Justice for Mike Cho Benefit Concert, 3/31

Justice For Mike Cho is hosting a benefit concert to spread awareness
of what happened to Michael Cho.  Please join us for a night of music
and drinks as we celebrate the life of an amazing soul.

The list of performers include, but are not limited to.. Ninja
Academy, Tremellow, A Pretty Mess, Mike's Old Bandmates, Coincidence,
Slair and Eddie B. and Mike Magana from HAWT LA.

Doors open at 8PM.
Speakers  8:15PM - 8:45PM
Performers  8:45PM - 12:30AM
DJs  12:30AM - 2AM

Cover is $3 at the door and the first 250 people will receive a
complimentary Justice For Mike Cho t-shirt.

Anybody and everybody is welcome - hope to see you all there!!

Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:00PM
Safari Sam's
5214 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(between Western and Normandie, just East of N. Kingsley Drive)

What's wrong with this picture?

Okay so Michelle and I have been closely watching America's Best Dance Crew since it aired. I myself dont even watch tv all that much but ABCD peaks my interests so much I have to watch the clips on youtube whenever I miss it. My initial reasoning was a curiosity to see if they Asian dance crew that was featured in the commercials (Kaba Modern) from the live auditions would actually make it. Of course in the process I learned of the Jabbawockeez, whom I've become a fan of, and who also made it along with Kaba Modern. Maybe I'm a little biased to wanna root for the Asian teams, but a part of me wants to see either of the teams win to prove to the rest of America what our rythms looks like. I've often heard the stereotype surrounding Asians lack of dance and for some reason there is always one goofy guy that gets made an example, or even worse the group of Asian girls who dance like strippers but huddle in a little circle. I know there are Asian Americans who can dance better than that, I just dont know why they don't come out and dance when I'm around.

And so for that reason I've been rooting for both Jabbawockeez and Kaba Modern, because they defy the stereotype that Asian are rythmically-challenged.



This clip above is all of the crews dancing from the last episode, Thursday night. Jabbawockeez and KM made the bottom, and Status Quo was in the top. Hmmmmmm, whats wrong with this picture people? Seriously SQ shouldn't have even been in the top. But this is a competition based on incoming votes, so I guess not enough people phoned in for the more talented crews and SQ was magically saved. On Youtube comments alot fo the posters have been making it a racial thing but it's really not. Status Quo is pretty weak and doing a bunch of flips is not what I call dancing. I wonder if for the final judgment they are going to actually tally in votes or let the judges decide since that is how they determine winners from the crews in the bottom two.

Until then may the best team, yes that would be Jabbawockeez, win.

P.S. Did we tell you we;re going t be in Boston (where Status Quo is from) in a couple weeks? Should be interesting.

xoxo
Catzie

Review: Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria's DESCONOCIDOS

Back in September of 2006, Catzie and I were invited to The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis by the celebrated Vietnamese American spoken word poet Bao Phi (you better know), who curates a spoken word/performance poetry series there called Equilibrium. The Equilibrium series connects recognized spoken word artists from around the nation with powerful local voices. The series also pays tribute to established artists who have pioneered spoken word art in our community over the years. Equilibrium is dedicated to showcasing voices of people of color, indigenous artists, and other marginalized communities.

I've had the honor of performing in an Equilibrium show twice: once solo and another with Catzie. Both instances top my all-time favorite performance experiences. Not only did I receive so much love from the audience during and after the shows, but I also had an opportunity to meet some wonderful, kick-ass artists. In the first show, it was Robert Karimi. Most recently, Catzie and I were blessed to share the stage with Palabristas, a Twin Cities-based collective of poets of Latino descent. One of the members of that group, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria, dropped his first CD on June 22, 2007.

Yes, yes, it has taken me almost A WHOLE DAMN YEAR to give some CD review-love to Rodrigo and DESCONOCIDOS. But here it is, finally, and I hope you all will check out Rodrigo's MySpace, go to a show to see him and Palabristas, and consider supporting his artistry through purchasing his CD or booking him as well as other members of Palabristas for a show.

