Saturday, June 30, 2012

Need to have heart to love



Despite my usual curmudgeon-y-ness, I love this. From Yen-Ling Von Meister who writes: "上海機場所見。One of the billboards at Shanghai airport - the character might be simplified, but one must use heart to love (the simplified character depicting "love" dropped the "heart" component from the traditional writing form)"

Here's my favorite story about the Chinese character, "ai": http://www.annarbor.com/passions-pursuits/the-genesis-of-chinese-writing-and-the-art-of-chinese-calligraphy-at-umma-saturday/

Friday, June 29, 2012

The Best Chinese Restaurants in America: Are They All in California? | Asia Society

and more Chinese food restaurant recommendations here from the man who ate at 6000 Chinese restaurants, David Chan. We almost went to #6 (it was full so we went next door. sad face.) Excerpt:


Editor's Note: We first learned of Los Angeles-based attorney and accountant David Chan from this LA Weekly profile. And we thought who better to give us recommendations on Chinese restaurants in the United States than the man who has eaten at more than 6,000 of them? Let us know what you think of Chan's list in a comment.

The Best Chinese Restaurants in America: Are They All in California? | Asia Society

10 Best Handmade Chinese Noodle Restaurants in Los Angeles - Los Angeles Restaurants and Dining - Squid Ink

I couldn't find this article when I was unexpectedly stranded in LA for 24 hours so I am posting it here so I will be able to find it forever. Here is for the next time you're in LA...
10 Best Handmade Chinese Noodle Restaurants in Los Angeles - Los Angeles Restaurants and Dining - Squid Ink

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Chicago is the World » Asian Pacific American Community Reflections Thirty Years after Beating Death of Vincent Chin

My article was terrible last week. so i scrapped the whole thing and instead put together a "greatest hits" of the Vincent Chin 30th anniversary commentaries. it's a little different than what i usually do, but it's a really good coalation of links. all the important apa voices are there--Frank Wu, Emil Guillermo, Gil Asakawa, Bao Phi, Jeff Yang, Angry Asian Man Phil Yu, Stewart Kwoh--even Michael Moore (a must read).

Excerpt:
The Vincent Chin case was a shocking wake-up call for Asian Americans of all ethnicities who suddenly realized the brutal consequences of the “all Asians look alike” stereotype and anti-Asian slurs. Coming to America, working hard, and keeping your head down per the model minority stereotype was not enough. This could have happened to anyone. However, thirty years later, the Vincent Chin case has become a staple of Asian American Studies courses; the community has grown, developed, and organized; legal changes have been made. Yet still there is much work to be done.
click here for whole article: Chicago is the World » Asian Pacific American Community Reflections Thirty Years after Beating Death of Vincent Chin

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Never Stop Making Media Connections! - Community Media Workshop


Great new media resources here to download from the Making Media Connections Community Media Workshop that I was invited to speak at in Chicago ("Blogging around a Digital Bonfire" with Stephen Franklin and Marissa Wasseluk), in case you might be interested in some of these new media talks--funny linkedin guy, searing SEO, blazing social media tactics

Never Stop Making Media Connections! - Community Media Workshop

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Crossing Boundaries and Standing Up for Justice Together. NoH8. Remembering Vincent Chin - NAM EthnoBlog

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in New America Media's Ethnoblog:
What does one wear to a gay pride event?
Something fabulous, certainly. But I am such an awkward dresser, I worry and I fret.
Oh! If only I had one of George Takei’s “It’s OK to be Takei” t-shirts. That would have been the perfect connector between the Asian American and LGBT communities. Instead, I opt for urban black, add my most fabulous big red hat, and try as best as I can to channel George Takei’s black t-shirt cool.
Think cool. Gotta be cool.
The very cool Oakland County Commissioner Craig Covey had asked me to speak about the Vincent Chin case at Ferndale Pride‘s Light the Night against Hate, a family-friendly candle-lit walking tour around downtown Ferndale for folks from all backgrounds to “learn more about historical and contemporary issues surrounding hate in our schools and communities, including hateful speech in social media and online bullying…[and] to visibly unite against hate.”
It was a beautiful and warm Friday night, lots of folks downtown, laughter and music spilling out of all the restaurants and bars.
click link for whole article: Crossing Boundaries and Standing Up for Justice Together. NoH8. Remembering Vincent Chin - NAM EthnoBlog

