The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosts the Preview Opening Gala of the Arts of Pacific Asia Show to support the museum’s education department and its various programs Thursday, February 1.
The event begins with a champagne/caviar reception (5-6 p.m.) and a preview of the opening gala (7-10 p.m.). The Arts of the Pacific Asia Show runs February 2-4 (Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundaym 11 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason (Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.), San Francisco, CA. Gala tickets are $185 and $12 general admission.
For information, visit www.asianart.org/apa.htm or to purchase gala tickets: Call 415-581-3794 or e-mail apa@asianart.org
Posted by momo at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosts the Preview Opening Gala of the Arts of Pacific Asia Show to support the museum’s education department and its various programs Thursday, February 1.
The event begins with a champagne/caviar reception (5-6 p.m.) and a preview of the opening gala (7-10 p.m.). The Arts of the Pacific Asia Show runs February 2-4 (Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundaym 11 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason (Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.), San Francisco, CA. Gala tickets are $185 and $12 general admission.
For information, visit www.asianart.org/apa.htm or to purchase gala tickets: Call 415-581-3794 or e-mail apa@asianart.org
Posted by momo at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosts the Preview Opening Gala of the Arts of Pacific Asia Show to support the museums education department and its various programs Thursday, February 1.
The event begins with a champagne/caviar reception (5-6 p.m.) and a preview of the opening gala (7-10 p.m.). The Arts of the Pacific Asia Show runs February 2-4 (Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundaym 11 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason (Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.), San Francisco, CA. Gala tickets are $185 and $12 general admission.
For information, visit www.asianart.org/apa.htm or to purchase gala tickets: Call 415-581-3794 or e-mail apa@asianart.org
Posted by momo at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
This article in today's NY Times, Truly Indie Fans, really gave me warm fuzzies. It looks at the increase in African American indie rockers and skateboarders and the like. Granted, the article doesn't mention Asian Americans at all, but the issues it addresses, such as ethnic stereotypes where music (and the attendant lifestyles) are concerned, are useful in thinking about our own issues. I'm especially thinking of certain comment threads on this blog that have discussed the place of Asian Americans in hip hop.
The story portrays people who dared to cross over to where they were least expected, withstanding judgements from both sides of the ethnic fence, facing isolation and building their own community. For music.
Hell yeah.
Posted by rebecca at 4:28 PM | Comments (3)
This article in today's NY Times, Truly Indie Fans, really gave me warm fuzzies. It looks at the increase in African American indie rockers and skateboarders and the like. Granted, the article doesn't mention Asian Americans at all, but the issues it addresses, such as ethnic stereotypes where music (and the attendant lifestyles) are concerned, are useful in thinking about our own issues. I'm especially thinking of certain comment threads on this blog that have discussed the place of Asian Americans in hip hop.
The story portrays people who dared to cross over to where they were least expected, withstanding judgements from both sides of the ethnic fence, facing isolation and building their own community. For music.
Hell yeah.
Posted by rebecca at 4:28 PM | Comments (3)
This article in today's NY Times, Truly Indie Fans, really gave me warm fuzzies. It looks at the increase in African American indie rockers and skateboarders and the like. Granted, the article doesn't mention Asian Americans at all, but the issues it addresses, such as ethnic stereotypes where music (and the attendant lifestyles) are concerned, are useful in thinking about our own issues. I'm especially thinking of certain comment threads on this blog that have discussed the place of Asian Americans in hip hop.
The story portrays people who dared to cross over to where they were least expected, withstanding judgements from both sides of the ethnic fence, facing isolation and building their own community. For music.
Hell yeah.
Posted by rebecca at 4:28 PM | Comments (3)
Justin Lin's and Steven Okazaki's newest films.
Some of the cast and crew of the film from Justin Lin's new comedy set in the 1970's about efforts to complete Burce Lee's last film, Game of Death. The film is premiering at Sundance. Left to right: McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis), dir. Justin Lin, Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Mousa Kraish, unidentified producer, Sun Kang (The Motel, Better Luck Tomorrow), unidentified cast member. Photo courtesy Tomio Geron.
By Tomio Geron
In Park City, Utah, this weekend, I interviewed Justin Lin, director of the new film Finishing the Game, and some of the cast, as well as Steven Okazaki, director of the new documentary White Light/Black Rain.
First Justin Lin: The last time he was at Sundance in 2002 he had 10 maxed out credit cards and an unknown indie film premiering called Better Luck Tomorrow. MTV Films picked it up and you know the rest.
This year he's back, a little more relaxed and without the debt (though he did put his own money into Finishing the Game).
The film is about the bizarro efforts to finish "Game of Death," Bruce Lee's last film, which was halted when he died.
Some of the eccentric cast of characters who try out for the coveted spot to replace Bruce Lee are Colgate Kim, a Korean American from Alabama played by Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow); Troy Poon, a Chinese American vacuum cleaner salesman played by Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street) who is represented by an agent played by MC Hammer; a half-Chinese beat poetry fan played by McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis); and an Indian doctor/stuntman played by new actor Mousa Kraish.
Kang and Burnett told me that many of Lin's friends helped Lin to make the films since they have worked with him before.
For Lin, Finishing the Game is a labor of love. That's why he did it independently. It was shot in 19 days. With his experience doing two big-budget studio films, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Annapolis, he probably could have gotten studio backing, but there was no way he was going to do that, he said. He wanted complete control.
Steven Okazaki's White Light/Black Rain is one of, if not the first, documentaries to focus strictly on the victims of the atomic bombings, he said. (There are also interviews with some of the Americans who were part of dropping the bombs.)
He's been fascinated with and interested in the bombings for years. He has wanted to do a full-length doc on the subject for a long time, in fact did two shorts on the issue before. But it's still very sensitive in Japan and the U.S. more than 60 years later, and politics made it difficult to get it done.
Recently HBO execs, realizing that no doc had addressed the subject around the 60th anniversary, asked him to do a full-length doc. It's expected to air on HBO in August to coincide with the anniversary. Okazaki's also pursuing a Japan theatrical release.
I have a lot more to say about both films, but that will have to wait for another day. My story on both of them will air on KQED's Pacific Time this week.
Posted by momo at 10:25 AM | Comments (5)
Justin Lin's and Steven Okazaki's newest films.
