Nonogirl Radio

The Girl from Empanada

President Obama’s 2009 Recovery Act includes $30 million for expanding the Small Business Administration’s Microloan program. These loans of less than $35,000 put money into the hands of small business owners who don’t have any collateral, but who stimulate the economy by putting money back into their communities.

Entrepreneur, Paula Tejeda could benefit from one of these microloans. She says a lack of working capital is the biggest challenge to running her small storefront where she sells Chilean empanadas.

These pocket-sized meat pastries are a popular to-go food in Chile and Paula says they’re best eaten with a glass of wine. This story shows you how that combination sparked an idea in Paula to take the empanadas out of her store and over to the local bars to stir up some business.

Paintings, Posters and Propaganda: Artists Reflect and Connect with Community

I collaborated with RJ on this video, which is part of a series of events for KSW's APAture retrospective, called Shifted Focus.

One of the events is this panel I'll be moderating that ties in with both KSW's APAture Retrospective and Chinese Cultural Center's exhibit, Icons of Presence: Asian American Activist Art. The panel features visual artists (Nancy Hom, Leland Wong, Lenore Chinn, Choppy Oshiro and Richard Godinez) that reflect their communities, inspire movements, and envision new ways of being.

When: November 12, 2008
Time: 7-9 pm
Where: CCC Gallery
750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
Cost: Free for CCC members; $5 for KSW members; $15 for non CCC or KSW members

Pueblo, USA

Immigration issues are so polarizing, but here's a documentary by American RadioWorks that helps illustrate the gray areas like:

• How do folks feel when their home town is no longer the way it was when they were growing up
• Why is it ok for immigrants to fill low-wage jobs, but not ok for them to demand their labor rights

as well as explore the figures like:

• Are immigrants a burden on government or do they put money into the economy

This documentary catches people at their most candid and well worth a listen.

Missed APAture on Youtube

I didn't make it out to much of APAture, the tenth anniversary celebration of emerging Asian American artists. But thankfully, Sam Chanse's featured artist set is on Youtube.

She opens with a hilarious spoof on spoken word artists and continues with a series of skits that mimic real APAture  performances.

Pacifica showing signs of stress

Conscientious objector, Lewis Hill, started th first listener-supported radio station in 1946 to create a more powerful venue to spread a pacifist message.

Hill's vision grew to encompass Pacifica Radio, made up of a network of stations in Berkeley, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Houston. And while Pacifica stations are the go-to radio for progressives during times of war, in-fighting plagues the institution and mars the movement for progressive media.

But Nicole Sawaya addresses Pacifica's failures in her departure letter from her short tenure as Pacifica's exeuctive director.

Pacifica calls itself a movement, yet currently it is behaves like a jobs program, a cult, or a social service agency. And oftentimes, the loudest and most obstreperous have the privilege of the microphone. There are endless meetings of committees and “task forces”– mostly on the phone – where people just like to hear themselves talk. Sometimes they get lucrative contracts from their grandstanding. It’s been grueling for someone in my position, someone like me who is not a process person, much less a political gamer. I keep asking: what’s the endgame? Paralysis has set in, coupled with organizational drift.

Asian Food Beyond Borders

We've reached the day where digital video self-publishing is a reality. Just as the photocopier launched  print self-publishing, or zines, iMovie and  Youtube have made online video a vibrant new place to create and  have your voice heard.

Thy and her crew at the Asian Culinary Forum made an enticing teaser video for their upcoming weekend of programming that includes workshops, cooking classes, panel discussions and a full-day symposium celebrating Asian food. I love how the themes of the weekend are conveyed so vividly without moving image. The marriage of great sound and evocative text do the trick.

I'm bummed I'll be missing it all, but in exchange, I'll get to see fall colors in Roanoke, Virginia!

Hmong Continuum

I've been on hiatus as work became busy and I can't even begin to backtrack the great cultural works I've witnessed over the past month.

Instead, I share this great video from the NY Times on contemporary Hmong life.

I first learned about the Hmong through Anne Fadiman's book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The book's moving prose focuses on one family and the challenges they encounter in Merced County, particularly after their daughter is diagnosed with epilepsy. Fadiman details the nomadic and rebellious history of the Hmong, their C.I.A.-supported war against  Communism in Laos, and their spiritual and cultural practices that conflict with western medicine.

Fadiman spoke recently to a standing-room-only auditorium filled with  medical professionals at SF General. Her reporting on the this book began over 22 years ago. Since then, both the medical community and the Hmong community have evolved.

Cultural competence, or "cultural humility," a phrase used by a spiritual counselor at SF General, is now emphasized in medical school to be more sensitive to different points of view a patient may have on their illness.

This video produced by the NY Times demonstrates how the next generation of Hmong are integrating American culture, like hip hop, with their traditions.

Hearing Voices: Movement Soul

In prepping for a panel I'm moderating about the state of activism today, I found an old wish list item: Movement Soul, a collection of live recordings from the civil rights movement.

Unfortunately, it's no longer available for sale, but I did find an amazing documentary that integrates the voices and music from the peak of the movement produced by Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices.

I plan to play a clip from this along with some of my archival tape from Mark Izu, Miya Masaoka, and Bill Sorro on Tuesday as I ask how music integrates with the movement today.

(On a side note, this morning NPR devoted a whole 13 minutes to a segment on gospel music and its importance to the Civil Rights Movement!)

 

City's slow enforcement of billboard ban

Last week, my first story for El Tecolote posted. It's a continuation of an investigation I did while reporting on wheatpasted posters for Artery.

Basically, while the Department of Public Works views political posters as a cause of urban blight, they turn a blind eye to the same activity when it's done by corporations.

The article's format on El Tecolote's website is a little confusing, but I had a great experience working with the managing editor and look forward to developing my writing skills by producing more work for them!

"A Serving of Love" Website

Many of you know that I've been working on a project honoring the life work of Bill Sorro. In August we opened a gallery show. In October, the audio installation at that exhibit moved to Somarts' Day of the Dead exhibit. A couple weeks ago, we premiered a video produced by RJ Lozada. And now we have completed the "A Serving of Love" website.

The site is composed primarily of short videos including interviews with Bill, his family, and friends. This youtube clip is one example.

Please stop by the site, link to it, and share your own stories of Manong Bill.