March 2007 Archives
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From "Letters from an Old Empire" to Rattling that Empire's Cage
A good complementary piece to the Orhan Pamuk blog 2 blogs below, Carla Garapedian is an Armenian American who is also battling to have the issue of the Armenian genocide and other unacknowledged genocides this century brought to broader lights in her documentary Screamers where she teams up with everyone's favourite Armenian American rockers System of a Down.
Garapedian also behind the BBC documentary Lifting the Veil: Zarmina's story about "the anonymous, veiled figure led across the football pitch in Taliban-ruled Kabul, shot in cold blood in front of several thousand spectators" that aims to found out what the hell happened there.
Rattling the Cage: An Interview with Screamers Director Carla Garapedian
Screamers trailer
MORE: Armenian Canadian, Atom Egoyan's Ararat
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GR 46: Giant Trio
Giant Robot mag issue #46 profiles Gong Li, Hiroshi Fujiwara, & Towa Tei - the "First Impressionists"
"David Bowie is reputed to have said, 'Its not who does it first; it's who does it second.' That's a fact. In music, film, fashion, or any artistic avenue, true originals never recieve attention or credit for starting trends. More importantly, they dont even want it. They act out of love, need or desperation - but never for attention. This issue features three individuals who do not crave the spotlight, but deserve it." - GR editors Eric Nakamura & Martin Wong
Pick up a copy of GR in Vancouver at Chapters or Zulu Records to read about Gong Li, the Marlon Brando of Chinese cinema - the original Zhang Ziyi, Hiroshi Fujiwara, the godfather of Japanese street fashion culture - Nigo's sempei, and Towa Tei, trailblazing DJ of the Japanese expat art scene in NYC as member of Dee-Lite and A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Jungle Brothers collaborator.
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 30, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
"Letters from an Old Empire" - Orhan Pamuk
Turkey is a nation of many things: the so-called gate way between east and west, descendant of the Ottoman empire, aspiring EU nation, a muslim nation that is also reputed to be one of the largest recievers of US military aid, a nation where discussion of its genocide of the Armenian peoples is still taboo. It is also home to an author named Orhan Pamuk, the 2006 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
"Caught in the cultural clash between east and west, Pamuk struggles to balance his political beliefs and astonishing international literary success in a way modern Turkey can accept"
Read: Letters from an Old Empire: Orhan Pamuk: A Brave Voice in a Troubled Country
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 30, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
5 Indie Bands from China...yes, from China
From "Five Chinese Indie Bands" by Tim Yu (www.coolhunting.com):
"Holding to the spirit of truly independent music, many Chinese bands are producing truly original music and oftentimes you can hear traditional Chinese musical influences.
My Little Airport is an electro-noise-pop duet from Hong Kong. Their 2nd album "becoz i was nervous at that time" is a refreshing dream-pop album about all things pubescent: Youth, growth, friendship, emotions and memories. (Listen to their song "Nervous"here.)
Xiao He (aka He Guofeng), a folk-rock-blues solo musician, has an album release called A High-Flying Bird Never Falls onto a Trudging Cow's Back, a live recording.
Lonely China Day (from Beijing) just finished their debut tour in the US....In what can be described as glitch-alternative rock, they can be compared to the likes of Radiohead with their driving rock beats and spices of electronic/synth effects.
...From Shanghai is...Gemini Trip. They create an original blend of ephemeral electronic music and ballads. Offering an electronic texture compatible with vocals, this down-tempo music is a raw take on the overproduced numbers.
And finally The Subs' punk music with ferocious riffs, pounding rhythms and hell-bent screaming vocals it ranks among the best live acts...ever seen."
Posted by Tamiko | March 29, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Jazz Fest "Early On Sale" lineup so far
We're still a short bits away until our first dam long weekend of the year but the good folk at the Coastal Jazz & Blues Society have put together an early confirmed line-up for our beloved Jazz Fest already. Yeah, it aint summer quite yet but just thinking of the free shows round town in the Vancity sun is a beautiful thought right about now, aint it? Once again, some serious names are headlining the festival including "our greatest living jazzman and a link to the music's most storied era," none other than the living legend Sonny Rollins, Cape Verdean Cesaria Evoria, Brazil's Bebel Gilberto (w/ local future-jazz mofos Sekoya ), Joshua Redman (w/ the Bad Plus) and a whole lotta mo.
