#I get that my culture as a Vietnamese person may differ from that of a Chinese but there's a lot of similar habits

[just-some-friendly-fun]

Maybe, I sound a little nitpicky here, or some other word that I can't figure out right now to determine the current tone of my words but.

Looking through some of the fanfiction, in regards to Bi-Han, I think some baffled me in particular and it's not even that big of a deal or anything but it just scratches beneath my skin a little. Like, oh! Bi-Han cooking something for you! I can see that!-- what do you mean he's making you a complete English meal.

Unless it's something that the reader enjoys, and he's making it in favor to their taste preference, then that's sweet! But.... Where's my stuff..... Where's the chicken congee... Where is- where is all the traditional recipes he should know? I get that making eggs, bacon, and french toast are easy (sometimes) but-- there is other easy to make stuff. I'm not expecting Bi-Han to be headcanoned as some top tier chef but, him knowing some traditional home recipes should be natural thing to him, no? Maybe he learned from his mother, or some other. I think that'd be neat to think about, just simple basic home meals he's learned and makes for himself and rarely, but sometimes, for others. I think all in general, I just really want to see like some proper representation of Bi-Han, or just even Kuai Liang, maybe even Tomas adapting to some of his adoptive family's behaviors while he was raised, like some stuff like how some people can't properly apologize so in form of apology, people mainly serve a plate of fruit as an act of forgiveness rather than outright saying it, or just ANYTHING ELSE.

[fatphobiabusters]

hello!! i love seeing your fatshion and fat art posts on my dash :]) they really brighten my day! how do you find these posts? I've gone back to the original source of them and they aren't often tagged with "plus size" or anything :o

Hi, I'm glad you enjoy the posts. I've created many strategies to find fat positive content on this website since, sadly, fat representation is very difficult to find.

The easiest strategy is to search popular fat positive tags, like "fatshion" or "fat positive." However, most people don't tag fat representation, and many fat-related tags are overrun by thinspo blogs, fat fetishists, and fatphobes.

Sometimes I search "plus size" and another word to try to find specific posts. For example, I queued posts with a Valentine's Day theme for Valentine's Day. One of the strategies I used for that was to search "plus size pink," "plus size red," "plus size lovecore," "plus size valentines day," etc. I have to get creative like this when trying to find content of specific groups of fat people. As another example, when I want to find content for fat Asian people, I may search "plus size hanfu," "plus size jfashion," "Vietnamese fatshion," and any combination of words involving fatness and usually either a specific cultural clothing or country. If I just use normal search terms, I likely won't find anything.

Sometimes I look at popular tags like "artists on tumblr" and scroll through hundreds of posts to find a single drawing of a fat person. Usually said drawing didn't use any tags for the fat representation. This strategy is extremely based on luck and will involve spending way more time before seeing any posts of fat people, but this is one of the few ways to find posts of fat representation that weren't tagged with words related to fatness. What I would give just to get people to tag their posts of fat representation, you have no idea. Even if no one else started drawing fat people, there would be a mountain of more fat positive posts to reblog if those posts were simply tagged in a way to make them possible for fat positive blogs to find.

Some tags are more likely to include fat people, like tags for Mermay. Fat people are barely represented, but some artists are willing to be slightly inclusive when drawing mermaids. The likelihood of size inclusivity also goes up with events like Mermay since some of the artists who participate will draw a different mermaid design for every day of the month. It's hard to not draw a single fat mermaid design when a person is drawing 31 mermaids.

When I find an old fat positive or fatshion blog, I'll usually comb through the entire blog for posts. Not only do I find posts that way, but I also usually find other blogs with posts I can also queue. This ends up with me going through a chain of old blogs and why you'll see us post content that was made anywhere from 5 to a whopping 12 years ago. I usually keep at least one post from each of these blogs in my queue at all times to remind me to continue searching the blogs for fat positive content. I've had some posts in the queue of Fatphobia Busters for two years because I keep them as reminders for what blogs I need to search. For every post we share, I try to thoroughly look through the blog of the op for any other scraps of fat positivity I can queue. This is another reason why some posts stay in the queue for months or years. Since fat representation on this website is abysmal, I usually only put posts at the front of the queue that were either made by blogs I've already combed, blogs that still have posts in the queue so I can search those blogs a different day, or if the post was queued by Mod Squirrel. I don't have a lot of energy to search blogs, which is why those posts stay in the queue for so long. That's also why you may notice certain blogs being posted a lot for a period of time—they're blogs I'm safe to post without missing any content I could have queued.

Tumblr has a pretty terrible search function, and I've basically never been recommended a blog by Tumblr that actually posted fat representation. However, the one helpful function Tumblr has actually been good at is the similar posts section called "More like this," which looks like this on desktop:

It's to the right of whatever post you look at on a blog. On mobile, it looks like this:

I looked at the same post for both of these screenshots. In the "More like this" (or "More posts like this") section, Tumblr will usually include other posts by the user, posts by other blogs who interact with the user, posts with similar tags, etc. etc. For whatever reason, I'll sometimes be able to use this Tumblr function to find more fat representation. As an example, Tumblr showed me the same grayscale drawing of a fat person in both of these screenshots. That drawing was posted by an entirely different blog and with no tags related to fatness or fat positivity at all, but the "More like this" Tumblr function is the only time that Tumblr realizes "Oh, for the past five years of running and modding for fat positive blogs, you've actually wanted to see posts of fat people and not all of the posts of thin people I've suggested to you all this time?"

Sometimes I'll try my luck with certain fandoms when I know the media the fandom is for actually has a fat character or if I know that the fandom is somewhat size inclusive. There are times where an artist who draws the media's fat character also has fat OCs or draws other fat people. For instance, I'll probably have more luck finding artists who draw fat people in the Magnus Archives fandom than I will in a fandom for a media that's very fatphobic or pretends thinness is an art style, like Hazbin Hotel.

If I find a fat person who posts selfies or photography of themself, I'll look at their tags to try to decipher what tags they use for posting those photos. They may have a specific tag just for their photos, like "my face," or they may tag all of their photos with a tag like "ootd," "melanin," "cosplay," "black girl magic," "lolita," "jfashion," etc. It's also important to make sure not to share any posts that have tags like "do not reblog." If a post has the tag "personal," I'll usually either skip it or ask the user if they're okay with the post being reblogged. This is especially important for text posts about fatphobia since sometimes a person just wanted to vent and doesn't want their post to be shared. Whenever I'm in doubt, I write a reply on the post and ask the op if they're okay with me reblogging it.

On some occasions, I'll see the url or tags of someone on our posts that makes me think they may have more fat positive content. When that is the case, I'll queue posts that a follower made. Said posts are usually selfies or text posts. Sometimes this means queuing a post they made about a specific product they sell on Etsy that otherwise isn't accessible for fat people, or this could mean queueing a well-written rant that they've okayed for people to reblog.

That's basically the gist of most of my strategies I can think of. You can see that running and modding for fat positive blogs involves a lot of work and strategizing just to find content. But you can help make it easier. If you:

Tag your posts of fat representation with fat positive tags

Send posts you find of fat people to fat positive blogs

Tell artists who draw fat people to tag their art with fat positive tags

Ask artists who only draw thin people to make their art size inclusive

Make posts about fatphobia and tag those posts with tags like "fatphobia" to make them searchable

Or even just reblog posts from fat positive blogs to help spread them and encourage those OPs to keep representing fat people

By doing those things, you help us a lot and also help more fat people see themselves in the media they look at.

If you do tag your posts for this purpose, I strongly suggest using more than just tags like "body positivity." That tag on Tumblr is full of mostly porn, thin people, and celebrations of weight loss, so I've given up on looking at that tag at all and would assume many other fat positive blogs don't use that tag either.

-Mod Worthy

[persephone-s-moon]

Asian Lost Boys Personal Names!

Personal names tend to vary from culture to culture in terms of usage, but essentially it's someones "Asian name" as opposed to their English name. They're typically used by family members and, on occasion, very close friends because (in my experience) using them is intimate. The characters will still HAVE their English names, but The Lost Boys and family members (the Emersons and the Frogs) will Mostly refer to each other by their personal names.

DISCLAIMER: I'm Taiwanese, therefore I'm more savvy to East Asian cultures, particularly Chinese and Japanese. If anyone who is more knowledgeable about Filipino, Hmong, Thai, Indian, or Vietnamese cultures sees something they want to critique/has more culturally accurate suggestions, I encourage messages/comments/replies!

David: Huang Zhao-Yi

Culture: Taiwanese, of Chinese descent Loose Pronunciation: Hw-ah-ng Sh-ow-yee Surname: Huang, meaning "yellow, to fall through" Personal name: Zhao-Yi, Zhao meaning "bright, luminous" and Yi meaning "happy, joyful, harmony" Notes: I was originally going to name David "Hou Yi" after a mythological Chinese archer because OG Hou Yi destroys 9/10 of the original suns (long story) and there's a version where he and his wife Chang'e become immortal/gods, but there are so many different versions of the story that I decided against it. I also decided that I wanted him to be a Farm Boy™ and naming him after a god seemed a little strange imo.

