#250posts24hrsAAPI - 14: A Random Moana Mashup

Just in case you haven't heard this before - and yes, I know not everyone liked this movie and there has been some discussion on it since it's been out (albeit, the film has become a movie at least I know a lot of AAPI kids like) - I don't know if you can really say much about the music.

And for the record, I liked the movie just on its own merits.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 13: Get To Know Elaine Chao

Since I just posted on the current White House and President I thought I'd also post some links up on Elaine Chao, who even though Asian American, sits on a cabinet that doesn't have anyone from the Latinx community on it (and is the first to do since 1989) - because you know - it's important (or at least semi-newsworthy) no matter her political affiliation.

And when I say links I guess I only mean:

http://www.elainelchao.com/ and this news article on the Caltrain electrification grant:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao isn’t budging on approving federal funds to help the Bay Area begin the electrification of Caltrain tracks.

Chao said at a hearing Wednesday morning of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee that she won’t sign off on a funding agreement necessary to release federal funds for the project, even as a critical June 30 funding deadline looms.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 12: Damn White People. Even You Didn't Think Trump Would Be This Bad

Yeah, I know, I know - not everyone who voted for Trump is a racist, and yes, I know, they just were looking past his faults because they truly believed he could turn this country around (even though by looking past his racist diatribes technically we could at least call them racially insensitive...).

But where has this gotten us as a country now?

Not very far has it?

And that's what happens when we look past faults we know we shouldn't because we're hoping for something more.

I'm hoping for an impeachment.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 11: Women Of Color In STEM Degrees (AKA Apple WTF?)

I was reading this article on Apple a couple days ago and I had to think to myself how does that do anything for anyone including women of color to help with the equity in having women and women of color in tech?

Or is it all about the age versus gender?

While I think it could have to do with both, and no offense dads (because I'm one as well) - women are the ones who are having the babies and need to take time off and again - sorry dads - being able to be around your kids when they are younger - because kids need their moms in those early stages, especially if you know - they love the boob (like my child) - and it only helps in their development.

To me it makes a direct statement on the value of work and life balance and what should matter the most.

Which doesn't include family - and I wonder how that shapes the minds and the direction of young women who want to get into tech.

Sure this thought isn't completely fleshed out - but you get what I'm saying right?

In a way it says - don't think about having any children and creating a family and that tech doesn't want you.

Even though it says it does.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 10: Forty-Two Years After The Fall Of Saigon

Really good read down at diaCRITICS from Linh Dinh on censure and oppression after the fall of Saigon.

I’ve only been to New Haven four times, and last week, it was only to participate in the commemoration of the Fall of Saigon, as organized by the Vietnamese Studies Program at Yale. I was one of three poets invited. The other two were Phan Nhien Hao (b. 1967) and To Thuy Yen (b. 1938).

I’m the translator of the only book by Hao in English, Night, Fish and Charlie Parker (2005). I first met Hao in Saigon in 2000, and we’ve hung out in San Jose, Illinois and Philly. I’ve even bought a used car from the man. We’re friends, in short. Hao’s father died while fighting for South Vietnam in 1975.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 9: In Other Constance Wu Related News. See Her In "The Feels"

In a related post - also see Constance Wu in "The Feels".

Please support my film @thefeelsmovie (starring @ConstanceWu & @angelatrimbur) via @kickstarter! #thefeels #orgasms https://t.co/zOnrAlSrqk

— Jenée LaMarque (@jeneelamarque) May 16, 2017

Back the Kickstarter @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/248632621/the-feels-a-comedy-about-the-female-orgasm?token=81e62a1e

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 8: See Constance Wu As A Cat. Back The Kickstarter

Honestly - I'm not exactly sure what this means:

🐱I'm a cat in this, help the kickstarter to see me as a cat. A jellicle cat. @EastSidersTV eastsiderstv's video https://t.co/6AGbxyJMc8

— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) May 18, 2017

But you can support the Kickstarter here.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 7: John Cho + Difficult People

I've never watched the Hulu series "Difficult People" and I didn't hear about this a couple months back (because I live under a rock soiled by an infant) but I may have to start watching seeing as how John Cho is cast in season three set for this summer.