Some of the cast and crew of the film from Justin Lin's new comedy set in the 1970's about efforts to complete Burce Lee's last film, Game of Death. The film is premiering at Sundance. Left to right: McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis), dir. Justin Lin, Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Mousa Kraish, unidentified producer, Sun Kang (The Motel, Better Luck Tomorrow), unidentified cast member. Photo courtesy Tomio Geron.
By Tomio Geron
In Park City, Utah, this weekend, I interviewed Justin Lin, director of the new film Finishing the Game, and some of the cast, as well as Steven Okazaki, director of the new documentary White Light/Black Rain.
First Justin Lin: The last time he was at Sundance in 2002 he had 10 maxed out credit cards and an unknown indie film premiering called Better Luck Tomorrow. MTV Films picked it up and you know the rest.
This year he's back, a little more relaxed and without the debt (though he did put his own money into Finishing the Game).
The film is about the bizarro efforts to finish "Game of Death," Bruce Lee's last film, which was halted when he died.
Some of the eccentric cast of characters who try out for the coveted spot to replace Bruce Lee are Colgate Kim, a Korean American from Alabama played by Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow); Troy Poon, a Chinese American vacuum cleaner salesman played by Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street) who is represented by an agent played by MC Hammer; a half-Chinese beat poetry fan played by McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis); and an Indian doctor/stuntman played by new actor Mousa Kraish.
Kang and Burnett told me that many of Lin's friends helped Lin to make the films since they have worked with him before.
For Lin, Finishing the Game is a labor of love. That's why he did it independently. It was shot in 19 days. With his experience doing two big-budget studio films, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Annapolis, he probably could have gotten studio backing, but there was no way he was going to do that, he said. He wanted complete control.
Steven Okazaki's White Light/Black Rain is one of, if not the first, documentaries to focus strictly on the victims of the atomic bombings, he said. (There are also interviews with some of the Americans who were part of dropping the bombs.)
He's been fascinated with and interested in the bombings for years. He has wanted to do a full-length doc on the subject for a long time, in fact did two shorts on the issue before. But it's still very sensitive in Japan and the U.S. more than 60 years later, and politics made it difficult to get it done.
Recently HBO execs, realizing that no doc had addressed the subject around the 60th anniversary, asked him to do a full-length doc. It's expected to air on HBO in August to coincide with the anniversary. Okazaki's also pursuing a Japan theatrical release.
I have a lot more to say about both films, but that will have to wait for another day. My story on both of them will air on KQED's Pacific Time this week.
Posted by momo at 10:25 AM | Comments (5)
Justin Lin's and Steven Okazaki's newest films.
Some of the cast and crew of the film from Justin Lin's new comedy set in the 1970's about efforts to complete Burce Lee's last film, Game of Death. The film is premiering at Sundance. Left to right: McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis), dir. Justin Lin, Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Mousa Kraish, unidentified producer, Sun Kang (The Motel, Better Luck Tomorrow), unidentified cast member. Photo courtesy Tomio Geron.
By Tomio Geron
In Park City, Utah, this weekend, I interviewed Justin Lin, director of the new film Finishing the Game, and some of the cast, as well as Steven Okazaki, director of the new documentary White Light/Black Rain.
First Justin Lin: The last time he was at Sundance in 2002 he had 10 maxed out credit cards and an unknown indie film premiering called Better Luck Tomorrow. MTV Films picked it up and you know the rest.
This year he's back, a little more relaxed and without the debt (though he did put his own money into Finishing the Game).
The film is about the bizarro efforts to finish "Game of Death," Bruce Lee's last film, which was halted when he died.
Some of the eccentric cast of characters who try out for the coveted spot to replace Bruce Lee are Colgate Kim, a Korean American from Alabama played by Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow); Troy Poon, a Chinese American vacuum cleaner salesman played by Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street) who is represented by an agent played by MC Hammer; a half-Chinese beat poetry fan played by McCaleb Burnett (Annapolis); and an Indian doctor/stuntman played by new actor Mousa Kraish.
Kang and Burnett told me that many of Lin's friends helped Lin to make the films since they have worked with him before.
For Lin, Finishing the Game is a labor of love. That's why he did it independently. It was shot in 19 days. With his experience doing two big-budget studio films, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Annapolis, he probably could have gotten studio backing, but there was no way he was going to do that, he said. He wanted complete control.
Steven Okazaki's White Light/Black Rain is one of, if not the first, documentaries to focus strictly on the victims of the atomic bombings, he said. (There are also interviews with some of the Americans who were part of dropping the bombs.)
He's been fascinated with and interested in the bombings for years. He has wanted to do a full-length doc on the subject for a long time, in fact did two shorts on the issue before. But it's still very sensitive in Japan and the U.S. more than 60 years later, and politics made it difficult to get it done.
Recently HBO execs, realizing that no doc had addressed the subject around the 60th anniversary, asked him to do a full-length doc. It's expected to air on HBO in August to coincide with the anniversary. Okazaki's also pursuing a Japan theatrical release.
I have a lot more to say about both films, but that will have to wait for another day. My story on both of them will air on KQED's Pacific Time this week.
Posted by momo at 10:25 AM | Comments (5)
Lieutenant Ehren Watada is a dude with some guts. He's defied the last institution you'd ever want to piss off: the US military. He's done the thing they probably fear most of their troops: he's refused to go to Iraq.
After he received his Iraq assignment, Watada tried to prepare himself as best as he could --by studying the history of the country and learning about why the US invaded (whoops, should I say "liberated"?). What he learned shocked and disturbed him. Finding the war immoral and illegal, he felt it was actually his duty to refuse the order. He talks to Amy Goodman about it --you can hear his interview here.
Watada now faces up to six years in prison, pending a court martial in a few weeks.
In an environment that emphasizes blind obedience, conformity, and clicking one's heels to the talking points of the day ("win the war on terror! Saddam Hussein is best friends with Osama Bin Laden! WMD!") the amount of courage it would take to speak out against the military is difficult for me to imagine. I know how much my heart pounds and my voice gets shaky just going to ask my boss for a raise (the thing I've done that annoys my boss the most). Going in to say, "um, actually i think I WON'T be going to Iraq" --it seems like a lot of people would literally prefer facing death on the front lines than do that.
There's a Watada support site here and for the other point of view, a detractor site here.
Posted by jennifer at 9:43 AM | Comments (6)
Lieutenant Ehren Watada is a dude with some guts. He's defied the last institution you'd ever want to piss off: the US military. He's done the thing they probably fear most of their troops: he's refused to go to Iraq.