Paul: Paolo FACUNDO LIWANAG

Culture: Filipino Loose Pronunciation: Pow-low FAK-OON-DO LEE-WAN-AG Personal name: Paolo, meaning "small" Surnames: FACUNDO meaning "talkative", LIWANAG meaning "light" Notes: A lot of Filipino names are Spanish or Italian with biblical roots because of colonization in the 1500s, so I wanted to keep his personal name semi-similar to his English name since it was already biblical. Honestly I could've left it as "Paul" but what's the fun in that? I'm not too sold on his surnames so they might change later and I may try to find a Tagalog name instead for his personal name, we'll see.

Marko: YANG Vam Meej

Culture: White Hmong, from Laos Loose Pronunciation: YANG Va Mae Clan name: YANG, associated with the ram and bear Personal name: Vam Meej, meaning "to prosper, succeed" Notes: Hmong names in particular are a Struggle for me since most of the Hmong people I know are second generation like me and either don't really know their personal names or we're not close enough for me to ask. I am familiar with the concept of clan names though. Marko's name is definitely subject to change in the future (I might pick a clan name more associated with birds just for fun who knows).

Dwayne: Khemkhaeng LUANG

Culture: Thai Loose Pronunciation: Kehm-key-ng LOO-ANG Personal name: Khemkhaeng, meaning "strong" Old personal name: Kasem, meaning "happiness, pure joy" Surname: LUANG, meaning "royal, venerable" Notes: It's common for Thai people to change their names after something either significant or bad happens to them, hence Kasem. I'm only making note of it to alleviate confusion in the event that I decide to do some stuff regarding backstories, no one will refer to him as Kasem otherwise. Also, surnames are still relatively new to Thailand and they were only introduced in the 20th century, so Dwayne gets a shorter surname in comparison to modern Thai surnames (which are required to be unique, hence the longer modern surnames) since I have him and the other boys being born in the 1880s.

Star: Ruchika Chawla

Culture: Indian Loose Pronunciation: Roo-chee-ka Chow-la Personal name: Ruchika, meaning "shining, beautiful, desirous, brilliance" Surname: Chawla, meaning "rice" Notes: I found the name Ruchika and immediately thought of Star ngl, I didn't even consider other names for her. It was like love at first sight. I think a lot of stuff with Star just clicked when I was doing research for her name and design, it just suited her so well. I did have her surname written down wrong in my personal notes so I'm glad I didn't post her character sheet immediately lmao

Laddie: Nino HALILI DEL ROSARIO

Culture: Filipino Loose Pronunciation: Nee-no HA-LEE-LEE DAY ROSE-ARI-O Personal name: Nino, meaning "little boy" Surname: HALILI meaning "successor", DEL ROSARIO meaing "of the rosary" Notes: I went so back and forth on his surnames it's not even funny, but I think I'm happier with Laddie's surnames in comparison to Paul's. "Nino" felt really obvious and clicked really well just like Star's name did, though I did consider a few other names that I don't have written down anywhere. Nino was just superior because he's simply a little guy.

Michael: EMERSON Manh Tien

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: EMERSON Man Tee-en Surname: EMERSON, inherited from white father Middle name: Manh, meaning "first-born" Personal name: Tien, meaning "fairy, celestial being" Notes: I'll be honest, the main contibuting factor behind Michael's personal name was how he was almost named "Moonbeam" during his mom's hippie phase. I have this idea where their dad was white and insisted on using exclusively their English names, and Michael wouldn't initially like his personal name because it feels girly to him anyway, but he'd grow to cherish his name and culture after meeting the lost boys <3

Sam: EMERSON Trong Binh

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: EMERSON Ch-ung Bin Surname: EMERSON, inherited by white father Middle name: Trong, meaning "second-born" Personal name: Binh, meaning "peaceful" Notes: I think overall for the Emerson family I was most concerned with meanings, which wasn't necessarily the case for the boys. Sam is the most peaceful in the sense that he discouraged the Frog brothers from killing Marko, even though he failed. Like Michael, I think his personal name is something that he grows into when he starts making friends, but would use his English name when first coming to Santa Carla.

Lucy: VINH Lan Huong

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: VIN Surname: VINH, meaning "glory" Middle name: Lan, meaning "orchid" Personal name: Huong, meaning "pink rose" Notes: Naming Lucy after flowers just felt right. Let it be known that I have serious beef with hippies, but I feel like she still had a well-intentioned hippie phase and this just adds to it. In Vietnamese culture, women don't change their surnames after marriage (as far as I'm aware) which I think would be a contributing factor in her divorce with her white all-American husband.

Grandpa: VINH Mac Dieu

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: VIN Mac Dee-oo Surname: VINH, meaning "glory" Middle name: Mac, meaning "nothing, nonexistent" Personal name: Dieu, meaning "mysterious, subtle" Notes: Grandpa! Needed! A! Name! He doesn't have one in the original! I'm basically saying he's not subtle about his knowledge of vampires and he's not trying to be subtle, it's just that no one ever asked. I think I tried to pick older-sounding names for him but it's been a little while since I picked these and I don't remember if I'm honest.

Edgar: Kaeru Matsuo

Culture: Japanese Loose Pronunciation: Keh-roo Mat-soo-oh Surname: Kaeru, meaning "frog" Personal name: Matsuo, meaning "pine tree, life" Notes: I named the Frog brothers after the famous Japanese poet Matsuo Basho because their English names remind me of Edgar Allan Poe, so I thought it'd be kind of funny. Matsuo is the surname of the poet, but I felt that Matsuo suited Edgar more than Alan. The surname I picked for the Frogs was obvious, I don't think anything else other than some variation of "frog" would've worked.

Alan: Kaeru Basho

Culture: Japanese Loose Pronunciation: Keh-roo Ba-show Surname: Kaeru, meaning "frog" Personal name: Basho, meaning "banana tree" Notes: Alan got the pen name of Matsuo Basho, who also went by "Sobo" and "Tose". I debated on giving him Matsuo's true given name, which is Kinsaku meaning "to be happy" but Matsuo Basho is better known as Basho and it's much funnier for this very serious 15-16 year old to be named "banana tree".

Sorry if the formatting is weird, I'm trying to make it as reader friendly as possible on account of my own dyslexia. Please let me know if the blocks of text blend in with each other too much lmao

[rainbabbles]

research before story

having different original worlds and hyper fixations for research in them makes your mind expand because now I know so much about certain topics because of my stories. while i'm not an expert in anything of course, my mind gets blown each time with new shit like:

Sohrab's Rebirth

How pantheons were created

Christian mythology

ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences + my own education background)

The Sea King's Mermaid

Asian history, culture, and music TO THE MAX

More knowledge on North and West Asia as well as indigenous cultures of Asia

The Ashbourns

Irish history, customs, language

Ireland in the 40's

The history of Irish undertakers and mortuary practices themselves

Happy Asian Market

Viet diaspora businesses

Viet Cali gangs (and other asian gang dynamics)

Mahayana Buddhism ( + my own upbringing)

I'm just showcasing this because while the phrase "just start your comic/book!" for certain projects has its merits, I personally think exhausting every research outlet before starting a story is crucial.

I always think to this: if I saw someone doing something wholly Vietnamese and they were not Vietnamese and did it on a whim with basic knowledge- I might go ballistic apeshit. I might beat someone's ass through the screen!!!! OWO So obviously- other people might feel the same as me!

If you're not from that culture and you're doing extensive shit on it, sometimes I don't think you should. There are some experiences/cultures even I won't touch because it's not my place, and I've dropped some concepts because of that out of respect.

But if someone really believes in a project to do that, they better drown themselves in research and I'm talking the WHOLE 9 yards:

read books by Viets

research/interview articles (in English AND in Viet)

watch documentaries

view propaganda/politics from the good and bad of Vietnam

watch youtube videos and tiktok's made by viet people

listen to the music

watch our movies

learn some of the language/phrases/customs

read our folklore

actually talk to viet people (social anxiety forbid)

fucking travel to vietnam (ofc this may not be feasible but damn, dedication)

love vietnam- ALL of that

And that's what I've essentially done with each of these topics, I ran through all the research medias I can and I'm still not done!! It's the least I could do for something completely out of my circle of experience! It's time consuming, but it's really been rewarding implementing these things into my creations and connecting more to the realness that flows in these characters. Also, having big respect for the real people and history these aspects come from!!

big ramble, but I fucking love research ya'll. go big or go home!!!!!

