwardness and the misunderstanding of my colleagues and bosses with a "multicultural" reasoning, instead of my own personal misanthropy plus shyness plus laziness that I've been relying on up to now.
But I shouldn't be so sarcastic --I haven't even read the book yet. It's not out to May, 2005. Maybe I'll read it and learn that there's some deep, Jungian, Asian thinking inside of me that I'm not even aware of. Or that being the child of immigrants will in fact have a deep imprint --it only makes sense, right?
That's the problem with generalizations, especially cultural ones. Impossible not to make, (how many times have we joked about Chinese people being cheap?) very sensitive (white men, don't you dare make fun of Chinese people being cheap) and both useful and useless at the same time.
I'll be interested to see if Hyun has any hard statistical analysis to back up her work, or if it's all based on anecdotal evidence. She's been a career counselor for a long time, including an advisor for Monster.com! but I didn't see any academic credentials --sociology, anthropology, or other studies of human culture and behavior. Which may not matter, but it kinda does.
Because then maybe she would have named her book differently. Bamboo until recently has been an Asian building material --wouldn't the "ceiling" be built of something used in the West? I guess "The Asbestos Ceiling," "The Foam Tile Ceiling" and "The Old Boys Network Grandfather Clause Ceiling" don't have the same ring.
Posted by jennifer at 11:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Here's a book I think I should read...
Not because I think it will explain the sad state of my career, though hey, I'm ready for any explanation. But because it seems like it may become one of those books that will become a reference point, whether you love it or hate it.
According to the Korea Times, "executive coach and career counselor Jane Hyun gets to the bottom of why many Asian Americans have been unable to move ahead in the workplace. As the title of this book suggests, Hyun explains that Asians have not been able to break the 'bamboo ceiling' because many are not aware that the Asian upbringing that shaped their individual characteristics, career choices and workplace behavior might also be causing them to be misunderstood by their colleagues and bosses."
I'm curious to hear how my "Asian upbringing" in Kansas influenced my career choices of journalist, documentary filmmaker, obsessive crafter and overall dilletante. And how nice it will be to explain my social ackwardness and the misunderstanding of my colleagues and bosses with a "multicultural" reasoning, instead of my own personal misanthropy plus shyness plus laziness that I've been relying on up to now.
But I shouldn't be so sarcastic --I haven't even read the book yet. It's not out to May, 2005. Maybe I'll read it and learn that there's some deep, Jungian, Asian thinking inside of me that I'm not even aware of. Or that being the child of immigrants will in fact have a deep imprint --it only makes sense, right?
That's the problem with generalizations, especially cultural ones. Impossible not to make, (how many times have we joked about Chinese people being cheap?) very sensitive (white men, don't you dare make fun of Chinese people being cheap) and both useful and useless at the same time.
I'll be interested to see if Hyun has any hard statistical analysis to back up her work, or if it's all based on anecdotal evidence. She's been a career counselor for a long time, including an advisor for Monster.com! but I didn't see any academic credentials --sociology, anthropology, or other studies of human culture and behavior. Which may not matter, but it kinda does.
Because then maybe she would have named her book differently. Bamboo until recently has been an Asian building material --wouldn't the "ceiling" be built of something used in the West? I guess "The Asbestos Ceiling," "The Foam Tile Ceiling" and "The Old Boys Network Grandfather Clause Ceiling" don't have the same ring.
Posted by jennifer at 11:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Here's a book I think I should read...
Not because I think it will explain the sad state of my career, though hey, I'm ready for any explanation. But because it seems like it may become one of those books that will become a reference point, whether you love it or hate it.
According to the Korea Times, "executive coach and career counselor Jane Hyun gets to the bottom of why many Asian Americans have been unable to move ahead in the workplace. As the title of this book suggests, Hyun explains that Asians have not been able to break the 'bamboo ceiling' because many are not aware that the Asian upbringing that shaped their individual characteristics, career choices and workplace behavior might also be causing them to be misunderstood by their colleagues and bosses."
I'm curious to hear how my "Asian upbringing" in Kansas influenced my career choices of journalist, documentary filmmaker, obsessive crafter and overall dilletante. And how nice it will be to explain my social ackwardness and the misunderstanding of my colleagues and bosses with a "multicultural" reasoning, instead of my own personal misanthropy plus shyness plus laziness that I've been relying on up to now.
But I shouldn't be so sarcastic --I haven't even read the book yet. It's not out to May, 2005. Maybe I'll read it and learn that there's some deep, Jungian, Asian thinking inside of me that I'm not even aware of. Or that being the child of immigrants will in fact have a deep imprint --it only makes sense, right?