After he received his Iraq assignment, Watada tried to prepare himself as best as he could --by studying the history of the country and learning about why the US invaded (whoops, should I say "liberated"?). What he learned shocked and disturbed him. Finding the war immoral and illegal, he felt it was actually his duty to refuse the order. He talks to Amy Goodman about it --you can hear his interview here.
Watada now faces up to six years in prison, pending a court martial in a few weeks.
In an environment that emphasizes blind obedience, conformity, and clicking one's heels to the talking points of the day ("win the war on terror! Saddam Hussein is best friends with Osama Bin Laden! WMD!") the amount of courage it would take to speak out against the military is difficult for me to imagine. I know how much my heart pounds and my voice gets shaky just going to ask my boss for a raise (the thing I've done that annoys my boss the most). Going in to say, "um, actually i think I WON'T be going to Iraq" --it seems like a lot of people would literally prefer facing death on the front lines than do that.
There's a Watada support site here and for the other point of view, a detractor site here.
Posted by jennifer at 9:43 AM | Comments (6)
Lieutenant Ehren Watada is a dude with some guts. He's defied the last institution you'd ever want to piss off: the US military. He's done the thing they probably fear most of their troops: he's refused to go to Iraq.
After he received his Iraq assignment, Watada tried to prepare himself as best as he could --by studying the history of the country and learning about why the US invaded (whoops, should I say "liberated"?). What he learned shocked and disturbed him. Finding the war immoral and illegal, he felt it was actually his duty to refuse the order. He talks to Amy Goodman about it --you can hear his interview here.
Watada now faces up to six years in prison, pending a court martial in a few weeks.
In an environment that emphasizes blind obedience, conformity, and clicking one's heels to the talking points of the day ("win the war on terror! Saddam Hussein is best friends with Osama Bin Laden! WMD!") the amount of courage it would take to speak out against the military is difficult for me to imagine. I know how much my heart pounds and my voice gets shaky just going to ask my boss for a raise (the thing I've done that annoys my boss the most). Going in to say, "um, actually i think I WON'T be going to Iraq" --it seems like a lot of people would literally prefer facing death on the front lines than do that.
There's a Watada support site here and for the other point of view, a detractor site here.
Posted by jennifer at 9:43 AM | Comments (6)
Racism on Britain's reality TV "Celebrity Big Brother" sparks international row with India
By Sonny Le, Hyphen Advisory Board Member
The celebrity-edition of "Big Brother" on Britain's Channel 4 seems to have reveal the ugliness of British society when three white contestants ganged up on the Bollywood-star member of the house, Shilpa Shetty.
The invectives hurled at Shetty, especially from Britain's trash-talking darling of reality television Jade Goody, ranged from calling her a dog and telling her to go back to India, have yielded at least 20,000, at last count, complaints to Ofcom, Britain's broadcasting regulator, the FCC counterpart there.
On another note, I was surprised to find that we've exported our two B-list celebrities to the UK for this show as well: Dirk Benedict of the A-Team and Battlestar Galatica and Jermain Jackson. Yes, of the Jackson 5.
The best coverage has been done by the British and Indian press but the must-read site is Digital Spy, the UK's website about television and the entertainment industry. Check out the "Big Brother" forum.
Another site worth reading for a few good laughs is Jade Goody's own site. Apparently she also suffers from the same disease that has afflicted our own beloved president and another reality-created celebrity, Jessica Simpson. Here are a few choice quotes (You can't make this up!) listed on her website:
"They were trying to use me as an escape goat."
"Do they speak Portuganese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain."
"That's asexual harassment."
"I had my first birthday when I was one."
"Who is heinzstein?"
Posted by Melissa at 1:29 PM | Comments (4)
Racism on Britain's reality TV "Celebrity Big Brother" sparks international row with India
By Sonny Le, Hyphen Advisory Board Member
The celebrity-edition of "Big Brother" on Britain's Channel 4 seems to have reveal the ugliness of British society when three white contestants ganged up on the Bollywood-star member of the house, Shilpa Shetty.
The invectives hurled at Shetty, especially from Britain's trash-talking darling of reality television Jade Goody, ranged from calling her a dog and telling her to go back to India, have yielded at least 20,000, at last count, complaints to Ofcom, Britain's broadcasting regulator, the FCC counterpart there.
On another note, I was surprised to find that we've exported our two B-list celebrities to the UK for this show as well: Dirk Benedict of the A-Team and Battlestar Galatica and Jermain Jackson. Yes, of the Jackson 5.
The best coverage has been done by the British and Indian press but the must-read site is Digital Spy, the UK's website about television and the entertainment industry. Check out the "Big Brother" forum.
Another site worth reading for a few good laughs is Jade Goody's own site. Apparently she also suffers from the same disease that has afflicted our own beloved president and another reality-created celebrity, Jessica Simpson. Here are a few choice quotes (You can't make this up!) listed on her website:
"They were trying to use me as an escape goat."
"Do they speak Portuganese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain."
"That's asexual harassment."
"I had my first birthday when I was one."
"Who is heinzstein?"
Posted by Melissa at 1:29 PM | Comments (4)
Racism on Britain's reality TV "Celebrity Big Brother" sparks international row with India
By Sonny Le, Hyphen Advisory Board Member
The celebrity-edition of "Big Brother" on Britain's Channel 4 seems to have reveal the ugliness of British society when three white contestants ganged up on the Bollywood-star member of the house, Shilpa Shetty.
The invectives hurled at Shetty, especially from Britain's trash-talking darling of reality television Jade Goody, ranged from calling her a dog and telling her to go back to India, have yielded at least 20,000, at last count, complaints to Ofcom, Britain's broadcasting regulator, the FCC counterpart there.
On another note, I was surprised to find that we've exported our two B-list celebrities to the UK for this show as well: Dirk Benedict of the A-Team and Battlestar Galatica and Jermain Jackson. Yes, of the Jackson 5.
The best coverage has been done by the British and Indian press but the must-read site is Digital Spy, the UK's website about television and the entertainment industry. Check out the "Big Brother" forum.
Another site worth reading for a few good laughs is Jade Goody's own site. Apparently she also suffers from the same disease that has afflicted our own beloved president and another reality-created celebrity, Jessica Simpson. Here are a few choice quotes (You can't make this up!) listed on her website:
"They were trying to use me as an escape goat."