[cody-apexart]

Day 10

So i talked to my therapist and another Vietnamese person at the cultural meet up a couple days ago about the abortion horror movie-- they havn't seen it, but it sounds like its less about the topic of abortion and more about the Vietnamese culture and different religious view points around death, killing things, and karma. interesting ! anyway, I cried in therapy and then bought myself some yanyans and soju on the walk home. so fun to get a lil treat! like i felt good when i left, did some good thought exercises, or visualization therapy, whatever you wanna call it, but as i walked through the privately owned waterfront development that I had watched the sunset in the night before, back across the bridge to my side of the canal I was rly like 'holy shit fuck this world.' In NY i work in the building associated with Domino Park in Williamsburg, part of my salary is funded directly by the developers. This is a job I wouldn't be able to have in my own neighborhood, because if i was taking payment from the developers causing displacement in my own neighborhood, i think a lot of the people i advocate and organize with would stop fucking with me or taking me seriously. I feel pretty bad about it, like why is it okay I work a job in Williamsburg, where i dont live, that I would never work in my hometown of Flushing? That is to say that making me go to therapy in the private waterfront mega development is like a cruel joke. like, the first thing i clocked when I came here was these six huge towers on the other side of the canal, and now u send me to cry about my feelings there?? maybe i'm a little too sensitive to the impacts of luxury waterfront development, because as you may be able to tell, advocacy around displacement and waterfront development actually consumes all my free time. also btw, the therapist confirmed the waterfront access is privately owned, as I assumed. Every time i cross over the canal it takes all my energy to not climb down this ladder under the bridge. I need to keep reminding myself i am a stranger in a strange land and should probs not trespass. but if i were in my own neighborhood, i wouldn't think twice.

the motorbike food tour tonight was fun. in my art practice i give a lot of tours, but always forget i'm a tour guide, until i tell someone about what I do and they're like "so you're a tour guide?" Me and my student tour guide vibed about the pains of touring people around. it was a fun experience, and funny to see how him and his other tour guide co-workers kinda just circle around each other with diff tourists throughout the evening-- all the tours start at the same time and go to the same places. he said they go to the same places every night, he's been eating the same food with tourist 3-4 times a week every week for 3 months since hes had this job. if i were a local i would probably find this method of touring incredibly annoying. He took me to the Thích Quảng Đức statue commemorating the monk that burned alive in the street advocating for religious freedom. He noted that the photos of the event that were distributed globally in the 1960's edit out the gas canister because it makes it look more profound and like he acted alone. You can see the bad 1960's photoshop blur in the left side of the image under the car tier. super interesting note on propaganda. Im glad I didn't come here without a guide, i would not have known that. I asked if this act of protest was effective, and if it worked to get what the Buddhist community wanted-- he said it got global eyes on the issue due to the distribution of the images. I mentioned to him that an american guy burned himself alive on the supreme court steps because of climate change last year, he was very surprised that there was basically no media coverage of that and he had not heard about it.

The tour groups kept circling around one another when we arrived at a public housing complex. we were basically walking through the projects taking photos, like honestly not a nice thing to be making a spectacle out of the people living in public housing projects. all these tour groups climbed 2-3 flights of stairs and walk around these peoples front doors, it happens every night. super obnoxious tbh. perhaps regrettably, I couldn't help but snap some pics, the lanterns were still up from the tet holiday, and the lighting was just right. These types of developments are what the book im reading is about, titled "building socialism: the afterlife of east german architecture in urban vietnam". I shared a photo of the cover before, these buildings look almost identical.

He pointed out the water tower and then we left.

[scentedchildnacho]

Yea i liked the Chinatown documentary.....i like don't put that there though about a jail....

My life as homeless has been really really sad and abusive and Freudian you will meet every evil.....and there is a lot of criminality and it all wants head lights to shoot across your eye balls....so I think so they called the states a dump so they should have to give us better police conditions

Whales they will sound bombs if their not given cells

They should have to renew some county jails...if their going to do cellular then they should have to renew those though

I was reading a time to kill so I don't know anymore if gang based white violence is racist

Light power can really alter people emotionally and hallucinatorily so sometimes they were maybe very normal people

I was kind of culture shocked at how controlled by very black Africans Mississippi is and they will also throw white kids into scary metal extreme ride contraptions so I think gang violence elsewhere causes gang violence elsewhere

They try to hit white kids with their cars....or these scary clinic rapes

So I think if the victims names are listed it was so a sense of structure was lost it's if you do this to us they do it to you

Africons start clear cutting around white camps or white homeless get left to die with clear cutting machines at them....and so if we go missing as a structure then they can't control aggression I guess

There were irish and jews and Africons would need work to finish their criminal obligations and someone ordered if you help that they will

I found a collage artist betya saar at the library and she was fascinated with folk depictions of southern black men and women who were criminally insane maybe I will do one of those about racist whites

White violence as about hunting has some of the most beautiful landscape aesthetics

Its Mississippi it's where people get so angry at black people they will lynch them....like the icey truck that almost made me collapse of a cold headache heart attack

Or the cult go ye house a group of black militant lesbians wanted to teach me child abuse and forced sex slavery to their strength

Shit beach

There was only one Chinese restaurant downtown in my birth town....because zapatistas attack Irish people and other fair people around irish people

Loud abusive cruel rock star gatherings people who attack Irish people and other unprotected fair groups around Irish people

Hi peng the owner....i didn't really know her but I think she had to go through a lot hosting military brats like heyroth....

If heyroth was gone from my life a lot of addictive obsessive compulsive problems left my life

I don't know hi peng to speculate on her character as mafia obligated or not

Is hi peng a wanted Italian that creates puppet?

Irish people are you secretly people from Germany that fled a neo Nazi coup did they keep finding you here

I am a suggestible person so if my friends change that doesn't happen anymore

Then a lot of the diaspora in oriental segregation in my birth town was south east Asian Cambodian not Chinese

Now my needs require little Korean or Thai places or Taiwan but China has really vacated addiction did really attach to China

Or it's technological exploitation so I need a Vietnamese advise about cognitive literacy therapies and hospitality

If people are criminals the state gets to with no complaints recover the property of......

Its Greek theory the royal blood ones are truly introverted

The oriental segregation was not ever business in my birth town that's Mexicans also it's the state social traditions they may go to school and be around hosting cultures so there was a distinct difference there

My birth father was also murdered for hosting military.....confederate trials they can't tell that he was very different looking from German military doctors.....

They can't understand the differences between white people and German military

She was an idiot and gets to be a prescriber

It was my birth fathers hair his straight fair manners

Jolene Rickard looks a lot like a German that killed five Turkish emigrationists

Jolene Rickard with the Smithsonian....

I dont know but I do get told if I was called white China cannot help me and I will have to appeal to the super power vietnam or my psychological condition provokes people about gender exploitation

The African mushrooms to try to practice things Jews and Irish do you have to have extensive hidden home help

If your not aware of extensive agricultural mediation from Africa China areas really really hurt people with class action substances

The drugs in food are different if oriental segregations become diasporas instead of China

My advise if called white is with Irish and Jews is I can introduce myself so their not freaked out by unknown strangers but I should not get involved in that as eventually the African mushrooms became a virus and that kind of comes and goes as it can it's experimental and not with Indians

Thailand was the first Asians that would understand white people about emergency

No I don't blame Jews for violence towards me from people claiming their Jews....they claim their Jews and their scary Europeans that look like some of the toughest facilities in the world

Pharma....he has a serial wealth record and calls public funds his personal billions....

They claim their Jews but will want to spend very close personal time with me....and white dog tags are not Jewish dog tags and we should not get involved

The Indians show me about violence that India is subject to industrial pollution and to survive power madness you have to live very modestly and cleverly

Then the Irish the fair observance is around so I can go to black and tans and be patient with The English about law....but it's pale face times around so you can't go till a Muslim is like who decides how religion should organize

Then the Irish don't work here so I notice Asian businesses dramatically increase in consumers till COVID....

[umichenginabroad]

Visiting Vietnam Part 2 (Week 17)

With one day left in the Hanoi area, we scheduled a day tour to Ninh Binh where we biked around rice fields surrounded by mountains, took a boat trip down a river in Tam Coc which went through three different caves, climbed up steps to Lying Dragon Mountain, and visited Dinh King temple. The various mini-adventures were all stunning, but it was hard for me to properly appreciate them after spending three days in the most beautiful environment I’ve ever laid eyes on. The intensely hot and humid weather (which wasn’t a problem in the mountains of Ha Giang) didn’t help either. Just a few minutes of walking outside was followed by sweat and dehydration. If anything, this weather encouraged us to always have a smoothie or juice of some sort in our hands. For $1-2, the drink options are endless and we sure took advantage. Once we returned to Hanoi, we quickly made our way to the airport and flew to Ho Chi Minh City where we were spending the next two days.

^ The view from Lying Dragon Mountain

Our first day in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, was spent exploring the city and doing a food tour in which we once again rode on motorbikes, but this time in the city. Let me tell you, being on the back of a motorbike in a Vietnamese city is not for the faint of heart. Bikes and cars are constantly appearing out of nowhere and are often on a collision course with you until the very last second. The stream of vehicles never stops — not for pedestrians, not for other vehicles, sometimes not even for an ambulance. A perk of the food tour was that our three drivers were young university students who knew a good bit of English, so we could finally ask questions about their lives and experiences as well as Vietnamese culture. The other highlight was the food. I had the guides help me make a list of all the foods we tried:

Bun bo hue - spicy noodles soup

Banh xeo - Vietnamese pancake/crepe eaten in lettuce wraps with shrimp, bean sprouts, and a variety of leaves including basil and mint. It is dipped in a sweat sauce. (This was a personal favorite)

Dim sum

Banh mi - Vietnamese sandwich

Banh trang nuong - Vietnamese pizza

Bo lui xa - grill beef and lemongrass

Kumquat & sugarcane iced tea (personal favorite)

Coffee Banh flan - flan cake (personal favorite)

^ Banh Xeo - A very yummy dish which requires skilled rolling to produce.