Peace,
Michelle



REVIEW

FINDING ROOTS IN SOAR SPOTS: RODRIGO SANCHEZ-CHAVARRIA'S CD DESCONOCIDOS


The power and vitality of spoken word poetry reside in the poet's ability to emit a vulnerable strength through the exposed honesty of the experiences recounted in his/ her words. Experienced mostly in live performance, spoken word can tease audiences with images, ideas, and emotions which leave hints of profundity in stand-out lines here and in meaningful silence there. For those of us who would like to hold onto the words and their in-between meanings a little longer, CDs offer an opportunity to live and breathe with such poems and welcome them into our lives. Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria’s debut CD DESCONOCIDOS (The Unknown) offers spoken word poetry loyalists with a gift, one that is filled with spit-fire and soul-singing.

In recording a CD that mixes studio-recorded and live pieces as well as his own work with that of his fellow Palabristas, Rodrigo unremittingly seizes a clear space for Latino poetry, voice, and creativity. In the current polarity of racial and cultural discourse which unfailingly divides issues down a white/black color line, Rodrigo reminds listeners that the intersections of race and culture are hella more complicated than black and white. Such complexity is scary to most people because they have a difficult time coming to terms with black and white issues and sometimes behave as if thinking or talking beyond that is too much—or not important enough—for equal attention. Rodrigo’s poetry refuses to surrender to such myopic and selfish ideologies and emerges as a distinctive voice within the Latino spoken word poetry community. The unifying images and thematic thread throughout the CD are Rodrigo's multiple and layered, figurative and literal acts of border crossing. Through his multilingual word slinging, Rodrigo challenges imposed linguistic, racial, political, social, and geographic borders, crossing and erasing them at the same time.


My favorite poems on the CD are those which weave personal stories subtly into larger cultural, social, and/or political contexts. In the live performance recording of "Condor's Wing," Rodrigo conjures images of freedom and power to express his poet/activist's desire to enact justice and change in the world:

"I want to be as free as the wind that travels through the condor's wings. I want to flow like the rapids in a river so full of rage and filled with destination. I want to be the essence of the birth of a new nation so I can fill people's souls with hope and inspiration. . . . I want to be free and flowing like the words from this pen. I want to keep on writing until the isms finally end. I want to find that moment of peace that happens right before my eyelids shut and then package it and call it Pandora's Box just so that people can open it and embrace peace, if it's just only once."

Metaphorically, these images of power and freedom are supposed to extend beyond the page or Rodrigo's spoken words to move the audience to their own liberation--"to wake dormant warriors from their sleep"--and be inspired to mirror or emulate Rodrigo's passionate appeal for a just, fair world.

"Land of the Incas" inserts itself firmly within immigrant narratives of loss and rediscovery. Rodrigo recounts his own loss as a child recently arrived in the U.S. from Peru, who is thrust into an American school and subjected to rites of assimilation and conformity. Rodrigo voices how he is "submerged by force to the idea of public education, where teachers are instructed to brand 'ESL' on the skin of all the students of color that walk in, a place where white smiles are forced and skin tones frowned upon, where 'thank yous' did not come out of my mouth because I did not know the words and not because I was ungrateful." Made to feel ashamed of himself as an outsider, Rodrigo begins a self-effacing process of assimilation--becoming a self-identified sell-out linguistically, culturally, and materialistically. It's when he returns with his family to his native homeland, Peru--the land of the Incas--that Rodrigo experiences a rebirth of self pride and cultural identity. This awakening also spurs his evolving political ideology and activism. Thus the poem enacts a journey towards consciousness on multiple levels.

As a parent, I am deeply touched by Rodrigo's poem "Isabella," a celebration of his daughter at the same time it is a parent's lament of time passing too quickly. I cannot help but be moved to tears as Rodrigo retells the moment that he realizes his daughter is growing up whether or not he is ready for it. As he watches her crawling baby legs climb up the stairs towards him as he's about to leave the house, he breathlessly stops to hold her to him, hugging to feel her heartbeat and capture her fleeting baby innocence. The poem subtly and masterfully handles the irony of the moment: he's the one who's literally leaving denoted by the jingling of the keys, but this is juxtaposed to the sad foreshadowing of Isabella's inevitable growing up--that one day she will not be looking to hold his reassuring hand but letting it go, that she won't be clinging to his legs for support but wanting to trust the sturdiness of her own two feet. A beautiful, sad poem.

