A Look Back At 2016...The Passing Of TMM And Other Thoughts From Last Year

I haven't done a best of or in review for a little bit and it's not looking like it's happening this year - but maybe next year I'll try something new (or old) again.

We'll see...

Left Too Early

When I look back at 2016 - one of the moments that will always be remembered is the passing of Keon Enoy Munedouang aka TMM, The Minority Militant.

His memory. His posts. The way others remembered him.

It never went unnoticed to me what month it was either...

He'll be missed by many - and I'll miss him.

I'll miss what I had gotten to know as well as the promise of what could have been.

When I got back from his funeral - because I owed him that - I wanted to write something so visceral - I wanted to light everyone on fire who I didn't think cared and should have, either about TMM himself and the loss to the blogging community, or the fact that I was grieving his loss.

But I didn't.

I knew it wouldn't quite be right. I may have touched on things - but not in that way.

Here's some of what I did write though on a FB post:

...I found the Internet. I found writing from a journalistic, news, and op-ed point of view. I helped start an online press, one of the first independent student run ones in the country [...] I always went back and forth between wondering if I should do social work/arts for a living or something else that could fuel that. Tech and the Internet and the Web - they've allowed me to do that. It gave me the power to do things on my own without needing anyone else's approval, or wait while I stood in line for scraps hoping they would open up the gates for me, or have to explain to anyone that I couldn't do anything in life if I wasn't able to make a living and pay bills and that I could still be down even if I was also a tech geek too--it opened up a whole new world to me on so many fronts.

One of the areas that's been such a large piece of who I am is as an AAPI blogger and online writer. I was able to find my voice and who I was as a writer and activist. It's been a community that I'm proud to be a part of and contribute to and where I've been able to meet so many great people and organizations and learned so much because of it, and I hope that I'm always giving back because of that. We really are a different breed and small community spread out across the country, and while sometimes I ran from it, because we run from who we are sometimes, I stopped running at some point.

This weekend I drove down to Chicago to attend the funeral for Keon (aka TMM) who I've been making a lot of posts on for the last week. A fellow Southeast Asian American blogger from the Midwest I considered Keon a friend, but one who I should have gotten to know more, and who I lost touch with over the last few years. But I wanted to be there to help honor his life and the piece of him I knew as a part of a community that we both belonged to. It was great to see how much love there was for him. Sending him off in a traditional Lao ceremony and honoring his life--being a mentor, a teacher, serviceman to his country, brother, son, and cousin, and about his life as a political Asian American blogger--and his sister ended the ceremony with words from his blog and about why he wrote and why he felt he needed to put out his voice. It was fitting in that way and brought me to tears and while I wanted to say so much more to his sister before I left, it was really her just letting me cry on her shoulder before I just had to leave. One day I figure I'll learn how to be better at funerals...and make sure to honor those better.

...

There've been so many emotions running through this past week and some of them really angry...and I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with those as I felt like I should act on them and acknowledge them and use all the power in the English language to show them light....but I don't want to start wars and sometimes things are more complicated, and there's another POV - and it takes energy for that - energy that can be channeled, and I know better spent, on something positive for the community...and I've talked a lot to different people and there's been so much support in his memory and nothing but kindness and goodness and I'm thankful to all of them because that helped erase some of that anger.

Positivity and channeling something good out of this wins.

Rest in peace Keon. It truly has been an honor.

There really was an outpouring of love and respect for his blogging and life. On all sides. Even from people who maybe didn't get along with Keon, or didn't understand him or why he felt or said some of the things he did.

I'll always be grateful for that - for the showing of love and respect, and the community around his memory - the AAPI bloggers and writers and friends and family.

Because when someone leaves - and leaves us too early - we should see that.

From Lac Su With Love (Well Not Really But I'm Quoting Him Anyway)

Another moment that sticks out in my mind, and I think a more general one, is the fall of our Presidency. I mean really - who knew we would go back in time - like a rip in the universe and some odd machine that you only find in COD III.

Progressive woman from a party that cares about everyone, or a racist rich White Guy who duped other racist White People (well not everyone)?

We know how that turned out.

And those masks - they came off.

From all sides, everywhere you looked - "friendships" were broken, families were divided - and this thought of somehow being in a safer and better place (because we've had to be after all the advances we've made right?) - it felt like it was crashing down - and sure, we've been through bad Presidents before - but this was different.

I think there was true hope that we were on the cusp of something great - and we needed that because amidst so much other turmoil from a race perspective.

The fact that it was never realized gave way to true mourning for so many people and communities.