Pakistani Rock Band Noori at Top of the Park

Looks like fun! from Zilka Joseph at UM Dept of South Asian Studies:


"Pakistani Rock Band Noori at Top of the Park
Date: Wednesday, June 27
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Ingalls Mall, Rackham Stage | FREE

Be sure to check out 
Pakistani band Noori this Wednesday, June 27 at 8:00 pm. The band makes a stop in Ann Arbor as part of Center Stage, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State. One of Pakistan’s top pop artists, Noori busts through local convention and international rock barriers with brainy songs and emotional beats. Led by charismatic brothers Ali Noor and Ali Hamza, Noori delivers a great show with a distinctive subcontinent kick.

To celebrate the diverse community we serve, each year the Ann Arbor Summer Festival throws a series of Global Parties at Top of the Park that spotlight different ethnic backgrounds and cultural traditions. Featuring free outdoor performances by local and international artists, these nights showcase global grooves and international beats.
 
See other programs for the evening:
 

Monday, June 25, 2012

Kerrytown Concert House Announcement

Tue, 8/7/2012, 5:00pmART EXHIBIT

Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Gallery Reception and Unofficial Book Launch



Photo: First mockup of "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang thanks to Book Artist Laura Beyer and Guardian Angel Joe Grimm! Unofficial Book Launch August 7, 2012 Kerrytown Concert House, at Jyoti Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang reception and reading for “Boots of Spanish Leather” photography exhibit in Ann Arbor, Michigan... Read back cover below:

“If I had a lost love—imaginary or real—I would want Frances to be mine. Her writing is heartfelt, eloquent, and nostalgic all at once. Frances possesses the ability to reach deep within the soul to speak on her heart's behalf—no matter how tormented, broken, and hopeful it may be. You will get what it is she is sharing.”  —Lac Su, author of I Love Yous Are for White People (HarperCollins, 2009)

“With echoes of Sei Shonagon and Li Bai, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang has created a contemporary pillow book of sensual longing, heartache, erotic impulse, and wry wit. Her book is to be savored like dark chocolate on a moonlit night.” —May-lee Chai, author of Hapa Girl and Dragon Chica

“Imaginary Affairs is a must-read for any woman who has experienced unfulfilled love and heartache. Through a series of vignettes and short poems, Frances Kai Hwa Wang finds beauty and hope in the most unlikely of places in her search for love and desire. Her words of yearning will speak to your heart.” —Dr. Kate Agathon, Curator, CommUNITY and ImaginAsian Identity and Experience in Contemporary Asian Pacific America Art Exhibit

"Imaginary Affairs—postcards from an imagined life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a collection of prose poems and short short stories which wanders, dreamy and droll, across the landscapes of Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Kathmandu, Hawaii, and Asian America, wrestling with ache and desire, searching for the moment, but the moment is ever fragile.Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

This is a free event.

Reservations are not required for this event.
  • Omi Chowdhury, photographer
  • Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, writer

Event Details

Opening reception for photographer Jyoti Omi Chowdhury’s new exhibit, “Boots of Spanish Leather,” together with a reading by writer Frances Kai-Hwa Wang to celebrate her latest book “Imaginary Affairs—postcards from an imagined life.”  Hors d’oeuvres will begin at 5pm, accompanied by live music.
Full details at: Kerrytown Concert House

Sunday, June 24, 2012

#VC30 Rivals Obama’s for Largest Google Hangout

The National Townhall via Google Hangouts organized by APAforprogress, Vincent Chin 30: Standing Up Then and Now, was so cool to be a part of! Google unofficially says that we were the second largest Google Hangout ever, second only to President Obama's Google Hangout. Thanks to Keith Kamisugi for this nice mention in foundAsian.org.

#VC30 Rivals Obama’s for Largest Google Hangout

Vincent Chin case articles compiled at apaforprogress.com

I've been tracking the 30th Anniversary of the Vincent Chin case all this week, including 18 hours Saturday covering the National Townhall (several events across the country connected by Google Hangout and Twitter) sponsored by APAs for Progress. Google unofficially says that this was the second largest Google Hangout ever, second only to one with President Obama.

