15 years of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors

I have been a fan of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors for a long time. The Warriors are a Asian American comedy troupe that was formed back in San Francisco around 1994. Over the past 15 years, they have performed all over the world and won several awards for their efforts. The first time I saw the troupe perform was at San Francisco State university around 1995 or 1996. Since then, I have followed the troupe heavily and attended many performances.

Several years ago, the troupe decided to perform in Southern California exclusively. I don't remember the exact reason for this. However, it's not hard to imagine that the troupe wanted to be closer to Hollywood and perhaps get bigger gigs than what was available in the San Francisco Bay Area.

However, as the troupe was celebrating it's 15th Anniversary, they made a return appearance to their home in the Bay Area after a three year absence. There were three shows scheduled for this weekend (Friday 7 PM, Saturday 7 PM & 10 PM) in San Jose.

As soon as I found out the troupe was performing this weekend, I asked a friend to go. We attended the Saturday show at 7 PM. Overall, the show was entertaining though it felt short to me (running around 1 hour and 20 minutes or so). There were a few skits that were great and a couple of that felt flat to me.

However, I'm not here to review the show. I want to commend the group for staying together for fifteen years. I don't know how much money the various members of the group make for each show they perform. My friend and I agreed that the performers probably don't make much. Most of them probably have regular jobs and do these performances as a labor of love.

From what I saw tonight, even though the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors have been around for 15 years, they still have the creativity to create new skits and retain a great passion for their work. As someone who watches many Asian-American independent films and listens to underground Asian-American musicians, I appreciate the work that the Warriors do. I fully support the many people who work to present more positive representations of Asian-Americans in the media.

Congrats on 15 years and here's to many more!

What Jeremy Lin means to Asian-Americans

Palo Alto, CA native and current Harvard basketball star Jeremy Lin had a great weekend. He hit a running 3 pointer at the buzzer to allow his Harvard team to stun William & Mary 87-85. Interestingly enough, he was also just featured in an article on Slam magazine's website.

Links here:

Jeremy Lin - Buzzer Beater highlights

Slam Magazine Feature on Jeremy Lin

As an Asian-American AND a basketball fan, I am thrilled that Jeremy Lin is having success on the basketball court at Harvard. I am definitely curious if Jeremy can play in the NBA in the future. While it's unfair to put a lot of burden on Lin's shoulders, I think his success at Harvard (and hopefully in the NBA in the future) will indirectly help Asian-Americans in many ways. Here are some of the ways:

- Changing media representation and stereotypes about Asian males

For whatever reason, Asian males have been stereotyped in the media as geeky and unathletic. Why this is the case is unknown. The fact that Asian representation in major college and professional sports (baseball, basketball, football) is not all that high does not help. When it comes to athletics, Asians are usually not the first people that come to mind.

Jeremy Lin breaks a lot of these stereotypes. First he's playing basketball, a sport that is sometimes looked at as a primarily African-American sport. Secondly, he isn't your typical "short" Asian standing at 6'3" tall. Third, he isn't just a bench warmer. He is a starter for the Harvard team and earned All-League and MVP honors.

- Changing Asian's perceptions about sports

Asian families are really practical. Parents are usually found encouraging (pushing might be the better word sometime) their kids to study hard, get an education, find a job and earn a lot of money. The downside to this is that when the academic demands become too great, parents force their kids to drop some activities. The first activities that usually get dropped are sports. For some reason, certain Asian parents feel that sports is for fun but is not a priority when compared to education. As many Asian kids can attest to, Asian parents always encourage kids to study practical subjects like Accounting, Finance or something in the medical field.

Thus many kids who may have a talent for sports get pushed to study instead. They never get a chance to develop their talents. Jeremy Lin's success in basketball at Harvard may help change that. Harvard is an elite university that DOES NOT offer athletic scholarships. While Lin is a gifted basketball player, the fact that Harvard accepted him into the school means he was a smart kid as well. While I don't know how Lin is doing at Harvard, I think he has proven that sports and academics CAN co-exist, even in college. Asian kids should not longer aspire to simply be an accountant or doctor. They could also dream about being a college basketball (or other sport) player like Jeremy Lin. I would also hope that Asian parents allow their kids to pursue professional sports as a career as well.

I'm going to talk more about this point in a separate post later this week.

- Asian-Americans DO EXIST!

It has been great that Asian-born players like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian (among others) have made their way to the NBA. As great as it is to have Asians represented in the NBA, these players do not have share or understand the Asian-American experience. Those of us who were born in the United States have vastly different experiences than someone who has lived in China their whole lives. When Yao or Yi speak, they represent "China" but not "Asian-Americans". Yao or Yi cannot understand how it is to be a minority in a country. They don't understand how racism and stereotypes about Asian-Americans exist. The Asian-American experience is one thing that is nearly invisible in the United States. Fortunately many schools have Asian-American Studies courses and many books have been written.

Jeremy Lin could be the bridge to shed light on these experiences. Jeremy may look Asian like Yao or Yi but he is a full-blooded American. If Jeremy can make it to the NBA, he may have a platform that allows him to discuss how it is to be an Asian-American that no other person has ever gotten (short of Bruce Lee).

2012 the movie: Typical Hollywood Fare

If you were not familiar with the theory that the world might end sometime in December of 2012, you probably got a little education with the release of the film (aptly titled) 2012 this weekend.

