News From Around The Way

Random news you may or may not want to know.

• Chinatown: Dining With Strangers
  
  I went to eat dinner at Chinatown again with the lady for her family reunion over the weekend. Her ancestors have been in the states since the late 1800's and have deep roots in community service. Believe me, I was on my best behavior. I won't talk about my conversations, but I really enjoy hearing stories of proud family history. From my own knowledge, the Chinese Americans that have been here longer seem to be a lot more accepting of others. The recent immigrants, it's hit or miss. My best friend is a third-generation Chinese American engaged to a Mexican. You wouldn't be able to put an ironclad wall between him and a Latin woman. His dad actually served in Vietnam and was constantly asked which side he was on.
  


• Staceyann Chin’s Babeh Quest
  
  Queer Chinese/Jamaican spoken word powerhouse Staceyann Chin recently wrote a piece for HuffPo about her mission to have a baby. It’s an excellent article, and she describes how factors of race, sexuality, and age made her driving desire for motherhood — an experience often taken for granted by many– a complex and protracted journey.
  


• SAIGON ELECTRIC: A Vietnamese American’s Journey Back to the Motherland (Part I)
  
  I’ll be blogging about my first experience as a producer for a film called SAIGON ELECTRIC, a hip hop, coming-of-age film made in Vietnam. It was released in Vietnam in April and is set to be released in select U.S. cities on October 7th. We’re currently mounting an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a small, but proper, theatrical release. So without further adieu, here’s Part I of the SAIGON ELECTRIC Journey [...]
  


• APA Spotlight: Kathy Lim Ko, President and CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
  
  Kathy Lim Ko is president and chief executive officer of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Kathy has worked in senior management positions in community-based and philanthropic organizations throughout her 30 year career.
  


• I’m a dick: Part 1
  
  For my next two unsolicited editorials, I’ll ask fairly rude questions. They’re not going to be popular. Let’s just say that I’m certain some will call me a dick, as well as other colorful descriptions. To be honest, though, in recent years I haven’t been the type of person who seeks out “Mr. Congeniality.” So, frankly I don’t care if people call me a dick after reading the following because I’m a firm believer in the right of each individual to question. To question is to be human. The point of the rude questions is to seek out some answers from a few adoptee heavyweights. In particular, I’d like to hear from Susan Cox, whom others have described as the poster adoptee for adoption agencies. Additionally, I would like to get some clarification from Jane Trenka, Tobias Hübinette, Tammy Ko Robinson, and Kim Stoker, four individuals involved in the most recent Korean adoption legislation.
  


• Me Love You Long Tongue
  
  Though it might seem a bit strange, I LOVE that 19-year-old Rhiannon Brooksbank–Jones, a UK student, got her slightly-shorter-than-average tongue lengthened–in a parent-approved, 15-minute elective lingual frenectomy. All so that she could speak Korean without sounding “foreign.”



• The Hyphen Lowdown on Filmmaker Marissa Aroy
  
  At Restaurant Peony in Oakland’s Chinatown, I met up with Emmy award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy. Named one of the most influential Filipina women by the Filipina Women’s Network in 2010, she and her husband Niall McKay run Media Factory, a production company whose clients include PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, Wired magazine, The Chabot Space and Science Center, CEO Women, and the Independent Film Channel. In mid-October of this year, Marissa will be traveling to the Philippines for four months to work on a short fictional piece, funded by the Fulbright Scholar Program. Over shrimp har gow, siu mai, and rice noodle rolls, we discussed Aroy’s current projects and how she got into film.

Pacific Ties, AAPI Blogosphere, And All You Ever Wanted To Know About Your Slanty?

A little bit ago Evelina Giang from UCLA's Pacific Ties sent along some questions my way for her story on the AAPI blogosphere and the issue is now up and running both in print and online which you can read by following this link.

Definitely check it on out as it has some great insight into blogosphere and highlights some cool blogs like Angry Asian Man, Disgrasian, 8 Asians, and The Ch!cktionary.