If you are interested, I have lots more resources and articles and media coverage about the Vincent Chin case collected at my other website, http://www.rememberingvincentchin.com. Please check out the site and send me your thoughts. If you're on twitter, you can check out my twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/fkwang (@fkwang) or the hashtag #vc30.  I am also collecting short responses to the questions: What does the Vincent Chin case mean to you? How does the Vincent Chin case inspire you? Email me back your responses and I'll post them on rememberingvincentchin.com! 

Here are my other compilations and blog posts at APAforprogress.com/blogs/fkwang

Roundup of Vincent Chin articles 4 Sun, 06/24/2012 - 12:36

Roundup 3 of Vincent Chin articles so far Fri, 06/22/2012 - 23:18

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang's article in Chicagoistheworld.org Thu, 06/21/2012 - 14:27
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang's article in Chicagoistheworld.org about the Vincent Chin case, Ferndale Pride's Light the Night against Hate, and how we're all in this together, "Crossing boundaries and standing up for justice together. NoH8.

Roundup 2 of Vincent Chin articles Thu, 06/21/2012 - 13:39

Roundup of Vincent Chin articles this 30th anniversary Wed, 06/20/2012 - 13:32

RememberingVincentChin.com postcard project Sat, 06/09/2012 - 10:58

The RememberingVincentChin.com postcard project is a small independent project of Frances Kai-Hwa Wang to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the baseball bat beating death of Vincent Chin by asking the question of people everywhere: What does the Vincent Chin case mean to you? How does the Vincent Chin case inspire you?

For more information, check out my other blog at rememberingvincentchin.com.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

'The Man Who Killed Vincent Chin' by Michael Moore | MichaelMoore.com

OMG. MUST READ. Before "Roger and Me," Michael Moore interviewed of Ronald Ebens 1987. Ebens really is the jerk he appears to be in "Who Killed Vincent Chin." I have chills. Can't even begin to excerpt...

'The Man Who Killed Vincent Chin' by Michael Moore | MichaelMoore.com

Friday, June 22, 2012

Remembering Vincent Chin

Tons of stuff up at my other blog, rememberingvincentchin.com--links to current news articles, radio interviews, tv clips, special events, etc. Please go there to get all the latest updates before Saturday's special events.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Civil Rights Lessons of Vincent Chin’s Murder - COLORLINES

I sound so fierce in this Colorlines Magazine article by Julianne Hing! Excerpt:

Sharing our stories and knowing our history is a necessary, political act. The effort to keep the lessons of Chin’s death and the fight for justice from being swallowed up by the unstoppable passage of time is not about any romantic nostalgia—understanding the past is key to making sense of the ongoing fight for justice today, activists say.
“The facts of the story are never going to change. It’s never going to have a happy ending, but it can move people to get indignant. It can move people to action,” said Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, a Michigan-based writer and activist. It’s often said that in the the aftermath of Chin’s murder, the Asian-American community was born. Asian Americans, who tended to identify by ethnicity first, came to unite around a new political identity. Chin became a symbol in the Asian-American civil rights movement, a reminder that the struggle for justice is never quite over. Wang organized the Vincent Chin Postcard Project to collect exactly these sorts of stories. Among Wang’s favorite responses was one which asked: “How long will it be before we forget Trayvon Martin like we forgot Vincent Chin?”
Images and language matters. Dehumanizing language and images make it easier to attack those who are treated as less than fully human. Whatever the community, whoever the target, demagoguery comes with a real human cost. “People who do this are putting our lives at risk,” said Wang. She cited this year’sfearmongering political ads which played on American fears about the economic ascendance of Asian countries. In transparently coded images and words, politicians exploit those fears, but not without with great risk. “People see those ads and even if they don’t fully understand the message of the ad they take away this fear of China, and that makes it dangerous for those of us real Asians who are walking around on the street.”

Stewart Kwoh of APALC and Zahra Billoo of CAIR quoted too.

click here for the whole article:

The Civil Rights Lessons of Vincent Chin’s Murder - COLORLINES

Monday, June 18, 2012

Chicago is the World » Crossing boundaries and standing up for justice together. NoH8. Remembering Vincent Chin.

