While the rest of the world is gentrifying...

Venezuela is degentrifying! Awesome.

Caracas, Venezuela -- Mayor Juan Barreto announced late Tuesday that the municipal government planned to seize two elite country clubs and redevelop them as low-income housing projects.

The Hugo Chavez government has targeted 4 million acres of farmland for seizure and redistribution this year to poor farm cooperatives. In Caracas, the takeover is prompted by a housing shortage and is permitted under the Chavez land law passed in 2003, which gave the government sweeping new powers to seize property that it deemed idle, misused, illegally acquired or not contributing to "social goals."

Big ups to Cali

California lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reached an agreement today to make the state the first in the U.S. to impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Global Warming Solutions Act aims to cut emissions to 25 percent by 2020 with an enforceable cap and mandatory reporting for top polluters like energy companies.

As the most populous state in the US, California is the world's 12th largest emitter of greenhouse gases. But the Terminator wants to change all that.

Last month Schwarzenegger signed an accord with British Prime Minister Tony Blair establishing joint research into cleaner-burning fuels and technologies. Now look what he's doing today!

But the governor's commitment to emissions caps puts him at odds with the White House and the Republicans in the California legislature, who are concerned that such restrictions would be too costly for businesses and the economy.

Tough shit. Why should we sacrafice the earth so that corporations can squeeze the most profits out of their businesses? I'm so tired of these blood-sucking fuckers. I hope they choke on greenhouse gases.

Pass the bug spray

Yet another consequence of global warming... the return of the Bubonic Plague!

Researchers publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that a rise of just 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit in the springtime temperature led to a 59 percent increase in plague prevalence (currently, up to 3,000 cases are reported each year around the world). The researchers focused their study in Kazakhstan, where the primary host of the plague is the great gerbil (no, really). The gerbils carry fleas, which carry the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes the plague, which gets transmitted to humans by the fleas. Yersinia likely triggered both the Black Death, which killed more than 20 million people in the Middle Ages, and a 19th century pandemic in Asia that killed tens of millions. Depressingly, both outbreaks occurred during warm, wet climatic periods.

Hmm, warm wet climate ... sounds familiar.

Anniversary of Katrina

Little Jesus raising his fist for freedom.
I hope his vision of freedom (and ours) includes justice for the poor people of New Orleans.

(Photo of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, courtesy of Mister Markus)

Sooooo fucked up

Mister Markus alerted me to this book in my previous post about racialized Survivor.

How fucken gross! For the most part, I don't get offended by racist shit anymore (desensitization is a bitch)... even the racist Addidas shoes didn't bother me. But this is really offensive. What's worse is the author is an Asian guy -- Adam Quan. Fucken self-hating sell-out whore!!

The book came out in 2004, and apparently, many negative comments were posted on Amazon as a result. I was going to post something nasty on Amazon too, until I learned that Amazon eliminated many of the comments regarding the race issue. Fortunately, the Melting Blog captured some of the comments before Amazon erased them.

Water conservation is fun!

A reader of Adbusters Magazine writes:

I've noticed that most people leave the water running full blast while they brush their teeth. As an experiment, I did likewise, but left the plug in the sink. In an average quick brush of less than a minute, the sink filled up with four liters of water. This means that if you brush twice a day, you'll needlessly waste about 3,000 liters a year. So instead, simply wet your toothbrush, brush away, and then turn on the tap for a final rince, and you've done a small part to change the world.

DYY admits that she used to to leave the faucet on when she brushed her teeth. But no longer... and she's not experiencing any withdrawal symptoms either. In fact, it's probably one of the easiest habits to change in an effort to conserve water.