Produced by Universal Cable Productions, Difficult People stars Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner as two besties living in New York City whose typical, irreverent behavior lands them in some very awkward situations. Cho will play Todd in a multi-episode arc. Billy (Eichner) has finally met his romantic match with Todd, his first real boyfriend – an advertising executive who’s as much of a dick as Billy and Julie (Klausner). Billy and Todd connect after neither of them backs down from a prank war, and season 3 follows the pair as Billy has to navigate “couple” things, having only had Julie has a soul mate previously. Also starring are Andrea Martin as Marilyn, James Urbaniak as Arthur, and Cole Escola as Matthew, with Gabourey Sidibe as Denise, Derrick Baskin as Nate and Shakina Nayfack as Lola.

Read more @ Deadline.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 6: This MiGGy Smallz Taeyon Mashup Is Just Good

If you like Taeyon.

If you don't I can't really help you.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 5: She Who Has No Master(s) - A Collective Reading: Vietnamese Women Writers

While you may not be able to make it out to Paris for this - this does sound like a great event and it's free.

The Library is pleased to present a collective reading and presentation called "She Who Has No Master(s)" showcasing nine women writers of Vietnamese descent, now located in the U.S. and France, who will come together and read from a collective project exploring themes such as displacement, silence, memory and trauma, repercussions of war and colonialism. The writing collective consists of acclaimed and award-winning authors and academics encompassing a range of literary disciplines, including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, performance, and criticism.

The event will begin with a brief introductory statement by 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen. The first half of the reading presentation will include a multi-voiced poetic reading of new collaborative work by the nine women writers of the collective. The second part of the event will be an individual reading by Anna Moi, author of The Butterfly's Venom (Le Venin du Papillon), recently nominated for the Ouest-France Prize. The event will close with an audience Q&A.

About The Speakers

Angie Chau is the author of Quiet As They Come, which Publisher's Weekly described as "serenely stirring stories," and has been adopted into U.S. high school and university curriculum. She is a member of the San Francisco's Writers' Grotto.

Lan Duong is associate professor in media and cultural studies at UC Riverside. Her most recent work is the award-winning anthology Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora: Troubling Borders in Literature and Art. Duong is also a poet and has been published widely.

Anna Moi migrated to France and then back to Vietnam, where she stayed for 22 years. She is the author of eight books, most recently a French/English work entitled The Butterfly's Venom.

Hoa Nguyen is the author of four books of poetry, including her most recent, Violet Energy Ingots, which was selected as one of the top ten poetry books in 2016 by Publisher's Weekly. Nguyen teaches at Ryerson University, University of Miami, and Bard College.

Thao P. Nguyen has been writing and performing solo shows since 2007. Her first one-woman show, Fortunate Daughter, was one of the Top 10 Bay Area Plays of 2013 by KQED. Her second solo show, WHITE POWER: A Comedy, debuted in 2016.

Isabelle Thuy Pelaud is professor of Asian American studies at SFSU and author of This Is All I Choose To Tell: History and Hybridity in Vietnamese American Literature. She is the founder and co-director of the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN).

Aimee Phan is author of the collection We Should Never Meet and the book The Reeducation of Cherry Truong. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies by the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. Phan chairs the Writing and Literature Program at California College of the Arts.

Dao Strom is the author of Grass Roof, Tin Roof and The Gentle Order of Girls and Boys. She is the recipient of the 2016 Creative Capital Artist Award, along with other awards from the Oregon Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Regional Arts & Culture Council, among others.

Julie Thi Underhill works in essay, poetry, film/video, photography, performance, and fine arts. Her publications include Troubling Borders: An Anthology of Art and Literature by Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora, Veterans of Peace, Veterans of War, and Takin' It To The Streets, among others.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 4: Dumbfoundead - 형 Hyung (Feat. Dok2, Simon Dominic, Tiger JK) Official M/V + A Throwback

I'm liking the logo at the end of the video (I can see that on a shirt - wait - is it?).

He's definitely coming out with a lot more music and with a lot of different artists - and an evolution since this track from 2010 featuring him, Jay Park, and Clara C.