"Do they speak Portuganese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain."
"That's asexual harassment."
"I had my first birthday when I was one."
"Who is heinzstein?"
Posted by Melissa at 1:29 PM | Comments (4)
So, for a couple months out of the year, my other unpaid job besides Hyphen is curating a film festival in my hometown, Houston. Slant: Bold Asian American Images features an eclectic mix of short films (30 minutes and under). Some of the filmmakers we've featured like Greg Pak, Alice Wu and Michael Kang have gone on to make notable feature length films ("Robot Stories, "Saving Face" and "The Motel," respectively). This will be our 7th year and I'm starting my search for films again, so if you know of anything good, let me know!
We're a small festival, but we're unique in that we don't charge an entry fee and we pay the filmmakers who get accepted. To find out more about what we're looking for, please visit the website of our host venue, the Aurora Picture Show. Postmark deadline is March 1st.
In other film news, the Northwest Asian American Film Festival kicks off next week. Seattle people, it's January 25-28th. Get your tickets now on the site.
Highlights of the NWAAFF include "Journey From the Fall" by Ham Tran, "Eve and the Fire Horse" by Julia Kwan, Georgia's Lee family drama "Red Doors," and "Colma: The Musical" (which I still haven't seen yet but really want to!) They've also got a special animation showcase curated by the folks at San Diego Asian Film Festival who always have a kick-ass animation program every year at their own fest.
Posted by Melissa at 10:13 AM | Comments (7)
So, for a couple months out of the year, my other unpaid job besides Hyphen is curating a film festival in my hometown, Houston. Slant: Bold Asian American Images features an eclectic mix of short films (30 minutes and under). Some of the filmmakers we've featured like Greg Pak, Alice Wu and Michael Kang have gone on to make notable feature length films ("Robot Stories, "Saving Face" and "The Motel," respectively). This will be our 7th year and I'm starting my search for films again, so if you know of anything good, let me know!
We're a small festival, but we're unique in that we don't charge an entry fee and we pay the filmmakers who get accepted. To find out more about what we're looking for, please visit the website of our host venue, the Aurora Picture Show. Postmark deadline is March 1st.
In other film news, the Northwest Asian American Film Festival kicks off next week. Seattle people, it's January 25-28th. Get your tickets now on the site.
Highlights of the NWAAFF include "Journey From the Fall" by Ham Tran, "Eve and the Fire Horse" by Julia Kwan, Georgia's Lee family drama "Red Doors," and "Colma: The Musical" (which I still haven't seen yet but really want to!) They've also got a special animation showcase curated by the folks at San Diego Asian Film Festival who always have a kick-ass animation program every year at their own fest.
Posted by Melissa at 10:13 AM | Comments (7)
So, for a couple months out of the year, my other unpaid job besides Hyphen is curating a film festival in my hometown, Houston. Slant: Bold Asian American Images features an eclectic mix of short films (30 minutes and under). Some of the filmmakers we've featured like Greg Pak, Alice Wu and Michael Kang have gone on to make notable feature length films ("Robot Stories, "Saving Face" and "The Motel," respectively). This will be our 7th year and I'm starting my search for films again, so if you know of anything good, let me know!
We're a small festival, but we're unique in that we don't charge an entry fee and we pay the filmmakers who get accepted. To find out more about what we're looking for, please visit the website of our host venue, the Aurora Picture Show. Postmark deadline is March 1st.
In other film news, the Northwest Asian American Film Festival kicks off next week. Seattle people, it's January 25-28th. Get your tickets now on the site.
Highlights of the NWAAFF include "Journey From the Fall" by Ham Tran, "Eve and the Fire Horse" by Julia Kwan, Georgia's Lee family drama "Red Doors," and "Colma: The Musical" (which I still haven't seen yet but really want to!) They've also got a special animation showcase curated by the folks at San Diego Asian Film Festival who always have a kick-ass animation program every year at their own fest.
Posted by Melissa at 10:13 AM | Comments (7)
Native Guns, a hip-hop trio including two pinoy MCs (Kiwi and Bambu) and DJ Phatrick, is one of five finalists in an online "decent exposure"-for-a-band competition.
Vote for them! Okay, so it requires that you sign up to MP3.com. But show some love for a West Coast, API group that's doing good things (we featured them in our music issue, and they also performed at our release party!).
Go here to vote (voting ends Jan. 31).
A note from Kiwi (who doesn't know I'm posting this):
"(we know... this hella feels like high school, where people "run" for like, homecoming queen or something... but hey, the top two acts chosen will win an online concert performance to be broadcast live on MP3.com. plus, each winner will receive a new Zune 30GB digital media player, and since we're pretty devoted to our iPods, maybe we just might just give our away at the next Native Guns show!!!)"
How can you not love `em?
Posted by momo at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)
Native Guns, a hip-hop trio including two pinoy MCs (Kiwi and Bambu) and DJ Phatrick, is one of five finalists in an online "decent exposure"-for-a-band competition.
Vote for them! Okay, so it requires that you sign up to MP3.com. But show some love for a West Coast, API group that's doing good things (we featured them in our music issue, and they also performed at our release party!).
Go here to vote (voting ends Jan. 31).
A note from Kiwi (who doesn't know I'm posting this):
"(we know... this hella feels like high school, where people "run" for like, homecoming queen or something... but hey, the top two acts chosen will win an online concert performance to be broadcast live on MP3.com. plus, each winner will receive a new Zune 30GB digital media player, and since we're pretty devoted to our iPods, maybe we just might just give our away at the next Native Guns show!!!)"
How can you not love `em?
Posted by momo at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)
Native Guns, a hip-hop trio including two pinoy MCs (Kiwi and Bambu) and DJ Phatrick, is one of five finalists in an online "decent exposure"-for-a-band competition.
Vote for them! Okay, so it requires that you sign up to MP3.com. But show some love for a West Coast, API group that's doing good things (we featured them in our music issue, and they also performed at our release party!).
Go here to vote (voting ends Jan. 31).
A note from Kiwi (who doesn't know I'm posting this):
"(we know... this hella feels like high school, where people "run" for like, homecoming queen or something... but hey, the top two acts chosen will win an online concert performance to be broadcast live on MP3.com. plus, each winner will receive a new Zune 30GB digital media player, and since we're pretty devoted to our iPods, maybe we just might just give our away at the next Native Guns show!!!)"
