People always mock Asians for their predictable peace sign pose in photographs, but we always knew there was much more to smiling in front of the cameras. I mean, there’s the fist bump to the face, the cute hand heart shape and the special OMG hand gesture, as seen in the picture.
I don’t know why we do this crap, but I think it stems from the whole kawaii culture of making sure we look as adorable as possible. Or maybe it’s just genetics, because I often find myself inexplicably doing the same thing any time I have to pose for a picture. I can’t help it, it’s just fun. I don’t know if it’s cute but hey, leave me alone.
Cute Asian Girl Obsessed blogger Steve has opened up Asian Poses, a new site dedicated to documenting all the kawaii Asian girls who love to strike various hand poses in their professional photographs. Someone please tell me Steve is an Asian dude, cause otherwise I’m going to have to jump him for his obvious Asian fetish.
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Got this link from SFGate and Lowering the Bar, where a judge recently threw out a lawsuit by a Janine Sugawara from San Diego because she believed that the Cap’n Crunch cereal Crunch Berries contained actual fruit called crunch berries.
According to the blog posts, Sugawara admitted that close inspection of the box stated that the “crunch berries” weren’t actual berries, and the box itself states that it only contains cereal and never states that it contains anything called a “crunch berry”, nor could she explain why in the four years it took to file the claim that she couldn’t figure out that Crunch Berries contained no berries.
This wasn’t the first time that she had done this. Apparently, Sugawara had filed a similar suit against Kellogg’s Froot Loops because Froot Loops didn’t contain real, um, froot.
I fully expect her to file a suit against Nabisco’s Cheese Nips or Nestle’s Nips candy because they don’t contain… well, never mind.
Shopping With GASP!
8Asians (or at least, me) is no stranger to the popular PostSecret cards that are revealed every Sunday. I’ve mentioned this before, but as fun as it is reading the angsty secrets of complete strangers from around the country, I’ve always had a small issue with its unintentional white washed outlook on life.
I will give them the credit that their race-related postcards always open up discussion on racism (invisible, institutionalized, reverse or whatever) that is sorely needed, even if it’s inside your head. But there’s always the feeling that these voices are coming from a clear non-minority perspective. Hey, I seriously doubt an Asian person would secretly be terrified of Chinese people. Or Japanese businessmen. Or Asian people in general.
So what to do as an Asian American with a burning secret to share with the world? You can go ahead and mail your postcard to Frank and hope for the best, or email your work to PostMimi, a new blog that focuses on the unique Asian experience in America.
The project just got started, but it already provides a refreshing perspective of our community by opening up questions about our own racial identity, sharing multiple cultures and how we perceive others within our race. If anything, the blog reveals our own struggles over social issues as minority Americans — we know we’re not the model minority and we’ve got our share of secrets, too.
I’ve blogged about eHarmony commercials before — well, a spoof of one at least — and while flipping through the channels again, I came across this real eHarmony ad. I was pleasantly surprised to see an Asian American man being profiled, and even more surprised to discover that his wife happened to be white. More often than not in television commercials, for mixed raced couples with an Asian, you usually see the white male with Asian female, much less an Asian American couple.
In the first part of my interview with Ryan Buendia, we talked mostly about his work as a producer. In this second part, we discuss his experiences as a DJ, a turntablist, and an artist known as Replay. We cover such topics as working with the Fingerbangerz crew, making music for the Jabbawockeez, and dealing with the effects of bootlegging and piracy on his work.
How did you get into DJing?
Ryan Buendia: I got into Djing by being around hip hop. I was into all the elements of hip hop, whether it be art, dancing, or rapping. I loved every aspect of it.What is the last set of work that you put out?
Ryan Buendia: The last mix I put out was this year with my crew the Fingerbangerz. We made it available for free download at www.myspace.com. Search for “The Bangerz” Its called the “Music Machine Mixtape.”
Any new plans with the Fingerbangerz?
Ryan Buendia: We’re are working on a new Album. You could find our last album on
I-Tunes titled “VI.R.US” We also been developing a partnership with
Will.i.am‘s new website www.dipdive.com. We have our own channel on
this site, and you could learn more about us on there.Any other new work coming out?