^ Banh flan - literally the best flan I’ve ever had over a bed of crushed ice and coffee.

It goes without saying that we left that food tour with happy stomachs and a strong desire for a nap. Later that day we did some shopping! It turns out that Vietnam has endless stalls of knock-off (but very high quality) backpacks, bags, clothing, and so much more. We were particularly eager to buy backpacks and fanny packs which were significantly cheaper than normal prices. As crazy as it may sound, over those two days in Ho Chi Minh, the three of us bought 13 bags/backpacks for us and our friends/family in addition to other clothing, coats, and souvenirs. To this day I will never know how I managed to bring everything I bought back to Sydney in addition to my already full backpack and one-weeks-worth of clothes. I do always love a packing challenge!

With one day left in Ho Chi Minh, we had to take a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels not too far away. These tunnels were the site of many battles between American forces and the Vietcong during the Vietnam war. In addition to getting to see several traps used by the Vietcong and learning about how the Vietcong formed (and survived in) the tunnel system, we got to walk 100m in the tunnels ourselves! Walking so far crouched over in a tunnel with a height of 1.5 meters was not easy, so you can imagine our shock when we got out and learned that the tunnel we went through was made 1.5x larger than the actual tunnels used in order to accommodate tourists.

^ examples of traps used in the Vietnam War

^ A cross-section view of the underground tunnels used by the Vietcong. Traps were set at the entrances and throughout the tunnels in case intruders found their way in. The kitchen was strategically designed so that smoke from a fire would leave through incremental holes making it less visible near the ground. To prevent wild dogs from approaching the smoke and revealing its position, spices were mixed with water and poured around the smoke’s backdoor to scare them away. The tunnels were only built at night as well so as not to draw attention, and all entrances were covered with leaves to blend into the environment.

Between the nature, people, culture, food, and shopping, Vietnam was hands down one of the best trips I had the chance to go on and I can’t wait to return one day. Cheers!

David Bayer

Biomedical Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

[jops08]

Managing Differences

I do not think that I would struggle that much if I ever went back to the Philippines whether as a vacation or to live there. Having a parent from the culture try to raise my brothers and I the best they can while exposing us to traditions and customs from the Philippines. The challenges I would say would be the hardest would be the worldview and nonverbal languages. I am not so involved in the church anymore and Catholicism is important in the culture so there will be times that I may find it difficult on certain topics. Nonverbal language in the Philippines is something I tried getting use to because of my mom but it caused communication errors. One thing I can do today is learn about the host culture. I can go call my mom and gather the best tips to prepare myself or I can go on YouTube and listen to other people’s experiences within the country.  

I think the advice and the lessons the book informs us of are noble pursuits when it comes to experiencing another culture other than our own. Respect others, seek commonalities, and recognize & respect cultural differences these are all good lessons when we are trying to experience someone from another culture or entering a different country. I think internalizing these beliefs now can help me be a better person all around when it comes to my future intercultural interactions. Having internal respect and seeking common ground with another person can only better myself but also my communication with other people. Looking into the cultural differences and finding ways to appreciate them. I can find commonalities in other cultures that can make me feel more comfortable but also at ease any doubts that I may have about struggling in the culture. Overall, I think these traits can help me better understand someone from another culutre but it can also help me be a better person in the end because these are good traits to practice universally across all the people you may meet.  

One thing I can do now is investigate any clubs that the University of Idaho may have. I know there is an AAPI (Asian American & Pacific Islander) club that holds events regularly events throughout the academic year. Some of the events are revolve around Asian or pacific islander holidays such as Vietnamese new year or lantern festival. Joining the club may get me closer to meeting someone from the culture which can enrich and expand my knowledge of the culture. Another way for me to better understand the culture is also going to the University of Idaho library and looking up any literature on the Philippines. Looking into books or magazines is a useful resource for learning about the country but also learning the author’s perspective about their time in the country. Finally, I am very much a visual person when it comes to learning about certain topics so looking into documentaries or historical programs about the country may help me expand my knowledge on the culture and the country.  

[southeastasiadiary]

Day Eleven, Part Two: A Day of War and Art in Ho Chi Minh City

As some of you know, my trip to Southeast Asia was originally supposed to have gone from September 6-28, 2023, with arrangements made by an entirely different company from the company I ended up using. But on May 24, that itinerary was suddenly cancelled “for operational reasons” (whatever that means). At first, I was furious. But, on the principle of making lemonade out of lemons, I worked with a new company (VietnamStay) to develop an even better itinerary: more suited to my personal taste, and including some days in Laos (which was omitted by the first company). No longer a group tour, I would now have a solo tour and a guaranteed departure date.

One big difference between the two itineraries was that the original trip was supposed to start in Ho Chi Minh City, not Hanoi. So, just as I went to the Thang Long Water Puppet Show on the day after my arrival on this trip as a way of doing something light and fun while I was still jet-lagged, originally I was going to attend something called the A O Show at the Saigon Opera House. It was described as a combination of Vietnamese culture and acrobatics, sort of a “Cirque du Saigon.”

Well, yesterday, as we passed the opera house, I went in and bought a ticket for tonight’s performance of the A O Show.

I arrived early (when am I never not early?), and so got a brief tour of the opera house itself. It currently has 468 seats

and was built largely of materials imported from France.

Like the Hoi An Memories Show, it was forbidden to take photos or movies during the performance, but you can get some sense of the A O Show from this YouTube video:

[hong-kong-art-man]

“The Need For Exposure To A New Way Of Culture Abroad?” Brilliant Nominee For Emmy & Grammy Music Awards From Hong Kong—Jason Wu(胡奕男)

 I agree with what English author Terry Pratcheff said, “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And, the people see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”

I encourage a young man to travel. If possible, he should also work for a while in a foreign country. He can understand, take a special interest in and learn from the cultures other than his own. New situations also make him understand himself better. His wisdom and capability will go up exponentially.

For a person working as an artist, the experience of the outside, not simply of the tiny city of Hong Kong, is even more important. Sometimes, you have to leave a place in order to know your new ideas which you want to hold on tight when you come back.

We often get used to the things around us. The ways that we spent mowing in our familiar lawn made us forget what a new thing should be. The strange memories of a foreign place always reside in the soul of an artist. Loafing in the lonely shadows of a tranquil sunset, pausing to gaze at some ruined old houses and pondering at an empty home to decide if we want kebabs or tortillas for dinner will make us remember fondly the life that we have gone through in a foreign place. The memories can become the treasure of our inspirations.

Jason Wu (胡奕男), born in 1993, known professionally as ‘Rabitt’, is the son of my friend Cynthia. This guy is pleasant as much as pleasurable, willing to share and listen. I guess he is a workaholic too and has no time for things other than music. He was raised in Hong Kong. He loves music and was the nominee for the internationally renowned Emmy Awards and Grammy Awards. After obtaining a degree from Berklee College of Music, Boston, his mentor Kara DioGuardi helped him go to Los Angeles to work there.

Jason leaned back in a Vietnamese coffee shop in Pacific Place, “Wow! Time flies! I have had my overseas music production career for more than 10 years! I still feel I am a part of Hong Kong.” I asked, “Why did you decide to stay in America?” Jason said, “Ideally, young people should gain the experience of working in another country. It is useful to have a different cultural exposure. For example, in America, I learnt a great deal about hip hop. If I am not mistaken, the creation of hip hop comes from African Americans. It is marvellously one of the purest forms of self-expression. People resonate with this music because when they hear great hip hop, their heart can really feel the message that the artist wants to portray; whether it is about attitudes, struggles or social commentary. It is hard to hear great hip hop and not bop your head to the beat! If I come back to Hong Kong one day, the music will let me inspire other music people here.”

I asked, “Given that you have learnt music in USA, if you were asked to improve the style of Cantopop in Hong Kong, how would you do it? Some here claimed that Cantopop is being outdated.” Jason smiled, “I may be very wrong as I have been away for a long while. Cantopop would be better if it could get rid of the old ways and move towards what the young people are now really excited about. Pop music should be dictated by the young. We have to tap into the minds of the young guys here and then provide the good resources and incubating environment for their ideas to thrive. It is the way to push pop music forward in America. The most music-forward-thinking places, like America, the UK, Korea and Japan, have been focusing on cultivating creative ideas, cultures and people for decades. Success does not just come from a few rounds of wabbling. I think when answering your question, it is important not just to ask what music that Hong Kong can make at this point, but also to pay attention to the inception process of creative cultures in Hong Kong. Great pop music scene must be the result of a long series of incubations.”

