THROUGH A.B.C. EYES

BB Playbook

2011-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, i got a nice gift in the form of the 16GB Blackberry Playbook tablet. i'll leave the details of how i got the gift. However, i've been using it and its not a bad little machine. Yes, it's had its critics but free is free. Just like the HP Touchpad users, the Playbook makes for a nice little web browser and can do a few other things. In fact i am writing this posting as we speak.

Overall, the Playbook is nice but probably enough to be my primary computer. The OS isn't bad but tbe browser hiccups a bit. App choices are a little limited but there's useful stuff if you look for it. Is it worth the regular price? For me, no. But for free? I cannot complain!

iPad for Seniors: Personal Experience

2011-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

As a person that work on a computer most of the day, has a computer at home and carries around an iPhone, I did not have a need for an iPad. Yet, I spent a lot of time playing with the machine at Apple stores. While I enjoyed playing with it, I felt is a glorified iPhone without the ability to make calls.

I had a change of heart when I realized the iPad 2 could be an interesting device for my mom when she's not out doing stuff. I thought it would give her an additional option beyond just watching TV. Like many elderly folks, my mom is not much of a technology person. The only piece of my technology actively uses is her cell phone. However, that cell phone is a very basic one. You would never see my mom using an iPhone or Android phone.

If not the iPhone, then how come I suddenly thought about the iPad? Well, I felt the iPad would be simple enough so I could teach my mom a few simple things to do. I initially planned to teach her how to surf the Web, watch YouTube and play a few games.

After thinking about things for a couple of weeks, I ended getting the iPad. Alas, only one out of the three items I wanted to teach my mom has worked out. My mom doesn't know much about the Internet and doesn't watch a lot of videos. So, those two ideas went out the door quick.

However, the games have saved the day. I had to teach my mom to do some basic navigation of the iPad. Once she got that down pat, she has spent a lot of her free time playing a few games (2 card games + one bowling game). The two card games require some thinking and strategy so that is helping my mom stay mentally active.

The nice benefit is that some of the games can be played on both the iPad 2 and my iPhone (as both are using my iTunes account). So when we both have time, I can compete against my mom on some of the games. Good family bonding time!

In addition, while the iPad is not a phone, I've installed an app that allows the iPad to make and receive calls. I have the same app on my iPhone. While the cell phone will be the primary form of contact, it's nice to have a backup option.

If you've never thought about getting an iPad for yourself, consider it for your family member. It is definitely worth the investment.

"Mighty Warriors Of Comedy"

2011-07-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Almost two years ago, the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors came back to the Bay Area for several performances after spending a couple of years in Southern California. This was to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the group's founding. I went with a friend to watch one of the performances and blogged about it here:

15 Years Of The Mighty Mountain Warriors

This past week, I found out that the group's documentary "Mighty Warriors Of Comedy" was available On Demand on my local cable system. The documentary had been out on DVD since 2007 and even want an local Emmy award. Despite being a big fan of the group, I had never purchased the DVD.

However, my curiosity finally got to me and I plunked down the $1.95 to watch it on cable. I'm not going to review it here but as someone who likes history and appreciates independent artists in all forms, the documentary was both revealing and a bit sad.

The documentary talked about the history of the group and what they represented (especially in the late 1990's) when Asian representation in the media was so lacking. Yet, despite putting in 12 years of hard work (at the time of the documentary) and having a solid fan base in the Bay Area and Southern California, the group never really broke out as they hoped.

The documentary showed me that independent groups like the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors and other independent artists really do these things for the love of their craft. Being rich and famous would be nice but I'm sure that is not the ultimate goal.

These days, it seems the majority of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors group have moved on to other things. The three remaining performers (Michael Hornbuckle, Greg Watanabe, Peter Wong) continue to press on though. They have a new show coming in August in Los Angeles. The group has also been putting out YouTube videos like this:

The History Of China in 3 1/2 Minutes

In closing, the Warriors have been around for years and continue on. I don't know what the future holds for them but I am hoping their long standing dedication to their craft and the Asian-American community pays off.

The "Brian Yang" Phenomenon / How the Internet Has Changed Media

2011-05-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year, I watched an episode of new "Hawaii 5-0" TV show this past Monday. Of course, it was also the SEASON FINALE of the show so that meant I had not watched the show this entire season!

There is some good reasons why I hadn't watched the show previously. One reason was that I played in a basketball league on Monday nights for about three months. By the time I got home most nights, the show was already over and I wasn't particularly inclined to watch the show via On-Demand. The second reason is that I generally don't watch network TV (CBS, NBC, ABC) must these days. I tend to watch cable networks like Food Network, Game Show Network, CNN, ESPN, Syfy or the History Channel.

However, I had a good reason to watch the season finale of Hawaii 5-0 this week. There was actor I knew (sort of) that was playing a character on the show. The actor's name was Brian Yang and he was playing a crime lab tech named Charlie Fong. This would be Brian's second appearance in the show. The prior had come about two episodes prior to the season finale.

I don't claim to be Brian's friend at all but I knew of him through his involvement in some basketball leagues that I had been involved in as well. I had actually met Brian once about a year ago and I had added him to my Facebook friend list and tracked his comings and goings (he has many things going on).

Prior to watching the season finale, I plugged Brian's name into Google and found several articles (Hawaii 5-0 fan sites and others) that talked about Brian's character AND about Brian himself. Apparently, Brian's appearance in the prior episode had sparked a little buzz on the Internet on who this "new guy" was. People were impressed with his chemistry with co-star Grace Park. Also, some ladies apparently thought Brian was a cute, good looking and/or hot guy! I'm sure he appreciates this......hahahaha

In all seriousness though, this got me thinking that the Internet these days can make anyone become a minor celebrity. Think about the YouTube stars (KevJumba, NigaHiga, etc) or even a Brian Yang. In looking at IMDB, Brian has a pretty long acting resume but it's been with small productions and he's hardly a household name. But by just appearing on Hawaii 5-0 and with the ability for people to easily search for information online, Brian's name is becoming a bit of a known quantity. With the ease of communication these days, people like me (and others) who like Brian can easily support Brian via social media, email and other means to let CBS know that we want Brian's character back for the 2nd season of Hawaii 5-0.

I compare Brian's current situation to 10 to 12 years ago when I was trying to search for some information on an actress. I'm a fan of the original "Friday the 13th" movie franchise (yes, I am weird!) and was watching "Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan" either in the movie theater or at home (don't quite remember).

At some point during the movie, there was an young and cute Asian actress that appeared. I don't think she was on screen long as Jason killed her off pretty quick. However, the actress stuck with me and I tried to find information on her. Well, keeping in mind that "Jason Takes Manhattan" was released in 1989 and probably popped up on TV somewhere between 1990 to 1992, trying to find information on actresses was pretty limited. In fact, I don't think I even got her name from the closing credits as I had forgotten the character's name.

Well, after the Internet and Google became mainstream, I remembered to try and look up the Asian actress that appeared in "Jason Takes Manhattan". In a major surprise, it was Kelly Hu (Martial Law, The Scorpion King)! I'm sure Kelly wishes that movie wasn't on her resume but can't change anything about it now! In fact, Kelly Hu is the reason I am writing this post. Kelly was a guest star on Hawaii 5-0 though her character was killed off in the season finale so I guess she won't be back next season.

I don't know what Brian's future holds but with Hawaii 5-0 being renewed for another season, maybe we will see more of his character in the future. Who knows, maybe Brian's work in Hawaii 5-0 will lead to bigger and better things as well and one can thank the Internet for building his fan base.

Asian American's Finding Their Voices On the Internet

2011-03-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, Alexandra Wallace's "Asians in the Library" video was the subject of a huge discussion on the Internet. For those who were fortunate enough to miss this wonderful (sarcasm intended) piece of work, click on the link above to view the video and see why it was the subject of so many discussions among many Asian-Americans.

The reason why the video was the subject of so many discussions was that fact that it was posted on YouTube. Many people don't seem to realize that just about anything you post on the Internet is fodder for the public. Miss Wallace's mistake was underestimating the impact her message had on the Asian American community. Because of the Asian-American's response to the video, UCLA had to address the issue of the video. Miss Wallace was forced to apologize and later withdrew from UCLA due to the video.

With the prevalence of the Internet these days, Asian-Americans are flexing their voices on issues like never before. According to some studies, Asian-Americans are the heaviest users of the Internet among all other ethnic groups. This would explain why Miss Wallace's video went viral almost as soon as it was posted. Besides the fact the video was posted on a public website, many Asian American's are connected to many of the friends world wide via social networking sites like Facebook.

With the ability to connect to so many people via the Internet, videos like Miss Wallace's are easily distributed to thousands of people from all around the globe. Obviously, it wasn't just a few people who were offended, otherwise Miss Wallace or UCLA could have easily ignored the uproar.

I am proud that Asian-American's are using the Internet to flex their political voices. In the days before the Internet, Asian-Americans had to rely on word of mouth, Asian-American media sources or other news distribution sources that were limited in scope. That made it difficult to contact certain segments who not have had access to these media sources and get the word out on issues.

These days, the Internet is a good equalizer. Asian-American groups and organizations are taking advantage of the Internet to get news such as Miss Wallace's video out to large number of people. With more Asian-Americans engaged, more and more people are speaking out on the issues that face the community.

For too long, Asian Americans have been too quiet over the many injustices that have occurred over the years. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Japanese American Internments (and others), Asian-Americans have never been able to gather significant numbers to show a unified voice on issues.

I believe those days are over. The Internet is great for information research and exchange. For Asian-American's in the 21st Century, it's gives us a voice that we've never had. Let's USE IT!

The World Will Not End in 2012

2011-01-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

In the news today, Egypt decided to cut off Internet access for the ENTIRE COUNTRY due to civil unrest and protests:

Egypt Cuts Off Internet

This got me to thinking about 2012 and the supposed end of the world. As most people probably have read or heard from other sources, there are some that believe the world will end on December 21st, 2012. Why or how this will occur is subject to debate. Some believe there will be some world wide catastrophe. Yet, others believe that perhaps in 2012 there will major changes to humanity and how we live.

In my humble opinion, I think that in 2012, there will be some incident involving the world being cut off from the Internet. This may be accidental or intentional. Regardless, being cut off from the Internet will have a drastic affect on everyone. Just think about the majority of people who do their shopping, banking, and other activities online. There are others whose social lives revolve around email, instant messaging and Facebook. This incident will last for some time and cause unrest.

Eventually Internet access will be restored and the world will get back to the way we know it. However, there will be a chance in the attitude regarding the Internet. The Internet has been a godsend for online activities and fast communication. Yet, meeting up with people, talking on the phone and other live social activities can never be replaced by electronic communication.

In 2012, I believe there will be a fundamental change in the way the Internet is viewed and used. Online shopping, banking and other activities will still continue. But real human interaction will once again rise up as people realize that a phone call to a friend beats an email. Meeting up with someone beats just exchanging instant messages.

Who knows, I could be wrong and the world could still end in 2012. If that is the case, we'd better enjoy it for what it's worth now!

Jeremy Lin trying to find his way in the NBA

2010-12-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of speculation, the Golden State Warriors sent rookie Jeremy Lin to the NBA "D-League" after their game Monday evening. Lin will be playing for the Reno Bighorns team with the intention of getting more playing time and learning to play the point guard position.

The Bighorns actually played tonight (Tuesday) and I got a chance to watch the second half of the game. Lin scored 10 points (8 in the first half) and here are some my impressions.

The first thing I noticed is that Lin's play tonight was similar to how he was playing with the Warriors. Two examples of this:

Lin would bring the ball up, pass it to the wing and then get out of the way. His teammates would pass it among themselves and then put up a shot.
Lin would bring the ball up and try to attack the basket. The couple of drives Lin took ended up being called offensive fouls. Lin still has not developed a secondary move and teams know he doesn't change direction when he drives.

The commentators for the game were pretty hard on Lin as they said he needs to look up more, pass the ball earlier and stop trying to go one-on-one.

I'd have to agree with the commentators that Lin needs to improve his game. My current impression of Lin is that he is a shooting guard trying to convert to a point guard. Though Lin played point guard in high school, he was a shooting guard through most of college and I think those college instincts are showing.

Lin wants to go and attack the basket and then dish out to his teammates. However, the lanes he had in college aren't quite there. Lin should be able to pull up for his jumper but he seems reluctant to shoot his jumper in the professional ranks. Lin's perimeter shooting in college was reasonable and if he could replicate some of his college success, Lin would be able to play much better.

Lin's best attributes right now is his defense. Unfortunately, this isn't football where Lin can play only defense. For Lin to enjoy a long career in the NBA, Lin needs to develop his point guard mindset AND improve his outside shooting. He's not quite there yet but given Lin's history, I wouldn't doubt his ability.

The End Of The Road For Yao Ming?

2010-12-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

I got home tonight and found the unfortunate news that Yao Ming suffered yet another stress fracture in his ankle:

Sports Illustrated: Only Yao Can Make The Next Call

From reading all the various articles online, there is speculation that with the latest injury, Yao Ming's career could be over at the age of 30 years old. This is based on Yao's previous comments that if he continued to have injuries, he would likely choose to retire.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. Neither Yao Ming or the Houston Rockets have publicly commented on the latest injury yet, though I presume this will come in the next few days.

If this is the end of the road for Yao Ming, it will be a loss for the NBA, China and the Asian-American community.

Yao's presence greatly enhanced the marketability of the NBA in China and the NBA profited immensely from this. Losing Yao is a blow because there is no other Chinese player (in the NBA or China) that had the appeal Yao had. Yi Jianlian is the only current Chinese player in the NBA. Despite have some talent and potential, Yi hasn't played anywhere close to Yao's level. In fact, Yi has suffered his own share of injuries recently. Other players like Sun Yue are just marginal players who may or may not get another shot to play in the NBA in the future.

If Yao retires, China may be hurt the most. Yao Ming was the face of Chinese basketball for marketing purposes. However, Yao Ming was also the undisputed best player for the Chinese National team. The Chinese National team played ok without Yao during the World Basketball Championships in September. Yi Jianlian stepped and had a solid tournament. Other Chinese players also did reasonably well. Yet, none had the impact Yao has had.

There has been many discussions over Yao Ming's NBA career that China needed to improve their basketball development process. After all, with the exception of Yao, no other Chinese player has had a huge impact (Wang Zhi-Zhi, Bateer, Sun Yue, Yi Jianlian). However, I think China always looked at Yao and thought: "As long as Yao is around we'll be ok". Unfortunately for China, the future may be now!

Lastly, if Yao retires, it will be a loss to the Asian-American community here in the United States. Though Yao was not born in the United States, he was the first Asian player to play a high level in the NBA. He brought an Asian face to the NBA, where the majority of players are mainly African American. Lastly, in a country where Asian-Americans are not prominent in the media, Yao was a positive presence that many Asian-Americans could look up to and say "Hey, maybe I can make the NBA like Yao did."

In addition, Yao brought an entirely different side to Asian-Americans and Chinese culture. Yao was born in China but had a great sense of humor that everyone loved. If you look at the other Chinese players that have played in the NBA, none had this ability to endear themselves to different people.

Jeremy Lin has been garnering a lot of attention as one of the few Asian-Americans to play in the NBA. However, even the staunchest Lin supporter will agree that Lin is nowhere the player Yao Ming is. Unfortunately, if Yao retires, the torch may be laid at Yi Jianlian and Jeremy Lin's hands. Alas, I don't think either one is ready to pick the torch up.

Whatever ultimately happens, Yao Ming was a welcome bright spot in the NBA. Hopefully he can heal up and play in the NBA for years to come. If not, I wish him well in his future endeavors.

Pinball Machines: Reflections Of A Different Time & Era

2010-12-12T23:31:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I was searching for some activities to do in the East Bay. While researching via Yelp, I stumbled upon the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, CA. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit at the time. However, I was in the area today and stopped by for a visit. I didn't regret it one bit as I spent a solid two hours at the museum.

