So there are not a lot of things that I speak out on, or rather, against. I must admit, that I've gotten a little soft, a little lazy over the years. I have a lot of friends who are very active and articulate - they talk the talk/walk the walk, and are so dope that they move others - and when agree with them I cede to their words, forward emails, attend events, support organizations, etc. In a sense, I guess you can say that I fall back on the adage that, "actions speak louder than words." And I figure, they say it just right, better than I would say it, so why do I need to?
Well, while that is all well and true, I do realize that I have to get off my ass, or rather, unbutton my lip more often, to join the voices that speak out against injustice. Because injustice and oppression are so immense that they need to be fought with everything we've got.
There are many forms of violence against women. Domestic violence in particular, has been making headline news.
So I was on my way to class this morning (I train in self-defense and martial arts under Guro Eleanor Academia at the Magda Institute). On the radio was Steve Harvey, talking to the Editor-in-Chief of Essence Magazine, discussing the Rihanna & Chris Brown situation. This has been headline news since the incident a month ago. Everytime I hear it or read about it, I just cringe. My heart breaks for her, for young women, for all women who have been beaten by their partner. What pisses me the hell off, are the responses of excuse - "well we don't know all the facts," "she hit him first, he could have crashed his lambo," or the jokes, which I care not to repeat. Because it's not a laughing fucking matter.
These are the thoughts that were also articulated by Steve Harvey and EIC Angela Burt-Murray. He went on to say, that if any man hit a woman he knew and he found out, that he will go out and whoop dude's ass, that dude would have nowhere to hide. Yes. Thank you.
Just before class began, my teacher thanked everyone for the well-wishes as she participated in an all-Filipina cast for the Vagina Monologues. She acknowledged International Women's Day, and the masses of women in Darfur who have been raped and killed, and women globally who suffer from violence. She brought it back to our class - she acknowledged our privilege as women here in the US, that our struggles may not be as extreme as in other countries, but that even as we train to protect ourselves and our loved ones, this is one way we contribute to stopping the violence against women.
While I train with my sisters, my mind is focused, clear. As I am walking back out into the real world, driving home, my teacher's words resonate, as do the voices on the radio. I think about the rest of my day, and how in a few hours I will be joining the women of Gabnet at their annual Political Fashion Show, where together we will continue to raise our voices and our fists to stop violence against women. I thought back to when I was a student employee at UCLA, when my co-worker, another Pinay, whispered to me in hushed tones as we put away books, how her live-in boyfriend had been hitting her. Her quiet plea to please don't tell, and how her mother and sister told her to get over it, that he's a good man and he may have just been mad. Oh and he worked with us too. I couldn't be friendly anymore. But I didn't tell him anything. Oh how I regret it now.
I thought about the organization Break The Cycle, where my homegirl works (shout out to Belle!). She asked me to help out for one of their fundraising events last month. I had a great time, meeting new people and having fun. However, there were these little moments as I walked through the venue, thinking, how many women I've known, strong, fashionable, beautiful... and very well could have been abused. It was a comfort to know that organizations like this exist. I was thankful to experience the words of poet Mayda del Valle, who wrote a piece about domestice violence. (Another time that I felt, see she said it perfectly!) At first she was concerned it would bring down the energy in the club, but it didn't. It reminded us what we were raising funds for that night. I hope you get to hear it one day, if you haven't already =)
I thought about my family members and friends, who have been assaulted and abused. Their faces, their smiles, their voices, their anger, their sadness, their beautiful hearts ... and their will to keep going. I thought about those that I don't know, in Darfur, in the Philippines, here in the US, and all over the world. I thought about what I learn in class and how I have no qualms hitting punching kicking or stabbing someone who has harmed a woman or a child. And I have no qualms about kicking that man in the groin because if you hit a woman, you have no balls anyways.
Physically speaking, women are generally smaller and our brute force tends to be weaker than men. Women, by nature, are non-violent beings, as we have the ability to carry life inside of us. To protect life, a woman must be protected, not attacked.
Sure, we mouth off sometimes, maybe a lot, and we get angry. A woman may even break your heart. Men, that may piss you off. But it is still no reason to lay your hands on her. On us. How would you feel if a man hit your daughter, your sister, your wife, your cousin, your friend, your mother? If someone inflicted pain on someone that you love?
For men who do this - please stop. It's ok to go to counseling to figure out why you do this. It's not impossible to end this behavior. There are therapists and other resources out there to help. It may be difficult but letting go of the anger or whatever else makes you so this, but when you do, you open yourself to a better life. To peace.
Women, my sisters. From the ones I know, to all worldwide. Please don't stay silent if a man hurts you. Don't STAY AT ALL. Speak out. You are not alone, even if it might feel like it. Fuck the judgments and all the other bullshit. Speak out for yourself. Love does not hurt. We are here for you. There are resources out there.
Love does not hurt.
END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. NOW.
***
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224
Break the Cycle: http://breakthecycle.org/
http://www.ncadv.org/protectyourself/GettingHelp_128.html
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
This Thursday! Come Through!!!
Please come through this Thursday to IMIX BOOKS in Eagle Rock. And come early, space is limited! See you at the entrance (I'm the bouncer. hehe)
BAMBU, DJ PHATRICK, and IMIX BOOKS present:
OFF THE BOOKS
First Thursdays Open Mic @ IMIX Books
with monthly feature artists
8pm-10pm, Doors 7pm
$5-$10 donation.
YOUTH FREE!
IMIX BOOKS
5052 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
OPEN MIC SIGN-UP:
imixopenmic@gmail. com
NEXT OPEN MIC:
Thursday, March 5, 2009!
DUAL RECORD RELEASE PARTY!