I said, “You worked with great international music stars like Andy Grammar, Kiiara, Eric Nam, Charlotte Lawrence, Alvaro Soler, Ingrid Andress, King & Prince…How would you feel?” Jason gave me a quick answer, “I am honoured. It is always part of a great singer’s quality to be charming and these good stars always have something, musically or interactionally, that just makes you love them. It is just that little bit more! I do believe that some people are born for music business.”

I was curious, “How would you see music and culture?” Jason thought about it, “Culture is a broad thing that encompasses contrasting human beliefs, values, norms and behaviours. This is why young people will need to go out of the comfort zone of Hong Kong and try to come into contact with people from different backgrounds especially interesting walks of life. We, in the industry, honour cultural diversity with music. This is why music style matters.” I raised my hand in salute. He continued, “Having had the privilege to travel the world to make music with American, European, Japanese and Korean artists, I must say ‘enlightenment’ is my gain. It is absolutely true that different people and countries have different cultures of creating music. Even in the US alone, sessions in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta or New York all have their own music cultures. Let me give you an example: Los Angeles sessions are often pop oriented. Ha, we start at 1 p.m., come up with a lyrical concept, produce a track and finish the day with one song. In Nashville, people start at 10 a.m., and discuss heavily the lyrics and melody, usually ‘writing’ only on a guitar. In Atlanta, sessions are often hip-hop based. Producer likes to run through a folder of tracks and the top liners in the room will then assess which they are fond of before jumping on the microphone and creating the free style melodies and lyrics. All these are to say that in all popular music hubs around the US, they all have their own distinct way of doing things reflecting their unique culture. I was shaped by the culture that I encountered. The more cultures that we can absorb, the greater music we can produce.”

Lovely gathering is quicker than the wink of an eye. Jason had to leave Hong Kong for America soon. I asked him finally, “When will you come back again?” Jason stared at me helplessly, “I have too much work in the USA. I love Hong Kong. My parents are here. The last time that I came back was several years ago. I sincerely wish to help the young people in Hong Kong who would like to find a career in music. Do let me know! But, I would advise them to put up their original and creative music online first to attract attention. It is the easy and inexpensive way to let people all over the world know how good you are. Don’t do it once in a blue moon. Do it regularly so that you can build up enough music credentials for the experts in the music industry to pick you up!”

Aggressiveness is the presentiment of our inner abilities. Hong Kong is clearly too small. Our future leaders will be those young men and women like Jason Wu who are ready to learn the outside world. When we can have a group of these talents coming back to Hong Kong one day to serve, these forerunners will be our city’s ultimate re-engineering machines!

Maurice Lee

Chinese Version 中文版: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mei-guo-emmyji-80047794?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Eric Nam - I Don't Know You Anymore (Composer: Jason Wu)  https://youtu.be/GHJyfokY5Dw  Acknowledgement-Eric Nam

Alvaro Soler - Loca (Composer: Jason Wu)   https://youtu.be/WPvOxZrVey0  Acknowledgement – Alvaro Soler

Andy Grammer -  She'd Say (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (Composer: Jason Wu)  https://youtu.be/MALzZRxr94g  Acknowledgement-Andy Grammer

RABITT MAKES BEATS episode 4 (Tutorial) – Jason Wu   https://youtu.be/teHZry4KGRw  Acknowledgement-Rabitt

[cyarskj1899]

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Documentary

Boys in Blue: a high school football team grapples with race, police and violence

Andrew Lawrence

@by_drewSat 7 Jan 2023 02.11 EST

When George Floyd was unlawfully killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, the moment hit home with Peter Berg. Before the 58-year-old New Yorker turned Angeleno was a distinguished film-maker, Berg was a theater major at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota. He had long had fond memories of that late-80s heyday – back when the Twin Cities were famous for compassion, low crime rates and artistic revolution.

It was a special time. “Purple Rain had just come out,” Berg recalls. “There was a famous nightclub in Minneapolis called First Avenue. We would go there twice a week and see Prince, the Time or Alexander O’Neal. There was this diverse musical phenomenon happening when I was there, and my memories are of people getting along really well – Black, white, Hispanic, Vietnamese. It was very disorienting to see George Floyd brutally killed in a place I remember so differently.”

Keen to understand why and how the Twin Cities community changed, Berg found himself looking for answers in sports, a comfort zone he’s made his own like few in Hollywood – turning high school football bestseller Friday Night Lights into a mammoth on-screen franchise, producing and acting in the HBO dramedy Ballers and launching ESPN’s 30 for 30 docuseries with a look back on the NHL trade that sent hockey great Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. When Berg read a New York Times article about a Minneapolis high school set in the shadow where Floyd was killed that had a football team coached by cops, he knew that was where he had to be. “I sensed that there was something unique and special going on in the community.”

Under his Film 45 production company label, he marshaled a film crew to spend the 2021 season embedding at Minneapolis North. Unsurprisingly, the school community – with its hard scars from neighborhood and police violence – was suspicious of the cameras at first. Bit by bit, Berg & crew had to win them over. “We spoke to Black and white police officers coaching at the high school, spoke to the families, spoke to the kids and said, ‘Look, our goal was to go in there and observe what is happening and try and create a little bit of separation from the binary opinions that are surrounding these issues.’ We have no idea how it’s going to end.’”

The result is Boys in Blue, a four-part series that debuts this week on Showtime in the US. And at first glance, it’s tough not to miss the visual and tonal echoes to Netflix’s Last Chance U. But where that docuseries homes in on the fallen football stars seeking redemption in junior college and the week-to-week prospects of their team, Boys in Blue’s focus is much broader. It not only places those personal stories within the context of a crime-addled city at the center of the defund movement, the individual characters are vastly more textured.

The players are virtually babies, the core contributors just high school sophomores – forced to grow up too fast; the most tender moments are the ones when they can just be kids. The coaches wear two uniforms, and the professional one makes some kids fundamentally uncomfortable. While the Twin Cities’ liberal white protesters grapple with police in the streets and call for their abolition, Minneapolis North players fret for their coaches’ safety and job security on the sideline. If a ballot measure that proposes to replace the police with a more nuanced public safety department passes, Minneapolis North’s coaches would be forced to find new jobs that might not offer the same flexibility for football.

Anchoring the series is the relationship between offensive coordinator Rick Plunkett and quarterback Deshaun Hill Jr – one, a Minneapolis beat cop; the other, an incredibly police-dubious 15-year-old who’s lost loved ones to violence of all stripes. It’s a layer of complexity beyond the typical play designer-triggerman dynamic, and it makes their journey to develop trust in each other that much more compelling. But once Hill discovers that Adams isn’t that much different from him, a neighborhood kid who went into policing to actually serve and protect, Hill comes around. And once they’re on the same page, Minneapolis North rounds into a scoring juggernaut with a real chance at playing in a state championship in the home stadium of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings before college scouts.

Boys in Blue could easily have tipped into Dick Wolf-grade copaganda. But by maintaining focus on the complete story and withholding judgment all the while, Berg paints the fullest picture of the defund debate yet‚ one that makes it nearly impossible not to have empathy for all sides – even the white assistant coach who grudgingly winds up at the center of his viral video moment with a Black bus rider. “It’s certainly not our goal to tell people what to think,” Berg says. “I don’t believe there are sides in this particular story. There is just what there is.”

But the biggest gut punch comes in episode 4, when Hill is killed by random gunfire while leaving school on an icy February day. The documentary was in the midst of its final shooting week. The night before Berg’s crew had filmed him out on a date with his girlfriend, dreaming about their futures, debating whether to kiss on camera. His teammates and coaches knew it was Hill the moment they saw a shot of the walking boot on his left foot, the byproduct of late-season injury.

The man charged with Hill’s killing – ruled second-degree murder – is expected to go on trial this month. “It obviously traumatized us involved in making the show and re-traumatized people in the community,” says Berg, choking up. “George Floyd was the inciting incident for us coming down there. And then here we are, nine months later, having a memorial for Deshaun in the same auditorium where George Floyd’s memorial was.

“I’ve made scripted films about Navy Seals, police officers and rig workers who have died. I’ve met with their families and gone through the process of trying to respectfully tell their stories. But I’ve never been through anything like this.”

Hill was such a loss – a reticently sweet soul, an honor roll student and NFL aspirant who was just starting to draw recruiting attention from major colleges. Without him, Berg wrestled with how to complete the series. Ultimately, he wound up screening rough cuts for members of the Minnesota North community before delivering a final product to Showtime. It’s an ending Berg never could have imagined – harsh and yet deeply poignant. “There’s no playbook for processing the grief that comes when a 15-year-old boy who hasn’t even begun to hit the prime of his life is just brutally murdered in a nonsensical manner,” Berg says. “I told the crew, ‘It’s gonna take a lot of time, it’s gonna hurt and those emotions had to be honored.’

“But for anyone who’s open to taking a look at the doc, it’s also beautiful to see Deshaun Hill in all of his glory – laughing, scoring touchdowns, kissing his girlfriend, loving his sisters. It’s one of the odd, unpredictable opportunities that documentary film-making gives you to touch something special.”