While the initial entry cost of $15 may seem steep for a museum, it is actually quite a bargain. The $15 entitles you to unlimited play of all the various pinball machines that in the museum. There's quite a selection of older and more modern pinball machines that you can play. In addition, you get "in and out" privileges. So if you need to step out to get a bite to eat and come back later, it is perfectly ok. As I noted, I spent a lot of time at the museum today and had a blast. Strangely enough, I gravitated to playing some of the older pinball machines than some of the newer ones (though I enjoyed a couple of them).

After leaving the museum, I started to think about why I enjoyed my time there today. After all, I was child of the 1980's. I grew up in the era of Pac-Man, Donkey King and other well known arcade games as well as the era of the Atari, Coleco, and Commodore (among others) video game and computer systems.

The answer I came up with is that the pinball machines harken back to a simpler era. The purpose of playing pinball is to stay alive as long as possible and get as many points along the way. It didn't matter if you were playing a pinball machine from the 1950's or the 1980's, the purpose remained the same. The same purpose of getting as many points as possible is basically the same purpose as the majority of 1980's arcade games.

It didn't matter if you played Pac Man (eating dots and ghosts), Donkey Kong (jumping over barrels), Pole Position (driving), or Galaga (shooting aliens), the major purpose was to stay alive as long as possible, advance to higher levels and accumulate points. Obviously there were exceptions like Dragon's Lair.

Given this, it was no surprise that I found a love of pinball machines. With the ability to have unlimited play at the museum, I kept trying multiple times at several machines and did pretty well toward the end of my stay.

Unfortunately, pinball machines are reflections of a different time before video games and computers existed. From doing some research online, there does not appear to any companies who are mass producing pinball machines today due to a lack of demand from the mainstream public. With all fancy graphics and sound available on home systems today, pinball machines are looked at as relics. All the young people today go for Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft and other games.

However, as the Pacific Pinball Museum shows, pinball is still alive in the underground. There were a good number of people of all ages at the museum today. There was a party there were kids and their parents present. There were quite a few other families who showed up after I arrived. The folks that run the museum also host an annual expo as well.

Pinball might not be as fancy as today's video games, but I think it's definitely worth a visit from gamers of all ages. You don't always need to play the latest and greatest to have a good time.

Returning Home May Not Have Been the Wisest Choice For Jeremy Lin......

2010-10-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Lin's NBA career got off to a good start when he played a solid 12 minutes in a 40 point blowout against the LA Clippers last week. I'm sure that must have pleased the Warriors and the many Jeremy Lin fans out here in the Bay Area.

However, Lin's second game last Friday proved to be a little more rocky. He came in with 4 minutes left in the game against the Sacramento Kings. I personally don't know the score at the time but the Warriors were leading by a decent margin. Unlike the Clipper game though, the intensity level was still high and that might have unnerved Lin. He logged about 1 minute and 20 seconds of game time, turning the ball over three times and got yanked by Coach Keith Smart.

On the surface, it looked bad that Lin fared poorly. However, in an article in the Contra Costa Times, Coach Smart took responsibility for putting Lin into a tough situation:

"Smart took the blame for the struggles of guard Jeremy Lin against the Kings. Lin played for just one minute, 21 seconds and had two turnovers. He looked out of sync. Smart said he put Lin in the game at the wrong time, when Sacramento was pressing to get back in the contest. It wasn't the best situation to put Lin into at this stage, Smart said."

Part of the reason Coach Smart may have put Lin in was because the Warriors fan started calling for him late in the fourth quarter. This can be seen on the various highlights posted on YouTube. While I'm not in Coach Smart's shoes, he probably let Lin play both to keep the fans happy and see how Lin could handle the situation.

However, I'm starting to think that Jeremy Lin returning home may not have been the wisest of choices for him. Lin may have been better in Dallas (or some other city outside of California) where he could practice and work under the radar.

As is Lin is under the microscope more than your typical un-drafted rookie. Lin is obviously from the Bay Area and has family and friends who will go to his home games. Being Asian, Lin is drawing exceptional support from the Asian-American community as seen in the videos. This kind of support is unheard of for a rookie and much needed for a guy who needs to work hard to prove that he belongs in the NBA.

But all of this can be seen as a negative as well. It can be suffocating to try to live up to the expectations of all those who will be in attendance of home Warriors games this season. I'm sure Lin is a realist but when you have thousands of fans cheering for you, it is awfully hard to ignore. Being the perfectionist, he seems to be, I'm sure Lin wants to do well and is disappointed when he doesn't play well.

I hope Warriors fan temper their enthusiasm. Let's cheer Jeremy Lin on but not go overboard. It's funny that I probably annoy all of my friends via my various links, blog postings and Facebook postings on Jeremy Lin. Yet, I have not attended any of the preseason games yet. My hope is that Jeremy Lin will get plenty of practice time to develop. Once the regular season rolls around, I hope to see Jeremy Lin out on the court for more meaningful minutes.

Good Time for Dance Music........

2010-10-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

Sometime back while I was in college in the late 1990's, I met a classmate who did some DJ'ing on the side. Thanks to this classmate, I started listening to various genres of dance music like Eurodance, Freestyle, House and Trance. I hadn't realized it before but I'd always been a dance music fan. I had listened to many 80's songs that were considered dance: "Spring Love" (Stevie B), "Into The Grove" (Madonna), among many others.

In the late 1990's, there were various dance songs that I loved: "Be My Lover" (La Bouche), "Another Night" (Real McCoy), "Rhythm of the Night" (Corona) and others. However, as the year 2000 rolled around, the trend went to more electronic / trance type songs. After a while, all electronic music sounds the game and I stopped following the dance music market.

More recently, Far East Movement's "Like a G6" finally gained national airplay including two of our local "party" music stations so I started listening to radio again. I was surprised to hear a load of dance type songs that caught my interest:

"Like a G6" - Far East Movement
"California Gurls" - Katy Perry
"Dynamite" - Taio Cruz
"DJ's Got Us Falling in Love" - Usher
"I Like It" - Enrique Iglesias

To me, it's great that artists are putting out these vocal dance songs. Electronic Music has it's place but the best dance songs that I've ever listened to were from the 1980's. While I don't think some of these recent releases will ever become classics like some of the 1980's stuff I like, it's good that there is still solid dance music coming out these days.

iPhone 4 - All in one communication device..........

2010-08-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

My friend and I were talking for a few hours today over various things. Among the items discussed were our iPhone 4's that we each have. I suggested a few applications my friend might want and vice versa. As we were talking away, I realized how the iPhone 4 is the all in one communication device for me (probably many others as well).

The iPhone 4 is first and foremost a phone. However, you can also receive text messages. The next thing is there are various applications of instant messaging. Lastly, there's Skype for making voice calls over the Internet.

I told my friend that if they couldn't reach me at any of the methods above, I definitely was not available! :)

SIDENOTE: Despite picking up the iPhone 4, my old Blackberry Curve is still around. While the Curve doesn't serve as a phone anymore, I still have many songs on the device. In fact, once I get around to deleting the various applications that no longer work, I will have even more space. I plan to keep the Curve around as a portable music device for some occasions. Recycling technology!

The Rise of Far East Movement (FM)

2010-08-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

According to Wiki, Far East Movement's been around since 2003. I'd heard inklings of them from various Asian-American sites but not being a fan of hip-hop music, I never paid them much attention.

It wasn't until I ran across the song "Girls On The Dance Floor" which drew my attention. It combined rapping with dance beats and I was in love. I'd always listened to dance, trance and other electronic music and this was perfect. In fact, many other acts like the Black Eyed Peas and others were getting into the hip-hop / dance music act.

When Far East Movement released their album "Animal", I immediately purchased and loved it. There were many great songs and I thought it was a shame that only a small market of people would likely purchase the album. Anytime I was in the car, I made it a point to pump up the volume a bit when I had the "Animal" album playing.

"Girls On The Dance Floor" did well enough to garner some national attention and Far East Movement ended up signing a contract with Interscope / Cherry Tree Records. Far East Movement has followed up Girls On The Dance Floor with several other songs:

"2 is Better"
"Go Ape!"
"Like a G6"

While Girls On The Dance Floor was a club hit, "Like a G6" is looking more and more like the breakout hit they have been looking for. The song has been playing in Bay Area powerhouse stations Wild 94.9 and Movin' 99.7 In addition, "Like a G6" debuted in Billboard Top 100 list at #92.

"Like a G6" by Far East Movement (Video)

The success is well deserved and I hope the guys keep it up. Asian Americans have plenty of underground artists but not many have had mainstream success. Far East Movement is looking to break that trend and be a role model for many Asian-Americans in the years to come.

If you ever wondered why I post the stuff on Facebook that I post.....

2010-08-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

On Facebook, I tend to post a lot of links to things I like to my wall, which in turn goes out to my friends home pages. There is one trend that I am sure most people have noticed. A good number of those links are Asian or Asian-American themed. They may be about Asian athletes (Jeremy Lin, Ed Wang, Yao Ming), Asian-American movies (usually independent stuff), or music videos by Asian-American performers (Far East Movement, etc).

Why do I do that? Considering that Asian representation in the movies, TV, music and the professional sports arenas are fairly sparse, I want to take advantage of the Facebook platform to promote all things Asian.

That might seem odd to a degree. However, one should not underestimate the power of the media to influence people of all ages. The people who see my postings may enjoy what they see and that is good. But maybe some young kid who hadn't thought of pursuing interests in acting, music or athletics might be influenced by what he sees and give it a shot.

Asians families are a practical sort. They encourage their kids to focus on careers that are solid, stable and earn money. Acting, music and professional sports are not always guarantee of that.

However, I would hope that Asian families learn to encourage their children to follow their passions to wherever it takes them. After all, the Jeremy Lin's, Ed Wang's, John Cho's and the Far East Movement's of the world have been able to do it. Your child may be able to do it as well. Even if he fails, it's not the end of the world. That is one aspect of life that is so great. Mistakes are usually not fatal and will teach you to do better in your next endeavor.

First Impressions: Blackberry Torch = IPhone 4 LITE

2010-08-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

My first ever smartphone was the Blackberry Curve 8310 from AT&T. I've had the curve for about two years now and enjoy it greatly. With the release of the IPhone 4, I have been quite tempted to join the Apple bandwagon.

I have to admit that I like the IPhone 4 especially for it's browser, camera and video camera. The negatives (for me anyway) has always been the lack of a physical keyboard. With supplies limited, I've been sitting on the fence about getting the IPhone 4.

However, when the Blackberry Torch was announced a week ago, I was intrigued. A touch screen Blackberry, new operating system AND a physical keyboard? Today was the first day the Torch was at AT&T stores and I went to check it out.

My initial impressions was I was a little disappointed. The new browser in the Torch was nice but I could not get the screen shift when I tried to go to the widescreen view. Also, the touch screen wasn't particularly responsive and I had trouble clicking on the proper links on websites.

In addition, there were times I didn't know how to navigate back to certain screens using the touch screen. It turned out I had to use some of the physical buttons on the Torch to do so. To be fair, it was my first time using the phone so perhaps I had a bit of a learning curve.

Unfortunately, since I was at the AT&T store, I couldn't get a feel of the sliding mechanism of the phone. The phone was locked into place with the keyboard showing. Using the keyboard was a different experience. Each Blackberry seems to have it's own distinct layouts. I find the Curve's keyboard the most comfortable. I use a Blackberry Bold for work and the keys are a little big for me and it takes a little getting used to.

Using the Torch's keyboard, I thought the keys were a little smaller than the Curve. In addition, due to sliding mechanism, the keyboard portion of the Torch feels flimsy. Typing with thumbs as many do with Blackberries may be a little difficult than before.

Overall, I left with a relatively "BLAH" impression of the Torch. I knew I wasn't going to be blown away. However, I thought I might leave with the impression that Blackberry created a device that combined the best of the Iphone 4 and Blackberry worlds. Alas, I think there's still some work to be done.

I don't think the Torch is an IPhone 4 killer. At best, it may be an IPhone 4 LITE. It does some things that IPhone does and keeps some of the Blackberry sensibilities. I think there will be a market for it but RIM shouldn't expect the masses clamoring for the Torch like the IPhone 4.

What's Going On in China?

2010-08-04T00:39:00.000-07:00

Reading some news online earlier, I saw that there were a couple of mass murders that occurred in China the past couple of days. One involved a guy who started running people over with a tractor. The other involved a man who snuck into a school and then used a knife to attack teachers and children.

Besides these two events, there has been a spate of other mass murders that have occurred, causing outsiders to wonder what is happening. Many people are speculating that the dramatic change China is going through (from a Communist country to a more Capitalist country) is taking a mental toll on poorer citizens. The concern is that mental illness is growing and the government is not addressing the issue properly.

While I don't live in China, being an American Born Chinese person, I have some insight into why some of these problems may be happening.

Though my upbringing is a mix of Chinese and American, I know that many Chinese people prefer keep their problems "in the house". They don't not want outsiders to know their dirty laundry. This causes many problems, especially for kids like me who were born Chinese-American. I remember reading a few years ago about some young Chinese-American kids who committed suicide because they couldn't handle the pressure of school and other things. This set off many Chinese-American mental health groups to reach out to the community to let people know that is was OK to share their problems. I don't know about the success of the outreach but hopefully the Chinese-American community is better off.

Keeping what I said in mind, the citizens of China may not have the options that we have in the United States. There are definitely support groups but as a whole Chinese culture is conservative and it's difficult to change the collective mindset.

I haven't been in China since 2007 so I don't know how things have changed. However, I'm sure that China is moving to the future at a unprecedented pace. Unfortunately, like many things, some people have an easier time than others.

While the recent issues have been disturbing, I hope that this causes China to look at the issues and address them appropriately so that these kind of things don't happen again.

The first time I heard about Jeremy Lin

2010-07-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

With the Golden State Warriors signing Harvard grad and Bay Area product Jeremy Lin, the Internet has been buzzing with news and blog postings about Jeremy. The news outlets have been going with the "hometown boy does good" story line. There has been many blog postings (including your truly) talking what Jeremy means to the Asian American, Harvard and Palo Alto communities.

However, with all of the focus on Jeremy these days, I feel I should take a step back and talk about when I first heard of Jeremy Lin.

The first time I was aware of Jeremy Lin was sometime during the 2005-2006 high school basketball season (Jeremy's senior year). I can't pinpoint an exact date. However, as a huge basketball fan, I follow a lot of basketball at all levels including youth, high school, college and NBA.

My main recollection is that the San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate mentioning Jeremy Lin and his Palo Alto team being a favorite to get to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championship game in Division II. Up to this point, I had not heard of Jeremy Lin or his Palo Alto team. After all, living in San Francisco, I'm usually more focused on how the San Francisco public and private high schools do at the state tournaments than other teams in the Bay Area.

However, I was intrigued about who this Jeremy Lin kid was. As someone who lives here in the Bay Area, it's not unusual to see a ton of Asian kids play basketball at the youth and high school levels. There are some solid players too but they play in obscurity because their teams aren't that good. Not that many of them are Division I or pro material but there's some talent and skill there, even if they aren't the biggest or tallest players around.

However, it was a rare thing to see an Asian kid be the primary focal point of a team that had STATE CHAMPIONSHIP aspirations. From then on, I followed Jeremy and his Palo Alto team through their league playoffs, Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, the Northern California playoffs and finally the televised State Championship game between Palo Alto and Mater Dei.

Having never seen Jeremy play before, watching him play on TV for the first time was interesting. He didn't look physically intimidating and I thought his jumper looked a little awkward. However, just as those in the Ivy League and the NBA Summer League found out, Jeremy could play and Palo Alto knocked off mighty Mater Dei to claim the CIF Division II State Championship.

From there, I was curious about Jeremy's future plans. For many of the Asian basketball players I had seen in the past, they might go to play at junior college or small college to continue playing competitively. Many of the same players also played in the various Asian adult leagues and tournaments that are prevalent around the Bay Area and California.