How can you not love `em?
Posted by momo at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)
Our friends at Third Thursdays in San Francisco are putting together an interesting panel this week (can you believe it's already the third Thursday of January?!) entitled "How I Helped Save the World."
Panelists include Le Tim Ly of Liberation Ink; Alice Ng of Animals Asia Foundation, USA Representative; and Villy Wang, ED and cofounder of BAYCAT.
Here's a note from event organizer Gary Chou (of MANJA):
Hi folks,
If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to get engaged with your community or a particular social cause, I'd like to encourage you to come out to a panel discussion that I will be moderating this Thursday.
Our panelists will talk about their collective interests in social justice, the environment, education, and the arts, and the different, and the unconventional approaches they've taken to pursue those interests, including starting a t-shirt company, and launching a social enterprise bringing arts and technology to under-served communities.
Outside of that, it's a great opportunity to connect with folks from both non-profit and for-profit backgrounds.
Thanks!
Gary
To RSVP, go here. Thursday, January 18, 2007, 7:00-9:30pm. Japanese Cultural & Community Center, 1840 Sutter Street. San Francisco, CA. $5-$20.
Posted by momo at 3:35 PM | Comments (1)
Our friends at Third Thursdays in San Francisco are putting together an interesting panel this week (can you believe it's already the third Thursday of January?!) entitled "How I Helped Save the World."
Panelists include Le Tim Ly of Liberation Ink; Alice Ng of Animals Asia Foundation, USA Representative; and Villy Wang, ED and cofounder of BAYCAT.
Here's a note from event organizer Gary Chou (of MANJA):
Hi folks,
If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to get engaged with your community or a particular social cause, I'd like to encourage you to come out to a panel discussion that I will be moderating this Thursday.
Our panelists will talk about their collective interests in social justice, the environment, education, and the arts, and the different, and the unconventional approaches they've taken to pursue those interests, including starting a t-shirt company, and launching a social enterprise bringing arts and technology to under-served communities.
Outside of that, it's a great opportunity to connect with folks from both non-profit and for-profit backgrounds.
Thanks!
Gary
To RSVP, go here. Thursday, January 18, 2007, 7:00-9:30pm. Japanese Cultural & Community Center, 1840 Sutter Street. San Francisco, CA. $5-$20.
Posted by momo at 3:35 PM | Comments (1)
Our friends at Third Thursdays in San Francisco are putting together an interesting panel this week (can you believe it's already the third Thursday of January?!) entitled "How I Helped Save the World."
Panelists include Le Tim Ly of Liberation Ink; Alice Ng of Animals Asia Foundation, USA Representative; and Villy Wang, ED and cofounder of BAYCAT.
Here's a note from event organizer Gary Chou (of MANJA):
Hi folks,
If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to get engaged with your community or a particular social cause, I'd like to encourage you to come out to a panel discussion that I will be moderating this Thursday.
Our panelists will talk about their collective interests in social justice, the environment, education, and the arts, and the different, and the unconventional approaches they've taken to pursue those interests, including starting a t-shirt company, and launching a social enterprise bringing arts and technology to under-served communities.
Outside of that, it's a great opportunity to connect with folks from both non-profit and for-profit backgrounds.
Thanks!
Gary
To RSVP, go here. Thursday, January 18, 2007, 7:00-9:30pm. Japanese Cultural & Community Center, 1840 Sutter Street. San Francisco, CA. $5-$20.
Posted by momo at 3:35 PM | Comments (1)
I apologize in advance, because this blog posting was written in anger. I was so angry about this last night I started to cry --I'm so angry it's hard to get the words out.
And I apologize, because this isn't a specifically Asian American story. But it's about the fight that we face, nonetheless.
I work in documentary film production, for a very large film corporation that will sue me if they find out I've blogged about them, so it shall remain nameless. Right now I'm in a battle I'd never thought I'd be in, one that touches on the very basic issues of ethnic representation in the media, and I've gotten a big insight into how difficult it is to make the smallest inroads in this white-dominated industry.
I have just finished writing and coproducing a film about African Americans during World War I. The other members of this team are all white; I'm in fact the only nonwhite of the 25 people in this department (there are many women,gays, and Jews, to be fair). The film is (unsurprisingly) about the incredible prejudice faced by black soldiers, how blacks were overlooked in favor of a white commander, how most were made laborers and not allowed to fight, how they were not allowed to march in the victory parade in Paris, how they returned to Jim Crow and lynchings.
I would like to have a black man narrate the film. It's an African American story, and I think it's appropriate to have an African American voice relaying it. As the film is about opportunity and representation, I also think in whatever small way I can, it would be nice to give a black actor that opportunity. I wish that the film came from a place that had greater consciousness of race issues, that had African Americans on staff (there was one, but she left) and that engaged on these topics more than once or twice of the 100 films we are making. But as that is not to be, I feel the least I can do is get a black narrator.
Incredibly to me, I am getting a lot of opposition on this idea from my producer. He feels it would be mere tokenism to have one of the 100 films we are making be narrated by a different voice. Plus, he argues, "what does it mean to have a black voice, anyway? A lot of the people we've auditioned, quite frankly, didn't 'sound black.'" And should we have only French people tell the stories about France, and Germans tell the stories we have about Germany?
His arguments both enrage me, and to me, expose his ignorance of race relations in America. I am not fighting for this because I want someone who "sounds black" --otherwise, we could just get a white man to speak with a "black accent." (That's something they did on a previous film, which is a whole nother story and is so offensive to me I practically lose consciousness.) I want to honor our subject matter through the PROCESS of the making of the film. I want to acknowledge the historical silencing of black voices by letting them speak out now. And i want to open the industry to include African Americans, even if it's just for this film, even if some would say it smacks as window dressing on a film that was made in an environment that adheres to the white, patriarchical hegemony of 35 years ago.
The thing that bothers me most about this is that I like pretty much everyone I work with. Documentary filmmakers tend to be progressive, compassionate people, who are aware of social issues. My producer worked for CBS --lord knows he should have a great deal of social awareness --and does on certain levels. I respect the work of my colleagues --but I feel like I'm pretty alone in this fight right now. The people I have shared this problem with give me sympathetic nods, but no one has gone to bat with me on this. And the producer I work for is intractable.
