watermelon eating contest

mike check 1212

2008-04-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

chants for gazelle dance

2008-04-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Whatup villagers?

Practice these, we'll be chanting them while Nimish dances.

Here's what we have--

All of us are on stage, including Cherrie and Crystal, chanting for Nimish to enter and do his gazelle dance. He may or may not be singing before this begins.

After his dance Sita (Jack) gets excited and asks Rama (me) to get the gazelle. He prances off stage and I go looking for the gazelle, preferably taking up some time, I need to figure out a hunting dance.

Then I go off stage and Nimish mimics my voice which triggers worry and fear in Jack. Jack then begs Lakshmana (Todd) to go after me. They argue for a bit and maybe Cherrie and Crystal can shant or something in the background, while Todd draws a circle around Jack and goes off to find me.

Thats when Crystal comes in with a cloak or sheet or something over her face and plays the beggar trying to lure Jack out of the circle, when he finally does leave, she lifts her sheet and reveals her disguise just in time for Jatayu to appear and fight.

They battle and Cherrie gets beat but before Crystal drags Jack away he leaves Cherrie his jewels. I come back to find Cherrie dying with Jack and Todd nowhere in sight.

Nimish will sing whatever verses he finds/wants throughout.

PROPS WE NEED
--bowl
--jewels, a necklace or something flashy Jack can where
--sheets: which i think Francis will be able to provide from wardrobe

Our next scheduled meeting is 7pm Sunday at PBK! Contact us if you can't make it!

performances

2008-04-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm nervous about our performances. Class has definitely gotten better in terms of focus and comfort level, I like my village but I dont think were moving in the same direction in terms of our performance.

I missed one class and it seemed to throw off everything. I wish I had contacted my village beforehand, but I was not intending to be absent. Anyway, they ended up changing somethings and I was totally confused when we had to rehearse. Which was difficult since not all of us were present and we'd lost Rashmi. I hope everything works out. I really dont want to worry about this class in addition to the hundreds of other things I'm behind on. Why is it that it's impossible for me to stay on track?

I went to the Mearsheimer talk today and it was soooooo refreshing. I read his book, The Israel Lobby, and was so inspired to hear him say all that I'd been studying and believing for so long to such a large crowd. I know many people were already in agreement with his arguments, but I'm sure there were also some converts, which is great to think about. Unlike the hate speech coming to campus tomorrow sponsored by John Kennedy. Events like his depress me to no end, and as much as I wanna hear what Serge has to say, I dont. I'm too unstable at the moment to take emotional distress in such high quantities.

should i work at supercuts?

2008-04-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you dont even need a license to work there? They train you and in three months, you're cutting hair! Which begs the question, why am I in college? It's a bit too late to be asking this, given I have a month till graduation, but really, why am I here? I dont know why I cant answer this genuinely, I know what I should say, but is it true?

I know my inability to explain this does not take away from the fact that I am here, that I've benefited immeasurably and formed bonds and connections with people in a way that could not have been replicated anywhere or anytime else. I might even miss this place, but I'm so ready for life outside of college. I want to stop worrying about things I dont care about and seeing people I care even less about, is that wrong? Is it so wrong for me to want to finally go to hair school? Maybe not supercuts though.

2008-03-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

whatupvillagers?

sorry i didnt get in contact via blog. ive definitely been avoiding it because i dont wanna post.

so this is what i think were supposed to be doing for this project.

--perform our version of the ramayana expressing what we as a group believe to be the core themes using what we've learned from Sravya and our ex-Ramayana cast members (yay we have two of you!) in 15-30 min.
--weve chosen the scene where Ravana abducts Sita
(starting on pg 189 in our book)

Beggar/Ravana: Crystal
Jata yu: Rashmi
Gazelle: Me
Lakshmana: Todd
Sita: Jack
Rama: Nimish

Cherrie- I'm guessing you werent there when we broke down the roles? because I dont have you down for anything. You can either be the beggar, or Supanakha, or maybe you already are. Let me know...

