12 posts tagged “asian american”
i know i have "sharp objects" and "the host" but i picked up five more books at barnes yesterday. summer reading books from the youth section. i picked those books up since summer reading for high school aged youth is like 5bux more.
here's what i picked up
Hoot, had a simple cover. This is not the version I picked up. Reading the first couple of pages sucked me in. So I think I may read that first.
Reading the back of Down the Rabbit Hole peaked my interest. It's a mystery with it's lead character trying to figure
out a murder investigation, while trying to rehearse for a production of alice in wonderland.
I love E.L. Konigsberg. From the Mixed of Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is one of my favorite books. I've never read anything else she's done, so this was an easy choice.
I was surprised to see "Red Scarf Girl" in the summer reading list. I can't wait to get to that.
Reluctant Fundamentalist is the only book that isn't on the summer reading list. It was actually in the bargain book section.
So I'm going to try and read all these books in the following order.
Hoot
The View from Saturday
Sharp Objects
Down the Rabbit Hole
Red Scarf Girl
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Real Biography of Malcolm X
I've had Malcom X for a couple years. Picked it up at a local swap meet, but never had time to read it. Now's my chance.
hazzah for book nerdishness
Obama Statement on the Filipino People Power Day and the Filipino Veterans Equity Act
Obama Statement on the Filipino People Power Day and the Filipino Veterans Equity Act
Chicago, IL
-- Twenty-two years after the People Power Revolution in the
Philippines, we remember and commemorate the Filipino people who used
the democratic, non-violent method of "people power" to overthrow the
dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and end the martial law regime that
ruled the Philippines for fourteen years.
On this
anniversary, I urge my colleagues in Congress to honor the Filipino
veterans who bravely fought with American troops in World War II.
Approximately 250,000 Filipino troops joined American forces to fight
in World War II, but too many of these heroes are still being denied
benefits. The time has come for Congress to honor the Filipino veterans
of World War II by finally enacting the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of
2007. I applaud Chairman Akaka's leadership on this issue and will
continue to urge my colleagues to provide the benefits and recognition
these veterans deserve.
Today, let us join Filipinos in America
to honor the sacrifices and determination of the Filipino people in the
tireless fight for democracy and freedom.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2008
Obama Press Office, 312-819-2423
just picked the buttons up. gotta get the stickers...
i did my civic duty. i got my "i voted" sticker. hazzah.
when edwards dropped out i leaned towards obama. hilary hurts my brain. there are numerous reasons why i won't vote for her and then an ad came out that confirmed why i can't back her.
her being on the board of directors for wal-mart, that irked me. this endorsement, makes my blood boil.
cesar chavez sold out manong philip veracruz by befriending ferdinand marcos. chavez sold out his filipino brothers in the grape fields by meeting with marcos, a man who committed numerous human rights violations against his people. without the manongs working with the mexican farm workers the ufw would not have succeeded. chavez got the glory and manong philip veracruz and the fellow filipino american farm workers got forgotten.
mr. obama i hope you get the nod. i don't know where my vote will go if you don't.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Winston Emano
Nerissa Silao
(323) 913-4663
info@filamarts.org
CELEBRATE COMMUNITY SPIRIT AT THE 16TH ANNUAL
FESTIVAL OF PHILIPPINE ARTS & CULTURE
The Community’s Diverse Artistry, Culture, Cuisine and People
Converge For Highly Anticipated Festival Weekend
(LOS ANGELES – August 21, 2007) – The 16th Annual Festival of Philippine
Arts and Culture (FPAC), Southern California's largest and most lauded
ongoing Filipino American tradition, is on! Taking place on Sept. 8 and
9, 2007 at breathtaking Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo del Mar in San Pedro,
this year’s theme is “Handog,” or “Offering” – in celebration of true
community spirit as Filipino Americans from different walks of life gather
together to bring you this 16th edition of pure community soul through
artistry, culture, and food.
Comedian Rex Naverrete and upcoming Jazz singer Charmaine Clamor return to
headline FPAC, with multi-awarded singer / songwriter Anthony Castelo and
the world Hip Hop champions: Philippine All Stars. Authentic, traditional
music and dance are brought to you by Kayamanan ng Lahi, BIBAK (Benguet,
Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, Kalinga - 5 major tribes of the Northern
Philippines), Kultura, and others. Kali / Eskrima demonstrations are
brought to you by eskrimadors Kapisanang Mandirigma, Pakamut, and Bahala
Na. Leading the Hip Hop movement are: emcee Bambu, formerly of Native
Guns, and DJ Icy Ice, who will be receiving the 2007 FilAm ARTS Artist
Award.
Equally stellar are the non-profit, community-based partner organizations
whose years of dedication make the Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture a
shining example of community spirit – the 6th Annual Amateur DJ Battle is
brought to you by Stacks Vinyl and the 9th Annual Balagtasan Poetry Slam
is brought to you the KmB - Kabataang Makabayan. Film is featured at the
14th Annual “Pinoyvisions” co-presented by Visual Communications, the
premiere Asian media center in the U.S. Visual art at the Pilipino
Artists Network Pavilion is co-presented with Remy’s On Temple Gallery and
the California Arts Council.