About Pacific Ties

Established in 1977, Pacific Ties is UCLA's Asian American Pacific Islander newsmagazine providing news, analysis, commentary, criticism, and insight into the AAPI community.

Our winter issue has just been RELEASED and available at newsstands on the UCLA campus and by request (just shoot us an email for a free copy). Named "The Dialogue Issue," this winter quarter issue promotes discourse on campus issues and local news to politics, A&E and cultural awareness.

While we offer our publication in print, we also recognize the growing prominence of distribution through the Internet and the significant use of blogs for AAPI voices. Through multiple medium forms, we believe in creating dialogue among our peers, in our communities, and across the world to bridge societal and geographic divides.

So pick up or request an issue FOR FREE and keep the dialogue alive by:

1. Spreading the word about Pacific Ties (find us online at http://pacificties.org/)

2. Share issues of Pacific Ties with your friends, family, and community!

3. Give feedback; let us know how we're doing! (e-mail us at pacties [at] media.ucla.edu)

Contact us if you'd like to read, inquire, critique, share and contribute. It takes two to dialogue, so you talk and we listen.

And If You Wanted To Know More...


Even though we know I'm a hack who when push comes to shove is just hanging out in blogosphere because I like to hear myself type, I thought I'd share the full Q & A with you if only because for one moment I kind of sound halfway coherent and I figure it should be documented.

And P.S. - I really started this blog so I could post naked pictures of myself...but that didn't go over so well...and they deleted my first account nakedslantyisfunforeveryone...

What is the goal of Slant Eye for the Round Eye? Did you have any specific intentions in starting the blog?

Even though there're some great Asian American blogs and voices out there, I still wanted to add my own voice into the mix. I wanted to promote the community, talk about things that mainstream media didn't always touch upon or write about in-depth, as well as just blog about things that mattered to me, from my perspective. In some ways that's one of the main reasons why I blog - to kind of say that sure, I might be an Asian American who blogs, and I might talk about some of the same things that other Asian American bloggers, or Asian American media outlets do, but I'm not the same either. While I'm a part of the community, I'm still an individual, and I think as far as the Asian American community goes, as well as just being a POC, there's power in that because of our history, because we've sometimes been seen as this homogeneous group who knows no separation from each other, when in reality, there is that separation.

At the same time, I know that a big part of the reason I blog is simply because I love seeing all the great people from our community who do their thing - no matter what it is - I just can't help not talking about it because I do get excited when I see Asian Americans and Asian faces breaking new ground, pushing new boundaries, or just simply being comfortable in who they are and saying to everyone around them "This is who I am".

Sometimes there's just nothing better than seeing that.

When a reader comes to your blog, what should they get out of it?

I guess I hope they get a little bit of everything - some news, some entertainment, maybe there's a post that makes them think a little bit more about race, our community or other communities of color, maybe they check out a new band, a new face, or just get re-acquainted with an old one. It's kind of like me - all over the board.

What role do you think blogs now have in journalism?

I think blogs can play a powerful role in journalism especially in regard to Op-Ed, creating discussions, getting out news that other outlets don't cover but at the same time, they're different than what we sometimes think of as typical journalism, especially in the newsroom sense - but I think that's changing as well.

How important is it that Asians blog? What addition do they add to the internet?

I definitely think it's important that we get on out and just make our voices heard in whatever capacity that is whether it's blogging, music, film, vlogging, maybe even starting your own NPO - I just think it's important that we're heard and that we make ourselves known because in some ways - even though it's changing - if we don't do it ourselves, it may not happen on it's own.

Sometimes you have to push a little.

Asian Week, the largest, most circulated newspaper serving the AAPI community, ceased newspaper printing last December. With the "the voice of Asian Americans" quieting in print journalism, what added responsibility do blogs have in speaking for the Asian American community? Do you think your blog has that responsibility?

One person or one group can't speak for the whole AAPI community, but I do think we do have a responsibility to speak as members from the AAPI community whether that's in a public forum, or on a more personal and individual level.

How do you think Asian Americans are portrayed in the media?

I think it depends on where you look and from what perspective.

