seriously, come check out this film cuz it’s awesome.
once again, i’ve realized that it’s been far too long since i’ve written on here. recently, i was thinking about the state of technology when i was starting college some ten years ago. it was still quite normal for people not to have cell phones, there was no such thing as facebook, twitter, wifi (practically speaking), etc. for most students, college dorms were our first taste of high speed internet. and if we wanted an online profile, well we could make our own webpage! man, technology sucked back then.
after stressing like crazy over the past year for my phd qualifying exams (which i passed!), i seriously did a whole lot of nothing this summer, and it was wonderful. few trips to tahoe to unwind, lot of volunteering at the japanese american museum of san jose, plenty of baseball games, performing arts (symphony/ballet), and of course televised sports. speaking of sports, i just tore my right hamstring at judo last week. sucks.
anyways, it’s good to get back into the academic year. this fall i’ll be teaching “asian americans and hip hop” at harvey mudd, for the intercollegiate department of asian american studies at the claremont colleges. really looking forward to this class; just hope this syllabus i put together works. i figure my students have already googled me and come across this site, so what’s up students. don’t worry, i can google you too.
since i’m back teaching in socal, i’m also back living in socal. covina is home for the next few months. nice spot, pretty convenient to both claremont and los angeles. it is supposed to hit 104 today, which can’t really be helped, but i guess that’s just to be expected. also volunteering 1-2x a week at the japanese american national museum in little tokyo, so do let me know if you ever decide to roll thru!
i’m sure by now you’ve seen all the coverage of the unbelievable devastation that has occurred in japan. many of you have asked what you can do to help, so here is what i suggest. again, these are just my personal opinions as a 28-year old dual-citizen of both japan and the US.
- the text message donation to the american red cross (REDCROSS to 90999) is a good start, but please think about where your money is really going. too bad the japanese red cross website is so poorly lacking in english updates. these are separate organizations.
- i endorse CIVIC FORCE (日本語) as well as DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS. both of these groups are actively participating in the ongoing rescue efforts.
- unless you are a certified first responder, do not try to be a savior and patronize japan. rather, support those that know what they are doing. if you really want to help, take a training course so that you will be prepared for the next local/domestic/international emergency. or volunteer to rebuild the communities sometime down the road, when it’s not all over the news and the hip thing to do (hint: haiti still can use your help).
- pay attention to all the misinformation being spread, and hold others accountable for what the say/post/tweet/whatever. for example, i really doubt britney spears and taylor swift donated $64 million and $100 million, respectively. (and honestly, does lady gaga need more attention via $5 bracelets? i wouldn’t give her a penny unless she made the entire process transparent so i know i’m not funding her next meat dress.)
- if you are friends with any of these ignorant fools posting on facebook and twitter about how the earthquake is just “karma” for pearl harbor and killing dolphins, immediately call them out on it and teach them a lesson. perhaps use keywords like “hiroshima” and “concentration camps” (cuz then lord knows we’re due for something even worse), or share the information about the japanese government’s immediate donations following hurricane katrina, or question what christchurch NZ did to also deserve karmic payback.
basically, i think what is most important now is for us to support the japanese relief effort. the japanese government is still functioning, and is the most familiar with the immediate needs of the affected communities. it is a relief to see trained rescuers and doctors from around the world finally entering japan now as part of an organized group effort. after the disastrous job by FEMA following hurricane katrina, it is easy to see why japanese government officials could doubt american assistance. as americans, we must get over the idea that we always know better than others. but if and when someone needs our help, we should always be on call with everything we have to offer.
luckily, all of my family and friends in japan are alive and well. however, the same cannot be said of many, many other folks in japan. instances of death and destruction via earthquake/tsunami/radiation are literally only two degrees of separation every way i look. it’s unfortunate that even with all the wealth in our world, we need such horrible disasters to get people to donate tiny fractions of their money. and as unfortunate as it is that so many communities in northern honshu are currently without the basic necessity of water, why is nothing mentioned about the over 1 billion individuals throughout the world that don’t have access to clean water in less-developed nations every single day?
in conclusion, i hope that however you decide to help japan during this moment of crisis, you will remain conscious of the ongoing complexities of charities, neocolonialism, outright racism, and global inequalities. despite all the rhetoric, it truly is personally heartwarming to see so much international concern, and i pray that we spread this spirit far and wide as we progress into the future.