SCARUB & VERY (AFRO CLASSICS)
celebrating the release of THE CLASSIC EP
and
ELIGH & JO WILKINSON (Mother & Son)
celebrating the release of ON SACRED GROUND
with
THE BASH BROS.
RSVP ON FACEBOOK!
BAMBU, DJ PHATRICK, and IMIX BOOKS present:
OFF THE BOOKS
First Thursdays Open Mic @ IMIX Books
with monthly feature artists
8pm-10pm, Doors 7pm
$5-$10 donation.
YOUTH FREE!
IMIX BOOKS
5052 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
OPEN MIC SIGN-UP:
imixopenmic@gmail. com
NEXT OPEN MIC:
Thursday, March 5, 2009!
DUAL RECORD RELEASE PARTY!
SCARUB & VERY (AFRO CLASSICS)
celebrating the release of THE CLASSIC EP
and
ELIGH & JO WILKINSON (Mother & Son)
celebrating the release of ON SACRED GROUND
with
THE BASH BROS.
RSVP ON FACEBOOK!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Weekend Wrap-Ups and Reflections...a film review and my typical randomness
...What a weekend! So lovely I had to just blog about it =)
...Not to mention, it's been on my to-do list forever, to blog more regularly. However with guilty pleasures like Twitter and facebook, it seems like such a task to write more than 140 characters sometimes...haha. But aside from my ultra-private journal entries that go in a journal made of paper, and written with a pen (how archaic, huh?!), I must keep writing! Helps the memory. ...aaaanyways....
Last Friday morning, I was done with the week - had a good, rigorous 4-5 days, and my body was ready to sleep. I looked at my weekend schedule and winced slightly - no sleeping in on Saturday OR Sunday. (sigh).... so I stayed in and slept on Friday (sorry Bam, obviously didn't make it out to Dena)
Saturday at 9am - started with my usual workout with the ladies, which nicely set off my energetic weekend. The traffic-ridden drive on the 101, 110, 105, and 5 let me coordinate my artist's itinerary for the day, catch up with my brother in SF, receive direction from my mom in Alhambra, coordinate with the homegirls for the evening's events, and catch up a little with the homies from Seattle.
By the late afternoon, I'm at the Aratani Japan American Theatre in Little Tokyo, for the premiere of my my friend Tad's film, "A Song for Ourselves." Bam's performing with Kiwi, opening up the show, so I'm doing the manager thing. Our team member Jana Lynne, who usually handles our merch, is handling her own big event at UCI, so I'm out there selling some shirts and CDs. Walking through the backstage brought back fond memories of when we, the Women of the Balagtasan Collective opened for Chicago spoken word group I Was Born With Two Tongues back on 2003.
Out in the front of the house, it was exciting to see everyone who came out - of course, all the homies, some of whom I haven't seen in months; not to mention quite a few Asian American heavyweights - activists, academics, artists (or all three embodied in one!)...Jollene and I watched folks pass, saying, "wow, I read your textbook in college..." so needless to say, I was pretty geeked. There isn't much in the press, or in prominent collective memory of mainstream America, about progressive people of color, much less Asian Americans. So to see these people, our communities together, is an inspiring and constant reminder that the struggle against injustice continues, and we still need to continue to fight, and to build.
So Tad's film. Oh gosh what can I say. Well, I met Tad when he entered UCLA in 1999 or 2000. I was finishing up my coursework, and we were all part of the same crew, bound together by being students of color with progressive beliefs and values, most easily recognized as a coalition called "Students First!" or, "Praxis." What I remember about Tad, was that even in challenging times within the coalition, he always reminded us that we need to work together, that we cannot let "other" forces keep us from forwarding the movement of which we are a part. Now for some of us who were, at the time, a little older, a little jaded, a little tired... it was either music to our ears, or naivete, depending on our mood :)
So I knew Tad as my college buddy, and only later did I find out his cool lineage :), when I watched his first film, Yellow Brotherhood. And then of course I saw Pilgrimage, and I remember thinking as I watched, Tad's message is always the same - we are all connected through our struggles, and we must continue to forward the movement from those that came before us.
A Song for Ourselves. Wow. Again, he weaves the personal with the political, as he did in YB. In doing community work - or hell, just working period - sometimes a person can get so involved with their work, that one can become disconnected with our own humanity. In introducing the story of Chris Iijima to us, it was a beautiful reminder, that as people who identify as "activist," or "political," or "progressive," who constantly struggle with our beliefs versus the reality and practical application of those beliefs, that there is no ... exact discourse; no exact roadmap, to accomplishing that "greater goal" of justice and self-determination. "...you can be 'political' and a human being. You can make your life a 'normal' life, and take your politics with you... it's possible."
All of our principled actions contribute to that greater goal, of which the motivator, the moving force, is love. Love was prevalent in this film - love within the movement, the community, friendship, family and even romantic love. (geez, maybe that's why I cried through most of it! haha) On commenting about their partnership, Chris told hiw wife Jane that in his 20s he would not have dated a white woman (something that will always be taboo in ethnic communities). What they have - it was just, love. That's all. No boundaries, just love. It didn't detract from his life, or his work. Jane noted that it was the community's power that carried their family though Chris's sickness. And of course it tugged at my LA heartstrings when he said, he found community in Los Angeles =).
The performances, of course, were amazing. The Native Guns performed - a special request from Tad. It was nice to hear folks still remember the call-and-response. It conjured up memories of when I worked with the group, and that time of my life. It was an honor to get to hear Nobuko and Charlie Chin (very witty guy!). They had a stool there too, I take it, that was for Chris. I didn't get to watch the Blue Scholars, but the sound of the bass and Geo's signature baritone reverberated past the walls well enough :)
The homegirl Krish and I finally got to experience Kogi BBQ tacos together. How nice was Bam to watch the merch table while she and I elbowed our way to the top of the line.