Which makes me realize why it's so hard for things to change in the media, which let's face it, is still run largely by white men. It's not that they don't care (though I'm sure many don't), but for me, where I work, it's that they can't even SEE. Race is an abstract concept to them, something they can choose to consider, or choose to dismiss. If it becomes a little more complicated, they can opt out of the question.
And, it seems to me that my producer sees ethnicity is merely another flavor --seasonings on top of the white. There's French flavor, and we're not using the French-flavored narrator, so why should we go with the Black flavor? As if that were an equal equation --as if the history of racial exclusion that we SPELL OUT IN THE FILM does not apply to us, is not a problem that we all have a responsibility to reverse.
And call me an idealistic bleeding heart liberal, but I still want to fight for social justice and change the world in whatever small way I can. Yes, I've sold out. I work for a big corporation making very conventional films. I'm not walking picket lines or lobbying congress or feeding starving children in Africa. But in this place where I am, I can do this one, little, tiny thing. I want to give the film just a little bit more integrity. And I am totally baffled that my colleagues don't understand this.
So please tell me, am I overreacting or otherwise totally off base? Should I just acknowledge the fact that I'm working for THE MAN, that the film is the result of an ivory tower full of well-intentioned but ignorant white people, and give up this fight? Would having one black narrator be such tokenism that it's better to stick with someone white?
And if not, what can I say to my boss to make him understand? Should I give him a copy of Marlon Rigg's "Color Adjustment?" I honestly don't know what more I can say, other than sending him to an African American history class.
Am I wrong in feeling this argument symbolizes more than my boss realizes?
Posted by jennifer at 7:45 AM | Comments (37)
I apologize in advance, because this blog posting was written in anger. I was so angry about this last night I started to cry --I'm so angry it's hard to get the words out.
And I apologize, because this isn't a specifically Asian American story. But it's about the fight that we face, nonetheless.
I work in documentary film production, for a very large film corporation that will sue me if they find out I've blogged about them, so it shall remain nameless. Right now I'm in a battle I'd never thought I'd be in, one that touches on the very basic issues of ethnic representation in the media, and I've gotten a big insight into how difficult it is to make the smallest inroads in this white-dominated industry.
I have just finished writing and coproducing a film about African Americans during World War I. The other members of this team are all white; I'm in fact the only nonwhite of the 25 people in this department (there are many women,gays, and Jews, to be fair). The film is (unsurprisingly) about the incredible prejudice faced by black soldiers, how blacks were overlooked in favor of a white commander, how most were made laborers and not allowed to fight, how they were not allowed to march in the victory parade in Paris, how they returned to Jim Crow and lynchings.
I would like to have a black man narrate the film. It's an African American story, and I think it's appropriate to have an African American voice relaying it. As the film is about opportunity and representation, I also think in whatever small way I can, it would be nice to give a black actor that opportunity. I wish that the film came from a place that had greater consciousness of race issues, that had African Americans on staff (there was one, but she left) and that engaged on these topics more than once or twice of the 100 films we are making. But as that is not to be, I feel the least I can do is get a black narrator.
Incredibly to me, I am getting a lot of opposition on this idea from my producer. He feels it would be mere tokenism to have one of the 100 films we are making be narrated by a different voice. Plus, he argues, "what does it mean to have a black voice, anyway? A lot of the people we've auditioned, quite frankly, didn't 'sound black.'" And should we have only French people tell the stories about France, and Germans tell the stories we have about Germany?
His arguments both enrage me, and to me, expose his ignorance of race relations in America. I am not fighting for this because I want someone who "sounds black" --otherwise, we could just get a white man to speak with a "black accent." (That's something they did on a previous film, which is a whole nother story and is so offensive to me I practically lose consciousness.) I want to honor our subject matter through the PROCESS of the making of the film. I want to acknowledge the historical silencing of black voices by letting them speak out now. And i want to open the industry to include African Americans, even if it's just for this film, even if some would say it smacks as window dressing on a film that was made in an environment that adheres to the white, patriarchical hegemony of 35 years ago.
The thing that bothers me most about this is that I like pretty much everyone I work with. Documentary filmmakers tend to be progressive, compassionate people, who are aware of social issues. My producer worked for CBS --lord knows he should have a great deal of social awareness --and does on certain levels. I respect the work of my colleagues --but I feel like I'm pretty alone in this fight right now. The people I have shared this problem with give me sympathetic nods, but no one has gone to bat with me on this. And the producer I work for is intractable.
Which makes me realize why it's so hard for things to change in the media, which let's face it, is still run largely by white men. It's not that they don't care (though I'm sure many don't), but for me, where I work, it's that they can't even SEE. Race is an abstract concept to them, something they can choose to consider, or choose to dismiss. If it becomes a little more complicated, they can opt out of the question.
And, it seems to me that my producer sees ethnicity is merely another flavor --seasonings on top of the white. There's French flavor, and we're not using the French-flavored narrator, so why should we go with the Black flavor? As if that were an equal equation --as if the history of racial exclusion that we SPELL OUT IN THE FILM does not apply to us, is not a problem that we all have a responsibility to reverse.
And call me an idealistic bleeding heart liberal, but I still want to fight for social justice and change the world in whatever small way I can. Yes, I've sold out. I work for a big corporation making very conventional films. I'm not walking picket lines or lobbying congress or feeding starving children in Africa. But in this place where I am, I can do this one, little, tiny thing. I want to give the film just a little bit more integrity. And I am totally baffled that my colleagues don't understand this.
So please tell me, am I overreacting or otherwise totally off base? Should I just acknowledge the fact that I'm working for THE MAN, that the film is the result of an ivory tower full of well-intentioned but ignorant white people, and give up this fight? Would having one black narrator be such tokenism that it's better to stick with someone white?
And if not, what can I say to my boss to make him understand? Should I give him a copy of Marlon Rigg's "Color Adjustment?" I honestly don't know what more I can say, other than sending him to an African American history class.
Am I wrong in feeling this argument symbolizes more than my boss realizes?
Posted by jennifer at 7:45 AM | Comments (37)
I apologize in advance, because this blog posting was written in anger. I was so angry about this last night I started to cry --I'm so angry it's hard to get the words out.
And I apologize, because this isn't a specifically Asian American story. But it's about the fight that we face, nonetheless.
I work in documentary film production, for a very large film corporation that will sue me if they find out I've blogged about them, so it shall remain nameless. Right now I'm in a battle I'd never thought I'd be in, one that touches on the very basic issues of ethnic representation in the media, and I've gotten a big insight into how difficult it is to make the smallest inroads in this white-dominated industry.