Water Crisis: not just for poor countries anymore. Industrialized nations must make drastic policy changes if they wish to maintain water supplies, warned the World Wildlife Fund last week, as supply declines thanks to everything from global warming to wetlands loss. A report by the International Water Management Institute said that a third of the world faces water shortages; water use has increased by six times in the last century and will double again by 2050, mostly from agricultural use. WWF suggests a combination of solutions -- conserving, repairing infrastructure, reducing pollution, and requiring agriculture interests in rich countries to pay more for water and be held accountable for efficient use -- but noted that implementing common-sense measures "in the face of habitual practices and intense lobbying by vested interests has been very difficult."

Here's some more very easy tips to conserve water in your household:

1. Water your lawn only when it needs it. Step on your grass. If it springs back, when you lift your foot, it doesn't need water. So set your sprinklers for more days in between watering. Saves 750-1,500 gallons per month. Better yet, especially in times of drought, water with a hose.

2. Fix leaky faucets and plumbing joints. Saves 20 gallons per day for every leak stopped.

3. Don't run the hose while washing your car. Use a bucket of water and a quick hose rinse at the end. Saves 150 gallons each time. For a two-car family that's up to 1,200 gallons a month.

4. Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Saves 500 to 800 gallons per month.

5. Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Saves 300 to 800 gallons per month.

6. Shorten your showers. Even a one or two minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons per month.

7. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks. Saves 150 gallons or more each time. At once a week, that's more than 600 gallons a month.

8. Don't use your toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Saves 400 to 600 gallons per month.

9. Capture tap water. While you wait for hot water to come down the pipes, catch the flow in a watering can to use later on house plants or your garden. Saves 200 to 300 gallons per month.

10. Don't water the sidewalks, driveway or gutter. Adjust your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden where it belongs--and only there. Saves 500 gallons per month.

The Real World, Palm Springs!

This is the true story, of eight strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens, when people stop being polite, and start getting real.

The Real World -- Palm Springs!

Cast:

Just Kitty
Socialite/Heiress to Pan's Palm Springs Delux Golf Course & Spa

Rick
Porn star and aspiring rap artist

Pearl
Student at UC Palm Springs

Tron
(originally pronounced as "Truong")
Vietnamese Meth Dealer

Madge
Lottery Winner/Retiree from Georgia

Miquel
Pool Guy

Betty
Bar Waitress

Dolores
Landlady

Happy Birthday!

Who says race doesn't matter?

CBS has announced that the castaways from this fall's Survivor: Cook Islands will -- in what the show's producer and host both acknowledge to be a controversial move -- initially be organized into four tribes divided along ethnic lines: African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and Caucasian.

Damn. I think that is all I have to say. Damn.

In silent protest (as I do not watch Survivor, although I might this season), I refuse to cheer for any specific racial team. Still, let's review the cast mates on the Asian American team, shall we? They better represent...

• Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui, a 42-year-old nail salon manager from Christianburg, VA

You go, Bui! I like the untamed hair. It gives him a competitive edge cuz he looks all psycho and barbaric and shit.

• Jenny Guzon-Bae, a 36-year-old real estate agent who currently resides in Lake Forest, IL and is originally from Melrose Park, IL

Illinois in da house! I'll give her some love even though she's from the booty suburbs of Chicago.

• Yul Kwon, a 31-year-old management consultant who currently resides in San Mateo, CA and is originally from Flushing, NY

This is good. Koreans are wild. He will be the muscle.

• Becky Lee, a 28-year-old attorney who currently resides in Washington, DC and is originally from Pittsburgh, PA

Becky Lee? Like Becca Yee? And she's an attorney too... except I would never strike a pose like that. Ewww.

• Brad Virata, a 29-year-old fashion director who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and is originally from Seattle, WA

Fucken pretty boy. You just better not cry and embarrass your race.

Poor Pluto

The International Astronomical Union has voted to remove Pluto from the solar system--as a planet, that is. Now we're down from nine planets to eight. Pluto is now considered a "dwarf planet".

So what is the social significance? Anyone?

Still, let's have a moment of silence for Pluto. You will always be a planet in my eyes.

Somewhere in Wyoming

Breath-taking, huh? Photos were taken by someone in the Yitt family, probably the elder Yitt, during their excursion in Wyoming.