So that was Saturday. Haha.
Sunday was lovely and peaceful. It was a beautiful, sunshine day. Waking hours were spent nursing my sweetie and his 101 degree fever. :( Stocked up the fridge with his favorite water, gatorade, and chicken soup. Wrapped him up in blankets, and as he slept, I was off to the West Valley with my roommate to do some girly wedding prep stuff, as well as some light shopping. I took note of some lovely stilettos, that I will return to after the March bills are paid.
Next up was my goddaughter Kaya's birthday party. It's always happy love to see Malcolm and Kaya... to hear Malcolm scream "Auntie Kat!" upon seeing me through the net of the moonbounce - music to my ears.
After stuffing myself with Vallarta marinated chicken and carne asada topped with sweet onions, cilantro and a dollop of salsa.... I gave my kumadre Vanessa aka SuperMom a hug and a kiss, and was back on the 101 south. Just wound down the day and the weekend as the sun set... thankful for fevers that broke, for friends, for music, for children, for sunshine.
...Have a great week!
...Not to mention, it's been on my to-do list forever, to blog more regularly. However with guilty pleasures like Twitter and facebook, it seems like such a task to write more than 140 characters sometimes...haha. But aside from my ultra-private journal entries that go in a journal made of paper, and written with a pen (how archaic, huh?!), I must keep writing! Helps the memory. ...aaaanyways....
Last Friday morning, I was done with the week - had a good, rigorous 4-5 days, and my body was ready to sleep. I looked at my weekend schedule and winced slightly - no sleeping in on Saturday OR Sunday. (sigh).... so I stayed in and slept on Friday (sorry Bam, obviously didn't make it out to Dena)
Saturday at 9am - started with my usual workout with the ladies, which nicely set off my energetic weekend. The traffic-ridden drive on the 101, 110, 105, and 5 let me coordinate my artist's itinerary for the day, catch up with my brother in SF, receive direction from my mom in Alhambra, coordinate with the homegirls for the evening's events, and catch up a little with the homies from Seattle.
By the late afternoon, I'm at the Aratani Japan American Theatre in Little Tokyo, for the premiere of my my friend Tad's film, "A Song for Ourselves." Bam's performing with Kiwi, opening up the show, so I'm doing the manager thing. Our team member Jana Lynne, who usually handles our merch, is handling her own big event at UCI, so I'm out there selling some shirts and CDs. Walking through the backstage brought back fond memories of when we, the Women of the Balagtasan Collective opened for Chicago spoken word group I Was Born With Two Tongues back on 2003.
Out in the front of the house, it was exciting to see everyone who came out - of course, all the homies, some of whom I haven't seen in months; not to mention quite a few Asian American heavyweights - activists, academics, artists (or all three embodied in one!)...Jollene and I watched folks pass, saying, "wow, I read your textbook in college..." so needless to say, I was pretty geeked. There isn't much in the press, or in prominent collective memory of mainstream America, about progressive people of color, much less Asian Americans. So to see these people, our communities together, is an inspiring and constant reminder that the struggle against injustice continues, and we still need to continue to fight, and to build.
So Tad's film. Oh gosh what can I say. Well, I met Tad when he entered UCLA in 1999 or 2000. I was finishing up my coursework, and we were all part of the same crew, bound together by being students of color with progressive beliefs and values, most easily recognized as a coalition called "Students First!" or, "Praxis." What I remember about Tad, was that even in challenging times within the coalition, he always reminded us that we need to work together, that we cannot let "other" forces keep us from forwarding the movement of which we are a part. Now for some of us who were, at the time, a little older, a little jaded, a little tired... it was either music to our ears, or naivete, depending on our mood :)
So I knew Tad as my college buddy, and only later did I find out his cool lineage :), when I watched his first film, Yellow Brotherhood. And then of course I saw Pilgrimage, and I remember thinking as I watched, Tad's message is always the same - we are all connected through our struggles, and we must continue to forward the movement from those that came before us.
A Song for Ourselves. Wow. Again, he weaves the personal with the political, as he did in YB. In doing community work - or hell, just working period - sometimes a person can get so involved with their work, that one can become disconnected with our own humanity. In introducing the story of Chris Iijima to us, it was a beautiful reminder, that as people who identify as "activist," or "political," or "progressive," who constantly struggle with our beliefs versus the reality and practical application of those beliefs, that there is no ... exact discourse; no exact roadmap, to accomplishing that "greater goal" of justice and self-determination. "...you can be 'political' and a human being. You can make your life a 'normal' life, and take your politics with you... it's possible."
All of our principled actions contribute to that greater goal, of which the motivator, the moving force, is love. Love was prevalent in this film - love within the movement, the community, friendship, family and even romantic love. (geez, maybe that's why I cried through most of it! haha) On commenting about their partnership, Chris told hiw wife Jane that in his 20s he would not have dated a white woman (something that will always be taboo in ethnic communities). What they have - it was just, love. That's all. No boundaries, just love. It didn't detract from his life, or his work. Jane noted that it was the community's power that carried their family though Chris's sickness. And of course it tugged at my LA heartstrings when he said, he found community in Los Angeles =).
The performances, of course, were amazing. The Native Guns performed - a special request from Tad. It was nice to hear folks still remember the call-and-response. It conjured up memories of when I worked with the group, and that time of my life. It was an honor to get to hear Nobuko and Charlie Chin (very witty guy!). They had a stool there too, I take it, that was for Chris. I didn't get to watch the Blue Scholars, but the sound of the bass and Geo's signature baritone reverberated past the walls well enough :)
The homegirl Krish and I finally got to experience Kogi BBQ tacos together. How nice was Bam to watch the merch table while she and I elbowed our way to the top of the line.