In doing my research, I saw notes that Jeremy wasn't heavily recruited though he might walk on to the local Pac-10 schools. It wasn't until later that I found out that Jeremy was going to Harvard.

The rest, as you might say, is history. I heavily followed Jeremy Lin's career at Harvard through the Internet. Many people don't know that during Jeremy's sophomore year at Harvard, the Harvard team came to play in a tournament at Stanford. Unfortunately, Stanford blew out Harvard and Jeremy didn't score though he did bounce back with better games in the next two games in the tournament. I'm sure Jeremy would have loved to do well in front of the home crowd.

All in all, outside of Jeremy's family, friends, coaches and others from Palo Alto and Harvard, I believe I am may be one of Jeremy Lin's earliest fans (in fact someone pointed out to me they were following him before me....COOL!) . I didn't know if he could make it to the NBA but I was glad to see he had a great career at Harvard.

The fact that the Golden State Warriors have signed Jeremy is an added bonus. Good luck to Jeremy as the 2010-2011 NBA season slowly approaches. Many fans are eagerly awaiting this!

COUPLE OF SIDE NOTES:

An interesting story line that doesn't get mentioned anymore is that Palo Alto was also a favorite to represent Northern California in the state championship during Jeremy's junior season. However, Jeremy decide to play pick up ball a few days before the CIF Northern California championship game and injured himself. Palo Alto would go on to lose in the Northern California championship game. I believe Jeremy himself mentioned this incident motivated him to work hard to get his team back to the State Championship his senior year.

There was an article today in a local newspaper that was discussing how many people in his circle of friends and coaches that believed that Jeremy could make the NBA. Among the people who was interviewed was one Thomas Fang.

Not everyone surprised by Lin in the NBA

Fang was a 6'5" forward who played for Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose and later walked on to the Cal basketball team. Jeremy's Palo Alto team defeated Fang's Mitty team in the Northern California championship game prior to playing Mater Dei.

When Palo Alto and Mitty played for the Northern California championship in 2006, I thought it was great that TWO ASIAN-AMERICAN kids played an integral part in each of their team's success. Jeremy was obviously the star of Palo Alto. Mitty's star was 6'9" Drew Gordon who would later go to UCLA and now New Mexico. However, Fang was a starter and an all league player in his own right.

Though Fang didn't play much at Cal, he plays in intramurals and other leagues around the area.

Jeremy Lin is coming home to the Bay....as a Golden State Warrior

2010-07-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

I play in a summer adult basketball league and my team was beaten tonight 47-30. Afterwards, a few teammates and I headed off to dinner and the discussion wandered off to the Golden State Warriors and Jeremy Lin. Some of my teammates and I had just purchased Warriors season tickets for the upcoming season and we were discussing how to divide the tickets up.

Along the way, we were also discussing where Jeremy Lin would end up (Dallas Mavericks or Los Angeles Lakers). Since I hadn't checked the news in a few hours, I went online via my Blackberry and was stunned to see the news that Jeremy Lin might sign with his hometown GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!

Various news outlets have confirmed a deal is in the works and could be signed by tomorrow.

It's a good move overall for the Warriors for a couple of reasons:

It's a great marketing move. Jeremy Lin is a hometown kid from Palo Alto and sure to draw friends and family to Warriors games. In addition, being Asian-American, Lin is sure to attract many Asian-Americans basketball fans as well.
It's a good economic move for the Warriors. Lin was an un-drafted free agent and thus wouldn't command a huge salary. It's a low cost move with the potential for a high reward if Lin shows he can play in the NBA at a solid level.

The signing of Lin is tempered by the fact that the Warriors first round draft pick is out with an injury. In addition, David Lee, whom the Warriors acquired from the Knicks hurt his finger during practice with the USA basketball team.

However, I am personally excited by the prospect of Lin playing on the Warriors. It's the most excited I've been about the Warriors in years.

Jeremy Lin and the Model Minority Myth

2010-07-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

There are many stereotypes that Asian-Americans try and fight on a daily basis. One of the major ones is the stereotype that Asian-Americans are a "model minority":

To quote from the wikipedia entry on Asian-Americans and the model minority myth:

"Asians are seen as hardworking, politically inactive, studious, intelligent, productive, and inoffensive people who have elevated their social standing through merit and diligence. This label is given in contrast to other racial stereotypes which routinely accuse minorities of socially unwelcome traits: such as laziness or criminal tendencies."

Personally, I find this very funny as I was never a great student in high school (graduating with a 2.50 GPA or somewhere along those lines). I attended my local State university and graduated with a double degree. All in all, I'm pretty much the anti-Asian Model Minority.

However, along with this model minority myth comes other stereotypes. Asian-Americans become these model minorities through hard work sometimes at the expense of other things. Stories are told of Asian-American parents telling their kids not to date or play sports so they can study to get into the Stanford's and Harvard's of the world. Thus starts the stereotype of the geeky, smart and non-athletic Asian-American kid who can get into college with an academic scholarship but not an athletic scholarship.

However, if you are Asian-American and live in the community on a daily basis, you will know that the model minority stereotype (as with all other stereotypes) are not true. There are smart and academically minded kids. Then there are kids who are more athletically gifted, though not many of them get into the public eye.

However, there are minimal amount of Asian-American athletes in the professional sports world and thus the stereotype of the non-athletic Asian-American still abounds. Therefore when foreign born Asian athletes such as Yao Ming, Ichiro and others made a splash, many Asian-Americans were happy to embrace them even if they didn't share their American born experiences. These were guys who were different and showed a different side of Asians that many people hadn't seen before.

When Jeremy Lin had some breakout basketball performances during his junior year at Harvard, some Asian Americans (including me) began to track him to see if he could make it to the NBA and finally shatter the stereotype of the non-athletic Asian-American.

Despite a good senior year, Jeremy Lin wasn't drafted. Many NBA executives didn't think he was athletic enough to compete in the NBA. However, Jeremy got an opportunity to play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas with the Dallas Maverics. While his stats weren't great, he showed poise, leadership and skill against much higher level of talent than he faced during his four years of college ball at Harvard. Thanks to his performances, there are many NBA teams that have shown interest including the defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

The ironic thing with Jeremy Lin? Yes, he's shown he can play basketball with just about anyone. But he did it the "Asian way". He had a 4.2 GPA in high school and played four years of basketball at Harvard and graduated with his degree! Harvard is more known for it's academics than athletics. Compare Jeremy Lin to the many college kids who leave school early to try to play basketball professionally.

Jeremy Lin has shown that it's possible to be both a good student and an NBA caliber basketball player. I am sure Jeremy Lin spent many hours in the classroom studying but also on the basketball court working on his game. These are all things that Jeremy Lin should be commended for.

Asian-Americans have spent many years trying fight the stereotype of the model minority. With Jeremy Lin leading the way, perhaps Asian-Americans need not try to fight the stereotype and instead channel it into other things besides academics. I hope that Jeremy's exploits will convince Asian-American parents to allow their kids to pursue their passions instead of settling for the traditional money making occupations such as being a lawyer, accountant or doctor. Jeremy Lin has shown a smart kid can play basketball. Why can't Asian Americans become singers, actors or other things?

No matter what happens to Jeremy Lin in the near future, he has already left a good example for future generations of Asian-Americans to follow. We just have to be bold to take those steps to pursue our life's passion rather than settling.

The spectacle that was LeBron James

2010-07-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

Most of my friends know I am a basketball fan. However, most don't realize how much of a fan I really am. I play basketball regularly, I officiated semi-regularly, and I used to coach youth basketball. In addition, I follow high school, college and NBA basketball in person and on TV.

However, one thing I don't like about basketball (and sports in general) is there is a lot of drama OUTSIDE of the games themselves. In high school, there are star players who can't keep up their grades to play and hurt their schools. Or there are the kids who constantly transfer to schools with better reputations to try to land college scholarships. In college, there are star players who come in for a year or two and then leave for the NBA (whether they are ready or not is another story).

In the NBA, like most professional sports, drama is built in. There are stories of guys sleeping with multiple women and having tons of kids. There are hold outs for more money. The list can go on. Tonight, we can add LeBron James's free agency to the list of wild spectacles.

By all accounts, LeBron is not only a great player but a good person as well. However, after his Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a stunning loss in the players to the Boston Celtics, speculation began on whether LeBron would leave Cleveland.

The speculation ended tonight as LeBron announced his intention to sign with the Miami Heat on a one hour special on ESPN tonight. LeBron joins his friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, who announced earlier in the week that they intended to sign with Miami as well.

I haven't necessary lost respect for LeBron as he did what he felt was the best move for his career. However, I do think this situation could have been handled better. The constant news reports on LeBron's impending decision was overkill. I also thought that having a one hour long show dedicated to LeBron's decision was not the best. I don't remember any other free agent in the time that I've watched the NBA garner as much attention as LeBron did.

All in all, what LeBron did was fine though I think that Miami signing three star players in LeBron, Wade and Bosh sets a bad precedent. In years past, most NBA teams built around one or two star players. This year, that path has been shattered. If you can't win, you try to get as many star players as you can.

It remains to be seen how Miami will look as they only have a few players under contract. Three good players will help but they will need a solid bench.

Who's the next Jeremy Lin (and why aren't there more of them?)

2010-06-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

The NBA finals have ended and once again the Lakers are on top of the NBA world. While I am hardly a Lakers fan, congratulations to them for the repeat championship. It's not something that comes easily and they are deserving of praise of their dedication and effort.

With the NBA finals over, all the NBA teams now look forward to the draft and free agency. With Lebron James's name headlining the free agent class, Asian Americans also have something to look forward to. Many Asian Americans are looking to see if Bay Area product and Harvard basketball star Jeremy Lin gets drafted.

Lin has been preparing and has gotten looks from various NBA teams:

Jeremy Lin looks forward to NBA draft
Jeremy Lin workout with Memphis Grizzlies

Speculation is that Lin may indeed get drafted but in the second round.

As Lin is trying to impress NBA team now, it is good time to look toward the future. Who is the next Jeremy Lin? Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any prominent Asian-Americans in college basketball that drew any national attention. The only Asian player I am familiar with (who was born in China) is 7 footer Max Zhang of California. While Max is tall he is just a role player for his Cal team and not going to draw a lot of attention at this point in his career. If he develops and improves him game, maybe he will be the next Yao Ming.

With no prominent Asian Americans in college basketball in the short team, perhaps we will see more in the future with Jeremy Lin's influence. I believe the attention that Jeremy Lin drew in recent years will impact the future generations of Asian-American basketball players. While Asians/Asian-Americans are not highly represented in the NBA (Yao Ming / Yi Jianlian were the only players) or college (very small percentage), there are tons of players at the high school level and below.

That brings up an interesting question. Why have there not been many Asian-Americans like Jeremy Lin who had an impact on college basketball and had a shot at the NBA level?

It is definitely not due to LACK OF INTEREST. Because of the lack of Asian representation at the highest levels of basketball, many media and business folks think Asians are not interested in basketball.

That is not true if you look at the number of youth who participate at the youth and high school levels. Even youth who may not make the school team play for various AAU and/or Asian club basketball teams. Asian-American adults also participate in adult leagues to a large degree as well.

If it's not the lack of interest, is it a lack of talent? I don't think that is the case. I see a lot of talented players at the high school level who lead their teams. These guys wouldn't be on the team if they couldn't play. However, do these players have college and pro level talent? That I can't answer.

To be honest, there isn't one answer to why there hasn't been more Asian-American players in the NBA. I believe it's a combination of things. Asian-Americans sometimes think they are too short or too small to compete against other players. On the other hand, Asian-American parents sometimes push their kids hard academically and athletics are unfortunately left out.

In the future, I believe this will change. Jeremy Lin is every Asian parents dream. A tall guy who excelled academically and went to Harvard. But not only was he good academically, he was good athletically as well.

Asian-Americans have spent years trying to change the myth of the model minority (good academically). With Jeremy Lin, maybe we don't have to. We'll just be good at everything instead!

Happy 30th Birthday to Pac-Man!

2010-05-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

For a fan of retro video games, I'm surprised that I didn't know it was Pac-Man's 30th Birthday today! Of course, waking up at 6:30 AM for some work stuff probably didn't help as I was a zombie through most of the day today.

However, celebrations are due for the MOST iconic game of the 1980's. The 1980's were the golden age of arcade video games. You had Asteroids, and Space Invaders that all originated in the late 70's and games like Donkey Kong which originated a year after Pac-Man debuted. While Donkey Kong and other games were popular, Pac-Man was the most popular video game of the 1980's. This was for many reasons. The game play was very simple. The graphics were not high tech but were effective and the sound effects, music and other touches (the ghosts, the intermissions) all played a part in Pac-Man's popularity.

I don't recall my first introduction to Pac-Man but it had to be in the early 1980's. I remembered playing the game many times at the arcade but my best memory is from playing Pac-Man on my Atari 5200 with my mom and dad. Those were definitely some interesting times. I remembered excitedly getting my parents to buy Pac-Man for me and playing it for hours, even with the Atari 5200 joystick.

Pac-Man's popularity led to many video game sequels: Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man. I played Ms. Pac-Man and Super Pac-Man a lot through Jr. Pac-Man not as much. There was even a Pac-Man cartoon for sometime that I watched as a youngster.

Today's video games are very technologically advanced and would blow Pac-Man away with their superior graphics and sounds. However, what many newer games today don't have is the simple game play that will allow anyone from kids to older people to get into the games. That is why the Nintendo Wii has gained popularity for it's ability to get many people to play games.

So happy birthday Pac-Man! Let it be a reminder to all the game developers that sometimes simple games can be just as fun as more complicated games.

For those who want to play Pac-Man, Google has a version on their main search page. Click the "Insert Coin" button to play. A special treat for the Google Pac-Man. Click the "Insert Coin" button TWICE and you can play with both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man at the same time. Good luck trying to play both at the same time. You're better off having another person with you! :)

There are also versions of Pac-Man that can be played on various current generation of video game systems for those so inclined.

YouTube celebrates it's 5th Anniversary

2010-05-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

The SF Chronicle published this article on YouTube's fifth anniversary:

2 Billion daily views and growing

I posted this comment on the SFGate site and will expand on it later this week:

I remember when people questioned whether YouTube would last. YouTube means a lot of different things to different people. For some, it's about watching old videos they haven't seen in years. For others, it's about reaching out to an audience they otherwise wouldn't be able to reach easily (Indie artists, film makers). Yet, there's always mommy and daddy taking videos of their kid's basketball games and other events.

Youtube is all about the videos right? Well, in a sense, it's also (like someone else said) preserving many pieces of history. THe 9/11 attacks and news coverage? Michael Jackson videos? Little Johnny's videos? Check, Check, and Check.

YouTube has gone from a site about "You" or "Me" to what amounts to a digital archive of today's society and that is something to be celebrated!

Helping those who might need it......

2010-05-15T17:24:00.001-07:00

A while ago, a thought crossed my mind that I should look up some information on mental illness. Why? There were two people that I had run into that either had come from tough family upbringings or perhaps had developed some sort of mental illness.

One guy (let's call him Guy #1) is someone that I played basketball with and against on a semi-regular basis. He has a habit of talking and mumbling to himself when he is alone. In addition, when he plays basketball, he gets very distracted and doesn't play defense. So, many of the guys get frustrated and so they don't pick him up to play.

I don't know if he necessarily had a mental illness but he is a very distracted individual. I understood the others frustrations on the court and I admit I got frustrated too. Off the court, I am a pretty easy going individual and tried to talk to Guy #1. I felt being friendly would be a good approach. After all, sometimes people just need someone to talk to. Alas, that didn't get me too far. Guy #1 is not the type to reflect and look at himself.

The second guy (Guy #2) is a former high school classmate of mine. I hadn't seen him in years but ran into him at the mall one day. Like Guy #1, Guy #2 tended to mumble to himself as well. When I talked to him, he stuttered a lot and was very high strung.