Through Rodrigo’s anger, sadness, pride, and triumph, the poems contained within the CD lays bare his heart which serves as a microcosm for the struggle of Latino people all over the world: cultural fragmentation, intra-racial prejudices, a call for unity, the consideration of revolution, the need for healing. With guest appearances by fellow Palabristas Larry Lucio ("Soy Chicano"), Brandon Lacy Campos ("Mixed Emotions"), Lorena Duarte ("Red Queen"), and Emmanuel Ortiz ("Anti-war Poem"), the CD’s voice deepens and expands to include anthems on racial and sexual multiplicity; female identity, adaption, and survival; and the ambiguity of managing life and being anti-war.


Check out more at Rodrigo’s MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/rodrigospokenword and Palabristas’ page at http://www.palabristas.com/



TRACK LIST

Intro
Desaparecidos
Brown in White Town
I Cross Borders
Soy Chicano - larrylucio.com (ASCAP)
Mixed Emotions by Brandon Lacy Campos
Red Queen by Lorena Duarte
These Hands
Land of the Incas
Inmigrante
Suspects
Monarch Butterfly
Condor’s Wing (live)
Isabella
Revolution in Mind
Anti-war Poem by Emmanuel Ortiz
Where Are You From?
I Cross Borders (live)
At Times
Healing
Outro

Regie Cabico is Unbuckled and Uncensored in Philly!

Hey Philly-fam and everyone close by--

Please come out and support my good friend Regie Cabico. He's the the Asian Arts Initiative's Spring 2008 Artists and Performance in Action Resident Artist (APIA Residency). With amazing energy and wonderful, solid writing and performance, Regie and his shows are a definite must-see!

Love,
Michelle

____________________________________________________

The Asian Arts Initiative presents


REGIE CABICO in

UNBUCKLED, UNCENSORED

Directed by Brian Freeman

Friday & Saturday, March 28-29, 2008
8 p.m.

Asian Arts Initiative Salon Space
1223 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Tickets: $12 general admission



(215) 557-0455 or www.asianartsinitiative.org


Tracing his orbit from his Catholic family roots and dreams of Broadway musicals to the spoken word slam scene and back again, performance poet and comedian Regie Cabico unleashes a night of raw talent that tells a tale of running away and returning in the context of the continually revolving world that we live in. Be prepared for a one-man cabaret infused with pop-culture, humor, and Regie's ever-enduring perspective as a queer Filipino artist.



Photo by Jen Cleary.

And register now!


FLASHPOINTS
a playwriting and performance workshop with Regie Cabico


April 2 through May 31

Wednesdays 6-9 p.m., Sundays 3-6 p.m.*

Registered participants may arrange a flexible attendance schedule with permission from the instructor.

Asian Arts Initiative Salon Space
1223 Vine Street, Philadelphia

(215) 557-0455 or www.asianartsinitiative.org

Registration $295, $25 member discount plus additional subsidies available.

Registration and subsidy applications available online at www.asianartsinitiative.org or contact Chon Phoeuk at (215)557-0455.

Focusing on the format of short plays, participants will work with poems, puppets, and other everyday objects as vehicles to tell stories and write songs for the stage. The workshop is open to artists of all ages and levels of experience, and culminates with a showcase of the best plays presented as a new theater work written and performed by the ensemble.

Regie Cabico is a poet, playwright, director and spoken word performer with a BFA in Acting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. His work appears in over 30 anthologies and on television including HBO's Def Poetry Jam, MTV's Free Your Mind Video and PBS' In The Life. Regie is currently a teaching mentor for Urban Word and develops a poetry and performance program for teens with psychiatric illness at Bellevue Hospital, where he received the 2006 Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers. He is also the Artistic Director of the Washington D.C.-based theater Sol y Soul and an ensemble castmember of the New York Neo-Futurists and their show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.

Unbuckled, Uncensored is a National Performance Network Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by the Asian Arts Initiative in partnership with YouthSpeaks and the National Performance Network. Regie Cabico's residency in Philadelphia was also made possible in part with grants from the Artists & Communities program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; and the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts.

* * * * *
The Asian Arts Initiative is grounded in the belief that the arts can provide an important political and cultural voice for the Asian American community in Philadelphia. We serve as a community arts center where everyday people are developing means to express our diverse experiences as Asian Americans.