Maria posing with the clouds.
I really like this picture. It's quite stunning.

You know what? I don't even know what the fuck those are.

I've never seen a moose in real life. I doubt I ever will. Because if I did, I would probably run away screaming in terror.

The Ladies Seven

Blu-Tooth just forwarded this picture from her camera phone. It's from our Girls Night Out, Part One from early this summer. We're cooling off at an old school ice cream parlor that's decorated in pink and smells like bubble gum. HOT!

(sigh... i miss my long hair!)

Sad moment in hip hop history

Kevin Federline aka K-Fed debuted his latest hip hop single at the Teen Choice Awards this past week. I tried watching the performance but I couldn't even finish it. It was that bad. You could see for yourself but you might not want to waste precious internet time. No one warned me, and I wish someone would have.

I don't know who to feel worse for... Britney or the rest of us who watched her lame ass husband perform.

African Americans need to reclaim hip hop asap!

Gotta love the NY Post...

Borat is my hero

Joe and I had a lengthy conversation about Borat while we dined at Uzbekistan Restaurant in Hollywood. Uzbekistan borders Kazakhstan, and since Borat is from Kazakhstan, it was a natural topic in our conversation.

We found some great Borat footage on YouTube. Enjoy!

FYI: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (the movie) is coming out on November 3, 2006!

I wish I still had HBO

Spike Lee's documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts", debuts tonight from 9 to 11 on HBO. It's a four-part, four-hour documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on the people of New Orleans.

Do the right thing and watch if you can! Let me know how it is... single tear on cheek.

My dad is so cool

My dad is a retired chef, but he gets so bored being retired (it's the asian work ethic in him) that he'll pick up random gigs here and there. Here is a conversation we had this week which will illustrate how cool my dad is:

(Chinglish translated by DYY)

YY: You know I started a new job this week?

DYY: Yeah.

YY: I quit today.

DYY: Why?

YY: The boss is really mean. He's a big yeller.

DYY: WHAT? WAS HE MEAN TO YOU? DID HE YELL AT YOU?

YY: Of course not! He wouldn't dare yell at me. He yells at the other workers, the waiters.

DYY: So what does this have to do with you?

YY: It's not right. He just yells to yell. It's not like any of the employees have done anything wrong. It's degrading. He's originally from Shanghai.

DYY: Um... and what does this have to do with you?

YY: Hellllooo! He's Shanghainese, and he's yellling at Cantonese people. Our people. Toi Son people. A Shanghainese person can't go around thinking he can yell at our people... and it's not like our people will talk back either.

DYY: Okay.

YY: So I scolded him when I quit.

DYY: No way! What did you say?

YY: Well, after he paid me (of course... it's the asian work ethic in him!), I told him he shouldn't talk to employees that way. That it's not right. This is America and you can get sued. Then I told him I quit.

DYY: Did you tell him your daughter is a lawyer and sues employers like him all the time?

YY: No.

DYY: Oh. So, what did he say?

YY: Nothing. He just rolled his eyes.

DYY: Wow, Dad, I'm impressed. But in the future, don't make too much trouble, okay? You're old, you know.

Isn't my dad so fucken cool? And people wonder where I get my social justice values from...

The case against beef

Did you know...

• You'd save more water by not eating a single pound of California beef than you would by not showering for an entire year.
• Producing a single hamburger patty uses enough fuel to drive twenty miles. It also causes the loss of five times its weight in topsoil.
• More than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the US are used in animal production.
• It takes 4.8 pounds of grain (fed to cattle) to produce one pound of beef.
• A pould of wheat can be grown with sixty pounds of water, whereas a pound of meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 pounds.
• Reducing meat production by just 10% in the US would free enough grain to feed 60 million people.

Supporting a local artist

Min and I at the Tofu Fest last weekend, giving love to a Canto singer.

