Monday, May 1 – International
A list of local events is listed here for the May 1 day of action for immigrant rights.
Wednesday, May 3 – Oakland
Oakland Chinatown Community Organizations convene mayoral and District 2 candidates’ forum. Candidates who have confirmed their attendance includes Ignacio De La Fuente, Nancy Nadel, Pat Kernighan, Aimee Allison and Shirley Gee. (5pm-7:30pm, Lincoln Square Recreation Center Gymnasium, 250 10th Street, Oakland. www.ebaldc.org. Free).
Wednesday, May 3 – San Francisco
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California hosts “Save Japantown Workshop” for the 21-41 Young Professional Networking group. The evening will start with a brief update on the sale of Japantown properties from the view of sansei and yonsei, then we will break into small groups to learn what would bring more young people to SF Japantown. (6pm, 1840 Sutter St., SF. RSVP required: 415.567.5505. www.jcccnc.org. Free).
Saturday, May 6 – SF
This will be the 56th annual Cameron Carnival. Cameron Carnival is an intergenerational activity where adults and youth work together to put on a carnival with concessions designed by youth, dunk tank, hot meals,
silent auction, homemade bake goods and more. Proceeds help to support our summer programs for youth. Cameron House is a faith-based community organization serving the changing needs of Chinatown and the Asian community of the San Francisco Bay Area. (11am-7pm, Cameron House. 920 Sacramento St., SF. 415.781.0401. www.cameronhouse.org. Free).
Sunday, May 7 – NYC
Kick off Asian Heritage Month with the 27th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival at Union Square in New York City. The Heritage Festival is the largest Pan Asian outdoor event on the East Coast. (noon-6pm, Union Square Park, NYC. www.capaonline.org. Free).
email events to: momo@hyphenmagazine.com.
Visit www.manja.org for up-to-date API art events and news in the SF/Bay Area.
Posted by momo at 3:42 PM | Comments (0)
Monday, May 1 – International
A list of local events is listed here for the May 1 day of action for immigrant rights.
Wednesday, May 3 – Oakland
Oakland Chinatown Community Organizations convene mayoral and District 2 candidates’ forum. Candidates who have confirmed their attendance includes Ignacio De La Fuente, Nancy Nadel, Pat Kernighan, Aimee Allison and Shirley Gee. (5pm-7:30pm, Lincoln Square Recreation Center Gymnasium, 250 10th Street, Oakland. www.ebaldc.org. Free).
Wednesday, May 3 – San Francisco
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California hosts “Save Japantown Workshop” for the 21-41 Young Professional Networking group. The evening will start with a brief update on the sale of Japantown properties from the view of sansei and yonsei, then we will break into small groups to learn what would bring more young people to SF Japantown. (6pm, 1840 Sutter St., SF. RSVP required: 415.567.5505. www.jcccnc.org. Free).
Saturday, May 6 – SF
This will be the 56th annual Cameron Carnival. Cameron Carnival is an intergenerational activity where adults and youth work together to put on a carnival with concessions designed by youth, dunk tank, hot meals,
silent auction, homemade bake goods and more. Proceeds help to support our summer programs for youth. Cameron House is a faith-based community organization serving the changing needs of Chinatown and the Asian community of the San Francisco Bay Area. (11am-7pm, Cameron House. 920 Sacramento St., SF. 415.781.0401. www.cameronhouse.org. Free).
Sunday, May 7 – NYC
Kick off Asian Heritage Month with the 27th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival at Union Square in New York City. The Heritage Festival is the largest Pan Asian outdoor event on the East Coast. (noon-6pm, Union Square Park, NYC. www.capaonline.org. Free).
email events to: momo@hyphenmagazine.com.
Visit www.manja.org for up-to-date API art events and news in the SF/Bay Area.
Posted by momo at 3:42 PM | Comments (0)
Monday, May 1 International
A list of local events is listed here for the May 1 day of action for immigrant rights.
Wednesday, May 3 Oakland
Oakland Chinatown Community Organizations convene mayoral and District 2 candidates forum. Candidates who have confirmed their attendance includes Ignacio De La Fuente, Nancy Nadel, Pat Kernighan, Aimee Allison and Shirley Gee. (5pm-7:30pm, Lincoln Square Recreation Center Gymnasium, 250 10th Street, Oakland. www.ebaldc.org. Free).
Wednesday, May 3 San Francisco
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California hosts Save Japantown Workshop for the 21-41 Young Professional Networking group. The evening will start with a brief update on the sale of Japantown properties from the view of sansei and yonsei, then we will break into small groups to learn what would bring more young people to SF Japantown. (6pm, 1840 Sutter St., SF. RSVP required: 415.567.5505. www.jcccnc.org. Free).
Saturday, May 6 SF
This will be the 56th annual Cameron Carnival. Cameron Carnival is an intergenerational activity where adults and youth work together to put on a carnival with concessions designed by youth, dunk tank, hot meals,
silent auction, homemade bake goods and more. Proceeds help to support our summer programs for youth. Cameron House is a faith-based community organization serving the changing needs of Chinatown and the Asian community of the San Francisco Bay Area. (11am-7pm, Cameron House. 920 Sacramento St., SF. 415.781.0401. www.cameronhouse.org. Free).
Sunday, May 7 NYC
Kick off Asian Heritage Month with the 27th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival at Union Square in New York City. The Heritage Festival is the largest Pan Asian outdoor event on the East Coast. (noon-6pm, Union Square Park, NYC. www.capaonline.org. Free).
email events to: momo@hyphenmagazine.com.
Visit www.manja.org for up-to-date API art events and news in the SF/Bay Area.
Posted by momo at 3:42 PM | Comments (0)
So the verdict came out this week on the Lodi terrorist case: A jury convicted 23-year-old Pakistani American Hamid Hyatt guilty of giving material support to terrorists.
Meanwhile, a jury was unable to come to a decision regarding his 48-year-old father Umer Hyatt. But one of the jury members in Hamid’s case, 44-year-old Arcelia Lopez, came out today saying she was coerced into her decision. I think this speaks to the problems in our legal system with jurors being influenced by others. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Juror tells of pressure to convict terrorism suspect
She tells judge in Lodi case she regrets her guilty vote and accuses jury foreman of misconduct -- other panelists deny it
By Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sacramento -- One of 12 jurors who convicted a 23-year-old Lodi man Tuesday on charges that he trained for holy war disavowed the verdict late Thursday, alleging that she was bullied into a guilty finding amid a pattern of misconduct by fellow panelists.
"I never once throughout the deliberation process and the reading of the verdict believed Hamid Hayat to be guilty," Arcelia Lopez, a 44-year-old school nurse from Sacramento, said in a 2,000-word affidavit filed to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento by the defense just after 9 p.m.
Among other accusations, Lopez said the jury's foreman, near the start of the two-month trial, "gestured as if he was tying a rope around his neck" and said, "Hang him." Lopez said that the gesture was repeated throughout the trial and that she believed it was a reference to Hayat.
Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said Lopez's allegations should prompt U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. to grant the 23-year-old man a new trial. Hayat faces 30 to 39 years in prison at a July 14 sentencing.
Prosecutors could not be reached for comment at the late hour.
But one juror, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the accusations "a complete outrage" borne of "juror regret." The juror said Lopez changed her vote to guilty Monday, which at first made the juror uncomfortable.
"When she decided to change her vote, which was completely under her own will, I asked her flat-out to her face, in front of everybody, if she was changing her mind based on her own free will and the evidence presented (to) the jury," the juror said. "She said yes."
