Just another manic monday

I was suppose to see this riveting documentary after work. But Tron cancelled on me. For a woman, no less. And no one else seemed interested. I wonder why? For real, why? I think it's a pretty good concept and I'm always interested to see what those wacky Chinese villagers are up to.

So, instead, I ventured to the westside to check out this book reading by Norah Vincent, author of Self-Made Man.

In the book, Norah shares her journey of going undercover as a man for eighteen months. It's kind of like John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me, but unlike Griffin's book which totally confirmed why I hate white people, Norah's book actually exhibits sympathy for men. That's what the audience said anyway. And can I tell you how kooky the audience was! Thank god I had two cocktails at Houstons beforehand, thanks to my buddies Plus, Blu-Tooth and Michael! By the way, why is it so easy to get people to come out for drinks than see a documentary about newly-empowered Chinese villagers with access to modern digital freedom? Fucken drunks.

So back to the audience. Although I was impressed with the diversity of the group, in terms of race, gender and sexual orientation, you could tell most of the folks were academics. And why is it that before an academic asks a question in a public forum, he or she must provide complete disclosure of his/her identity?

I am a middle-class African American lesbian of color born and raised in the melting pot of Los Angeles with an abusive alcoholic father and albino mother and a cat with three legs.

Are you fucken serious? Just ask your stupid question, please. But no.

I was raised as an Orthodox Jew but studied eastern philosophy at a community college and now I perform accupunture on people who are frightened to leave their homes and I find it very rewarding and... oh, I forgot my question.

Then these two ladies get into a heated debate with an obnoxious straight Asian male, a Latino guy, and a gay white man (sounds like I'm starting a joke, huh?) about the differences between hetero-male sexuality and gay-male sexuality. This went on for a while. Poor Norah.

Truth be told, much of it was interesting despite the annoying personalities. Norah made one statement that made me ponder: "The one thing that prevents heterosexual men from freely engaging in polygamous relationships is... the woman." Norah admitted that her statement is an overgeneralization but true in many cases. I've been thinking a lot about monogamy lately and I'm not so sure if it works either, particularly in our day and age when marriage is no longer a necessity of life.

Don't get me wrong. I value partnerships. But why can't you have partnerships with multiple people, especially when it's unlikely that one person will be your everything? Why should you compromise and have less than everything you deserve and desire? Why settle on one person who has only half of everything when two halves make a whole?

You know, four fourths make a whole too.

Gee. Things that make you go hmm.

My Jet Blue Experience

As the week led up to my Thanksgiving trip to NYC, I was super excited for my first-ever experience on Jet Blue Airlines... admittedly, even more excited than my actual trip to NYC! I was looking forward to the leather seats, the extra leg room, and the individual tv on every seat!

The ride was definately a step up from the Southworst accomodations that I am accustomed to, but it really wasn't that much more spacious or comfortable. It's not like business class, though I'm not sure why I had expected it to be like business class. Also, I felt ambivalent about the TV, as it distracted me from my reading (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, a recommendation by both Josh and Jane).

Despite my ambivalence, I gladly watched Malibu's Most Wanted, starring Jaime Kennedy -- a movie which I would have NEVER EVER watched if not for the fact that I was stuck on a plane for five hours.

It's comedy about a rich white boy (Kennedy) who grew up in Malibu, but honestly thinks he's black inside. So the staff of his father's gubernatorial team considers Kennedy a threat to the campaign, and hires two "white" black actors to act "black", kidnap "black" Kennedy, and take him to "the ghetto" (South Central) to be scared "white". Of course, it doesn't quite work out that way because, as we know, racial politics just ain't that simple... so I'm sure you could imagine all the hijicks that followed.

Not only was it sooo stupid that it was funny, I was actually impressed with the movie's direction on issues of race, class and identity. I mean, the underlying message "to be yourself" is far from deep. In fact, I would testify that this movie does not add any value to the world whatsoever. But I do think the movie successfully tackled many sensitive and provocative racial topics and stereotypes with grace, humor and honesty. In other words, Kennedy and his crew pulled it off quite well. Believe me, I would have never expected it (especially with a movie poster like the one above). It was, indeed, a sweet surprise.

"We are still... the Pet Shop Boys"

That's what Neil Tennant (on the left) said at the conclusion of their concert yesterday at the Wiltern Theater. Chris Lowe (on the right) was silent most of the night, marking his genius at the keyboard while wearing the exact same neon yellow hoodie and shades pictured above.

Not only are they still the Pet Shop Boys, but they are still very cool. The concert was amazing and they are awesome live. I swear, Neil's vocals sound just like they do on their cds! Thankfully, they played many of their old hits and we went crazy. It was really wonderful.

Lady Pun and I decided to go last minute. Thanks to Jane, we were fortunate to get discount tickets ($15 plus surcharges... original price was $65!). With the discount, it was even more worthwhile.

Yes, they are old. They don't look like this anymore, actually:

They can no longer prance around like they did back in the day, nor partake in any theatrics. And the audience was old, which made me think of my own fleeting youth...

But I actually think they are way cooler now... instead of prancing around themselves, they hired gorgeous gay men to prance on stage for them! Now that's hot. The dancers and back-up singers wore a multitude of lavish costumes that ranged from urban couture to head-to-toe white jumpers to sparkly golden cowboy outfits to flashy naval uniforms... there were at least 2 costume changes with each song.

Unfortunately, no one else in the theater (occupied only by gay white men and Asian people) dressed up for the ultimate new wave electro pop concert of the year except for the Pet Shop Boys, their dancers, and us:

Dude, we could pass for the Asian version of the West End Girls, a tribute band for the Pet Shop Boys. Perhaps we should call ourselves the East End Girls?