What does one wear to a gay pride event?
Something fabulous, certainly. But I am such an awkward dresser, I worry and I fret.
Oh! If only I had one of George Takei’s “It’s OK to be Takei” t-shirts. That would have been the perfect connector between the Asian American and LGBT communities. Instead, I opt for urban black, add my most fabulous big red hat, and try as best as I can to channel George Takei’s black t-shirt cool.
Think cool. Gotta be cool.
The very cool Oakland County Commissioner Craig Covey had asked me to speak about the Vincent Chin case at Ferndale Pride‘s Light the Night against Hate, a family-friendly candle-lit walking tour around downtown Ferndale for folks from all backgrounds to “learn more about historical and contemporary issues surrounding hate in our schools and communities, including hateful speech in social media and online bullying…[and] to visibly unite against hate.”
It was a beautiful and warm Friday night, lots of folks downtown, laughter and music spilling out of all the restaurants and bars.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Crossing boundaries and standing up for justice together. NoH8. Remembering Vincent Chin.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

First mockup of Frances' book, "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life"

Very excited to see the first mockup of "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang thanks to Book Artist Laura Beyer and Guardian Angel Joe Grimm! Unofficial Book Launch August 7, 2012 Kerrytown Concert House, at Jyoti Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang reception and reading for “Boots of Spanish Leather” photography exhibit in Ann Arbor, Michigan... 

Photo: First mockup of "Imaginary Affairs--Postcards from an Imagined Life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang thanks to Book Artist Laura Beyer and Guardian Angel Joe Grimm! Unofficial Book Launch August 7, 2012 Kerrytown Concert House, at Jyoti Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang reception and reading for “Boots of Spanish Leather” photography exhibit in Ann Arbor, Michigan... Read back cover below:

“If I had a lost love—imaginary or real—I would want Frances to be mine. Her writing is heartfelt, eloquent, and nostalgic all at once. Frances possesses the ability to reach deep within the soul to speak on her heart's behalf—no matter how tormented, broken, and hopeful it may be. You will get what it is she is sharing.”  —Lac Su, author of I Love Yous Are for White People (HarperCollins, 2009)

“With echoes of Sei Shonagon and Li Bai, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang has created a contemporary pillow book of sensual longing, heartache, erotic impulse, and wry wit. Her book is to be savored like dark chocolate on a moonlit night.” —May-lee Chai, author of Hapa Girl and Dragon Chica

“Imaginary Affairs is a must-read for any woman who has experienced unfulfilled love and heartache. Through a series of vignettes and short poems, Frances Kai Hwa Wang finds beauty and hope in the most unlikely of places in her search for love and desire. Her words of yearning will speak to your heart.” —Dr. Kate Agathon, Curator, CommUNITY and ImaginAsian Identity and Experience in Contemporary Asian Pacific America Art Exhibit

"Imaginary Affairs—postcards from an imagined life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a collection of prose poems and short short stories which wanders, dreamy and droll, across the landscapes of Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Kathmandu, Hawaii, and Asian America, wrestling with ache and desire, searching for the moment, but the moment is ever fragile.


“If I had a lost love—imaginary or real—I would want Frances to be mine. Her writing is heartfelt, eloquent, and nostalgic all at once. Frances possesses the ability to reach deep within the soul to speak on her heart's behalf—no matter how tormented, broken, and hopeful it may be. You will get what it is she is sharing.” —Lac Su, author of I Love Yous Are for White People (HarperCollins, 2009)

“With echoes of Sei Shonagon and Li Bai, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang has created a contemporary pillow book of sensual longing, heartache, erotic impulse, and wry wit. Her book is to be savored like dark chocolate on a moonlit night.” —May-lee Chai, author of Hapa Girl and Dragon Chica

“Imaginary Affairs is a must-read for any woman who has experienced unfulfilled love and heartache. Through a series of vignettes and short poems, Frances Kai Hwa Wang finds beauty and hope in the most unlikely of places in her search for love and desire. Her words of yearning will speak to your heart.” —Dr. Kate Agathon, Curator, CommUNITY and ImaginAsian Identity and Experience in Contemporary Asian Pacific America Art Exhibit

"Imaginary Affairs—postcards from an imagined life" by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a collection of prose poems and short short stories which wanders, dreamy and droll, across the landscapes of Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Kathmandu, Hawaii, and Asian America, wrestling with ache and desire, searching for the moment, but the moment is ever fragile.