The juror, who declined to address specific misconduct allegations, continued: "We argued as jurors do -- that's deliberation. If she saw that as pressure, it was in her own mind. I don't think other jurors saw it that way."
Attempts to reach some jurors were unsuccessful. A few declined to comment.
The jury of six men and six women, after deliberating for nine days, found Hayat guilty of providing material support to terrorists by training at a camp in Pakistan and returning to the United States to await attack orders. He also was convicted of three counts of lying to the FBI.
Lopez, the final holdout for acquittal, acknowledged in Thursday's affidavit that, when polled by a clerk Tuesday, she "responded to the court that I agreed with the verdict."
"I deeply regret my decision," Lopez said in the affidavit, adding that she cried several times during deliberations and, on Saturday, sought treatment for migraine headaches at an emergency room.
James Wedick, a former FBI agent and the lead defense investigator, contacted Lopez on Wednesday and later asked her if she would allow the defense to prepare an affidavit.
Vikram Amar, a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, said the judge is likely to investigate the allegations.
"In general, changes of heart by a juror are not a basis for undoing a verdict unless there are specific influences he or she can point to, like a bribe or a threat or some improper evidence that was looked at," Amar said.
Also on Tuesday, a separate jury of eight women and four men failed to agree on whether to convict Hayat's father, 48-year-old Umer Hayat, on two counts of lying. Prosecutors have not decided whether to retry Hayat, who is due back in court for a bail hearing today.
The dual trials in Sacramento centered on the FBI's videotaped interrogations of the Hayats in June at the bureau's office in the capital. The younger Hayat, already on the FBI's radar because of comments he made to an informant, had just returned from a two-year trip to Pakistan.
Prosecutors described the confessions as clear proof of guilt, but defense attorneys said the men have no experience with terrorist camps and were manipulated into telling agents whatever they wanted to hear.
Lopez said jurors inappropriately talked about media reports regarding the case. In particular, she said, jurors expressed interest in finding out what dismissed juror Andrea Clabaugh, 39, of Carmichael said to reporters March 22. Clabaugh had said the evidence to that point had not convinced her of Hayat's guilt.
One juror "suggested The Chronicle or the (Sacramento) Bee," Lopez recalled.
Burrell repeatedly admonished the jurors to avoid exposure to media reports about the case. Such exposure can be grounds to overturn a verdict.
Lopez said the foreman, Joseph Cote, 64, of Folsom, made offensive comments about Hayat during deliberations. She quoted him as saying, "If you put them in the same costume, then they all look alike."
The foreman sent a note last Friday to Burrell complaining that one juror "does not seem to fully comprehend the deliberation process." Lopez said this was a reference to her belief that Hayat was innocent.
Lopez said Cote "personally attacked me repeatedly as someone who couldn't process the information and who just couldn't see that (Hayat) was guilty, because he thought I didn't have the mental capacity to understand."
She said she didn't even know about Cote's note until Burrell responded in writing Monday morning, asking jurors to "please continue your deliberations."
Lopez said another juror, Rebecca Harris, 58, of Clements (San Joaquin County), brought in a long, typewritten note Monday and read it to the panel. Harris complained that her health was failing and, Lopez said, blamed it on her.
"The message of the statement was clearly to put pressure on me to change my vote," Lopez said in the affidavit. "She said that she herself couldn't take it anymore and that if I didn't change my vote, she would consider getting off the jury herself due to the stress."
In the end, "I explained to the other jurors that it was OK that I disagreed and that we did not have to have a unanimous verdict," Lopez said in the affidavit. "But they did not all agree. They continued to pressure me to change my vote. At this point I was under so much stress and pressure that I agreed to change my vote."
Alternate juror Montell Hall, 69, of Roseville, who did not sit through deliberations, said Thursday that the panel followed the rules when he was present.
"If there was any (misconduct), I would have been the one to do it," the semiretired engineer and consultant joked. "I was very outspoken, but I didn't talk about the trial (during testimony)."
Hall said he, too, would have voted for conviction.
"I was absolutely sure in my own mind that he was guilty," Hall said. "Mostly it was the confession that made me sure, and the way he acted during the confession. ... The kid was his own worst enemy."
Posted by neela at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
So the verdict came out this week on the Lodi terrorist case: A jury convicted 23-year-old Pakistani American Hamid Hyatt guilty of giving material support to terrorists.
Meanwhile, a jury was unable to come to a decision regarding his 48-year-old father Umer Hyatt. But one of the jury members in Hamid’s case, 44-year-old Arcelia Lopez, came out today saying she was coerced into her decision. I think this speaks to the problems in our legal system with jurors being influenced by others. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Juror tells of pressure to convict terrorism suspect
She tells judge in Lodi case she regrets her guilty vote and accuses jury foreman of misconduct -- other panelists deny it
By Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sacramento -- One of 12 jurors who convicted a 23-year-old Lodi man Tuesday on charges that he trained for holy war disavowed the verdict late Thursday, alleging that she was bullied into a guilty finding amid a pattern of misconduct by fellow panelists.
"I never once throughout the deliberation process and the reading of the verdict believed Hamid Hayat to be guilty," Arcelia Lopez, a 44-year-old school nurse from Sacramento, said in a 2,000-word affidavit filed to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento by the defense just after 9 p.m.
Among other accusations, Lopez said the jury's foreman, near the start of the two-month trial, "gestured as if he was tying a rope around his neck" and said, "Hang him." Lopez said that the gesture was repeated throughout the trial and that she believed it was a reference to Hayat.
Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said Lopez's allegations should prompt U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. to grant the 23-year-old man a new trial. Hayat faces 30 to 39 years in prison at a July 14 sentencing.
Prosecutors could not be reached for comment at the late hour.
But one juror, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the accusations "a complete outrage" borne of "juror regret." The juror said Lopez changed her vote to guilty Monday, which at first made the juror uncomfortable.
"When she decided to change her vote, which was completely under her own will, I asked her flat-out to her face, in front of everybody, if she was changing her mind based on her own free will and the evidence presented (to) the jury," the juror said. "She said yes."
The juror, who declined to address specific misconduct allegations, continued: "We argued as jurors do -- that's deliberation. If she saw that as pressure, it was in her own mind. I don't think other jurors saw it that way."
Attempts to reach some jurors were unsuccessful. A few declined to comment.
The jury of six men and six women, after deliberating for nine days, found Hayat guilty of providing material support to terrorists by training at a camp in Pakistan and returning to the United States to await attack orders. He also was convicted of three counts of lying to the FBI.
Lopez, the final holdout for acquittal, acknowledged in Thursday's affidavit that, when polled by a clerk Tuesday, she "responded to the court that I agreed with the verdict."
"I deeply regret my decision," Lopez said in the affidavit, adding that she cried several times during deliberations and, on Saturday, sought treatment for migraine headaches at an emergency room.
James Wedick, a former FBI agent and the lead defense investigator, contacted Lopez on Wednesday and later asked her if she would allow the defense to prepare an affidavit.
Vikram Amar, a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, said the judge is likely to investigate the allegations.
"In general, changes of heart by a juror are not a basis for undoing a verdict unless there are specific influences he or she can point to, like a bribe or a threat or some improper evidence that was looked at," Amar said.
Also on Tuesday, a separate jury of eight women and four men failed to agree on whether to convict Hayat's father, 48-year-old Umer Hayat, on two counts of lying. Prosecutors have not decided whether to retry Hayat, who is due back in court for a bail hearing today.