I have just finished writing and coproducing a film about African Americans during World War I. The other members of this team are all white; I'm in fact the only nonwhite of the 25 people in this department (there are many women,gays, and Jews, to be fair). The film is (unsurprisingly) about the incredible prejudice faced by black soldiers, how blacks were overlooked in favor of a white commander, how most were made laborers and not allowed to fight, how they were not allowed to march in the victory parade in Paris, how they returned to Jim Crow and lynchings.
I would like to have a black man narrate the film. It's an African American story, and I think it's appropriate to have an African American voice relaying it. As the film is about opportunity and representation, I also think in whatever small way I can, it would be nice to give a black actor that opportunity. I wish that the film came from a place that had greater consciousness of race issues, that had African Americans on staff (there was one, but she left) and that engaged on these topics more than once or twice of the 100 films we are making. But as that is not to be, I feel the least I can do is get a black narrator.
Incredibly to me, I am getting a lot of opposition on this idea from my producer. He feels it would be mere tokenism to have one of the 100 films we are making be narrated by a different voice. Plus, he argues, "what does it mean to have a black voice, anyway? A lot of the people we've auditioned, quite frankly, didn't 'sound black.'" And should we have only French people tell the stories about France, and Germans tell the stories we have about Germany?
His arguments both enrage me, and to me, expose his ignorance of race relations in America. I am not fighting for this because I want someone who "sounds black" --otherwise, we could just get a white man to speak with a "black accent." (That's something they did on a previous film, which is a whole nother story and is so offensive to me I practically lose consciousness.) I want to honor our subject matter through the PROCESS of the making of the film. I want to acknowledge the historical silencing of black voices by letting them speak out now. And i want to open the industry to include African Americans, even if it's just for this film, even if some would say it smacks as window dressing on a film that was made in an environment that adheres to the white, patriarchical hegemony of 35 years ago.
The thing that bothers me most about this is that I like pretty much everyone I work with. Documentary filmmakers tend to be progressive, compassionate people, who are aware of social issues. My producer worked for CBS --lord knows he should have a great deal of social awareness --and does on certain levels. I respect the work of my colleagues --but I feel like I'm pretty alone in this fight right now. The people I have shared this problem with give me sympathetic nods, but no one has gone to bat with me on this. And the producer I work for is intractable.
Which makes me realize why it's so hard for things to change in the media, which let's face it, is still run largely by white men. It's not that they don't care (though I'm sure many don't), but for me, where I work, it's that they can't even SEE. Race is an abstract concept to them, something they can choose to consider, or choose to dismiss. If it becomes a little more complicated, they can opt out of the question.
And, it seems to me that my producer sees ethnicity is merely another flavor --seasonings on top of the white. There's French flavor, and we're not using the French-flavored narrator, so why should we go with the Black flavor? As if that were an equal equation --as if the history of racial exclusion that we SPELL OUT IN THE FILM does not apply to us, is not a problem that we all have a responsibility to reverse.
And call me an idealistic bleeding heart liberal, but I still want to fight for social justice and change the world in whatever small way I can. Yes, I've sold out. I work for a big corporation making very conventional films. I'm not walking picket lines or lobbying congress or feeding starving children in Africa. But in this place where I am, I can do this one, little, tiny thing. I want to give the film just a little bit more integrity. And I am totally baffled that my colleagues don't understand this.
So please tell me, am I overreacting or otherwise totally off base? Should I just acknowledge the fact that I'm working for THE MAN, that the film is the result of an ivory tower full of well-intentioned but ignorant white people, and give up this fight? Would having one black narrator be such tokenism that it's better to stick with someone white?
And if not, what can I say to my boss to make him understand? Should I give him a copy of Marlon Rigg's "Color Adjustment?" I honestly don't know what more I can say, other than sending him to an African American history class.
Am I wrong in feeling this argument symbolizes more than my boss realizes?
Posted by jennifer at 7:45 AM | Comments (37)
Just watched Air Guitar Nation last night at a sneak peek screening for the SF International Asian American Film Festival.
The festival, which opens March, is in its 25th year!! More on that later.
Back to air guitar. Firstly, I have heard about this phenomenon, and that some Asian Americans apparently do really well in these competitions. But I've never seen a competition, nor had the urge to.
Air Guitar Nation is a pretty darn good documentary - I mean, it follows the formation of the U.S. contigent from the very beginning, though that was only 2002. And who knew Oulu, Finland, is the center of air guitar?
The film follows several air guitarists, including David Jung, a k a "C-Diddy." C, as I shall call him, is a Korean American who hails from Brooklyn. Part comic, part actor, part musician-without-an-instrument, the guy kicks some air guitar ass. Also, his mantra is "world peace...air guitar...forever!" Oh yeah - did I mention he wears a Hello Kitty breastplate?
So that's just one of the approximately 130 films that'll be showcased this year at the film festival. At the screening, festival director Chi-hui Yang dropped names like Eric Byler, Justin Lin and several other festival returnees (but goodies) who've reemerged for this year's festival.
He also mentioned that the opening and closing night films are coming straight from Sundance. And in other news, the venues this year will be a lil' different - apparently the Sundance Co. bought the AMC Kabuki in Japantown, which is under renovation.
Also, more exciting things to look for - members, look for catalogs in the mail in about two weeks, the festival website will be live soon, and...the launch party will be in February. The actual film festival runs March 15-25.
(Can you tell I'm a film fest junkie?!)
Posted by momo at 6:49 PM | Comments (0)
Just watched Air Guitar Nation last night at a sneak peek screening for the SF International Asian American Film Festival.
The festival, which opens March, is in its 25th year!! More on that later.
Back to air guitar. Firstly, I have heard about this phenomenon, and that some Asian Americans apparently do really well in these competitions. But I've never seen a competition, nor had the urge to.
Air Guitar Nation is a pretty darn good documentary - I mean, it follows the formation of the U.S. contigent from the very beginning, though that was only 2002. And who knew Oulu, Finland, is the center of air guitar?
The film follows several air guitarists, including David Jung, a k a "C-Diddy." C, as I shall call him, is a Korean American who hails from Brooklyn. Part comic, part actor, part musician-without-an-instrument, the guy kicks some air guitar ass. Also, his mantra is "world peace...air guitar...forever!" Oh yeah - did I mention he wears a Hello Kitty breastplate?
