Bilingual ballots and you never really know what that Chinese character really means

I was reading this article down at The Boston Globe and the ongoing fight about having candidate names in Chinese and I couldn't help but pause at a few pieces:

Last year Boston started printing the names in Chinese characters on the ballots for the first time, drawing opposition from Galvin, the state's top elections official, because of the potential that the names could mean something else entirely. But Chinese-American voters say the translations are rarely misunderstood and help elderly voters who struggle with English [...]

He said the translations do not always reflect the person's name and at worse could have a negative connotation. As examples, Galvin said, Mitt Romney's name could have been confused in Chinese characters with "sticky rice" on the ballot; Mayor Thomas M. Menino could be "imbecile." [...]

Jian Hua Tang, a 59-year-old Chinese schoolteacher, said she never would have confused Romney's name with "sticky rice," like Galvin suggested last year. "That's like saying if your last name is Green, I should confuse you as a green person," she said.

I wonder if maybe Galvin, in addition to thinking that people would confuse Romney with sticky rice was afraid that maybe somehow people would be communicating government secrets through the use of ballots, because you never really know what's going on with those strange and quirky characters and you can't really ever trust those Chinese people anyway because they just might be spies - or at least calling you an idiot - which in this case might not be such a bad idea.

One year and counting

Because I love myself, I wanted to wish myself a Happy Birthday - well not me really, but last year around this time, I started up this blog on Wordpress, made the move over to Blogger, and while it's gone through some changes - and sometimes I'm all over the board on what I'm posting about - the time has gone fast and I've met some nice people along the way.

Who knew I'd still be out here in blogosphere doing what I'm doing with people who actually read this rag.

Happy Birthday to another Slanty.

Which would be me.

O.K. - that's enough self love - at least for now.

In Pictures: 29th Annual Asian-Pacific American Heritage Festival NYC

If you couldn't attend, here are some pictures from the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Festival at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in NYC. The pictures were taken by Edgie168 - make sure to check out his Flickr photostream page for the complete set.

Sex, The City, And Who's That Adopted Asian Kid?

Maybe this is just a child actor thing - but I wonder how come I can't find the name of the actual girl that plays Charlotte's adopted Chinese daughter in the Sex and the City movie and why she's not listed in the credits.

Doesn't she matter?

On another note, somehow it just seems apropos that one of the characters would get herself a new shiny baby direct from Asia - because it's kind of like a handbag you know? I nice accessory to the family because that's like Charlotte's character isn't it? Someone who likes a nice doll that she could show off to her friends?

A supposedly smart, well mannered Asian China Doll? And she might even play piano too...

I know it's a tough line to tow, but when are people choosing children for the sake of children and when are they objectifying Asian kids as Asian memorabilia?

Why not a white kid from NYC? Why did Charlotte have to get a kid from Asia?

I get tired of hearing about people who simply want to get kids from Asia or elsewhere versus looking in the U.S. - it gets old. It gets tired. It keeps on making you wonder why white people want to choose from the Asian persuasian versus in their backyard, and the only conclusion you can come up with is because they must think Asian kids in those "third world" countries need a helping hand from some white people and at the same time, they'll be really nice and submissive too.

It's kind of like killing two birds with one stone I guess. They get to feel good about themselves and they get a little Asian "prince" or "princess".

Either way, it would be nice if the nameless Asian kid could get some name recognition.

Kristi Yamaguchi: Headed to the DWTS Finals

So Kristi Yamaguchi made it to the Dancing With The Stars final round.

Nice.

Check out her Tango and Jive from Monday.

Tango



Jive

Democrats: Get it together

As things get down to the wire in selecting a Democratic candidate for the general election, even if Obama wins - which is looking more likely - what does it say if that win was made on the backs of voters who were penalized because they lived in states who held their primaries early, nullifying their votes and their delegates?

It's like that 3rd quarter basket Billups got credit for in the now dead Pistons/Orlando series which shouldn't have been counted because the ball clearly was raised after the shot clock, but because of the inept rules of the NBA, nothing could be done about it.

It was a momentum killer. It changed the game, and it changed the series, and unless you're the Pistons and Flip Saunders, who was looking to keep his job, how can you say otherwise?

It's the same with Florida and Michigan.