That mourning turned to anger with a fight response - that in spite of it all - we needed to stand strong no matter what.

I think Lac Su said it best (via a social media post) when he said we needed to fill the void after the election with art and community - and it's true.

Gotta fight because the alternative of laying down isn't an option.

Life goes on.

We still have to progress and move forward and push back as much as we can.

Police, Race, And The Divide

I live within walking distance to the governor's mansion (albeit in an adjacent neighborhood) which was ground zero during the protests surrounding the shooting of Philando Castile - and like too many other times, protested and chanted with others who were shocked and outraged at the shooting of another man of color, a Black man, who did nothing wrong. The community was on fire and the helicopters buzzed around me at night watching and waiting...it was another shooting, another bad cop who should have never been a police officer, another highway closed, another motion that said change needs to happen...

In one of the cities I call home where I grew up, Milwaukee's boiling point finally came. Another shooting. Too much built up, in what was once one of the most segregated cities in our country...

Peter Liang and Akai Gurley. How can we forget them? The divide was great in the Asian American community and I know I lost at least a couple of folks on that one - but I'll still remain with what I think is a balanced view on it because we have to take it all in - we can't throw away the concerns of so many - and I mean that on all sides. There has to be dialogue - it just can't be a debate...

And Map Kong - another shooting of a man of color - an Asian American man - ripped by the Star Tribune via their White Privilege, not given the justice he deserved. From the BCA to the police to so many communities - he was lost in the shuffle with barely a word spoken about him and how his life was worth rehabilitation - that he didn't need to be shot in the back running away - that if he was White he probably would have had a better chance surviving the officers that surrounded him...

I can only hope that 2017 doesn't see what we witnessed in 2016 on this front.

Maybe This Year Will Be Different

This year I watched my daughter grow up a little - baby Slanty turned into toddler Slanty - and when I look at her - I know that one day we'll see the fruition of labors.

Because it has to happen at some point and I can't believe that she'll be worse off than where we are now.

It's just organic change that's already in flux.

Maybe this year can be the start of something new - something different.

Even with the changes coming to our country and the melees that will ensue (because there has to be) - the majority - we know what needs to be done.

We know what it's going to take.

So here's to at least hoping for the best.

Random Lester Kasai

http://madridskateboards.com/boards/pool-street/lester-kasai-85

Inventor of the “Beni Hana” and was the second person to land a 540.

Legend.

In Pics: Jeannie Mai + Stranger Things + Golden Globes

Love this pic.

Keepin' it real with the cast of @Stranger_Things @gatenM123@finnskata @calebrmchlaughl1@noah_schnapp✌️ @goldenglobes #GoldenGlobes #HFPA pic.twitter.com/eIgQgm4RlV

— Jeannie Mai (@jeanniemai) January 9, 2017

The Vinnie Banh Street Part

Oh yes.

Oh yes indeed.

Welcome 2017: Holy Fuck I Just Watched The Mariah Carey NYE Video. Damn

Dick Clark Productions is trying to get these taken down Vin Diesel And Sung Kang style so watch it while you can.

I feel bad for the Queen...all of Chicago must be feeling it too.

Hot Damn that really was a mess.

P.S.

I still can't believe this is what was elected President.



It lingers...

Holiday Sparseness And Happy Holidays From Slanta

Well - apparently, I'm a little on the hiatus side for posts in the last week - and I would imagine in the next week as well.

Who knows - maybe a few extra posts to get me over the hump for this year - or maybe I'm just saying that to hedge my bets?

Happy Holidays either way!

Slanta.

February 9 - March 12, 2017: EWP + FREE OUTGOING + Anupama Chandrasekhar

Definitely sounds like this should be a good show. Below is from the PR.

EAST WEST PLAYERS ANNOUNCES CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM OF
FREE OUTGOING, WHICH BEGINS PERFORMANCES ON FEBRUARY 9, 2017

East West Players (EWP), the nation’s longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for the US premiere of Free Outgoing, which Time Out, London has praised as “…a gripping and insightful story”, and The Independent has called “…profoundly affecting.” Written by Anupama Chandrasekhar and directed by Snehal Desai in his directorial debut as EWP Artistic Director, Free Outgoing begins performances on February 9 and runs until March 12, 2017, with opening night on February 15.

In this internationally acclaimed and timely play about a middle-class home in conservative Chennai, 15-year-old Deepa is filmed by her boyfriend engaging in a sexual act. The indiscreet cell phone video goes viral, becoming a national scandal that exposes gender double standards and conflicting views of female sexuality. Deepa’s single mother Malini—a modern-day Mother Courage—struggles to protect her children while caught between India’s embrace of new technology and adherence to old-world values.