Ryan Buendia: I have two songs coming out on Kelis‘s new album. One song on Kid
Cudi‘s upcoming album. And a song on Downtown Records recording artist
Kid Sister‘s new album. Very excited.
How did you connect with the Jabbawockeez?Ryan Buendia: The Jabbawockeez have been our (Fingerbangerz) brother crew before
they became famous. We did their music ever since 2003, which ended up
helping to develop their current style of dance.How does piracy and bootlegging affect you and your sales?
Ryan Buendia: For major label work as a Producer, it affects us a great deal. But
this dayand age, it actually helps out my Dj career. The biggest dj’s
out now became famous through there remixes, which masses of people
downloaded.Where you have performed in the world?
Ryan Buendia: I’ve performed in Hawaii, Miami, Las Vegas, New York, Taiwan,
Philippines, and all over California.Any kids on the horizon? I think your parents would like some “apo” (grandchildren).
Ryan Buendia: The only kids I have on the horizon are these three songs on the next
Black Eyed Peas album titled “The E.N.D.” Buy it June 9th 2009, or
better yet, buy the Pre-order of the Deluxe edition on Target.com
now!!!
It has been a couple of months since we’ve last blogged about BoA, and her self-titled American album hasn’t become the mega crossover album that a lot of Asian pop fans have hoped for; it had a peak position of #127 on the Billboard 200, selling only 8,000 copies of her album nationwide.
But one fan base that has given BoA some much-needed exposure has come from the GLBT market. One of the few radio stations to have I Did It For Love on heavy rotation has been San Francisco’s Energy 92.7, one of the few dance music radio stations in the United States and actively targets the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian community — SF Badlands, a popular gay video dance club in the Castro actively rotates Eat You Up between Kylie Minogue and Ciara videos. (And not to gloat, but for the record, I totally called it.)
So it makes a lot of sense to have BoA perform on the San Francisco Pride Festival. Unlike other Asian American pop stars that have been relegated to the smaller Asian American Stage — sorry CoCo Lee, I’m talking about you — BoA will be performing on the main stage with other heavy hitters such as Solange Knowles, and is guaranteed an audience of tens of thousands of people, even if half of them are too busy getting drunk on $9 light beer or making out with the guy they just met hours before. (Oh come on, I’m gay too; I’m allowed to say these things.) No word yet on if the interaction between Pride attendees and heterosexual Korean guys only there to see BoA will be awkward or hilarious.
China’s Elephant Man, a documentary on Huang Chuncai airs tomorrow night (Sunday, June 7th at 9PM) on National Geographic.
Huang Chuncai suffers from an extreme case of neurofibromatosis that has ravaged his upper body for most of his 31 years. His condition has stunted his growth, left his bones underdeveloped and has begun to strangle his breathing. While there is no cure, doctors feel that by removing the tumor, he can at least lead the normal life he’s always dreamed of.
What was most touching about this particular documentary, wasn’t the wonders of what modern medicine can accomplish or the life of someone who must contend with his disabilities, but rather the strength of the human spirit. There are many things in life that are unfair to Huang, however, it’s with the love of his family that he is able to have survived as long as he has. It’s a good lesson to be reminded of what is ultimately important to one’s life and the sacrifices that need to be made accordingly.
In addition to being a music producer working for Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, Ryan Buendia is an artist and performer in his own right. As a DJ and turntablist, he has performed in various parts of the world. He has created albums on his own and as part of the Fingerbangerz crew, with whom he produced music for the Jabbawockeez. He is also my nephew, and I am proud to see how he has persevered to become a successful engineer and artist. In this first part of a two part profile of this Asian-American in the recording business, I ask him questions about his experiences working behind the scenes in the music business.
How did you you get into Sound Engineering?
Ryan Buendia: Well right after high school in 2000, I decided to make music my career. Instead of going to a 4 year college, I decided to take the Sound Arts program at Ex’pression Center for New Media, in Emeryville, CA. At the age of 18, I really didn’t even know what an engineer was. I just knew I wanted to learn how to use all the equipment in a professional recording studio. I was driven to learn this and apply it to my own music.