The dual trials in Sacramento centered on the FBI's videotaped interrogations of the Hayats in June at the bureau's office in the capital. The younger Hayat, already on the FBI's radar because of comments he made to an informant, had just returned from a two-year trip to Pakistan.
Prosecutors described the confessions as clear proof of guilt, but defense attorneys said the men have no experience with terrorist camps and were manipulated into telling agents whatever they wanted to hear.
Lopez said jurors inappropriately talked about media reports regarding the case. In particular, she said, jurors expressed interest in finding out what dismissed juror Andrea Clabaugh, 39, of Carmichael said to reporters March 22. Clabaugh had said the evidence to that point had not convinced her of Hayat's guilt.
One juror "suggested The Chronicle or the (Sacramento) Bee," Lopez recalled.
Burrell repeatedly admonished the jurors to avoid exposure to media reports about the case. Such exposure can be grounds to overturn a verdict.
Lopez said the foreman, Joseph Cote, 64, of Folsom, made offensive comments about Hayat during deliberations. She quoted him as saying, "If you put them in the same costume, then they all look alike."
The foreman sent a note last Friday to Burrell complaining that one juror "does not seem to fully comprehend the deliberation process." Lopez said this was a reference to her belief that Hayat was innocent.
Lopez said Cote "personally attacked me repeatedly as someone who couldn't process the information and who just couldn't see that (Hayat) was guilty, because he thought I didn't have the mental capacity to understand."
She said she didn't even know about Cote's note until Burrell responded in writing Monday morning, asking jurors to "please continue your deliberations."
Lopez said another juror, Rebecca Harris, 58, of Clements (San Joaquin County), brought in a long, typewritten note Monday and read it to the panel. Harris complained that her health was failing and, Lopez said, blamed it on her.
"The message of the statement was clearly to put pressure on me to change my vote," Lopez said in the affidavit. "She said that she herself couldn't take it anymore and that if I didn't change my vote, she would consider getting off the jury herself due to the stress."
In the end, "I explained to the other jurors that it was OK that I disagreed and that we did not have to have a unanimous verdict," Lopez said in the affidavit. "But they did not all agree. They continued to pressure me to change my vote. At this point I was under so much stress and pressure that I agreed to change my vote."
Alternate juror Montell Hall, 69, of Roseville, who did not sit through deliberations, said Thursday that the panel followed the rules when he was present.
"If there was any (misconduct), I would have been the one to do it," the semiretired engineer and consultant joked. "I was very outspoken, but I didn't talk about the trial (during testimony)."
Hall said he, too, would have voted for conviction.
"I was absolutely sure in my own mind that he was guilty," Hall said. "Mostly it was the confession that made me sure, and the way he acted during the confession. ... The kid was his own worst enemy."
Posted by neela at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
So the verdict came out this week on the Lodi terrorist case: A jury convicted 23-year-old Pakistani American Hamid Hyatt guilty of giving material support to terrorists.
Meanwhile, a jury was unable to come to a decision regarding his 48-year-old father Umer Hyatt. But one of the jury members in Hamids case, 44-year-old Arcelia Lopez, came out today saying she was coerced into her decision. I think this speaks to the problems in our legal system with jurors being influenced by others. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Juror tells of pressure to convict terrorism suspect
She tells judge in Lodi case she regrets her guilty vote and accuses jury foreman of misconduct -- other panelists deny it
By Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sacramento -- One of 12 jurors who convicted a 23-year-old Lodi man Tuesday on charges that he trained for holy war disavowed the verdict late Thursday, alleging that she was bullied into a guilty finding amid a pattern of misconduct by fellow panelists.
"I never once throughout the deliberation process and the reading of the verdict believed Hamid Hayat to be guilty," Arcelia Lopez, a 44-year-old school nurse from Sacramento, said in a 2,000-word affidavit filed to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento by the defense just after 9 p.m.
Among other accusations, Lopez said the jury's foreman, near the start of the two-month trial, "gestured as if he was tying a rope around his neck" and said, "Hang him." Lopez said that the gesture was repeated throughout the trial and that she believed it was a reference to Hayat.
Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said Lopez's allegations should prompt U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. to grant the 23-year-old man a new trial. Hayat faces 30 to 39 years in prison at a July 14 sentencing.
Prosecutors could not be reached for comment at the late hour.
But one juror, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the accusations "a complete outrage" borne of "juror regret." The juror said Lopez changed her vote to guilty Monday, which at first made the juror uncomfortable.
"When she decided to change her vote, which was completely under her own will, I asked her flat-out to her face, in front of everybody, if she was changing her mind based on her own free will and the evidence presented (to) the jury," the juror said. "She said yes."
The juror, who declined to address specific misconduct allegations, continued: "We argued as jurors do -- that's deliberation. If she saw that as pressure, it was in her own mind. I don't think other jurors saw it that way."
Attempts to reach some jurors were unsuccessful. A few declined to comment.
The jury of six men and six women, after deliberating for nine days, found Hayat guilty of providing material support to terrorists by training at a camp in Pakistan and returning to the United States to await attack orders. He also was convicted of three counts of lying to the FBI.
Lopez, the final holdout for acquittal, acknowledged in Thursday's affidavit that, when polled by a clerk Tuesday, she "responded to the court that I agreed with the verdict."
"I deeply regret my decision," Lopez said in the affidavit, adding that she cried several times during deliberations and, on Saturday, sought treatment for migraine headaches at an emergency room.
James Wedick, a former FBI agent and the lead defense investigator, contacted Lopez on Wednesday and later asked her if she would allow the defense to prepare an affidavit.
Vikram Amar, a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, said the judge is likely to investigate the allegations.
"In general, changes of heart by a juror are not a basis for undoing a verdict unless there are specific influences he or she can point to, like a bribe or a threat or some improper evidence that was looked at," Amar said.
Also on Tuesday, a separate jury of eight women and four men failed to agree on whether to convict Hayat's father, 48-year-old Umer Hayat, on two counts of lying. Prosecutors have not decided whether to retry Hayat, who is due back in court for a bail hearing today.
The dual trials in Sacramento centered on the FBI's videotaped interrogations of the Hayats in June at the bureau's office in the capital. The younger Hayat, already on the FBI's radar because of comments he made to an informant, had just returned from a two-year trip to Pakistan.
Prosecutors described the confessions as clear proof of guilt, but defense attorneys said the men have no experience with terrorist camps and were manipulated into telling agents whatever they wanted to hear.
Lopez said jurors inappropriately talked about media reports regarding the case. In particular, she said, jurors expressed interest in finding out what dismissed juror Andrea Clabaugh, 39, of Carmichael said to reporters March 22. Clabaugh had said the evidence to that point had not convinced her of Hayat's guilt.
One juror "suggested The Chronicle or the (Sacramento) Bee," Lopez recalled.
Burrell repeatedly admonished the jurors to avoid exposure to media reports about the case. Such exposure can be grounds to overturn a verdict.
Lopez said the foreman, Joseph Cote, 64, of Folsom, made offensive comments about Hayat during deliberations. She quoted him as saying, "If you put them in the same costume, then they all look alike."
The foreman sent a note last Friday to Burrell complaining that one juror "does not seem to fully comprehend the deliberation process." Lopez said this was a reference to her belief that Hayat was innocent.
Lopez said Cote "personally attacked me repeatedly as someone who couldn't process the information and who just couldn't see that (Hayat) was guilty, because he thought I didn't have the mental capacity to understand."
She said she didn't even know about Cote's note until Burrell responded in writing Monday morning, asking jurors to "please continue your deliberations."