Seeing Asian Americans grow in visibility in television and film where it's definitely better than it was five or ten years ago, I think has an overall effect in how we're portrayed in the media, because if we're never seen, or never heard, in some ways we stay "foreign" to people, whereas the more we're seen, the more portrayals of us that are put out in television and film or music, the more we become in a sense "normal" to people who might otherwise not think of us as necessarily belonging, or being a "real" part of American society, even though we are and have been. So in that sense I think it's gotten better.

But there's also this dichotomy where even if the amount of Asian faces does seem to be growing - especially with online media and reality tv - and you might see someone like Kal Penn in a network show like House - you still see someone in Yellow Face during Last Comic Standing. You still hear about guys like O.C. Welch calling Japanese cars "Rice Ready" trying to incite feelings of xenophobia. There's still a dearth of roles for Asian Americans in film that don't pander to the lowest common denominator outside of our own community, and we still haven't seen an Asian American musician/singer really break out yet.

Look at it from that perspective and it's definitely still mixed.

How has your blog been received by the AAPI community and by the internet?

50/50?

Is there any important AAPI topic that you have written about that has prompted overwhelming/more than expected discussion?

I had closed comments up until around 5-6 months ago - because I'm kind of a dictator - but since I've opened them, there's definitely some great comments and discussions that do happen, especially about race - but sometimes it can be about the strangest things too.

Who are your readers? If known, are they mostly from the AAPI community?

From what I can gather it's a mix - a lot from the AAPI community, communities of color and definitely white people too - because I'm all inclusive and they like my Asian vibe even when I'm talking about White People.

What section would readers find Slant Eye for the Round Eye in the newspaper?

News, Op-Ed, Entertainment, It Made Me Laugh It Made Me Cry, and WTF Was He Thinking When He Wrote That.

Is there any special meaning to the blog's name, Slant Eye for the Round Eye?

Yes and no. But I think it's kind of self explanatory, and I think you either get it or you don't, so I'll leave with that answer :)

Do you have any additional comments?

Sorry this was coming to you late again?

The new home at Blogger

Dear Readers:

As you can see there has been a switch over to Blogger from WordPress for the hosting of Slant Eye For The Round Eye. While WordPress proved to be a good host and service up until this point, with more features and customization, the decision was made to move over to Blogger for hosting.

For the most part there shouldn't be any problems for readers as the main domain http://www.slanteyefortheroundeye.com/ should transfer over seamlessly, however some links to individual posts and feeds may need to be updated.

Please bear with any changes/small hiccups over the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading,
Slant Eye For The Round Eye

Racist Theme Parties, New Citizenship Tests, Dropping Cake, and other news from blogosphere

Some posts from around blogosphere from the last week:

Texas Fraternity To Throw Racist Theme Event (¡Para Justicia y Libertad!):

More racist theme parties, here we go again. I received an email informing that a UT Austin fraternity is planning to have a “Cholo/Ghetto Mexican” Rush Eventwhere participants are to dress up and act as “Cholos” or “Ghetto Mexicans.”

New Citizenship Test (Asian-Nation):

You might have heard that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or ‘INS’) will be implementing a new and expanded test that each immigrant is required to pass in order to earn U.S. citizenship. As the New York Times reports, the new test is the first major overhaul in more than 20 years

Call to Action: Another Racialized Arrest at School (Oh No a WoC PhD):

[…] A young black woman was attacked by a Knight High School security guard in Palmdale, CA, for not sufficiently cleaning up the floor after dropping a piece of birthday cake on it.

ROCK OF BLASIAN: Black Kids (Disgrasian):

[…] Black Kids are an unsigned Jacksonville, FL band who’ve been compared to My Bloody Valentine, The Go! Team, and The Cure, and after playing a killer show at the Athens Popfest […]

Indian American Newspapers Compete in Houston (Hyphen):

The Houston Chronicle reports about the flourishing of Indian American newspapers in Houston, which has a huge South Asian population. In fact, there are three Indian American newspapers based in Houston, along with other smaller magazines.