Boys in Blue is airing on Showtime in the US with a UK release to be announced

Shared via the Google app

Sent from my iPhone

[roundtheworldrambles]

Sapa Mountains, Vietnam

Day 167 – Hanoi to Sapa

View of Sapa Mountains from my Hostel

I boarded my bus in Hanoi to take the 6-hour jour journey northwest into the Sapa Mountains, near the Chinese border.  The further north we went, the mountain roads became progressively windier and more hazardous, with our bus creeping around blind curves in the road, and steep passes as we approached Sapa Town. Finally disembarking from the bus many hours later, I took in the picturesque little town, perched on the side of a wide valley lined with rice terraces. In the distance, hazy green peaks provided a striking backdrop to the town and paddy fields. As I walked towards my hostel for the evening, many hilltribe women dressed traditional garments approached me with countless goods for sale, from handicrafts, food, trekking tours, and hotels. Sapa is known for being a large community of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, with the Hmong and Dao peoples being the most prominent groups in the valley. These hill tribes give Sapa a unique character, as the incredible cultural heritage of these ethnic groups has been well preserved in the area. The intricate textiles and embroidery used in the traditional clothing of these minority tribes could be also seen throughout the town, with different colours and patterns on clothing, signifying which hilltribe a person is a part of.

Wandering through a series of allies and through the Sapa main square, I began to ascend the hill overlooking town towards my hostel as evening was falling. I was fortunate to arrive on a day with good weather, as given the northern location and altitude of the area, the temperature and climate can vary drastically day to day. As I was travelling through Sapa in early March, I was prepared for all sorts of weather – especially as I was planning to go trekking for several days!

Minority Villages in the Valley

The temperature began to drop quickly as the sun set, and I was very thankful for a small block heater in my hostel room. I spent the evening relaxing after my long day of travel, and (surprisingly!) watching the Oscars, which happened to be on television in my tiny hostel room. This was yet another reminder to me, that even though I was so far away from home, of how much global culture we all share.

Day 168 – Hiking in the Sapa Mountains

Rice Paddies in Sapa Valley

I woke up early in the morning and prepared my small pack for the next two days, as I would be hiking through the Sapa Mountains and sleeping overnight at a homestay with a Vietnamese family. Leaving the rest of my belongings in hostel storage, I headed into the Sapa main square, where I navigated my way to Sapa Sisters, a Hmong trekking group entirely owned and run by women. I met up with my guide May, who was high energy, enthusiastic, and over a head shorter than me!  I told her that I was keen on doing a challenging trek off the beaten path, and without missing a beat, she grinned at me and said “well, we better get on our way!”.  My favourite part about this trek is that it was one-on-one, where I was able to spend hours over the following days chatting with May about our lives and cultures. She also made sure that we were Facebook friends almost right away!  

My wonderful guide May showing me the way!

We spent the day climbing along the ridges and through bamboo forests of the Sapa Valley, with hazy mountains in the distance and terraced rice paddies along our route. Along some of the narrow paths, we would occasionally encounter local residents on small scooters, making their way to different ethnic villages clustered throughout the mountains. Periodically we would pass a home or farm, where we would see grazing water buffaloes, and plastic pop bottles filled with petrol for sale – the “gas stations” of the mountains! We stopped for a delicious Vietnamese lunch in one of the villages, before continuing onwards to our Homestay for the evening.

Our Hmong Homestay for the evening

At our Homestay family, I met another young American girl, Megan, who was also doing a solo trek with another guide from Sapa Sisters. Our Homestay family hardly spoke any English, but were immediately kind and hospitable, ensuring we had a delicious homemade meal, and setting us up for the night on mattresses with bug nets in the upstairs loft of the traditional home. While we were not really able to communicate with them, it was fascinating to get a brief look into the life of a family in Sapa. Megan and I spent some time after dinner wandering around the village before crashing for the evening. The loft was fortunately cool and breezy, and provided a perfect place to sleep after a long day of hiking. I was occasionally awakened throughout the night by dogs barking nearby - but was so tired I was almost immediately fell back asleep.

Villages throughout the Sapa Valley

Water Buffalo

Day 169 – Hiking in the Sapa Mountains

…Which was a good thing, as I was awakened by a rooster at the crack of dawn! May and I set out for the final day of our trek as we returned to Sapa. We crossed several large rivers at the bottom of the valley, spanned by long suspension bridges. Hmong villagers used the river to clean their laundry, and I saw a number of families lining the banks, with women washing clothing and children playing in the nearby waters. As we passed through different villages, I could see how the textiles and clothing worn in Sapa vary from village to village, with distinctive patterns and colours worn in different communities.  Mid morning, May bought us two stalks of sugar cane in one of the villages – a mid morning snack to munch on as we walked. We eventually ascended the valley to a village connected to the road back to Sapa, where we tucked in for a well-deserved lunch, before we jumped on the back of two motorcycles back to town, clinging on to the driver for dear life as we wound along the mountainous roads. I arrived back in Sapa in the late afternoon, and sadly bid goodbye to my terrific guide May. I wandered though the town streets and back to my hostel for the evening, where I grabbed a quick dinner, then crashed for the evening.

Day 170 – Sapa Mountains to Hanoi

I set off early in the morning from Sapa for a long day of travel – hopping on a 6 hour sleeper bus ride back from Sapa to Hanoi. A powerful thunderstorm was rolling through the mountains as I left, with mist and clouds rolling over the mountains surrounding town. Soaking wet in mere minutes, I briefly struggled to locate my pickup point, as there was no traditional terminal, and just an address that was provided for pick-up. These addresses could be a hotel, store or supermarket!, and very little signage was available to confirm that you were in the right place. Fortunately there were a few other people clearly heading back to Hanoi, so between all of us, we were finally able to figure it out! This was a bit of an interesting travel day, as there was no bathroom on the bus, and only a single stop, which I had the bad fortune of sleeping through! (Long story short, I had to pee in my Nalgene – and was very thankful for the curtains in the sleeper bunks!).

I returned to the old Quarter of Hanoi in mid afternoon, and returned to the same hostel. I set out in search of a classic bánh mì sandwich. In Vietnam, a bánh mì is a baguette cut down the middle with typical ingredients such as pork sausage or pâté, cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrot, red chili, and mayo. The use of a baguette was introduced over 100 years ago during the French colonial period, and combined with traditional Vietnamese ingredients, turned the banh mi sandwich into a popular street food. I wandered around the old Quarter afterwards, poking into art stores, before heading back to my hostel for the evening, prepping for an early morning pick-up the following morning to visit Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island for the next 3 days.  My friends Kevin and Liane had visited Vietnam a few years earlier and connected me with a tour group that came highly recommended, complete with one night on a junk boat, and one night on Monkey Island just off Cat Ba.

[hadesisqueer]

This. I do agree with the point that interacial relationships in media are almost always a POC person and a white person and I wish there was more representation of POC couples and specifically interacial relationships in which both characters are POC (example: Fatou and Kieu My from Druck, which is a sapphic interacial relationship between a Black lesbian and a Vietnamese bisexual girl. Amazing). And I do agree that several of those relationships in media are, again, fetishized.

However, lately I've been seeing people from all races talking about interacial relationships in general in a bad manner or judging real people for being in them and it's like. Wow. We are really doing this. I understand, mostly for POC, the thing about wanting to date someone your same ethnicity or nationality, since you'll share experiences and may be able to relate to each other more. However, that doesn't mean interacial relationships have to be worse or toxic? A good bunch of my relatives, including my sister, are in healthy relationships with someone from a different ethnicity; in her case, also a different religion, since she's Catholic and he's Muslim. People can be respectful of others' differences and cultures. And real people can date whoever they want, too, regardless of gender or ethnicity and other people (like this guy who tried to be so woke he ended up sounding bigoted) simply don't get to judge them over that.

Can't believe someone irl just tried to explain to me in a "woke" way that interracial relationships are bad. And it wasn't even with the argument that interracial relationships in media often always have to include a white person and that sometimes it's fetishized. He was judging a irl couple???

[writingwithcolor]

Blending Mythos Respectfully

@sapphicq submitted:

Hi all! I’m trying to write an urban fantasy that explores oppression in a world that is basically the same as ours, except with magic, while incorporating magical systems and mythologies of multiple cultures. I’ve done an okay amount of research on each one that I’d like to include (still need to do more for sure, especially considering how colonization has effected mythologies). However, I’m struggling a bit on how they should coexist, since in the world I’m writing about they’re present and tangible. One example of this is fox spirits in East Asian mythology. Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese mythologies each have a nine-tailed fox, and though my research says that the myth originates from Chinese mythology, it also says that each of the fox spirits carry different connotations of malevolence, benevolence, and how widespread they are, depending on which culture’s mythology is being referred to. 

