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I’ve never been on a cruise before (unless you count “The Love Boat” 
), nor has my mother (she’s been wanting to go on one for a while.) Well, it looks like a lot of Asians haven’t gone either. From the Wall Street Journal article, “Cruise Operators Target Asian Travelers, Pitching Short Trips From Local Ports,” it sounds like there is a huge opportunity for cruise companies in Asia:
“Although Asia accounted for less than 5% of the global cruise market last year, the number of Asians taking cruises annually will swell to 1.5 million by 2010, up 40% from 2005, according to a forecast by Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd. That’s faster growth than the 30% rise expected over the period in the more mature North American market, which had about 9.3 million cruise passengers in 2005…Teddy Tsang, a 48-year-old publishing plant manager in Hong Kong, took a four-day cruise on the Rhapsody in February with his wife and daughter after seeing “a lot of newspaper ads” in local Chinese-language papers touting the company’s cruises and hearing recommendations from friends. His only previous cruise on a gambling ship had left him unimpressed. “I went a few times to the casino, but I didn’t want to spend the whole day gambling,” he says. But after the latest cruise, which cost around $385 per person, he enthused about a dinner of herb-crusted cod with saffron-champagne sauce and the staff’s swift delivery of extra towels to his cabin.”
One of my mother’s friend’s family has gone on quite a few cruises. I wonder - how common is it for Asian Americans to go on cruises? To be honest, I really don’t know that many people who have gone on cruises. If you’ve gone on a cruise - where did you go? And did you have fun? I’m always seeing those Royal Caribbean tv commercials and have always wondered if people have as much fun as the commercials make out cruises to be (of course, you never see an Asian Americans in those commercials…that’s an untapped market - especially for all those Asians and Asian Americans who like to gamble. :-).
No Comments | Posted in: Lifestyles, Observations
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May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The White House said it, so it must be true, right?
Please join the artists, cast and crew of the United States of Asian America Festival 2008 for the 11th Annual Gala Opening event. Partake in local food and drinks while sampling some of the festival art and performances offered by Bay Area Asian Pacific Islander artists and organizations.
VENUE: SomArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, May 1, 5 - 8:30 pm
ADMISSION: FREE
For info: (415) 864-4126 or info@apiculturalcenter.org
http://www.somarts.org
No Comments | Posted in: Announcements, Entertainment
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If you are in the New York area, there are two modern art shows not to be missed. Cai Guo-Qiang’s retrospective I Want to Believe is at the Guggenheim through May 28, and Takashi Murakami’s © Murakami is at the Brooklyn Museum through July 13.
At Guo-Qiang’s show, there are tigers with arrows in them and a canal that you can row through on a boat. Guo-Qiang works with explosives, and there is a video of some “Projects for Extraterrestrials” that he created in Japan, France, and the Netherlands. Watching it on a little television, you can’t help but wish you were there. The postcard attraction is the installation of cars hanging in the center space, in the eye of the spiral that is the New York Guggenheim.
Takashi Murakami is a pop artist who draws from anime and manga. The best part of the show for me was the experience of being in a large room whose walls were covered with his trademark smiling daisies, and another one with eyeballs. If I were a billionaire I would have a room or two like that installed in my mansion. I would also have him install some shiny mushroom stools that I could actually sit on. This art show made me happy.
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But two barrages of snail mail junk is absolutely annoying. Korean Air has been pumping their US marketing up in the six months. Just take a look at one of the television commercials that’s playing here in the South. The Color of Perfection:
Now it might just be me, but the beginning of that commercial really doesn’t seem to tie well into the flight attendants in the end besides trying to make a color coordination. Somehow, I just don’t find flying as a “sexy” type of thing nor would I would associate a commercial with almost a designer cologne feel with an airline. Albeit an interesting spin on things I suppose. But I digress.
So about this snail mail spam. Why do I call it spam? It’s a direct mailing list based on your last name. I’m not exactly sure how they determine someone’s last name actually determines their ethnicity since both Chinese and Koreans use the last name Lee, and there are other names out there but it is what it is.
Before someone questions why I’m going off on this? I can’t speak Korean. I don’t read Korean. Heck, I’m not even Korean. And if there’s any sort of marketing that I happen to personally despise, it’s ones that target me based purely based on my last name. I mean, think about it. If my last name was “Lopez”, I seriously would hope that no one would send me mail that was entirely in Spanish unless there was some actual accounting that could show that I actually could read the language.