What are the some of the difficulties of being Asian American in the music business?
Ryan Buendia: There are so many avenues in the music business, so avenues are difficult than others. If you’re an Asian American getting into Engineering, it not so bad because technology in music has conformed from analog to digital. Most Asian Americans are pretty computer savvy, so that definitely helps. But for an Asian American recording artist, the chances are pretty slim here in the U.S. So far, out of the millions of Asian recording artists out there, we only have one mainstream, globally accepted, Grammy Award Winner, and that’s Apl de Ap.
I recall you telling a story about a rapper asking you if you were Chinese or Japanese? Tell us about that story.
Ryan Buendia: When I first started working in the music industry, I had to work with these rappers out of the South for a whole month straight. They weren’t used to seeing an Asian guy in the studio, so they used to call me “Chopsticks” as a nickname. At the time, I was very offended by this nickname, and thought they were racist. But as I got older, I realized that they were just ignorant. They really meant no harm, they actually thought it was a great nickname for me. hahaha
How did you first connect with Apl?
Ryan Buendia: I connect with Apl back in 2004. I was working at a famous recording studio called “Encore Studios.” By this time, my music was circulating a lot around the music industry. One day a friend of mine came to the studio and introduced me to the Manager of the Black Eyed Peas, Polo Molina. He really liked my music alot and hooked me up with Apl. The rest is history.
Did you ever think as a kid that you would be traveling between the US and Asia on business?
Ryan Buendia: I never thought any of this as a kid. The dream even as a kid felt very far fetched. It goes to show you how much you really have to believe in yourself and not other’s belief of yourself.
Where in Asia have you travelled with APL?
Ryan Buendia: Since 2004, I’ve been going to Philippines with Apl every Christmas to give gifts and money back to the poor. We also tour around Philippines and do gigs. I’ve also Djed in Taiwan by myself.
How many tracks do you have on the upcoming Black Eyed Peas CD?
Ryan Buendia: Well, I have 3 songs total. One song titled “Showdown” on the original Album pressing. And two more songs on the deluxe edition Album that they are doing exclusively with Target. Those songs are titled “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Mare”. I’m really proud of my work on this album because I produced the entire beat on all three tracks, and have been working the last 9 years to reach this point in my career. I feel really blessed and humbled by the experience.
What’s it like working with APL? Any particular stories that exemplify what that is like?
Ryan Buendia: Working with Apl is fun. We do work long hours, maybe 12-14 hours a day depending on which project. But sometimes we’ll go to the nightclub and have a drink. Most might say that’s not work, but we’re actually studying what the people react to in clubs and it really shows on this next Black Eyed Peas Album. But trust me, after working all day, then going to a club until 2am, then going back to the studio to work until 6am, only to find out you have to start work again in a couple of hours is very draining.
Any stories about working with Will.I.am, Fergie, or Taboo that are noteworthy (and that you could tell without getting into any trouble)?
Ryan Buendia: Working with Will is amazing. Whenever I’m around him, I’m a sponge. I remember almost everything he has said about music. He’s a true genius. I remember him saying in 2005 that the Internet is going to take over the Music Industry, and that there’s not going to be a physical record store anymore. He explained how the only physical stores that are gonna be selling albums are places like Walmart, and he was right.
When is the Black Eyed Peas CD coming out?
Ryan Buendia: June 9th, 2009
Are you going to be in any more music videos? I saw you getting out of the Jeepney in Bebot Bep [7:02].
Ryan Buendia: I’m not sure, I doubt it. I prefer to be behind the scenes. I’d love to be on more albums than videos.
Why aren’t you going to your cousins’ basketball games when you are up this way?
Ryan Buendia: Unfortunately, my time is spread very thin when I come home. I usually only stay for a weekend and end up working in the studio with the Fingerbangerz.
