Let me put this in clear terms: I agree with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Just as they wouldn’t register “n**ger” or “ch^nk,” they shouldn’t register “Slants.”  It’s offensive.

Contrary to what the leader of the group says about “broad support that we’ve had from APAs,” many APA groups do NOT approve of their name.  A few years back, the Oregon Commission on Asian Affairs AND the Asian American Youth Leadership Conference, both LOCAL Oregon organizations, pulled support from the Slants, citing their offensive name.  The government organization did what was best by speaking out against a group whose name is offensive, tacky, and demeaning.  Both groups were open to giving their support to the group if they changed the name.  But they didn’t change the name, and so again, the Slants went on the war path and tried to depict the Oregon Commission on Asian Affairs as an evil government entity that was out of touch with Asian Americans.  Never mind that virtually all the Asian organizations involved were united on this.  Never mind that the government organization was 100% run by Asian American leaders in our community.

I myself had a few exchanges with Mr. Simon Young/Simon Tam over e-mail.  He seems like a nice enough guy, but he’s way out in left field when it comes to AA empowerment.  I asked him why he thought “Slants” was empowering, and he didn’t have anything of substance to say other than repeating the refrain that he wanted to reclaim the term. (I had the same reaction as the U.S. Trademark examiner:  “Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are found unpersuasive.”) I offered to speak to Mr. Tam/Young over the phone, but he declined.  In all honesty, I don’t blame him–I once had a White guy try to convince me that it would be empowering for me if I let him call me a chink, and it didn’t work (and he had to stop using the term).  I honestly don’t know if I’d be any more receptive to Mr. Tam’s entreaties to urge people to use racial slurs against me.   I admittedly tend to be close-minded about that sort of thing.

But that’s just me.  I’ve got nothing against the Slants other than their name, which is racially offensive; their music, which I’m not crazy about (but this is of course a matter of taste); and their tactics, which have discredited good government organizations that exist to protect the interests of Asian Americans.  I do think Mr. Young/Tam’s heart is maybe in the right place–to his credit, he took the time to write out long responses to how he wanted to reclaim the term, even if he couldn’t say why–but there’s more to good activism than simply throwing around racial slurs until they get old, especially since we’ve seen how that approach has not worked for other groups.  In any case, it’s interesting when people stand up and make their voice heard, and I support their right to speak their mind.  In the meantime, if you want to do something good, feel free to comment below.  Or comment/send a letter to the Oregonian to express your support behind the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

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Man, the guy is really humble, really friendly, and an all around nice guy.  He’s very soft-spoken, which I didn’t expect from someone in his position.  He said that he was excited about speaking because he has always been proud of his Asian heritage.  It’s nice hearing someone say this.

During the Q and A, I asked him whether he was friendly and laid back when he was on the job and managed people.  His response was yes and no.  He said that his personality is naturally friendly and laid back, and so yes.  But at the same time, he’s dealing with young millionaires who often have to be kept in check, and there are rules and boundaries that he has to enforce, so he’s also strict.

Two facts that you didn’t know about Rich Cho:

1. He’s Burmese, not Korean.  Just like Jaehwan is Chinese, not Korean.

2. He was born in Burma (now Myanmar), immigrated when he was three, and grew up in LA Chinatown and Washington.

(Thanks for the pic, S!)

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1. Boy Bias in Asian American Families?
2. Support the Center for the Pacific Asian Family
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The kid was a student as Oregon State.  He went to Westview High School, which is one of the top public high schools in the state and is within running distance from where I live (while I’m training, of course).  A few of my coworkers have kids who knew him in high school.  I also have coworkers who were at the tree ceremony.  Pretty small world if you ask me.

There isn’t really much more I can say about fundamentalist religion that I haven’t already said.  I think it’s all evil.  People in Corvallis are worried about irrational retribution against Muslims, which is a very real threat down in those parts.  Mohamud is appearing in court today.

