MARIE CHOI brings us samples from GIAP AND THE LAST IRONING BOARD FACTORYa new film about the mother-son relationship between Giap Nguyen and Tony Nguyen. Giap is a refugee who fled Vietnam in 1975 while two months pregnant. A single mother who has worked on the grueling assembly line for nearly 35 years, she is finally retiring. Set in Seymour, Indiana, this short documentary provides an intimate look at life inside the last standing ironing-board factory in the United States. Filmmaker Tony Nguyen captures his mother’s last day at the factory and attempts to reconcile an unknown past. This quirky and deeply personal film explores parental love and the refugee experience in small town America.
MARIE also gives us sounds from EXILED AMERICANS ~ Studio Revolt’s new video featuring a group of Exiled Khmer Americans. Their previous video, MY ASIAN AMERICANA by Anida Yoeu Ali, was a finalist for the White House AAPI’s “What’s Your Story” video contest. My Asian Americana features Asian Americans, both those who can return to the US and those living in exile, sharing their memories of home. Although My Asian Americana won the popular vote by a landslide, they refused to invite representatives to the White House. Studio Revolt is calling for supporters to write to Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, and ask her to investigate how the Office of Public Engagement silenced the voices of exiled Americans despite the fact that they won the popular vote. You can email her at vjarrett@who.eop.gov. For more information about people living in exile in Cambodia, visit spokenkosal.com.
SISTA XTINA & EL FALCON bring us a teaser of an upcoming interview about ANTI~TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT WORK with JEAN ENRIQUEZ, a founding member of BUKLOD WOMEN’S CENTER in the Philippines, who was selected as one of Yahoo Southeast Asia’s Heroes of 2011. Full length ANTI~TRAFFICKING interview will be presented Sunday, May 27th, 7-11pm on the API HERITAGE MONTH SPECIAL, “THE INDO~PACIFIC EDGE 2012″ on KPFA~FM 94.1 (((BAY*AREA))).
KAPATID TISAYE shares impressions of the new documentary, THE ISLAND PRESIDENT, about President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives and the effects of Climate Change on the island nation. TICKETS to Bay Area showings will accompany the review.
SELEKTA LAPULAPU briefly reviews the new music/dance/martial arts drama,BUFFALO’ED, about AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS during the PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR, and we’ll give away TICKETS to see BUFFALO’ED this weekend at the SAN JOSE STAGE COMPANY.
We will also be giving away tickets to new Pacific Islander and Asian films, screening in the SF Bay Area, including the new film about AUNG SAN SUU KYI (played by MICHELLE YEOH) called “THE LADY”!
Bayou La Batre,AL Photo by Eduardo Soriano-Castillo
Tonight, we bring you an end-of-year harvest show — dedicated to small and family farmers and fisherpeople around the world, from rural farmers in Asia, to backyard gardeners here in Oakland, to crabbers and shrimpers in the Gulf Coast.
Ellen Choy produces a series featuring three Bay Area gardeners: Aileen Suzara, Steph Lee, and Arsenia Malinis (interviewed by her son, Armael)
A quick music break with creative music from the Mutual Aid Project, a trio made up of Tracy Hui, Nick Obando, and Marshall Trammell
A trip to Coden Alabama with Marie Choi to talk with Siripon Hall, Minh Le, and Zack Carter, crabbers and shrimpers who are organizing a seafood cooperative through the South Bay Communities Alliance.
We interview Eric Nakamura, publisher of Giant Robot magazine. Along with Martin Wong, the two began a long and earnest love affair with Asian popular culture and brought it to America with their publication and Giant Robot stores in New York, Los Angeles, and until April 26, 2011, San Francisco. The closing of the San Francisco location is a significant event, R.J. checks-in with Nakamura and they talk about art, music, and honest business acumen.