The interesting thing is that Guy #2 actually recognized me and we talked a bit. Unlike Guy #1, Guy #2 seemed to be a little more in touch with himself. However, I don't know what issues Guy #2 had in his life as he was working a part time job as a ticket taker at the local theater near the mall. There's absolutely nothing wrong with what he was doing. However, when I asked him what he has been doing since high school, he said had been going to school but never finished. I didn't mean to make him feel guilty but I was just curious.

All in all, I can't say for sure these two individuals had mental illness. They could have just come from some tough circumstances in their family lives. The one thing that does tie these two guys together is that they are drifting through life. Guy #1 indicated that his family had moved back to Asia leaving him and his sister here. Guy #1 is not working and I assume is living off his sister or something. Guy #2 is working a low level job and doesn't seem to have any plan for the future.

For myself, I see these guys and wonder "Why can't anyone help them?" or "Why don't they realize they might need some help?" I am seeing a lot of people these days that are like these two individuals. They wander around and drift through life aimlessly.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing more but I am but one individual and I'm not trained to help people in life matters. Plus, sometimes, friends and/or family need to step up and realize that these individuals need to get help.

My first impression of the Apple IPad

2010-05-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I've been busy with work recently and writing the blog hasn't been the highest priority. However, today felt like a good day to get back to writing a bit.

This morning, I officiated a couple of youth basketball games. Afterward, I headed to the mall to grab some lunch (Spaghetti and Meatballs, bread stick, potatoes).

After stuffing my face, I decided to head to the Apple store located in the mall. It had been about a month since the Apple IPad had been released and I figured it would be a good time to check it out.

There were still quite a few people checking out the IPad's, but I got lucky. There was one available IPad that no one was using to I immediately swopped in and began to explore it's functions. Specifically, I used the IPad to check my email, go to Youtube, and browsed around Yahoo. All in all, I spent about 15 minutes or so using the IPad.

My impressions? I surprisingly liked the IPad but not for the reasons that Apple may want. Apple markets the IPad as a replacement for the netbook computers that have taken off in recent years. I don't think the IPad will replace netbooks due to the touch screen keyboard. I found it difficult to touch type. Perhaps I will get better with practice but that was a minus.

It should be mentioned that the IPad touch screen keyboard is better than the IPhone because the screen is bigger. I never liked the IPhone touch screen since it was too easy to hit the wrong key. That is less of a problem with the IPad. Also, there is an option keyboard that can be used though it wasn't demoed at the store.

On the positive side, being able to browse with Safari on a large sized mobile device was great. Watching YouTube videos and seeing websites in full size was definitely a bonus. The IPad's were using basic wireless to connect to the Internet and I had no complaints about the speed.

I believe the IPad is going to be a hit with the multimedia crowd. Lugging a laptop around to watch videos and listen to music is sometimes impractical. The IPad is hardly small BUT is portable enough to not get in the way. I believe tons of people are going to use the IPad to watch videos, listen to music and read a book, especially when they travel.

While the IPad is not great for email or other business applications that require a lot of typing, it's not impossible to use those applications. People will just have to get used to the touch screen keyboard.

Additionally, I saw other people playing with various applications such as games. I didn't get a chance to look at those applications but will try to do so in the future.

All in all, I liked the IPad and would consider getting one just for the multimedia aspects. I love watching YouTube videos and being a music guy, I would listen to tunes as well. However, I won't be getting one anytime soon as I want to see what Apple's future plans are with the IPad before plunking down money for one.

NCAA Women's National Championship: Stanford vs. UConn

2010-04-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

As a basketball fan, I follow all things basketball including college. The majority of fans likely followed the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament including myself. Thanks to some fortuitous choices, including selecting Duke to WIN the men's championship, I won TWO NCAA basketball pools (I used the same picks for both pools).

While I don't generally follow the NCAA Women's basketball tournament, I admit being interested in the championship game tonight as a Bay Area school in Stanford was playing UConn. Stanford has always been a power in women's college basketball but hadn't won a title since 1992.

The game started while I was still at work. Before I left for home, I checked the score on the web. I was shocked to see two things: Stanford leading and a 20-12 score at HALFTIME! I got home about 20 minutes later and by then Stanford had the lost the lead.

What struck me about the game was the poor shooting and a game that was really boring. Stanford's offense consisted of passing around the perimeter and shooting three's (which they were missing). UConn was hardly scorching the nets, but they eventually warmed up and that is why UConn ended up winning.

I was worried that Stanford wouldn't crack 30 points with the way they were shooting but they hit a bunch of shots late and made the final score respectable at 53-47.

All in all, this was a poor showcase of women's basketball. I have nothing against women's basketball but both team's didn't play that well. In women's basketball, with the majority of the action is below the rim, missing a lot of shots takes the excitement out of the game.

Hopefully, next season's NCAA women's championship game will be a better played and more exciting affair.

Ben Legere and The Meaning of Life

2010-03-14T00:38:00.000-08:00

Wednesday evening, long time San Francisco youth sports official passed away suddenly at the age of 77. The sudden passing of Legere caused a lot of former athletes, coaches and others toreminisce fondly about the man simply known as "Benny".

Here are some links to several of my own items plus one news feature and one tribute from CYO on Ben Legere:

The passing of Ben Legere - SF CYO loses an original

Longtime sports official Ben Legere passes away at the age of 77

SF CYO Tribute to Ben Legere

KPIX-5 feature on Ben Legere

While many people (including myself) are saddened by the passing of Ben Legere, I found the timing very interesting. It caused to think that perhaps Legere's passing was meant to be and served a higher purpose.

A friend of mine had given me a spiritual book sometime last year. The book was a fascinating read but I won't rehash all the subject matter discussed in the book.

The pertinent line in the book that I thought applied to Legere was:

"When you accomplish what you have been sent here to accomplish, then your life will be ended. But not before then".

Legere had dedicated nearly his entire adult life to San Francisco Youth athletics. Many people on websites such as Facebook and others shared many memories of Legere and how he helped in various sporting activities through the years.

In recent years, I believe Legere felt under appreciated despite his past accomplishments. I don't have any proof of this but it was a just a feeling I got whenever I officiated or talked with Legere.

However, two things occurred which ensured Legere was recognized for all his contributions to San Francisco youth athletics:

1. Legere was inducted into the San Francisco CYO sports Hall of Fame in 2008
2. KPIX-5 in San Francisco interviewed Legere and had a feature on his 50+ years officiating about a month ago.

As I mentioned in my other blog posting, I saw and talked to Legere the day the feature was supposed to air. I had not talked to him in a long time so it was good to catch up. I found him to be very relaxed, happy and upbeat. After finding out that the KPIX-5 feature was going to air, I realized why Legere was happy.

When the news of Legere's passing was confirmed, I was shocked. After all, a whole new generation of people has been introduced to Legere and his accomplishments over the years through the news feature. I thought it was too bad that future generations of athletes would not get to see Legere officiate games again.

However, when I take a step back and think about the book quote I noted earlier, everything fell into place. I now believe that Legere had accomplished all that he could have done in this life and that it was his time to go. The Hall of Fame induction and the KPIX-5 news feature were the final chapter in the life of Ben Legere. They ensured no one would forget what Legere has accomplished over the years.

I do not know the whole story of Legere's passing. However, according to what I've read, Legere passed away while heading home after umpiring a baseball game. If that is the case, then Legere went out the way I think he would have wanted. He went out after doing something he loved. Not many people can say that.

Rest in Peace Benny. You will be missed!

America's Best Dance Crew: West Regional

2010-02-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

The show's not over yet, but Season 5 for America's Best Dance Crew is shaping up to be entertaining. My early favorite has got to be the all-Asian crew from California, Poreotix, which just got selected to the Nationals. They aren't a traditional b-boy crew but have a unique style which is pretty entertaining.

Hype 5-0, another Asian crew from Hawaii was also selected and I like their style and energy.

More on this later.

What do Jeremy Lin, Far East Movement, and John Cho have in common?

2010-01-20T23:36:00.000-08:00

This is NOT a trick question. Yes, all the people above are Asian, but that is not the answer I am looking for. I'll give you a few seconds to mull the question over..........................

Time's up! The answer is that all of the above people have some Christian influence in their life. As has been reported by the national media, Jeremy Lin is a Christian. I was listening to some Far East Movement music at a friend's house back in 2009. Another friend who was with us mentioned that the members of Far East Movement had become born again Christians thanks to the influence of Jaeson Ma (http://www.jaesonma.com).

The only person I didn't know about was John Cho. I did some quick research on Google last night and was surprised to find that Cho was the son of a PASTOR! Alas, I couldn't find any information on whether Cho is Christan himself. Regardless if Cho is actually Christian or not, I do believe he grew up with a heavy Christian influence that shaped his life to a certain extent.

As I mentioned in my previous blog posting, John Cho, Jeremy Lin and Far East Movement are current and future role models for Asian-Americans due to their visibility in movies, TV, basketball and music.

What I didn't realize at the time was they all had Christian influences. This makes these guys even BETTER role models regardless if you are Christian yourself. Why? The reason is that many high profile movie, TV, basketball and music stars live a life on the edge. These stars do drugs, sleep with many women and run afoul of the law. However, all of these guys seem to stay out of trouble and do what they're supposed to do.

John Cho, Jeremy Lin and Far East Movement are proving that Asians can succeed in movies, TV, basketball and music. However, they are also doing it in a GOOD way which many people (not just Asian-Americans) can appreciate. This alone should make all these guys worthy of our support!

Jeremy Lin: Asian American Role Model

2010-01-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

Last night, at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University, a throng of 4,700 fans showed up to watch the basketball game between the Harvard Crimson and the Santa Clara Broncos. The game was a sell out and the largest crowd ever to watch a Santa Clara non-conference basketball game.

While there was a solid throng of Santa Clara students, cheerleaders and band members there, one can safely say that the majority of the other people in attendance were there to watch one person: JEREMY LIN of Harvard.

The 6'3" guard from Palo Alto made what is likely to be his final home appearance in a collegiate uniform. Besides his family, a huge throng of Asian Americans made their way to Santa Clara to watch the best Asian-American college basketball player play.

However, expectations of Lin may have been a little too high. Santa Clara focused their defense on stopping him. Lin did not try to score much throughout the night and finished with 6 points (2-5 FG, 0-2 3PG, 2-5 FT), 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. Lin played like he usually does and contributed in every single category. However, after huge scoring games against good competition, the 6 points may have been a let down for the crowd.

The game itself wasn't that great. Both Harvard and Santa Clara struggled in the first half. Both teams went through a scoring drought of 5+ minutes which left the crowd restless. The good news was that Harvard played better in the second half and eventually won the game 74-66. Lin seems like a low key kid and his own personal statistics don't matter to him much as long as his team wins. At 11-3, Harvard is doing well and will begin their Ivy League season in a few days.

Looking past the game itself, I'm very proud that Asian-Americans came out in large numbers to support Jeremy Lin. This fact was noted by many media outlets both local and national. Jeremy Lin, whether he likes it or not, is now a role model to many young Asian-American athletes.

Whether the industry is movies, TV, music, athletics or otherwise, Asian-Americans have had minimal role models to emulate in the past. There have always been foreign born Asians like Yao Ming (basketball) or Jackie Chan (movies). While having some Asians are better than nothing, people like Yao and Jackie Chan do not understand the challenges of growing up Asian in America.

However, I feel like this is the calm before the storm. Jeremy Lin has suddenly stormed into the public spotlight in college basketball. John Cho has gained exposure in movies and TV with Harold & Kumar, Flash Forward and Star Trek. Far East Movement, an Asian-American hip-hop band, garnered national exposure in 2009 with their hit song "Girls On The Dance Floor".

All the people above have given Asian-Americans a slice of the positive representation we've always yearned for and role models in which to emulate. This bodes well for the future as young Asian-American kids grow up. They may decide to be an athlete, actor or a musician all because of Jeremy Lin, John Cho and Far East Movement.

No matter what happens to Jeremy Lin in the future, he has left a legacy for others to follow his footsteps in the future. All one has to do is not be afraid to take those steps. In time, I would hope that it is no surprise that Asian-Americans do well in sports, movies, TV, and music.

Doubting Jeremy Lin

2009-12-25T22:54:00.000-08:00

I wrote about Jeremy Lin in mid-November and since then he has caught the attention of the national media after standout performances against the University of Connecticut and Boston College. One of the best articles was written by ESPN writer Dana O'Neil:

ESPN: Immigrant Dream Plays Out Through Son

Being Asian-American and a huge basketball fan, I am thrilled to see Jeremy Lin succeed and garner positive national attention for his skills and accomplishments. I am sure many people in the Asian-American basketball circles all over the United States are quietly cheering for Jeremy Lin. Despite the national attention, I know there are some people who still don't know about Jeremy Lin. I've taken it upon myself (as have many others) to tell their friends about this "Asian kid" who is doing well on the basketball court. Thanks to the power of the Internet, this is very easy to do these days.

Despite Jeremy Lin's success on the court, I have talked to people within the Asian-American community who doubt his skills or look down at his success. There are others who doubt Jeremy Lin can make the NBA. I am a little surprised at this. I would expect that Asian-Americans would back a guy from their own community rather than looking down at his success.

I had to step back and think about why Asian-Americans would doubt Jeremy Lin and I came up with two interconnected reasons:

Some Asian-Americans have a self-defeating notion than they cannot compete with other ethnic groups in basketball.
They have never seen a guy like Jeremy Lin before and cannot believe an Asian player can compete against other high level players.

In regards to item #1, I've heard and read about this from many sources over the years I've been involved in basketball. Many Asian-Americans simply believe they are at a physical disadvantage (height, speed and/or strength) when it comes to playing basketball against other ethnic groups.

When I was younger, I didn't question this notion. After all, it was fairly well known that Asian-Americans were generally smaller in stature than most other ethnic groups. As I've gotten older, I began to realize that Asian-Americans need to reanalyze this notion.

Asian-Americans are generally smaller but as Yao Ming (and others) have proven, not ALL Asians are short.
Just because someone has height does not make them a basketball player. Just because someone is short, it does not mean they cannot play basketball.

I believe Asian-Americans need to get over the notion that they cannot compete because they are short or not as strong. They need to embrace the notion that skill CAN triumph over height if the skill level is great enough. After all, the NBA does have players like Nate Robinson (5'9") and Earl Boykins (5'5") still playing. If these guys can make it, Jeremy Lin (standing 6'3") has a chance as well.

Item #2 is a direct connection to Item #1. Because many Asian-Americans believe that CANNOT compete in basketball, they are surprised that Jeremy Lin can play and play well against other ethnic groups.

Up until recently, video highlights of Jeremy Lin were sparse. In years past, it was easy to see Jeremy Lin's stats and just say "He's doing it against weak competition". However, as Jeremy Lin has garnered national attention, there is no more excuses. Jeremy Lin put up great games against VERY good competition and there are Youtube highlights to prove it:

Jeremy Lin: 30 Points against UCONN

My point in writing all of this? Regardless of whether you think of Jeremy Lin, I think all of us Asian-Americans should SUPPORT him. Any success that Jeremy Lin has on the college (and hopefully professional) level will indirectly help the Asian-American community.

Asian-American role models in the college and professional sports arena are sorely lacking. Jeremy Lin, who by all accounts, is a quiet and humble guy, would make a great role model for future generations of Asian-Americans who want to pursue opportunities in college and professional sports.

Volunteering

2009-12-23T22:47:00.000-08:00

Volunteering my time has never been a problem. In the past, I have volunteered to coach basketball teams, officiate basketball games and other assorted activities. However, most of my activities centered around working with my immediate group of friends, immediate communities or activities that I am usually involved in. For many years, I am wanted to volunteer in a different capacity but never explored the opportunity myself.

A few weeks ago, an old friend of mine sent me a message asking if I wanted to volunteer at a homeless shelter. A mutual friend of ours had taken a position working at the homeless shelter and was looking for helpers to serve a Christmas dinner for the residents of the homeless shelter. It was a great opportunity that I couldn't turn down. It was a chance to catch up with old friends but also a chance to volunteer in both a different capacity (food server) in a different community (homeless folks in the Tenderloin) that I don't usually associate with.