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Given the state of the economy, I thought it might fun to showcase some entrepreneurial spirit, and so I decided to talk with 141, which Kyle and Shu-Chu started last year.  It takes guts to start a business in the middle of a recession, and yet their business is exploding.  The concept is simple–you buy a pair of eyeglasses, and they give another pair away to a person in need.  One for one, 141.  You can see the concept in action in the video below, where they held an eyewear clinic in Taiwan, giving away 200 pairs of glasses to poor children:

Listen to the podcast and hear their story, along with advice that they would give to prospective entrepreneurs.

Notes on the podcast itself:

1. Shu-Chu is Dave Camarillo’s sister-in-law.  Dave is the head grappling coach at American Kickboxing Academy, which now has it’s first UFC champion in Cain Velasquez.  The first five minutes or so of the podcast is a discussion of Velasquez’s upset of Brock Lesnar this past weekend.

2. Part 2 starts at around 8 minutes, and is a discussion of 141.

3. Part 3 starts at around 25 minutes  and focuses on Kyle and Shu-Chu themselves and the advice that they would give prospective entrepreneurs.

4. Thank you to Mondega who allowed us to use music from his track “Living in America.”  Learn more about Mondega and buy his album here.  See my review of his work here.

5. I used a new high-end USB microphone which picks up a lot more sound than I’m accustomed to.  I’m still learning how to work with volume and how to position people around the room when using one mic for three people.  You may have to adjust the volume on the Velasquez part.  Thanks for your patience.  Note to self: when using a high end microphone, don’t have it facing the refrigerator!

6. I forgot to mention that I met Kyle and Shu-Chu through Vu on bicoastalbitchin.  Vu knows everyone.  Thank you Vu!

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3. Podcast: bigWOWO and the Asian American Movement Blog

At work yesterday around noon, I googled again and found that he was at a gym in my town.  I was even more surprised that it was at an old gym where I used to work out (before the location was bought out by a different company), just a few minutes away!  I had never actually met an MMA world champion.  It was just too much of an opportunity to pass up, especially since it was so close.  I’m in the suburbs, so usually I have to drive twenty minutes to get anywhere.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I called the gym and headed over around 4.  When I got to the gym, the guy at the table said, “So, you’re here to work out with Urijah?”

“Uh…work out?”

“Yeah, you got workout clothes?”

“I’m not a member of this gym.”

“No worries.  We’re letting everyone work out, as long as you’re one of the first fifty people.”

“Am I one of the first fifty?”

“Yup.”  He gave me a free wristband.

So I went back to my car, pulled out my clothes, and suited up.  There were around five guys who had arrived there before me, and  most of them were very, very large.  More people came in after me.  There were guys, gals, and even a little kid.  The gym guys led us outside for Urijah’s arrival, and when we came back, Urijah Faber was there with Joseph Benavidez, also one of the top fighters in the world.

Joseph and Urijah (Yes, I wish I had an iPhone camera...)

So after slaving through my normal day at work, I was in the presence of two of the best fighters in the entire world.  Both are top five.  They led us through warmups for five minutes and then gave us a seminar on standup punching and movement.  It was amazing.  If you’ve ever seen those commercials on Versus where Urijah shadowboxes with those uppercuts and jabs, that’s exactly what he looks like in real life, only he’s even scarier in real life.  He’s crisp; there’s no wasted movement whatsoever (at least none that I could see).  Joseph was awesome too.  It was funny because as soon as the seminar was done, I went home, turned on the TV, and saw old footage of Joseph beating the #$% out of Miguel Torres.  Both guys were humble as can be, extremely inspirational, and a lot of fun to be around.

Byron and Urijah, photo taken by a new friend with a cool camera phone

All the participants received free Amped Energy baseball caps, and we all had the opportunity to get autographs and pictures with Urijah and Joseph.  At the end, there was a raffle drawing.  Third and second place winners won a big case of Amped Energy Drinks (Amped was the sponsor of the entire event and is also the major sponsor of World Extreme Cagefighting).  The grand prize winner won a pair of autographed MMA gloves signed by Urijah and Joseph.