Making changes in a consumer culture

"Every time we pull out our wallet to buy something, we are casting a vote for the kind of society and economy we want. Whether we fully realize it or not, we vote with our dollars every single day, either for or against sustainability, for or against health, for or against justice," asserts Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the Organic Consumers Association.

"There's only one reason for buying organic food, clothing, and other products; for supporting Fair Trade; and giving preference to independently owned local and regional businesses - because it's the best way to live."

-- excerpt from GREEN LIVING, the E Magazine's Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth.

ps. you like my clip art? It's raining benji's, baby!

Iran's president is a blogger!

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started his own blog (www.ahmadinejad.ir), and has begun to urge users to send messages to him. His blog includes a poll asking if users think the US and Israel are trying to trigger a new world war.

Now that's hot. I'm going to add his blog to my list of bloggin buddies shortly...

My newest addiction

Perhaps from my latest posts you could already tell? Yes, folks, DYY is addicted to celebrity gossip. I have been for many years. Whenever I have any free moments at the grocery store, newstand or airport, I would take those few vital minutes to peruse the pages of US Weekly (my favorite), In Touch, Life & Style, People... any and all of them if time allows.

The addiction is now exacerbated by my recent discovery of celebrity gossip blogs! Ironically, I learned about these countless sites in an article in Bitch Magazine. The article was entitled Web Spite and how gossip columns reduce female stars' worth to their physical appearence and fashion choices, blah blah blah... well, of course, they do! You see, for an addict like me, who understands all the social implications of these one-dimensional images, BUT loves this trash anyway... it's wonderful. It's like that stupid phase, it's the best thing since sliced bread... and it really is.

My favorite is Perez Hilton. He's this young plump gay guy who actually hangs out with many of the younger celebrities and gets to go to all the parties (I learned from one of his posts that he and the other more famous Hilton attended a BPM party that I rsvp'ed to but decided not to go... totally trippy but gross at the same time, right?). His site has the best gossip and is regularly maintained. He also has the funniest (i.e. meanest) comments. Plus, he loathes Tara Reid. As you can tell, he's my biggest pusher. I would be his whore.

I also bookmarked The Superficial , Jordon Is Your Homeboy, and A Socialite's Life, although they're not as good as Perez's. So when I am limited on computer time, I just read Perez's and catch up on the others later.

I know what you're thinking. Fuck you. Don't be judgmental. We all have illnesses.

Nicole looks so healthy

NOT!

I can't mention Paris without mentioning her once side-kick, ex-best friend now arch nemesis Nicole Ritchie. DYY plays fair.

For once, let's hear the voice of a male's perspective:

Anorexia? More like anorsexya. Am I right, folks? Huh? Am I right? Because if there's anything guys enjoy doing it's having sex with corpses. Or eating piles of feces. Or sticking their penises in blenders.

This dude is funny.

Paris Hilton has the best style

NOT!

You got to give her credit, though, for trying to disguise her pajamas with a big red belt.

A Fashion Must-Have

Photo by DYY

Code Red?

Yeah right. Why don't we have any information on what led to the capture of these "terrorists"?

"We are taking the step of preventing liquids from getting into the cabin to give us time to make adjustments"

I thought it was foiled? Obviously, the screening measures they have in place were working.

Mothers tasted baby food in front of airport security guards to prove it contained no liquid explosives. Liquids and gels were banned from flights. Travelers repacked their luggage in airports, stowing all but the most necessary items in the hold.

First, they confiscated my tweezers. Then they make me take off my shoes. Now I can't carry shampoo, lotion and toothpaste, or a bottle of water. WTF.

Personal conveniences must be sacrificed for national security.

I guarantee national security would be preserved if we stop occupying foreign countries and aiding Israel with weapons of mass destruction.

"This nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation," Bush declared.

It's more like, we're at war with people who we fucked over for years and years, depriving them of their freedom and destorying their nations. Bush and his cronies are the biggest terrorists and fascists I know.

Another concerned superstar

Lindsay Lohan says she wants to go to Iraq with Hillary Rodham Clinton to throw a concert for the troops.