新年明けましておめでとうございます！今年も宜しくお願い致します！
and for those of you that can’t read that, uh, it says happy new years and stuff.
well, 2010 has come and gone, and around this time i like to try and put everything in perspective for you all. and by you all, i mean myself. if you want to read, you’re more than welcome to come along for this retrospective. seems like 2010 had it all: from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but somehow or another i’m still here, sitting in front of the same keyboard on the same desk, just in a different decade.
turned 27 back in january with some of my bestest buds out in ktown, and did it up even bigger with the methodology crew soon after. during those two celebrations i managed to get my riced out honda civic stolen for the third time. no more ヤン車 for me!
spring was my super busy conference season. it actually started in february for the “negotiating the global with the local: translating christianity in modern east asia” conference at claremont mckenna college, then the american academy of religion/western region conference at arizona state university in march. coincidentally, the conference was during the first weekend of my spring break. and coincidentally, was smack dab in the middle of the cactus league! after my conference, my dad flew out to phoenix and we accomplished one of our lifelong dreams of cheering on our san francisco giants at spring training!!
over the summer i decided to bite the bullet and get a tattoo. and as the saying goes, “go big or go home.”
so i went (fairly) big and got a half sleeve.
the idea was koi with sakura and waves.
i guess the itch for some ink goes back to early 2008, when i was deciding to leave japan and move back to california. i felt like i needed something to mark my time there. but in hindsight, there are millions of things i do in my daily life that reflect my experience of living in tokyo.
anyways, it wasn’t just like i could head out to the corner store and pick something up. as i started to research artists, designs, and especially the culture around irezumi, i realized that i needed to put a lot of time into making sure i wouldn’t regret my decision. once i came up with the koi theme, i sat on the idea for about a year once i realized that it was not just something i felt at the moment, but rather something that stuck with me.
by the time i had my design finalized, i was already living in southern california. fortunately, los angeles has a thriving tattoo culture, and even some amazing japanese artists. after much research (and wait lists), i was able to have my work done by jakoh at onizuka tattoo in little tokyo.
when people ask what it represents, i can easily give the canned orientalistish answer, if not something a tad more personal. for example, a koi represents struggle — a fish swimming upstream, and if successful it will turn into a dragon. i don’t think there’s a better metaphor for grad school than this idea of struggle (and thinking of how much easier it would be to just turn around and go downstream). the cherry blossoms represent my favorite memory of japanese life. the waves remind me of my long-ago life living on the beach in capitola, and the ocean that separates my land from my motherland.
while i can’t deny that the above representations also influence the personal meaning of this tattoo, there is also so much more that it stands for. in japan, tattoos (especially this sleeve style) is stigmatized as a sign of yakuza, and people with tattoos are often banned from public bath houses and hot springs. but i know plenty of people with tattoos, and none of them are yakuza. in my opinion, stereotypes like these are still a disappointing sign of the past, and i hope that i can do my tiny part to help change such misconceptions. shoot, there are still plenty of places in japan that won’t even allow non-japanese clientele, so we gotta start somewhere.
looking in the mirror, i’m happy to see such an intricate piece of artwork that i can wear with me forever. i’m happy to see a reminder of my personal connection to asakusa (my mother’s hometown, not to mention a thriving yakuza center…). i’m happy to see that i overcame my fear of needles. i’m happy to have found something that i was confident i wouldn’t be bored with quickly. and i’m happy that even six months after its completion, i don’t regret this decision one bit (although i do regret not discussing this ahead of time with my mom :-/ ).
i know the first thing you’re gonna ask, but i’ll just spin you around right here: it took several hours over many sessions and cost a lot. and yes, it hurt like hell.
and in terms of your next question: i’m not sure what’s next, or if there will even be something next. right sleeve? back piece? a tyson-esque face ornament? all i can say for now is that those decisions will be made in due time.
if you’re curious about getting your first tattoo, my only recommendations are to take plenty of time once you come up with a design (so you don’t choose something you will regret), and also to make sure to find an artist that can make your dream into a reality. other than that, by all means take the plunge. i mean think about it, how exciting is it to do something that will change your life forever?