Lopez said another juror, Rebecca Harris, 58, of Clements (San Joaquin County), brought in a long, typewritten note Monday and read it to the panel. Harris complained that her health was failing and, Lopez said, blamed it on her.
"The message of the statement was clearly to put pressure on me to change my vote," Lopez said in the affidavit. "She said that she herself couldn't take it anymore and that if I didn't change my vote, she would consider getting off the jury herself due to the stress."
In the end, "I explained to the other jurors that it was OK that I disagreed and that we did not have to have a unanimous verdict," Lopez said in the affidavit. "But they did not all agree. They continued to pressure me to change my vote. At this point I was under so much stress and pressure that I agreed to change my vote."
Alternate juror Montell Hall, 69, of Roseville, who did not sit through deliberations, said Thursday that the panel followed the rules when he was present.
"If there was any (misconduct), I would have been the one to do it," the semiretired engineer and consultant joked. "I was very outspoken, but I didn't talk about the trial (during testimony)."
Hall said he, too, would have voted for conviction.
"I was absolutely sure in my own mind that he was guilty," Hall said. "Mostly it was the confession that made me sure, and the way he acted during the confession. ... The kid was his own worst enemy."
Posted by neela at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
Do you like reading the Hyphen Blog or other blogs like this? Do you blog yourself? Do you like getting your news source from somewhere other than the TV, radio, or the newspapers? If you say yes, then there's a serious threat going on right now.
The Internet is under attack and people need to be aware of it. Major telecom companies are trying to push for a "tiered" Internet that allow certain sites to get faster access if they pay up, and the ones that don't will get a slower speed, maybe even complete inaccessibility. So sites like hyphenmagazine.com and other non-corporate backed sites without a lot of money won't be able to reach as many people and as easily as it is now.
What does this mean? It basically means the first step towards the eradication of free speech on the Internet. Turning it into just another TV, radio or newspaper where the telecom companies essentially decides what you can and cannot see.
Find out more information at these sites:
freepress.net
savetheinternet.com
Congress readies new digital copyright bill
Please take action and sign the petition, or the very least be aware and find out what is really going on.
Posted by chao at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)
Do you like reading the Hyphen Blog or other blogs like this? Do you blog yourself? Do you like getting your news source from somewhere other than the TV, radio, or the newspapers? If you say yes, then there's a serious threat going on right now.
The Internet is under attack and people need to be aware of it. Major telecom companies are trying to push for a "tiered" Internet that allow certain sites to get faster access if they pay up, and the ones that don't will get a slower speed, maybe even complete inaccessibility. So sites like hyphenmagazine.com and other non-corporate backed sites without a lot of money won't be able to reach as many people and as easily as it is now.
What does this mean? It basically means the first step towards the eradication of free speech on the Internet. Turning it into just another TV, radio or newspaper where the telecom companies essentially decides what you can and cannot see.
Find out more information at these sites:
freepress.net
savetheinternet.com
Congress readies new digital copyright bill
Please take action and sign the petition, or the very least be aware and find out what is really going on.
Posted by chao at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)
Do you like reading the Hyphen Blog or other blogs like this? Do you blog yourself? Do you like getting your news source from somewhere other than the TV, radio, or the newspapers? If you say yes, then there's a serious threat going on right now.
The Internet is under attack and people need to be aware of it. Major telecom companies are trying to push for a "tiered" Internet that allow certain sites to get faster access if they pay up, and the ones that don't will get a slower speed, maybe even complete inaccessibility. So sites like hyphenmagazine.com and other non-corporate backed sites without a lot of money won't be able to reach as many people and as easily as it is now.
What does this mean? It basically means the first step towards the eradication of free speech on the Internet. Turning it into just another TV, radio or newspaper where the telecom companies essentially decides what you can and cannot see.
Find out more information at these sites:
freepress.net
savetheinternet.com
Congress readies new digital copyright bill
Please take action and sign the petition, or the very least be aware and find out what is really going on.
Posted by chao at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)
I've got two stories for you. File the first one under appalling and ridiculous. A 7-year-old Filipino Canadian student has been repeatedly punished by his school for his eating habits. Basically, he's just eating Filipino style -- with a spoon and fork. The school administrators find this a "disgusting" habit.
When the mother contacted the principal, “He said, ‘Madame, you are in Canada. Here in Canada you should eat the way Canadians eat.’
The mom filed a formal complaint.
The principal, not the kid, should be getting disciplined.
On the flip side, we have a story about striving for acceptance. Angela Chao Robertson has become the first person of African American heritage to compete for L.A.'s Miss Chinatown.
Robertson is half Chinese, half black. While she didn't win the crown, she did get on the court. Back in Hyphen #3, we ran a story about sports leagues and beauty pageants, asking whether these events actually built community, or it did the opposite by excluding mixed race people.
The L.A. competition seems fairly open:
While other Chinese pageants around the country require that the father be Chinese or that contestants speak either Mandarin or Cantonese, Los Angeles' event is considered one of the most inclusive, requiring only 25% Chinese heritage.
Posted by Melissa at 5:50 PM | Comments (20)
I've got two stories for you. File the first one under appalling and ridiculous. A 7-year-old Filipino Canadian student has been repeatedly punished by his school for his eating habits. Basically, he's just eating Filipino style -- with a spoon and fork. The school administrators find this a "disgusting" habit.
When the mother contacted the principal, “He said, ‘Madame, you are in Canada. Here in Canada you should eat the way Canadians eat.’
The mom filed a formal complaint.
The principal, not the kid, should be getting disciplined.
On the flip side, we have a story about striving for acceptance. Angela Chao Robertson has become the first person of African American heritage to compete for L.A.'s Miss Chinatown.
Robertson is half Chinese, half black. While she didn't win the crown, she did get on the court. Back in Hyphen #3, we ran a story about sports leagues and beauty pageants, asking whether these events actually built community, or it did the opposite by excluding mixed race people.
The L.A. competition seems fairly open:
While other Chinese pageants around the country require that the father be Chinese or that contestants speak either Mandarin or Cantonese, Los Angeles' event is considered one of the most inclusive, requiring only 25% Chinese heritage.
Posted by Melissa at 5:50 PM | Comments (20)
I've got two stories for you. File the first one under appalling and ridiculous. A 7-year-old Filipino Canadian student has been repeatedly punished by his school for his eating habits. Basically, he's just eating Filipino style -- with a spoon and fork. The school administrators find this a "disgusting" habit.
When the mother contacted the principal, He said, Madame, you are in Canada. Here in Canada you should eat the way Canadians eat.
The mom filed a formal complaint.
The principal, not the kid, should be getting disciplined.
On the flip side, we have a story about striving for acceptance. Angela Chao Robertson has become the first person of African American heritage to compete for L.A.'s Miss Chinatown.
Robertson is half Chinese, half black. While she didn't win the crown, she did get on the court. Back in Hyphen #3, we ran a story about sports leagues and beauty pageants, asking whether these events actually built community, or it did the opposite by excluding mixed race people.
The L.A. competition seems fairly open:
While other Chinese pageants around the country require that the father be Chinese or that contestants speak either Mandarin or Cantonese, Los Angeles' event is considered one of the most inclusive, requiring only 25% Chinese heritage.
Posted by Melissa at 5:50 PM | Comments (18)
We’ve been hard at work here at Hyphen to put together our upcoming Music issue, which has got me thinking a lot about Asian American music and my own musical tastes.
