Wednesday, October 19, 2011

BB Playbook

Yesterday, i got a nice gift in the form of the 16GB Blackberry Playbook tablet.  i'll leave the details of how i got the gift.  However, i've been using it and its not a bad little machine.  Yes, it's had its critics but free is free.  Just like the HP Touchpad users, the Playbook makes for a nice little web browser and can do a few other things.  In fact i am writing this posting as we speak.

Overall, the Playbook is nice but probably enough to be my primary computer.  The OS isn't bad but tbe browser hiccups a bit.  App choices are a little limited but there's useful stuff if you look for it.  Is it worth the regular price?  For me, no.  But for free?  I cannot complain!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

iPad for Seniors: Personal Experience

As a person that work on a computer most of the day, has a computer at home and carries around an iPhone, I did not have a need for an iPad.  Yet,  I spent a lot of time playing with the machine at Apple stores.  While I enjoyed playing with it, I felt is a glorified iPhone without the ability to make calls.

I had a change of heart when I realized the iPad 2 could be an interesting device for my mom when she's not out doing stuff.  I thought it would give her an additional option beyond just watching TV.  Like many elderly folks, my mom is not much of a technology person.  The only piece of my technology actively uses is her cell phone.  However, that cell phone is a very basic one.  You would never see my mom using an iPhone or Android phone.

If not the iPhone, then how come I suddenly thought about the iPad?  Well, I felt the iPad would be simple enough so I could teach my mom a few simple things to do.  I initially planned to teach her how to surf the Web, watch YouTube and play a few games.

After thinking about things for a couple of weeks, I ended getting the iPad.  Alas, only one out of the three items I wanted to teach my mom has worked out.  My mom doesn't know much about the Internet and doesn't watch a lot of videos.  So, those two ideas went out the door quick.

However, the games have saved the day.  I had to teach my mom to do some basic navigation of the iPad.  Once she got that down pat, she has spent a lot of her free time playing a few games (2 card games + one bowling game).   The two card games require some thinking and strategy so that is helping my mom stay mentally active.

The nice benefit is that some of the games can be played on both the iPad 2 and my iPhone (as both are using my iTunes account).  So when we both have time, I can compete against my mom on some of the games.  Good family bonding time!

In addition, while the iPad is not a phone, I've installed an app that allows the iPad to make and receive calls.  I have the same app on my iPhone.  While the cell phone will be the primary form of contact, it's nice to have a backup option.

If you've never thought about getting an iPad for yourself, consider it for your family member.   It is definitely worth the investment.


Sunday, July 10, 2011

"Mighty Warriors Of Comedy"

Almost two years ago, the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors came back to the Bay Area for several performances after spending a couple of years in Southern California.   This was to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the group's founding.   I went with a friend to watch one of the performances and blogged about it here:

15 Years Of The Mighty Mountain Warriors

This past week, I found out that the group's documentary "Mighty Warriors Of Comedy" was available On Demand on my local cable system.   The documentary had been out on DVD since 2007 and even want an local Emmy award.  Despite being a big fan of the group, I had never purchased the DVD.

However, my curiosity finally got to me and I plunked down the $1.95 to watch it on cable.  I'm not going to review it here but as someone who likes history and appreciates independent artists in all forms, the documentary was both revealing and a bit sad.

The documentary talked about the history of the group and what they represented (especially in the late 1990's) when Asian representation in the media was so lacking.  Yet, despite putting in 12 years of hard work (at the time of the documentary) and having a solid fan base in the Bay Area and Southern California, the group never really broke out as they hoped.

The documentary showed me that independent groups like the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors and other independent artists really do these things for the love of their craft.  Being rich and famous would be nice but I'm sure that is not the ultimate goal.

These days, it seems the majority of the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors group have moved on to other things.  The three remaining performers (Michael Hornbuckle, Greg Watanabe, Peter Wong) continue to press on though.   They have a new show coming in August in Los Angeles.  The group has also been putting out YouTube videos like this:

The History Of China in 3 1/2 Minutes

In closing, the Warriors have been around for years and continue on.  I don't know what the future holds for them but I am hoping their long standing dedication to their craft and the Asian-American community pays off.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The "Brian Yang" Phenomenon / How the Internet Has Changed Media

For the first time this year, I watched an episode of new "Hawaii 5-0" TV show this past Monday.  Of course, it was also the SEASON FINALE of the show so that meant I had not watched the show this entire season!

There is some good reasons why I hadn't watched the show previously.  One reason was that I played in a basketball league on Monday nights for about three months.  By the time I got home most nights, the show was already over and I wasn't particularly inclined to watch the show via On-Demand.  The second reason is that I generally don't watch network TV (CBS, NBC, ABC) must these days.  I tend to watch cable networks like Food Network, Game Show Network, CNN, ESPN, Syfy or the History Channel.

However, I had a good reason to watch the season finale of Hawaii 5-0 this week.  There was actor I knew (sort of) that was playing a character on the show.  The actor's name was Brian Yang and he was playing a crime lab tech named Charlie Fong.  This would be Brian's second appearance in the show.  The prior had come about two episodes prior to the season finale.

I don't claim to be Brian's friend at all but I knew of him through his involvement in some basketball leagues that I had been involved in as well.  I had actually met Brian once about a year ago and I had added him to my Facebook friend list and tracked his comings and goings (he has many things going on).