Check the complete lineup here so far
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 28, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Paco Pena's Requiem Flamenco
"In Praise of the Earth" tour
FRIDAY, APRIL 6
Orpheum Theatre
Ticket info
From vancouverchamberchoir.com:
"Flamenco guitar virtuoso Paco Pena returns with his troupe of Spanish singers, players and dancers to present the North American premiere of a new choral work entitled Requiem Flamenco - In Praise of the Earth. As Pena says: 'Mankind cannot but rely on the earth and its resources for its survival and happiness. It is clear that we must indeed praise nature but we must also make sure that we protect it from the abuses that we are inflicting on it.' For those who experienced our performances of his stirring Misa Flamenca in past years, this will be a 'must see' occasion. Of course, our subscribers will receive the best seats at the very best prices."
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 28, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
the universal NOOOOOOOO! | Maarten Roberto's montage of noooooo! clips
One of the most universal English phrases uttered, and most always understood anywhere in the world, is the simple "No."
In movies things are made dramatic with a character exclaiming "Noooooooooooo!" or the trailing "Noooooooooooooo....." (slow mo scenes make it better). Check out a montage of "Nooooo" clips by Maarton Roberto features scenes from Star Wars, The Simpsons, Star Trek, The Family Man, South Park, and more....classic.
NOOOO! montage here: www.devilducky.com/media/59142.
Posted by Tamiko | March 25, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
The End of East | novel by Jen Sookfong Lee
Knopf Canada and 32 Books host a private reception this Sunday, celebrating the launch of THE END OF EAST, "a moving portrait of 3 generations of the Chan family set against the backdrop of Vancouver's Chinatown - a city within a city where dreams are shattered as quickly as they're built, and where history repeats itself through the generations." (Read review from The Globe & Mail HERE).
Check back for photos from the private launch party.
Posted by Tamiko | March 24, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Lemur Patrol - beyond Hello Kitty
What's Nick Jones' art about? "It's about cute, evil, brain-eating monsters who want to take over the world, of course," he states on his website LEMUR PATROL. Who would have thought Hello Kitty would ever be described this way (StormTrooper Kitty!)...nevertheless Jones--an artist from Liverpool, England--has sold countless paintings of his edgy Hello Kitties around the world. You too can enjoy his designs on tees at www.spreadshirt.net. Enjoy!
MORE:
* Nick Jones' Lemur Patrol blog @ http://idoru45.blogspot.com.
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Myths About Interracial Relationships | New Demographic teleseminar
The New Demographic is an anti-racism training company that goes beyond diversity buzzwords to tackle the real issues behind race and racism, and on Saturday, March 31st at 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific, they will be hosting a teleseminar called "Not Just Fetishists and Race Traitors: Challenging the Ways We Look At Interracial Relationships". Interested?
"Even after John and Yoko, and Heidi and Seal, interracial relationships are still considered taboo. Society's discomfort is especially obvious in the media, where interracial couples are constantly exploited for eroticism or shock value. In this seminar, Carmen Van Kerckhove examines the historical origins of this tension and explore the common assumptions made about interracial couples. Carmen demonstrates that while race plays an undeniable role in shaping the dynamics within interracial relationships, it does so in far more complex and subtle ways than people may initially think." (INFO at www.newdemographic.com)
Posted by Tamiko | March 22, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags: Commentary
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination | March 21
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
Since 1966, the 21st of March has been recognized by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Canada was one of the first countries to support the UN declaration and, in 1989, the Department of Canadian Heritage launched its annual March 21 Campaign.
The March 21 Campaign was initiated in response to the need to heighten awareness of the harmful effects of racism. For more than 15 years, the March 21 Campaign has mobilized youth across Canada to rise up and to take a stand against racism.
Posted by Tamiko | March 21, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Writer Leonard Chang | noir thrillers with a twist
"Picture this: You are a 9-year-old listening to your parents scream at each other in Korean, their words incomprehensible because you don't understand the language, but the savagery of their intent is clear enough. You don't want to leave your bedroom because you will draw attention to yourself, so the only thing you can do is sit and wait. You have dozens of books on your shelf. Your favorite: Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series...solving crimes you wish you could solve. You find yourself enthralled by their adventures. You wish you could, like them, fix a world that has gone awry..." (read).