I'm not going to summarize the theories that have been thrown out there on why the world might end in December of 2012. If you're curious, watch the History Channel as they have had many shows covering this topic recently. If you happen to miss any of the shows, it's ok. Given the interest in this topic, the shows will likely be repeated many times from now until 2012! Also, Wikipedia has a summary of information on 2012 as well:

2012 Phenomenon

I'm also not going to summarize the plot of the 2012 film. It's really a typical Hollywood film. Take a subject matter, write some story around the events, throw in some drama and then have a happy ending. I will say that the film is entertaining and will make lots of money. However, as with many Hollywood blockbusters, you'll probably have to suspend belief in certain situations.

While the film's happy ending was predictable, the fact that the remnants of the people on Earth were saved by getting gigantic arks was an interesting nod to Christian mythology. In fact, animals were shown being moved to the Ark as well.

Overall, while I liked the film, there are a couple of points I hope people take away from the film besides being entertained:

1. I hope that people take some time to learn more about the 2012 theories. None of us know what will happen in 2012. However, it doesn't hurt to be educated and prepare if needed.
   
2. I hope that people enjoy life every day like it's their last. Regardless if the world ends in 2012 or tomorrow, we should enjoy our time with friends and family.
   

Preserving Memories - Facebook style

(Originally posted to my Facebook account)

While Facebook has it's share of positives and negatives, I think one of best things Facebook has done is to preserve old memories for years and future generations to come.

How so? Firstly, Facebook capitalized on what Friendster and MySpace started. Facebook made connecting with people extremely easy. Not only did Facebook allow users to connect with their current friends, it allowed people to connect with people they may not have thought of in years including old classmates and co-workers.

Secondly, with the move toward digital photos, this has made it easier for people to share their photos online. However, people are not just sharing their current photos. There has been a trend for people to share their OLD photos which included their old friends, classmates and co-workers.

Conversely, with old friends connecting and old photos being uploaded, it was inevitable that old times and memories would be shared and discussed. What was once reserved for reunions and other get togethers were happening online at Facebook. But just because stuff was happening on Facebook didn't mean reunions stopped. In fact, many get togethers and reunions were spurred by people reconnecting again online at Facebook.

It is unfortunate that as we get older, our memories start to fade and all that we have left are the momentos that we keep with us (photos, yearbooks, etc) of years past. Thanks to Facebook, not only can these momentos be shared but so can our memories. The more the memories are shared with others, the more it will be remembered in the future.

SFGate Turns 15!

According to a blog posting on SFGate.com, the site celebrated it's 15th birthday today! See the link below:

SFGate turns 15: A timeline

I knew SFGate had been around for years but didn't realize just HOW long. This birthday brings up some interesting memories. On the date SFGate was started (November 3rd, 1994), I was likely still sitting in a classroom at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The Internet was a pipe dream to me. I had heard about email from a friend of mine in the East Coast but at the time I did not know where I could get access at CCSF.

It wouldn't be until early 1995 when I got my first taste of the Internet while at San Francisco State University (SFSU). I recall spending hours at the lab sending email, reading Usenet, and surfing with Mosaic and Netscape 1.0.

I don't remember when I got my first exposure to SFGate and have only vague recollections of the early days. While my memories of SFGate are lacking, it brings up the grand OLD days of the Internet before broadband, Amazon, and Internet Explorer took off. Back in those days, it was:

• Dial up access via SFSU account
• Unix shell account
• Pine email reader
• Tin Usenet Reader
• 56K Modem
• Apple IIe
  

The Internet has certainly advanced in the years since SFGate debuted. Like fine wine, SFGate has improved with age. Happy Birthday SFGate! I look forward to many more!

Chinatown Movie Theaters

Walking around Chinatown today, I felt some nostalgia. I had lunch with my parents and was just browsing around the various shops. Among the locations I shopped at was formerly a movie theater called "Sun Sing". This was located on Grant Ave,. between Pacific and Jackson Streets.

My cousin's grandmother had managed the concessions at Sun Sing for years. I had spent a good amount of time at Sun Sing (and other theaters) in Chinatown during my youth. Keep in mind this was in the 1980's before imported DVD's of Hong Kong and other Asian films had started appearing.

As imports of DVD's appeared in the 1990's, the Chinatown movie theaters began to lose business. The theaters turned to showcasing X-rated films but it wasn't long before all the theaters in Chinatown closed down.

Here's a list of theaters that once were in and around the Chinatown area and what each location is doing now:

• Sun Sing (Grant Ave., between Pacific and Jackson Streets) - As noted below, the space was converted into multiple stands of shops. There are stuff for tourists, jewelery, DVD's and other things.
  
• Jackson Street Theater (can't remember actual name. On Jackson Street between Stockton and Grant) - Converted into a bargin shopping store.
  
• World Theater (On Broadway between Stockton and Grant) - Probably one of newer and more modern theaters and had a nice run before closing down. The space still remains empty to this day.
  
• Pagoda Theater (In North Beach, across from Washington Square) - Technically not in Chinatown, but played many Chinese movies in it's day. After the theater closed down, the space was to be redeveloped into a business. However, to this day, the space still remains closed to this day.
  
• Great Star Theater - (On Jackson between Grant and Kearney) - This remains the only theater that is still operating thought it doesn't screen movies. The theaters primarily plays hosts to various Chinese opera troupes that stop by in San Francisco.
  

To me, it is a shame that there are no theaters in Chinatown that showcase new Asian films like they were back in the 1980's. While it is great to have imported DVD's and the Internet to see films, the experience of seeing a film in a theater sometimes cannot be beat.