They counted. They did matter. Don't think so? Tell that to the people that waited in line and voted for their candidate. And unlike the NBA refs who couldn't go back to the TNT truck and check it out for themselves, the Democratic party still has the chance to rectify the situation.

It has a chance to make it a fair game.

What's bothered me most about this situation is that in the general election Florida and Michigan will count, and the fact that Clinton won these states could prove key in the general election. But because the states' delegates aren't being counted right now, people are looking past that fact - and it could come back to haunt them.

Here's to hoping the party gets it together soon, and that no matter who wins the nomination, they don't play their hand like Stern and the NBA.

P.S. - Why is it always about Florida?

Music: Chequendeke

This is a 7 musician and vocal band out of Tokyo that has a Latin and Nu-Jazz sound that I just got introduced too, and I kind of dig the sounds.

See more about Chequendeke down at their MySpace page.

Conectiv has to pay out $1.65 million for Racial Harassment

On one hand I just get sick of reading things like this - on the other - I'm glad companies like Conectiv and their sub-contractors, which include Matrix Services Industrial Contractors, Steel Suppliers Erectors, Inc. and A.C. Dellovade, Inc. have to pay out close to 2 million for their threatening racist acts.

From the EEOC:

Conectiv was the general contractor and property owner on a project to build a new energy power plant on the site of a defunct steel plant. Construction on the project began in January 2002 and the plant was operating by the end of October 2003. The EEOC charged in the lawsuit that the defendants, acting as joint employers, subjected a class of African American employees to racial slurs and graffiti as well as threats by hangman’s nooses.

The EEOC said that harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung from a beam in a class member’s work area for at least 10 days before it was removed; the regular use of the "N-word"; racially offensive comments made to black individuals, including "I think everybody should own one"; "Black people are no good and you can't trust them"; and "Black people can't read or write." Additionally, racist graffiti was present written in portable toilets, with terms such as "coon"; "If u not white u not right"; "White power"; "KKK"; and "I love the Ku Klux Klan."

That's just sad.

Here's to hoping the employees who were involved take some of that money, start up their own construction business and put Conectiv and their subcontractors out on the street.

Obama, Raw Racism, And Getting A Clue

Washington Post

While I'll have to BushWhack Clinton if she drops out of the race - because you don't go this far to drop out when there hasn't been a winner - nothing gets to me more than good people working on a good campaign who have to put up with dumbasses.

Here's a snippet from the Washington Post article Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause:

In Muncie, a factory town in the east-central part of Indiana, Ross and her cohorts were soliciting support for Obama at malls, on street corners and in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and they ran into "a horrible response," as Ross put it, a level of anti-black sentiment that none of them had anticipated.

"The first person I encountered was like, 'I'll never vote for a black person,' " recalled Ross, who is white and just turned 20. "People just weren't receptive."

For all the hope and excitement Obama's candidacy is generating, some of his field workers, phone-bank volunteers and campaign surrogates are encountering a raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed -- and unreported -- this election season. Doors have been slammed in their faces. They've been called racially derogatory names (including the white volunteers). And they've endured malicious rants and ugly stereotyping from people who can't fathom that the senator from Illinois could become the first African American president.

Get a clue people.

Quiznos Commercial

So I caught this down at the Chicago Sun-Times as well as down on AAM and I don't really have a problem with the woman eating the $5 bucks or not saying anything - but c'mon, do you really have to have her sitting in some laundrymat? Why not outside in a park or something?

Here's a snippet from the Sun-Times article:

That meaty assertion, however, really is the least of our concerns with Cliff Freeman's incredibly tacky approach to hyping the Quiznos promotion. The Freeman agency is notorious for never pushing propriety when there's an opportunity to gross out viewers. And the agency doesn't disappoint in "Laundromat," a 30-second spot. In it we see an Asian-American woman -- who appears to be the proprietor of a laundromat -- first eyeball and then devour a $5 bill taped to the laundromat wall.

Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times and AAM for more.

Stalking Lee Hyori

If you're a Lee Hyori fan how could you not like the new Mnet show she's on called Off The Record where it basically follows her around with hidden cameras everywhere - even in the shower?

Doc Rivers, The Blame Game, and Lebron's a Mama's boy?