Good to see him continuing to do his thing as he has been over the years and getting his audience stronger.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 3: Can I Get Me Some More Tofu Riot? I Loved This From Jiny Ung

While I can say that all posts are personal in some way simply because I'm the one editing what goes on here - this one is more personal in part because I just wish I could find more Tofu Riot from Jiny Ung, or see anything new - because I haven't been able to find much out since '15, and while I may have some snail mail from a previous interaction, nothing online - and I love my Viet Am artists and I'm hoping to get another project to showcase at least a few more of them off the ground.

Because we deserve that.

Awesome Viet Am artists doing their thing and providing as many lanes for them to drive in as possible.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 2: Vinnie Banh Hardflips (With An Indy Grab) Off The Braille Drop (You Can Call That Dope If You Want Too)

Vinnie Banh is becoming one of my favorite skaters because he's one of those skaters on the rise who's doing some great tricks including this one clip of him doing a hardflip off a fairly steep drop. I think they actually call this one the Braille Death Drop - and sure, it's not like he's doing El Toro and spare me any thoughts on the Braille crew versus someone like the Primitive crew and what a real skater is - but do you want to fall off this drop?

Most likely that answer is no.

#250posts24hrsAAPI - 1: APIA Goodness, Thoughts, Hits And Misses, Some Crankiness, Mostly Love, I'm Pressing Start Now

As I said in an earlier post, since this is APIA month and it is my 10th year anniversary for blogging (the month, as I started in May), I thought I'd go on a quest to see if I can make 250 posts in 24 hours, which will be 150 more than the last time I went on a similar quest in 2015. Overall the impetus is just that I like to try and do things I haven't done before, I have been a little bit of a slacker on the post front, and it's my way to give something back to the APIA blogger landscape.

Because that's what this is.

My thought is that I'll have some longer posts, some shorter posts, some thought pieces, resources, and of course some very non-provocative and bland ones (because at some point I do plan on posting about the lint between my toes) and at the end of the day I'll just have to hold myself accountable because I'm not doing 250 tweets in 24 hours. At the same time I'm not going to post outside of my normal bounds - which can sometimes be a video with some links and a description (or even just a quick few words) - but posts aren't always just about the text, and I never post up everything I encounter having to do with our APIA community. I'll also be keeping track of these in an Excel spreadsheet so I can make a quick index page out of it as well, so I'll have some extra time spent there, and going over the list seeing what I have and have not posted up on (easier to manage at 100 but 250 is a little different).

So at some point I may just not make it.

But I'll give it a try (because in some ways I feel like if I can't find 250 things to post on from the APIA/Asian community, in addition to other topics, than that's my issue).

While I post with hyperbole, and sometimes I just can't help but be impassioned about some things, and since I have to fill up a decent number of posts - I'm sure I'll be my normal self which can't help but use some colorful language with things I disagree or have issues with and because I feel like it needs some calling out, or another POV via different language. I may not go to some places that I was thinking about as I was wondering about what could I post on - but who knows either - because for the most part, with exception to some things that are just naturally in my head and a few other items, there's really no set list of subjects or posts I've already worked out for X percentage, and nothing written already.

May the Motherland have mercy on my soul.

Time To Press Start. Stop Procrastinating

I started this blog to put out another voice in the APIA blogosphere. To hype, showcase, archive, and sometimes give a different lens from my perspective as an Asian American, and when all is said and done, I hope this, like my posts and blog overall, does justice to that impetus.

Okay - time to really get this thing going.

Start.

P.S.

Time for quest start is 2:30.

Virginia Tran + Wait Crimes + Best Web Series

I started working when I was 12 (under the table) as a scraper - scraping off the food before it went to the dishwashers - and slowly worked my way up to doing pots and pans and dishes and then on to busing tables and finally waiting tables. I don't know if customers irked me to the extent that I wanted to throw coffee in their face (that was a surprise in the trailer) - but some days you did have to just bite your tongue.

If you've ever worked in the restaurant/food service industry - well - this might be for you.

And they got some awards.

And you can watch the entire season on Vimeo now.

