New year, re-visiting old haunts

The year of our Lord Two-Thousand and Twenty-Four is the Year of the Dragon. According to the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is a symbol of power and authority. The personality traits of a person born in the year of the dragon are charismatic, intelligent, confident, and they are naturally lucky and gifted. If you are a believer, then this year will bring prosperity and good fortune. 

I believe this year will be one of serendipity and wellbeing. I'm especially hopeful after how hard and heartbreaking 2023 ended ("roller coaster" -- that was 2023, but more on that later). I'm looking at this coming year the way a boxer might look at their next fight after taking a beating during the last one: I'm tired but want to go at it again.

As for this little space (does anyone even blog anymore?); no posts in 2022 or 2023. I've been busy, distracted, pulled in another direction (more on that, too, later). But something told me to come back here, to open this door and look inside.  

Perhaps it's time to pick up where I last left off...     

We are watching

Thank you, Daniel (#StopAsianHate)

Stand with us (#StopAsianHate)

Friends & Allies,

Stand with us in grief, awareness and solidarity. (And add your name to the community statement here):

Excerpt from A Community-Centered Response to Violence Against Asian American Communities; Asian Americans Advancing Justice/Atlanta & Georgia NAACP; March 18, 2021

"For centuries, our communities have been frequently scapegoated for issues perpetuated by sexism, xenophobia, capitalism and colonialism. Asians were brought to the United States to boost the supply of labor and keep wages low, while being silenced by discriminatory laws and policies. From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the forced migration of refugees from US-led military conflict in Southeast Asia, to post-9/11 surveillance targeting Muslim and South Asian communities, to ICE raids on Southeast Asian communities and Asian-owned businesses, Asian American communities have been under attack by white supremacy.

Working class communities of color are disproportionately suffering from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s relentless scapegoating of Asians for the pandemic has only exacerbated the impact of Asian business owners and frontline workers and inflamed existing racism. The hyper-sexualization of Asian American women and the broad normalization of violence against women of color, immigrant women, and poor women make Asian American women particularly vulnerable. Hate incidents against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150% in 2020, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted.

We are calling on our allies to stand with us in grief and solidarity against systemic racism and gender-based violence. Violence against Asian American communities is part of a larger system of violence and racism against all communities of color, including Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.

In this time of crisis, let’s come together and build just communities, where we are all safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and where all our loved ones thrive."

Thank you, Michael (#StopAsianHate)

From filmmaker, activist and ally Michael Moore:

"For well over 24 hours we’ve had to listen to white media and white law enforcement tell us they can’t for sure call the Georgia massacre of Asian women at three Asian-American businesses a 'hate crime.' Do the cops and cable news think we’re that stupid? They also won’t just say these words: 'It’s a mass murder of women.'

If a white Christian man went into a Black business and killed mostly Black people, what would you call that? Or six Jewish women are slaughtered in a kosher deli? Or 8 lesbians slaughtered in a gay bar? 'We’ll need to do more investigation before we determine if this is a hate crime. The suspect has told us his murder spree had nothing to do with the fact they were lesbians/Jews/Blacks. He basically was just having a bad day.' So they take the word of a mass murderer over what their and our own eyes actually see! 'Well, he said he wasn’t motivated by racism.' Unbelievable. Once again, we are shown, if you’re white (and not too poor), you can just make shit up and the police will believe you. They’ll even take you to Burger King (white mass murderer at the Black church in Charleston), or offer you a bottle of water and let you go (Kenosha killer) when your hands are raised and you’re trying to turn yourself in.

Do you wonder what it’s like to be an Asian-American this morning — 'my own country and its police and its media will not even acknowledge my existence or the existence of racism and violence against me. Will anyone stand with me?'

Will we? Will you, cable news? Can you just straight up say what this is? A hate crime against Asians and women? SAY IT!

And will someone please explain to me why every time they arrest one of these sick white men for murder, the cops never pull their guns and shoot them like they do innocent unarmed Black men who have done nothing wrong (other than being born Black) and are just walking home? 'Shoot Blacks first, ask questions later' is the motto of American law enforcement.

(P.S. I long for the day when we have a media not owned and/or run by nearly all white men. In fact, I long for the day when the media isn’t owned at all, where profit isn’t the primary purpose of its existence - and where peacekeepers answer to the community and are overseen by the neighborhoods.)"

Thank you, Trevor (#StopAsianHate)

No, this was not a sexual addiction (#StopAsianHate)

It is already being spun that it was not a hate crime but a "sex addiction" issue. The sexualization and fetishization of Asian and Asian American women IS racism. Full stop.

Stand with us in solidarity. (NAPAWF)

Who is listening? (#StopAsianHate)

 

I am at the same time sad and angry.

I was glued to my phone last night when the first reports came in. So disturbing. Yet not at all surprised. The seeds were sown and now the terrible fruit has dropped from the rotten tree.