Guess who won the gloves?

I didn’t believe it either.  The raffle guy called out, “Six….Nine….Three.”  I think I cried out, “Me!  Me!”  In terms of raffle stuff, I never win anything.  It was an awesome end to an awesome event.

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A family moving into Happy Valley was threatened with racist graffiti and letters.  Someone even threatened to burn down the house, leaving a bottle of gasoline.

I was a bit surprised given the fact that Happy Valley is a posh area.  They’ve had a number of foreclosures, but overall, the houses are big and expensive, as you can see in the video above.  I have a friend who lives in that area (who is also Vietnamese), and my ego suffers whenever I drive into that wealthy neighborhood.

But then the crime was solved.

The 16 year old Asian American son of the homeowner did it.  According to reports, he did it because he wasn’t comfortable with the move.  The KGW article says:

“This child is very sorry, especially for bringing so much fear into the family home … and this child is sorry for this dreadful conduct,” Millett added.

No criminal charges were filed in the case and deputies said the family was taking care of the matter.

It’s an Asian family, and for those who don’t know that language, here is the translation: There may have been no hate crime before, but there gonna be one now!

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We’ve got one Asian American candidate for governor in Oregon. His name is John Lim, and he’s a tough talking Republican who wants to rid our state of those illegal immigrants that Arizona has been struggling with. He supports Arizona’s new immigration law because “this is not about the racism” and “this is about the respecting our law and order.”

Arizona’s new immigration law allows law enforcement to detain anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant.  If you’re a bad speller, does that count as a reason for suspicion? If so, it’s a good thing he doesn’t live in Arizona–the “imigration” police might go after him.

Support for the "imigration" law

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Byron, author Ed Lin, actress Cindy Cheung

Thank you Thymos, AAJA-Portland, Friends of Portland Chinatown, and Murder By the Book for the awesome Ed Lin event yesterday.  Special thanks to Amy Wang, Ruth Liao, Elizabeth Suh from AAJA; Joann Le, Fai Chong, and Ivy Lin from Friends of Portland Chinatown, and Barbara Tom from Murder By the Book.  I had a blast.  Not only did we get to learn writing from an awesome author, but we also had a chance to hear Ed speak from the heart on his thoughts about the publishing industry and Asian American issues.  What is super cool about Ed’s career is that he started from an Asian American perspective, writing about Asian American issues and participating in the Asian American Writers Workshop.

I was impressed most of all by Ed’s generosity of spirit.  Some writers are all about helping themselves.  It’s about what they can write, how great they are, and how much they‘ve accomplished.  Which is perfectly fine–we like writers because of what they write, and if they’re cocky and smug but still happen to be great writers, we still appreciate their writing.  Ed, on the other hand, is a gifted storyteller who also believes in mutual support.  He has a gift that he wants to share with others, and he actively seeks to share it with others.  It was awesome to be a part of that.

Ed was accompanied by his wife, the awesome actress Cindy Cheung.  They’re both incredibly nice people, and they shared their experiences in their respective professions–both of which are extremely important in both culture and activism.  It’s funny because last week I was going to say something about the different opinions on this YOMYOMF piece and TMM’s response, but I bowed out because I had never ever met an Asian American actor in person and felt that I was unqualified to speak.  Actually, I don’t think I had ever spoken to an AA actor until Ed Kahana and Tyler Wang came here from the Stunt People!  Now I can say that I’ve actually met an AA actor in person.

I forgot to tell the story about how I first saw Cindy’s acting when I won a copy of Greg Pak’s Robot Stories in a drawing.  It was the first and only thing I’ve ever won by chance.  It was a Frank Chin screening in Seattle, and I had luck in my favor, but I was so fortunate to win a movie with such a great cross section of talented actors.