Prior to watching the season finale, I plugged Brian's name into Google and found several articles (Hawaii 5-0 fan sites and others) that talked about Brian's character AND about Brian himself.  Apparently, Brian's appearance in the prior episode had sparked a little buzz on the Internet on who this "new guy" was.   People were impressed with his chemistry with co-star Grace Park.  Also, some ladies apparently thought Brian was a cute, good looking and/or hot guy!  I'm sure he appreciates this......hahahaha

In all seriousness though,  this got me thinking that the Internet these days can make anyone become a minor celebrity.  Think about the YouTube stars (KevJumba, NigaHiga, etc) or even a Brian Yang.  In looking at IMDB, Brian has a pretty long acting resume but it's been with small productions and he's hardly a household name.  But by just appearing on Hawaii 5-0 and with the ability for people to easily search for information online, Brian's name is becoming a bit of a known quantity.   With the ease of communication these days, people like me (and others) who like Brian can easily support Brian via social media, email and other means to let CBS know that we want Brian's character back for the 2nd season of Hawaii 5-0.

I compare Brian's current situation to 10 to 12 years ago when I was trying to search for some information on an actress.  I'm a fan of the original "Friday the 13th" movie franchise (yes, I am weird!) and was watching "Friday the 13th:  Jason Takes Manhattan" either in the movie theater or at home (don't quite remember).

At some point during the movie, there was an young and cute Asian actress that appeared.  I don't think she was on screen long as Jason killed her off pretty quick.  However, the actress stuck with me and I tried to find information on her.  Well, keeping in mind that "Jason Takes Manhattan" was released in 1989 and probably popped up on TV somewhere between 1990 to 1992, trying to find information on actresses was pretty limited.  In fact, I don't think I even got her name from the closing credits as I had forgotten the character's name.

Well, after the Internet and Google became mainstream, I remembered to try and look up the Asian actress that appeared in "Jason Takes Manhattan".  In a major surprise, it was Kelly Hu (Martial Law, The Scorpion King)!   I'm sure Kelly wishes that movie wasn't on her resume but can't change anything about it now!  In fact, Kelly Hu is the reason I am writing this post.  Kelly was a guest star on Hawaii 5-0 though her character was killed off in the season finale so I guess she won't be back next season.

I don't know what Brian's future holds but with Hawaii 5-0 being renewed for another season, maybe we will see more of his character in the future.   Who knows, maybe Brian's work in Hawaii 5-0 will lead to bigger and better things as well and one can thank the Internet for building his fan base.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Asian American's Finding Their Voices On the Internet

Recently, Alexandra Wallace's "Asians in the Library" video was the subject of a huge discussion on the Internet.  For those who were fortunate enough to miss this wonderful (sarcasm intended) piece of work, click on the link above to view the video and see why it was the subject of so many discussions among many Asian-Americans. 


The reason why the video was the subject of so many discussions was that fact that it was posted on YouTube.  Many people don't seem to realize that just about anything you post on the Internet is fodder for the public.  Miss Wallace's mistake was underestimating the impact her message had on the Asian American community.  Because of the Asian-American's response to the video, UCLA had to address the issue of the video.   Miss Wallace was forced to apologize and later withdrew from UCLA due to the video.

With the prevalence of the Internet these days, Asian-Americans are flexing their voices on issues like never before.  According to some studies, Asian-Americans are the heaviest users of the Internet among all other ethnic groups.  This would explain why Miss Wallace's video went viral almost as soon as it was posted.  Besides the fact the video was posted on a public website, many Asian American's are connected to many of the friends world wide via social networking sites like Facebook.

With the ability to connect to so many people via the Internet,  videos like Miss Wallace's are easily distributed to thousands of people from all around the globe.   Obviously, it wasn't just a few people who were offended, otherwise Miss Wallace or UCLA could have easily ignored the uproar.

I am proud that Asian-American's are using the Internet to flex their political voices.  In the days before the Internet, Asian-Americans had to rely on word of mouth, Asian-American media sources or other news distribution sources that were limited in scope.  That made it difficult to contact certain segments who not have had access to these media sources and get the word out on issues.

These days, the Internet is a good equalizer.   Asian-American groups and organizations are taking advantage of the Internet to get news such as Miss Wallace's video out to large number of people.   With more Asian-Americans engaged, more and more people are speaking out on the issues that face the community.

For too long, Asian Americans have been too quiet over the many injustices that have occurred over the years.  From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Japanese American Internments (and others), Asian-Americans have never been able to gather significant numbers to show a unified voice on issues.

I believe those days are over.  The Internet is great for information research and exchange.  For Asian-American's in the 21st Century, it's gives us a voice that we've never had.  Let's USE IT!

Friday, January 28, 2011

The World Will Not End in 2012

In the news today, Egypt decided to cut off Internet access for the ENTIRE COUNTRY due to civil unrest and protests:

Egypt Cuts Off Internet

This got me to thinking about 2012 and the supposed end of the world.   As most people probably have read or heard from other sources, there are some that believe the world will end on December 21st, 2012.   Why or how this will occur is subject to debate.   Some believe there will be some world wide catastrophe. Yet, others believe that perhaps in 2012 there will major changes to humanity and how we live.

In my humble opinion, I think that in 2012, there will be some incident involving the world being cut off from the Internet.  This may be accidental or intentional.  Regardless, being cut off from the Internet will have a drastic affect on everyone.  Just think about the majority of people who do their shopping, banking, and other activities online.   There are others whose social lives revolve around email, instant messaging and Facebook.  This incident will last for some time and cause unrest.

Eventually Internet access will be restored and the world will get back to the way we know it.  However, there will be a chance in the attitude regarding the Internet.  The Internet has been a godsend for online activities and fast communication.  Yet, meeting up with people, talking on the phone and other live social activities can never be replaced by electronic communication.

In 2012, I believe there will be a fundamental change in the way the Internet is viewed and used.  Online shopping, banking and other activities will still continue.  But real human interaction will once again rise up as people realize that a phone call to a friend beats an email.  Meeting up with someone beats just exchanging instant messages.

Who knows, I could be wrong and the world could still end in 2012.  If that is the case, we'd better enjoy it for what it's worth now!