So that was Saturday. Haha.
Sunday was lovely and peaceful. It was a beautiful, sunshine day. Waking hours were spent nursing my sweetie and his 101 degree fever. :( Stocked up the fridge with his favorite water, gatorade, and chicken soup. Wrapped him up in blankets, and as he slept, I was off to the West Valley with my roommate to do some girly wedding prep stuff, as well as some light shopping. I took note of some lovely stilettos, that I will return to after the March bills are paid.
Next up was my goddaughter Kaya's birthday party. It's always happy love to see Malcolm and Kaya... to hear Malcolm scream "Auntie Kat!" upon seeing me through the net of the moonbounce - music to my ears.
After stuffing myself with Vallarta marinated chicken and carne asada topped with sweet onions, cilantro and a dollop of salsa.... I gave my kumadre Vanessa aka SuperMom a hug and a kiss, and was back on the 101 south. Just wound down the day and the weekend as the sun set... thankful for fevers that broke, for friends, for music, for children, for sunshine.
...Have a great week!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Ways We Love
December 30, 2008
The Ways We Love
Choosing to Have a Mate or Being Single
The Ways We Love
Choosing to Have a Mate or Being Single
The way we choose to love can be as unique as the way we choose to make a living, maintain our health, or entertain ourselves. Some choose to seek out a mate and enter into a partnership with a special individual, while others find immense satisfaction in staying single. There is no right or wrong way to be in your life when it comes to deciding whether or not to be in a relationship, even though society tends to put an emphasis on romantic partnerships. Whether you choose to go through life as part of a romantic relationship or live as a single unit, there are benefits to both. Feel free to be comfortable with whatever choice is right for you.
Choosing to be single is a wonderful way to spend time discovering yourself. You have more time and space to figure out what and how you want your life to be without having to keep someone else’s choices in mind. Being single gives you the freedom to do what you want at a moment’s notice and the pride that comes with facing life on your own terms. Companionship, support, and affection can be found while spending quality time with friends, colleagues, and relatives. There is also the fun that comes with being able to date many different people without having to make a commitment. Choosing to have a mate, on the other hand, brings with it an opportunity to share your life with another person. There is comfort in the knowledge that you are facing the world with someone as a united front. When life is challenging, you are in a position to strengthen, as well as give each other comfort. There is also the inevitable transformation of self that comes from allowing another person t! o so intimately be a part of your life.
Remember that what is right for one person may not be right for another, and people can transition between wanting to be with another person and wanting to be alone many times over the course of their lives. Whether you seek out a mate or live the single life, embracing it fully will ensure that either choice is as fulfilling as possible for you.
source: DailyOm.com
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
New Filipino films challenge status quo
"Serbis"
New Filipino films challenge status quo
Nov 10, 2008, 01:16 PM ET
Corrected: Nov 10, 2008, 04:21 PM ET
"But no, please, don't say that," protests Yam Laranas, another director, whose just-completed Hollywood remake of his own 2004 horror film "Sigaw" signals a possible new career path for Filipino artists.
"There's also a new breed coming up with new styles and techniques and adapting to new ways of getting out there," Laranas, 39, says over the phone from Manila.
Remakes? New techniques? It's about time for a second coming because making movies for the largely Catholic audience in the Southeast Asian nation of 90 million people hasn't paid much to more than a few lucky filmmakers for at least 10 years.
Even celebrity-obsessed Filipinos now wait months to watch movies on TV or cable. In the global recession, they're sure to snap up first-run films on pirated DVDs for 30 Philippine Pesos ($0.63) rather than splurge tickets costing four times as much.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, which -- at last check in 2005 -- estimated 78% of the discs sold in the Philippines were bootlegs, Filipino cinema owners are the worst offenders in Asia for failing to stop illegal camcording. "We stand by these numbers today," an MPA official says.
These days, the Philippines releases fewer than 50 mainstream films a year into its cinemas, down from nearly 300 a year during the heyday of the 1970s and '80s. By the early 1990s, when a spate of bomb scares at shopping malls scatteredmoviegoers, the industry was in a tailspin.
Rising as fast as the industry around him collapsed, 48-year-old "Dante" Mendoza, (many Filipinos take nicknames to shorten long, formal Christian names), took "Serbis," his seventh film, to Cannes in May. The film, set in a rundown family-owned cinema whose owners, to make ends meet, resort to showing skin flicks to crowds of gay hustlers, didn't win but it did sell: Fortissimo Films rapidly cut deals for distribution in Canada, France, Israel, the Benelux countries and the U.S. -- even though it was barely seen in the Philippines.
There, screens are dominated by Filipino-language comedies and John Hughes-style teenybopper movies, most of which get a run for their money from Hollywood films in English, the nation's fluent second tongue.
Indeed, the MPA doesn't complain about Filipino market barriers. Film imports aren't capped as they are in China and local movie houses often favor Hollywood blockbusters made for hundreds of millions of dollars over even the biggest local films. The average local budget is less than 35 million pesos ($728,000).
Refusing to call the glass half empty, Laranas says that, after 300 years "in the convent" (under Spanish rule) and 45 years "under Hollywood's spell" (as a U.S. colony until 1946), the storytelling culture of The Philippines now faces a new opportunity.
"In terms of canvas and the medium, it's all changed. New filmmakers will eventually become the mainstream, changing the story as they go," says Laranas, whose real name is William.
Paving the way for part of this new wave was Cinemalaya, a local film festival held in Manila each July for the last four years. ("Malaya" means "freedom" in Tagalog, the dominant Filipino dialect).
Funded by TV and cable station owner Tony "Boy" Cojuangco and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Cinemalaya grants each winning project 200,000 pesos ($4,178).