Additional unique features of FPAC include: the 8th Annual Vegetable
Competition at the Seniors Village that will be brought you by Manong Tony
and Manang Angelita Ringor of Diversified Services for Youth & Seniors;
arts, crafts, and games at the Youth Pavilion will be presented by
community sponsor Search to Involve Pilipino Americans; and Filipino
cuisine demonstrations at the Culinary Arts Pavilion will again be led by
Chef Cecilia De Castro of Culinary Consultations and food producer for
Wolfgang Puck.
A brand new area is the Workers Pavilion sponsored by the Pilipino Workers
Center. The Pilipino Workers Center is a Los Angeles-based organization
dedicated to delivering services to overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s)
through education, legal advice, advocacy, and a low-cost remittance
program called the PWC Remit Program.
Initiated by the City of Los Angeles back in 1990, the stewardship of the
Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture was transferred over to a
non-profit organization now called FilAm ARTS – the Association for the
Advancement of Filipino American Arts & Culture.
“Still true to its original intent since its inception, the Festival is
designed to be a ‘common ground.’ The aim of FPAC is to be as inclusive
in every which way possible,” says Executive Director Jilly Canizares.
“This is seen in the conscious programming to include the rich diversity
of Philippine artistic expressions – from old to new, traditional to
contemporary, visual arts to cuisine. Coming to the Festival gives you a
true slice of the Filipino American community.”
Funded in part by the City of Los Angeles Dept of Cultural Affairs and
L.A. District 15 Councilmember Janice Hahn, the L.A. County Arts
Commission, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for
the Arts, FPAC is also sponsored by PWC Remit Program, El Pollo Loco,
Macy’s, Wells Fargo Bank, The Gas Company – a Sempra Energy Utilities
company, and Washington Mutual. Media sponsors include: LA-18, KPFK 90.7
/ 98.7, and mygringos.com.
For more information on exhibitor booth, table and volunteer, log onto
www.filamarts.org, or call us at (323) 913-4663.
this article explains why i want to go into student affairs and help students, specifically underrepresented api students at unviersities.
More specific listing of ethnicity at UC urged
Advocates are collecting signatures to petition legislators and the Board of Regents this fall to change how the university system collects admissions data. They believe more information about students from smaller ethnic groups — such as Hmong and Thai — would focus increased attention on the educational barriers facing certain Asian populations.
"Pacific Islanders are just pushed under this umbrella of Asian and are never really seen," said Nefara Riesch, a Samoan American junior at UCLA. "Our small numbers are never recognized."
Asians and Pacific Islanders have several choices when marking their ethnicity on UC applications, but many of the smaller groups are not represented. And in most official reports, the students are all grouped together.
The students spearheading the "Count Me In" campaign want the UC system to create a specific Pacific Islander category within admissions data and to collect information on students from 10 subgroups, including Bangladeshi, Malaysian and Laotian.
UC officials acknowledged that some Asian communities are underrepresented and said the university system would be open to presenting more specific data.
"We're a university, so we always think more information is better," said Nina Robinson, director of policy and external affairs in UC student affairs. "The question is the cost."
In addition, she said any change to the way the system collects data would make it harder to track trends over time. But even without more demographic information, Robinson said, the university still can expand its outreach to underrepresented populations.
While growing up in East Palo Alto, Riesch said, she saw other Samoan American teenagers join gangs, sell drugs and get arrested. But her mother made it clear that she wanted a different life for Riesch and her three siblings.
Riesch earned a scholarship to attend a private high school and then got accepted to UCLA, becoming the first in her family to attend college. She plans to become a teacher.
"That was big for me — to defy that stereotype that I was going to be just another Pacific Islander that wasn't doing anything with her life," she said.
At UCLA, she sought out other Pacific Islander students but realized there weren't very many. Last fall, there were 72 Pacific Islanders at UCLA and 654 systemwide. Riesch said that by collecting more data on those students, the university would realize the need for more tutoring and peer counseling at high schools serving those populations and would devote more resources to such programs. Riesch volunteers at Carson High School, tutoring and counseling Samoan American students.
"As someone who has the privilege to go to college," she said, "it is my responsibility to take care of my family, and that family is all Pacific Islanders."
Carson High School teacher Tammy Bird, who advises the Pacific Islander club, said very few of her Samoan, Tongan and Guamanian students go to four-year colleges. Many are born into gangs, she said, and others simply don't have an interest in school.
"There is not a stress on education in the population," she said. Cindy Vang, a member of the Assn. of Hmong Students at UCLA, said Hmong youths are at a disadvantage because many grow up in low-income neighborhoods as children of refugees who speak limited English.