If you’ve been following the latest buzz on the next potential “iPhone killer,” you’ll know that the Palm Pre will be launching with Sprint this Saturday. With the new launch is the launch of a new ad campaign, which highlights the feature that you can control an army of Asian dancers.
While the headline in VentureBeat is pretty funny, the commercial reminds me of part of the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On the Palm Pre’s Facebook page, Palm has a behind-the-scenes and making of the commercial video, showing the 1,000 kung fu students from the Shaolin Martial Arts School practicing for the commercial. The background was filmed in Luoping, China, the white girl filmed in a studio elsewhere. The reviews so far of the Palm Pre on Sprint are pretty good – Gizmodo has a nice matrix overview of a lot of major reviews of the phone done so far.
If Palm ever launches the Pre in China, would they have a TV commercial with a Chinese girl commanding an army of white male dancers instead? Because that would help sell a bunch of Pre’s in China.
Back in July of 2007, I visited Beijing and Tiananmen Square for the first time and imagined the late evening and early morning of Saturday, June 3rd – June 4th, 1989 of the massacre. Tiananmen Square is the largest open urban squares in one of the most populous cities in the world. I can’t imagine the shock and fear of 10,000 troops, tanks and armored personnel entering the Square and firing upon innocent and unarmed civilians.
Twenty years ago, my father, brother and I were at Bucknell University visiting from Massachusetts my cousin who was graduating from college; I was a senior in high school, close to graduation. I remember the months and days that lead up to the Tiananmen Square massacre, with the Square filled up, the construction of the Goddess of Democracy and Gorbachev’s visit to Beijing. That weekend, we stayed at my father’s friend’s place, not too far from Penn State, and watched with utter awe on television the events unfolding. I was, perhaps naively so, shocked that the Chinese government would so blatantly roll in the People’s Liberation Army and fire directly upon its own citizens, while the Western media was reporting. We take 24/7 live news for granted today with satellite feeds available globally, but back in 1989, this was still relatively new, and reporters were able to report, if not through television, through telephones and cell phones – rare in China back then – the chaos going on that evening.
In that moment of time, I was pretty pessimistic about China’s future. I had been bullish about the potential growth of Asia — especially China — and how that region might be a growing career opportunity down-the-road in whatever vocation I decided to eventually pursue. As a Taiwanese American, I was also concerned what this meant possibly for my relatives in Taiwan if China started to take a more aggressive stance towards Taiwan, especially as Taiwan’s own democracy was beginning to emerge (to this day, China has yet to renounce the use of force against “reunification.”) But mostly, I was just really shocked that China would remove the protesters with such violent force. Now, when most people outside of China hear about Tiananmen Square, they (as well as Google) synonymously think of the massacre. Of course, the Chinese government has erased that event from the history books and as every anniversary approaches, makes sure that the Square is “protected” with heightened security. In the Internet age, the Chinese government has since installed the Great Firewall of China and the past few days has blocked social media websites like Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
After getting back home to Massachusetts, I watched French Open winner Michael Chang giving his victory speech and him expressing his great sadness over the events in Beijing in Tiananmen Square and dedicating his win to those who lost their lives. If you had followed Chang’s unlikely progression through the tennis tournament, it almost seemed destined for him to win and help bring more attention — not that the events needed any — of what was going on in China. At the time, Michael Chang, at age 17, was the youngest American and first and remains the only Asian American tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam.
The following day, perhaps the most visually memorable event of the Tiananmen Square massacre events occurred, broadcast live and in broad daylight, when an unknown Chinese young man, colloquially now known as Tank Man (as well as Unknown Rebel), stepped in front a column of tanks, to prevent the tanks from proceeding down the road.
No one, except the Chinese Communist Party perhaps, knows how many people died that evening, but estimates put the number at several hundred. In the past two decades, China not only withstood the short-lived diplomatic and economic consequences of the massacre, but thrived. China is no South Africa; multinationals simply could not ignore the limitless amount of cheap labor in China, nor the vast potential of such a large market for their goods, to ignore China. Over the past 30 years, China has averaged double digit percentage year-over-year growth and this growth has lead to the largest lifting of people (in the hundreds of millions) out of poverty in recorded human history. Yet, there is a long way to go for the rest of this country of 1.3+ billion to grow economically, and certainly politically.
