2008 seattle international film festival

Being a big fan of movies, I always look forward every year to the Seattle International Film Festival. Last year, I got to check out some great films like Sway, Nanking, and War/Dance.

This year, I've checked out the list of movies and here some Asian-themed ones that caught my eye:

• Mongol
  
• Save Me
  
• Sukiyaki Western Django
  
• Triangle
  
• Up the Yangtze
  
• Wonderful Town
  
• Before the Rains
  
• Blood Brothers
  
• The Drummer
  
• Epitaph
  

Ah, the magic of film...

 

calling all Korean Americans

To all my Korean American brothers and sisters out there... check out this post from AngryAsianMan:

The USC School of Social Work's Center for Asian Pacific Leadership is currently asking folks to participate in the Korean American National Survey, the first large-scale and comprehensive survey of the Korean American community across the nation. Their goal is collect 10,000 surveys by the end of the month.

In particular, the survey is looking for younger Korean Americans / 2nd generation. Here's a link to the actual survey, or you can read the full official statement from USC on AAM right here. There'll be a random prize drawing for participants, including goodies like 2 free round-trip tickets to Seoul, a big screen TV, and iPods.

Help 'em out if you can!

 

heart-rending disasters

Is it just me or has the world been a bit more destructive than usual?

First, there was the terrible hurricane in Burma... now there's word of a devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China. I was listening to NPR this afternoon and it was difficult to hear in particular about school building that had collapsed, killing and trapping the child inside (NY Times story). Even here in the US, there was tornado this past weekend that tore through Oklahoma and the surrounding areas.

Of course my prayers are with all those people who have been affected, but David has some excellent suggestions on organizations you can support that are already working on giving aid. Pastor Eugene is tracking the situation as well.

More later.

 

mother's day weekend in photos

Saturday, I went to the Mariners game with students and staff from my school along with my mom and a big group of friends, including Go Mango! and IIStix homie Jeesuk. While the poor M's lost, the highlight of the night for me was seeing the picture above of the wifey and me shown on the "jumbo tron" screen. I had taken the picture with my cell and sent it to the picture address they always put up during the game.

.:.

Sunday...







Mother's Day was spent at home, with a nice, post-church hot pot meal. Good times.

 

happy apa heritage month

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage month. Yes, I'm quite aware of the issues surrounding the relegation of the vast sum of Asian Pacific culture and history being reduced to a single month celebration, but it's nice to have some recognition of contributions of our people, right?

Both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton released statements in honor of APA Heritage month. Nice.


.:.


While the perspectives of Asian Americans continue be underrepresented in the mainstream press, the internet has been a great medium for Asian Americans. Some of my favorite "Asian American" interest sites:

• AngryAsianMan - The classic news blog for Asian American / Asian related news. I've been a loyal reader since I first found the blog back in 2001.
  
  
• II STIX - The granddaddy of Asian American community sites that I've participated in over the years... I've been a member since I was a sophomore in college. The site has gone through a lot of changes including a long hiatus over the years, but I've made a lot of good friends through it and it remains highly accessible, even to Asian Americans who aren't into "heavy" Asian American issues. I currently serve as an editor for the re-launched beta of the site.
  
  
• The Fighting 44s - Another Asian American community site, The Fighting 44s is probably one of the most intellectually engaging and diverse Asian American sites on the internet. The quality of many of the articles is good, and the forum discussions manage the rare combination of being interesting, insightful, and humorous.
  
  
• Fallout Central - These guys are new to the "Asian American web scene", but have managed to attract quite a following with their weekly podcasts - basically, a high quality web radio program with a focus on Asian American issues. They also have done a number of good interviews wtih folks like Jin (Chinese American emcee), Yul Kwon (Survivor winner), and Benson Lee (director of Planet B-Boy).
  
  
• DISGRASIAN - Two words: freak'n hilarious. An Asian American news-style blog written usually by two no-nonsense, intelligent Asian American women (Jen and Diana), the posts are equal parts admiration, sarcasm, satire, and commentary (check out these posts on Gossip Girl or Yul Kwon getting engaged)
  
  
• Rice Bowl Journals - Probably the largest, best organized collection of Asian American blogs on the internet. Yep, I'm a member here too.
  

.:.

I probably should update my muxtape with songs for APA Heritage Month and Mother's Day, but until then, you can enjoy these two podcasts I made last year for APA Heritage Month - part 1 (Asian American pop / rock) and part 2 (Asian American hip-hop).

 

the empire strikes barack

(hat tip to Poplicks.com)

Too. Freak'n. Awesome.

My inner Star Wars geek / Obama supporter leaps with joy.


.:.


So the numbers have come in from the last "big primaries"... Senator Obama won North Carolina (as expected). What's unexpected is that he won by a whopping of margin of 14%, which about 232,000 votes.

Also as expected - Senator Clinton won Indiana. What is big news however, is that her win in Indiana was only by about 2% of the vote (depending on how you count) or 22,000 votes. Not a very convincing win for someone whose campaign once claimed to be the "only choice" for the Democratic nomination.

(Hat tip to Daily Kos for the numbers)

I don't think Senator Clinton is going to be dropping out, though. Looks like the contest will continue until the last primary is over.

 

uw honors former japanese american students

The Seattle Times featured a front page story today about plans by the U-Dub to issue honorary degrees to Japanese American students forced to leave during WWII because of the internment. There were also profiles of 2 different personal stories - Mrs. Mitsu Mihara (a UW junior in 1941) and Ryo Kumasaka (a UW senior in 1941).

Though I'm not of Japanese ancestry, I've been privileged in my life to friends, mentors, and even family (shout out to my cuz!) from the Japanese American community - everything from practicing kendo as a kid to my college years in relation to JEMS (AACF, volunteer missions in Brazil) to my work at Wing Luke and my continuing involvement in Warm Beach.

In so many ways, the story of the Japanese American community parallels the stories of other Asian American communities, and if nothing else, in contemporary era where anti-Asian sentiment seems still common in the US, I feel compelled to personally make known the truth about the Japanese internment tragedy known. A few years ago, at the end of Faith & Race class at QUEST church, I was practically brought to tears hearing the testimonies of Japanese Americans now in their 70s and 80s about the emotional climate of those times - the ugly racism, the fear, the loneliness and ostracization, yet the stubborn hope, strength, and patriotism of the community to still endure as embodied by groups such as the 442nd RCT and even so-called "No-No" boys.

While it's exciting news that the university is choosing to honor people in this way, I think the greater significance of the university in doing this is to remind those of here in present of how fragile our freedoms and civil liberties are. Even here in the US, arguably the "most free" country in the world, the government, motivated by hysteria and racism, destroyed the lives of an entire community of people - Japanese Americans - simply because of their ethnicity.

It's uncomfortable to think that something this actually happened, but in acknowledging a tragedy that has already happen, hopefully it can prevented from ever happening again. Community resources like the Densho Project and the Wing Luke Asian Museum as well as memorials such as the one on Bainbridge Island are tangible reminders to help us ponder.

If you're interested in more local history of the Japanese American community in the Seattle area, I recommend reading Strawberry Days by Dave Neiwert, which focuses in particular on how devastating the war and the internment was on the Japanese American community in Bellevue.

(cross-link to AngryAsianMan)