So explains how LEONARD CHANG became a writer of crime fiction. The Harvard-educated writer's work is unusual in Asian American literature because of the level of assimilation many of his Korean American characters have achieved. They tend to be 2nd or 3rd generation Americans, often with few ties to their ethnic origins. His later works deal less with race relations than with character-driven issues, such as with his character Allen Choice, whose name ("Choice" changed from the Korean "Choi" by his father) denotes the shift in ethnic identity and themes.
Over the Shoulder, the first of 3 mystery/noir novels featuring Korean American protoganist Allen Choice, has been optioned by Daniel Dae Kim of Lost producing (and possibly starring as Allen Choice) in a film version.
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Cold War Propaganda Illustrated
Marginal Utility: The Pleasures of Propaganda
Many doods my age may best remember the Cold War as a double header of boxing matches in part IV of a raging boxing series with the first fight getting a former American champ literally killed in the ring by ultra villaineous boxing nightmare that was Ivan Drago. Then the fallen yankee's buddy and current world HW champ vowed to avenge his homie's death in a fight all the way in Russia (but actually filmed in the good ol Agrodome in the PNE) where Drago uttered 4 immortal Cold War words to his Italian American opponent.
But a recent documentary entitled Animated Soviet Propaganda may better animate what the domestic Soviet propaganda machine was all about as it covers the more than 4 dozen animated proganda films made by those evil ol' Commies.
Check the extended entry for the trailer
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Bonfire jumping @ Ambleside before Norouz
As Iranians and beyond gathered round Ambleside beach in West Van for the annual bond fire hop last Wednesday to shake off any mishaps and negative notions from the past year, today marks Norouz, the celebration of the Persian new year (which is also celebrated by Ismailis and Zoroastrians) as the first day of spring.
This is one of the few (legitimate) occasions where bonfire parties are allowed on the beach in the city and this particular beach also hosts a feast of Persian grub on that same night.
Movable feast heralds the Persian New Year
My instincts also tell me that everyone at that party didnt ship off to their nearest theatre to catch the late night screening of 300 though.
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 19, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
The Empiricals | Chinese surf-rock out of Ottawa
What's been said about the Ottawa-based THE EMPIRICALS: "There are a few bands that stake their territory so far out in left field that they conveniently bypass the entire authenticity debate. The Empiricals play Chinese surf-rock. What's more surprising than the odd choice of genre is how melodic and instantly accessible their music is. Part po-mo playfulness, part stunning technicality, The Empiricals aren't quite like anything you've heard before but what your next band will try to sound like" (Conrad, CMG).
THE EMPIRICALS use Chinese musical chords to produce a memorable mix of instrumental music that's "surf with...spaghetti-western soundtrack material to twisted bossanovas to hyper-active jazz with some of the fastest picking this side of Dick Dale (www.tunevault.com)". They've even wowed them in Beijing and in Yichang, China, with a live appearance on national television in China!
Listen to their newest "Goldenbeat" and more, on CBC Radio 3: http://radio3.cbc.ca.
Posted by Tamiko | March 18, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Move Over Matcha | Babaocha (8 Treasure Tea) Could Be the Next Big Tea
We've all heard the number 8 is considered lucky in the Chinese culture, so we can unscientifically conclude that anything associated with the number 8 is a good thing. Not to purposely quote Martha, but BABAOCHA or Eight Treasure Tea is definitely a good thing. Served in a gaiwan (porcelain cup with lid), BABAOCHA actually has 8 little treasures inside: the base is either jasmine or chrysanthemum tea, which is infused with sesame, wolfberries, raisins, walnuts (or dried persimmon, depending on the region), longan flesh, red jujube (this isn't candy but a type of date), and rock sugar. Some regions concoct their BABAOCHA using both the jasmine and chrysanthemum teas, the rock sugar, red jujube, but replace the 4 remaining treasures with medlar, heart of lotus seed, hawthorn, and honeysuckle.