Early Cinemalaya selection committee member and judge "Manet" Dayrit says most projects are made by a crew of friends for less than 2 million pesos ($41,000). She says their quality has risen rapidly each year.
However, Dayrit, the managing director of Roadrunner Network, the Philippines' largest post-production house (in turn owned by Star Cinemas, the biggest studio), cautions that aspirants to Mendoza's fast path to glory could be disappointed.
"Young, fresh filmmakers are making digital movies with a new outlook and without a formula," she says. "Trouble is, most of them still lack distributors and a real market locally or overseas. They may be capturing the imagination at film festivals, but as a business, we still have to figure this out."
An optimist, Laranas still allows "99% of the movies in the resurgence are of low technical quality, presenting real problems for overseas distributors." "Sigaw" (and now its remake "The Echo") is one of the lucky ones. It was inspired by a real-life murder in Laranas' Manila apartment building. He says it made back four times its $300,000 budget at the domestic boxoffice and then "more than paid back its budget" again when No. 2 Filipino studio, Regal Entertainment, sold remake rights to Roy Lee and RightOff Entertainment in Los Angeles.
Elsewhere, Chris Martinez, 37, won the audience award at the Pusan International Film Festival in October with his directorial debut, "100." Unlike the escapist scripts he'd written with names like "Bridal Shower" and "Bikini Open," "100" chronicles a cancer patient going through her list of things to do before she dies. Still, the movie is a celebration, Martinez says on the phone from Manila.
Martinez says he has nothing against the Filipino stories that do well at foreign film festivals that exoticize and romanticize poverty, but wants the world to know that his country has "other stories away from the slums and squatter areas."
Though Martinez hopes "100" is the first Filipino indie to succeed in telling a story about Manila's middle, educated, financially comfortable class, the film hasn't yet made any money. Still, he feels that audiences have liked it for its perceived variety.
"They must have been shocked to see that we too love Haagen Dazs, travel to Disneyland and drive SUVs," Martinez said.
But what an audience finds entertaining is different all over the world and isn't guaranteed to travel. As such, Wouter Barendrecht, Fortissimo Films co-chairman, says that "Serbis" was sold not as a Filipino film but rather as a film by Brillante Mendoza. So-called "passport sales," made on the director's nationality, can only be made once or twice, he says.
Noting that many Filipino dramas are sobby, three-hanky affairs, Barendrecht says, "If you're Meryl Streep, in the West you win an Oscar for crying without tears. In Southeast Asia, the dry-cry is not appreciated. This can be a commercial handicap."
Hence, even when a film like "Serbis" lands big-territory distribution it still isn't guaranteed to make bundles. Regent Films will release "Serbis" in New York and L.A. in Spring 2009, targeting Filipinos, film buffs and, says Mark Reinhart, the gay community, which "should help the film a lot." Still, Reinhart says, referring to the leading art house cinema chains in the U.S., "The Laemmles and the Landmarks will take it, but I don't think it will go much further."
The Hollywood Reporter
Thursday, November 6, 2008
BAMBU Stuff!
(mental note: must get back to blogging regularly!)
New video out soon too! Excited!!
Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Teaser from Kid Heroes on Vimeo.
New video out soon too! Excited!!
Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Teaser from Kid Heroes on Vimeo.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
yes it's been a while. but this, i must.
just taking a quick breather from the trabajo, to commemorate this day, 7 years ago, when i couldn't even speak as i watched what was happening on TV.
Let's Not Forget 9-11-No Really Let's Not Ever Forget
by Davey D
As we come upon the 7th anniversary of 9-11 I found myself wanting to run far, far away from all the media pageantry, celebration and fanfare. I don't wanna see another retrospective TV special designed to pull my heartstrings and yet not sooth my soul. It's apparent that the goal of these mass media outlets is to garner ratings and NOT use their vast resources to heal any of the people who were traumatized by that day's events.
I realize that so many of us have forgotten just how shook up we were on September 11th 2001. So many of us forgot how we initially thought up to 50 thousand people have died when those towers collapsed and for the most part the world came to a stand still on that sunny day in September. In many people's minds, what took place was beyond comprehensible. How could this happen? How could this happen on our soil? Those were the questions so many of us asked? I'm still not sure if they've been fully answered to this day.
I remember shortly after 9-11 it led to people going all out and showing compassion to one another as so many of us at least for a brief moment were reminded that no one is promised tomorrow and that it was important to take some time out, be patient and show kindness. For weeks and even months after the tragedy, you could still smell the smoke throughout New York and it wasn't unusual to see somebody just break down and start crying in the middle of the streets. People seemed to understand and would show love and concern.
I remember going down to Ground Zero for the first time in early November. It was at night and seemed so eerie. The pungent oder, the mammoth pieces of twisted metal, the emptiness of that area was something you could never forget. If you were from New York then you really felt it because the WTC was such a fixture not just to our skyline but also to what we many of us envisioned when you said New York.
September 11 was so traumatizing for folks, that I saw hardened thugs sharing kind words and hugging cops who lost many of their own that day.
Even with the ghost of an unarmed Amadou Diallo and 41 shots just two or three years behind them people still reached out and showed love. I saw American flags being waved from rooftops and windows from hood to the burbs and not because we all found some sort xenophobic American pride, but because that flag was the only thing we had that symbolized our collective desire to connect to one another.
I recall shortly after 9-11 the Hip Hop community coming out.
We had Dr Dre donating one million dollars to the victims relief fund.
He and Eminem were working on a song that brought heat to Osama Bin Laden. In fact I recall Dre being on Fox 5 in New York spitting some incendiary lyrics. The song never came out. I'm not quite sure why.
I recall the Hip Hop has a Heart program they had on Hot 97 where all sorts of artists from Wu-Tang on down gave lots of money.