Our Apex colleague, Robynn Takayama, talked with Professor Balance about Filipino indie music in the Bay Area and in the Philippines, which is one section of the book Professor Balance is working on entitled, “Tropical Renditions: Popular Music and Performance in Filipino America (Working title).” And hear from this hardcore band from the Philippines!
April 20, 2011 marks the one year anniversary of the BP, or Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. R.J. and guest producer, Khanh Pham report on the recent and nuanced developments with the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East, specifically Village of L’Est, or Versailles.
And, Bay Area soul singer Goapele is coming to Yoshi’s in San Francisco this weekend. Friday and Saturday, 8pm & 10pm shows and Sunday 7pm & 9pm. We have one pair of tickets to give away for the Sunday, May 1, 9 PM show. Listen to KPFA 94.1 FM at 7pm tonight and call in.
Community Calendar:
On Friday, April 29, the Asian Law Caucus is having their 39th anniversary dinner, featuring California Assembly member Warren Furutani as the keynote speaker at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.
Starting Friday, April 29, the 3rd I South Asian Film festival has teamed up with the San Francisco International Film Festival and is co-presenting a handful of films, including Marathon Boy, a documentary about a 6-year old who’s run more miles at his age than most in their lifetime. The documentary will be screening on April 29th, 30th and Tuesday, May 3rd. at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco.
On Friday, April 29, Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs at the opening benefit concert, Play for Japan USA at Woodside High School Performing Arts Center in Woodside. Doors open at 7PM, and tickets start at $35. All proceeds will go to the Japan disaster relief efforts through Ashinaga Fund, the American Red Cross, Give2Asia, and the Japan Center for International Exchange.
On Sunday, May 1, from 10AM to 5PM, Xianrui Curator and CCC Artistic Director Abby Chen will present at the California College of the Arts’ Visual and Critical Studies Symposium. This presentation is the culmination of CCA’s Graduate Program in Visual and Critical Arts, which Abby has been working towards for several years. She will present On the Edge of Culture, Two 1.5 Generation Artists in America, her specialty both in study at CCA and in practice through curatorial work at the Chinese Culture Center. The presentation will draw from the art of two XianRui artists, Stella Zhang (2010) and Zheng Chongbin (2011), as examples of a ‘new manifestation of cultural fluidity, constructed precisely as a result of dislocation and social difference.’ The event will be at California College of the Art’s Timken Lecture hall in San Francisco.
On Sunday, May 1, the Chinese Progressive Association, and other solidarity groups will be marching with workers throughout the world to celebrate International Workers’ Day and defend workers’ rights! Join in at 12 PM near 24th Street BART, look for the CPA Banner. Questions? Contact Ken Wang at ken@cpasf.org.
May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month! Join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee with other leaders from the Asian Pacific American communities as they gather on Monday, May 2 at 5 PM in front of the War Memorial building, located across the street from San Francisco City Hall on Van Ness and Golden Gate Avenue. The Mayor will be giving awards at Herbst Theatre, and folks are encouraged to stay for the reception.
Join Us: Apex is calling on you! Do you want to be part of a dynamic team of reporters, activists, and DJs? Join our crew. We’re also looking for independent Asian American musicians to share your tunes with us. Give us your beats, your demos, your experimentations. Email us at apexexpress@kpfa.org
*In researching background and fact-checking for the BP oil spill:
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/
This website contains the Commission’s Final Report and a Multimedia Presentation of the Commission’s Findings and Recommendations.
Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans http://www.vayla-no.org
The Vietnamese American Young Leaders Associate of New Orleans (VAYLA-NO) is a youth-led, youth organizing and development, community-based organization in New Orleans dedicated to the empowerment of Vietnamese American and underrepresented youth through service, cultural enrichment, and positive social change.
Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corporation http://mqvncdc.org
MQVN Community Development Corporation, Inc. (MQVN CDC) was established by community leaders in May 2006 to assist Vietnamese-Americans in New Orleans East rebuild their lives and their community after hurricane Katrina. In the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, MQVN CDC played a leading role in providing emergency relief assistance as well as organizing Vietnamese-American residents to play an active role in the rebuilding of the community surrounding New Orleans East area.