This young Swedish duo (only 17 years old!) sing only cover songs from Pet Shop Boys albums.

Although Joe introduced me to the West End Girls, the first time time I heard of tribute bands was when I read Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. Author Chuck Klosterman, who was my hero for a minute (he did not have lasting power over me, unlike Gandhi), toured with Paradise City, a tribute band for Guns N' Roses. It wasn't until I read Chuck's book did I learn that most well-known singers and bands have a following of impersonators who make a pretty decent living singing the songs of the original performers.

Chuck describes these impersonators perfectly: These bands are mired in obsurity and engaged in a bizarrely postmodern zero sum game. If a tribute band were to completely succeed, its members would no longer have personalities. They would have no character whatsoever, beyond the qualities of whomever they tried to emulate. The goal is not to be somebody; the goal is to be somebody else.

Well-written, Chuck. That's why you were my hero for like two minutes. The Pet Shop Boys, on the other hand, have earned my loyalty. I am a fan for life.

We're all androids

Unfortunately, however, I do not dream of electric sheep. I wish I did. That would be cool.

I did dream of Pris last night though... she's the coolest replicant ever, way better than Harrison Ford's love interest who allowed herself to be raped by a filthy human. Yuck.

Here is Daryl Hannah in her finest role of Pris.

Best quote of the movie: "Wake up. You're about to die."

How I commemorated 9/11

Let's see. In the morning, I turned off NPR because all the topics revolved around the anniversary of 9/11. Yeah, it was a quiet morning.

When I perused the paper, I skipped all the headlines about 9/11. So I had a quick read.

As I searched the internet, I grew so tired of banal images intended to put people in hysteria:


Thankfully, by the evening, I was saved. The Los Angeles and Valley area campaign for a Department of Peace and Nonviolence hosted a screening of the 1982 film classic, Gandhi, in celebration of 100 years of non-violence and the birth of the non-violence movement in 1906. When I learned about the screening through the LA Weekly, I really felt it was appropos to attend... and I am really glad I went. Gandhi is my new hero.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, you must. Put it on your Netflicks queue. Buy and own it.

The movie was long, like 3 1/2 hours, and even had an actual intermission, but the story was so captivating that my ADD brain didn't mind. The movie fortunately helped fill in many blanks of my limited knowledge of the Indian Independence Movement and the subsequent partition of India and Pakistan.

The performers were excellent, and so was the art direction/cinematography. The scenes of non-violent civil disobedience were so powerful. Gandhi was right when he said non-violent resistance is not passive.

“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.”

Dude, I can go on and on why I love this movie. But most importantly, I learned more about Gandhi. This man is awesome!

After the screening, I felt so inspired. The belief that one person can make a difference rekindled in me. Considering humankind's barbaric history and current hyperactive culture toward violence, it seems impossible, almost mythical, that a movement of non-violence gained Indian independence from the almighty British Empire. It's crazy.

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems”


In addition to Mahatma Gandhi's acute strategic and organizing skills, as well as being a saavy lawyer, I admire him for his commitment to live his life the way he thought was right. It's so hard to do. It really is. I struggled for many years to live in a way that was more aligned with my politics and beliefs (particulary with regards to consumerism), but found myself defeated each time.

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles”

Gandhi chose to live a simple, self-sustaining life and practiced for many years to make himself into the person he wanted to be. I'm sure he failed at times, because he's human. Just the fact he made an effort everyday of his adult life to live consciously and deliberately resonates deep value within me.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

I think DYY is ready for her own personal transformation. Don't laugh, I'm serious. In fact, the first thing I did when I got home was purchase The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of his Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas over Amazon. I guess I want Gandhi to continue to inspire and motivate me as I revive my long-abandoned pursuits to live life consciously and deliberately.

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.”

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.

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!

If the glove don't fit...

Poor Johnnie. I wonder if he would have ever suspected his white associates to take over his firm when he died? I give mad respect to Johnnie, but it's his bad for trusting whitee in the first place...

In Bomb the Suburbs, William Upski Wimsatt, a white "hip hop" writer from Chicago, writes, "...But let me offer this advice to black artists: Next time y'all invent something, you had better find a way to control it financially, because we're going to want that shit. And... you won't even get to hear us say 'Thanks niggers'."

RIP Ms. Octavia

Octavia E. Butler, an internationally acclaimed science fiction writer whose evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human, died on Friday, February 24, 2006 after a fall near her home in Lake Forest Park, Washington. She was 58.

I was shocked when I heard of her death on NPR. BF just lended me one of her books, Parable of the Sower, a week before. It's one of his favorite books. I've been reading it this past weekend and I'm very impressed. I'm far from being a sci-fi aficionada, but I find Octavia's description of the future compelling. Her story also parallels current concepts of the present. Plus, I like strong heroines ... so does she apparently.

Here's a short description from the book's sleeve: The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of "Paints", people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape and murder. When one small community is overun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman, sets off on foot, moving north along the dangerous coastal highways. She is a "sharer", one who suffers from a hereditary trait called "hyperempathy" which causes her to feel others' pain as well as her own.

This is a true correspondence

Dear Librarian:

I did not request for this book/audio (the bible) to be held for me. I get my bibles free from motels.

Is someone using my identity to borrow books? Or is this a covert plan of action to indoctrinate lost souls and introduce God to heathens like me? Is the "religious right" a part of this? Please advise, thank you.

Ms. Yee

Los Angeles Public Library wrote:

******* HOLD NOTIFICATION ********

The following item(s) you requested are
being held for you at:

Los Angeles Public Library
Fairfax Branch
161 S. Gardner St.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-936-6191 *
*
Bible. *
NIV audio Bible New Interna *
*
The item will be held until: 03/13/06