"I've been trying to go to Iraq with Hillary Clinton for so long," Lohan, 20, tells Elle magazine in its September issue. "I wanted to do what Marilyn Monroe did (during the Korean War), when she went and just set up a stage and did a concert for the troops all by herself. It's so amazing seeing that one woman just going somewhere, this beautiful sex kitten, who's basically a pinup, which is what I've always aspired to be." Even without Sen. Clinton, Lohan is confident she can handle an Iraq trip on her own. "I'm not afraid of going," she says. "My security guard is going to take me to a gun range when I get back to L.A., and I'm going to start taking shooting lessons."

Damn, bitch, you want to shoot some Iraqis? Not much of a kitten, are you? Meow.

Lieberman the Loser

... or is he?

US Senator Joe Lieberman concedes the democratic primary election to challenger Ned Lamont and announces that he will run as an independent candidate in November 2008.

I mean, did he seriously think he was going to win the DEMOCRATIC primaries? It's true that democratics and republicans are the same in many ways... but this mofo was much further (FAR) right. He's like one of those evangelical christian republicans, but instead, he's jewish. I guess that would make him a zionist.

If he was truly a democrat, he would have cowardly and quietly supported the war efforts in the beginning, and now denounce it with a moral indignation (sigh... i belong to a party filled with pussies and punks). Rather, Lieberman still rallies for the war, and with vigor. With raw zionist vigor. So how can he call himself a Democrat? I guess he didn't read the memo.

Could this be an elaborate plan for him to leave the democratic party and still save face? As an "independent" who wasn't ousted by his party, he could still win the votes of conservative democrats, and now garnish support of republicans. And he can finally come out of the closet and be the neo-conservative republican he always wanted to be. It could be a brilliant plan, especially if the little troll can pull it off. I shudder to think about it.

But for tonight, I drink and smoke to Lieberman's loss. Burp.

The Pope Wears Prada

The Queen is looking fierce in those red shoes!

Lucky numbers 8/8/08

Two years from today, China will host the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is their first, and they hope to make it the "best games ever".

And of course it will be the best because, dude, it's China.

The Chinese, I mean, Christian Science Monitor has a nice little article about it, and how locals and the government are prepping for it.

Btw, I actually typed that mistake above. Funny how the subconscious works...

This is why Madonna grosses me out sometimes

Seizing the heightened spotlight of her performance in Rome on Sunday - on the heels of being criticized by the Pope - Madonna chose to shine the light on peace in the Middle East.

Women in Art

Remember Nagel, you all? It's so '80s ugly, it's cool.

Here's Blu-Tooth... a work of art!

Northern Beirut

Power Play at Pebble Beach

This past week, 250 News Corp. executives gathered for a management retreat at a posh seaside resort in Pebble Beach. As you may have guessed, this is a retreat organized by Rupert Murdoch, the devil incarnate himself.

Guest speakers included British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Clinton and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres. Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton will opine on remaking complex organizations, former Vice President Al Gore will riff on climate change, and U2's Bono will deliver a keynote address titled "The Power of One."

If there's one man with the power to summon the powerful, mogul watchers agree, it's Murdoch. He has created a global media market by successfully operating in very different regulatory and political environments.

This is Murdoch's retreat agenda in PDF form. Crazy.

Goddamit. How did this one evil man acquire so much power? I faintly hear his sinister laughter now, Muhahahaha... ooh, it makes me shiver.

I am so jealous. I hate him. But at the same time, I want to be him. It's like that one episode in the Friday the 13th tv series where this really ugly record store dude with greasy hair and bad acne finds this possessed necklace that makes the wearer's dreams come true, and his wish is to be with this sexy female rock star, but later he realizes he wants to BE the rock star. It's a classic story. You know, guys wants girl, guy wants to be girl...

Sorry, I digress. Anyway, I wonder if he needs a protege? Dude, if Rupert had an Apprentice show, I would apply to be a contestant.