I recall Wu-Tang donating money.
I recall Naughty By Nature doing a fundraiser for the families of slain firefighters at Roseland.
I recall Jay-Z wrapping himself up in the flag and taking a picture while MC Hammer did a song for the troops.
I recall Canibus demanding that he be drafted to go fight. he later went and volunteered. I recall cats wearing red, white and blue doo rags talking about they're thugging for America.
I also recall artists like Mr Lif, J-Live, Jahi and the Life and so many others who sparked off songs about 9-11.
I recall Jermaine Dupri and a number of other artists including Christina Aguliera, Questlove, the Backstreet Boys, Mary J, Blige, Bono, Destiny’s Child, Fred Durst, Eve, Nelly Furtado, Nona Gaye (Marvin’s daughter), Ja Rule, Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Aaron Lewis (of Staind), Lil’ Kim, Jennifer Lopez, Nas, Nelly, NSYNC, P.
Diddy, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani just to name a few, had did a remake of Marvin Gaye's classic jam song 'What's Going On?'. The song was intended to bring attention to Aids in Africa, and had just been completed a few days before 9-11.
Another verse was added and the song then went out to aid the families of the 9-11
The world poured its heart out to us 7 years ago because back then we realized that ALL of us died on 9-11. It wasn't just the crying suburban housewives wives who lost their husbands that day or chisel jawed all American fire fighters who lost their colleagues who are seemingly the only one's shown and whose stories are told on these manipulative TV networks.
I remember all those undocumented Mexican restaurant workers who perished that day and because they were using fake names their families never got benefits. I recall that there were a number of Muslims who perished but because it was Muslims who were the hijackers we somehow want to keep Muslims dehumanized so they can all be scapegoated.
There were single moms, brothers who were just barely making it, elderly Puerto Ricans, Asian folks, disabled, Native Americans, gays, straights and people from 59 different countries from Cuba to Canada to China and all around the world who all died in those towers and on those jets that crashed into the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania. My home boy's elderly Puerto Rican uncle perished that day, unfortunately his tale never makes the TV specials-probably because he didn't work at a fancy law firm nor fit the bill of the type of person who needs to be showcased to satisfy so called Middle American viewers.
Hell, let's be honest-seven years after 9-11, it has become a mass media event designed to satisfy the misguided whims of soccer now turned 'hockey' moms who want us all wearing flag pins. Healing and coming to terms with those real life losses isn't really on the table. Ground Zero is not grave site, which interestingly enough is built upon a slave grave site, but instead its now become a mandated political pit stop for high profile politicians seeking to show the world just how 'American' they are.
Today as we commemorate the 7th anniversary, senators Barack Obama and John McCain will show up to Ground Zero this afternoon and try to look presidential. They're gonna stand there and look all somber and try to show concern when really their visit is just one big photo op.
They say they are putting all politics aside for today, but their visit is nothing but political. Sure they may not snipe at one another, but they are only there to woo the people.
I have to raise the question were any of those men out and about touching lives before today's 9-11 event? Did they show up in years past to this grave site to show their compassion? Have they ever called any of the families outside of today's festivities just to offer a soothing word, a helping hand or to simply say that their concern goes beyond politics or is their appearance designed to satisfy people who weren't really victims but somehow wanna 'own and redefine 9-11?
I guess the word is out that if you play your cards right an appearance at Ground Zero can do wonders for your political career.
Just ask George Bush and former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
I'm still wondering how a day that was so tragic for so many got pimped to the point that an unpopular president who still had people salty at him for stealing an election just 9 months earlier and an even more unpopular mayor who was on his way to his political grave, managed to become the sole faces of it.
When 9-11 comes around I never ever forget how those two uncaring men came around and used their position and influence for political and material gain. The former New York mayor has a popular international consulting firm where he shows other countries like El Salvador the types of steps they need to take to fight terrorism.
In the case of George Bush can we say Iraq? 9-11 was his long awaited excuse to go wage war in the middle east. No matter what the so called media pundits and experts espouse, I am convinced that man at the very least, had prior knowledge.
Like Jadakiss said in his song 'Bush knocked down the towers'.
Am I the only one who recalls then San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown stating during an interview that he had been warned not to fly that day?
Bay Area artists Paris who was among the first to do a song calling out the Bush and his Neo-Con friends within PNAC (Project for the New American Century) for the role they played in 9-11.
He painstakingly noted in his landmark song 'What Would You Do?', how Bush and company were hoping for a Pearl Harbor-like event and used 9-11 to carry out their game plan to exude global military influence around the world. The War in Iraq was first on the list.
We need to remember that when we think of 9-11.
We need to never forget how Bush and his cronies played upon everyone's emotions shortly after 9-11 and took people's desire to connect and our collective anxiousness and flipped it into a political witch hunt. I remember vividly how everyone's patriotism was suddenly called into question especially if you were in media, an artists, a professor or speaking from the pulpit. If you raised questioned there were political attack dogs on you..
If you was in media and you spoke out calls were made and pressure was put on those who owned those outlets to either silence you or let you go.
I know I fell victim to it at Clear Channel, Comedian Bill Maher fell victim to it with his show Politically Incorrect on ABC.
Professor Ward Churchill was fired from his post in Denver just last year because of his remarks around 9-11.
San Francisco Pastor and former SF Supervisor Amos Brown caught all kinds of hell when he dared raise the question 'What did we (America) do that 9-11 happened'?
He and other pastors including senator Barack Obamas' former pastor Jeremiah Wright as recently as April of this year caught hell for speaking out and raising questions about 9-11.
There were two newspaper columnist who were hounded out of their jobs by right wing Bushites when they wrote unfavorable columns.
Hell I even recall the host of Rap City getting mad at Chuck D for raising questions about 9-11. The list is along one for people who caught hell.