APIA students at Hunter College ask for support

I was recently contacted by Zabrina Collazo who is a member of the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter (CRAASH), a student group created towards the effort of rejuvenating the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at Hunter College. The students are frustrated in their efforts to make the administration there understand the importance of preserving and investing in the college's Asian American Studies Program. Below is an excerpt from Zabrina's email. Please contact Zabrina and offer support if you can.

From Zabrina Collazo:

"This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1968 San Francisco Strikes, the longest student strike in American history, which led the way for ethnic studies. It is disappointing that four decades later, there is still so much progress to be made.

While other colleges have full-fledged departments and offer both a minor and major, Hunter College has a small, pitiful program. CRAASH's ultimate goal is for the administrations of Hunter College and the greater CUNY system to actively support the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at Hunter through: 1) increasing funding for the program; 2) allocating full-time professors to the program; 3) and allowing more of the courses enlisted under the program to be offered. Funding for the program was so poor at one point that the AASP professors used a storage closet as an office. Though students can minor in Asian American Studies, only the same few classes are offered. Even the minor was put on hold in Fall 2006 because of a lack of funding.

In spite of our communication with the Hunter administration, changes have yet to be made. Administrators have given us evasive answers and empty promises, and are taking credit for the efforts made independently by the program's director - without help from them. They are not concerned with providing the AASP with the resources it deserves as an academic program.

This issue is a huge problem that negatively impacts the academic community of Hunter College and New York City. For more information, please visit our Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/huntercraash or join our Facebook group by searching for CRASH with one A.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email. CRAASH is grateful for any help that you can give us. The more attention and support we have on these issues, the better.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Zabrina Collazo
Associate Director
(646) 258-1644
huntercraash@yahoo.com"

Peace and Blessings,
Michelle

War is not a Joke: Support for University of Colorado-Boulder

If any of you haven't heard about the student op ed article published in the University of Colorado-Boulder's student newspaper THE CAMPUS PRESS (and on the paper's website--link provided below), I am posting this to ask you to please support the APIA students at the University of Colorado-Boulder in whatever way they need--spread the word, sign the petition, email the asshole who wrote this article--whatever it takes to let the whole fucking world know that we won't accept this. And that if there's anything Asians know about, it's how to wage a war.

I entreat this of you because this article represents more to me than just what it seems on the surface as being a really insensitive, derogatory, and insulting piece. To me, it represents the mentality and perspective that many non-Asians have of us as a people. Why would this get published in the first place? Why would they think they could get away with it? The author tells you himself that "white people are quick to ridicule Asians. They have no problem with making demeaning remarks about their looks,mannerisms, and accents-things they would never say about black people"--why the fuck is that? Why do they think they can get away with shit towards us that they wouldn't try with black people? It's because they don't think we'll fight back. They push that Model Minority shit--his whole article is filled with Model Minority bullshit--that we are all privileged with our math genius, geekiness, and rice rockets that they can fuck with us b/c we are not "authentic" minorities--that we are not oppressed and, therefore, have nothing to complain about. These lies make my head spin and they need to be corrected. His flippant remark about war is all the more insulting because so many of us come from war--we, our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents--have lost so much and have been so traumatized by war that motherfucking Westerners have waged in our lands that our family can barely speak to us about it. We have known struggle and it's time these ignorant assholes are emphatically told to back the fuck up.

But that's not what's got me so pissed off. I'm going to say the unpopular thing and some people are going to get mad at me, but it needs to be said: too many Asians believe the very same thing. When I read this, I was angry at this bitch-ass punk for writing it, yes, but I was equally pissed off at all the self-hating APIA's who have emailed me/us over the years telling me/us that we are a disgrace to Asian people all over the world. "We have it good," they say. "We have nothing to complain about. We're not suffering like black people and Latino people. Stop making us look bad," they say. Now we are confronted in this article with an example of what some white people REALLY think of us. You still want to take that honorary whitey stand? You can look this article in its face and still say, "We have nothing to complain about"?