That's the problem with generalizations, especially cultural ones. Impossible not to make, (how many times have we joked about Chinese people being cheap?) very sensitive (white men, don't you dare make fun of Chinese people being cheap) and both useful and useless at the same time.
I'll be interested to see if Hyun has any hard statistical analysis to back up her work, or if it's all based on anecdotal evidence. She's been a career counselor for a long time, including an advisor for Monster.com! but I didn't see any academic credentials --sociology, anthropology, or other studies of human culture and behavior. Which may not matter, but it kinda does.
Because then maybe she would have named her book differently. Bamboo until recently has been an Asian building material --wouldn't the "ceiling" be built of something used in the West? I guess "The Asbestos Ceiling," "The Foam Tile Ceiling" and "The Old Boys Network Grandfather Clause Ceiling" don't have the same ring.
Posted by jennifer at 11:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
That confuses me. What is sick about dogs? Dogs aren't normally sick. Whatever. In any case, those of you who are as sick as I am with this cough-y flu-ey thingy (this is how sick I am: I watched The Princess Diaries II twice. By CHOICE) might want a good laugh right about now, especially if you, like me, postponed Christmas shopping until this week and then had to spend the week at home moaning at low volume and occasionally giving a little whimper. Then again you might not want a laugh, considering the full, juicy bout of coughing a laugh might bring on. Your choice. Check it out: Top Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials.
Ho, ho, h-- *hack* ... *groof*
Posted by claire at 6:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
That confuses me. What is sick about dogs? Dogs aren't normally sick. Whatever. In any case, those of you who are as sick as I am with this cough-y flu-ey thingy (this is how sick I am: I watched The Princess Diaries II twice. By CHOICE) might want a good laugh right about now, especially if you, like me, postponed Christmas shopping until this week and then had to spend the week at home moaning at low volume and occasionally giving a little whimper. Then again you might not want a laugh, considering the full, juicy bout of coughing a laugh might bring on. Your choice. Check it out: Top Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials.
Ho, ho, h-- *hack* ... *groof*
Posted by claire at 6:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
That confuses me. What is sick about dogs? Dogs aren't normally sick. Whatever. In any case, those of you who are as sick as I am with this cough-y flu-ey thingy (this is how sick I am: I watched The Princess Diaries II twice. By CHOICE) might want a good laugh right about now, especially if you, like me, postponed Christmas shopping until this week and then had to spend the week at home moaning at low volume and occasionally giving a little whimper. Then again you might not want a laugh, considering the full, juicy bout of coughing a laugh might bring on. Your choice. Check it out: Top Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials.
Ho, ho, h-- *hack* ... *groof*
Posted by claire at 6:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I’m actually finished Christmas shopping one whole week before the big day. OK, there’s a couple more to get but they’re cornered and I’m stalking them with my big game BastardCard. Just some scattered nieces and nephews (and wifey, yikes!) and that’s it. I survived the malls and lived to tell about it.
The number of nieces and nephews to buy gifts for grew exponentially this year. Suddenly we have to put on the perspective of a one-year-old. Will they find our picks joyful or just another drool absorber?
We had so much trouble finding appropriate toys that this year we gave up and settled on books.
Timeless, educational, thought-provoking books that will get tossed aside for fun toys. Yep, we’re not the fun uncles/aunties. But you can’t lose with Story About Ping, The Five Chinese Brothers or Tikki Tikki Tembo (No sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo). I loved the latter. Tikki was on some Twista rhyming ish!
While checking the sales, we found Linda Sue Park. Her kid books are thoughtful and multicultural! Plus it’s a good read—Mung Mung, her first book for ages 2-7 is an animal sounds primer. Peep her out here.
Posted by at 4:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I’m actually finished Christmas shopping one whole week before the big day. OK, there’s a couple more to get but they’re cornered and I’m stalking them with my big game BastardCard. Just some scattered nieces and nephews (and wifey, yikes!) and that’s it. I survived the malls and lived to tell about it.
The number of nieces and nephews to buy gifts for grew exponentially this year. Suddenly we have to put on the perspective of a one-year-old. Will they find our picks joyful or just another drool absorber?
We had so much trouble finding appropriate toys that this year we gave up and settled on books.
Timeless, educational, thought-provoking books that will get tossed aside for fun toys. Yep, we’re not the fun uncles/aunties. But you can’t lose with Story About Ping, The Five Chinese Brothers or Tikki Tikki Tembo (No sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo). I loved the latter. Tikki was on some Twista rhyming ish!