That volunteer opportunity was tonight and it went great. I caught up with old friends and met a lot of the other volunteers who helped out. The work itself was a little easier than expected. We were only serving people who lived in the homeless shelter rather than just anyone who could walk in from the streets so that limited the number of people. Also, we had a great number of volunteers which helped minimize the workload even more.

While I didn't interact with the residents of the homeless shelter too much, one older lady was quite friendly. I talked to her briefly and got to know her background. She was a loner with no immediate family who had an artistic bent. It was different talking to her. Most of us are used to asking "How's work", "How's your family" or other things like that. For this particular lady (and probably a lot of the homeless people), some of these things don't apply. I had to take a different tactic to talk to her.

I had told myself that if certain people seemed like they wanted to talk, I should be open to it. My reasoning was that many of these people have gone through tough lives. While I can't change all the circumstances for any of these people, I figured a smile or a chat might make them feel better about themselves. I don't know if that was the case with the lady. She seemed fairly relaxed about her circumstances. However, if I was able to make her feel better in any way, then the time I spent today was worth it.

All in all, it was a great experience that I would gladly repeat again. Sometimes those of us who are "well off" forget that lots of others are in need, especially recently with the tough economic times. If you've never volunteered before, give it a shot. It may give you a different perspective on things you've never thought about before.

Cardio Boxing: Nintendo Wii Style

2009-12-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

I've had my Nintendo Wii for a little over six months now. I've probably played the system for about three of those months. If you've read some of my previous posts, the main reason for playing the Wii was to get some additional exercise (and have some fun) for myself and my mom.

In the time I've had the system, I've primarily played Wii Sports (the game that comes with the system). I love Wii Sports and got the hang of the baseball, bowling, tennis and golf games. Yet, for some reason I stayed away from boxing. Perhaps it was due to some tough early experiences playing the game because I just didn't know how to play.

In the past month or so, I finally gave in and started playing the boxing game. It took a little while (and some reading) to get the hang of the game. Now that I have gotten the hang of the game, I LOVE it. Unlike the other four sports, boxing requires some effort and forces you to expend a lot of energy while playing. I find that using the three boxing training games and the main boxing game itself gives me a decent workout.

Recently, I got a copy of EA Sports Active for the Wii. I've loving EA Sports Active due to the great number of activities in the game. Among my favorites? If you guessed boxing you would be correct!

While I won't be participating in real boxing anytime soon, I actually thought about getting a punching bag or something similar. It would be nice to do some real boxing work rather than just using the Wii.

I'll be back.........

2009-12-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

I'm still here. I just haven't posted in recent weeks. Lots of things to talk about but I just haven't focused on it due to other stuff going on. Thanks for reading and look for new posts soon enough!

15 years of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors

2009-11-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

I have been a fan of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors for a long time. The Warriors are a Asian American comedy troupe that was formed back in San Francisco around 1994. Over the past 15 years, they have performed all over the world and won several awards for their efforts. The first time I saw the troupe perform was at San Francisco State university around 1995 or 1996. Since then, I have followed the troupe heavily and attended many performances.

Several years ago, the troupe decided to perform in Southern California exclusively. I don't remember the exact reason for this. However, it's not hard to imagine that the troupe wanted to be closer to Hollywood and perhaps get bigger gigs than what was available in the San Francisco Bay Area.

However, as the troupe was celebrating it's 15th Anniversary, they made a return appearance to their home in the Bay Area after a three year absence. There were three shows scheduled for this weekend (Friday 7 PM, Saturday 7 PM & 10 PM) in San Jose.

As soon as I found out the troupe was performing this weekend, I asked a friend to go. We attended the Saturday show at 7 PM. Overall, the show was entertaining though it felt short to me (running around 1 hour and 20 minutes or so). There were a few skits that were great and a couple of that felt flat to me.

However, I'm not here to review the show. I want to commend the group for staying together for fifteen years. I don't know how much money the various members of the group make for each show they perform. My friend and I agreed that the performers probably don't make much. Most of them probably have regular jobs and do these performances as a labor of love.

From what I saw tonight, even though the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors have been around for 15 years, they still have the creativity to create new skits and retain a great passion for their work. As someone who watches many Asian-American independent films and listens to underground Asian-American musicians, I appreciate the work that the Warriors do. I fully support the many people who work to present more positive representations of Asian-Americans in the media.

Congrats on 15 years and here's to many more!

What Jeremy Lin means to Asian-Americans

2009-11-18T00:25:00.000-08:00

Palo Alto, CA native and current Harvard basketball star Jeremy Lin had a great weekend. He hit a running 3 pointer at the buzzer to allow his Harvard team to stun William & Mary 87-85. Interestingly enough, he was also just featured in an article on Slam magazine's website.

Links here:

Jeremy Lin - Buzzer Beater highlights

Slam Magazine Feature on Jeremy Lin

As an Asian-American AND a basketball fan, I am thrilled that Jeremy Lin is having success on the basketball court at Harvard. I am definitely curious if Jeremy can play in the NBA in the future. While it's unfair to put a lot of burden on Lin's shoulders, I think his success at Harvard (and hopefully in the NBA in the future) will indirectly help Asian-Americans in many ways. Here are some of the ways:

- Changing media representation and stereotypes about Asian males

For whatever reason, Asian males have been stereotyped in the media as geeky and unathletic. Why this is the case is unknown. The fact that Asian representation in major college and professional sports (baseball, basketball, football) is not all that high does not help. When it comes to athletics, Asians are usually not the first people that come to mind.

Jeremy Lin breaks a lot of these stereotypes. First he's playing basketball, a sport that is sometimes looked at as a primarily African-American sport. Secondly, he isn't your typical "short" Asian standing at 6'3" tall. Third, he isn't just a bench warmer. He is a starter for the Harvard team and earned All-League and MVP honors.

- Changing Asian's perceptions about sports

Asian families are really practical. Parents are usually found encouraging (pushing might be the better word sometime) their kids to study hard, get an education, find a job and earn a lot of money. The downside to this is that when the academic demands become too great, parents force their kids to drop some activities. The first activities that usually get dropped are sports. For some reason, certain Asian parents feel that sports is for fun but is not a priority when compared to education. As many Asian kids can attest to, Asian parents always encourage kids to study practical subjects like Accounting, Finance or something in the medical field.

Thus many kids who may have a talent for sports get pushed to study instead. They never get a chance to develop their talents. Jeremy Lin's success in basketball at Harvard may help change that. Harvard is an elite university that DOES NOT offer athletic scholarships. While Lin is a gifted basketball player, the fact that Harvard accepted him into the school means he was a smart kid as well. While I don't know how Lin is doing at Harvard, I think he has proven that sports and academics CAN co-exist, even in college. Asian kids should not longer aspire to simply be an accountant or doctor. They could also dream about being a college basketball (or other sport) player like Jeremy Lin. I would also hope that Asian parents allow their kids to pursue professional sports as a career as well.

I'm going to talk more about this point in a separate post later this week.

- Asian-Americans DO EXIST!

It has been great that Asian-born players like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian (among others) have made their way to the NBA. As great as it is to have Asians represented in the NBA, these players do not have share or understand the Asian-American experience. Those of us who were born in the United States have vastly different experiences than someone who has lived in China their whole lives. When Yao or Yi speak, they represent "China" but not "Asian-Americans". Yao or Yi cannot understand how it is to be a minority in a country. They don't understand how racism and stereotypes about Asian-Americans exist. The Asian-American experience is one thing that is nearly invisible in the United States. Fortunately many schools have Asian-American Studies courses and many books have been written.

Jeremy Lin could be the bridge to shed light on these experiences. Jeremy may look Asian like Yao or Yi but he is a full-blooded American. If Jeremy can make it to the NBA, he may have a platform that allows him to discuss how it is to be an Asian-American that no other person has ever gotten (short of Bruce Lee).

2012 the movie: Typical Hollywood Fare

2009-11-15T02:01:00.000-08:00

If you were not familiar with the theory that the world might end sometime in December of 2012, you probably got a little education with the release of the film (aptly titled) 2012 this weekend.

I'm not going to summarize the theories that have been thrown out there on why the world might end in December of 2012. If you're curious, watch the History Channel as they have had many shows covering this topic recently. If you happen to miss any of the shows, it's ok. Given the interest in this topic, the shows will likely be repeated many times from now until 2012! Also, Wikipedia has a summary of information on 2012 as well:

2012 Phenomenon

I'm also not going to summarize the plot of the 2012 film. It's really a typical Hollywood film. Take a subject matter, write some story around the events, throw in some drama and then have a happy ending. I will say that the film is entertaining and will make lots of money. However, as with many Hollywood blockbusters, you'll probably have to suspend belief in certain situations.

While the film's happy ending was predictable, the fact that the remnants of the people on Earth were saved by getting gigantic arks was an interesting nod to Christian mythology. In fact, animals were shown being moved to the Ark as well.

Overall, while I liked the film, there are a couple of points I hope people take away from the film besides being entertained:

I hope that people take some time to learn more about the 2012 theories. None of us know what will happen in 2012. However, it doesn't hurt to be educated and prepare if needed.
I hope that people enjoy life every day like it's their last. Regardless if the world ends in 2012 or tomorrow, we should enjoy our time with friends and family.

Preserving Memories - Facebook style

2009-11-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

(Originally posted to my Facebook account)

While Facebook has it's share of positives and negatives, I think one of best things Facebook has done is to preserve old memories for years and future generations to come.

How so? Firstly, Facebook capitalized on what Friendster and MySpace started. Facebook made connecting with people extremely easy. Not only did Facebook allow users to connect with their current friends, it allowed people to connect with people they may not have thought of in years including old classmates and co-workers.

Secondly, with the move toward digital photos, this has made it easier for people to share their photos online. However, people are not just sharing their current photos. There has been a trend for people to share their OLD photos which included their old friends, classmates and co-workers.

Conversely, with old friends connecting and old photos being uploaded, it was inevitable that old times and memories would be shared and discussed. What was once reserved for reunions and other get togethers were happening online at Facebook. But just because stuff was happening on Facebook didn't mean reunions stopped. In fact, many get togethers and reunions were spurred by people reconnecting again online at Facebook.

It is unfortunate that as we get older, our memories start to fade and all that we have left are the momentos that we keep with us (photos, yearbooks, etc) of years past. Thanks to Facebook, not only can these momentos be shared but so can our memories. The more the memories are shared with others, the more it will be remembered in the future.

SFGate Turns 15!

2009-11-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

According to a blog posting on SFGate.com, the site celebrated it's 15th birthday today! See the link below:

SFGate turns 15: A timeline

I knew SFGate had been around for years but didn't realize just HOW long. This birthday brings up some interesting memories. On the date SFGate was started (November 3rd, 1994), I was likely still sitting in a classroom at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The Internet was a pipe dream to me. I had heard about email from a friend of mine in the East Coast but at the time I did not know where I could get access at CCSF.

It wouldn't be until early 1995 when I got my first taste of the Internet while at San Francisco State University (SFSU). I recall spending hours at the lab sending email, reading Usenet, and surfing with Mosaic and Netscape 1.0.

I don't remember when I got my first exposure to SFGate and have only vague recollections of the early days. While my memories of SFGate are lacking, it brings up the grand OLD days of the Internet before broadband, Amazon, and Internet Explorer took off. Back in those days, it was:

Dial up access via SFSU account
Unix shell account
Pine email reader
Tin Usenet Reader
56K Modem
Apple IIe

The Internet has certainly advanced in the years since SFGate debuted. Like fine wine, SFGate has improved with age. Happy Birthday SFGate! I look forward to many more!

Chinatown Movie Theaters

2009-11-01T20:34:00.001-08:00

Walking around Chinatown today, I felt some nostalgia. I had lunch with my parents and was just browsing around the various shops. Among the locations I shopped at was formerly a movie theater called "Sun Sing". This was located on Grant Ave,. between Pacific and Jackson Streets.

My cousin's grandmother had managed the concessions at Sun Sing for years. I had spent a good amount of time at Sun Sing (and other theaters) in Chinatown during my youth. Keep in mind this was in the 1980's before imported DVD's of Hong Kong and other Asian films had started appearing.

As imports of DVD's appeared in the 1990's, the Chinatown movie theaters began to lose business. The theaters turned to showcasing X-rated films but it wasn't long before all the theaters in Chinatown closed down.

Here's a list of theaters that once were in and around the Chinatown area and what each location is doing now:

Sun Sing (Grant Ave., between Pacific and Jackson Streets) - As noted below, the space was converted into multiple stands of shops. There are stuff for tourists, jewelery, DVD's and other things.
Jackson Street Theater (can't remember actual name. On Jackson Street between Stockton and Grant) - Converted into a bargin shopping store.
World Theater (On Broadway between Stockton and Grant) - Probably one of newer and more modern theaters and had a nice run before closing down. The space still remains empty to this day.
Pagoda Theater (In North Beach, across from Washington Square) - Technically not in Chinatown, but played many Chinese movies in it's day. After the theater closed down, the space was to be redeveloped into a business. However, to this day, the space still remains closed to this day.
Great Star Theater - (On Jackson between Grant and Kearney) - This remains the only theater that is still operating thought it doesn't screen movies. The theaters primarily plays hosts to various Chinese opera troupes that stop by in San Francisco.

To me, it is a shame that there are no theaters in Chinatown that showcase new Asian films like they were back in the 1980's. While it is great to have imported DVD's and the Internet to see films, the experience of seeing a film in a theater sometimes cannot be beat.

Geocities: The End of an Era

2009-10-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Yahoo ended an era when it closed the door on Geocities, a free website hosting service that has been around since 1994. Geocities had been an independent company in it's early years before being acquired by Yahoo in 1999.

There have been many news sites waxing nostalgia in the passing of Geocities. One of my favorites is linked here:

Goodbye GeoCities: 7 Retro Things We'll Miss Forever

When Yahoo announced that they were closing Geocities back in April, I had begun work to transition a personal site I had been running to another location. The website, which was basic compared to today's web pages, was something I had whipped up during my college days back in 1995.

Through the years, my website has been located at the following URL's:

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~leed

http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/bay/6073 (Geocities before Yahoo)

http://www.geocities.com/smcoach41 (Geocities after Yahoo)

With the passing of Geocities, my website will be moving yet again. I easily could have just simply moved my existing webpages over to my new location. However, I decided to try some new things. However, in an effort to preserve some history, I noted on my new homepage that my website has existed since 1995 including my previous locations.

Alas, one regret I have was I did not download my Geocities files before Yahoo closed the service. I didn't think the stuff was all that historic but in retrospect, it would have been good to preserve some history.

In any case, the closing of Geocities does close the door on an era of 1990's computing that took us to where we are today. RIP Geocities. You will be missed.

Switching Gears (In More Ways Than One)

2009-10-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

When I got laid off from my job back in April of this year, I did what most people who are unemployed do. I went online and started looking for jobs. I was confident that I could find a job quickly. However, as reality set in due to the tough economic times, I started to look for alternative things to do while I was looking for a full time job.

I was already a basketball official so I knew that could earn myself some money if I were to remain unemployed for a extended length of time. However, there was an opportunity that was available that I previously did not pursue. The opportunity was to be a freelance writer covering San Francisco high school sports for Examiner.com

After some thought, I decided to apply for the opportunity and was accepted. From about late May until mid-August, I wrote nearly twenty articles covering various aspects of high school sports in San Francisco. I didn't make a lot of money but had some fun writing for a public audience.

However, when I was suddenly offered my old job back a month ago, I had no time to write about the high school sports scene in San Francisco. I considered giving up the writing gig but an idea suddenly came to me. As I am heavily involved in the San Francisco high school basketball scene (fan, official), I switched gears and now solely focus on San Francisco high school girls basketball instead. Why so specific? Another writer in the area solely focuses on the high boys basketball scene so it was decided that we shouldn't overlap.