Patterns reveal themselves. Pay attention. "Chinese virus," "kung flu," "you brought this sickness here," "go back to your country." A microscopic virus now replaced with a recognizable target.

We are not the virus.

Scientists believe the coronavirus originated from bats and somehow jumped to humans. The bat happened to live in Wuhan. But what if it came from a cave in Kentucky? Would eight people (six of whom were Asian women) have been gunned down last night?

I am at the same time sad and angry.

Image via Drawings for My Grandchildren

Jason Sudeikis's hoodie is a Covid mood

Who even cares about fashion right now? 

I've been asking myself this question almost every day for the past year, particularly on those afternoons when I catch myself in the mirror, still in my pajamas. Homebound and forever wearing the same sweatpants has dulled my desire for style. Maybe it's why Jason Sudeikis's tie-dyed hoodie at the Golden Globes really resonated with me.

I found the whole thing weird but oddly comforting - his rambling but touching speech, Zooming from what looked like a humble-looking living room, that dressed-down sweatshirt (I noticed it was Forward_Space right away because I used to take classes at the studio, which turns out is his sister's). 

Awards season pre-Covid was another life. When the Red Carpet was like my Super Bowl. We'd have parties, we would sip champagne, we dished about who-wore-what. This time around, during a global pandemic that has taken over 500,000 lives in the US alone, caring about who-wore-what feels irrelevant. A bit gross, even.

Thank you, Jason, for capturing my Covid mood.

Best dressed at the Golden Globes.

Stop Asian hate

Anti-Asian hate crimes in the US are skyrocketing. Here in New York, hate crimes against Asian Americans have gone up 1900% (!!) since Covid, according to the NYPD. Which is why the department created an Asian Hate Crime Task Force.

Hate crimes have no place in our society. Period. Let's fight this virus. Not each other.

Illustration @antiasianracism_

Bernie Sanders is blowing up the Internet

Now that we can all collectively unclench, let us enjoy Bernie (once again) blowing up the Internet. We've all seen the photo that has launched a thousand memes: Bernie sitting socially distanced, the off-center mask, the Vermont-y knit mittens, the salty countenance. 

Artist Tobey King perfectly captures this moment with her Bernie Crochet Doll, which is also blowing up the Internet (update: the Bernie doll raised more than $40K for Meals on Wheels America!).

When a reporter asked about his Inauguration fashion, you know what Bernie said? "Fashion? Every American needs their $2,000 check!"

Ha!

Photo: Tobey Time Crochet. 

Christmas gratefulness

The kids have torn through the wrapping paper, pancakes and bacon have been eaten, plenty of coffee being sipped, calls and texts and good cheer all around. 

Feeling grateful.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Bi-den, Bye Don!!!

The most gorgeous headline I ever seen.

Election day distractions

On the outside I look fine. Calm. Collected. Cool as Obama's slick three-pointer. On the inside I'm screaming, quietly crying in the corner and about to have a mild heart attack. Anyone else?

Should it help today, here are 12 things to soothe those election day nerves:

• Chloe Fineman's impression of a New York acting teacher is so good it might make you pee. 

• The incredible female free divers of South Korea. 

• Lots of Livin' dance scene from Bye Bye Birdie.

• Lovely flowers, pretty seascapes and general good taste from designer John Derian.

• 1MILLION Dance Studio on Megan Thee Stallion. 

• 90s supermodels!

• Sean Connery's best James Bond moments (RIP). 

• Forget cute cats. Look at this little kitten.

• 48-hour chocolate chip cookies.

• Beyonce. Because Beyonce.

• Lovely illustrations of plants and wildlife in the English countryside.

• Try The New York Times' election distractor. It works!

Opening photo from John Derian.

I voted

 

Went to vote early today.

My election armor: Drawing on the strength of Hillary (I unearthed my Potus t-shirt after not having the heart to look at it since 2016) and the spirit of RBG (courtesy of my BFF who sent me this fabulous notorious necklace for my birthday).

Sending you good energy, friends. Let's get this done! 

Pandemic fashion at The Met

Museums in New York are re-opening!

We recently spent an afternoon at The Met and it was the first slice of "normal" we have experienced in a while. Grateful for opportunities to be surrounded by history, beauty, and storytelling from our past.

No doubt there will be all kind of artifacts from our current pandemic era. Makes me wonder: will the face mask have its own exhibition space some day?

The essential role of art. (The Kinder Institute)

The new abnormal

 

New York in the time of coronavirus. 

The memory of riding the subway before this dreadful pandemic evokes mixed emotions. How on earth did I not wear a mask before? How was I okay with breathing in everyone's germs? 

This is our new abnormal, folks. 

Why masks work. (Healthline)

Best quote of the DNC

Bernie saying it like it is. 

Her speech was everything -- and her necklace. (NYT) 

Trump byeeeee!!

BLM in Chinatown

My heart led me to see this and it was glad. 

(Literal translation: "The lives of Black people are lives, too.")