boston progress radio

August 2008’s open mic was another awesome show. I was really happy to see so many people come out to the open mic given that the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies was being broadcast (not live) on NBC at the same time. So let’s get to the recap.

I started the show by reading excerpts from a children’s book called “Sixteen Feet in Sixteen Seconds” by Paula Yoo. The book tells the story of Dr. Sammy Lee, a Korean Japanese American diver who competes for the United States in the 1942 London Olympics and wins a gold medal. He is the first male athlete to win back-to-back gold medals in the Olympics. First Asian American to win gold. But you don’t have to take my word for it.

Up next was Eric who shared his view on animals. In particular, he talked about the tiger and crane, two important animals in Chinese martial arts. Which would you rather be? The Tiger or the Crane? After Eric, I was excited to see Charles step up with a hawwt new beat. This time, he rapped over it. What was also very cool was a unfinished piece called “Bougie Women.” It is a personal story of Charles and a girl he dated. Enough said.

I forget the order of the performers after this point and indeed, I might even have forgotten people who stepped up. Here are a few folks that I do remember—no disrespect to those who went up—I just forgot!

East Meet Words was also very proud to host Kay Barrett of Mango Tribe in our space. A veteran performer of the spoken word genre, Kay shared some words about moms and identity. Jessica stepped up and shared a personal story about growing up in the Midwest, about wanting to be a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, so that she could fit in. Sahra then shared a piece about how she remembers her father trying to make their lawn green and lush. Having a lawn is such a suburban thing and really quite unnatural, but I digress… I thought the poem was hi-la-ri-ous.

August’s open mic was also lucky to have the Good Asian Drivers in attendance. Back from their road trip, they looked as fresh and alive as ever. I think the collaboration between Kit and Melissa is a good one. I think they have both benefited. I hear however that they are hauling to New York City. I admit I’m a little sad that they are moving. Both of them are near and dear to my heart. I wish them luck in NYC. Here’s the piece they performed at East Meets Words this month.

Before the main act, Dave and MC Popadop, Analyze did some freestyling, beatboxing. Dave’s beats were as on as ever and man, Analyze was freestylin’ like a mother. He was amazing especially considering doktor skool keeps him awake for hours on end.

The feature this month was Ed Bok Lee. He’s got many accolades and awards, but you can peep them at his website. From what I had heard, he’s an incredible writer and and incredible performer. He did a few new pieces and of course some poems from his first book Real Karaoke People. His new pieces are supposed to be part of an upcoming new book of poetry, but it is still a work in progress. His last piece, Real Karaoke People, makes me wanna go out to the local Karaoke bar and belt out Wicked Games or Boyz II Men on the mic. Anyway, for your pleasure, here’s a new poem by Ed courtesy of BPR:

Tags: Boston Progress, Open Mic, Recap, spoken word.

Hi nerds! Did you all realize there is a new generation of “Beverly Hill 90210″ in the works for the CW? For those who don’t know, “90210″ was a huge hit TV show when having virgin high school student characters was still marginally believable. So, like 20 years ago. (Full disclosure: I own the “Beverly Hills 90210″ Soundtrack. I specifically wanted the Brian McKnight/Vanessa Williams song which I will still bang out to this day. Try me. I DARE YOU.)

I recently read that some gaggle of television producers thought it was a good idea to revisit the concept of following a group of rich white teenagers living their completely inaccessible and unrealistic-to-most-people TV lives. You know, because there haven’t been any shows like that on television since the first 90210 went off the air. Or have there? i haven’t been watching much TV over the past 12 years…

But this time it’s totally different, like there’s going to be a Black kid from the wrong side of the tracks. That’s a wholly original concept and I’m totes 2 C it!

Oh, and there’s a character named Navid. Navid Shirazi in fact.

Well isn’t this interesting? Are we talking about an Iranian character on this show? The only Iranians I’ve seen on TV in recent memory are Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and TJ Houshmandzadah of the Cincinnati Bengals. Not the most representative sample I guess.

But I’m intrigued, I mean, one of the lead characters is Iranian, meaning he’s not likely to be a terrorist mole or something. So now I’m getting curious, and I started looking for more information about the character, as well as the strapping young Iranian man - Michael Steger - who will play Navid.

But wait, there it is plain as day on IMDB.com:
He is of Ecuadorian, Austrian and Norwegian descent

I missed something right? Is “Austrian” an alternative spelling for Iranian?

Now…I got that info from IMDB, which I have found to be wrong on multiple occasions. But, somehow I think I’ll have to wait a little longer to see a third Iranian on TV.

Tags: television.

Shuffled! is a weekly column appearing every Thursday here on BPRLive. Each week, we welcome a person from the APA community to share some thoughts about the music they listen to. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past articles.

Today’s Shuffler: Delia of BPRLive

Delia is the baddest mother of all time.

Delia’s goal in life is to make the world a better place. For the past six years, she has spent time mentoring Asian American college students. She enjoys talking about identity politics with college students and her almost four year-old daughter (sometimes at the same time).

When she’s not busy saving the world and thinking seriously about serious things, Delia enjoys hanging out with her precocious daughter. She also revels in going to the beach where all of life’s complications can be swallowed up by the endless ocean. She loves puzzles of all kinds, books by bell hooks, fancy gadgets, and receiving foot massages.

In addition to blogging for BPRLive, Delia also blogs about Asian American parenting at Kimchi Mamas.

Now, shuffle it up shuffler… Read more

Tags: Shuffled!.