I just wrote an article last night so check it out here:

San Francisco High School Girls Basketball Examiner

Speaking of switching gears, you will notice that this blog has slightly changed. I originally planned to just talk about pop culture and technology bits here. However, I found that I lacked an avenue to talk about personal stuff (nothing too deep), so I decided to use this blog for the occasional personal thoughts.

Jeremy Lin: Best basketball player you've never heard of?

2009-10-16T22:35:00.001-07:00

Rich Twu, the founder and commissioner of Dream League (Bay Area adult basketball league) recently posted a two part blog posting on Bay Area native and current Harvard basketball player Jeremy Lin:

The Legend of Jeremy Lin

Twu does a nice job of summarizing the challenges Lin has gone through as a Asian American playing a sport that is primarily thought of as a black or white sport (Yao Ming or other Asian players not withstanding).

I've only been able to watch Jeremy Lin play once when his Palo Alto High School team played Mater Dei in the California State Basketball Championship games. Since Lin has gone to Harvard, I haven't been able to watch his games. Even though I haven't been able to watch his games, I follow everything he does via the Internet.

Twu proclaims that Lin will be the first full blooded American born Asian player in the NBA. I certainly hope this is the case. In all the years since I've been in high school, I've been waiting for Asian players to make it to the NBA. I didn't expect Yao or other Asian born players to make it first. However, the time is now right for a American born Asian player to make it to the NBA.

I'll talk more about Jeremy Lin in future posts as the college basketball season kicks off in a month or so. In the meantime, read Twu's blog posting. It's certainly worth a read!

Destination Truth: Aliens in Chile?

2009-10-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

If you're read my previous posts, you know that I am a fan of various paranormal reality shows in recent years. From Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters, I've watched just about all of them on TV.

Recently, I started watching a show on their Wednesday night block called Destination Truth. Unlike the other shows, Destination Truth is not just about researching paranormal (aka Ghost) activity. The crew of Destination Truth is out to look to verify sightings of weird and unusual creatures and in addition to occasionally doing some paranormal research. In the episodes I've watched, they've traveled all over the world including Egypt.

Tonight's episode had them visiting two locations. The first location was in Chile. They were investigating a mine where an alien mummy was discovered. The highlight of the show occurred early in the investigation. The crew was doing some initial scouting of the mine when someone stepped into a hole. Upon further investigation, the crew pulled out a weird looking and decomposing corpse. It wasn't as big as a human but didn't look like any animal I've ever seen.

Unfortunately, as the crew was in a foreign country, they couldn't carry the corpse out so they dropped it off with the local law enforcement. They did take pictures to show to a pair of experts. Unfortunately, The two experts were unable to determine what exactly the team found. In addition, toward the end of the Chile investigation, the team saw a white light which turned out to be possibly a Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).

All in all, this was the most interesting episode of Destination Truth that I have seen. I'm really curious to find out what exactly the team discovered in the mine. Even if it's not an alien, it certainly added some drama to the show. I also hope the team investigates that white light / UFO they saw as well. It certainly looked like a flying object of some sort.

"Girls On The Dance Floor" on America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 finale!!

2009-09-27T21:20:00.001-07:00

America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC) is airing their Season 4 finale tonight. I've been a fan of the show for the past three seasons for many reasons. While it helped that the previous three winners of the show prominently featured Asian-Americans, I found the majority of the dance crews very entertaining.

Alas, I haven't found Season 4 of ABDC as compelling as the previous seasons. Unlike the previous seasons where there were clear crowd favorites, there was not one crew that stood out to me. It's clear that America felt the same way as various crews bounced in and out of the bottom two throughout the season.

However, I still watched the show, and especially looked forward to the season finale. Besides naming the winner, I especially like how the judges select various groups to dance with each other. One of the best performances came last season when Quest Crew (Season 3 winners), Strikers All-Stars and Dynamic Edition were selected by Shane Sparks to perform in the Season 3 finale. A link to the performance is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPzsKi7N6YU

As I type this, I am watching the ABDC Season 4 finale. Imagine to my SURPRISE when the first three crews selected by judge Lil' Mama to perform (We Are Heroes, Vogue Evolution & Artistry In Motion) danced to the song GIRLS ON THE DANCE FLOOR by Asian-American hip-hop group FAR EAST MOVEMENT.

Here's a link to the original song on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=limGtd-DmZM

Far East Movement (http://www.fareastmovement.com) has been around for years and the group definitely has it's share of fans. However, the group was still relatively unknown to mainstream audiences until recently. When Far East Movement released Girls On the Dance Floor last year, many DJ's took to the song and began spinning it on radios and clubs all over the United States and beyond. Among the biggest supporters of Far East Movement and the Girls On the Dance Floor song was LA's Power 106 radio station (http://www.power106.com). Far East Movement's reputation was slowly rising.

Thanks to Girls On The Dance Floor being played on the ABDC Season 4 finale tonight, the boys of Far East Movement may find their reputation growing even further. The national exposure the group has been craving for years may finally be there for the taking.

Girls On The Dance Floor , as well as other songs from Far East Movement's most recent album ANIMAL are available on ITunes and other online retailers. I highly recommend it!

(SIDENOTE: Congrats to We Are Heroes for winning Season 4 of ABDC)

Shinjuku Incident

2009-09-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

Blood. Violence. Gangsters. Chopped Hands. Gun shots. Sex scenes with a prostitute. Just another American gangster movie like the Godfather or similar? How about a Jackie Chan film? Yes, you read that last sentence correctly, a JACKIE CHAN film.

The film in question is called Shinjuku Incident, released in April of 2009 in Asia. I had read about the movie online and had been interested in seeing it for some time. The main reason for wanting to see the film was to see Jackie Chan doing a more dramatic role versus his trademark action and comedic roles like most of his old Hong Kong and recent American films.

I happened to come across a DVD release of the film in a local shop recently and picked it up immediately. The movie stars Chan playing the lead character Steelhead along with American born Daniel Wu co-starring as his brother Jie.

The plot of the movie takes several different turns during the course of the film. As there are plenty of locations on the Internet where you can find a detailed plot summary, let me give you the major points. Chan's character Steelhead has come to Japan illegally in search of his finance Xiu Xiu (played by lovely Chinese actress, director AND blogger Xu Jinglei). Chan locates and enlists the help of his brother Jie. Together, Steelhead and Jie work dead end jobs for money while looking for Xiu Xiu.

Steelhead later discovers that Xiu Xiu has taken a Japanese name (Yuko) and is married to a Japanese Yakuza leader named Eguchi (played by actor Masaya Kato). Seeing that his fiance has left him, Steelhead, Jie and other Chinese illegal immigrants in Japan begin to engage in some illegal activities to earn a living. Unfortunately, Steelhead, Jie and their friends end up crossing paths with a Taiwanese triad gang led by Gao (Taiwanese actor Jack Kao). The Taiwanese gang gets their revenge later on by beating up and later torturing Jie.

With Jie badly hurt, Steelhead plots to get revenge by attacking Gao. Instead, Steelhead walks into a Yakuza ambush and ends up saving the life of Eguchi instead. Steelhead and Eguchi both escape to Eguchi's home where Steelhead is reunited with his fiance. Eguchi is thankful for Steelhead saving his life.

Seeing that Steelhead is illegally in Japan, Eguchi offers Steelhead a job as part of his Yakuza clan. Steelhead politely refuses and leaves. Later on, Eguchi tracks down Steelhead to request that he perform hits on two leaders of rival clans. Steelhead agrees but makes two demands which Eguchi agrees to. Steelhead accomplishes his missions and Eguchi keeps his promise. The rest of the film deals with the consequences of Steelhead's involvement with the Yakuza.

With the brief summary of the film done, let me mention some of the more interesting aspects of the film:

The first thing you will probably notice is that the film is LONG. The total run time was almost TWO HOURS.
As I noted in the opening paragraph, there is a lot of blood and violence in the film. There are people shot and stabbed throughout. However, that is the tame parts of the movie. There are several graphic scenes which I describe below.
Jie gets the worst of it. Initially Jie is just beat up by the Taiwanese gang. However, the gang later tortures him by cutting his face AND chopping his right hand off. Jie's is shown without his hand in several scenes after. In addition, the Taiwanese gang later pulls out the severed hand and is shown stepping on it.
When Steelhead saves Eguchi's life, he wields a sword and chops Gao's hand off during a sequence.
After Steelhead initially sees Xiu Xiu with Eguchi, he gets down and depressed. Along with Jie, they both go out for a night on the town and sleep with prostitutes.
Jackie Chan hardly smiles throughout the movie. If you were looking for his trademark action, martial arts or stunts, there were none. While there were fights, it seems like there was a conscious effort not to show Jackie's skills in martial arts.
Jackie Chan speaks Mandarin and Japanese in the film but not Cantonese. For the duration of the movie, I wondered why Jackie did not speak Cantonese. After thinking about it, I remembered that Jackie's character of Steelhead was from China. Since Mandarin is China's official language and Cantonese is more of a regional dialect, it made sense for Steelhead to only speak Mandarin.
Jackie Chan as a bad guy? While he wasn't necessarily the bad guy in the film, Jackie did engage in illegal activities that you haven't seen in many of previous films.

I'm sure I missed other major details but these were the ones that really stood out. As a whole, I was surprised by the style and tone of the movie. I was expecting Shinjuku Incident to be more like Chan's 1993 release Crime Story. Like Shinjuku, Crime Story was a dramatic movie with Jackie minimizing his action and comedy. However, I don't recall that Crime Story had as much graphic violence that was shown in Shinjuku.

The other interesting aspect of the film involved Jackie engaging in illegal activities. I remember reading in Jackie's autobiography many years back that he could never see himself being a bad guy in film. Maybe Jackie got tired of playing good guys and decided to take a step in the dark side. Though, Jackie does somewhat redeem himself at the end of the film.

The biggest shock of the film was Jackie having a sex scene in the film (with a prostitute no less). It wasn't much of a scene and it probably lasted for (maybe) a couple of minutes. I understand WHY the scene was done. Jackie's character was down and out and he needed to get some release.

Knowing Jackie doesn't traditionally do love or sex scenes in his movies, I thought the scene was out of place. I know Jackie has expressed his wish to be a more dramatic actor or perhaps a romantic lead in the future. Given that he had not one but TWO lovely actresses playing along side him in the movie, a love or sex scene with either one would not have been a bad idea.

As a whole, I thought the film was alright but I probably won't be watching it again. It seems like to me that Jackie Chan decided to make Shinjuku Incident an ANTI JACKIE CHAN film. Most Jackie Chan films are kid and family friendly with action, comedy and martial arts. Shinjuku Incident is definitely a film you DON'T want to be watching with your kids. They may not sleep for many days after watching some of the graphic violence. I personally was a little bothered by the violence as well.

I'm perfectly fine with Jackie Chan wanting to change his style and image. He's done action comedies for so long that it's very difficult to surprise audiences anymore. However, I'm not sure Shinjuku Incident was the best example of Jackie as a dramatic actor. His acting was ok but may be overshadowed by the other things I mentioned above.

My Speculation on Annie Le case

2009-09-15T01:23:00.000-07:00

When Annie Le was reported missing several days ago, there was speculation that maybe she was a runaway bride. Now that the police have confirmed that Le's body was discovered, the focus now shifts to who could have possibly killed Le.

Thus far, police and Yale University officials have kept very quiet on specific details to the Le case. There have been no information released in regards to Le's cause of death as well as the evidence that has been collected.

However, there has been speculation that there is a suspect. The supposed suspect apparently had failed a lie detector test and had defensive wounds indicating some sort of struggled had occurred. Another site speculated the suspect might be a lab technician that worked in the lab that Annie Le was last seen entering. However, there has been no confirmation of this from the police.

I agree that a lab technician (or someone else that uses or works in the labs) would be a likely suspect. A lab technician has good reason to be in the building that Le was working in and possibly work in close quarters (possibly alone) with Le. Given that Le wrote an article on safety for a magazine, I imagine that Le was one to take precautions. Le wouldn't put her safety at risk by being alone with someone she didn't know well or trust. Unfortunately, this also means that the person who ultimately killed Le was probably someone she knew and (unfortunately) trusted to some extent.

The last question many people are asking is WHY Le was killed. I'm hopeful that once a suspect (who I assume to be male) has been identified and arrested, we will get some answers. While we await for that moment, I speculate that Le was killed by someone who had an infatuation or attraction to her. It's entirely possible that the suspect mistook Le's friendly personality as romantic or sexual interest. Obviously with Le engaged and ready to be married, the feelings were not going to be mutual.

While the killing could be a crime of passion or planned weeks in advance, ultimately I think that jealousy played a role. I would not be surprised if the suspect indicates something along the lines of "If I couldn't have Annie, then no one could".

I am hopeful that a suspect will be identified and arrested soon. From there, I hope that some answers will be given so that all of Le's loved ones can start the long healing process. It's a shame that a young woman with so much potential was taken away from her fiance, friends and family. To have it happen days before her wedding just adds to the pain. Rest in peace Annie and best wishes to all your loved ones in the days to come.

Blackberry Curve 8310 Camera and Video Recording

2009-09-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how much I loved my Blackberry Curve:

http://www.throughabceyes.com/2009/09/why-i-love-my-blackberryor-is-it.html

However, after Apple announced the 5th generation IPod Nano, I realized that I neglected to mention two other features of the Blackberry Curve that I use. The two features are the camera and the video recording.

Mostly everyone knows the Curve has a built-in 2 megapixel camera with a flash and zoom capabilities. While the Curve won't be replacing your digital camera anytime soon, it's a good alternative if you're in a pinch. While I haven't taken a lot of shots with the Curve, the camera works best when there is a lot of lighting. While the flash is nice, it doesn't seem to be strong enough to make up for areas that are dark.

One of the few features that people are going gaga for in the 5th generation Ipod Nano is the video recording function. What most people (Curve owners and non-Curve owners both) don't know is that the Research in Motion (RIM) implemented this feature in the Curve via a firmware upgrade several months ago. While this wasn't the reason why I upgraded the firmware, it was a nice bonus to have.

The video quality isn't great but like the camera, having good lighting helps immensely. You can record videos for as long as you want, depending on how much storage space you have on your Curve. Again, for your precious memories, you probably won't be using the Curve for your video recording. However, I have found the Curve for those spur of the moments that come up a lot in life.

One additional tidbit about video recording. One time, I was using my Curve to shoot a video of a co-worker doing an odd stunt. I wanted to share the video but had to use Bluetooth to transfer the video file from my Curve to my computer. I then uploaded the video to YouTube manually.

Another co-worker who was around while the stunt occurred introduced me to a site called QIK (http://www.qik.com)

QIK allows the Curve (and other mobile phones) to share their videos immediately without having to manually upload them. All you have to do is sign up for an account and download QIK software to your phone. Any videos you shoot will be automatically upload to the QIK website. The software also gives you the option to upload the videos to other sites such as YouTube.

I have used the QIK software and uploading capabilities a great deal. It allows me to capture and upload stuff easily (if not quickly since my Curve uses the old Edge network for Internet). It's a nice piece of software that seems to fill a niche that the phones themselves don't have. Plus the software seems to support all the major phones out there.

While the 5th generation Ipod Nano is a nice piece of hardware, I probably won't be going for one anytime soon. When I had the 2nd generation Ipod Nano, I found it cumbersome to carry around with my cell phone. When I accidentally lost the Nano, I chose not to get a new dedicated music player. I actually had an older one that I used for a short time.

However, my Blackberry Curve has filled all my needs. I can web browse, check email, instant message and listen to music. Throw in a camera and video recording functions and I have the all in one device I need.

September 11th, 2001

2009-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today is the 8th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York. As many media outlets reflect on the attacks, I'm sure many people are also doing so as well. Among the things people are discussing is "How did you find out about the attacks" or "What were you doing when the attacks occurred?"