Sadly, even the United States cannot complain and pressure China on human rights as much as we used to, now that China, a Communist government with an capitalistic economy, is our country’s largest foreign creditor. But I was glad to hear that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, no doubt with the Obama administration’s approval, issuing a statement urging China to publicly account for those killed in the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests twenty years ago. With further economic growth in China, there will come in time greater political freedom. This has actually been the political evolution of many countries in Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan. I certainly wouldn’t want to see the kind of economic and political instability of the 1990s that Russia experienced nor try to impose democracy on another country, like, say, Iraq.
China’s youth, at 200 million strong since 1989, don’t know much about what happened twenty years ago, nor do they much care – they are mostly concerned about living a better life. Though there were reported signs of civic involvement and duty in the post-Sichuan earthquake catasotrophe. Some even claim that democracy is gaining momentum in China. I’m glad that democracy is thriving — but still maturing — in Taiwan, and was immensley proud when, back in 1995, the then president of Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui, gave a speech during his college reunion in Ithaca, New York on Taiwan’s democracy at my alma mater. Let’s hope that in time, those who protested and died at Tiananmen Square will not have died in vain, but be remembered for seeding the beginnings of a much freer and more democratic China than we know today.
(Image Source: Getty Images)
You know, it’s too bad that a couple of bad apples can spoil the entire barrel. After two years of relatively drama free comments, the past couple of days have seen a spike in especially hateful comments towards the people who write on this blog. And while I’m all for setting up an environment for debate and all for displaying the opinions of people will disagree, something I absolutely won’t stand for are personal threats and attacks.
As a result, we’ve made the following changes on 8Asians.com:
- All comments on 8Asians.com are now maintained through disqus, where you must be a registered member to post. To become a registered member, you can log in through your Facebook account or twitter.
- We are now going to ban inappropriate commenters more often. All comments on 8Asians.com can now be flagged to moderators, and all comments are subject to moderation, as determined by our comment policy: We have the right to ban comments such as, but not limited to, personal attacks, hate speech, defamatory remarks, commercial advertisements (e.g., spam), or deemed anonymous (written using a fake e-mail address), vapid, off-topic, and infecund may be subject to restrictions at 8A’s discretion. There will be no warning and no appeal process.
Again, I’m all for people who disagree; the whole reason I started 8Asians was to get a wide variety of blog posts on a bunch of different topics from people of different mindsets. But for Christs sake, don’t be a troll; own your opinions and don’t hide behind a fake hotmail account.
(Flickr photo credit: Mysserli)
In the age of massive budget deficit spending and increased scrutiny in the federal budget, The New York Times profiles one of the most powerful members of the Senate, Senator Daniel K. Inouye — Chairman of the Appropriations Committee — and his effort to help cut spending, especially military spending. Inouye has an outstanding military record, but apparently has a mixed record of controlling military spending as well as various funding various “pork” projects, as with any senator given his seniority:
“Elected to Congress in 1959, two years before President Obama was born, Mr. Inouye is known as a war hero and civil rights icon. While other Japanese-Americans were in internment camps, he lost his arm leading an Army unit of Japanese-Americans in World War II. Honoring that legacy is one of many pet causes to which he has doled out federal money, including in one case to a group he helps oversee. In 2000 he inserted into the annual defense bill $20 million for a project dedicated to the sacrifices of soldiers like himself at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, where he was longtime chairman of the board of governors. He capitalized on his official power to help finance the project in other ways as well. He helped draw donations from military contractors with big interests before his committee.”
Senator Inouye sits on the commerce committee, especially of note as Inouye’s son is also a a lobbyist for several entertainment and communications companies that lobby the senators. As Secretary of Defense Gates has called on cutting traditionally large and expensive Cold War type weapon systems, senators are beseeching Inouye to save such weapons and related defense jobs in their states. Best of luck to Senator Inouye on trying to balance his political interests with the fiscal realities of today.
(Image source: The New York Times)
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