--we were also instructed to pick a village in either andhra pradesh or bali. we need to learn the history and sociocultural aspects out of which our Ramayana is to be born. I'm not quite sure how this will change our performance, but it could be fun to research. I cant remember what we decided on for a village, but I picked one that could prove interesting: Machilipatnam. Apparently Kuchipudi, where the classical dance was born, is only 25 km from this city in the Krishna district. Read about it and let me know if you feel at home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machilipatnam

maybe i should get my tubes tied?

2008-03-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what happened last class...I was just trying to keep from falling over in pain, I did the motions, but I was completely out of it. It was nice to see that people were concerned. I mean I must've looked crazy!!! Oh well, that's really what happens about 3 times a month every month. I HATE MY OVARIES, i really do. If it wasnt for the hormone pills and extensive surgery I would definitely end my reproductive cycle. I dont wanna have kids. And if I change my mind later about it, there are so many children that I could just adopt, right? I have this conversation with myself monthly, what a waste of my time.

I think I'm getting better at the dances, I definitely took advantage of Erich's video and practiced the dance over break. I cannot coordinate the hand movements successfully with the steps, but with time. I also suck at the mudras. I should look at those some more.

I spent my break at home in NOVA sitting in my sister's bed reading article after article for class. I took breaks periodically to watch tv online, but that was pretty much it. Then Erich and I went to nyc for some spring break fun, where through rain, freezing temperatures and gale force winds, we managed to have the best time! It's so nice when your old friends like your new friends. I really wanna move to nyc and live with my old friends so we can make new friends together.

My family has ruined NoVA-DC for me. There's no possible way I can live with them again, I just hate how I have to change who I am in order to be close to them. It's so sad that my telling the truth or being open will put distance between us as opposed to the constant lying or withholding of information which is necessary in order for us to feign some semblance of family unity.

If my father yelled, then the exchange we had on Sunday could be described as a screaming match. There was definitely one going on in my head. You know that feeling you get when something is really important to you and someone you care about is being ignorant or negative about it and you just wish they could understand but the frustration makes it impossible to speak without yelling or getting angry which makes it hard to get your point across coherently? I think its called rage...

Why am I so reluctant to share???????? I only ever scratch the surface. I dont think I'm ready to do it, and that's really what I wanted out of this class. To do more than scratch the surface to be able to open myself up in a way that I wasn't able to do before. Even though I'm experiencing a new mode of expression through dance and meditation, I feel like that's something that I've always liked and wanted to do, a challenge, but one that I've been able to embrace. It's like writing down how I actually feel about personal situations makes them real. More real than talking about them. Why is that? I guess I should stop rambling and figure it out so I can actually have a meaningful post.

avoiding soul search

2008-03-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

kids playing basketball in Manila. it's so crazy to think that i'm stressing about pointless tasks and they are being cleared off the railroads where thy are currently squatting, yet play basketball to pass the time anyway

i decided to turn off my beyonce dvd finally

2008-02-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

and i watched something other than trash tv and learned about the ted prize.

Have you guys heard of it?

Well you should all watch this clip and find out. An inspiring concept...

or maybe we can smoke some trees...

2008-02-18T20:08:00.000-08:00

or feel the breeze, or listen to a symphony, or maybe we can chill and just be?

I would rather be doing any of those things instead of what I'm doing right now. Why is it that I can never get enough work done?

I've been reading more of the Ramayana, mostly because I feel like I've been slacking for this class. I have been keeping up with everyone's blogs, lately they just show Nichol support and it makes me happy. Liam described our march to the sunken gardens on thursday beautifully, while Todd seemed a bit dejected by it all.

I wish I saw more of Todd.

Kristine commented on a topic they discussed at the MAC meeting today, that I was going to attend but then lost track of time, and I just wanted to say that I think about those things all the time. Why do people choose to befriend some and not others? What is the major criteria for friend selection? And why do we see that it happens to be segregated in some places and not others? Does this self-segregation only arise in hostile situations, where people feel the need to be around those "like them"? It's puzzling.