Back in September of 2001, my work schedule was Monday through Friday 7 AM to 3:30 PM (Pacific Standard Time). My offices were 40+ miles away from home (one way). I had the option to drive or take public transit to work. Regardless of which option I took, it was a brutal commute either way. I decided to take the public transit option. I figured I could get some sleep while commuting.

September 11th, 2001 began like any other work day. As I had to use public transit, I got up around 4:15 AM to 4:30 AM so I could catch a train around 5 AM. The train ride to my destination took about 50+ minutes and I exited the train station right around 6 AM. Once I got off the train, I had to wait about 15 minutes for a shuttle to take me to the office. Because of traffic, the shuttle usually took about 30 to 40 minutes. I got off the bus around 6:50 AM and entered my building a few minutes before 7 AM.

Obviously, as I was commuting, the attacks in New York had occurred. However, I was unaware that anything had occurred. Other passengers on the train and bus did not gave indication that anything major had occurred either. Unlike 2009, mobile web browsing via Blackberries and IPhones were not available in 2001. The only way anyone would have known about the attacks would be to talk to someone via cell phone or perhaps listen to radio reports. Given that is early in the morning on the West Coast, most people (including me) on the train and bus were content to just sleep.

My first indication that something major had occurred was when I walked into my office. One of my co-workers immediate asked me: "Hey, did you know a plane hit the World Trade Center?" I told him "No, I didn't hear anything". My co-worker indicated that he knew something happened, but details were lacking.

After this brief discussion, I started to wonder what had happened. My first thought was that it must have been an accident. My second thought was that the plane probably was pretty small. I just couldn't imagine an airliner "accidentally" hitting a building unless it was some major problem.

The second indication that something major had occurred was when I went to read news sites on the Internet to see what had happened in New York. First, I went to local news sites on the West Coast. The local sites were accessible but had minimal information on the situation. I then went to a CNN's website. IT WAS INACCESSIBLE. I tried a few other national news sites and ran into the same problem.

From there, I knew there was something major happening. The rest of the day went by like a blur. The news slowly started filtering out from the East Coast to other parts of the country. As my other co-workers started to filter into the office, our focus shifted from our jobs to the situation in New York.

Despite the grim situation in New York and the fact that business was slow, my co-workers and I were told we couldn't leave work early. In a way, that might have been a good thing. On such a terrible day, it was good to have people to talk to. The day at the office went by quickly and ended quietly. I was going to take public transit back home. However, a co-worker who lived relatively close to me offered to drive me instead. He figured that might be a safe thing to do given that security all around the country would be tight.

After getting home, I remember watching the news coverage on the attacks for hours. I was just mesmerized and stunned by what happened. This was definitely something that was discussed among my friends and co-workers for weeks after. One concern I did have was that my cousin and her husband lived in New York. Fortunately, I was able to email them and confirm they were ok.

Being in the West Coast, the anniversary of the attacks don't invoke much emotion for me. I didn't know anyone that was killed and I was too far away to feel any direct effects. Despite this, September 11th, 2001 is a date I won't forget easily. The sheer audacity of the attacks are not something that anyone will forget anytime soon.

The Concept of Best Friends

2009-09-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

This is not really pop culture or technology related. However, the situation I went through was a tough but great learning lesson. I decided to write about the situation and shared with my friends via email. There were quite a few who told me that liked it and appreciated what I had to say. I decided to share this even though it's necessarily related to the topic of my blog. I hope you enjoy and learn something from it!

What is a best friend? Usually a best friend is the ONE person someone trusts enough to talk about secrets and life issues that they wouldn't share with other friends.

Who is the best friend? It could be anyone. It could be a grammar school, high school, or high school classmates. It could be someone from your church group or even a co-worker. The best friend doesn't even have to be the same sex as guys and girls can be best friends as well. In fact, some believe that a husband and a wife should be best friends. The one factor that usually ties best friends together is usually that they have known each other for a
long time.

Do best friends last "forever"? I think that everyone wishes that their friends today will remain their friends tomorrow and for the rest of their lives. Many friendships do stand the test of time but there may be some that don't. But even if a friendship does last for years, there will be ups and downs. You may lose touch for a while but reconnect later at an unexpected time.

For myself, I've experienced ups and downs in recent years with one particular friend. She was someone I had met in high school and we had a great relationship for many years. She was instrumental in me learning and growing to be the person I am today. Though I never called her my best friend, in many ways I treated her like one. I revealed to her many things that I wouldn't always reveal to other friends.

A few problems would come up though. First, she lived in the East Coast and constant communication proved to be difficult (even with email, instant messenging and cell phones). Second, she had her own group of friends and among them was a guy she always called her best friend. Third and last, she was constantly busy with her job. She was so focused on work that people like me (especially living far away) were lost in the shuffle.

I was pretty patient and gave my friend the benfit of the doubt. However, my frustration slowly built because my friend just was not calling back or replying to my emails. About four years ago, I finally lost my patience. I called my friend and left her a voice mail expressing my frustration with her lack of communication. To this day, with the exception of running into her in San Francisco (by accident), I have not spoken to her since (some emails written, but that's another story).

Not having someone that had been one of my oldest and closest friends was difficult. However, it made me realize how much I had neglected some of my other friends that were in the Bay Area.

I was very fortunate though. I had some old guy friends around that I had hung out with for years. It wasn't much of a problem to talk to them more. Another college friend also resurfaced. We had been good buddies through college but lost touch for a few years after we graduated. Fortunately, we were able to reconnect and the years away were good. It may me appreciate this person even more and our friendship is better than ever. Along the way, other friends have surfaced and I appreciate their company as well.

What have I learned through this experience?

First, no matter how much we want people to stay the same, people change. For my friend in the East Coast, perhaps work and other life issues dictated that those things take precedence in her life. Even if she wanted to communicate with me, sometimes friendships have to take a backseat to other priorties.

Secondly, I learned that I like to have a diverse group of friends and having a best friend isn't appropriate for me at this point in my life. I have many great friends and calling any of them a "best" friend is a disservice to everyone else. There is one big change. Instead of relying on one person as I did in the past, I have a few select friends that I like to talk to about certain things. Perhaps one day, I will have a best friend and ideally that would be my wife. :)

Thirdly, I think having a best friend can be limiting. Talking to muliple people with different jobs, backgrounds and lifestyles provide perspective. I can talk to married friends with kids, married friends without kids, single friends, old bosses and others. No matter much life experience a best friend may have, they are still only one person.

Lastly, be open to change yourself. I've learned (and read) that certain friendships are only meant to last for a certain time. Maybe the friends are there to help you for a specific reason. Once they have done what they needed to do, they will move on. While this may be sad or frustrating, be aware that other friends will eventually come and take their place.

So these are my thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree with what I had to say, I'd love to hear people's thoughts.

Nintendo Wii Update / Mental Health Benefits

2009-09-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

I usually don't blog twice in a day, but I thought this would be interesting. I wrote in a previous blog post about my Nintendo Wii as an exercise alternative. See the article linked below (or on the left nav bar in August):

http://www.throughabceyes.com/2009/08/nintendo-wii-as-exercise-alternative.html

Since I wrote the post, I've personally played the Wii quite a bit. I use it as an exercise alternative on those days I don't get much physical activity. I've even used the Wii recently to supplement any other exercise I've done during the day. I currently only have Wii Sports to play with but it's been good enough thus far.

I also mentioned that my mom's doctor recommended she get more exercise. While walking should be my mom's primary form of exercise, I introduced my mom to the Wii to get her some additional exercise as well. I initially planned to just have my mom do the Wii Fitness portion of the Wii Sports package. Alas, that plan didn't work out. My mom struggled with the speed of the baseball and tennis games as her reaction time wasn't good. Given time and practice, she probably would have gotten the hang of it.

However, I wanted something she could learn more quickly. After exploring, I found that the bowling and golf target practice games worked well. Both games required only simple button pushing and arm movements to play. I should note that I taught my mom to simulate the action bowling a real ball and swing a golf club instead of flicking the write like some people do. I figured that would get her more exercise (I do this myself as well). It took my mom a relatively short amount of time to learn how to play both games. In fact, my mom torched me in one round of the golf target game 495 points (!!?!?!) to 255 points.

Admittedly, the physical benefits of playing these games aren't huge unless we play it for hours. However, burning off even a few calories is beneficial for someone her age. One unexpected benefit may be for my mom's mental health. My mom got a great deal of joy scoring 495 points on the golf target game (I don't think she cared about beating me). I underestimated how the sense of accomplishment could make someone feel better.

There are many studies on how the Nintendo Wii has helped various segments of society. While I don't have any scientific proof to back what I see, I definitely see the Wii has had a positive impact on my mom. I didn't expect how much she would like playing with the system but I am not complaining!

Welcome to the major leagues Doug Greenwald!

2009-09-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

If you're a San Francisco Giants fan and were listening in on the radio for today's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, then you got a treat today. Doug Greenwald, son of former Giants broadcaster Hank Greenwald, got the opportunity to broadcast his first major league baseball game. One of the Giants regular broadcasters Dave Flemming had returned home to be with his wife who was expecting a baby. Doug has been broadcasting in the minor leagues for many years now including the past seven years for the Giants AAA team, the Fresno Grizzlies. According to many news reports, if not for the fact that the San Francisco Giants having one of best broadcasting teams in the business (including Flemming, Jon Miller, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow), Doug might have already been in the major leagues.

On a personal note, I am happy that Doug finally got his shot in the big leagues. I was actually a classmate with him at Wallenberg High School in San Francisco for three years. If you've seen any recent photos of Doug, you will see a physical resemblance to his dad Hank. However, back in high school, Doug was a slim kid who looked nothing like his dad. Because I was a big local sports fan and Doug was also, we hit it off extremely well. We weathered the ups and the downs of the Giants, A's, Warriors and the 49ers (sorry Raiders fans, I wasn't paying much attention back then!).

The one great thing about Doug was that he was a regular kid. Sure, everyone (classmates, teachers, coaches) knew of Doug's background and he was well liked by everyone around school. However, I don't think Doug ever expected to be treated differently and he never looked down on others because of his background.

Though I never asked for them, there was a great benefit to knowing and hanging out with Doug during our high school and early college years. I got to meet Doug's family (dad, mom and sister). I got a chance to visit the broadcast booth at Candlestick before and after a few games. I got some great seats to a few of the Warriors playoff games during the 1990's including losses to the Lakers and Sonics. It was during the Sonics series that I got an autograph from Mitch Richmond, who had been traded to the Sacramento Kings during the off season. Richmond was back in Oakland watching the playoffs which Shawn Kemp had his coming out party. I also got a chance to meet and shake hands with then Warriors (and now Chronicle Live) broadcaster Greg Papa.

As the years progressed, we lost track of each other. Doug spent his college years in the East Coast and I stayed in the West Coast. Recently, as Doug as slowly moved up the ladder in the broadcasting business, I've seen his name pop up in local newspapers. I was happy to see him doing well. Recently, we did reconnect (as many people do these days) through Facebook.

I hope that today's broadcast will be the first of many for Doug in budding his major league broadcasting career. I'm hardly an expert, but from the couple of innings that I was able to listen to, I thought Doug a fine job. If Doug's career goes as well as I think it will, then he may become the most famous person (that I know of) to attend and graduate from Wallenberg High School. Currently, the most famous person to attend Wallenberg High is Asian singer and pop star Coco Lee (Ferren Lee-Kelly in high school).

Wiki Entry on Coco Lee:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Lee

However, from my friends who knew Coco Lee back in high school, she left Wallenberg before her senior year and graduated elsewhere.

Movie/DVD Recommendation: Viva Cuba

2009-09-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

I was reading through several blogs today about Hollywood and the independent film industry and I was reminded about a movie I saw during the 2006 SF International Film Festival called Viva Cuba.

In March of 2006, I went with a female friend (Latin-American) to watch several films in the SF Asian-American Film Festival. A few months later, we went to watch more films the SF International Film Festival and Viva Cuba was one of the films we watched. I read a blurb about the movie in the festival program but otherwise did not know what to expect.

I was intrigued by the story of the two young kids who strove to preserve their friendship despite the many challenges that they faced. However, the one that that stood out was the ending of the movie. Without giving anytime away, the ending was ambiguous yet appropriate. The two young kids were determined to remain friends forever.

If you're looking for a good film that doesn't follow the traditional Hollywood formula, this film is definitely worth a look. The movie is available on DVD at Amazon and other retailers.

(SIDENOTE: I wrote a review on Amazon for the film and recycled some of the words here for the review.)

Whatever happened to Kevin Collins?

2009-09-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

The recent discovery of 29 year old Jaycee Lee Dugard after being missing for eighteen years made me wonder what ever happened to another high profile kidnapping dating back a quarter of a century ago.

See an article on the discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/27/BA4N19EJ35.DTL

It's been over twenty-five years (February 10th, 1984) since Kevin Collins disappeared in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco and was presumed to be kidnapped. As a San Francisco native, I was well aware of Kevin's disappearance because his face was on the TV, newspapers and flyers all over the San Francisco Bay Area and later nationally on milk cartons and national magazines. Being around the same age as Kevin, I think Kevin's disappearance set off also waves of worry with my parents and others with kids back in 1984.

Unfortunately, to this day, the case of Kevin Collins has never been solved. I tried to do some quick research on Google to see what kind of clues were found by the police or any other law enforcement agency but did not come with anything. Kevin's disappearance in 1984 did not generate as much publicity as it could have today. The Internet, cell phones, and other forms of messaging and communication that we take for granted today was not available.

The discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard made me wonder if Kevin Collins could possibly be still alive after all these years. Maybe I'm being a dreamer but it definitely would be a huge feel good story to find Kevin Collins alive out there. Setting my sights a little lower, even if Kevin Collins couldn't be found, I would love to hear that information had been discovered as to what his fate was. I'm sure the discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard brought up some unpleasant memories for the family of Kevin Collins. In my mind, it certainly would be great if Kevin Collins or any information related to Kevin could be found.

Why I love my Blackberry....or is it a IBerry....or is it a BlackPhone?

2009-09-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

Back around June of 2008, I had been thinking of getting a new cell phone. I'd had my old flip top cell phone for about three years. Though it was working fine, I was looking for some more advanced features like calendars and web browsing. I went around to various stores and browsed at the newer phones. One that caught my eye was the Palm Centro. The Centro had a lot of what I wanted and the phone was inexpensive. Since my old flip top phone was still working, I put off the decision in getting a new phone indefinitely. In my mind, I would get a new phone when the old one broke.

Alas, that time came about a month later. My old flip top phone suddenly died and d-day was here. I had to get a new phone. I immediately went to look at a Centro. However, after playing with the Centro a little more, it didn't quite feel right. The keyboard was a little small and the web browsing was a little limited than I expected.

The next choices on the list were the Apple IPhone (non 3G or 3GS) or the Blackberry Curve 8310. I had played with the IPhone at the stores since it came out but never really looked at the Blackberry. My dad thought I should get the IPhone since I had also lost my IPod Nano a few months back as well.

Despite wanting the IPhone for the novelty factor, I just didn't like the touch screen. Ultimately, after getting a friend's recommendation on the Blackberry Curve 8310 (she had bought it a few months earlier) and playing with it myself, I decided to get the Curve.

Unfortunately, I got a defective phone which rebooted every few minutes so I had to replace it after a few months. However, since I got the replacement phone, everything has been smooth sailing.

