- Two years ago: John discusses the merits of Pinkberry, and its corresponding American Express commercial.
- Two years ago: Trans-racial adoptive parents, behaving badly.
- Two years ago: Brian watches the uncensored version of Lust Caution – something he couldn’t do when traveling in China.
- Two years ago: Quang Bao leaves the Asian American Writers Workshop.
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As we get fully entrenched in this holiday season, now best known for getting and giving gifts, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the cultures that have really perfected the art of giving gifts. Asian cultures specifically of course. Fellow blogger Joz and I both had the opportunity to travel back to Taiwan over the recent Thanksgiving holiday. We met up while we were there, and had the opportunity to reflect on the custom of having to bring gifts when visiting Taiwan, and how it always seems we never bring enough of them.
The custom of bringing gifts was instilled in me by my parents. It was partly a matter of “saving face”, as you instinctively know all the relatives you will be visiting will have a gift for you. If I were to have visited Taiwan without bringing appropriate gifts (like mixed nuts, chocolates, and face cream), I’m sure my mother would have turned over in her grave. But even with all my preparation, I still felt unequal to the task at hand. Everyone seemed to have a better, nicer gift to give me or my daughter who accompanied me to Taiwan.
The practice of gift giving in Chinese culture is also firmly planted with my family here in the U.S. I wouldn’t dream of visiting an auntie or uncle here in the states without stopping by a bakery first to pick up a cake or tart to bring along. Now with Christmas so near, I can hear my mom’s admonishments in my head to make sure I have a gift for everyone that comes to our house for Christmas dinner. This thought goes through my head, even though we sent out invites specifically saying there would be no gift exchange for adults in this economic downturn. I also said we were picking names out of a hat to determine who brought the single gift for each child who is coming to dinner. But secretly my mind is insisting I give every niece and nephew their own gift. Having a gift for everyone is so ingrained in my behavior, that I keep a fully stocked gift closet, so that no matter who comes over, I have something to give them.
There was one Christmas I stocked up on large tins of cookies and treats from Costco, so I could give them to my aunties. Each one got a different container, so I knew what I gave everyone. I gave one auntie a large red tin container. Imagine my surprise when on Christmas night, I received back the same container from a different auntie. The re-gifting had gone full circle. I’m not relaying this story to embarrass my aunties, but to show how practical the Chinese can be as well. My own mom, was a champion at re-gifting.
I can’t finish an article on the art of gift-giving without also giving a nod to Japanese culture, which has not only taken gift-giving to an art form, but the practice of wrapping gifts is an art form in Japan as well. So enjoy your holidays, and remember to go forth and gift appropriately.
Shopping With GASP!
Yes, Olivia Munn on the cover of Maxim is some very lovely eye candy.
But candy is candy, and Jen & Diana on the cover of Hyphen is like a dessert platter for my eyes.
Hell, I admit it, I’m biased. I love Disgrasian. Jen and Diana are totally awesome. They are beautiful, funny, snarky, awesome writers, and most importantly SMART… and LOOK! They are gracing the cover of one of the best Asian American publications around!
Issue 19 of Hyphen is their “Trailblazing” issue and with these lovely ladies as their cover story entitled Shame On You: Saving Face With the Ladies Behind the Disgrasian Blog, Hyphen has definitely got my attention.
No offense to Olivia and Maxim*, but if I’m gonna subscribe to anything for their cover girls, I choose Disgrasian + Hyphen.
*Sorry, Maxim/G4: I’m just not your target market. This post was written by someone who is most certainly NOT a “Masturbating 17 Year Old Boy!” (Thank goodness!)
In Southern California, the amount of Asian Americans enlisting in the US Military are up by a staggering 80% compared to last year. Among the reasons for the spike in enrollment: military programs that offer college tuition — and for some, a special program that offers United States citizenship to select recruits with healthcare specialities and language expertise. Not bad, other than that pesky side effect of possibly dying in a war.
Asian (or half Asian) women have done it again! G4 co-host and every geek’s wet dream Olivia Munn is gracing the January 2010 cover of Maxim Magazine. You can check out the full photo spread directly on their site, in case the behind the scenes video above isn’t enough for you.
I would say something snarky here about how pop culture continues to objectify women but I can’t. She’s too hot.
So I’m going to go eat a donut instead. Who wants to split a dozen with me?
Except for Moye*, the Japanese/Japanese-American folks I know aren’t usually people who do much complaining. While that’s a pretty big generalization, we all know the stereotypes– both real and perceived– of the “quiet” Japanese men and women who don’t like to talk about or dwell on hardships. Those who work to document the Japanese American internment often report that many of the Issei and older Nisei wanted to leave those memories in the past– forcing a younger generation to push for Redress. But I digress.
Regardless of whether “not complaining” is a “traditionally Japanese trait,” there are reports that today’s Japanese have becoming increasingly vocal complainers. According to an article in Japan Today, the nation “…it seems, is fast becoming an “ichamon” [いちゃもん] society, where people don’t merely raise complaints, but make false charges and pick fights at the slightest pretext.”
Last July, Shinichi Sekine, author of “The Claimer Next Door,” (Chuokoron Shinsha, 2007) published a “White Paper on Complaints.” Of over 5,000 respondents to Sekine’s questionnaire, nearly 40% noted that complaints at their workplace have been increasing of late.
The highest response was among teachers and educators, of whom 53.7% of whom said they had been directly in the line of fire.
“Until 2008, I’d been an administrator at a university for three years,” a source from academia tells the magazine. “During that time, I constantly had to field claims by students’ parents. Their methods were hardly different from yakuza. They would latch on to the smallest problem and demand that I acknowledge it, and apologize to them. Whenever I conceded a point they would ratchet up their claims.”