Here's a small public service announcement:
RESIST Murdoch! GET THE HELL OFF OF MY SPACE ... before it's too late...

Going, going... gone

The trend toward gentrification has been proliferating in cities all around the world for many years, pitting the poor and the homeless against real estate developers, the police and upscale residents returning to "reclaim" the inner city. As long as there have been low-income neighborhoods, there have been those who want to remove them — and those who have, as a result, been left with no place to go. -- by Tom Slater, who wrote an excellent piece about the battle over Skid Row. He provides useful historical context on gentification in America.

The LA Times recently printed a special report, entitled A Community's Ethnic Tradition in Transition, about the gentrification occurring in LA Chinatown. The title should have been, The Rape of Chinatown (again and again and again). When are we going to learn?

Unfortunately, the article is untimely, as the gradual, yet speedy, process of gentrification had already begun in Chinatown about six years ago, when white artists discovered how cool (and cheap) it would be to have their studios and galleries there. Long ago, I remember walking through Chung King Road with Joe Mak in shock and disgust. Now it seems normal...

It appears to be shifting into overdrive. Loft conversions, mixed-use projects and luxury apartments are on the horizon. Director Quentin Tarantino has even bought an old theater where he plans to show Asian films.

The situation has created a culture clash. Some old-timers complain about the rowdy behavior of the new patrons. There are periodic flare-ups over art shows that some longtime Chinatown merchants consider too racy. Some elderly residents worry about being pushed out by gentrification.

Gentrification always begins with the artists. Yuppie scum arrives shortly thereafter. Before you know it, housing markets and retail prices skyrocket. Local residents can no longer live in neighborhoods that they and their families have lived in for generations... and they can't afford to live anywhere else in the city, because all the once "blighted" communities are "revitalizing", hence pushing them to the booty suburbs. They are displaced and forgotten, while rich white residents enjoy their new cool ethnic digs. This pretty much sums up the process. Gross, huh?

Downtown loft developers have caught the vibe. "Chinatown is one of those best-kept secrets," said Kate Bartolo, senior vice president for Kor Realty Group, which is planning a development.

Several years ago, Joe Mak and I, and a few others, acquired property in Chinatown to be used as a multi-purpose space for local residents to congregate (and reclaim their community!). My goal was to do it covertly, incognito-style and shit. We failed, unfortunately, because we were naive and wasted time trying to develop a collective, rather than a movement, while others made back-door deals with the landowners. It was a crushing experience, but it made me truly believe that ownership is power. Well, like He-Man says, knowing is half the battle!

Competition for Joe Mak

Watch this video of the latest magician on the streets! I'm such a stupid dork for liking shit like this!

Sounds (and Sights) Eclectico

Nortec (from the combination of "norteno" and "techno") is an electronic musical genre from Tijuana that first gained popularity in the late 1990s. Nortec music is characterized by hard dance beats and samples from traditional forms of Mexican music such as Banda sinaloense and Norteño - unmistakably Mexican horns are often used.

I fucken love horns.

Tonkhero and I went to a free KCRW-sponsored concert of the Nortec Collective as part of the Grand Performances at the California Plaza in Downtown LA. I love outdoor events that are free to the public. I truly think it's a great service.

We jammed to electronica dance music Tijuana-style yo. They totally rock.

Lastest Album.

We then migrated to Night Visions: MOCA After Dark (late hours every Saturday night in the summer), and drank and danced with the fucken hipsters. Despite my personal distaste for them, I do love their fashion. It's the only time I people-watch.

But it also gave me an excuse to check out the Robert Rauschenberg exhibit. Even though it's not my aestetic, I admire his use of so many random-ass materials to make his art. He'd use a neck tie, a stuffed eagle, all types of metals, door knobs, a tire, wires, mirrors... all types of bullshit. It's very masculine installation art, I think.

Here's one of my favorites because, it's like, who would think of this shit? Gotta give the man some credit.