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My gal connie
by Emil Guillermo |
Page:
9 | Date: 1995-01-20
Actors Nancy and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo bring to life the stories of uniquely Asian characters in the video, “Asian Treasure Bag of Felk Tales.” (Photo by Bob Hsiang) Hey, just between you and me, let me for once back up ConnieChung on this “bitch” thing. As Oprah would say, “Yes, girlfriend, with you on this one, girlfriend, 100 percent.” Really.This revelation, I'm sure, will surprise my Asian American journalist friends who know that when it comes to Connie Chung, I have a difficult time turning other cheek. Maybe it’s because the last time I talked to her she was so well-protected by her handlers that they thought nothing of shouting me down at the expense of protecting Queen Connie.It was the 1993 Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Convention. Connie was a last-minute guest speaker, and she was taking questions, I took her up on it, and I wasn’t going to throw her any softballs. I was wondering what every other person at the was wondering: “Where have you been, Connie?”Where has the premiere Asian American journalist in the United States been all these She certainly wasn’t out in the community helping those who looked up to her as a role model. Nor was she reach out others in the snakepit of broadcast journalism, giving much-needed mentoring to less fortunate Asian American broadcasters.What was up with Connie? That’s what people wanted to know. had that manicured helping hand been all this time? After snubs to the in the past, was threatening to be the Asian version of Clarence Thomas, a recipient of affirmative action who had forgotten her roots.So this was meant to be a rehabilitative homecoming. No, make that a Connie Coronation. She was “coming home,” but she would be crowned by the AAJA will all the whereas’s a proclamation writer could come up with,And, of course, would be Connie, in her own words, giving a soft-shoe of a speech. If Richard Nixon had his “Checkers” speech, this was Connie’s Chinese Checkers speech. In it, she told her story, the Chung saga, how she had such a hard life as a little girl growing up inD.C. And how she got her big break and became successful, and really she would have done more for the community, if she wasn’t really trying hard to have a baby, and working really hard on job. Though we see her as role model, she’s just a working gal, hoping get pregnant just to catch her breath.OK. She said she was sorry. A real “mea culpa.” But I wanted to know something else. Was she coming back now because she realized the error of her ways? Or because she really needed us now? After all, she’d just been named co-anchor with Dan Rather of the Big EyeNetwork News. What a convenient time to kiss and make up.But I wanted to know just how genuine she was. I asked her why she was back. And I pressed her on it. After that, it seemed like the whole world came down me, as if I had blasphemed the Madonna. One zealous Connie-wannabe was so protective as to take control of the proceedings and cut off my mike. For a second, the journalists acted more like PR types than They were, in fact, censors, plain and simple. The odd thing was Connie was ready and willing to answer my questions, if only the mob hadn’t shouted us down in the session, broadcast live on C-SPAN.Maybe my beef is more with the handful of Connie cronies in New York than with Connie herself. But, then again, Connie and I haven’t exactly been bosom buddies since our fateful encounter. So I'm on the limb for you now, Connie, on this thing.You’ve been taking a lot of flak. And for what? Just as you showed at the AAJA luncheon with that long,\rambling speech, an eight-hour interview with Kathleen Gingrich was probably just you being thorough. And that “just between you and me” talk, well, hells bells, it’s showbiz. You were being as engaging as a batted eyelash. news you turn it on, you turn it off. And the more you turn it on, the more news you pick up. You had to work for that quote. And Connie, believe me, you earned it.I'm sorry to see CBS getting all defensive and not backing you up as strongly as they could, even hinting that you may have been guilty of poor timing. But you got the news, Connie, and CBS was splashed all over the media. This makes you Queen Connie. I just hope CBS doesn’t want to make you the Queen of Chechnya or Sarajevo, as they try to rehabilitate your perceived drop in “credibility” by sending you to a few hard ones.Forget it, I'm with you, girlfriend. CBS won’t back you 100 percent, but I will. don’t have to go to Chechnya for this. I just think it sucks how 2 little news nugget from Kathleen Gingrich puts everyone in a tizzy, and then they come and attack you.Jesse Jackson an off-the-record comment on “hymie-town,” and the black reporter for the Washington Post didn’t get attacked. The subject, Jackson, did.Likewise, in this situation, Moms Gingrich should be feeling the heat, not you. But you’re getting picked on. And that’s why behind you. Not AAJA, not the National Organization for Women. Nor any big special-interest group. Just me, Emil, your luncheon pal. That’s what it means to have a real friend in the community, girlfriend.This begins Emil Guillermo’s weekly commentary for Asian Week - on Asian American life. A veteran broadcaster and writer who formerly was host of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” Guillermo was also press secretary for Congressman Norman Mineta (D-Calif.). He can be reached at (510) 464-4545.