So that's just one of the approximately 130 films that'll be showcased this year at the film festival. At the screening, festival director Chi-hui Yang dropped names like Eric Byler, Justin Lin and several other festival returnees (but goodies) who've reemerged for this year's festival.
He also mentioned that the opening and closing night films are coming straight from Sundance. And in other news, the venues this year will be a lil' different - apparently the Sundance Co. bought the AMC Kabuki in Japantown, which is under renovation.
Also, more exciting things to look for - members, look for catalogs in the mail in about two weeks, the festival website will be live soon, and...the launch party will be in February. The actual film festival runs March 15-25.
(Can you tell I'm a film fest junkie?!)
Posted by momo at 6:49 PM | Comments (0)
Just watched Air Guitar Nation last night at a sneak peek screening for the SF International Asian American Film Festival.
The festival, which opens March, is in its 25th year!! More on that later.
Back to air guitar. Firstly, I have heard about this phenomenon, and that some Asian Americans apparently do really well in these competitions. But I've never seen a competition, nor had the urge to.
Air Guitar Nation is a pretty darn good documentary - I mean, it follows the formation of the U.S. contigent from the very beginning, though that was only 2002. And who knew Oulu, Finland, is the center of air guitar?
The film follows several air guitarists, including David Jung, a k a "C-Diddy." C, as I shall call him, is a Korean American who hails from Brooklyn. Part comic, part actor, part musician-without-an-instrument, the guy kicks some air guitar ass. Also, his mantra is "world peace...air guitar...forever!" Oh yeah - did I mention he wears a Hello Kitty breastplate?
So that's just one of the approximately 130 films that'll be showcased this year at the film festival. At the screening, festival director Chi-hui Yang dropped names like Eric Byler, Justin Lin and several other festival returnees (but goodies) who've reemerged for this year's festival.
He also mentioned that the opening and closing night films are coming straight from Sundance. And in other news, the venues this year will be a lil' different - apparently the Sundance Co. bought the AMC Kabuki in Japantown, which is under renovation.
Also, more exciting things to look for - members, look for catalogs in the mail in about two weeks, the festival website will be live soon, and...the launch party will be in February. The actual film festival runs March 15-25.
(Can you tell I'm a film fest junkie?!)
Posted by momo at 6:49 PM | Comments (0)
There’s been a lot of depressing news in the world of independent media these days, well print indie media at least. Independent magazines have been folding left and right.
After 7 years of publishing and 38 issues, the radical, activisty Clamor has shut down.
Another lefty mag, Lip is selling its last issue this winter after several years online and in print.
In December, our friends at the artsy KitchenSink in Oakland announced they are closing shop after their 16th issue, though they will continue to do other work under the nonprofit organization they founded.
And last week, the Independent Press Association died. Most of you probably don’t know what the IPA was. But for those of us in the indie mag business, it was a place for all us maverick, unconventional magazines to come together and figure out how this publishing thing works.
You can read some good background about the IPA here at this post by Jeremy Smith over at Other magazine.
The IPA was founded in 1996 to support free speech and social justice. Under John Anner’s leadership, it grew rapidly from a scrappy little nonprofit into a multimillion-dollar social venture that provided business services to a membership of periodicals that included Mother Jones, Sierra, Utne Reader, The Nation, and, at one point, over 500 indie magazines, including Other Magazine, many of which were threatened by the consolidation of the distribution and retail ends of the magazine industry.At its height, the IPA handled the distribution of almost 100 members, made them loans, financed investigative features by journalists of color, ran a paper buying co-op, and provided technical assistance and a sense of community for magazines that were until that point pretty fragmented.
(More info here at Utne's site).
What’s going on? Is there no room at the newsstand for magazines that explore social justice? As the founders of Clamor wrote in their farewell letter, “the financial obstacles involved with publishing an independent magazine have become too great, and it’s time to move on.”
The magazine business is a notoriously hard business. Even for more mainstream magazines backed with lots of dollars, the failure rate is high. (Remember JFK Jr’s George, anyone?) According to Samir Husni, a frequently-quoted journalism professor at the University of Mississippi, nearly half of new magazines don’t make it to their first anniversary. And 70 % don’t make it to their second issue. After a decade only 1 in 10 new titles is still publishing.
Now take a magazine that covers more underground, subculture, or minority content and you’re talking about an even harder time. For us, ad revenues are even harder to come by. Getting into bookstores is a costly endeavor. So is finding subscribers.
For some of us indie publications, we probably didn’t think it all the way through to begin with. We started on the editorial side with an idea we were excited by and we got to work on our first issue, only to realize that running a magazine is as much about business as it is about coming up with story ideas. We had staffs full of editors and designers, but few with MBAs. We are an optimistic, idealistic bunch, those of us who start up indie magazines. We think if we do what we love, other people will love it. But love can only get you so far. Lip and Kitchensink were not-for-profit, volunteer-run operations, just like Hyphen. But there’s only so much effort you can keep putting into something that takes so much of your time that you’re barely or not getting paid for. And of course, even being paid to do what you love is no recipe for success.
Sometimes I’m asked to sit on panels about starting magazines. And I say I don’t recommend it at all, and that no one should start a magazine without a million dollars. I’m joking, sort of. If I knew what I know now, would I have started a magazine? I don’t know. I understand now that an indie publication is much like public radio; it needs an involved, supportive audience that is willing to not only subscribe, but donate. But is even that enough? I don’t know.
So there’s a reason why we’re always exhorting you to subscribe, take our reader survey, and donate. And there’s a reason why we cost $18 for 4 issues while you can get 12 fat issues of Glamour for $12. We’re not constantly asking you for money because we’re trying to get rich. We’re just trying to survive.
Posted by Melissa at 6:19 PM | Comments (3)
There’s been a lot of depressing news in the world of independent media these days, well print indie media at least. Independent magazines have been folding left and right.
After 7 years of publishing and 38 issues, the radical, activisty Clamor has shut down.
Another lefty mag, Lip is selling its last issue this winter after several years online and in print.
In December, our friends at the artsy KitchenSink in Oakland announced they are closing shop after their 16th issue, though they will continue to do other work under the nonprofit organization they founded.
And last week, the Independent Press Association died. Most of you probably don’t know what the IPA was. But for those of us in the indie mag business, it was a place for all us maverick, unconventional magazines to come together and figure out how this publishing thing works.