Mario Cuomo RIP; inspired a generation

I'M JUST PLAYING catch up on an item I passed on because there were too many things going on that needed my immediate attention. That's a lame excuse. My apologies for not mentioning the death of Mario Cuomo on Jan. 1. 

I was at the 1984 Democratic Convention held in San Francisco and heard Cuomo's electrifying speech. 

At the time, I was managing editor of the San Francisco-based Philippine News and it was the first time that one of the major political parties hand out a bon mot to local ethnic media  by treating us as real journalists by giving us access to the convention. A small thing to mainstream media but it was a big deal and a little historical footnote in that it was also the first time that a Filipino-American publication covered a convention of one of America's major political parties.

That convention was also noteworthy in that the delegates truly reflected America's diversity. There was a sizable Asian American presence that was more than window dressing. They actually had enough Asian Democrats there to have a caucus and a separate breakfast to meet the candidates.

The eventual nominee, Vice President Walter Mondale, also made history by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first woman to be nominated as Vice President. Another footnote to history because in today's world, talking about a woman making a serious run for President is all the pundits can talk about.

In 1984, the speeches by Edward Kennedy, Jesse Jackson and Sen. Gary Hart were inspiring and uplifting. I didn't hear Jackson or Hart live but I was in Moscone Center when Kennedy spoke. 

Even with all those great orators, Cuomo's speech stood out and set the tone for the rest of the convention. He, more than any other politician, described an America that it ought to be; basically, the ideal America that exists in grade school history books but not in real life.

As I look back, I realize it was a watershed event in my life. My brief brush with Cuomo and the other "old guard" of Democrats probably led me to the government position I hold today. In my little corner of the world, trying to live up to their words is the driving force of what I do and how I live my life.

Eleven years later Cuomo demolished the Republican's "city on a hill" metaphor. His words still ring true and could still be used to argue against the current powers in the GOP who believe "their" America is under attack (by non-Europeans); whose belief in American exceptionalism denigrates the rest of the world.

Don't get me wrong. I love this country. I would not want to live in any other country than the United States. We're just not there, yet. 

The gap between the myth and reality of America continues to grow. It is not a coincidence that the chasm between the middle class and the 1 percent is as great as it has ever been; nor is it a coincidence that the racial divide seems to be overcoming our relationships more and more; and the class war the conservatives accuse the progressives of exploiting, has been underway since the 1960s and we, the People, are losing.

Loving America does not mean being blind to its faults. I believe that it is the job of all patriotic Americans to work to narrow those gaps and correct those faults if we want to prevent our country from becoming an oligarchy where there are the uber-rich whose sole existence is to make themselves even richer and more powerful, ... and then there is the rest of us.

Mario Cuomo at the 1984 Democratic Convention held in San Francisco.

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General Nagata picked to train anti-ISIS fighters

Major General Michael Nagata

THE UNITED STATES is putting its hope to defeat the Islamic State, aka ISIS, in the hands of an Asian-American, General Michael Nagata.

In December, Nagata was put in charge of training Syrian rebel forces to fight ISIS forces.

“We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it,” he said, according to the confidential minutes of a conference call he held with the experts that he is recruiting better understand ISIS. “We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand the idea.”
"Mike Nagata is as good as we have," Wade Ishimoto wrote about Nagata's reputation as a strategist, tactician, and planner in the Japanese American Veterans Association JAVA Advocate. "There is no doubt that if anyone can succeed in this tough task, it will be Mike Nagata."

He is known as a special ops warrior, in other words, untraditional. This may be a good trait if you are fighting an untraditional enemy such as ISIS, but in some circles, he can get in trouble for his unwavering commitment to his mission.

As highly praised as he is by his peers, he didnt make any friends among journalists. Some journalists wrote about his unusual tactics in Pakistan which caused a big uproar in that country. Nagata also then tried to discredit their reports to the House Intelligence Committee. The general told the committee that the reporters made incorrect conclusions based on insufficient evidence. However, the release of the Wikileak cables vindicated the reporters' stories.

Nagata, who calls Hawaii home, has deep military roots. The son of an Army colonel, two of his uncles served in the legendary 442 Regiment, the Japanese American unit that garnered more field medals and commendations than any other unity during WWII.