The same sort of thing has been popping up quite a lot in a lot of my research. I started to wonder if I could explain these similarities within world as “different cultures have come up with different names and customs surrounding the ‘same’ thing,” considering mythology in the real world from an anthropological perspective. However I don’t want to overgeneralize, especially considering that these different mythological figures are meant to be present and tangible. If I went that route, I wouldn’t want to say something like ‘actually, benevolent fox spirits do exist, and Korean mythology about fox spirits is wrong since Kumiho are pretty strictly malevolent,’ which would obviously be an implication. All this to say: do you have any tips for multiple mythos coexisting in a way that respects the various cultures they come from?

Avoid Round Pegs in Square Holes

A mistake you sometimes see Western authors make when dealing with mythology in urban fantasy settings is to confine the universe’s worldbuilding to a particular mythology or force the rules of a single culture’s folklore onto other cultures. For instance, here at WWC, we get a lot of questions asking how to represent supernatural creatures from multiple cultures respectfully alongside fae from Western Europe, and it's fairly obvious that the author plans to treat all supernatural creatures as fae. Urban fantasy based on Greek mythology or Christian mythology often falls into the same trap. 

I think a writer can demonstrate greater creativity by embracing these differences. I think a potential way to deal with contradicting mythos between cultures is to come up with compelling reasons why differences exist. What world-building systems, philosophies and real-life phenomena allow for a framework that explains the simultaneous existence of commonalities and differences? As you know, in anthropology, there are theories that emphasize cultural diffusion as a way to explain similar customs within the same region, but there are also theories that hold that multiple cultures can develop the same traditions and principles independent of each other (See: existence of 0, lost-wax bronze casting, astronomical calendars and the use of wheels). The answers I’ve given are mostly technological. However myths and belief systems serve very real social functions as ways to keep people together and cultivate norms and mores. Lesya expands on the utility of intentional cultural diffusion below.

Similarly, within evolution, there are instances of species having common features because of a shared ancestor, but also instances where species without shared ancestors evolve to have similar features because they exist in the same environment. I believe flippers are examples of both types of evolution in marine animals.  Thus, I think you need to question your assumption that “different cultures have come up with different names and customs surrounding the ‘same’ thing.” As the world is daily proof, they sometimes do, but they also sometimes don’t. 

-Marika

First, props to you for sending us this ask. You have been thinking about this a lot and have done research into building an urban fantasy that doesn’t do the thing of putting all Asians under one umbrella. 

Second, I’m going to agree with Marika here. Rather than go for the generalization route, revel in everyone's differences. It's a way for you to acknowledge the variations in the mythology, that not all have the same origins though there may be some similarities. Instead, they may have reached the same conclusions. My advice for blending mythologies is to lean into it, and not create a homogeneous umbrella. You can make something amazing with that. 

-Jaya

Hybridity Through Diffusion

So a myth originated in China. This does not mean Chinese tellings have the monopoly on what a telling is. Marika and Jaya have gone into a possible solution, here, but what I’m going to examine here is a mental framework that a lot of people get stuck in that is actually ahistorical.

Cultural appropriation as we know it is shockingly recent when it comes to history. In the modern day, ownership boundaries of myths have become very strict because of primarily European colonialism picking and choosing everything it likes about a mythos, and, this is important: not letting up on the oppression of those peoples. There’s also a strong preference to kill those colonialism deems “wrong”, instead of creating a hybrid culture.

Historically, this got a lot more fluid.

What happened historically was primarily cultural diffusion, wherein open trade, intermarriage, and shared borders made it that myths, customs, and cultural practices were (mostly) freely exchanged without massive power imbalances happening, and then modified to fit local beliefs.

Key word: mostly. Because yes sometimes it happened that one place took over another place and imported all of its customs (see: China, Rome, the Mughals), but… often* the ruling power either backed off, was fought of, or otherwise left the region, leaving the common people to do whatever they wanted with the carcass of what had been imposed on them. Or sometimes, even, the imperial forces would actively create a hybridized culture in order to better rule others.

* in places where the ruling power has NOT backed off on oppression and assimilation, even if the colonialism is very old, then this is invalid and the power dynamics of appropriation are still at play.

Because, historically, there was a lot less incentive to simply genocide the peoples you took over (which is what made armies that did destroy all they took over so noteworthy). People were needed to keep providing food and materials, even if the new person got the resulting taxes. 

This meant there were a lot more common people to play with the stuff imported by the imperial culture. And there was a lot more incentive to hybridize your customs to the common people’s customs, leading to the sometimes-hilarious situations like “Rome assigns an equivalence in their pantheon for literally every mythology they encountered, which was a lot.” 

This also explains early Christianization, because it was a lot safer to simply adapt what you already had to make it better for your own ends than curbstomp everything that was “wrong” to your worldview. Ireland’s mythology survives in huge swaths, because it was either Christianized wholesale, or it was about “historical humans” and not fae. Norse mythology was similarly adapted for Christian worldviews, which means we unfortunately have no idea what the pre-Christian myths were.

So instead of thinking in terms of ownership, think instead in terms of diffusion. 

Myths get imported along with food, cloth, or anything else necessary for life. Myths were, historically, a way for people to explain the world around them, both in place of and alongside science. “Ghost marches” are really common, globally, because if you have wind howling in the forest, it’s going to sound like predators, and predators mean go inside and lock the door. Weaving goddesses are also common, because weaving was so necessary to survive the elements.

Sometimes trade relationships soured, and you get bad associations with the imported stuff. Sometimes the relationship stayed great for long enough it got completely adapted. This doesn’t mean any one myth is “right”, nor does it mean you have to erase historical trade links. It just means you look at the historical context, understand that cultural exchange often used to be a lot more two-way than it is in modern appropriation times, and figure out what that means for your worldbuilding.

~ Mod Lesya

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Writing Chinese characters set within Western worlds

If you don’t want to read it on tumblr, go check this out on medium or go follow me on instagram at @annessarose_writes!

Alright. You know what. I’ve seen plenty of stereotypes in fiction (and in social media) that are so incredibly pervasive I’ve seen many Chinese people within the western world internalize it themselves. So here’s a rough guide on writing Chinese characters in an English-speaking Western setting, written by me, a Chinese Canadian woman.

If you’re here to say something racist fuck off. Otherwise, welcome! This is not a comprehensive guide by any means. This is merely a brief overview based on my own experiences. My experience (as someone in North America) will differ from someone living in, say, Europe or South America. I’m not representative of every Chinese person because everyone’s experience is unique. So here were are.

1. Our names

Chinese names are usually written as follows: [family name] [name]. Let’s take a Canadian historical figure as an example: 黃寬先. In Chinese, it’s pronounced “Wong Foon Sien.” On Canadian documents — which are written [First name] [Last name], he’d be called “Foon Sien Wong.” He went by “Foon Sien” for most of his life. That’s his full “first name.” Nobody would call him Foon because that’s just half of his name (unless given permission). It’d be like meeting a stranger called Alex and calling them “Al” right off the bat. Sure, they could go by Al, but you don’t know that.

For those of us living in the Western world, some of us have both a Chinese name and an English name. In these cases, our Chinese name becomes our middle name in English (e.g. a character could be called John Heen-Gwong Lee).

For some people who immigrated to the Western world but were born in China, their legal name would be their Chinese name. Some choose to keep that name. Some choose an English name as their “preferred” name but keep their Chinese name on legal documents. It varies.

2. Parents & Stereotypes

There’s two stereotypes which are so pervasive I see it being used over and over in jokes even within Chinese (and, to a larger extent, asian) communities:

The [abusive] tiger mom and the meek/absent dad

Both parents are unreasonably strict/abusive and they suck

I have yet to see any fiction stories with Chinese parents where they’re depicted as kind/loving/supportive/understanding (if you have recommendations — please do send them my way). Not all Chinese parents are tiger parents. Chinese parents — like all parents — are human. Good god. YES, they’re human! YES, they have flaws! YES, they are influenced by the culture they grew up in!

That isn’t to say there aren’t parents like those tropes. There are. I know this because I grew up in a predominantly Chinese community where I had many a friend’s parent who was like this. Parents who compare their kids to the best kid in class. Parents who force kids into private lessons and competitions that the kid despises because the parents think it’s for the best. Parents who have literally called their kid a disappointment because they didn’t get 100%.

But please, also consider: there’s parents who support their child’s goals and who listen. Not all parents force their kid into the stereotypical trifecta of lawyer/doctor/engineer — I know of a good number who support their child in choosing the path they want. There’s parents who make mistakes and learn and try their best to support their child. So please, for the love of god, if you write a Chinese character, don’t reduce their parents to stereotypes.

3. Language & Learning

When I first read The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, I was so excited to see a Chinese Canadian character in Frank Zhang. Finally, there was someone like me. Finally, there was representation in well-known western media.

While I do appreciate that RR added in Frank Zhang, it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t really know how to write a Chinese Canadian character. One of the most glaring examples: in The Son of Neptune, Frank reveals he can’t really read Chinese. In like, the next book (I think — it’s been a while since I read it), Frank is suddenly able to read Chinese because he “learned” it in two week’s time.