The day after cream stew was served at the cafeteria of a Tokyo primary school, a parent called to confront a teacher, saying, “My kid hates stew, so yesterday he only ate bread. I want a refund for that day’s lunch.”
The author of the white paper believes this trend actually reflects a change in the temperament of Japanese people. “They are not just complaining; their methods are becoming increasingly spiteful, such as demanding money or an apology in writing,” says Sekine. “I think a key factor may be the declining sense of contentment.”
Maybe so. But a commenter suggests that this might be because Japanese people are just “spoiled.”
What do you think? Is Japan on its way to being a nation of chronic complainers? Or do Americans still have a lock on that?**
*Just kidding. I’m only picking on Moye ‘cuz it’s fun! She is not a complainer– though she does, however, make keen observations about things that truly suck!
**Ok, another big generalization. But am I wrong about that?!
“Kuya Ryan got nominated for a Grammy!”
shouted The Daughter. While annoyed at her shouting (“indoor voice please” I keep telling her), I was happy to hear that news and I wasn’t surprised. “Kuya Ryan” is her cousin and my nephew Ryan Buendia, a producer working with Apl.de.Ap and the Black Eyed Peas. We’ve profiled Ryan before, regarding his career as a producer and as an artist, DJ, and turntablist in his own right. He and Apl.de.Ap are nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy for the Black Eyed Peas’ album The E.N.D. Ryan is listed with his DJ name, DJ Replay. I wondered if Jay Sean would be nominated after getting a number #1 song, but he did not.
Apl and the Black Eyed Peas have won Grammys before and are nominated for some other ones, but this is Ryan’s first Grammy nomination, and it is definitely the first in our family! In addition to Apl, notable Asian American grammy winners include Cellist Yo-yo Ma, No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, and singer Norah Jones, daughter of another Grammy winner Ravi Shankar. Ne-yo, Grammy winner and a favorite of my daughter (“he’s so fine!” she says ad nauseum), is part Asian.
As for Ryan, he continues to work for Apl.de.Ap’s company Jeepney Music. I think Apl is wise to own and manage the production end of the business, as this gives him more artistic control and a bigger share of music profits, something that few Asian-Americans in the music business seem to possess. At Thanksgiving, in between large helpings of food, Ryan said that he had just done some work for Chris Brown and Rihanna (separately of course!). Looks like his influence is growing as a producer is growing. We’ll be rooting for Ryan on January 31, 2010 to see if he can join the list of Asian American Grammy winners.
- One year ago: Xxxtine reviews Secrets of the Kung Fu Temple.
- Two years ago: For Chinese Americans, Schools earn the prize.
- Two years ago: A Chink in the Armour, a short film about Chinese Canadian stereotypes.
- Two years ago: Chinese grandmothers do hip-hop. Chest bump, y’all.
Peter Pak, who has recently been selected as one of thirty female and thirty male semifinalists for the Wilhelmina Hot Body Model Search. The group of sixty will be narrowed down to ten finalists – of which, two audience favorites — i.e. YOU — will automatically entered into the finalist round. Finalists will be flown to NYC to participate in the final judging.
If you would like to help get Peter Pak selected as one of the finalists, please vote for him this Wed 12/15th or Thur 12/16th at www.wilhelminamodelsearch.com. One male and one female will each win a 5-year modeling contract with Wilhelmina Models, along with a few other prizes.
There aren’t exactly a lot of Asian American male models around, and when one climbs the ranks, like, say, Joz’s cousin Daniel Liu, it makes national news. Let’s help give Peter Pak a fighting chance! Now excuse me while I go the gym.
Oh, those kids and their YouTube: while older fogies like us are constantly lament how there are no visible Asian American entertainers on main stream radio or television, the newer generation is just creating new channels and forging their own way. On that note, old people of the Internet: meet Chicago-based Manny Garcia. Manny is a vocalist and pianist and successfully takes the songs True Colors and Defying Gravity and makes it so it doesn’t sound like, well, some random dude singing Defying Gravity on YouTube. In other words, he’s good.
(Hat tip: Rosemary)
Apparently, in Taiwan, there are 6.5 million pigs, which are a major source of river pollution. One Taiwanese farmer has potty trained his pigs to use a litter box, which apparently has conserved about 50% of the water used prior to potty training and reduced the waste going into rivers. His success has convinced the government to recommend the practice to other farmers.
Earth Times reports that Chang Chung-tou, owner of Shantung Animal Husbandry Farm in Yunlin county, started training his hogs 6 years ago after neighbors complained about the stench and pollution coming from the pig waste.
Pigs like to be in a clean environment, and can be as smart as dogs. They can be potty trained quickly, and their feces can be used for fertilizer, biogas or, after special treatment, fish and pigeon feed. If you’re interested in seeing how far you can go with potty training a pig, check out this youtube video. Makes you wonder sometimes why it’s so hard to train your own 3 or 4 year old to use the potty.
When I read a story on Yahoo Finance about America’s best high schools (summarizing rankings by US News and World Report), I noticed that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was at the top of the list. When you look at the detailed statistics for the school, it says that the school is 4.6% minority. I thought, “wait, didn’t John write about the fact that the school has an Asian plurality?” Then I remembered in many forums, Asians aren’t counted as minorities. Are we now interchangeable with white people? Must be why we get so few roles in the Last Airbender Movie. 
It’s a funny stat – if someone went to #3 ranked Whitney High School, thinking it was mostly white with only 11.5% “minority,” they would be surprised to find it being 84.9% Asian.
I am just glad this story does not include Yellow Peril warnings about the large numbers of Asian Americans at elite high schools or tales of white flight from Asians. Some of the high schools we talked about in previous posts are ranked highly by US News and World Report, such as Lowell High School (#28) and Mission San Jose High School (#36).
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