On May 4, 2017, Wait Crimes was awarded the 2017 Independent Filmmakers Showcase Film Festival winner for Best Web Series. The Los Angeles-based festival featured more than 180 films. The entire season of Wait Crimes will be released on the Vimeo platform on Thursday, May 18, 2017.

Delving into the inner world of the hospitality industry, Wait Crimes–through raw and no-holds barred, pull-back-the-curtain scenes–highlights when the service industry has had enough and how they boldly confront difficult and high maintenance customers who act like idiots.

Created by Virginia Tran (barista), directed by Caleb King (bar manager), written and produced by Darius De La Cruz (server), Stephanie Mazariego (caterer) and cinematography by Marcus Johannes, this new, dark standalone comedy series was conceived by a group of restaurant industry workers and television insiders.

"Every restaurant job I’ve ever had had the same customer issues,” said Virginia Tran, the executive producer of the series. “We hustled really hard and used what was available to us as restaurant workers to tell our story. It's been such a wild ride with so many amazing favors from people who believed in us. It feels as though Wait Crimes is bigger than all three of us now. The win is for all of us."

Check it out @ http://www.waitcrimes.com/.

P.S. Dr. Ken Was So Good. Now It's My Selfie.

And you all know what I'm talking about here.

I like Fresh and all - it's funny - but I liked Dr. Ken because it was farther along from a multi-generational standpoint.

Again - love Fresh - but it's also a fish out of water type of story and Dr. Ken was just some people living in a city, doing their jobs, and raising some kids.

And they were Asian American.

Goodbye for now.

Maybe they'll resurrect you along with Selfie.

P.S.S

Yeah - I know - it's a long shot.

10 Years. It's My Birthday Month. 250 Posts. 24 Hours. Happy Birthday To Me

While I can't say I've been blogging up a storm lately (especially last month while on vacation) and the math can be circumspect - because there's that lost year of 2013 - I'm still around here doing this thing called blogging.

2007-2017.

10 years.

6489 Posts (including this one).

I've met some great people. I've learned, absorbed, and just loved so much from our APIA community and beyond in part because of this blog - and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's ever been a supporter of not necessarily me and my blogging but of the individual blogger and the individual voices that make up our community. It's important.

For those that have been reading throughout the years though, even if here and there, checking in every so often, and have supported what I try and do here - that actually does mean something. I really do appreciate it. I've never set out to be the biggest and baddest blogger or to move on up in the food chain in that way - because I've never been mainstream - and the fact that I can still get the word out here, that I can become an archive, that people still find it - I'm okay with that and I still stand by the impetus for why I started this blog - to put out another voice from the APIA community and to hype our community in the ways that I can (here and in other projects, some of which have started simply because of blogging).

To everyone in our community who's doing what they do - pushing our voices, our communities, our issues, representing us, giving knowledge, or creating those spaces to listen and learn online and on the ground - keep doing what you're doing and light the way.

250 Posts. 24 Hours

Since I can't help but feel like I've also been a little bit of a slacker lately and overall this year, and I am calling this month my 10 year start month/anniversary, I thought I'd do something fun again like in 2015 when I decided to blog 100 posts in 24 hours except this time around I'll give 250 a shot. I'm not exactly sure on the time, but definitely this weekend - either starting Friday night or Saturday morning exactly at midnight.

P.S.

No kidding a store actually printed that out for me.

Mnet America: Hollywood, Networks, and Beyond

While I can't make it to the Mnet America panel with DDK and Arden Cho (to name a couple) as well as the APAH reception afterwards - this sounds like a great time.

Be well.

Prosper.

Check out Mnet America.

Vinh Nguyen That's What I Like (No Really It Is)

You're probably one of the millions that has already seen this - but just in case you haven't.

And a little with the Chainsmokers.

Retro Anthemic Taeyeon 태연_ I (feat. Verbal Jint) + Something New

This is my anthem today.

A Couple More Tracks



Love that hook - nah nah nah nah nah...it's just so good.



I do like her more soulful songs.

I like the pop - but it has to be specific to her. It can't be cookie cutter.

This one definitely has a bit of both.

K-Soul.