sites

Here are some more links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents:

• Campaign Site of Sue Chan, who is running for Fremont City Council (CA). Her website is www.suechanforfremont.com and her campaign features over 100 video endorsements of every day Fremont community members showing their support for Sue.
• Concert by Far*East Movement. Because there are so few venues for APAs to perform, FM is creating that space by teaming up with Wong Fu and a bunch of other artists for this concert in September. Site is www.internationalsecretagents.com.
• Blog Action Day 2008. One of the fundamental principles of blogging is to participate in a social community with others. With that in mind, I would like to encourage those of you who also blog to join me and participate in Blog Action Day 2008.

  Basically, it’s a collective effort by the blogging community (also known as the blogosphere) to get bring attention to an important social issue by having as many people as possible blog about it in a single day. Last year, the issue was the environment. This year’s issue is poverty and the day of action is Wed. October 15.

  Poverty is an issue that affects and cuts across all nations, all racial/ethnic groups, genders, and political ideologies. I hope you’ll join me in participating in Blog Action Day 2008 by registering your blog at their site.

Here are some more links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents:

• Ted Koppel’s Series on China Entitled “The People’s Republic of Capitalism” on the Discovery Channel (July 9-14 at 10pm ET/PT)
  http://www.youtube.com/user/DiscoveryChannel12
• Vietnamese Workers Abroad: A Rights Watch
  http://vietnameseworkersabroad.wordpress.com/
• Focus Group Study on Asian and Latino Americans in Massachusetts
  UMass Boston’s Institute for Asian American Studies is looking for potential participants in a focus group that will be looking at factors that influence career choices for Asian Americans. It’s specifically focused on 1.5 – 2nd generation Asian American and Latino graduate students in Massachusetts.

  The pilot study involves filling out a brief questionnaire and a two-hour focus group in the Boston area. Participants will receive a stipend of $50. The time table for this focus group is some time in August. Most likely the exact date and time will be determined based on the most number of participants who are available.

  I was hoping you all might happen to know particular graduate students who would be interested in participating. Also maybe you could forward this information along to any graduate student listservs you are on. For all further inquiries regarding participation in the study, you can have those who are interested contact us at: iaasfocusgroup@gmail.com.

  Sincerely,
  Nate

• Announcement about Asian American Art Project
  Hello, my name is Mykim Dang and I am a film and visual arts student at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. I am developing a project for my Senior Honors Thesis and am contacting you in an effort to locate project participants.

  As a first generation Vietnamese-American citizen and practicing visual artist, I am working with issues of identity and identity formation, particularly within the postcolonial and postmodern discourse. I would like to engage with other Vietnamese-Americans across the country to gain a deeper understanding of our collective identity in the modern world. I feel that this is a unique way for Vietnamese Americans to connect with one another.

  The main objectives of this process are to better understand the contemporary Vietnamese-American identity, to explore the relationship between artist and viewer, and to recoup art as a reflection of the human spirit. It will provide a necessary outlet and voice for those involved and will prove to be an equally exciting and enlightening opportunity for all those who participate.

  My thesis project is a mixed-media installation comprised of three parts: a text-based component, a hand-drawn component and a photographic component.

  I am asking anyone who wishes to participate to send me a written description of him or herself and a photograph that they feel best represents him or herself. Based only on the written description, I will create a hand-drawn portrait of each subjects. The text, portrait and photo will be displayed side-by-side, reflecting and refracting one another through visual and verbal associations.

  If you have any further questions or would like to be involved in this project please feel free to contact me. I can provide a detailed project description, a step-by-step instruction guide for participants, and a release form designating voluntary participation in this project. I look forward to hearing from you, thank you so much for your time.

  Sincerely,
  Mykim Dang
  mkdang@gmail.com