Rashmi talks about awareness, good timing. It is Islam Awareness Week. Does anyone know that or did I make fliers for nothing?? This week is gonna be crazy with IAW. I have so much to vent about regarding that, but I dont think anyone cares and I really don't feel like articulating it via this medium. In summary: I am disappointed.

I liked the visitors last class, it really felt like we were actually putting in motion publicly and inclusively what we have been trying to channel within our group indoors. I feel more comfortable doing the dances, I just wish I could be more confident in carrying out all the steps. I guess that takes practice, but I dont know when I'll get around to that.

I'm supposed to be sketching the TWILIGHT poster design at the moment, but I lack inspiration. Amanda wants something reminiscent of graffiti and I know I can do that. A whole lot better than whoever's been poorly stenciling those not so clever messages all over campus. Like Nimish exclaimed, that's not the point of activism and completely counter to what many of us have been working towards regarding BOV relations this past week. And also: shitty graffiti job. The stencils picked were lame, the execution was mediocre at best and I could have done a much better job. Not that I would vandalize anything, but if I did, I would pick better spots for interesting/insightful designs, assholes.

Watch this, ask Erich why

or maybe we can read surah 31:18?

2008-02-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

I'm so tired of traveling, I'm actually thankful to finally be in Williamsburg, even though I'm not really feeling welcome in the larger community given the current Nichol situation. Thanks Carling for sharing your anger and frustrations, I feel the same way. I dont know what will happen to all the progress we've made if he leaves, I hope we dont have to know anytime soon. I plan on coming back post graduation to visit because I'll still have connections, but if Nichol isn't here, if he's replaced with someone who completely abandons his diversity initiatives, if we lose the support of the multicultural community/students/faculty, will it be worth visiting again? What, if anything, will be left of our legacy? I stand aligned with those dedicated to ensuring that these questions remain purely hypothetical.

On a more political note, I hate all the candidates. I wish for the day when American politics addressed my concerns. But not enough to want to get involved in the dirty game of it all. Why do I feel like I can watch CNN all day and learn nothing? I hope AmericaDecides better news programming 2008.

Watch this clip, it embodies all that I hate right now:

I need some love like I never needed love before

2008-02-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

I hate missing class. I feel so behind on all the dances! I keep practicing what I know, but its not enough. Bobby tried to teach me what we learned last week at the library, haha, it was funny. I think I got the hang of it. I was talking to JB and Erich and I think Sravya should post videos of herself doing the dances on her blog so that I can watch and learn/make sure I'm doing them right. Also, clips of her reciting the chants would be nice, I hate mispronouncing the words, you know?

So, I've neglected my reading but have read a significant amount in the Ramayana. Like Becca, I had the same bogged down feeling with all the terms but after 100 pages it got easier to understand. I really dont have anything specific to respond to regarding the story, mostly because I cant even remember at the moment where I left off...ugh I'm overwhelmed with work, it seems like everything I'm learning is not being retained at all. I hope next week is better. At least next week I'll be going to class.

I just remembered something, Carling you owe me dinner! hahaha, I want some Filipino food, and also a copy of Saturday nights performance. I hate that I missed that.

Is your leg better Jessa? Did you get to dance in class/last weekend?

Arent you supposed to be writing to me Joey? I can't respond, if you dont write. Also I'm not sure I have your blog on my list...

As for class, I dont feel uncomfortable per se, but it just hasnt gotten to that level, and yes I cant help but giggle sometimes Nimish, especially when I have to send you love vibrations or whatever :)

i think my final count was 27? does bobby count?

2008-01-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for this class because I'm forced to engage in a history and culture that has always fascinated me. It's also refreshing to know more than just the political history of a region, which is what I usually focus on in most my classes, classes that seem to be filled with people who look exactly the same. I'm so bored of that 'ticky tacky' personality. I must admit that I looked around the class on the first day and could not believe that (1) white people were in the minority and (2) that I had just counted all the brown people in class. Which is what I expected of this class, I like that I know what to expect from Francis, but not really.