He is the second Asian American general that's been assigned a difficult task in the Middle East. General Antonio Taguba, a Filipino American, was given the unenviable task to investigate reports of torture at Abu Graib in Iraq. What he found and what he reported proved to be embarrassing to the U.S. His report, though truthful, got him into hot water with his superiors in the military and the Bush-led White House because it confirmed the use of torture techniques on prisoners. It led to an early retirement for the distinguished military man."

Nagata's mission is a major departure from previous policy. Training the rebels will most likely create a trained military force that will continue to oust the current Syrian government. These are the same rebels that received military assistance and "volunteers" from Al Queda. 

If Nagata and the U.S. are not careful, the strategy could backfire and we could be adding fuel to the volatile Middle East much like Afghanistan where the U.S. aided the Taliban against the Russian occupiers and then finds itself fighting the same fighters that they armed.

Nagata could end up a hero, or he could become a scapegoat.

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Je suis Charlie: Terror in Paris

Je suis Charlie

My "pen"

THE TERRORIST ATTACK on Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, strikes close to the bone for me.

After 28 years in journalism. I've come to value freedom of expression, ... even if I don't agree with all that is conveyed.

Lacking a pen to hold up in support, I hold up its 21st century equivalent.

I've seen the power of a free press. It forced a U.S. president to resign; it brought the brutal police beatings of civil rights demonstrators and the bloody battles of Vietnam into America's living rooms; and brought the truth of the Marcos dictatorship to the halls of Congress.

The exchange of ideas and the inspiration of ideals are the enemy of oppressors. 

For the 12 who died, for those who prick the pompous, mock the mighty, bring down the haughty, write or draw a truth through wicked wit, I am Charlie.

UPDATE: The terrorists were killed Friday (Jan. 9) in a hail of gunfire with French police, two days after the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

It's awards show season, but not for Asian Americans; We conduct the first annual Eddie Awards

IT'S AWARDS SEASON.  With the Golden Globes, Oscars, Emmy's, the People's Choice Awards right around the corner, it was impossible to note the glaring omission of Asian American artists among the nominees. Therefore, I thought I'd hand out some awards of my own. 


The 'EDDIEs,' modestly named after a blogger who shall remain nameless, will be handed out yearly in the categories I'll make up out of the clear blue sky. There are no trophies or cash awards - just a reminder of what happened and what didn't happen in the past year by and about Asian/Pacific Islander Americans in pop culture. Hopefully with some humor and a dash of irony thrown in.

CAVEAT: I purposely didn't include Asian actors based in other countries. The EDDIEs are reserved for Asian American performances.

Hoon Lee

So, here we go. Drum roll. The envelope, please.

Stereotype-buster: 
Hoon Lee for his portrayal of Job, a cross-dressing ass-kicker (Yes, you can be a cross dresser and a tough guy at the same time) on the TV show Banshee. OK, he's adept at the computer, but that's about the only thing that reminds us of the Asian nerd. He likes his make-up but he can take on three yahoo's at once without hitting the pause button on his laptop. Even though he is officially a sidekick, his character is so strong and complex, he is an equal in scenes with Antony Starr, who plays Lucas Hood, the lead character in this sexy, adrenalin-pumping unpredictable Cinemax series. The writers give him good lines, but I'm hoping the writers delve more into Job's background this coming season of Banshee, which starts Saturday, Jan. 9. What makes this character tick?



Best moment that never happened: 
John Cho and Karen Gillian, the lead characters in Selfie that only lasted six episodes before getting cancelled. The "moment" happened -- or, didn't happen. Cho's character, Henry, and Gillian's character, Eliza played a cat-and-mouse game hinting and searching for their growing relationship with each other. Eliza tells Henry that women liked to be touched and she urges him to touch her. At first he hedges, then suddenly, he pulls her close to him and viewers were screaming at the screen, "Kiss her, dammit!." But she pulls away, realizing her attraction to him. The watershed event, the kiss that Asian America had been waiting for -- the first Asian American romantic leading man on a TV series almost - ALMOST - happened. We were robbed! So we must wait for another series, another time, another leading man, for that moment to happen.

Click here for the complete GIF. 