We should never forget the viciousness that was directed at Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee who days after 9-11 was the only one with enough sense and courage to say 'No' to George Bush when he asked for a what amounted to a blank check to fight the this new War on Terror.
I remember how Boots and the Coup came underfire because their album cover which was released 6 months prior to 9-11 showed the World Trade being blown up.
The pressure to conform and heed Bush's assertion 'either your for us or against us' was hard for many especially those who talked to the masses to stand up to.
I remember attending a rally in Snow Park in Oakland the day after 9-11.
It was put on by the folks from Lets Get Free which was designed to call attention to all the Muslims and Arab brothers and sisters who were suddenly catching hell because of the tragedy.
I remember one of the organizer Jamani raising questions about our foreign policy decisions and whether or not it led to the attacks. I remember the issue was raised about our refusal to attend the racism summit in Durbon South Africa which was just days before the 9-11 tragedy and how that came across as us being arrogant.
I recall Michael Franti and the late poet June Jordan doing heartfelt poems and songs that called upon us to keep our humanity in check. Even though 9-11 had just happened, Franti noted how he could feel the pressure to really morph this into something that would have long term political implications. As for Jordan, it was sadly the last time I would see or hear her do a piece. She died a few months later.
There are lots of things to remember about 9-11. There were a lot of people who needlessly suffered that day. There was alot of political manipulation that took place in the aftermath. There are those who have done their best to make us forget what this day is really about.
By smiling and repeating a lie over and over and over again until it becomes truth, 9-11 went from being a day in which were humbled and came back showing a bit more concern and passion to being a propaganda piece and rallying tool for war mongers. There were lives lost that day, lets not lose sight of that. Lets make sure those who suffered are healed.
by Davey D
As we come upon the 7th anniversary of 9-11 I found myself wanting to run far, far away from all the media pageantry, celebration and fanfare. I don't wanna see another retrospective TV special designed to pull my heartstrings and yet not sooth my soul. It's apparent that the goal of these mass media outlets is to garner ratings and NOT use their vast resources to heal any of the people who were traumatized by that day's events.I realize that so many of us have forgotten just how shook up we were on September 11th 2001. So many of us forgot how we initially thought up to 50 thousand people have died when those towers collapsed and for the most part the world came to a stand still on that sunny day in September. In many people's minds, what took place was beyond comprehensible. How could this happen? How could this happen on our soil? Those were the questions so many of us asked? I'm still not sure if they've been fully answered to this day.
I remember shortly after 9-11 it led to people going all out and showing compassion to one another as so many of us at least for a brief moment were reminded that no one is promised tomorrow and that it was important to take some time out, be patient and show kindness. For weeks and even months after the tragedy, you could still smell the smoke throughout New York and it wasn't unusual to see somebody just break down and start crying in the middle of the streets. People seemed to understand and would show love and concern.
I remember going down to Ground Zero for the first time in early November. It was at night and seemed so eerie. The pungent oder, the mammoth pieces of twisted metal, the emptiness of that area was something you could never forget. If you were from New York then you really felt it because the WTC was such a fixture not just to our skyline but also to what we many of us envisioned when you said New York.September 11 was so traumatizing for folks, that I saw hardened thugs sharing kind words and hugging cops who lost many of their own that day.
Even with the ghost of an unarmed Amadou Diallo and 41 shots just two or three years behind them people still reached out and showed love. I saw American flags being waved from rooftops and windows from hood to the burbs and not because we all found some sort xenophobic American pride, but because that flag was the only thing we had that symbolized our collective desire to connect to one another.
I recall shortly after 9-11 the Hip Hop community coming out.
We had Dr Dre donating one million dollars to the victims relief fund.
He and Eminem were working on a song that brought heat to Osama Bin Laden. In fact I recall Dre being on Fox 5 in New York spitting some incendiary lyrics. The song never came out. I'm not quite sure why.
I recall the Hip Hop has a Heart program they had on Hot 97 where all sorts of artists from Wu-Tang on down gave lots of money.
I recall Wu-Tang donating money.
I recall Naughty By Nature doing a fundraiser for the families of slain firefighters at Roseland.
I recall Jay-Z wrapping himself up in the flag and taking a picture while MC Hammer did a song for the troops.
I recall Canibus demanding that he be drafted to go fight. he later went and volunteered. I recall cats wearing red, white and blue doo rags talking about they're thugging for America.
I also recall artists like Mr Lif, J-Live, Jahi and the Life and so many others who sparked off songs about 9-11.
I recall Jermaine Dupri and a number of other artists including Christina Aguliera, Questlove, the Backstreet Boys, Mary J, Blige, Bono, Destiny’s Child, Fred Durst, Eve, Nelly Furtado, Nona Gaye (Marvin’s daughter), Ja Rule, Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Aaron Lewis (of Staind), Lil’ Kim, Jennifer Lopez, Nas, Nelly, NSYNC, P.
Diddy, Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani just to name a few, had did a remake of Marvin Gaye's classic jam song 'What's Going On?'. The song was intended to bring attention to Aids in Africa, and had just been completed a few days before 9-11.
Another verse was added and the song then went out to aid the families of the 9-11
The world poured its heart out to us 7 years ago because back then we realized that ALL of us died on 9-11. It wasn't just the crying suburban housewives wives who lost their husbands that day or chisel jawed all American fire fighters who lost their colleagues who are seemingly the only one's shown and whose stories are told on these manipulative TV networks.
I remember all those undocumented Mexican restaurant workers who perished that day and because they were using fake names their families never got benefits. I recall that there were a number of Muslims who perished but because it was Muslims who were the hijackers we somehow want to keep Muslims dehumanized so they can all be scapegoated.