“In the last decade, technology has transformed the way we navigate the world, yet the lens with which we see and judge our girls and women has hardly changed,” says playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar. “I wrote Free Outgoing in anger to explore hypocrisy regarding female sexuality and to understand my world better. I’m thrilled and honored that Free Outgoing is being staged by East West Players as part of their season showcasing women of color. EWP is indispensable for getting marginalized voices heard and for putting female practitioners center stage.”

“When I first read the script, it left me breathless," says EWP Artistic Director Snehal Desai. “I was drawn to the timeliness and intensity of Free Outgoing, which centers on the epic struggle of a woman caught between traditional customs and youthful exploration. Anupama is a brilliant journalist and political playwright, whose writing incites dialogue about relevant social issues and gender inequality. It’s the most provocative play of our season.”

Making their EWP debuts are Anna Khaja (TV: Quantico, True Blood, Stitchers, and Silicon Valley) as Malini, Anil Kumar (Manhattan Theater Club’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; TV: NCIS, Six Feet Under, 24, and Law & Order: SVU) as Ramesh, and Kavi Ladnier (The Public Theatre’s ANON(YMOUS); TV: Heroes and General Hospital) as Nirmala/Kokila/Usha. Kapil Talwalkar (EWP’s Animals Out of Paper) will play Sharan.

The creative team includes Snehal Desai (Director), Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Scenic Designer), Katelan Braymer (Lighting Design), Sharath Patel (Sound Designer), Rachel Myers (Costume Design), Glenn Michael Baker (Assistant Scenic Design/Prop Master), and Brandon Hong Cheng (Stage Manager).

Free Outgoing is presented in association with Boom Arts.

All performances of Free Outgoing will be staged at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center of the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Previews are Thursday, February 9 through Sunday, February 12, with 8pm shows from Thursday to Saturday, and 2pm matinee shows from Saturday to Sunday. All preview seats are $25. Opening night is Wednesday, February 15 at 8pm. “Pay-What-You-Can” performance is on Thursday, February 16 at 8pm. The production runs until March 12.

Tickets may be purchased at www.eastwestplayers.org or please call (213) 625-7000, making sure to mention any wheelchair/accessible seating needs. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. General Admission ticket prices range from $35 to $50. Dates, details, and ticket prices are subject to change.

East West Players is proud to stage Anupama Chandrasekhar’s Free Outgoing as part of Radiant, a 51st Anniversary Season that focuses on featuring stories by and about women.

For more information about East West Players, please visit www.eastwestplayers.org.

From Across The Pond: I Guess I'll Never See This Play (In the Depths of Dead Love)

Errr....okay.

When the Print Room, a London theatre, cast white actors in Howard Barker’s In the Depths of Dead Love – a play set in ancient China, with characters named Chin and Mrs Hu – members of the BAME artist community took it as an insult, an assertion that there simply weren’t, in the mind of the company, the director and the playwright, sufficiently talented artists of Asian descent in London to embody these characters. With the release of a statement on Monday attempting to explain their process, the leadership of the Print Room hasn't defended themselves by protesting that they had indeed attempted to cast the role with Asian actors. Rather, they denied that race and ethnicity mattered at all in casting. In doing so, the theatre showed that it does not comprehend what yellowface and racial erasure mean, and have made no effort to show any empathy to the community they have affronted.

Read it in full.

This Is How You Eat A Chicken Wing BD Wong Style

Damn - looking good as a MF.

P.S. Tonight's The Night For George Takei's Allegiance On Broadway Film Event (One Night Only)

Just a quick reminder in case you forgot, didn't know, or just needed a nudge (if you didn't already see it on Broadway).

Tonight.

Allegiance.

One night only in theaters.

Buy and check tickets here: http://www.fathomevents.com/event/allegiance

Social Media Is Real People Too (Discard It If You Want But It Really Is The People)

Yeah - sure, I get it - being online is in certain ways sometimes anonymous and it can compel people to just say whatever the hell they want - but that's kind of the point.

Social Media = Real People.

Sometimes people want to discount the real people simply because they post up on social media - which is really just their way of discounting POC and Asian Americans.

Ok.

That's it.

A Little Viet. A Little Gone. A Big Review

Nice.