Im excited to have another Francis class. This is the third one for me. I feel like a veteran, you know, ala Coral in Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Gauntlet III. I could actually probably write a close and in depth analysis drawing parallels between mine and Coral's respective histories (me with Francis and Coral with mtvshows). Although that would be illuminating, as I do watch incredible amounts of trash TV and find myself relating to it (and deconstructing it), it would also be uninteresting and harrowing to say the least. Maybe some other time...

I just read everyones blog updates and I really hope everyone wears nametags tomorrow because I wanna match these thoughts/feelings/images with their owners.

So in the spirit of TV and racial awareness, you guys should watch this. I love youtube, it takes television to a different level.

the bridge poem

2007-10-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Donna Kate Ruskin

I've had enough
I'm sick of seeing and touching
Both sides of things
Sick of being the damn bridge for everybody

Nobody
Can talk to anybody
Without me

Right?

I explain my mother to my father my father to my little sister
My little sister to my brother my brother to the white feminists
The white feminists to the Black church folks the Black church folks
To the ex-hippies the ex-hippies to the Black separatists the
Black separatists to the artists the artists to the my friends' parents. .

Then I've got to explain myself

To everybody
I do more translating
Than the Gawdamn U.N.

Forget it
I'm sick of it

I'm sick of filling in your gaps

Sick of being your insurance against
The isolation of your self-imposed limitations
Sick of being the crazy at your holiday dinners
Sick of being the odd one at your Sunday Brunches
Sick of being the sole Black friend to 34 individual white people

Find another connection to the rest of the world
Find something else to make you legitimate
Find some other way to be political and hip
I will not be the bridge to your womanhood
Your manhood
Your human-ness

I'm sick of reminding you not to
Close off too tight for too long

I'm sick of mediating with your worst self
On behalf of your better selves

I am sick
Of having to remind you to breath
Before you suffocate
Your own fool self.
Forget it

Stretch or drown
Evolve or die

The bridge I must be
Is the Bridge to my own power
I must translate
My own fears
Mediate
My own weaknesses I must be the bridge to nowhere
But my true self
And then
I will be useful.

big business

2007-10-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

I think our month should include accounts of Asian economic success. Takaki goes into some detail about Japanese business entreprenuer Masajiro Furuya and the following are excerpts from Chapter 5 the section on ethnic solidarity, the Japanese settling of America. It's hard to display this sort of historical information in an exciting way. Maybe a skit in a performance we put on during the month that describes the kind of communities immigrant Japanese would find in the states and how Furuya and his company facilitated the settling of America for his kind, and paved the way for future ethnic enterprises.

From Takaki:

Japanese ethnic enterprise in America also included large-scale businesses. Masajiro Furya was considered a top businessman among Japanese on the Pacific Coast. Borin in 1863, Furuya received a teacher's credential and served in the military for three years. In 1890 he arrived in Seattle, where he worked as a tailor; two years later, he opened a tailor shop and grocery store. His business expanded rapidy as more and more Japanese immigrants came to the Northwest. His grocery store became a department store where Japeanese customers could find ethnic foods such as sake and tofu as well as Japanese art. Furuya established branch stores in Portland and Tacoma, a post office, a labor supply agency, and the Japanese Commercial Bank...

Furuya was able to pay his Japanese workers ow wages, for they were unable to find employment in white owned companies...The Furuya Company was part of a grwoing service economy that paralleled increasing Japanese participation in agriculture.

fuck shit asshole

2007-09-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

we should just watch films instead of reading takaki. i mean it's been really beneficial to have the numbers and the theory to take us down the path to building a better understanding of asian american history, but watching picture bride was exactly chap 4 and more. the film brilliantly depicted true to life histories- well almost word for word what takaki was writing about-and gave them a life that was missing in the almost 40 pages of description, statistics and personal voice that takaki outlines in his history. which makes me think that film component is tres necessary for our asian american history month project, bring to light and to life the stories of the people written out of the american history.

i really cant focus on anything too profound that i noticed in the readings at the moment, mostly because they all follow the same line that i've been talking for a while now. money sucks, exploitation sucks, capitalism sucks, white people suck. why does everything i read need to constantly remind me that the things/people/truths that make the world go round are depressing as fuck. shit, asshole.

down with the man

2007-09-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

This time around Takaki went into a lot of depth and detail about the arrival of the Chinese and their personal experiences as strangers from a different shore. Not only was I distrubed by the length of the chapter (it was a lot of detail) but why does it seem like capitalism is the route of all our problems?