While the IPhone has the cool factor and definitely has it's advantages over the Curve, it still does what I need to do including:

Email (Hotmail, Yahoo)
Web Browsing - This is one area the IPhone had a major advantage over the Blackberry. The Blackberry browser is not robust and Safari does have it beat. However, for basic news reading, most big websites have optimized for the Blackberry. Also, for sites that haven't been optimized, I used Opera-Mini for browsing. Opera is not perfect but it's a decent substitute.
Games - While the IPhone has a ton of applications for business and fun, the Blackberry also has a few. The Blackberry comes with Brickbreaker (a variation of the old Breakout video games in the 80's). Also, I've downloaded free versions of Pac-Man and Tetris.
Music Player - My friend reminded me that if I didn't need a separate MP3 player from my phone that the Blackberry could serve as a decent substitute. Guess what? She was RIGHT! Now that ITunes has decided to allow their songs to be playable on other MP3 players besides IPhones or IPods, I can play the same songs everyone else can. I know that Blackberries are generally considered business phones and I personally haven't seen many people listening to music on their Blackberries. But it's much better than one would expect. Plus I love it when people look at me weirdly for I know they're thinking "Is he listening to music on a Blackberry?"
Blackberry or IBerry - Most IPhone users probably don't care about simulating the look and feel of a Blackberry. However, many creative folks have created IPhone themes for the Blackberry. So while I can't use a touch screen, I have icons that look like the IPhone on the Blackberry. My friends laugh at me for doing this but I'm open minded. I may not like the touch screen of an IPhone, but it doesn't mean I don't like the look of the icons or the interface! :)

It's been a year since I got my original Blackberry (7 months for replacement) but it's been fun. I know my phone is quite outdated with Research in Motion announcing a bevy of new phones (Curve, Tour) recently and a rumored new phone (Essex) coming.

However, I plan to enjoy my Curve for as long as it works. When that time comes again, then I will hopefully find another one that can be as fun as the Curve has been!

DC Comics: The Great Ten

2009-08-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

DC Comics Blog recently announced that a ten issue mini series featuring a group called the Great Ten would be published in November of this year. Why is this significant? It is significant because The Great Ten is a group of Chinese superheroes based out of the People's Republic of China. The group first made an appearance in DC's weekly series 52. They reappeared in last year's Final Crisis as well.

See the announcement here:
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/08/11/some-tuesday-news-the-great-ten

For more information on the Great Ten, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ten

While Japanese manga has become a big part of mainstream American culture, there have not been many Asian characters that had their own comic book series in the American comic industry. One of the few (in recent memory) was a character by the name of Ryan Choi who assumed the identity of an existing hero, The Atom. Unfortunately, the series was canceled after 25 issues.

With China being a growing economic power and wielding influence in an increasingly global culture, it makes sense that a group like the Great Ten would be developed. However, to many Americans of Asian descent, this has been a long time in coming. Asian-Americans are always fighting for fair representation in media. While the Great Ten will be considered a foreign group because they are based in China, just having any type of representation in the comic industry is a big plus.

As for me personally, I like this group because they will (hopefully) be different than other comics I've read growing up. The fact that they are Asian is a bonus. Ultimately, if the mini series had a good story and good characters, that's all I care about. I'm all for diversity in the media but the product has to be good as well.

Speaking of Asian Americans in comics, I should promote an anthology of comics featuring Asian-American heroes called Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. The anthology is available at online retailers like Amazon and bookstores like Borders.

For more information, go to the website here: http://www.secretidentities.org

Nintendo Wii as an exercise alternative

2009-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Around the early part of June, I was surprised AND fortunate to win a Nintendo Wii in a raffle run by a basketball league I play in. I'm sure I disappointed the many kids who also play in our league who wanted the grand prize of the raffle.

While I like video games, I wasn't overly excited about winning the Wii. After all, I'd had a Playstation 2 for years but hadn't played any games on it in a long time. I was actually playing more online games (poker, Mafia Wars, etc) and eighties video games (Pac-Man, Galaga, etc) than more recent games.

However, after thinking about it, winning the Wii was a blessing in disguise:

Reason #1
My mom used to play video games on our old Atari 5200. As she's gotten older and video games have gotten more complicated, she stopped playing. However, from playing Wii Sports with my friends, I knew the games were something she could learn to play. An added benefit was the games could get her a little exercise since the Wii Sports games require the player to move around a little bit. For multiple reasons, the doctor has told my mom to get more exercise so I always encourage my mom to walk more. Unfortunately, she doesn't walk as much as she should. However, I think the Wii can serve as an alternative on days my mom doesn't walk. I don't think the Wii can replace any exercise program completely. However, my opinion is that any exercise is better than nothing.

Reason #2
This reason probably applies to me and my mom. As we all know, weather affects people's moods and thus their motivation to exercise. Generally, San Francisco had mild weather but the temperatures have been in the 90's most of today. Because of the hot weather, I've decided to stay at home today (a benefit of being unemployed). I may go out to the East Bay to play basketball later tonight. However, with the warm weather, it could be a challenge to play.

For those days where the weather (hot or cold) is keeping you from getting exercise, the Wii can fill in. I've already played about 30 minutes worth of Wii Sports today. For someone who's in reasonably good shape, I know I'm not going to work up a huge sweat, build big muscles or get in aerobic shape just by playing the Wii. However, I think just getting up and burning a few calories is always beneficial.

People ripping their clothes off....for JACK IN THE BOX?

2009-08-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning to blog today, but I can't help myself. I was just watching Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel and the show went to a commercial break. On come this commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHXOkY8N8I

I don't know if I would be more embarrassed for Jack in the Box or the actors in the commercial who were ripping their clothes off? While I can understand the purpose of the commercial and certainly don't mind seeing some skin, I'm not sure this was the best way to promote something. I'll have to see if this commercial plays during the daytime. I can't imagine this commercial would play well when the younger people are still up.

Perhaps Jack in the Box was responding to the Carl's Jr commercial (from several months back) featuring the lovely Padma Lakshmi (host of Top Chef) gets up close and personal to a burger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8nJKa13sBo

District 9 = Blair Witch redux?

2009-08-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we were celebrating some friend's birthdays at a Japanese restaurant. We were discussing what we wanted to do afterward. After some discussion, it was decided we would go see the movie District 9.

Despite being a science fiction fan, I had no idea what District 9 was about. I had not read or watched any previews of the movie. In retrospect, that is the best way to judge how good a movie was.

I won't rehash the plot of the movie as you can get that from many other sites. I will say that the movie was certainly different than any other film that I've seen before. Whether that made the movie better or worst is certainly up for debate.

The first thought that came to mind after watching the movie was that it was partially styled like the 1999 horror film The Blair Witch Project. For those who don't recall the movie, The Blair Witch Project involved three student filmmakers that were filming a documentary about a local legend called the Blair Witch. The movie was recorded in a first person / documentary style and viewed through the eyes of the students as event occurred.

District 9 doesn't copy Blair Witch's style exactly though. The film is presented in a documentary style initially as people are interviewed about the aliens and the events revolving around the lead character Wikus. The movie then transitions to a news reporting style as it follows Wikus while he tries to evict the aliens (or Prawns as they call them in the film) from District 9. After all of this, the movie transitions into your typical summer flick as Wikus comes to terms with his situation (he's been infected and turning in an alien) and what he is going to do about it. The movie reverts back to being a documentary at the end as people are interviewed about the final fate of Wikus. In a sense, District 9 was a documentary, dramatization, news and action film all in one.

From a personal perspective, while the film was interesting, it wasn't a huge favorite of mine. I thought the initial documentary pieces dragged on for far too long and the section following Wikus trying to evict the aliens was a little boring. For someone who had no idea what the film was about, the foreshadowing of Wikus getting infected was given away (in my opinion) way too easily. However, I did guess wrong about Wikus involvement with the aliens. I thought Wikus would somehow side with the aliens in their evil or sinister plans. Alas, if you watched the film, Wikus himself was subjected to experiments and exploitation by various groups of people.

That brought up some other issues with the movie. There was very little discussion about the aliens and their background. The movie played for almost two hours but there was nothing about why the aliens came to earth and why they allowed themselves to be herded into District 9 (and later District 10). The aliens are presented in a menacing fashion initially, but Wikus befriends an alien (named Christopher Johnson) who promises to help Wikus become human again. So obviously, the aliens aren't completely evil.

The other unexplained plot point (it was somewhat convenient in my perspective) is what infected Wikus. It was explained by Christopher that the liquid Wikus discovered prior to being infected was gasoline to get the alien ship moving so they could go home. However, it is unknown if the liquid that sprayed Wikus was just a defense mechanism or the gasoline itself.

All in all, District 9 was a nice change of pace from your typical summer blockbuster as there was a little bit of everything in the film. I think this was the reason why the film generally received positive ratings from various reviews I read.

However, I think District 9 wasn't as good as many of the reviews stated. There were things that I thought were missing or unexplained which detracted from the film. All in all, District 9 was an ok film in my book. It wasn't horrible but wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. Check it out for yourself and see it you like it!

America's Best Dance Crew - Martial Arts Challenge

2009-08-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching this week's episode of the 4th season America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC) on MTV. This week was the Martial Arts Challenge week. The dance crews had to incorporate moves from various martial arts styles (Kung Fu, Karate, among others) into their dance choreography.

Alas, it appeared the challenge made things difficult for the dance crews. The first several dance crews struggled to incorporate the martial arts moves into their dances and were called out for it by the judges. Ironically, it was the final two crews that performed did the best in incorporating martial arts in their dances. Unfortunately, these last two crews were also up for elimination!

While the challenge may have hurt the dance crews competing tonight, I think it was a good idea. The show had Steve from Quest Crew (winner of the 3rd season of ABDC) present the various martial arts styles to the dance groups. Judging from the reactions of some members of the dance crews, it was clear they had no idea of what some of these martial arts style were.

It was great that MTV had Steve explain the various martial arts styles that exist. Most people are aware of martial arts in a general sense. They may have seen a Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Bruce Lee movie or watched a mixed martial arts fight. However, most people don't know the difference between Kung Fu, Karate or Muay Thai (three of the styles presented today, among others). Martial Arts is an important part of Asian culture and it was great to see this presented on TV to a large audience.

It may have been a conscience choice by MTV because the past three seasons of ABDC have been won by Asian-American dance crews. They may have been playing to the large Asian audience that may be tuning in. Alas, the irony is that the only all Asian/Asian-American dance crew part of this season's ABDC was eliminated during the first week. However, there are some Asian-American members that are part of the other crews.

While I don't claim to be a big hip-hop dance fan, I have tuned into the show because it was great to see Asian-Americans represented in something they are not known for. Asian-Americans don't get a lot of exposure in prime-time TV but ABDC is one of those exceptions.

Lastly, I think ABDC is the best reality show out there due to it's diversity. It shows people of all cultures doing what they love (dance) but also interacting and working together. I think ABDC has proven that people do not care who is performing as long as they are entertained. I hope that network TV and movie executives pay attention to this in the future. We have a big melting pot in the United States but it sometimes is not accurately represented in the mass media.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - Controversy

2009-08-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

The Angry Asian Man blog posted this today:
http://www.angryasianman.com/2009/08/paramount-doing-damage-control.html

According to the blog posting, Paramount Pictures has requested media outlets remove all trailers for the movie The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard which depict lead actor Jeremy Piven spouting some Pearl Harbor and Anti-Japanese rhetoric to motivate his sales force and then actor Ken Jeong gets beat up. This may be in response to protests which were held at Paramount Studios on Friday by various Asian-American groups.

Here's another Angry Asian Man blog posting on the trailer in question:
http://www.angryasianman.com/2009/08/hate-crimes-for-fun-and-laughs-in-goods.html

While I have seen the various advertisements for the movie, I wasn't really interested in the movie and never watched the trailer. Because of the controversy, I decided to watch the trailer that included the scenes described.

If you want to watch, the trailer is still on Youtube here but no guarantees it will remain there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeZMNxB0BOQ

My take on the scene? While I am not personally offended like many people are, I think the scene itself was unnecessary. The anti-Japanese rhetoric brings up bad memories for many people. One group of people would include the many Japanese Americans who were subject to internment during World War II. The other people who may be upset would be the folks who lived through the 1980's. Many American auto workers (non-Asian I have to add) did not like the "Japanese taking their jobs away" because Japanese cars grew in popularity at that time.

This brings up the biggest problem with the scene. Actor Ken Jeong (the only Asian in the scene among the many people) gets beat up after Piven spouts his rhetoric. Many older Asian-Americans remember the case of Vincent Chin. Chin was beat up and later died when a couple of American auto workers mistook him for a Japanese person.

Wiki will do a better job of explaining the Vincent Chin case than I can: Vincent Chin Case

I think many people (Asian and non-Asian) may also think the scene is non-offensive, they say so without knowing the history of Vincent Chin and the memories that is brought up by this scene. Plus, there is a question to be asked:

What if anti African-American rhetoric (the "N" word) was said and a African-American salesman was beat up?

Hunting Mostly Haunted Ghost Adventures

2009-08-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

When I was a young, I had a fascination with ghosts and the paranormal. When I was in elementary school, the teachers would always give us these forms where you could order various books. I remembering asking my parents to order a lot of books. Among them were various books on talking about real ghosts and other paranormal activities. As I grew up, this fascination faded.

However, in recent years, I have discovered various reality TV shows involving ghosts and the paranormal. The general theme of the shows is a group of people go into a supposedly haunted location at night and investigate the activity over the evening using various pieces of equipment. Here's my take on the shows that I have watched.

MOST HAUNTED (Travel Channel)
This was the original show I discovered while watching the Travel Channel one day. The show is actually a British production but was picked up for play on the Travel Channel. As the first show I watched, I was fascinated by what the people were doing. The Most Haunted team brought minimal equipment (video cameras) but brought people who were supposedly "spirit mediums" that could sense or possibly talk to the spirits in the various locations. If you read the various information available on Most Haunted, you will see there is some notion that the show is fake. Obviously, I can't prove or disprove this notion.

However, as I have now watched other shows and compare them back to Most Haunted, I feel like Most Haunted is a little boring. The show has pretty much stuck to it's formula over the years. The show doesn't do a lot of scientific investigation. It feels like the team just wanders around aimlessly trying to contact spirits. All in all, while the show is one of first, it may have been surpassed by other shows.

GHOST ADVENTURES (Travel Channel)
If watching Most Haunted wasn't enough, Ghost Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel in 2008. The two shows usually play back to back on Friday nights so you get a double douse of paranormal reality TV.

When I first watched, the most fascinating part of Ghost Adventures was they used a lot of equipment. They used digital audio recorders and a lot of cameras to try to record any activity that might occur.

The interesting part of this show is the approach the team takes in communicating with spirits. The team takes a very confrontational approach which they feel is best. In the show, this approach has sometime not worked in the team's favor as some spirits have scratched team members or done other things.

While the Ghost Adventures team does bring in a lot of equipment, I feel like they overplay the drama a little too much. Of course, the drama is a part of the charm of the show. If what they present on the show is real, you're always curious what will happen to the crew when the continually use their confrontational approach.

GHOST HUNTERS / GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL (Syfy)
Ghost Hunters originally appeared on Syfy in 2004 with the spinoff Ghost Hunters International premiering on Syfy in 2008. Both shows take the premise of Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures to it's logical conclusion.

Whereas Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures focus an entire hour on one location, the Ghost Hunters team usually does two locations (occasionally three) in one hour. The reason for this is the Ghost Hunters shows minimize the drama and focus on the facts. If there is activity that is recorded, the team tries to find ways to prove or disprove what they have seen. Unlike the other shows, the team is shown analyzing evidence and the viewers get to see the most compelling pieces. With this approach, that is why the Ghost Hunters show usually do two locations in an hour. Sometimes though, you wish that they would have spent more time on a particular location.

All in all, while all the shows have their pluses and minuses, I enjoyed all of them. Is what we see on TV real? That is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

Introduction and Welcome

2009-08-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am certainly busy! A good friend of mine had looked at my other blog Behind The Whistle and suggested I create a more general blog. After all, Behind The Whistle is a focused on basketball (and occasionally other sports) officiating and only certain people would have an appreciation for what I was writing.

My friend suggested I write a more general blog on my interests in pop culture and technology. After all, I do have other interests besides sports, basketball and officiating. After much thought, I finally came with with a title for the blog: THROUGH ABC EYES.

What should you expect from this blog? I'd expect my thoughts on the latest movie or TV shows I've seen, music I've listened to or gadgets I have played with. This will be fun as I have written reviews of various items on Amazon in the past and this will be no different. As always, please post comments on anything you're interested in or you want me to take a look at!