Try BABAOCHA because it's piaoliang (beautiful). This once exclusive tea that only touched the lips of the hoity-toity set of China, can be enjoyed by you at Shao Lin Noodle House at 548 West Broadway in Vancouver. Here, the tea waiter will pour your cup of BABAOCHA in that infamous long-spouted teapot while he dazzles you with his Crouching Tea/Hidden Teapot moves, such as the "spread eagle" (now, now) or the "dragon asking for directions". Don't expect VIP treatment, or even the gaiwan, but just asking the tea waiter to do the "spread eagle" for you should be payment enough, don't you think?
Posted by Tamiko | March 18, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
It's not easy being green | Saint Patrick's Day - March 17
You're liable of being pinched if you don't wear green on March 17. March 17th is, of course, Saint Patrick's Day (Irish Gaelic: La 'le Padraig or La Fheile Padraig), the feast day which annually celebrates the patron saint of Ireland for some reason or another. Whatever, it's an excuse to kiss strangers, drink green beer or a least pints of Guinness and Kilkenny to excess, and generally feed off the energy of the "Fighting Irish" in everyone. A list of events and Irish pubs celebrating in Vancouver HERE.
Who knew that although Saint Patrick's Day is not an official holiday in the US and most of Canada, it IS an official provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador? The latter is in league with Ireland and the overseas territory of Montserrat in the Caribbean, who see Saint Patrick's as an official national holiday. Nevertheless, most cities have a Saint Patrick's Day parade, even Vancouver has one this Sunday, March 18th 11:00 am, as part of Celtic Fest (more info HERE).
Posted by Tamiko | March 17, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
By:Larm 2007 music conference showcases lowdown on Scandinavian music scene
(pictured: Datarock)
The Scandinavian equilvalent of New Music West, the By:Larm Music Conference, which just wrapped up for this year in Trondheim, Norway, "is Scandinavia's largest music conference. Every year it moves from one Norwegian city to another. By:Larm consists of two parts: a festival and a conference. The conference is a meeting place for the Norwegian and foreign music industries. A series of lectures, seminars and debates are held during the day. The festival concerts take place at night and are open to the public. Their main focus is to present artists that are on the verge of success, either in their homelands or internationally."
Catch a whole rundown of the conference here
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 16, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
New H-Mart on Robson
The Korean T&T lands on prime Robson locale
While area wise, the K-Town plaza off Lougheed & North Road is hardly eclipsed (which also has an H-Mart, I believe), the landing of a new H-Mart on Robson & Seymour lands deeper in the heart of Vancouver than any of the T&Ts. While I just rediscovered my local T&T at Metrotown and was just overwhelmed by the selection of Japanese junk food and stuff, having a big Korean market on a main area of Robson is also pretty big. Though i dont work downtown, a lot of people's complaints of shitty, fast food/quick style Asian food is now alleviated.
H-Mart Food Court Does it Right
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 16, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
The Namesake - film adaptation Spring 2007
These themes will continue to prevail as long as immigration exists: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, and tangled ties between generations. One of the better novels to pursue these themes is Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake, the follow up to her Pultizer Prize-winning debut, The Interpreter of Maladies.
Through the character Gogol Ganguli, Lahiri explores immigrant parent's expectations and the "mean by which we come to define who we are." The Namesake moves between Calcutta and Boston, where Gogol is born and raised, afflicted with a name that is neither Indian nor American (it's Russian). He grows up, attends Yale, has love affairs, finds success as an architect, yet finds he can never quite find his place in the world as an "ABCD" (American Born Confused Desi)
Now, you can look forward to Mira Nair's (known for Monsoon Wedding) film adaptation of The Namesake, starring
Kal Penn of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle fame. The film will be released in the US and Canada on Friday, March 16, 2007.
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Justice & the Ed Banger Records Tour - sac l'electro!
Daft Punk blazed this trail back in 97 and they wore robot costumes but, yes, they were French (as in "from France"). Fast forward to the mashed up genre'ed hipster world of the '07 and it aint just about sophisticated nu-jazz grooves from the likes of St. Germain or Marseille homies like IAM getting their hippity hoppity on. Daft Punk got the wheels of dirty French electro steel going and on Sunday, March 25 at the Caprice, Vancouver will get to see what this has to offer with the exclusive French lineup in the Ed Banger Records tour with sets from Justice, Sebastian, DJ Mehdi, and Busy P.