Is this article enough to kick complacency in the ass? I hope so. I hope I get emails from students and other concerned folks at the University of Colorado-Boulder that they are getting support on a national and international level. I hope that we can put these racist assholes in their proper places. I hope we can mobilize. I hope it's enough to bring justice here, bring justice for Mike Cho, bring justice wherever Asian people need it. I hope it's enough to bring a revolution.

Peace and love and power always,
Michelle

Contact info for folks at the U of Colorado-Boulder:

Message from Lisa Fu
lfu@napawf.org

some of you may have seen or heard about the article below that came out this week at University of Colorodo, Boulder. Lawyers at CU have said that the article does NOT constitute hate speech. campus staff and students are organizing against this. They are in the process of writing a letter, petition and demands and so if you have any insight or suggestions, please forward to either me or leslie wong (info below). i know all of you student activists, lawyers, organizers have great ideas and experience so please share - anything will help!!

APA Student Services
Univ of CO, Boulder
Leslie Wong
leslie.wong@colorado.edu
303-492-0444



If it's a war the Asians want . . . It's a war they'll get
Max Karson

Date: 2/18/08
Section: Opinion

Since I transferred to CU last year, I've noticed some tension between the white students and the Asian students. There's never any outright conflict, but I notice little things. Like, Asians always seem surprised whenever I talk to them. They stare at me for a few seconds as though I must have made some mistake, and once they realize I'm intentionally speaking to them, they aren't always thrilled.

On the other hand, white people are quick to ridicule Asians. They have no problem with making demeaning remarks about their looks, mannerisms, and accents-things they would never say about black people.

So when an Asian refuses to make eye contact with me or dismisses me with a one-word sentence, I just say to myself, "Max, Asians are not evil cyborgs. They're human, just like you. And if you were a minority student in a sea of walnut-brained business majors and skiers, you'd be crabby, too."

But last week, I had an epiphany.

After my friend and I finished working our abs at the Rec Center, we decided to head upstairs to tighten our buns on the StairMaster. As we walked down the hallway, a rubber ball bounced out of one of the racquetball courts and landed at the feet of an Asian in front of us. He picked up the ball and leaned over the railing of the court nearest to him.

"Hey, that's not ours," I heard a guy call up from the court. The Asian stared down at him for a moment, and then held the ball out to him. "That's not ours," the guy said again.

Then another voice called out from a different court, "Hey, does anyone see a ball up there?"

The Asian looked over, confused.

"I think it goes to that court," I said, pointing to the one nearest to me.

The Asian stared at me blankly for another second, and then he looked back down into the court next to him and offered them the ball again.

"That's not our ball," the guy called up.

"Excuse me," I said. The Asian whipped his head around and scowled at me. "I think it goes to that court."

He paused a few seconds, and then he said, in a perfect American accent, "Okay," and tossed the ball into the court next to me.

That's when it hit me. The Asian was so jaded by his experiences with the whitebread, brainless tree sloths of CU that even though three people had explained to him that he was trying to return the ball to the wrong court, it was inconceivable to him that we might be right.

And when he looked into my eyes, it wasn't just irritation and disgust that I saw-it was hate. Pure hate.

I'm such a fool for not realizing it sooner. I can't tell you how many times the Asians have treated me like a retarded weasel and I've forgiven them. But now I know that Asians are not just "a product of their environment," and their rudeness is not a "cultural misunderstanding."

They hate us all.

And I say it's time we started hating them back. That's right-no more "tolerance." No more "cultural sensitivity." No more "Mr. Pretend-I'm- Not-Racist."

It's time for war.

But we won't attack their bodies or minds. We will attack their souls.

The first step, or "Phase 1," is to find them all. Anyone who is interested in signing up to volunteer can do so by e-mailing me. Next Sunday at noon, we will all meet at Farrand Field. Each volunteer will be issued an extra-large butterfly net.

The hunt will then begin.

When I blow my whistle, we will scatter in every direction and catch as many Asians as possible. Make sure to pay special attention to the Rec Center, the UMC, the math and engineering buildings and Lollicup. If you're not sure if someone is an Asian, give them a calculus problem to do in their head. If they get it right, net 'em.

Captured Asians will be dragged to my apartment on the Hill and hog- tied. Once they're all secured in my living room, "Phase 2" will come into effect.

The Asians' reformation will begin with a 100-round beer pong tournament. They will listen to "It's a Small World" on repeat while they play.

