Catching up on back topics...

So after dragging things out for the past few weeks, I was invigorated by motivation over Thanksgiving-- which had been missing for quite some time.

Strangely enough, this coincided with my completion of a Buddhist ritual, so I wonder if that was the main reason why things are getting done.

I don't consider myself a devout "follower" of any religion, but I have to say that the Dalai Lama's teachings really make sense to me-- fact that he promotes kindness and tolerance to all individuals in the world seems to be the kind of thing that everyone strives to be...

Along with this newfound motivation, though, is my desire to write about certain topics that I previously said I'd address...
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First off, the New York Knicks...


Being in the less competitive Eastern Conference, they had a great shot at the playoffs last season, but they completely blew their chances-- even losing to the Timberwolves at the game I attended.

They were moving very slowly that night and just didn't have any fire...

Now, they are facing a slew of new problems-- with their coach being sued for sexual harassment and drama over Stephon Marbury.

If they can just start playing like a team and leave their personal problems off the court, maybe they'll stop having 8-game losing streaks (and embarassing losses to Boston). =P

And I find it pretty disturbing that Boston could be baseball, football AND basketball champions this year (although hopefully, that won't happen).

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Next: Yul Kwon and Jeff Yang, whom I met at this discussion on perceptions of Asian American men a few months ago.

Here's a (crappy/blurry) photo of them that I tried to take the night of the Asia Society panel:

The panel discussed a number of issues, ranging from the un-coolness of Asian men to professional development of Asians to the portrayal of Asians in the media. (And I'll refrain from commenting on the complete idiocy of some of the comments made by The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi, or some of the moronic questions asked by audience members).

One topic that I really enjoyed was when Yul brought up the two ways that Asian Americans can become cool:

1. They can conform to Western perceptions of coolness (much like Yul does).
2. They can be happy with themselves and invent their own definition of coolness-- the way actors such as Masi Oka, of Heroes fame, does.

Personally, I really appreciate Yul calling out the second form of coolness and I have to give props to Mr. Oka for playing such an interesting and funny character, and thereby, helping change perceptions of Asian Americans and coolness.

I admire people who accept who they really are (even if they're dorky) and can be cool by being themselves--that personal acceptance is my own definition of coolness. Someday, maybe I'll be as cool as Hiro! heheheh. :)

The other good speaker, Jeff Yang (who hasn't updated his blog, http://instantyang.blogspot.com/, in FOREVER) was also extremely articulate-- and I like the fact that he brought up the topic of homophobia in the Asian community, with respect to the 2004 Details Magazine debacle (which I won't get into-- lest it re-unleash my wrath at the supposedly "politically correct" homophobes from my college).

All in all, though, it was an enjoyable talk and I was so happy to see Yul using his celebrity from his "Survivor: Cook Islands" win to promote more discussion and awareness of the Asian American community, and hear Jeff Yang give some of his insightful commentaries in person.

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Another hobby I've picked up recently is microlending!

Specifically, http://www.kiva.org/ has become a tremendous success and it really promotes some values that I appreciate: simplicity, hard work and transparency.

Through this site, donors (such as myself) give small amounts of money (e.g. $25) to entrepreneurs from less fortunate areas of the world, so that they can develop their businesses.

For example, one woman in Cambodia was selling eggs from her ducks and earning $5 a day (a pretty decent income in her country) and needed money to buy more ducks, so she could sell more eggs and make more money!

Makes perfect sense, right?

A brilliant idea to have people help other people around the world-- so props to Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, for pioneering the field of microfinance!

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And finally, a topic which seems very long-past but I believe should still remain in the minds and hearts of people across the country: the shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

I have to admit that I was initially pretty upset to find out that the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, was of Asian descent--and very concerned about how it would reflect on our community.

The university has done a great job of hiding this event from the media (and therefore, partially erasing it from the minds of Americans) ever since it occurred back in April, and that's proven to be pretty good in stopping stereotypes of crazed Asian Americans from coming out.

But as I thought about the event some more, I began to wonder if the values within Asian America really do prompt some level of mental instability and I guess this goes back to my usual gripe about Asian American culture... =P

There's so much pressure to succeed and show off that it tends to drive many people at least a little bonkers.

The following passage from Newsweek magazine seemed really telling:

"It is hard to exaggerate the premium that many Korean immigrants place on admission to highly selective American Universities. The Ivy League is preferred. 'Local Korean TV [in the United States] will even broadcast who gets into which college,' says Jeff Ahn, president of the League of Korean Americans in Virginia. Sun-Kyung [the shooter's older sister] went to Princeton and majored in economics (she turned down Harvard). Cho's father worked 12 hours a day as a presser in a dry cleaner to help pay for it, going to the parking lot to eat his lunch while sitting in his car. The elder Cho rarely spoke, except to say how proud he was to have his children in college. ([Cho's] Uncle Kim recalled to Korean reporters that his sister talked a lot about her daughter who went to Princeton, but not much about the son at Virginia Tech.)

"Virginia Tech is a fine school, but it's not the Ivy League. (Nor, despite Cho's rants against rich kids, are its students very affluent.)"

The Korean government and Korean Americans apologized for Cho's actions after the incident. And while I feel that it seemed the right thing to do (not to mention that it was perfectly consistent with Asian American norms), I almost wondered if it was necessary. I'm sure that had Cho been of some other background, his community might not have been so quick to recognize their influence over him and apologize for everything (if at all).

I feel like I've been having these same Asian identity issues forever.

Maybe I haven't quite grown out of my college self... =P

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And I think that I'm now caught up with all the old topics I said I'd mention! =D