Justice is also featured in Discorder and the Nerve magazine as well this month.
Ed Banger Records Tour
Monday, MAR. 25 @ the Caprice
Sets from Justice, Sebastian, DJ Mehdi & Busy P
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Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend | World Linguist?
Avril Lavigne's new single, "Girlfriend" from her new album The Best Damn Thing is already a hit, was written when she was tipsy after partying it out. Yeah, you've heard it. Whatever, right? Well, the girl always makes sure to represent Canada, so let her capitalize on her global popularity through her recordings of multilingual versions of "Girlfriend" in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Japanese. Hindi, apparently proved too difficult for Ms. Avril after she attempted a run
through...but according to comments on Youtube about her attempt: "She massacred Mandarin." You be the judge.
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San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival | March 15-25, 2007
If you're in and around the SF Bay Area this month, find yourself a movie date for the 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2007 (trailer).
The festival fills its anniversary program with the old and the new, with tributes to the late actor Mako; a special focus on Chinese American cinema with Justin Lin (BETTER LUCK TOMORROW)'s FINISHING THE GAME; a panel with the "bad boys" of Asian American film: Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, and Jon Moritsugu; narrative and documentary films; a retrospective of Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-Soo; their annual Bollywood extravaganza; wait for it...the US premiere of the Vancouver-shot DRAGON BOYS, and much much more.
The Festival's Opening Night Gala will be MC-ed by Yul Kwon (winner of Survivor Cook Islands), highlighted by the presence of MC Hammer. Seriously. So go max out your creditcard on that flight to SF!
Posted by Tamiko | March 13, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Superfuture | urban cartography for the global shopping experts
Scenario: you find yourself in a city, with a cheesy tourist map, scratching your head, wanting to explore; not in the main streets but in those funky alleys where you'll scream eureka! at the marvelous finds you discover. How do find them? Go no further than SUPERFUTURE, a collection of streamlined maps of the world's urban jungles (Tokyo's hot spots such as Daikanyama, Shimokitawa, Aoyama; New York gems such as Williamsburg; San Francisco; Amsterdam; Paris; LA; Shanghai, etc) -- they pinpoint cutting-edge design, fashion and street culture.
Launched in 1999, Superfuture combs the globe to expand their inventory of functional maps and reviews of urban shops, galleries, bars, events, hotspots in over 100 cities. The site includes a concierge service that arranges your hotels, takes you shopping, and discuss your needs and wants in the Supertalk section.
Posted by Tamiko | March 13, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Desi Life Magazine | new magazine for Toronto's South Asian community
Not Desi as in the nickname for Desmond, but Desi as in the Sanskrit word meaning "countrymen" (referring to people from the Indian subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh), currently used to refer to a hip new subculture of fusion South Asian and Western pop culture. And Desi Life continues this bend as a unique, exciting new glossy magazine aimed at the South Asian community in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), will be launched by The Toronto Star. The inaugural issue of Desi Life will be published bi-monthly from April 19, 2007.
Canada is home to about 1 million South Asians -- 600,000 in the GTA alone -- and Statistics Canada predicts this ethnic group will be the largest in Canada by 2017. Desi Life will showcase members of the South Asian community and feature columns on trends here and in South Asia.
Posted by Tamiko | March 12, 2007 | Comments (1)Tags:
Air | Pocket Symphony
AIR, the French electronica duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel, released their 4th album Pocket Symphony March 5th. Perhaps due to their collaboration with Sofia Coppola on Lost in Translation, AIR's Godin learned to play Japanese instruments -- the koto and shamisen -- from an Okinawan master musician; both are featured in Pocket Symphony. Whatever, just savour the single Mer du Japon (and watch video for the 1st release Once Upon A Time after the cut).
PS: AIR will play on April 21st in Vancouver at Richard's on Richards (more tour locations HERE)
Posted by Tamiko | March 11, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Stephen Wiltshire MBE - "the human camera" draws the world
His first words when he was 5 were pencil and paper. Stephen Wiltshire MBE, an autistic savant with heightened ability, is better known as "the Human Camera" -- with a (n almost!) photographic memory that allows him to draw ALL of Tokyo, Rome, London, etc, after one trip on a helicopter.