I have pretty eclectic tastes these days. When riding the bus or walking around the city, you’ll find me favoring wordy Midwestern hip hop like Atmosphere and Denizen Cane’s crew Typical Cats. If you catch me getting ready to go out for a night on the town, I’ll be singing in my underwear to the likes of Patsy Cline and The Supremes. When I’m cleaning the bathroom or cooking a big meal, it’ll be either alt-country heroine Neko Case or India’s reigning diva Asha Bhosle.
But ever since I was 15 years old, just an angsty teenager in the flatlands of Ohio with a backpack full of party toys, I’ve been a proud speaker-geeking electronic music lover. I spent many a night dancing in dingy warehouses, roller skating rinks, basements and cavernous clubs in embarrassingly large pants and I loved every minute of it. I preferred the dark underground sounds of drum&bass – or jungle music, as we called it back then – but I wouldn’t hate on the house DJs coming through to my little town out of Chicago. There I was, one of the few Indian girls dancing all by my lonesome in a sea of white faces. Sigh. It was a bit lonely.
And then, all of a sudden, Talvin Singh released Anokha and I felt like I came home with the Asian Massive movement. Actually, I think it was British DJ State of Bengal’s 2000 release Visual Audio that was my ultimate musical moment. A gritty yet ambient drum & bass take on being bi-cultural, this album became my anthem. I wore out several CDs and kept burning new ones. One of my friends refused to ride in my car because there was a six-month period where I played the album on repeat. This was around the same time I moved to San Francisco. I continued my habit of dancing in dirty warehouses and speaker-geeking into the wee hours of the morning, usually to hard techno or drum&bass BUT I also found a new home at the relatively new monthly Dhamaal, at San Francisco’s Club 6. If you’ve never been to Club 6, the basement gets terribly sweaty and crowded, making it a great place to dance to the likes of dub DJ Maneesh the Twister and the gothic Janaka Selecta – Dhamaal’s founding members. And then when you’re all sweaty and beat down from the basement, you can come upstairs and cool off while listening to Riffat Sultana’s amazing Pakistani folk singing, which will make you jump around and then you’ll get all sweaty again.
The exciting thing is, this party is still going. In fact, this Saturday is Dhamaal’s 7-year anniversary – making them the longest-running Asian Massive/World Music electronica party in the world. That’s pretty serious. If you’re reading this and you’re in the Bay Area and you’ve never been to a Dhamaal party, I would really recommend heading out to this one. The party will feature world-famous Cheb-i-sabbah – but I wouldn’t miss Dhol-playing superstar Mitch Hyare or a live laptop/DJ set between up-and-comer Kush Arora and the always fresh Maneesh the Twister. And if you’re not in the Bay, I would highly recommend picking up Dhamaal’s debut album.
As you can tell, I sure am proud of these hometown boys. What local Asian American music acts are you all proud of out there?
Posted by neela at 12:18 PM | Comments (6)
We’ve been hard at work here at Hyphen to put together our upcoming Music issue, which has got me thinking a lot about Asian American music and my own musical tastes.
I have pretty eclectic tastes these days. When riding the bus or walking around the city, you’ll find me favoring wordy Midwestern hip hop like Atmosphere and Denizen Cane’s crew Typical Cats. If you catch me getting ready to go out for a night on the town, I’ll be singing in my underwear to the likes of Patsy Cline and The Supremes. When I’m cleaning the bathroom or cooking a big meal, it’ll be either alt-country heroine Neko Case or India’s reigning diva Asha Bhosle.
But ever since I was 15 years old, just an angsty teenager in the flatlands of Ohio with a backpack full of party toys, I’ve been a proud speaker-geeking electronic music lover. I spent many a night dancing in dingy warehouses, roller skating rinks, basements and cavernous clubs in embarrassingly large pants and I loved every minute of it. I preferred the dark underground sounds of drum&bass – or jungle music, as we called it back then – but I wouldn’t hate on the house DJs coming through to my little town out of Chicago. There I was, one of the few Indian girls dancing all by my lonesome in a sea of white faces. Sigh. It was a bit lonely.
And then, all of a sudden, Talvin Singh released Anokha and I felt like I came home with the Asian Massive movement. Actually, I think it was British DJ State of Bengal’s 2000 release Visual Audio that was my ultimate musical moment. A gritty yet ambient drum & bass take on being bi-cultural, this album became my anthem. I wore out several CDs and kept burning new ones. One of my friends refused to ride in my car because there was a six-month period where I played the album on repeat. This was around the same time I moved to San Francisco. I continued my habit of dancing in dirty warehouses and speaker-geeking into the wee hours of the morning, usually to hard techno or drum&bass BUT I also found a new home at the relatively new monthly Dhamaal, at San Francisco’s Club 6. If you’ve never been to Club 6, the basement gets terribly sweaty and crowded, making it a great place to dance to the likes of dub DJ Maneesh the Twister and the gothic Janaka Selecta – Dhamaal’s founding members. And then when you’re all sweaty and beat down from the basement, you can come upstairs and cool off while listening to Riffat Sultana’s amazing Pakistani folk singing, which will make you jump around and then you’ll get all sweaty again.
The exciting thing is, this party is still going. In fact, this Saturday is Dhamaal’s 7-year anniversary – making them the longest-running Asian Massive/World Music electronica party in the world. That’s pretty serious. If you’re reading this and you’re in the Bay Area and you’ve never been to a Dhamaal party, I would really recommend heading out to this one. The party will feature world-famous Cheb-i-sabbah – but I wouldn’t miss Dhol-playing superstar Mitch Hyare or a live laptop/DJ set between up-and-comer Kush Arora and the always fresh Maneesh the Twister. And if you’re not in the Bay, I would highly recommend picking up Dhamaal’s debut album.
As you can tell, I sure am proud of these hometown boys. What local Asian American music acts are you all proud of out there?
Posted by neela at 12:18 PM | Comments (6)
Weve been hard at work here at Hyphen to put together our upcoming Music issue, which has got me thinking a lot about Asian American music and my own musical tastes.
I have pretty eclectic tastes these days. When riding the bus or walking around the city, youll find me favoring wordy Midwestern hip hop like Atmosphere and Denizen Canes crew Typical Cats. If you catch me getting ready to go out for a night on the town, Ill be singing in my underwear to the likes of Patsy Cline and The Supremes. When Im cleaning the bathroom or cooking a big meal, itll be either alt-country heroine Neko Case or Indias reigning diva Asha Bhosle.
But ever since I was 15 years old, just an angsty teenager in the flatlands of Ohio with a backpack full of party toys, Ive been a proud speaker-geeking electronic music lover. I spent many a night dancing in dingy warehouses, roller skating rinks, basements and cavernous clubs in embarrassingly large pants and I loved every minute of it. I preferred the dark underground sounds of drum&bass or jungle music, as we called it back then but I wouldnt hate on the house DJs coming through to my little town out of Chicago. There I was, one of the few Indian girls dancing all by my lonesome in a sea of white faces. Sigh. It was a bit lonely.
And then, all of a sudden, Talvin Singh released Anokha and I felt like I came home with the Asian Massive movement. Actually, I think it was British DJ State of Bengals 2000 release Visual Audio that was my ultimate musical moment. A gritty yet ambient drum & bass take on being bi-cultural, this album became my anthem. I wore out several CDs and kept burning new ones. One of my friends refused to ride in my car because there was a six-month period where I played the album on repeat. This was around the same time I moved to San Francisco. I continued my habit of dancing in dirty warehouses and speaker-geeking into the wee hours of the morning, usually to hard techno or drum&bass BUT I also found a new home at the relatively new monthly Dhamaal, at San Franciscos Club 6. If youve never been to Club 6, the basement gets terribly sweaty and crowded, making it a great place to dance to the likes of dub DJ Maneesh the Twister and the gothic Janaka Selecta Dhamaals founding members. And then when youre all sweaty and beat down from the basement, you can come upstairs and cool off while listening to Riffat Sultanas amazing Pakistani folk singing, which will make you jump around and then youll get all sweaty again.