Ed Lin’s seminar was the first fiction writing seminar that Thymos has held.  Our first two workshops–the first with Lawson Inada, and the second with Patti Duncan/Patti Sakurai–focused mostly on memoir.  This one was cool because it focused on crafting fictional stories, and Ed led us through character development and relationships, along with the general structure of conflict and resolution.  It was fun not only learning how Ed creates stories, but also to see how he drew them out of the students in the class.

Ed Lin

pic by Ruth Liao

Anyway, I was grateful and appreciative of everything I learned at the seminar.  Hopefully we can do this again in the future.

No related posts.

I caught this article linked by the fine people of BicoastalBitchin.

Alls I gotta say is that the writer hit the nail right flat on the head.  This was my favorite sentence:

When baby makes three, the abrupt lifestyle change spells an end to these spontaneous expeditions.

Age three is the magic number, and it’s a dad thing, almost exclusively.  Wives and women are cool checking with the singles, adjusting to the schedule, embarking on the same activities.  But for guys, the party begins to end when the baby first comes, as you get used to changing diapers, feeding the baby, putting the baby to sleep, etc.  The party completely ends at 3.  You’re no longer the same person.  Dude, meet yourself.

Sure, I still go out for fight night when Lyoto, BJ, or Anderson is fighting.  Sure, I’m still down for chugging a beer at happy hour.  But the nature of the outings is different.  You’re now a dad, and that comes before everything else.  You have very little time for anything else.

The author says at the end of the article that he’s beginning to have more time now that the kids are playing among themselves.  He no longer gets the “dagger eyes” when he leaves the house.  I’m looking forward to that time.  I’ve been a different person for about four years now, and my littlest one is just 14 months, which means that I probably have another 22 months to go.  Maybe I can once again re-enter the world of men.

Announcement related to this post:

I have announced that on Sunday I’m stepping down from my post as president of Thymos.  It’s been a great five year run, but:

a) Thymos needs to diversify its leadership.  I’ve been running it for five years, and that’s a lot.  We’ve got at least one excellent leader who has announced his candidacy for president, and so I’m confident that it will be in good hands.

b) As a dad, Byron only has time for one full-time non-paying hobby.  In this case, it’s novel-writing, with the occasional blog post going up just to keep it current.

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So here’s what I’m doing for 2010.

(pic credited to http://thegoldguys.blogspot.com/)

I have few concrete resolutions, but I now have a TEAM to manage my effectiveness and to help me become a better person.  Following Keith Ferrazzi’s advice (see my last post), I’ve assembled a Board of Directors for Byron, Inc.  Each person will crack the whip to make sure I achieve all my goals.  My board has:

A General Manager who is familiar with all aspects of what I do–business, writing, and nonprofit–and who can make sure that each works with the other.  She’ll manage the overall plan.

A Director of Fictional Creativity who is far more accomplished than me in writing AND who’s got beef with the current state of repetitiveness in Asian American Lit.  She’ll make sure that I’m sticking to the writing (I’ve been prolific recently).

A Director of Networking who is responsible for making sure I expand my network and personal contacts.  This is extremely important as my networking has gone stale since having kids.  My network guy knows a lot of people and has built a phenomenal network himself.  I want to expand and diversify.  I need to meet more people.

A Director of Philanthropy to get the money out.  Part of my goal is to become more generous, not just with time but with money.  Show (others) the money!  My director is a young philanthropist herself, and she’s helping me set money to be set aside to help people out.  This will not just help out others, but will hopefully make me a better person too. 

A Director of Business to show ME the money.  I haven’t yet informed my prospect of his nomination to this position, but this position is critically important.  He’ll be the one who will help me improve the bottom line.  This is critical to get my recession-affected-broke self moving again.

So that’s what I plan to do.  I’m glad these directors have joined me.  If you all are looking to improve your own effectiveness, I highly recommend it.

In the next week or two, I’ll say a bit more about the Asian American Intellectualism and Activism part of what is in store for this year.  There will be changes.

Related posts:

1. Resolutions, Pt. 1
2. Last Post of 2008: Resolutions, Pt. 2.