When the tournament is finished, the Asians will then be forced to eat bad sushi from Hapa-with forks. When all the sushi is gone, they will be permitted to sleep for four hours, but the entire time I will shout through a megaphone, over and over, "Why didn't you make enough Wiis?!"

In the morning, the Asians will arrange themselves in rows, if they haven't naturally done so already. I will stand in front of them and hold up a card with the name of an emotion on it such as, "sad," or "surprised." The Asians must then make a facial expression to match the word on the card. Any Asian who remains deadpan or makes the wrong face will be tickled until they pee. When all Asians make the correct face at the same time, the game will end, but then they will be yelled at for being conformists.

The Asians will then be allowed to play "Dance Dance Revolution." However, the game will be rigged so that the Asians will receive no points, regardless of how robotically they dance.

Any Asian who tries to escape will be butterfly-netted and sent back to my apartment for another "Phase 2." Anyone caught speaking any language other than English will be kissed on the lips.

Once the Asian spirit has been broken, "Phase 3" will begin. Before we let the Asians go, we will go to their homes and redecorate them in a traditional American style. We will replace their rice cookers with George Foreman Grills, their green tea mochi with fried Snickers bars, and their rice rockets with Hummers. And booster seats.

When "Phase 3" is complete, the Asians will be released.

Now, I understand that this plan may upset some of you Asian readers, but the only other way to make peace would be to expel you. If you're smart, you'll turn yourselves in now, and it will all be over in a few days.

Besides, look on the bright side-we're not going to put you through nything we haven't put ourselves through, and we all turned out fine.

Contact Campus Press staff editor Max Karson at max.karson@colorado.edu

Phill-Literacy!

So that amazing group of poets from the Bay were here in Philly for a night, yes I'm talking about Ill- Literacy. And because I am lazy and a loser, I didn't listen to my voicemail nor did I call Adriel back (I know I'm awful) when he first phoned me so when he made one last attempt to reconnect before hopping on the Chinatown bus to NYC, Ruby, Nico and Dahlak had already gone their separate ways. I didnt want to leave Adriel all alone and bored in the city so I told him to meet me at my office and informally made it "Bring Your Friends to Work Day" or as we call it in the artist world "Bring Your Fellow Artist to Your Real Day Job Day". Fortunately, I work for two.one.five magazine and my boss knows I'm a bossy bitch, so I decided to rent a car via Phillycarshare and took Adriel to Denise's Jamaican Food Lunch truck, right outside the 30th Street Mail station.

Since I was lucky enough to have a car today, I drove all the way up to West, West Philly to see about getting some doubles from the Brown Sugar Bakery, a Trinidadian Restaurant. If you don't know what doubles are, they are sandwiches made from curried chickpeas and two fried flatbreads. They're street food, and usually sold with wax paper twisted on the bottom to keep the filling from falling out. At Brown Sugar, they only have doubles from Wednesdays to Saturday, and cost $1.50. I was so excited I couldn't stop talking about them driving through traffic while Adriel held a hot bag of Jamaican food sitting on his lap trying to tell me the story of how people are confusing them a group from America's Best Dance crew, because they happen to be a group of mixed ethnicities and genders as well. Of course when I got there... they were ALL SOLD OUT. I couldn't believe it, the lunch rush hour wasn't even over yet. And it wasn't only Thursday. I left instead with 3 vegetarian patties and headed back to the office. During this whole time I realized that Adriel had been taking pictures of me while reiterating to me the importance of continually updating your blog. Albeit it was a camera phone but he was thinking. I unfortunately was not. This is the only picture I could get of him.

And yes, it was also on a camera phone.



- until next time,
Catzie

stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

I know everybody is already all up on this but I couldn't help but to put the word out about this blog just once more for the world wide web. Enjoy!

UMass-Amherst, Sat 3/8

Thank you, William & Mary, and VA!

*Note: Post written by Catzie with comments in brackets added by Michelle.

Thank you for everyone who came out to see our show over at William & Mary. It wouldn't have happened without the hard work of this young lady. Her name is Stacey, and like her shirt says, she will not love you long time. She may look small but she's certainly a feisty little lady. She did a perfect job putting the show together. [Yay, Stacey!]