The exciting thing is, this party is still going. In fact, this Saturday is Dhamaals 7-year anniversary making them the longest-running Asian Massive/World Music electronica party in the world. Thats pretty serious. If youre reading this and youre in the Bay Area and youve never been to a Dhamaal party, I would really recommend heading out to this one. The party will feature world-famous Cheb-i-sabbah but I wouldnt miss Dhol-playing superstar Mitch Hyare or a live laptop/DJ set between up-and-comer Kush Arora and the always fresh Maneesh the Twister. And if youre not in the Bay, I would highly recommend picking up Dhamaals debut album.
As you can tell, I sure am proud of these hometown boys. What local Asian American music acts are you all proud of out there?
Posted by neela at 12:18 PM | Comments (6)
Star Trek's George Takei has been making the rounds, appearing on Howard Stern's new radio show and speaking up for gay and lesbian rights around the country since coming out publicly last year.
Here's an in-depth interview with Takei that's pretty interesting. He touches on a lot of topics: Star Trek's 40th anniversary, gay and lesbian rights, Howard Stern's quiet side and how none of the Trek alums get along with William Shatner (except for Leonard Nimoy).
Posted by harry at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
Star Trek's George Takei has been making the rounds, appearing on Howard Stern's new radio show and speaking up for gay and lesbian rights around the country since coming out publicly last year.
Here's an in-depth interview with Takei that's pretty interesting. He touches on a lot of topics: Star Trek's 40th anniversary, gay and lesbian rights, Howard Stern's quiet side and how none of the Trek alums get along with William Shatner (except for Leonard Nimoy).
Posted by harry at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
Star Trek's George Takei has been making the rounds, appearing on Howard Stern's new radio show and speaking up for gay and lesbian rights around the country since coming out publicly last year.
Here's an in-depth interview with Takei that's pretty interesting. He touches on a lot of topics: Star Trek's 40th anniversary, gay and lesbian rights, Howard Stern's quiet side and how none of the Trek alums get along with William Shatner (except for Leonard Nimoy).
Posted by harry at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
Rarely have I been to an exhibit where the museum guests were wearing the same article of clothing as was on display. (Well, usually i don't go to exhibits where the art is wearable, that's true, too.)
But not so last weekend in San Jose, where I kept taking sneak peaks at the women and girls running around in ao dai (pronounced "ow yie" or "ow zie") --many of which were equally beautiful, if less ornate, than the pieces on show.
I have to say, the ao dai is the ideal outfit. The long tunic is form fitting enough to give you shape but covers up a host of figure faults, and the loose pants underneath mean you can ride bikes, squat, do high kicks, or conquer the world a la Katherine Hepburn, but Asian style.
I'm a skirt girl, not just because my fundamentalist Christian elementary school required dresses everyday. No, because I have such trouble finding pants that fit. and jeans? forget it. But when it's cold (can't wear snowpants under the skirt anymore, like in Kansas) sometimes you just want a little more. That's where the ao dai would be perfect.
However, you won't see me sporting one anytime soon. Why? Because I would feel like it's 1) cultural misappropriation or 2) fetishizing / calling attention to my Asian-ness in my workplace that is almost entirely white (not to mention confusing them with the whole Chinese vs. Vietnamese vs. Japanese thing [a lot of people think i'm japanese even though i'm Chinese American --it's a long story]).
I've been accused of being too literal, and perhaps it's true. I don't have a problem eating Vietnamese food or hanging Lao art on my walls, but I guess clothing is a claim of identity. Am I taking it too seriously to feel that I'd be pretending to be something that I'm not? Or, perhaps worse, "dressing up" as Vietnamese, as if it were a Halloween costume?
There was a white woman and her daughter at the exhibit wearing matching ao dai and I couldn't stop looking at them either, trying to figure out what they were about. Had they lived in Vietnam, did they hang out with the Vietnamese community, did they in fact have a "right" to be wearing one?
And I know, how ridiculous is that? How can you go around judging and drawing lines as to who can wear what? But after seeing so many people running around with chinese character tattoos, people ordering "chai tea," creepy men extolling the virtues of Asian women, you just start to be a little skeezed out by stuff like that. Very scientific analysis, skeezed out.
But I digress. I wanted to tell you that the exhibit, held for the next 3 months at the San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum, is definitely worth a trip. Even better if you stop for some pho on your way (i hear SJ's got the best in the bay area).
I like exhibits of things that are usable, or used... Things that were held in people's hands, absorbed their smells or held their food or ink or babies. And this is that kind of exhibit --you can see how tiny some of the women were, how meticulously their garments were sewn, and the crazy ways they've been adapted --with Indian quiliting techniques, as above, with ruffles and lace in the Victorian era, or with the psychedelic prints of the 60s. it's a small exhibit, but has an impressive range.
They've also got a menu of lectures through June, if you go for that kind of stuff. Find out more by clicking here.
Posted by jennifer at 10:47 AM | Comments (2)
Rarely have I been to an exhibit where the museum guests were wearing the same article of clothing as was on display. (Well, usually i don't go to exhibits where the art is wearable, that's true, too.)
But not so last weekend in San Jose, where I kept taking sneak peaks at the women and girls running around in ao dai (pronounced "ow yie" or "ow zie") --many of which were equally beautiful, if less ornate, than the pieces on show.
I have to say, the ao dai is the ideal outfit. The long tunic is form fitting enough to give you shape but covers up a host of figure faults, and the loose pants underneath mean you can ride bikes, squat, do high kicks, or conquer the world a la Katherine Hepburn, but Asian style.
I'm a skirt girl, not just because my fundamentalist Christian elementary school required dresses everyday. No, because I have such trouble finding pants that fit. and jeans? forget it. But when it's cold (can't wear snowpants under the skirt anymore, like in Kansas) sometimes you just want a little more. That's where the ao dai would be perfect.
However, you won't see me sporting one anytime soon. Why? Because I would feel like it's 1) cultural misappropriation or 2) fetishizing / calling attention to my Asian-ness in my workplace that is almost entirely white (not to mention confusing them with the whole Chinese vs. Vietnamese vs. Japanese thing [a lot of people think i'm japanese even though i'm Chinese American --it's a long story]).
I've been accused of being too literal, and perhaps it's true. I don't have a problem eating Vietnamese food or hanging Lao art on my walls, but I guess clothing is a claim of identity. Am I taking it too seriously to feel that I'd be pretending to be something that I'm not? Or, perhaps worse, "dressing up" as Vietnamese, as if it were a Halloween costume?
There was a white woman and her daughter at the exhibit wearing matching ao dai and I couldn't stop looking at them either, trying to figure out what they were about. Had they lived in Vietnam, did they hang out with the Vietnamese community, did they in fact have a "right" to be wearing one?
And I know, how ridiculous is that? How can you go around judging and drawing lines as to who can wear what? But after seeing so many people running around with chinese character tattoos, people ordering "chai tea," creepy men extolling the virtues of Asian women, you just start to be a little skeezed out by stuff like that. Very scientific analysis, skeezed out.
But I digress. I wanted to tell you that the exhibit, held for the next 3 months at the San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum, is definitely worth a trip. Even better if you stop for some pho on your way (i hear SJ's got the best in the bay area).