Worst moment that did happen (over and over again):

Matthew Moy

Just about any episode of 2 Broke Girls where the character Han Lee is featured, which is ... just about any episode of 2 Broke Girls. Matthew Moy plays the Han Lee character and draws up just about all the traits of the emasculated Asian male stereotype. Lots of the sitcom's jokes are about Han Lee's height, penis size and stinginess. You have to sympathize with Moy because at least he has a job in a Hollywood where Asian males are still the least represented demographic on television. But the character whom the writers create is so bad that even non-Asian media have taken noticed, such as the Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, innumerable newspaper articles and blogs. Moy and the show's creators discuss the Han Lee character in a fairly objective article in Audrey magazine. There's no sign the producers are going to let up on their reliance on stereotypes to get a laugh.

Best show we'll miss:
Selfie was the show I most wanted to succeed because of John Cho's lead character. However, an uneven start doomed the series and because the title itself, Selfie, would want to draw from the same demographic that least likely would be watching the show on the television set, the same group that prefer mobile devices a their chief mode of interaction. Although the ratings were not high, they weren't so bad, either. But the ABC honchos were not patient enough for the show to establish its audience. Other shows with poorer ratings for the first six episodes eventually found its niche and audience. There's a petition to the show but chances are slim for Selfie's revival. The remaining episodes of the 13 total that were made, can be seen at Hulu and at ABC.com  Unfortunately, the fate of this series may make future producers reluctant to put an Asian male in a romantic lead.

Seeya "Selfie." The show had a diverse cast but race didn't enter into the conversation.

Best show nobody ever watched
With all the hoopla around Selfie and F.O.B., this show never got the attention it needed. "Sullivan and Son," the first Irish-Korean family featured on TV was about a bar-owner married to a Korean woman and their hapa children. It was Cheers with kim-chee. Unfortunately, it was sporadic in its writing and laughs but it was interesting to see how they used the Korean angle. They never made a big deal about it, which was kind of nice, but maybe that was also what was wrong about it. Perhaps the biggest hurdle it couldn't overcome was it was on at odd hours on a station (TBS) hardly anybody watched, unless you were an Atlanta Braves fan watched. TBS should be applauded though, it gave S&S time to try and find its legs - three seasons - that's more than what you can say about ABC's handling of Selfie (See above).

Goodbye, we hardly got to know ye.

Best director:

Yes. There are a few Asian directors in the Hollywood scene. Unfortunately, you can count them on one hand. This year's EDDIE for "best director" goes to Taiwan-born Justin Lin. Lin started out with the under appreciated Better Luck Tomorrow, a small budget delightful film about Asian young people that surprisingly showed some cross-over appeal. He has proven himself to the money people of moviedom with four movies in the profitable Fast & Furious franchise, two of which opened with $70 million each. Lin was recently tabbed to direct the upcoming third film of the Star Trek prequels with his biggest production budget yet.

Justin Lin will direct Star Trek.

Justin Lin is a busy guy these days. He opted out of his fifth Fast and Furious film to direct the next Bourne Legacy movie. When that was cancelled, he producer J.J. Abrams picked him for the next Star Trek movie which reportedly will be released in 2016, the 50th anniversary of the TV series debut. His career goes where only a few Asians dared to go.

Lumpia lover Darren Criss.

Is he, or isn't he?
The award goes to an actor we didn't know was Asian (or part Asian). The winnah is ...  Darren Criss, who plays Blaine, an out-and-proud gay character in the hit show Glee. The question is not: Is he really gay, or not? but: Is he really Asian American? Turns out that Criss is a lumpia lover. His mother is a native of Cebu, Philippines. Unfortunately, this is Glee's last season which starts Jan. 9. If you don't know about Glee, what rock have you been living under?  A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, his father was a director for the San Francisco Opera. Criss went to the University of Michigan where he majored in theatrical arts. 

The Samoan-Canadian sports Samoan tattoos.

Best kickass man:
This was a tough one. There are not too many roles out there depicting Asian males as - what we in America like to call "ass-kickers," you know the tough-as-nails, no nonsense indestructible, macho, he-man hero. For assistance, I turned to "Nerds of Color," for suggestions. Hmm, Keanu Reeves or The Rock, AKA Dwayne Johnson. I like those nominations. This year, however, I'm going with the Rock, Every movie he's in - I mean, talk about type-casting - he's just kickass. He's got the physique and the death-stare down pat. And in Hollywood terms, the color of money is more important than the color of your skin, Johnson is one of the top money-makers in town based on his roles in the Fast and Furious sequels and Hercules. In 2014, the black/Samoan pro-wrestler made over $52 million. His casting appeal is partly because of his racially ambiguous appearance which allows him to play characters of various races. Not that he's denied his heritage; if asked, he'll proudly describe his Pacific Islander roots.