While checking the sales, we found Linda Sue Park. Her kid books are thoughtful and multicultural! Plus it’s a good read—Mung Mung, her first book for ages 2-7 is an animal sounds primer. Peep her out here.
Posted by at 4:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Im actually finished Christmas shopping one whole week before the big day. OK, theres a couple more to get but theyre cornered and Im stalking them with my big game BastardCard. Just some scattered nieces and nephews (and wifey, yikes!) and thats it. I survived the malls and lived to tell about it.
The number of nieces and nephews to buy gifts for grew exponentially this year. Suddenly we have to put on the perspective of a one-year-old. Will they find our picks joyful or just another drool absorber?
We had so much trouble finding appropriate toys that this year we gave up and settled on books.
Timeless, educational, thought-provoking books that will get tossed aside for fun toys. Yep, were not the fun uncles/aunties. But you cant lose with Story About Ping, The Five Chinese Brothers or Tikki Tikki Tembo (No sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo). I loved the latter. Tikki was on some Twista rhyming ish!
While checking the sales, we found Linda Sue Park. Her kid books are thoughtful and multicultural! Plus its a good readMung Mung, her first book for ages 2-7 is an animal sounds primer. Peep her out here.
Posted by todd at 4:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
USC assistant football coach Norm Chow was passed over for the head coach job at Stanford, a snub for a guy that has groomed a string of star quarterbacks, including Matt Leinart, this year's Heisman Trophy winner.
If there was an industry where Asian Americans are truly invisible, than it's big-time sports, such as college football. Hawaii-native Chow has an incredible coaching record as an offensive guru at Brigham Young University, North Carolina State and USC, which has been the No. 1-ranked college team in the country most of the past two years. Some of the quarterbacks Chow has tutored who have gone on to the NFL include Carson Palmer, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, and most likely, Leinart in the near future.
Chow would seem to be in line for any head coaching job out there, but it hasn't worked out that way. Having not been a head coach before may be hurting his chances, but if there was ever an "old boy's club," it would be big-time college sports, given the paltry number of black coaches.
Plenty of other assistant coaches without head coaching experience have been hired as the top guy, so let's hope Chow gets his opportunity soon.
Posted by harry at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
USC assistant football coach Norm Chow was passed over for the head coach job at Stanford, a snub for a guy that has groomed a string of star quarterbacks, including Matt Leinart, this year's Heisman Trophy winner.
If there was an industry where Asian Americans are truly invisible, than it's big-time sports, such as college football. Hawaii-native Chow has an incredible coaching record as an offensive guru at Brigham Young University, North Carolina State and USC, which has been the No. 1-ranked college team in the country most of the past two years. Some of the quarterbacks Chow has tutored who have gone on to the NFL include Carson Palmer, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, and most likely, Leinart in the near future.
Chow would seem to be in line for any head coaching job out there, but it hasn't worked out that way. Having not been a head coach before may be hurting his chances, but if there was ever an "old boy's club," it would be big-time college sports, given the paltry number of black coaches.
Plenty of other assistant coaches without head coaching experience have been hired as the top guy, so let's hope Chow gets his opportunity soon.
Posted by harry at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
USC assistant football coach Norm Chow was passed over for the head coach job at Stanford, a snub for a guy that has groomed a string of star quarterbacks, including Matt Leinart, this year's Heisman Trophy winner.
If there was an industry where Asian Americans are truly invisible, than it's big-time sports, such as college football. Hawaii-native Chow has an incredible coaching record as an offensive guru at Brigham Young University, North Carolina State and USC, which has been the No. 1-ranked college team in the country most of the past two years. Some of the quarterbacks Chow has tutored who have gone on to the NFL include Carson Palmer, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, and most likely, Leinart in the near future.
Chow would seem to be in line for any head coaching job out there, but it hasn't worked out that way. Having not been a head coach before may be hurting his chances, but if there was ever an "old boy's club," it would be big-time college sports, given the paltry number of black coaches.
Plenty of other assistant coaches without head coaching experience have been hired as the top guy, so let's hope Chow gets his opportunity soon.
Posted by harry at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Gross! I have a personal blog and I like to check my Statcounter once in a while, to see who's been reading it. I mostly check to see if I get weird Google (or other search engine) hits. This morning I got a hit for the search "filipina + pinay + asian beaver." Ay naku, bastos talaga! I've gotten other hits for similar searches, but "Asian beaver" downright makes me feel violated.
*Audrey angrily waves a tightly-balled fist in the air* Just because I am the O.G. ManilaSpice does NOT mean I'm down with Filipina online "penpal" or porn sites! HMPH!