I like exhibits of things that are usable, or used... Things that were held in people's hands, absorbed their smells or held their food or ink or babies. And this is that kind of exhibit --you can see how tiny some of the women were, how meticulously their garments were sewn, and the crazy ways they've been adapted --with Indian quiliting techniques, as above, with ruffles and lace in the Victorian era, or with the psychedelic prints of the 60s. it's a small exhibit, but has an impressive range.
They've also got a menu of lectures through June, if you go for that kind of stuff. Find out more by clicking here.
Posted by jennifer at 10:47 AM | Comments (2)
Rarely have I been to an exhibit where the museum guests were wearing the same article of clothing as was on display. (Well, usually i don't go to exhibits where the art is wearable, that's true, too.)
But not so last weekend in San Jose, where I kept taking sneak peaks at the women and girls running around in ao dai (pronounced "ow yie" or "ow zie") --many of which were equally beautiful, if less ornate, than the pieces on show.
I have to say, the ao dai is the ideal outfit. The long tunic is form fitting enough to give you shape but covers up a host of figure faults, and the loose pants underneath mean you can ride bikes, squat, do high kicks, or conquer the world a la Katherine Hepburn, but Asian style.
I'm a skirt girl, not just because my fundamentalist Christian elementary school required dresses everyday. No, because I have such trouble finding pants that fit. and jeans? forget it. But when it's cold (can't wear snowpants under the skirt anymore, like in Kansas) sometimes you just want a little more. That's where the ao dai would be perfect.
However, you won't see me sporting one anytime soon. Why? Because I would feel like it's 1) cultural misappropriation or 2) fetishizing / calling attention to my Asian-ness in my workplace that is almost entirely white (not to mention confusing them with the whole Chinese vs. Vietnamese vs. Japanese thing [a lot of people think i'm japanese even though i'm Chinese American --it's a long story]).
I've been accused of being too literal, and perhaps it's true. I don't have a problem eating Vietnamese food or hanging Lao art on my walls, but I guess clothing is a claim of identity. Am I taking it too seriously to feel that I'd be pretending to be something that I'm not? Or, perhaps worse, "dressing up" as Vietnamese, as if it were a Halloween costume?
There was a white woman and her daughter at the exhibit wearing matching ao dai and I couldn't stop looking at them either, trying to figure out what they were about. Had they lived in Vietnam, did they hang out with the Vietnamese community, did they in fact have a "right" to be wearing one?
And I know, how ridiculous is that? How can you go around judging and drawing lines as to who can wear what? But after seeing so many people running around with chinese character tattoos, people ordering "chai tea," creepy men extolling the virtues of Asian women, you just start to be a little skeezed out by stuff like that. Very scientific analysis, skeezed out.
But I digress. I wanted to tell you that the exhibit, held for the next 3 months at the San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum, is definitely worth a trip. Even better if you stop for some pho on your way (i hear SJ's got the best in the bay area).
I like exhibits of things that are usable, or used... Things that were held in people's hands, absorbed their smells or held their food or ink or babies. And this is that kind of exhibit --you can see how tiny some of the women were, how meticulously their garments were sewn, and the crazy ways they've been adapted --with Indian quiliting techniques, as above, with ruffles and lace in the Victorian era, or with the psychedelic prints of the 60s. it's a small exhibit, but has an impressive range.
They've also got a menu of lectures through June, if you go for that kind of stuff. Find out more by clicking here.
Posted by jennifer at 10:47 AM | Comments (2)
When I first read that Harvard sophomore Kaavya Vishwanathan got $500,000 from publishing company Little Brown & Company for a two-book deal, I was fascinated.
I was imagining that little Kaavya had written some kind of poetic Sylvia Plath-esque South Asian Bell Jar, documenting the darker side of growing up different in America. Or perhaps it was a J.D. Salinger-esque outsider novel about a South Asian teenager growing up in the aftermath of 9.11. I had fantastic dreams that she was our Zadie Smith, appearing on the literary horizon to shake up the Asian American literary community like a laptop-toting Joan of Arc.
Then I found out that How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is really – as the New York Times described – "a chick-lit-meets-admissions-frenzy novel." Okay, I admit, it sounds funny – the over-achieving Opal Mehta wants nothing more than to get into Harvard and when the admissions officer tells her that she must be more than just scores and grades, she and her parents create the HOWGAL plan, or “How Opal Will Get a Life.” This plan includes “reading Teen People, watching Beyoncé videos, wearing Jimmy Choo spike heels and Habitual jeans.” When I read that the book had been optioned for a movie, I knew I would go see it when it came out and be entertained but I was also, well, kind of disappointed.
I actually already discussed this feeling of disappointment in detail back in issue seven when I did a little survey of Asian American chick lit (“Can I Get a Purse with That?”). Here’s was my main question in that article:
[A]fter perusing a handful of the Asian American chick lit titles out there—Caroline Hwang’s In Full Bloom (Plume), Kim Wong Keltner’s The Dim Sum of All Things (Avon Trade) and Buddha Baby (Avon Trade), and Kavita Daswani’s For Matrimonial Purposes (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)—I felt the same kind of pride I did when Miko, Barbie’s Pacific Islander friend, was introduced back in 1988: Is this something I should really be proud of?
Go ahead, call me a snob. I’ll accept this label. But I am more interested in reading and supporting new Asian American authors who are pushing past the model minority stereotypes and writing about class struggle, passion and politics in a way that doesn’t have to include discussions of brand-names and, in this case, super-elitist academic institutions. I think my critique of Viswanathan goes beyond her chick-lit genre, because this critique applies to authors like Jumpha Lahiri as well, and is more about my frustration with the lack of fiction out there about the working class South Asian community. Can we only write about first generation immigration experiences, living in the suburbs or the homeland? I don’t mean to favor subject-matter over writing quality but I think if South Asian writers continue to write about the same subjects and place their stories in the same settings, we are just limiting ourselves.
Now that I have gotten my rant about what Opal Mehta is about out of the way, I can move onto the plagarism scandal. Mehta’s own Harvard Crimson, the school paper that has so recently touted her fame, came at her Smoking Gun style and said that her Opal Mehta was surprisingly similar to Megan F. McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts. The Crimson even goes on to show “13 instances in which Ms. Viswanathan's book closely paralleled Ms. McCafferty's work” (NY Times).
My first reaction was : “Well duh, all chick lit books are alike, that’s why they suck!!” But then Hyphen fiction editor Sabrina Tom had a slightly less inflammatory and, well, smarter comment. She said: “I think this has to do with the heightened attention in the press right now given to author's accused of making things up (James Frey and the whole J.T. Leroy weirdness). It’s not just chick lit books. All authors, essentially, borrow and steal. Which author, under microscopic scrutiny, could claim total originality?”
Anyway, even if I am not totally in the Viswanathan fan club, I don’t think the plagarism was intentional. And even if Viswanathan’s plot closely parralelled McCafferty’s – Opal Mehta’s South Asian-ness sets the book apart and makes it an original.
So, what’s the moral of this story? I’m not sure, maybe just that I am and will always be a literary snob or maybe that there are no original stories out there. Regardless, I still hope How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is made into a movie, because more than we need a South Asian American Zadie Smith, we need a South Asian American Lindsey Lohan.
Posted by neela at 1:24 PM | Comments (29)
When I first read that Harvard sophomore Kaavya Vishwanathan got $500,000 from publishing company Little Brown & Company for a two-book deal, I was fascinated.