Best kickass woman:
This is a another really difficult category. There are bunch of ass-kicking Asian women on TV. It seems the white producers and writers have a proclivity for this type, but what-the-hell? For better or worse, work is work, This year's award goes to Ming-Na Wen of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for the episode in which her character, Agent Melinda May, fights with her doppleganger. The fight is really well choreographed and technically, really difficult to pull off. It took almost three days to film the scene for the S.H.I.E.L..D. episode, which usually takes 8 days to produce.  Really good stuff.

At least, Woo Hwang's honor is intact.

Stupidest move on a reality show:
Woo Hwang chose Tony to be in the final trio of Survivor: Cagayan. Tony was the best player of the season with his aggressive strategizing and he deserved the $1-million prize, but Woo had the chance to eliminate the strongest survivor and he didn't. Woo chose to abide with his agreement with Tony rather than succumb to the temptation to "outwit" his competition. By choosing honor over greed, Woo walks off the beach with the nothing but his integrity. By the way, Woo is the dude who described himself as the "stupidest" survivor player ever.  



Most intriguing personality:

Chrissy Teigan

Chrissy Teigan. To her credit, she is the antithesis of the Asian female stereotype of demure, obedient, soft-spoken and compliant. She made the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. But the reason she's here is because she's everywhere I look. She was on TV as a guest host with Kelly Ripa; cooking with some famous chef on the Food Network or walking down the red carpet witco-h husband John Legend. Last I looked, she was in freezing New York hosting a show on New Year's Eve dressed in a mini-skirt. She's outspoken, fun, irreverent, funny (most of the time) loud, brash and she's managed to make a living by just being "out there." Read her tweets, Instagram or her food blog. (NOTE: She had to discontinue her Twitter account because of death threats from ultra-conservatives.)  Maybe this award should go to her agent?

Arthur Chu

Best villain:
Early in 2014, Arthur Chu stirred a lot of controversy because of the way he played the TV game show Jeopardy. He played an aggressive game, finding those double-doubles by going after the toughest questions first instead using the traditional way of playing bf going down the list from easy to hard questions. He was pretty good at it, winning 11 straight games totaling almost $300,000 in prize money, among the top-four amounts in the game show's history. His critics said his aggressive strategy was ruining the integrity of the game. Puh-leese. Integrity on a game show? He drew a lot of flack, a lot of which was  borderline racist. What I liked about Chu is that he defied the stereotype. Yeah, Chu is a self-professed nerd - he calls himself a "loser" who got lucky. He was picked as the Angry Reader of the Week by Angry Asian Man. He didn't back down from his haters. In fact he embraced his role as villain and continued on his winning ways, laughing all the way to the bank.

Front and center, best Broadway diva:
Not a difficult choice, here. There's only ONE, count them - 1, numero uno, ONE Asian American woman in a lead role in a Broadway musical. That would be Ruthie Ann Miles, the Korean American actress and singer playing the role of Imelda Marcos in Here Lies Love. Finally, someone besides Lea Salonga is front and center on the Broadway stage. She has been getting rave reviews for her performance. She plays Imelda from the time she was beauty queen from Cebu to her rise in power with her marriage to Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. With the popularity of the Broadway production, it looks like Ms. Miles will be around for awhile giving Lea Salonga some company under the bright lights. So while we await Vanessa Hudgens' debut as Gigi or the aforementioned Salonga in Cinderella or Allegiance, there will remain only one actress deserving of this award. 

Ruthie Ann Miles

 in Here Lies Love

Production that hired the most Asians:
Hands down - this should be no surprise - this award goes to Marco Polo, the dramatic retelling of the exploits of one white man in 12th century China. The Netflix answer to Game of Thrones employs hundreds of extras, an all Asian/Pacific Islander central cast to tell the fictional account of real-life explorer Marco Polo. Shot in Malaysia and Kazakhstan, the $90 million production is epic in every sense of the word. I hope it survives the rating wars because it interprets history from a non-European perspective, an experience that might be a little uncomfortable to its American audience, who have been spoon-fed history from a Eurocentric point of view so long they actually believe America has already reached America's lofty ideals. At any rate, Marco Polo is not without its flaws  and the hoity-toity critics have not been kind, but you have to understand that its historical FICTION, not real history. At its worst, it drags a bit with all the behind-the-throne intrigue that goes on. At its best,  it is visually stunning with the landscape, architecture, costumes and battle scenes popping out of the screen. For the sake of the huge diverse cast and for the presence of Asian faces on America's TV screens and consciousness, let's hope that it gets renewed for a second season.