Okay. Venting over. Anywaaay.
Last month I signed on to organize the main showcase of Directions in Sound, a three-day music (and music video) showcase presented by the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, for the fifth year in a row. Moreso than Hyphen, Directions in Sound is like my "baby." As I sat down the other day to send out emails soliciting DJs and other talent, I got sidetracked thinking about all the things I did to lead me to this.
Six years ago I interned at Giant Robot. My journey in Asian American media (magazine publishing) started as a young robot; I was an over-eager and bad (as in horrible) wannabe music journalist (I stick to press releases and email newsletters [and the occasional blog] nowadays). By some stroke of dumb luck (good timing) I was given the opportunity to contribute to Issue 15, the Fifth Anniversary and Music Issue (Money Mark on the cover). I had barely discovered hip-hop and Asian America, so I thought I was cool because I was asked to interview the Mountain Brothers, DJ Symphony from the Beat Junkies and Kuttin' Kandi from the 5th Platoon. (Sidenote: If you have Issue 15 of GR, my Mama [may she rest in peace]'s adobo recipe is on the back page, along with a cute caricature of Babu and Rhettmatic from the Beat Junkies.)
After a year (four issues) of preparing subscription and t-shirt orders at the GR loft in Little Tokyo, I got to leave with four published pieces. Dedication and menial work paid off. When I moved to the Bay Area from LA, Eric Nakamura (publisher/editor of Giant Robot) suggested getting involved with NAATA (the media arts nonprofit that presents SFIAAFF every year). I guess being able to say you worked at GR gives one some street cred in Asian America, because I was recruited to put together the 2nd Directions in Sound a year after leaving GR. This was in 2001; up til now I've been happily planning Directions in Sound every year.
I've met some down-to-earth and talented filmmakers and musicians through SFIAAFF/Directions in Sound (yes, check these folks' sites out): Shing02, Romeo Candido (not only a musician, but he directed a great film called Lolo's Child [or "the Filipino Purple Rain" as I've heard it called]), Rod Pulido (director of The Flip Side), Mike Nice (he really is nice!), DJ Awww Damn (she also writes for MeshSF), Doc Fu from Future Primitive Sound, Triple Threat DJs, DJ Rekha, Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist from True Skool, and the guys from Massive Selector. (Excuse my "name-dropping." I am only mentioning who I remember off the top of my head.) What's even more exciting is that over the years I've heard of and seen great work coming from many Directions in Sound "alumni" while perusing club/event listings or record stores.
Finally, let me Shibuya Roll Call folks I really admire, who I hope to work with someday: Neil Armstrong from 5th Platoon makes a mean mix-CD. He was involved with teaching turntablism at the Scratch Academy in NYC. Lyrics Born is my favorite MC, and it's not because he's tall, thick and hapa. One of my favorite hip-hop songs ever is Latyrx's "Lady Don't Tek No." I'm sure by now you've seen that Coke commercial that uses his song "Calling Out" in it. Also, I am totally in love with Joyo Velarde's soulful voice; you can often hear her singing back-up for any Quannum artist, including Lyrics Born. I own four copies of her vinyl single "Sweet Angels" and am waiting for a full-length album to come out. Although I also (not so secretly) like cheesy Filipina groups that sing saccharine R&B freestyle, I believe that Joyo Velarde can save Pinay songstresses from American Idol-dom. (Oh yes, I did just say that!)
I think that's enough gushing for now. And in case I never paid due respect to Giant Robot: Thank You Nakamura-sensei.
Posted by Audrey at 3:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Gross! I have a personal blog and I like to check my Statcounter once in a while, to see who's been reading it. I mostly check to see if I get weird Google (or other search engine) hits. This morning I got a hit for the search "filipina + pinay + asian beaver." Ay naku, bastos talaga! I've gotten other hits for similar searches, but "Asian beaver" downright makes me feel violated.
*Audrey angrily waves a tightly-balled fist in the air* Just because I am the O.G. ManilaSpice does NOT mean I'm down with Filipina online "penpal" or porn sites! HMPH!
Okay. Venting over. Anywaaay.
Last month I signed on to organize the main showcase of Directions in Sound, a three-day music (and music video) showcase presented by the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, for the fifth year in a row. Moreso than Hyphen, Directions in Sound is like my "baby." As I sat down the other day to send out emails soliciting DJs and other talent, I got sidetracked thinking about all the things I did to lead me to this.
Six years ago I interned at Giant Robot. My journey in Asian American media (magazine publishing) started as a young robot; I was an over-eager and bad (as in horrible) wannabe