Test your child’s attention span with ‘asian folk tales’
by Nina Chen |
Page: 9 | Date: 1995-01-20
With all the junk on TV these days — from cartoons with squealy-voiced characters to images glamorizing sex and violence — parents are left with the quandary of "How do we entertain the kiddies while positively affecting their mentalThis is the that two mothers, Dianne Fukami and gayle k. yamada, to tackle with their new company, Bridge Media Inc.Fukami and yamada's self-imposed task of trying to provide entertainment for the entire family is not without yet another positive angle. They hope to undertake projects that reflect the richness of Asian culture.Among the first of their productions is a telling four folk tales from Korea, China, the Philippines and Japan, respectively. "Asian Treasure Bag of Folk though told in English, is performed using Asian music and phrases. This is, in fact, the first video available featuring Asian stories performed by Asian actors.Throughout the video, there are only a few props no background scenery. However, the actors, Nancy Wang and RobertKikuchi-YngojoTec), bring the stories to life with their animated gestures, expressions and synchronized movements. The trite guideline of "less is more" works well with this project. The black backdrop, serving as the whole of the set, and the actors, with their painted faces, purposely allow imaginations to create images to compliment the stories.The first of these folk tales is a Korean story "The Man Planted Onions." Although difficult to fully comprehend the meaning of this story of people who eat cows — one cannot help but see other people as cows, not as the people that they really are — it is highly entertaining.Some will undoubtedly see people as people only when they stop eating the cows and start eaiing onions. Analytical mind aside, it might occur to some that behind this colorful tale, there is a message for people to become vegetarians. But how could this having perfected beef bul be against eating cows?The next story, entitled “The Long-Haired Girl,” hails from China. This girl with long hair adventitiously stumbles upon a full well of water while her village is perpetually drought-ridden. The owner of the well, a greedy semi-deity, to kill the long-haired girl if she shares the secret of the water well with her village. Find out if the longhaired girl unjustly dies at the hands of the water well I owner, keeps to herself the secret of the well or evades the dilemma altogether with the help of a little man.The third story comes from the Philippines. In “The Seven Silly Fellows,” there are seven fellows who are indeed silly. They are nameless in the Pilipino version, but the Disney people are calling them Doc, Dopey, Sneezy, Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy and Bashful. Another example of expropriation at the hands of Yankee, capitalistic imperialists!The final story, from Japan, is entitled, “Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess.” This seemed more a performance art piece than a story. The beating of a drum and movement of the aciors are as integral telling of this story as is the conventional vocal method. The artistry of this story is impressive.This video is a valiant idea to wean young children away from the violent of the “Mighty Morphin Rangers” and the brainless fluff of “Barney and Friends.” But unless your children are mature enough to sit through 20 minutes of multicultural entertainment, shot in a single frame with only two painted-faced actors to illustrate the stories, there’s always the Disney Channel.“Asian Treasure Bag of Folk Tales” sells for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. To order, call (800) 358-3000.
APA Woman Receives Highest Martial Arts Honor
by None |
Page: 9 | Date: 1995-01-20
At the Marriott hotel in downtown San Francisco, in the presence of 500 people, Tae Yun Kim was awarded the highest honor that can be bestowed upon someone her martial arts discipline. She is the first woman in the four thousand, seven hundred-year histories of the art to receive such an award.The honor was awarded by Great Grandmaster Hwang Ki, the founder of the Moo Duk Kwan society, a Korean organization that embraces both Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do under its umbrella. Although Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's art is called Jung SuWon, it comes from the same heritage as Tae Kwan Jung SuWon means the way of uniting body, mind, and in total harmony.That, in fact, was exactly the reason that Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim was chosen for this unique honor — for preserving and promoting the purity of the art she has been studying and teaching for the past 43 years. Her school, the Jung SuWon Academy, is located in Milpitas.The award was one of thirteen presented to the top people in the Moo Duk Kwan society, a worldwide organization. The top award was to Grandmaster Tae Yur. Kim as “the best of the best. " For her to be given such incredible. on is all the more remarkable in that she is a woman in a male-dominated tradition. It is a lifetime of devotion to teaching and caring for her students.