Let's play "Where's Marco?" In the cast of hundreds, the lead character is often not the main protagonist.

UPDATE: Wouldn't you know it, the day after publishing this post, Netflix announced that Marco Polo's journey will continue into a second season.

That's it for this year, friends. Due to my limited budget and time, I wasn't able to watch or read about all the performances of Asian American actors, singers or dancers. I'm sure there are people or performances worthy of an EDDIE that I left out. Should Lucy Liu's Watson in Elementary be included? What about the romance between Maggie and Glenn in The Walking Dead? Who or what performance would you have nominated for an EDDIE? 

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Asian American cops flock to Liu's funeral

Asian police officers from around the U.S. and Canada attended the funeral of NYPD officer Wenjian Liu,

WELL, my attempt at trying to be more positive in 2015 didn't last very long, did it?

After I posted the uplifting "We Are The World" video and Travis Ishikawa's inspirational faith, NYPD officer Wenjian Liu funeral was held with Buddhist monks leading the way.

Police officers - as they did at the funeral of officer Rafael Ramos - again used the funeral to express their displeasure at Mayor Bill Di Blasio by turning their backs to him when he spoke.

Both officers were attacked by a man who had a long police record and was obviously mentally troubled. Prior to ambushing the officers in their patrol car, he shot his girlfriend and after killing the officers, killed himself.

NBC had an Asian-American angle on the funeral of slain NYPD officer Wenjian Liu that didn't make it into a whole lot of newspapers.

Detective Ron Bongat, a Filipino immigrant who has worked as a police officer near Chicago for 15 years, told NBC News that the deaths of Liu and Ramos may help strengthen ties between police and the communities they serve.

"I hope there is a sense of community and support for each other," Bongat said. "Not just for officers, but for the community as a whole."

The New York Times used the funerals of Liu and Officer Ramos to point out the changing demographic of the NYPD.

It all goes to show that contrary to the mainstream stereotype of Asian American males, not all Asian-American men are nerds or brainiacs, computer geeks or doctors, restaurant workers or engineers. 

Many want to make a difference by becoming public servants such as police officers and fire fighters, soldiers and social workers.

I'm not sure about other parts of the country, but I'm surprised and disappointed that not one television station or mainstream newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area, with its large Asian American audience, didn't pick up this facet of the story.

Police officer Wenjian Liu's widow (with portrait) and his family at the funeral held Sunday.

SF Giants hero Travis Ishikawa keeps the faith, in his career and in his life

Travis Ishikawa is in there somewhere. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting a series-winning home run.

THERE WAS  a point last year when baseball player Travis Ishikawa was contemplating leaving baseball. He consulted his family and friends about life after baseball ... and he prayed.

The San Francisco Giants resigned him to their minor league team but during the summer, because of a depleted outfield, the Giants took a gamble and called him up to the Big Leagues to play the outfield even though his natural position is at first base. 

Ishikawa's game-winning walk-off home run vs. the St. Louis Cards is the stuff of history and legend. The Giants won the National League pennant and then went on to win the World Series.

It's no secret that Travis Ishikawa is a born-again Christian and his faith in God is important to him. This New Year's weekend, he visited several churches in the San Francisco Bay Area to tell his story as one of the few Asian Americans in professional baseball and as a man of faith.

We are the World for Philippines (COVER by Filipino Artists)

HAPPY NEW YEAR. Here's a positive, inspirational start to 2015.

There are several versions of this song. I love this one (above). I don't know their names but they are artists better known in the Philippines than the U.S. but because they are singing for their fellow countrymen, the spirit and sincere intensity comes through. There's a lot of talent on display here.

Unlike the other versions, including the one by big-name American artists, this version is not just raising funds, it's a "Thank You" to the rest of the world for the aid extended to victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

Despite the massive amount of aid, the central Philippines is still recovering from the devastation wrought by Haiyan. On top of it all, another storm, Typhoon Ruby hit the same area a few months ago. Fortunately, it wasn't as powerful and the local and national government was better prepared.

Enjoy.  

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