So I know my last post on the Celtics when I gave the blame to Doc Rivers was really more out of frustration (like a good cheap foul). But this time, I really am blaming Doc Rivers because he just couldn't adjust his matchups and he couldn't keep Rondo from shooting the shit out of the game even though they should have kept on going to Ray Allen when he was hot as hell.

I'd go into more detail - X's and O's and all that other good stuff - but really - just watch the game again, you'll see what I mean.

The most interesting part of that loss though, was seeing Lebron's mom come to his defense after a hard a foul and Lebron screaming at her to sit her ass on down - which I'm hoping the Boston Celtic fans have a fun time with.

Sure - the dunk on KG was nice, but having his mom come to his defense in an NBA game? That shit's classic.

And yeah - I know - this post isn't that coherent - or even that interesting - but I felt like making a post where I really can't decipher even what I'm saying.

I'm chalking it up to APAH month, because I'm Asian and I can do that.

What do you expect?

I know this plays into the hands of the "Asian people work really hard" stereotype - and you don't need to look any further than myself to break that stereotype (because I'm kind of a lazy S.O.B) - but in all reality, after you fled your ass from Vietnam, get stranded for six months, and then get imprisoned for another four, creating a company that's a top 10 finalist among the 50 Fastest-Growing Asian American Businesses should really be just like dusting some dirt off you shoulder (sorry, I couldn't resist - I was having a Black Album flashback):

As a teenager in the late ‘70s, Tran and his sister Thu-Hong fled Vietnam on a commercial ship from Panama that took 2,500 refugees to Hong Kong. Stranded in a Hong Kong port for six months and imprisoned for another four, the brother and sister finally got to the U.S. with the help of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and lived in Fort Collins with a foster family.

They spoke no English and had few possessions, mostly the clothes on their backs. In 1981, Tran's sisters, Thu-Van and Thu-Nga, also made it to Fort Collins. In 1992, Tran sponsored his parents, Be Tran and Ngo Vo, his older sister Thu and brother, Mai-Quang, so they also could come to the United States.

Since then, Tran, his family and co-founder Bruce Hottman, have worked 70, 80-hour weeks to build ITX, a successful software and network support company that continues to grow.

Read the full article at The Coloradoan.

Devastation in China and surrounding areas

This is bad - and things keep on getting worse. To everyone that has family out in the affected areas - I hope you got in contact with them and that everyone is safe:

A powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and chemical plants Monday in central China, killing more than 8,700 people and trapping untold numbers in mounds of concrete, steel and earth in the country's worst quake in three decades.

The 7.9-magnitude quake devastated a region of small cities and towns set amid steep hills north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. Striking in midafternoon, it emptied office buildings across the country in Beijing and could be felt as far away as Vietnam.

Snippets from state media and photos posted on the Internet underscored the immense scale of the devastation. In the town of Juyuan, south of the epicenter, a three-story high school collapsed, burying as many as 900 students and killing at least 50, the official Xinhua news agency said. Photos showed people using cranes, mechanical hoists and their hands to remove slabs of concrete and steel.

Read more coverage here.

Can you have two Asian American Top Chef winners in a row?

While there's a part of me that is hoping a woman breaks the mold and finishes as a Top Chef this season - I've wondered this before (and I'm not alone, check chezpim - who also happens to be guest judging on Iron Chef America) - can there actually be two winners in a row who are Asian American?

Would producers allow it? Or would they be thinking "We can't have two Asian American winners in a row, what the hell would people say?".

I think there's an honest to goodness vibe out there that says if you'd have another Asian person winning Top Chef, people would think the show would be overrun with Asians and they might actually stop watching.

There might even be a riot.

And then there would be the quotas.

Not just on Top Chef, but on all reality television shows.

Just for a moment imagine what happens if Dale wins Top Chef, Yamaguchi wins DWTS - and then just for fun, Peih-Gee actually won Survivor, Ron and Christina won the Amazing Race, Brandi Milloy won Oprah's Big Give, and Ramiele Malubay won American Idol.

Are you kidding me?

I just don't have the faith in our society that if Asian Americans ran the table on some of the most watched reality television shows, that it wouldn't be the impetus for some mini race-war that would get totally out of control.

I can't help it. I know it's wrong but I just don't see it happening any other way.