Uncategorized

Day 41: Fresh Off The Air

Fresh Off The Air 2/10/15

Fresh Off The Air 2/10/15

This made my night: getting two of my social media heroes to laugh at one of my tweets. My wife was impressed!

Jenny Yang is a brilliant comedian based in L.A. and Phil Yu is the genius behind Angry Asian Man. I’ve been following both for a while; their thoughts on Asian American culture are smart, funny, and a welcome sight on my Twitter feed.

Tonight, they hosted a live chat after the two new episodes of Fresh Off The Boat. It was fun listening to them re-hash the plots and going over favorite moments. Viewers were encouraged to tweet #FreshOffTheAir and at the end of the show, Jenny said my name (correctly, thank you!) and read my tweet. I’m glad my ’90s-era joke was met with such enthusiasm.

I’ll write more someday about how great it is to see so many Asian Americans in the media, from youtube to network television. For now, I’m going to re-watch my 5 seconds of Internet fame on my laptop while pretending to search for things to do on Valentine’s Day.

(If the video isn’t embedded below, click on the link and go to the 38:00 mark.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIMMRohe_kg

 

Day 40: 40 Days, 40 Blogs

image

Star Wars: The Last Command by Timothy Zahn

 

So far, so good. I’ve stayed true to my Quest to Blog Every Day in 2015, this being my 40th post in the first 40 days of the year. I’m currently on pace to meet my goal.

Quick updates on my other goals this year:

  • 100 reviews written on Yelp: 11 reviews finished. On pace.
  • 26 books read on Goodreads: 2 books finished. Reading two books now (one of them pictured above). On pace.
  • 100 movies seen on the AFI 100 Greatest American Film list. Only 3 movies finished, when I was hoping to have knocked off 10 already. Off pace.
  • Break 100 on the golf course. Unfortunately, I’ve only had time to play a par-3 and an executive course. Breaking 100 on those doesn’t count, so let’s say I’m off pace.

It’s been a good 40-day stretch of blogging. As they say, I’m still finding my voice, but I have a few surprises planned for future entries. Here’s to the next 40 days of blogging. Cheers!

Day 39: Podcasts I’m Listening to Now

Stephen Colbert, courtesy of slate.com

Stephen Colbert, courtesy of slate.com

This morning I saw the news item about Adnan Syed and how a Maryland court will now hear an appeal for his case. Syed was the subject of the first season of Serial, the podcast released last October that became a huge hit. I loved the Serial and after binge-listening to Syed’s case (he’d been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend before receiving a life sentence), I wasn’t sure of his guilt or innocence, but I felt that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty. He couldn’t have been locked up based on the evidence given, could he?

Well, thanks to the success of Serial, his case could be re-opened. It’s another twist to a fascinating story, a tale that was so expertly presented by Sarah Koenig during the 12-episode first season.

After I had finished that brilliant first season, I decided I needed more podcasts for driving or working out, since I usually listened to music for both. I did a quick Google search that led me to two fantastic podcasts: Soul Music and Working. I recommend either of them for your next podcast binge session.

1. Over on the BBC website, Soul Music offers “the stories behind pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.” Listen to the episode about the song “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” with its touching and poignant anecdotes. The story about Teddy Pendergrass is heartbreaking.

2. Slate’s Working is a podcast about work. For each episode, one person discusses a typical day at their job. Whether it’s a lexicographer explaining the process of defining words for the Merriam-Webster dictionary or Stephen Colbert going over a typical day at The Colbert Report, the results are always informative and intriguing.

Day 36: Fresh Off The Boat

Fresh Off The Boat

Fresh Off The Boat

ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat premiered last night and #FreshOffTheBoat trended on Twitter in Los Angeles and New York. From what I read, there was a lot of positive response, but I’m waiting to see how FOTB fares over the upcoming weeks.  This was a huge moment for Asian Americans since there hasn’t been a show with an all-Asian-American cast since 1994, when Margaret Cho’s All-American Girl debuted on the same network. My fingers are crossed in hopes that the comedy sustains its opening-night momentum.

I’ve followed the FOTB story for a few months, as creator Eddie Huang (he wrote the autobiography that the show is based on) ripped ABC for watering down and de-politicizing the source material. It fascinated me that Huang would sabotage his own show before the pilot had even aired and I worried that studio executives were doing him like they did Cho two decades ago.

Thankfully, the first two episodes weren’t bad at all. The actor that plays the young Eddie is terrific and all of the other actors were solid. I’m eager to see how the characters develop and I hope that ABC gives FOTB enough time to find itself. It’s a real shame that it’s taken 20 years for a show about, and starring, Asian Americans to reappear on the airwaves, but it’d be an even bigger shame if it wasn’t given a chance. And while I’m not expecting mainstream America to make FOTB the next Seinfeld, I am expecting other Asian-American-based shows to appear sooner than 20 years from now. At the very least, I’ll settle for a Walking Dead spin-off featuring Glenn called “I’m Korean, Not Chinese.”