VIETGONE, Qui Nguyen’s quasi-autobiographical play, couldn’t have come at a better time. By telling the story, more or less, of his parents’ immigration to the U.S. in 1975 Nguyen reminds us of how integral to our national character the immigrant experience is [...] If this all sounds very serious, rest assured that VIETGONE is not at all depressing. To the contrary, it’s a rollicking, occasionally hilarious love story told through a combination of dialogue, rap music and cartoon-like production numbers. The main story focuses on Tong (Jeena Yi), an audacious 30-year old determined to avoid the married life her mother and her society expect. Landing in the refugee camp gives Tong the freedom to become her own person even as she falls in love despite herself with the hunky Quang (James Ryen), a helicopter pilot who had to leave his wife and children behind in Saigon.

Sorry - That's Sold Out Already (Dean + Transparent Live Sessions)

Just make sure you're in the know and then you'll forever be in...well - the know.

And tickets.

You might be able to still stalk him though if you wait?

*The MEET & GREET w/ DEAN will be at 6 PM at THE MAYAN (12/09/2016).
The Meet & Greet ticket includes a picture and poster from DEAN!
Photos will be taken in groups of 2.

http://transparentagency.com

P.S: I Love You

Kisses.

Executive Order 13800: Indigogo The Hell Out Of This Film Project + Mustafa Rony Zeno + Koji Steven Sakai + Phinneas Kyomura

All I know is that I'm gonna back this and I hope you do too because this film needs to be made.

Writer/Producer and former executive at the Japanese American National Museum Koji Steven Sakai and filmmaker/cultural anthropologist Mustafa Rony Zeno, and producer Phinny Kiyomura are looking for your help to fund their newest film Executive Order 13800. This is a project that touches upon both of their passions for social Justice and for telling compelling human dramas.

Executive Order 13800 is inspired by the internment of Japanese American during World War II. But instead of happening 75 years ago, it is happening today with Muslim and Arab Americans.

EO13800 follows an Arab American family after a second major terrorist attack to hit the United States in one month. President Trump issues Executive Order 13800 which gives all Muslim Americans two weeks to report to a government site to register. During those two weeks, the family's world turns completely upside down. With the executive order, they instantly lose their civil rights -- such as new curfew laws prohibit them from going out after dusk, they are no longer able to gather or pray together, they can’t express their faith publicly and not to mention the constant threat of violence against them.

Both Koji and Mustafa have been working on this project for the past year. However, they abandoned it a year ago because it seemed too far-fetched. However, because of the results of the recent presidential election, they both now see that the scenario found in EO13800 could actually happen. Koji, being a descendant of a camp survivor, believes this is one of his most important projects he's ever worked on. He has made it his life's work to educate people about the camps and to ensure that what happened to his family never happens to anyone ever again.

It has a flexible goal and one month for the campaign down at Indigogo and seems to be making some nice traction which already shows the interest in this project, albeit they still have 85% of their goal to get too - so get on out and support this film project if this is down your alley.

Racist, Homophobic, And Fat Shaming!??? Holy Shit! Now I HAVE To Watch The Gilmore Girls' Reboot!

With a title like Was ‘Gilmore Girls’ always as racist, homophobic, and fat-shaming as the revival is? - now I have to watch it - even if just for the scene with the "pool boy".

What!??

I'm gonna watch this soon.

I'll report back later.

Maybe?

In the meantime - check out the article @ The Frisky from Divya Amladi.

Random Soko Glam Charlotte Cho

If you're into Korean skincare and makeup you probably know Charlotte Cho - but if not - well - now you do?

Here's an article from earlier this year spring @ VF.

MV + This Is So Good It Really Is Like Heaven

Love this rendition.

Starving + Late Night Marie Digby + Clara C

Smooth.

Writing In The Moments + Life And Being Asian American

As I was posting on my morning on FB this morning, it reminded me of a post I was going to do and the general thought that I do like to write and catalog things in the moment. I keep a lot of things for me, or just between family and close friends, just because they're normal day life, or things you don't need to share with other people, or are thinking about etc. - but I think there's a value in sometimes talking in that moment.

After you reflect on things, sometimes that visceral feeling, which is basic to so much gets lost and you can't always go back to it to truly do something with it. Sometimes there's rationalization versus reflection - at least for me - and I think there's value in sometimes showing those vulnerabilities - because life isn't always a win and sometimes that's what fuels it all. To do better. And sometimes it's those common losses, or hard days, or not out of the ordinary - but unexpected times - saying them - letting them know they exist - I think there is a power to that.

It's not always pretty. May not go as expected. But nothing is perfect. Sometimes you still have to weed. Sometimes it's just a different POV and you can't fix what you can't acknowledge and in a way you can't celebrate either because you haven't acknowledged what you're celebrating for.