I was imagining that little Kaavya had written some kind of poetic Sylvia Plath-esque South Asian Bell Jar, documenting the darker side of growing up different in America. Or perhaps it was a J.D. Salinger-esque outsider novel about a South Asian teenager growing up in the aftermath of 9.11. I had fantastic dreams that she was our Zadie Smith, appearing on the literary horizon to shake up the Asian American literary community like a laptop-toting Joan of Arc.
Then I found out that How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is really – as the New York Times described – "a chick-lit-meets-admissions-frenzy novel." Okay, I admit, it sounds funny – the over-achieving Opal Mehta wants nothing more than to get into Harvard and when the admissions officer tells her that she must be more than just scores and grades, she and her parents create the HOWGAL plan, or “How Opal Will Get a Life.” This plan includes “reading Teen People, watching Beyoncé videos, wearing Jimmy Choo spike heels and Habitual jeans.” When I read that the book had been optioned for a movie, I knew I would go see it when it came out and be entertained but I was also, well, kind of disappointed.
I actually already discussed this feeling of disappointment in detail back in issue seven when I did a little survey of Asian American chick lit (“Can I Get a Purse with That?”). Here’s was my main question in that article:
[A]fter perusing a handful of the Asian American chick lit titles out there—Caroline Hwang’s In Full Bloom (Plume), Kim Wong Keltner’s The Dim Sum of All Things (Avon Trade) and Buddha Baby (Avon Trade), and Kavita Daswani’s For Matrimonial Purposes (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)—I felt the same kind of pride I did when Miko, Barbie’s Pacific Islander friend, was introduced back in 1988: Is this something I should really be proud of?
Go ahead, call me a snob. I’ll accept this label. But I am more interested in reading and supporting new Asian American authors who are pushing past the model minority stereotypes and writing about class struggle, passion and politics in a way that doesn’t have to include discussions of brand-names and, in this case, super-elitist academic institutions. I think my critique of Viswanathan goes beyond her chick-lit genre, because this critique applies to authors like Jumpha Lahiri as well, and is more about my frustration with the lack of fiction out there about the working class South Asian community. Can we only write about first generation immigration experiences, living in the suburbs or the homeland? I don’t mean to favor subject-matter over writing quality but I think if South Asian writers continue to write about the same subjects and place their stories in the same settings, we are just limiting ourselves.
Now that I have gotten my rant about what Opal Mehta is about out of the way, I can move onto the plagarism scandal. Mehta’s own Harvard Crimson, the school paper that has so recently touted her fame, came at her Smoking Gun style and said that her Opal Mehta was surprisingly similar to Megan F. McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts. The Crimson even goes on to show “13 instances in which Ms. Viswanathan's book closely paralleled Ms. McCafferty's work” (NY Times).
My first reaction was : “Well duh, all chick lit books are alike, that’s why they suck!!” But then Hyphen fiction editor Sabrina Tom had a slightly less inflammatory and, well, smarter comment. She said: “I think this has to do with the heightened attention in the press right now given to author's accused of making things up (James Frey and the whole J.T. Leroy weirdness). It’s not just chick lit books. All authors, essentially, borrow and steal. Which author, under microscopic scrutiny, could claim total originality?”
Anyway, even if I am not totally in the Viswanathan fan club, I don’t think the plagarism was intentional. And even if Viswanathan’s plot closely parralelled McCafferty’s – Opal Mehta’s South Asian-ness sets the book apart and makes it an original.
So, what’s the moral of this story? I’m not sure, maybe just that I am and will always be a literary snob or maybe that there are no original stories out there. Regardless, I still hope How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is made into a movie, because more than we need a South Asian American Zadie Smith, we need a South Asian American Lindsey Lohan.
Posted by neela at 1:24 PM | Comments (29)
When I first read that Harvard sophomore Kaavya Vishwanathan got $500,000 from publishing company Little Brown & Company for a two-book deal, I was fascinated.
I was imagining that little Kaavya had written some kind of poetic Sylvia Plath-esque South Asian Bell Jar, documenting the darker side of growing up different in America. Or perhaps it was a J.D. Salinger-esque outsider novel about a South Asian teenager growing up in the aftermath of 9.11. I had fantastic dreams that she was our Zadie Smith, appearing on the literary horizon to shake up the Asian American literary community like a laptop-toting Joan of Arc.
Then I found out that How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is really as the New York Times described "a chick-lit-meets-admissions-frenzy novel." Okay, I admit, it sounds funny the over-achieving Opal Mehta wants nothing more than to get into Harvard and when the admissions officer tells her that she must be more than just scores and grades, she and her parents create the HOWGAL plan, or How Opal Will Get a Life. This plan includes reading Teen People, watching Beyonc videos, wearing Jimmy Choo spike heels and Habitual jeans. When I read that the book had been optioned for a movie, I knew I would go see it when it came out and be entertained but I was also, well, kind of disappointed.
I actually already discussed this feeling of disappointment in detail back in issue seven when I did a little survey of Asian American chick lit (Can I Get a Purse with That?). Heres was my main question in that article:
[A]fter perusing a handful of the Asian American chick lit titles out thereCaroline Hwangs In Full Bloom (Plume), Kim Wong Keltners The Dim Sum of All Things (Avon Trade) and Buddha Baby (Avon Trade), and Kavita Daswanis For Matrimonial Purposes (G.P. Putnams Sons)I felt the same kind of pride I did when Miko, Barbies Pacific Islander friend, was introduced back in 1988: Is this something I should really be proud of?
Go ahead, call me a snob. Ill accept this label. But I am more interested in reading and supporting new Asian American authors who are pushing past the model minority stereotypes and writing about class struggle, passion and politics in a way that doesnt have to include discussions of brand-names and, in this case, super-elitist academic institutions. I think my critique of Viswanathan goes beyond her chick-lit genre, because this critique applies to authors like Jumpha Lahiri as well, and is more about my frustration with the lack of fiction out there about the working class South Asian community. Can we only write about first generation immigration experiences, living in the suburbs or the homeland? I dont mean to favor subject-matter over writing quality but I think if South Asian writers continue to write about the same subjects and place their stories in the same settings, we are just limiting ourselves.
Now that I have gotten my rant about what Opal Mehta is about out of the way, I can move onto the plagarism scandal. Mehtas own Harvard Crimson, the school paper that has so recently touted her fame, came at her Smoking Gun style and said that her Opal Mehta was surprisingly similar to Megan F. McCaffertys Sloppy Firsts. The Crimson even goes on to show 13 instances in which Ms. Viswanathan's book closely paralleled Ms. McCafferty's work (NY Times).
My first reaction was : Well duh, all chick lit books are alike, thats why they suck!! But then Hyphen fiction editor Sabrina Tom had a slightly less inflammatory and, well, smarter comment. She said: I think this has to do with the heightened attention in the press right now given to author's accused of making things up (James Frey and the whole J.T. Leroy weirdness). Its not just chick lit books. All authors, essentially, borrow and steal. Which author, under microscopic scrutiny, could claim total originality?
Anyway, even if I am not totally in the Viswanathan fan club, I dont think the plagarism was intentional. And even if Viswanathans plot closely parralelled McCaffertys Opal Mehtas South Asian-ness sets the book apart and makes it an original.
So, whats the moral of this story? Im not sure, maybe just that I am and will always be a literary snob or maybe that there are no original stories out there. Regardless, I still hope How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is made into a movie, because more than we need a South Asian American Zadie Smith, we need a South Asian American Lindsey Lohan.
Posted by neela at 1:24 PM | Comments (29)
There was an immigrant rights