On the topic race and economy, Takaki concludes that "in America the Chinese were forced to become "strangers" by economic interests-the demands of white capitalist for a colonized labor force and the "ethnic antagonism" of white workers- as well as by an ideology defining America as a homogenous white society." Exploitation is the basis on which capitalism thrives. This greed-based economic system breeds racism and furthers that very ideology that America was founded on: if white people are virtuous, what they do is virtuous therefore enslaving and degrading other races is acceptable, and cannot be unethical or immoral. It's a very circular, disgusting ideology, yet it is so ingrained that people cannot see it and it is necessary for the success of capitalism. The few prosper on the backs of many, only the many are told that they have a fighting chance in a system the institutionalizes discrimination and depends on their second class status. Is economic equality the only way out?

money on my mind, among other things

2007-09-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

Takaki pissed me off a little in the beginnging of this second chapter, but I'm not sure if that was just me after hours of reading black women feminist voices on a quest for inclusion. But he makes a couple comments about American history and our society being built on the backs of others, yet he makes no mention of slavery, or the use of black labor, and although I know this is the histoy of Asian-American, it bothered me.

It was interesting to note the role of women in building the Chinese communiities in both California and Hawaii. What was troubling though was that even things like family life are directly linked to the economy. Hawaii needed the Chinese as a stable labor force, to live on plantations and maintain a life that required a wife and kids. On the other hand, in California, Chinese men were wanted for only a short time supply of mobile migrant workers, and women that did come over provided the same type of short term services, quite the opposite of the family needed for the plantation lifestyle. Money decides everything.

title controversy, takaki reading

2007-09-03T18:59:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying that this is the first time I've ever posted any of my thoughts/opinions/words in an online journal/blog-like forum. I can't help but associate this with our incredibly voyeuristic self-obsessed generation, and I feel completely vulnerable sharing with annoymous peoples. That said, I can't wait to read everything everyone else posts, haha

I wasn't completely shocked when Francis told us that "history" was omitted from the title of the course. It was definitely a leading question though since it was prefaced by talk of how we were pioneers. Since Asian American history has not been taught before, calling this course as such would not only be calling attention to the lack of courses being offered on the subject but would also bring with it the need to continue expansion of this neglected topic. Also, people are afraid of new and different things, it's best to avoid controversy.

Reading Takaki, I felt overwhelmed with information that I desperately wished I had had access to during my educational career. My college career, has therefore appropriately consisted of unlearning everything else, and this is still, as I'm in my senior year, yet another history of which I was completely unaware. It seems almost absurd though because not only did I grow up around many Asian Americans, I just had never questioned the societal norms that had brought about the suppression of Asian history as I had for other minority groups.

What I found particularly striking was the sheer numbers in which Asian Americans immigrated to the United States, and how such a large number of people could go without historical recognition and mass appreciation for so long. Takaki writes that "eurocentric history serves no one. It only shrouds the pluralism that is America and that makes our nation so unique, and thus the possibilty of appreciating our rich racial and cultural diversity remains a dream deferred." He then goes on to list numbers and dates and anecdotes, all displaying racism, evincing hatred and exemplifying the institutionalized discrimination that kept Asian Americans as outsiders, as "strangers from a different shore." This Eurocentric spin has kept Americans from getting to know each other, has kept us in our own neighborhoods, in our own boxes and away from the "outsiders" that we are made to view as strange and not at all like us. Not only do I think it's xenophobia, but very much a capitalist tool to isolate and alienate us from one and other. That just might be the socialist in me, whatever.

It was also particularly uncomfortable to think of our "founding fathers" in such racist terms.

Takaki of course is telling his story, all the left out bits and important stuff for him. This is all new to me so I'll take it and decipher it as I can, but it seems like even in Takaki's history of Asian Americans some are bound to be forgotten.