He memorizes cityscapes up to the most miniscule detail...be amazed and watch (on YouTube) Stephen in action in this short excerpt from the film Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, when Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory.
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TAIKOPROJECT | edgy taiko with a hint of hip hop and spoken word
L.A. Weekly wrote: "This ain't your mama's taiko, but it may be your hip younger cousin's." TAIKOPROJECT presents the Canadian premiere of (re)generation, their multi-media theatrical production that blends taiko (Japanese drums) with storytelling, spoken word, music, hip hop choreography, video and dance.
The TAIKOPROJECT is an LA-based ensemble of premier taiko drummers, founded in 2000, dedicated to disseminating taiko drumming. The ensemble "balances the traditions and rich history of North American taiko with a contemporary edge." Fusing tradition with edgy and sometimes daring contemporary elements, the ensemble is among the fast-rising stars of taiko. See them live on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver, with Vancouver's Chibi Taiko (other locations/dates Canada/US HERE).
PS: TAIKOPROJECT is behind the hot taiko + pyrotechnics seen in the 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial....check it after the cut.
Posted by Tamiko | March 10, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
French New-Waver film retrospective: Jacques Rivette
L'Amour Fou - the Films of Jacques Rivette
MAR. 10 - APR. 5 @ Pacific Cinematheque
1131 Howe Street
"Jean-Luc Godard might have been the brains of French new wave, Francois Truffaut the heart, Eric Rohmer the moralist, and Claude Chabrol the genre specialist, but Jacques Rivette has managed to elude such oversimplifications, not because he lacked style but because he had too much. Viewers who attend the massive retrospective of the 76-year-old director's work being mounted by the Pacific Cinémathèque beginning Saturday (March 10) and running until April 5, will finally have the chance to find out just how complex Rivette's universe really is."
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 8, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Cornelius on the road again (though not our road)
Japanese indie pop producer, Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada) is going on tour in support of his first album in 5 years. Unfortunately, Van-City isnt on the agenda; he'll be hitting Seattle and other cities down the west coast in a southern direction as well as performing at the Coachella music festival.
Tour schedule
Cornelius Myspace page
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International Women's Day - March 8
"Behind every great man there's a great woman" - oh yes! We should celebrate International Women's Day every day, but even more so during the annual global celebration honouring women on March 8th when 1000s of events are held to inspire women and celebrate their achievements.
While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more. Find events where you live HERE.
So make a difference, think globally and act locally! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.
Posted by Tamiko | March 8, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Finding Dawn - film honours 1st Nations women
To celebrate International Women's Day (IWD), the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada is screening 3 new films - written and directed by women - across the country (For locations and times in your location, click HERE).
One of the films is FINDING DAWN, directed by acclaimed Metis filmmaker Christine Welsh, the film is a compelling documentary that puts a human face to a national tragedy: how an estimated 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the past 30 years. This is an epic journey into the dark heart of Native women's experience in Canada.
Finding Dawn illustrates the deep historical, social and economic factors that contribute to the epidemic of violence against Native women in this country. It goes further to present the ultimate message that stopping the violence is everyone's responsibility.
Posted by Tamiko | March 8, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags: Commentary
Our History is Still Being Written: The Story of 3 Chinese-Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution
Armando Choy was one of the 3 young rebels of Chinese-Cuban ancestry (including Gustavo Chui and Moises Sio Wong) who threw themselves into the 1956-58 Cuban revolution that brought down the Batista dictatorship.
Our History is Still Being Written describes how Cuba's Spanish colonial rulers brought over 150,000 Chinese indentured labourers to work as virtual slaves in the sugar industry. It was because of Cuba's socialist revolution that discrimination - against blacks, against Chinese, against women, against the poor - was ended.
Hear Armando Choy (Chinese Cuban leader & author), Karin Lee (film-maker); Sid Tan (leader of fight for Chinese head tax redress) and Mary-Alice Waters (editor of Our History is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Chinese-Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution) on Sunday, March 11 at 2:30pm at the Vancouver Public Library., and Monday, March 12 at UBC (deets after the cut).