There were single moms, brothers who were just barely making it, elderly Puerto Ricans, Asian folks, disabled, Native Americans, gays, straights and people from 59 different countries from Cuba to Canada to China and all around the world who all died in those towers and on those jets that crashed into the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania. My home boy's elderly Puerto Rican uncle perished that day, unfortunately his tale never makes the TV specials-probably because he didn't work at a fancy law firm nor fit the bill of the type of person who needs to be showcased to satisfy so called Middle American viewers.
Hell, let's be honest-seven years after 9-11, it has become a mass media event designed to satisfy the misguided whims of soccer now turned 'hockey' moms who want us all wearing flag pins. Healing and coming to terms with those real life losses isn't really on the table. Ground Zero is not grave site, which interestingly enough is built upon a slave grave site, but instead its now become a mandated political pit stop for high profile politicians seeking to show the world just how 'American' they are.
Today as we commemorate the 7th anniversary, senators Barack Obama and John McCain will show up to Ground Zero this afternoon and try to look presidential. They're gonna stand there and look all somber and try to show concern when really their visit is just one big photo op.They say they are putting all politics aside for today, but their visit is nothing but political. Sure they may not snipe at one another, but they are only there to woo the people.
I have to raise the question were any of those men out and about touching lives before today's 9-11 event? Did they show up in years past to this grave site to show their compassion? Have they ever called any of the families outside of today's festivities just to offer a soothing word, a helping hand or to simply say that their concern goes beyond politics or is their appearance designed to satisfy people who weren't really victims but somehow wanna 'own and redefine 9-11?
I guess the word is out that if you play your cards right an appearance at Ground Zero can do wonders for your political career.Just ask George Bush and former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
I'm still wondering how a day that was so tragic for so many got pimped to the point that an unpopular president who still had people salty at him for stealing an election just 9 months earlier and an even more unpopular mayor who was on his way to his political grave, managed to become the sole faces of it.
When 9-11 comes around I never ever forget how those two uncaring men came around and used their position and influence for political and material gain. The former New York mayor has a popular international consulting firm where he shows other countries like El Salvador the types of steps they need to take to fight terrorism.
In the case of George Bush can we say Iraq? 9-11 was his long awaited excuse to go wage war in the middle east. No matter what the so called media pundits and experts espouse, I am convinced that man at the very least, had prior knowledge.
Like Jadakiss said in his song 'Bush knocked down the towers'.
Am I the only one who recalls then San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown stating during an interview that he had been warned not to fly that day?
Bay Area artists Paris who was among the first to do a song calling out the Bush and his Neo-Con friends within PNAC (Project for the New American Century) for the role they played in 9-11.He painstakingly noted in his landmark song 'What Would You Do?', how Bush and company were hoping for a Pearl Harbor-like event and used 9-11 to carry out their game plan to exude global military influence around the world. The War in Iraq was first on the list.
We need to remember that when we think of 9-11.
We need to never forget how Bush and his cronies played upon everyone's emotions shortly after 9-11 and took people's desire to connect and our collective anxiousness and flipped it into a political witch hunt. I remember vividly how everyone's patriotism was suddenly called into question especially if you were in media, an artists, a professor or speaking from the pulpit. If you raised questioned there were political attack dogs on you..
If you was in media and you spoke out calls were made and pressure was put on those who owned those outlets to either silence you or let you go.
I know I fell victim to it at Clear Channel, Comedian Bill Maher fell victim to it with his show Politically Incorrect on ABC.
Professor Ward Churchill was fired from his post in Denver just last year because of his remarks around 9-11.
San Francisco Pastor and former SF Supervisor Amos Brown caught all kinds of hell when he dared raise the question 'What did we (America) do that 9-11 happened'?
He and other pastors including senator Barack Obamas' former pastor Jeremiah Wright as recently as April of this year caught hell for speaking out and raising questions about 9-11.
There were two newspaper columnist who were hounded out of their jobs by right wing Bushites when they wrote unfavorable columns.
Hell I even recall the host of Rap City getting mad at Chuck D for raising questions about 9-11. The list is along one for people who caught hell.
We should never forget the viciousness that was directed at Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee who days after 9-11 was the only one with enough sense and courage to say 'No' to George Bush when he asked for a what amounted to a blank check to fight the this new War on Terror.I remember how Boots and the Coup came underfire because their album cover which was released 6 months prior to 9-11 showed the World Trade being blown up.
The pressure to conform and heed Bush's assertion 'either your for us or against us' was hard for many especially those who talked to the masses to stand up to.
I remember attending a rally in Snow Park in Oakland the day after 9-11.
It was put on by the folks from Lets Get Free which was designed to call attention to all the Muslims and Arab brothers and sisters who were suddenly catching hell because of the tragedy.
I remember one of the organizer Jamani raising questions about our foreign policy decisions and whether or not it led to the attacks. I remember the issue was raised about our refusal to attend the racism summit in Durbon South Africa which was just days before the 9-11 tragedy and how that came across as us being arrogant.
I recall Michael Franti and the late poet June Jordan doing heartfelt poems and songs that called upon us to keep our humanity in check. Even though 9-11 had just happened, Franti noted how he could feel the pressure to really morph this into something that would have long term political implications. As for Jordan, it was sadly the last time I would see or hear her do a piece. She died a few months later.There are lots of things to remember about 9-11. There were a lot of people who needlessly suffered that day. There was alot of political manipulation that took place in the aftermath. There are those who have done their best to make us forget what this day is really about.
By smiling and repeating a lie over and over and over again until it becomes truth, 9-11 went from being a day in which were humbled and came back showing a bit more concern and passion to being a propaganda piece and rallying tool for war mongers. There were lives lost that day, lets not lose sight of that. Lets make sure those who suffered are healed.
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