Nope. Nuh-uh. Learning Chinese is a pain, let me tell you. There’s thousands of different characters and it is something you need to devote a lot of time to learning (especially if you’re progressed past the best childhood years for learning a language). So if you’re writing about a Chinese character living in the western world, here’s what you need to know:

A character who was born and raised in the western world does not necessarily know how to read/write in Chinese.

If they were raised by their own family, the character would very likely know how to speak their own dialect. They’d be able to understand the language used in movies/TV and they sound like a native speaker, but they may not know how to use language outside of certain contexts (the term for this is heritage speaker).

They probably went to Chinese school. They probably hated it. Chinese school is usually universally hated and does not teach you jack shit other than a hatred for the place and a vague memory of learning how to read the language without actually retaining knowledge of what you learned.

Most of my friends who know how to read/write in Chinese learned from tutors, parents, or were born in China.

There’s two main types of written Chinese: Traditional (used by Cantonese speakers) and Simplified (used by Mandarin speakers).

There are MANY other dialects (which I don’t know much about). The most common ones are Mandarin (usually spoken by people from the mainland), then Cantonese (usually spoken by people from Hong Kong).

4. Fitting into the community

Usually, the story is one of two things: they’re the only Asian kid in the entire school, or they grew up in a predominantly East Asian community. Things to consider for both of these when you’re writing:

Growing up the only Asian kid

They’re “that Asian kid.” They’re different. They walk into a class and feel weird and out of place.

They bring food from home (usually ethnic cuisine) to school. Other classmates stare at it, make fun of it, demand what that strange food is.

“Where are you from?” “Here.” “No, like, where are you really from?”

“Your name is funny.”

People literally never getting the character’s name right.

And that horrible, horrible feeling: wishing that they were white so they could avoid all of this.

Growing up in a predominantly East Asian community

It’s not uncommon for Chinese cuisine to mix with other east Asian cuisines. For special occasions (or just for a casual night out), your character could very well go out to get some sushi, or go for some KBBQ, or get some Vietnamese noodles.

Screaming “AIYAA” at/with their friends unironically if they’re annoyed (I’ve done this a lot with Cantonese friends. Less so with Mandarin friends).

Slipping into Chinese for like, two words, during a mostly-English conversation to talk about food or some other topic that can’t be adequately conveyed in English.

Reading books by white authors and learning about white history and growing up thinking white names, white books, and white history is the norm and standard even though the community is surrounded by East Asian people.

When the character leaves this community, there’s a brief culture shock when they realize how sheltered they’ve been.

Things in common for both of these:

The character has grown up on ethnic cuisine. Yes, Chinese people do eat rice with many of our meals. Yes, boba (bubble) tea is extremely popular. No, rice isn’t the only thing we eat. No, not all Chinese people love boba (though as a Chinese person I admit this sounds sacrilegious to say…)

The character likely grew up watching film/TVthat originates from East Asia. It’s not uncommon to watch Studio Ghibli films. It’s not uncommon to watch Japanese or Korean shows with canto/mando dub (examples: Ultraman, Kamen Rider). If you want to see a classic Chinese film from Hong Kong that’s fucking hilarious, watch Kung Fu Hustle.

The character has felt or been told that they’re “too westernized to be Chinese, but too Chinese to fit into the western world.” They’re torn between the two.

5. General portrayal

It’s quite simple, really. We’re human. We’re regular people. We have regular hobbies like all people do. We’re good at some subjects and bad at others. We have likes and dislikes like all people do. So here’s a list of stereotypes you can avoid.

STEREOTYPES TO AVOID BECAUSE WE’RE REGULAR HUMANS AND WE DON’T FIT INTO A SINGLE COOKIE CUTTER SHAPE, DAMMIT.

The character is a maths whiz and perfect at all things STEM.

The character is a straight-A+ gifted/IB/AP student.

The character is the next coming of Mozart and is amazing at piano/violin.

The character’s free time is spent only studying.

The character is insanely good at martial arts.

The character is either meek and submissive or an explosive, dangerous force.

I’m not going to mention the other stereotypes. You know, those ones. The really obvious ones that make fun of and demonize (sometimes through multiple untruths) how we look and how we live our lives. You should know.

Of course, there are people who fit into one or more of these. That’s not the point. The point is: molding all Chinese characters to these stereotypes (which white media tends to do) is harmful and reductionist. We’re more than stereotypes.

—

6. Conclusion

We need more diversity in portrayal of Chinese characters. Reducing us into one-dimensional caricatures has done nothing but harm us — look at what’s happening now. This guide is by no means comprehensive, but I hope it has helped you by providing a quick overview.

If you want to accurately portray Chinese characters, do your research. Read Chinese fiction. Watch Chinese films/TV. Initiate a conversation with the community. Portray us accurately. Quit turning us into caricatures.

[kazemon15]

Marinette, biracial and whitewashing

Okay, I have been seeing a lot of posts about Marinette Dupain-Cheng from the Miraculous Ladybug series. For those who don't know, Marinette is Half Chinese/Half French-Italian.

She has blue hair and blue eyes, so she looks more "white" than Chinese, but does still have some Asian features to her, albeit subtle. I have been seeing a lot of posts saying she is "whitewashed."

I want to address this because, like Marinette, I am also half Asian, and like Marinette, I have more prominent white features than Asian ones. I am half Vietnamese/Half Scottish-Irish.

I have light brown hair with red highlights due to my Irish side, light brown eyes and look more white than Vietnamese except for subtle Asian features, like straight hair and slightly slanted eyes.

I'm going to break this post up and address each issue.

Issue 1: "Marinette is white washed because she has blue eyes and blue hair! She looks white! Why couldn't they have given her brown eyes and black hair?!"

Okay...

For one thing, that isn't how genetics work. Even if one "gene" is more dominate than the other doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Like I said before, I have RED HIGHLIGHTS in my hair. When I'm in the sun, my hair in a certain angle looks red as heck. It doesn't mean I am any less biracial. I look more like my mom than my dad, who happens to be white.

I have a friend who is half white and half Mexican. She's as white as can be with dirty blonde hair and light HAZEL eyes. I didn't even know she was biracial until I met her mom, who happened to be so dark skinned, I thought she was black, with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Biracial people can look exclusively white. If you don't believe me, look at Keanu Reeves. He's half Chinese and sure doesn't look like it! So yes. It is possible. I will also link some pictures of my family under a cut if no one believes me.

I also want to point out the hypocrisy of this statement. Anime. How many times have we seen anime characters with blonde hair and blue eyes? Yet no one seems to claim those characters are "whitewashed" and they have less chance of getting those features than a biracial person does!

People claim "that's different, it's a stylized choice" ...well, guess what. So is Marinette's blue hair. You can't say one thing for a media and then deny that for another. It's called being a hypocrite. It's even mentioned that Marinette's hair is actually a stylized black and serves as a homage to that kind of style in old comics.

At least Marinette has more chance of having blue eyes than Japanese anime characters, because, you know...she's BIRACIAL.

Issue 2: "Marinette doesn't know her Chinese culture or language/Sabine is a bad parent for not teaching her/She's whitewashed because she doesn't know her other half culture!"

It may come to a surprise to people, but this actually happens a lot. I don't know a lick of Vietnamese or about Vietnamese culture because my dad wanted it that way. He wanted me to fit in, so he never taught me any of it. Does that make him a bad parent? No, it doesn't. He was a great dad (he's long passed now), and I find it insulting that someone who thinks they don't teach their children about their culture is a bad parent. How about appreciating Marinette has kind and loving and supportive parents instead?

Issue 3: "Why make her biracial then if they are just going to whitewash her? What about representation?!"

Yeah... representation. It's still happening. I'm the one being represented. Someone who is biracial who looks white and doesn't know about her culture. Me. And I'm sure many others like it. Just because her "Asian" side isn't being represented as much, doesn't mean she isn't representing.

Issue 4: "Biracial people should look more like their non-white side than white side or else it's whitewashing! Miraculous writers are racist, because they are white!"

As I addressed before...looking exclusively white doesn't make biracial people any less biracial. By saying this and getting offended by "white-looking Marinette", you're basically telling people who look like Marinette that we don't exist or shouldn't exist.

You are invalidating our existence and that, in turn, actually makes you the racist. Being "white" isn't racist. It's just the way people are born. In a time where white supremacy is going around, it's hard to forget that white people can be the object of racism from other communities. It has happened to me A LOT.

Asians are actually EXTREMELY racist at times. I often went to the Asian market to get Asian food with my dad and Chinese friend. Because I was the only "white-looking" person there, I would get stares and whispers from the Asian Community. I have been told I don't "look Asian enough", so I have no say or opinion in how I feel about an Asian issue that involves me, just because I look "white."

ANY race can get racism directed at them, even white people. It's just not as often heard of because "white privilege" or something along those lines. Yes, white privilege exists, but it isn't always prominent. Sometimes white people are the ones who are setup by a minority and those quick to defend a minority will often believe the non-white person over the white person. It does happen.

That is all I have to say on this issue. Thank you all for reading. And as I said, here are some pictures of me and my family, further proving my claim that white looking Asian people do exist.