What the Smog Can’t Hide

Friday night’s 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony was a beautiful spectacle, but do not be deceived into believing it was anything more than that: a spectacle. For all the lavish laser shows, ornate costumes and musical performances exhibited by 15,000 performers, there is a not-so-pretty side to China. Remember Lin Miaoke, the pigtailed 9-year-old girl with a big smile who sang “Ode to the Motherland”? Chinese authorities have admitted that her voice was dubbed and that she was lipsynching. The actual voice belongs to Yang Peiyi, 7, pictured left, who was deemed not physically attractive enough, a case of “national interest,” says Chen Qigang, general music designer of the opening ceremonies. Thus, the switch. Wow, way to kill a young girl’s self-esteem.

Let the Sunshine In: Let’s not forget the horrendous smog that the runners have to deal with. Yes, the Olympic contenders want to get acclimated to the harsh weather conditions as soon as possible, but why should they suffer through the humid, stifling air? This has health hazard written all over it. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has openly expressed concern over the very poor air quality that may have “deleterious” effects to athletes and spectators. It doesn’t seem worth dying for.

The Young and the…Malnourished? Reportedly, three of the Chinese female gymnasts competing in the Beijing Olympics are under 16 years of age.

Two points worth noting: The world is turning a blind eye to Olympic rules violations (gymnasts must be at least 16 years old), and China is keeping its female gymnasts on a rigorous diet (AKA possibly starving them).

Read more

Tags: China, Olympics.

Really? Still? With China being the host country and everything, you really have to take that opportunity to disparage a country of 1.2 billion?

Eat it Spanish basketball. Eat it so hard.

It is no big surprise to me that the Beijing Olympics are starting today, 08/08/08. You see, the number 8 is a special one in Chinese culture because in mandarin eight or “ba” sounds like “fa” which is associated with prosperity also known as getting rich beyond your wildest dreams.

For many folks of Chinese heritage, this is an “auspicious” date for special events like buying a new house, having a baby shower, and peeling the protective cover off your new TV that you bought two years ago. In particular, many folks of Chinese heritage are choosing this date to get married. Makes sense right? Don’t you want prosperity in your marriage?

So, I was not surprised to learn in this article (and this one) that a large number of weddings are happening worldwide today. What was surprising was the following bit that I read:

But it’s not just brides and grooms of Chinese descent choosing the lucky date.

Rob Johnsen and Polly Cohen, both 37, will marry Friday on Bainbridge Island, where they will celebrate with a Chinese-themed reception…

Though neither is Chinese, Cohen, a film producer from Los Angeles, spent childhood summers in Minnesota attending Chinese language camp.

“We’re trying to be fun and playful and very nontraditional,” Johnsen said. “Instead of a cake-eating ceremony we’re going to have a Chinese candy-eating ceremony.”

The wedding invitations were decorated with chopsticks and stuffed with rice candies. Johnsen, a gambler, says eight is his lucky number.

Read more

Tags: Arts and Culture, Commentary, Love, social expectations.

Shuffled! is a weekly column appearing every Thursday here on BPRLive. Each week, we welcome a person from the APA community to share some thoughts about the music they listen to. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past articles.

Today’s Shuffler: Giles Li

Giles Li is the baddest motherfucker of all time.

In 2007, Giles joined forces with fellow nationally-renowned performing artists Bao Phi and Kiwi (formerly of Native Guns) to form Beats Rhymes & Rice, a national tour of college campuses to challenge assumptions of Asian manhood and to address community issues.

Curricula and programs he has led or worked on have helped to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for community groups across the country. His work has been included in courses at various colleges and universities nationwide, including New York University, Pomona College, and Wellesley College. Giles has also been quoted as an expert on Asian American community issues in many publications, including the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and Oakland Tribune.

Peep the website at gilesli.com. Oh and he also blogs at BPRLive.org. Sorry, no link for that.

Get the shuffle up… Read more

Tags: Shuffled!.

It’s well known, at least within the Asian American community, that many of our sisters and brothers move to Asia to pursue careers in acting and music. Personally, I had the great fortune of growing up in Philadelphia with Tim Hwang, who in the past decade has released two hit albums in South Korea. In the Hip Hop world, Jin has released an all-Cantonese album and frequently tours in Asia. And it seems that Boston-bred rapper Snacky Chan is increasingly traveling to and performing in South Korea.

In Tim Hwang’s situation, I know that he was discovered by talent scouts from South Korea and he wasn’t the first nor the last. There is big demand for Korean American artists in South Korea. Talent scouts liked Tim because, aside from being young and handsome, he is bilingual and bicultural.

However the decision for Tim and other Asian American artists to move overseas isn’t necessarily an expression of preference for Asia, the catering of talent scouts, nor the offer of lucrative deals. Rather I believe most of them are moving because it continues to be quite difficult for Asian American artists to breakout in the United States. I think a lot of them want a successful career in the United States as it promises worldwide exposure and credibility.

After winning his legendary battles on BET’s 106th&Park, Jin focused his efforts in the U.S/Canadian market. But after three albums of moderate success, marketed to both the mainstream and independent hip hop scene in the English speaking world, it seems that his efforts have steered toward Asia with the release of the “No Sleep til Shanghai” DVD and all-Cantonese album, “ABC (American Born Chinese).”

Jin’s efforts between the United States and Asia is the story of numerous Asian Americans who live as transnationalists, which is complex to understand and experience. I’m sure it’s not entirely detrimental—there is obvious luxury in traveling-but it’s probably very frustrating in the career development of an artist. It should be natural that home turf, where you are born or bred, will promise an advantage and where one should start to build one’s base. But that logic seems to defy the Asian American experience.

Callin’ out DJs and librarians: where should we put albums like “ABC (American Born Chinese)?”

Tags: Commentary, hip hop.