Day 35: Galaxy

Go Galaxy!

Go Galaxy!

Two days ago the Los Angeles Galaxy visited the White House, where President Barack Obama honored my favorite soccer team for their 2014 MLS Cup win. It’s the third time in four years that the Galaxy have been to Washington, D.C.

My wife and I were at the Home Depot Center in December when the Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution to claim the Cup. We sat with the Angel City Brigade supporter group and were part of the passionate Section 121. It was a great day, watching legend Landon Donovan end his professional career with another title.

Of course, being at an L.A. sporting event means I can enjoy my beloved post-game bacon-wrapped hot dog. It’s not as exciting as meeting the President, but it’s a fine way to celebrate a championship.

Typical scene after an L.A. game.

Typical scene after an L.A. game.

Day 33: Podcasting

(Logo from the official website)

For most of my life, I’ve listened to music during various activities: working out, road trips, Christmas shopping, etc. Even if I didn’t have a CD, I’d flip through radio stations of whatever city I was in. The one exception? Sports. Whether it was Chick Hearn with the Lakers, Vin Scully with the Dodgers, or an anonymous announcer doing the NFL game of the week, listening to a game was one non-music pleasure I enjoyed.

This has changed as I’ve gotten older. Now, I prefer listening to audiobooks or podcasts while doing the same activities. Instead of passively listening to music (which was usually something I’d already listened to countless times), I feel more engaged as I take in the narrator’s words. Fiction or nonfiction, it doesn’t matter; sometimes I’d borrow a foreign language CD from the library to download onto my iPod and learn a few Italian or Spanish phrases.

Recently, I finished a season’s worth of Serial, a true-crime podcast released late last year. Serial is composed of a dozen 40+ minute episodes covering the story of a convicted murderer. I downloaded the first episode to listen to during a workout and was instantly hooked.

What I found so compelling was the roller-coaster ride of the podcast. One episode, I thought the convicted murderer was innocent, the next I thought he was guilty; quite often, the question of his innocence/guilt flip-flopped several times during the same episode. It’s a testament to Sarah Koenig’s brilliance as a podcaster. Every episode was engaging and well presented. Did the State present a cut-and-dry case of first-degree murder? Did the defense miss important details that could have exonerated a young man? It’s utterly fascinating, from start to finish. I highly recommend listening to the first episode, but do so at your own risk: you’ll soon be hooked and find yourself binge-listening, just as I did.

Day 32: Super Bowl Sunday

Sasquatch Double IPA

Sasquatch Double IPA

The Super Bowl is my favorite unofficial American holiday, right up there with opening weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament, and my fantasy football league’s annual draft. The excess, the pageantry, the commercials: I enjoy all things Super Bowl. Yes, its silly, unnecessary, and over-the-top, but it’s fun. As a card-carrying member of the Raider Nation, I haven’t had much to cheer about in over a decade, but no matter who plays in the season’s final game, I know that the entire spectacle will be entertaining. From crazy proposition bets like “Will the national anthem go longer than two minutes and one second?” to the praising/panning of the halftime act, the Super Bowl has a little something for everyone, even the most casual fan.

While I love Super Bowl parties, the last few years I find myself enjoying the big game with an increasingly smaller crowd. It’s nice not having to worry about driving after a few beers, the bathroom being occupied, or if there’s enough food to go around. Tonight, my wife and I watched one of the better Super Bowls, as I scarfed down carne asada fries and a Sasquatch Double IPA from Six Rivers Brewery. We loved the Walter White commercial and I gave myself a geeky high five for having the appropriate glassware for the occasion (picture above, my fellow Breaking Bad fans).

Carne asada fries.

Carne asada fries.

Day 31: Fresh Air

image

Roosevelt Hole No. 8

I’ve written about my love of golf here. Every golfer knows, though, that the love of the game comes with equal parts of hate. Or frustration. Or both.

For every drive that splits the fairway, every approach that sticks the green, and every putt that finds the bottom of the cup, there’s the drive that goes out of bounds, the approach that lands in a bunker, and the putt that hangs on lip of the cup.

So yesterday’s round at Roosevelt Golf Course featured a little bit of everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I won’t recap every shot here, since nothing is more boring than a golfer/poker player/fisherman talking about the missed putt/bad beat/one that got away. Instead, I’ll share two things I took away from my round, which I try to do after every time I play: 1. The exercise is good (especially at Roosevelt, where golf carts aren’t available for its hilly course) and 2. The view is relaxing, as pictured above.

It’s a lot easier focusing on these two things once I’ve thrown out my scorecard. Exercise and a view: I love golf!