Photo Credit: (Drewski2112)
3 Comments | Posted in: Observations, WTF
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I most recently wrote about about Governor ‘Bobby’ Jindal of Louisiana in March in, “McCain’s Surprise: VP ‘Bobby’ Jindal ?” Well, Jindal was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this past Monday night, no doubt to answer the speculations that he may be McCain’s running mate. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him speak - and I have never seen an Indian American with a Southern / Louisiana accent before!
From what I had read and blogged about him (Indian-American Congressman Elected Louisiana’s Governor, In a Southern State, Immigrants’ Son Takes Over, Indian-American to be leading Louisana Governor candidate), he seemed to be quite a bright person, but in his interview with Leno, he also comes across as a regular guy, and I can definitely see how he won over voters.
No Comments | Posted in: Entertainment, Observations, Politics
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Wow, I beat out angry asian man out for news on Asian American entertainment… no doubt he will have this info posted soon…So I just found out from my friend who is usually in the know for concerts, etc. in San Francisco that tomorrow is officially Margaret Cho Day:
“Join Margaret Cho and friends at San Francisco City Hall, as Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaims Wednesday, April 30th 2008, Margaret Cho Day! The live event will be taped for use in Margaret’s new show, “The Cho Show,” which will air on Vh1 this summer. The proclamation is open to the public, welcoming family, friends and fans of all ages. All attendees will be required to sign a release allowing the use of their image on television. Below please find important information regarding location and time for Margaret’s big day:”
When: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Please arrive promptly at 4:00pm
Where: San Francisco City Hall
The South Light Court
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett PL.
San Francisco, CA 94102
You can download the official flyer here (.pdf). I’m not sure if I can make it to downtown San Francisco tomorrow, but I imagine there will be a sizable crowd to support this Bay Area native. And my source tells me that Cho will make a special surprise guest performance at a San Francisco comedy club Wednesday night as well…
No Comments | Posted in: Entertainment
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One of the nice things about starting a new job is that you actually meet new people, and one of my co-workers, Hasan Minhaj, just happens to be an actor and stand-up comedian in his spare time. His site includes “Thank Allah It’s Jumma,” a thirteen minute short film “about a Muslim growing up in America and the hilarious challenges he faces” which debuted at the 2006 ISNA Islamic Film Festival. And while I usually raise an eyebrow when people use the word hilarious to describe their own work, it really IS funny, thereby avoiding any possible awkward face-to-face time.
And yes, I totally had to look up what Jumma was on Wikipedia. What? I grew up Presbyterian.
4 Comments | Posted in: Entertainment
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I am an avid fan of National Public Radio (NPR) - and this morning, I heard the story of “Young Indians Abroad Return to Help Better Country” as part of the series on “Climate Connections: Profiles.” The story discusses the growing trend of young Indians who grew up in Britain, Australia and America are now going to the new wild west - India, hanging out with Indian friends, and having conversations about climate change and the environment. Indian-Americans are known as “ABCD’s” - “American-Born Confused Desis”:
“In this broadcast on Morning Edition we talk to a bunch of American-born Indians and their local friends who discuss what it’s like to come “home” and what it’s like to be invaded by Americans who want to rediscover their “Indian-ness”. The locals have a nickname for these Americans —they call them “ABCDs.” That’s an acronym for American-Born Confused Desis. Desi is slang for an Indian guy or gal, and the term basically means kids from America who return a little mixed-up about who they are. “The conversation, as you’ll hear, explores all kinds of issues: the advantages of an American accent in India, the value (and limits) of Western experience in attacking pollution and poverty, the importance (or not) of movies and popular culture in creating social change, and why Indian woman (some of them) like beef-eating men.”
NPR interviews a local Indian man, who says he doesn’t like ABCD’s, since with their Western education and non-Indian accents, are highly sought out for better jobs, status, etc… as well as the fact that ABCD men can get local Indian women easier - as he had read in Maxim India (supposedly because ABCD’s eat more meat and are bigger, etc..) - which made the NPR reporter laugh.
To be honest, the Indian man’s complaints kind of reminded me of the perennial debate of Asian women dating white men. :-). After the laugh, the Indian does say that these ABCD’s do provide different and “amazing” perspectives and insights that are helpful. Anyways, I was amused by the ABCD acronym. As a Taiwanese-American, I’ve heard the term ABC - American Born Chinese quite often. I did know one person at college who referred to himself as a CBA - Chinese Born American, to emphasize the Chinese part of him, even though he was born in America. Finally, someone in my dorm referred herself as an ABCDEF - American Born, Culturally Deprived, Egyptian Female. I thought that was clever and got a big kick out of that.
2 Comments | Posted in: Current Events, Observations
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