Wow, december already!? Didn’t see that one sneaking up on me. As I say too often, apologies for falling behind on this blog. There are many times when I’ve used an excuse of being busy, but seriously the past few months have been ridiculous.
I guess the most important piece of news is that I am once again living in Northern California, having returned to my parents’ house as I study for my phd qualifying exams. Now that I am done with coursework and have completed all other requirements (including passing the godawful japanese reading proficiency test!), I can save some money and personal sanity while spending some quality time with my parents. Oh yeah and free food.
There has been plenty of other excitement lately, from an exhausting trip to visit my ailing grandmother in tokyo, relationship woes, nonstop flying across the state, a giants world series championship, plenty of new beers sampled, an early snowfall, and of course the joy of new apple products. All those I guess must wait til another day.
Speaking of apple products, can you believe I’ve jumped ship and am now using a Blackberry 9700!? Basically, it does email so much better, and the keyboard is a killer feature especially once the ipad basically makes the iphone redundant. Just realized it’s pretty convenient to post onto wordpress from my BB so will try to jump on this. I’m spending large chunks of time at coffee shops and libraries, so this may be a great study break! No promises though.
Best wishes for a safe, healthy, fun-filled holiday season!
can you hear me now? good.
hey folks, apologies (once again) for my inattentiveness concerning this blog. can you believe it’s already the end of june!? where on earth did the first half of the second decade of the third millenium of the common era go?
after my conference/spring training trip to arizona (which has since entrenched itself on my no-fly list), i hit up austin, texas to present a paper at the association for asian american studies annual conference, followed by hosting our own grad student conference here in the c-mo. factor in some finals, one intensive/accelerated summer class, and now yours truly is officially completed with all coursework requirements en route to that mythical doctorate.
so how have i spent the past two weeks of freedom? by doing absolutely nothing, other than watching borderline unhealthy amounts of world cup soccer and mma (2 ufc cards, 2 strikeforce, 2 bellator, and 1 wec in 2.5 weeks!!). but for now, let’s focus on my boys in blue (the samurai shade, to be more specific).
perhaps one of my greatest regrets in life is not being a huge soccer fan circa 2002 (hey i grew up in america) and missing out on attending games live in japan. i was living in japan for the 2006 olympics, but japan and the US sure blew that opportunity. so it was with high expectations and delusional dreams that i began waking up at ungodly hours of the pre-morning.
during the last round of group games, i found it immensely interesting to see how fans responded to their respective team’s performances. the US can always use the excuse that americans don’t care enough about soccer to field a competitive squad. english fans were constantly interviewed on tv complaining about how their chaps were a royal disappointment, especially for all the supporters who spent so much of their hard-earned money to travel to south africa. and the french once again showcased their resolute spirit that won them the wars.
As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, this year’s conference theme calls for a look back and a forward vision to see the connections between generations. For many people, memory and generation modifies or recreates religious identity. We can see these dynamics in the processes accompanying immigration, but we can also see them when people pass their faith on to future generations or develop a new religious identity themselves. How the dynamics of memory and generational change occur for APA communities depends on the particular ways each group and generation negotiates life in the U.S. Whether APA communities can point to five generations in North America, or are recently arrived, religion and how it sustains and transforms Asian Pacific America is the focus of our 2010 APARRI meeting. This year’s theme calls for analyses of the experiences across generations, inviting participants to pursue nontraditional fields of study and other topics needing research and investigation. Stepping across theoretical and disciplinary boundaries is encouraged.