[OK, so Stacey doesn't like that picture, but I think she looks like she's ready to kick some ass--for real, her look says, "Don't fuck with me" and we need more women looking like that, so I don't want to take this picture down. But here's another one with a smiling Stacey looking much nicer]



[See, even angry Asian American women can be about peace and love, too, dammit].

Stacey took us out to eat [along with her friends Maria, Jenny, Dorothy, and Maura] at this Vietnamese place that also had Korean BBQ. We don't know how that happened but Michelle was happy to try Korean food somewhere else. [Actually, I didn't get to eat any Korean food because they said they wouldn't be able to serve it for another hour. I mean, come on, how hard is it to make Bi Bim Bap? Not!]


On our table was a little knick-knack pond complete with water, fish and a rock-climbing turtle. [It took up, like, the whole middle of our table. When they brought our appetizers out, I think we were all afraid we were going to drop food in it.]


Just look at their little bug eyes. Cute, huh? [The turtle reminded me of Beaker from the Muppet Show]



Ok so on with the show... Here's the auditorium, but where's the sound/tech guy?



Oh here he is, finally arriving to check our mics only moments before the show was to begin in 15 minutes. Right on CP Time.



It's beginning to fill... yay. [I took this picture because these are Stacey's friends: Maria and Jenny from dinner and Andy and Mike--who successfully managed to put Stacey's new dartboard up while we were at dinner, a feat quite spectacular considering they had started some happy partying a wee bit early, if you know what I mean, and Stacey had some concerns about how her wall would look by the time she got back. But they came through--hooray!]



These folks down front are Lamar and his friends who came right from another show that hadn't ended just to make sure they didn't miss our first poem - Listen Asshole. That's what we call dedication. [Lamar claimed he knew all the words to Listen Asshole --we should have pulled him on stage with us to prove it! Sike!--hey, don't laugh at me for still saying "sike"--we wouldn't put him on the spot like that. We're very happy he and his friends came to our show instead of that other one. Shout to my Jersey girl from Newark and even though the Giants stomped the Patriots, lol to the girl from Boston who talked all that pre-Super Bowl smack. We love you guys and, ladies if you read this, please email me so we can get your names up.]



One of them had on the De La Soul Dunks. Had to flick that.



Stacey and another lovely lady--that I cant remember her name, sorry--giving us intros. [Her name is Amanda Andrei and is the director of the IPAX show "Twilight"--see below]



This is Eddy Hong blessing our show with a solo performance from a show about the LA Riots. [Eddy is one of the founding members and Producing Director of a performance group on campus called the International Performance Arts eXchange or IPAX. The show they're working on this semester about the 1992 LA Riots is called "Twilight." Really wonderful work Eddy is doing--watch for him 'cause you're going see a lot of him real soon]. He was so great. We couldnt believe that his first time performing in front of a large crowd.



Thanks to Daniel, a sweet Colombian from ODU, who came all the way out from VA Beach to take a picture of my fabulous purple boots.



Somewhere in this mix of lovely people is Andrella, Emmy and Janae who let me use her keyring sharpee.



Shout out to Jennel from Vtech who came all the way out here to say hello, get the Volume 2 CD because her friend Aaron was on one of the interludes and to remind me of the fond memories of sharing a fried calamari with her and Bobby Lee. [And special thanks and apologies to the young lady on the left for her patience waiting for me to stop running my mouth and sign her CDs--ugh, I felt so bad!]



The down-front-audience-members [Lamar and his friends] make their way on stage.



And special thanks to Stacey's mom for giving us these lovely beaded bracelets that come in a pretty satiny silky pouch. Yep, Stacey's mom has got it goin on. [The funniest thing about Stacey's mom is that after watching our Def Poetry video clip on YouTube, she told Stacey that she "laughed and laughed." I thought that was great and so funny. Oh, and please stop to admire Catzie's nails].



Ok so extra apologies for anyone and everyone we couldn't remember the names for, and for eveyone like Angeline and Shawn from ODU whom I cant remember faces for but I'm sure we took your picture. We try to get QT with everybody but sometimes it becomes a long lost blur once we get back to Philly, especially if we're going to sleep past midnight and waking up super early like 7am.

-Catzie [and Michelle in brackets]