Friday, June 15, 2012

Speaking at Ferndale Pride's Light the Night Against Hate



I will be speaking at Ferndale Pride's Light the Night Against Hate at the Vincent Chin Memorial Plaque at Woodward and Nine Mile, Ferndale, Michigan, Friday, June 15, 2012, 8:30 pm.

I was told that Saturday's march (Dyke Hike) is going to be dedicated to the memory of Vincent Chin.

For more information about the Vincent Chin case and my postcard project, go to my other blog, RememberingVincentChin.com.

Here is also an article I wrote last year for the 29th anniversary of the brutal baseball bat beating death of Vincent Chin for InCultureParent.com, "Crime without Punishment: Why the Death of Vincent Chin Resonates Today."

Photograph: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang with Oakland County Commissioner Craig Covey at Ferndale Pride's Light the Night Against Hate, Ferndale, Michigan, June 15, 2012.



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

On Proms and Protocols-Figuring out the rules and creating new paths - NAM EthnoBlog

It was after midnight when my girlfriend Margie posted her prom picture on Facebook. The comments came promptly, “Major hotness! Oh, Margie looks good too.” (Her prom date, obviously, still enjoying his white tuxedo and sky blue ruffled shirt.)

click on link for more: On Proms and Protocols-Figuring out the rules and creating new paths - NAM EthnoBlog

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Chicago is the World » On Proms and Protocols–Figuring out the rules and creating new paths

When Lauren Peng posted the prom pictures she took of Huron High School students Rujia Zha and Michael Shen, her friends commented that the only thing that could make it better would be big explosions in the background, so… | Photograph taken and digitally enhanced by Lauren Peng
by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang | contributor
It was after midnight when my girlfriend Margie posted her prom picture on Facebook. The comments came promptly, “Major hotness! Oh, Margie looks good too.” (Her prom date, obviously, still enjoying his white tuxedo and sky blue ruffled shirt.)
Then Margie put out a call for all her friends to post their old prom pictures.
No.
She was intrigued. What was the story here?
No story. Just, no.
My memory involuntarily flashed to my junior prom photo—my long-sleeved pink and lace Gunne Sax dress my mother made, my lanky prom date’s maroon tuxedo, the replacement boutonniere (free with his tuxedo) that he retrieved from his car when the one my mother made broke, that classic prom pose in front of the photographer. Oh, and we cannot forget the asianswithperms.tumblr.com hair!


click on link for more: Chicago is the World » On Proms and Protocols–Figuring out the rules and creating new paths

Monday, June 4, 2012

Follow up on the Diane Tran case and mobilizing forward to other cases - NAM EthnoBlog

Last month, eight graduating seniors surnamed Nguyen(pronounced Win) from Presentation High School in San Jose, California (my alma mater) tickled the Asian American blogosphere by combining their senior quotes in the high school yearbook. One or two words under each photo created their “Nguyen-ing” “We know what you’re thinking and no we’re not related.”

Clever, smart, proud. However, after four years at this small school, their classmates and teachers still did not know this? That is a little disheartening.

click on link for more: Follow up on the Diane Tran case and mobilizing forward to other cases - NAM EthnoBlog

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Chicago is the World » Follow up on the Diane Tran case and mobilizing forward to other cases

Last month, eight graduating seniors surnamed Nguyen (pronounced Win) from Presentation High School in San Jose, California (my alma mater) tickled the Asian American blogosphere by combining their senior quotes in the high school yearbook. One or two words under each photo created their “Nguyen-ing” “We know what you’re thinking and no we’re not related.”
Clever, smart, proud. However, after four years at this small school, their classmates and teachers still did not know this? That is a little disheartening.
I am always surprised to learn what people actually know and do not know about each other.
Last week, 17-year-old Texan honors student Diane Tran was jailed 24 hours for truancy. She was taking several AP and dual high school college credit courses, and working two jobs as the family’s sole wage-earner after her parents divorced and moved away. She was often up until 7 am doing homework, and sometimes she had difficulty waking up and getting to school on time. Unfortunately, she crossed paths with a judge who admitted that he wanted to make an example of her. He put her in jail, and he gave her a $100 fine.

click on link for more: Chicago is the World » Follow up on the Diane Tran case and mobilizing forward to other cases