Posted by Tamiko | March 7, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Beyond Istanbul: Underground Grooves of Turkey
"The stereotype of many Westerners' views of Turkish music, I suspect, is the romantic image of a garishly clothed belly dancer -- midriff showing, face veiled -- undulating around a room while arabesque music plays in the background. German label Trikont attempts to change this image -- or at the very least augment it -- with Beyond Istanbul, a compilation conceived and arranged by Berlin-based DJ Ipek Ipekcioglu to showcase the diversity and creativity of contemporary Turkish musicians and DJs."
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 6, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Malajube: Montreal indie rockers actually sing in French
Our great white north has had no shortage of indie rock bands getting props in the States for a while now and Montreal bands are no strangers to that list either. The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and the Dears, to name a few, have had hipsters from Portland to NYC and beyond getting down with bands from our official French province but what separates the band Malajube from other Montreal bands is the simple fact they actually sing in French.
Checkem out on Myspace
Checkem out @ Richards (w/ Champion and You Say Party! We Say Die!), MAR. 26
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"Aren't Asians Great"
A parody of the song "Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani. The video manages to be funny and likeable yet stereotypical and somewhat offensive. But hey it's MadTV - they've probably offended everyone!
Posted by ethnic cool | March 6, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Sarajevo back on the go
The ghosts of war are never easy to shake off but a decade later from one of the 90's horror stories, Sarajevo is moving on with the cosmopolitan life it knew before the bombs. And as with other parts of eastern Europe, you wont be paying London/Paris type prices for a trip there. A 4 hour train trip "through the misty Dinaric Alps lining the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina" apparently costs around $11 in Croatia. The beer "cold, delicious, and cheap," as is the cevapcici (a spicy meat usu "a mixture of beef and lamb, sometimes pork"), the bazaars are bustling and interestingly, the memorials to the war are scarce...
Sarajevo returns to life by forgetting the past
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Enter the Babylon System
Yeah, Black History Month's over as far as the calendar's concerned but the editors of Pound magazine have published a book about one of the biggest problems in black youth and hip hop culture at large: GUNS. Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce explore the place of guns within hip hop in terms of its obvious impacts but also reseach the manufacturing and distribution as well. Some of these uncoverings may surprise the average person. Like other issues of violence in western society, the problems of guns is not exclusive to the black and hip hop community, it, like violence, is an American obsession in general but the pair look at how much of an element it is to the uber-present "thug" figure which sells to the black and non-black hip hop audiences so well.
Enter the Babylon System official site | Book Excerpt | Pound Mag "Barrels of Destruction" article | "Trigger Happy" CBC article | Buy the book
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 5, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Brit Chicks Spotlight
L-R: Amy Winehouse, M.I.A., Lily Allen, Lady Sovereign, Corinne Bailey Rae
With Lily Allen coming to town on March 27 and with the latest hot up and coming British female act, Amy Winehouse (see blog below) starting to make some noise on the scene, thought it would a good time to highlight the long list of dope (and more importantly unique) ladies that have come out of the UK in the last few years. Seeing the list also begs the question of why more interesting female artists arent coming up out of N. America?
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 4, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Amy Winehouse -Jazzy soul from the UK
Amy Winehouse started off in a group that she describes as "the little white Jewish Salt 'n' Pepa". She's been wowing the Brits for awhile, burning up the charts with her second album Back to Black. This is how she's described (here):
"On a good day in London you might actually hear the sound of the melting pot. In a cafe there could be jazz. As the cars go by, hip hop beats and basslines. Some old reggae booming from the neighbourhood vinyl shop. Home, and your noisy flatmate's blaring TV on the R&B channel. It's not going to happen every day, but over a lifetime, even a short one of 19 years, the history of sweet, strong urban sounds might rub into a person's blood, and that person might grow up musically wise before their years. It could be a girl, white or black. She could be funny, tough, smart, idealistic and devoted to musicianship. If she had a voice that was timeless and salaciously textured and capable of melting concrete even on low heat that would be too good to wish for. If words have already worn themselves out trying to describe the horny, sleazy, salty spiritual, worldly wise, late night, tired of bullshit, downtown, flirty velvet resonance that makes for a great soul-jazz singer they're going to fall apart entirely over Amy Winehouse."