Vang said it was difficult coming to a campus where there were so few students who shared her background.
"It would be good to know the numbers," she said. "That could be a justification for why we need more funding to reach out to our communities."
The students' effort coincides with a state bill — crafted by Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) — to ensure that state-collected data would be separated into additional Asian and Pacific Islander groups, including Hmong, Taiwanese and Tongan. California collects information for 11 such groups, and the bill would expand that number to 21.
The data would parallel how the federal government gathers demographic information and would enable the state to better allocate limited resources, Lieu said. Among the departments that would be required to separate the data are Employment Development and Social Services.
"We are one of the most diverse Asian-Pacific Islander states in the nation," Lieu said. "If any state should follow the federal guidelines, it should be California."
Andy Ah Po, chairman of an advocacy group for native Hawaiians in California, said some Pacific Islanders have fared better than others and that programs "live or die based on whether or not there is data on the particular group."
U.S. census figures paint a grim portrait of the educational levels of some Asian and Pacific Islander communities in California. For example, 66% of Hmong, 58% of Laotians and 56% of Cambodians have not completed high school, according to a recent report compiled by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center based on census data and estimates. But 30% of Asian Indians and 22% of Pakistanis have advanced degrees.
"People assume it's this model minority community that is highly educated," said Karin Wang, vice president of programs for the center. "That is true for some of the community but not all pockets of our community."
Asians and Pacific Islanders are not interchangeable, Wang added. "The reality is that our needs, our histories, are extraordinarily different."
Kevin Peanh, whose parents came from Cambodia in the 1980s, is part of the United Khmer Students organization at UCLA. His parents were supportive but didn't know much about American education, Peanh said, so he and his older sisters had to navigate the system on their own. "We should be recording the progress of these new communities and how we are coming along in America," said Peanh, 20.
If you're in the Los Angeles area and if you're in the mood for some plays written by talented South Asian writers, then you should definitely check out In The Works at East West Players in Little Tokyo. It's this Saturday, June 30th from 1pm - 10pm.
ArtWallah Proudly Presents the first annual IN THE WORKS… a festival of the written word. Created by Shishir Kurup and Lina Patel, IN THE WORKS… is a play reading series festival designed to nurture and develop the work of South Asian writers.
IN THE WORKS… provides a platform for the collaboration between playwrights, screenwriters, directors and performers living in North America , as well as in South Asia. It is a day of works-in-progress, a day to share your thoughts and feedback with the writers and a day to be part of the dialogic process of seeing South Asian stories truly reflected and elevated onto the national stage.
In The Works 2007
Featuring Parvesh Cheena, Hari Dhillon, Reena Dutt, Ravi Kapoor, Shishir Kurup, Sunil Malhotra, Viji Nathan, Naveen, Lina Patel, Winston Rocha, Rabeya Sen, Meena Serendib, Amita Sheth, Meera Simhan, and Shaheen Vaaz.
DATE
Saturday, June 30, 2007
LOCATION
East West Players
120 North Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles , CA 90012
TIME
1:00PM-10:00PM
BUY TICKETS at http://artwallah.tix.com
Online Purchases – One Play Reading $15, All Day Pass $20
At the Door – One Play Reading $20, All Day Pass $25
1:00 pm - PICTURIZE THIS by Shishir Kurup.
4:30 pm - MISS INDIA AMERICA by Meera Simhan.
7:00 pm - SANKALPAN (DESIRE) by Lina Patel.
A Q&A follows each reading.
Music and refreshments between readings.
In The Works… 2007
PICTURIZE THIS: Bollywood and Hollywood collide in this rollickingly, madcap screen(play) by Shishir Kurup.
The
piece examines the cult of personality that both dream factories
perpetuate and explores the clash of culture when a fading Bombay
Talkie diva, her director and his crew come to Los Angeles to picturize
a song for their new film. Crippled by a dwindling budget but convinced
of the surety of success by shooting a song or two in the heart of
Hollywood, they have to schmooze the local Desi community in all its
grace and garish glory.
MISS INDIA AMERICA: Read/performed, by Actor/Writer Meera Simhan.
A
beauty Queen at eight. A party for her periods at twelve. Swore to her
mother that she was a virgin at nineteen and became a dusky English
Rose at twenty -two. What's left for a Miss India America to achieve?
Meera Simhan takes us through a comic coming of age story about growing
up as very good little Indian girl in Orange County.
SANKALPAN (DESIRE): A politically and emotionally searing new play, by Lina Patel.
SANKALPAN,
a semi-finalist for the Sundance Theatre Lab 2007, set in India, 1903
is a story of self-determination—both in the psyches of individuals
hungry for change and in the psyche of an evolving national identity.
Personal struggles play out on a national stage, a stage that is
rapidly changing as the demands of Independence refigure relationships
between British Imperialists and Indian Nationalists,rich landowners
and poor peasants, and most explosively, in the new possibilities in
the relationships between men and women.
so fresh