Entitled “Bridging Yesterday and Tomorrow: Memory and Generational Change in Religious Pacific and Asian North America” the 2010 conference will be held August 5-7 on the campus of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. Plenaries feature a discussion on memory, the role of personal faith in academia, and an intergenerational panel. Plenary Speakers include Anju Bhargava (Member of President Obama’s Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships), Bandana Purkayastha (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Connecticut), Peter Cha (Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), Soong-Chan Rah (Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism, North Park Theological Seminary), Roy Sano (Bishop, the United Methodist Church), and Mai-Anh Tran (Assistant Professor of Christian Education, Eden Theological Seminary). Concurrent sessions will showcase research-in-progress, and structured mentoring sessions will be available for students and junior faculty members.
We encourage work in multiple and diverse religious contexts.
Deadline for Submissions: June 21, 2010.
E-mail Proposals: Joe Cheah at jpcheah@aol.com
The APARRI conference began among a group of doctoral students and early career scholars of religion and theology, who desired to support and engage each other’s scholarship in an interdisciplinary fashion.
Allotted concurrent sessions are designed to continue this cross-disciplinary engagement. Presenters are encouraged to share their research and works-in-progress with other APARRI participants by organizing panels, presenting papers on their research, and/or by structuring small group dialogue sessions on an important topic of inquiry in the study of Asian North American and Pacific Island religions. Selected papers/sessions will be scheduled during our concurrent session times.
Some concurrent session time will also be designated for papers/panels that have come from managing board invitations.
APARRI is a community advancing the interdisciplinary study of Asian Pacific Americans and their religions. Through conferences, mentoring, and collaboration, APARRI promotes the professional development of scholars and the distinctive field of Asian Pacific American religious studies.
i’ve seriously been waiting years for this thing to come out. preordered at first chance and picked it up today at the victoria gardens apple store in rancho cucamonga. the immediate verdict? totally worth it.
i’m not going to give this thing the complete review treatment, plenty of websites out there do that (for reference, i almost always agree with david pogue, gizmodo, and cnet). for now, i’ll just share some immediate reactions:
- perfect size. great to use while lounging on a sofa. super thin, but sturdy feel.
- runs FAST. puts the iphone 3g to shame (don’t have a 3gs to compare). web surfing on safari is just like a laptop (minus flash which honestly isn’t a huge deal to me). decodes japanese websites flawlessly. switches perspectives quick.
- screen is beautiful.
- bluetooth keyboard connectivity is a killer feature imho. now i can use it to type notes in class. i seriously doubt i will do any serious academic writing on here, but short papers and such should be cake with this thing until microsoft comes out with an ipad version of word (and no, just cuz pages will export to .doc does that mean i can use it for what i do). it’s a bit odd to not be able to scroll up and down webpages by using the up and down keys (you have to physically touch the screen to scroll), and you also can’t tab between text boxes like you normally would. but some things that do work perfectly: the screen brightness controls, ipod controls, volume controls, and even cmd + space to switch between international keyboards. the upcoming keyboard dock thing has some more features, but then you can’t use the ipad in landscape mode, so i def recommend the bluetooth one. Read the rest of this entry »
i recently presented a paper at arizona state university for the american academy of religion western region conference. as it turned out, the conference took place right at the front end of my spring break, so what a perfect excuse to stay out there a few days after and catch spring training!! my dad has been wanting to check out spring training for as long as i can remember, and fortunately everything lined up perfectly this year.
the drive out to the phoenix area is less than five hours from the inland empire, and was actually rather interesting. i never knew there were so many casinos along the route, nor did i think i could see a windfarm that looks more impressive than altamont pass. and despite my most valiant efforts, i never was able to find that elusive shaqtus.
also, excellent weather (especially considering it was still officially winter), and ASU’s campus was beautiful. sorta felt like a mix between SJSU’s flat and organized feel, UCLA’s immensity, and pitzer’s desert feel imho. also had a chance to meet up with some old elementary school friends from the fremont days who now live out there. hadn’t seen them in 13 years!! great to see them all grown up :D