What she says about her music:
"I just hope that people won't hear my stuff and go, this is that white girl from London. I hope they'll go 'this is a girl who's actually got some soul, and she's young but she's had some experiences, and she's relating to them and I can relate to that'. I assume I will get pigeon holed, it's inevitable, but my music is pure, and when I write I don't have any preconceptions, I just write what I feel and I just hope that people will receive it as purely as I write it."
Posted by Tamiko | March 4, 2007
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Hyphen Magazine - Asia America Unabridged
Hyphen Magazine has been around since 2003, when a group of San Francisco Bay Area journalists, activists, and artists formed the independent magazine that targets Asian Americans who are culturally and politically savvy. That you?
Why check it out? Because Hyphen is, like its readers, "many things--cool librarian, shy musician, dorky hipster, cute techie. Like Asian America, its interests are varied--politics, art, health, music. Much like the hyphen connects words and concepts, Hyphen magazine connects readers with Asian America as it happens."
Oh yes, Hyphen is intelligent and does something diff...
"(1) Because we're bored with first-person essays about discovering our roots. Hello, can we stop talking about our roots, which we found a long time ago thank-you-very-much, and move on? Can we talk about people doing interesting things because they're interesting, not just because they're Asian American and always making statements about their identity?"
(2) Because we'll yawn if we see another interview with the same three Asians the mainstream approves of. We want to hear about emerging artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, and musicians.
(3) Because we're Asian American, not Asian.
(4) Because when we scanned the newsstand, we couldn't find ourselves. Now we can."
Posted by Tamiko | March 3, 2007
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(2) Because we'll yawn if we see another interview with the same three Asians the mainstream approves of. We want to hear about emerging artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, and musicians.
(3) Because we're Asian American, not Asian.
(4) Because when we scanned the newsstand, we couldn't find ourselves. Now we can."
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The Amazing Race, Vancouver-style - The Amazing Hunt
Okay, so they're not going to fly you out to Chile, then Tahiti, then onwards to Zimbabwe...and you're not going to win a cool $1 million at the end of it. Nevertheless, you're guaranteed to have a blast in The Amazing Hunt, an urban adventure race modeled after The Amazing Race reality TV show.
The Amazing Hunt takes place in a different area of the Great Vancouver region each time, and plays like a scavenger hunt with teams of two "embarking on day-long exhilarating quest" using mental and physical abilities to "encounter activities that you would never dream."
"Teams travel primarily by car, public transportation and on foot, and will not know in advance exactly where they will be traveling. They have to solve clues in order to get to each destination. Also, teams must accomplish various tasks. Tasks are designed specifically according to the cultural and historical background of the surroundings."
Posted by Tamiko | March 2, 2007
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What makes The Amazing Hunt so special is that we video shoot the race process, edit the footage, and put it into a DVD just like a reality TV show. We welcome you to take the challenge and register for the upcoming race. You can watch our promo videos, race recaps, and actual race footage on our website."
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Seu Jorge @ the Commodore, July 4th
Brazil's samba ambassador, Seu Jorge, who was here for last summer's Jazz Fest is back this summer to play the Commodore, JULY 4th.
And yes, thats the dude from the Life Aquatic and City of God.
Samba is the heartbeat of Brazil article
Posted by Boon Kondo | March 1, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
Chris Rock & Bollywood? - Bollywood goes to Hollywood, not the other way around
UTV, the Indian production company that made Bollywood hits Rang De Basanti, Don, and Chalte Chalte is moving into the Hollywood scene, rather than the other way around.
"UTV inked co-production deals with Fox Searchlight and Will Smith's production company and Sony Pictures Entertainment (back in 2006) to create and distribute films worldwide - making it the largest co-production deal out of South Asia worth $37 million. The $14 million production, I Think I Love My Wife, starring Chris Rock, will be UTV Motion Pictures' second venture with Fox after Mira Nair's The Namesake...Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment will co-produce a film for $10 million that will have its backdrop set in India..."
* Continue reading story @ www.sepiamutiny.com.
Posted by Tamiko | March 1, 2007 | Comments (0)Tags:
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