MQVN CDC’s mission is to preserve and promote our unique diversity and improving the quality of life of residents in the Greater New Orleans area, beginning in New Orleans East. Together with community partners, our work encompasses health care, environmental and agricultural concerns, education, housing, social services, economic development and culture and the arts.
Viet Gulf Coast Solidarity Network http://vietgulfcoast.wordpress.com/
The Viet Gulf Coast Solidarity Network is an effort that came out of the “Beyond 35 Years: Organizing in the Vietnamese Community” workshop at the 2010 US Social Forum. The workshops, facilitated by VietUnity members, brought together organizers and workers from VAYLA, MQVNCDC, VietUnity, CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Hope CDA, CAAV (NY) and individuals from Minnesota. After being educated about the conditions, needs, and organizing work currently going on in NO/Gulf regions, we broke out into two groups, with one focusing on what Gulf Coast solidarity work would like. From that small group, with input from VAYLA, Hope CDA and MQVNCDC, we identified that we could begin a solidarity network that supported in 3 main ways:
1. Communications support (getting the word out with a specific task)
2. Grassroots fundraising (to support grassroots organizing work)
3. Supporting the coordination of a training for trainers project to support the growth and sustainability of local leadership.
Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com
The GCCF accepts and where possible resolves claims of Individuals and Businesses for costs and damages incurred as a result of the Spill. In fulfilling these obligations, the GCCF and Mr. Feinberg as Claims Administrator are acting for and on behalf of BP in order to fulfill BP’s statutory obligations as a responsible party under OPA; however, the GCCF and Mr. Feinberg exercise their own judgment with respect to the evaluation and payment of claims.
NPR Report: Talk of the Nation : Many Gulf Residents Still Waiting On BP Fund Relief (04/20/2011) http://www.npr.org/2011/04/20/135574677/many-gulf-residents-still-waiting-on-bp-fund-relief
One year after BP’s oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast, Gulf Coast industries, from fishing to tourism, are still reeling. Kenneth Feinberg, chair of BP’s $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Fund, shares his views on the fund’s effectiveness and the claims process.
America’s Wetland: Causes of Loss http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/causes.html
This website is an overview of the extensive list of causes both natural and human-influenced of wetland depletion.
Restore the Gulf http://www.restorethegulf.gov/
This government sponsored resource site has an online mapping tool that provides you with near real time information about the response and effort. There are filters that allow you to track prohibited fishing zones, to oil testing conducted daily.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm
Website that contains updated information on the status of federal waters for fisherman. The archives contain maps the chart the change in the areas considered prohibited to fish.
NPR : Talk of the Nation : FDA Says Eat Gulf Seafood; Some Doubt Smell Test (08/03/2010) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128957145
The U.S. government continues to stand by its assertion that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe. But some Gulf fishermen question the claim, and the “smell test” used to back it up. And in some areas, oil continues to wash up on protective booms and in marshes near fishing grounds.
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on the Gulf Coastline http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/pahs.html
Informational website that discusses what the Hydrocarbons that Daniel refers to are, and how they’re analyzed and monitored.
Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry – Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=121&tid=25
Website that explains what PAHs are, and how they could affect the human body.
A Village Called Versailles http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/village-called-versailles/
Versailles, a tight-knit neighborhood on the edge of New Orleans, is home to the densest ethnic Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, residents rebuild their homes — only to have them threatened by a toxic landfill planned in their neighborhood. As the community fights back, it turns a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change.
Preeti Mangala Shakar talks with Barnali Ghosh and Anirvan Chatterjee about travelling across continents aviation free, exploring the new ethics of greener travel, climate justice action, and global movements working to change the way we think about tourism and aviation.
Also the controversy over the new blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
