Opps forgot to mention that I was on the radio last Friday talking about blogging and Twitter (how ironic). You can find the stream here. I'm on during the second hour.
However, I will be on the radio ('The Link' on Radio Canada International) tomorrow speaking about changing standards in education and my experiences teaching. While I don't speak that much, it was great panel discussion and the debate gets a bit heated! Ooohhh! Teachers gone wild!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Reel Asian Film Festival
I met these folks at a Asian-American conference at Concordia a while back and in the unlikely event that you make films, here you go.
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
THE 13TH ANNUAL TORONTO REEL ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 11 to 15, 2009
Reel Asian is Canada’s largest and longest-running showcase dedicated to contemporary Asian cinema and media arts from Asia, North America and all over the world. Annually, the festival attracts thousands of attendees to five frenetic days of screenings, industry events and galas. We invite you to submit new independent films and videos by and/or about East and Southeast Asians of all genres.
See SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES and ONLINE SUBMISSIONS at http://www.reelasian.com
EARLY DEADLINE: FRIDAY MAY 15, 2009 (NO SUBMISSION FEE)
FINAL DEADLINE: MONDAY JUNE 15, 2009 (SUBMISSION FEE $20 CAD)
Email questions to Artistic Director, Heather Keung at programming@reelasian.com with subject ‘submission 2009’ or contact the festival office at 416.703.9333
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Telefilm and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
THE 13TH ANNUAL TORONTO REEL ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 11 to 15, 2009
Reel Asian is Canada’s largest and longest-running showcase dedicated to contemporary Asian cinema and media arts from Asia, North America and all over the world. Annually, the festival attracts thousands of attendees to five frenetic days of screenings, industry events and galas. We invite you to submit new independent films and videos by and/or about East and Southeast Asians of all genres.
See SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES and ONLINE SUBMISSIONS at http://www.reelasian.com
EARLY DEADLINE: FRIDAY MAY 15, 2009 (NO SUBMISSION FEE)
FINAL DEADLINE: MONDAY JUNE 15, 2009 (SUBMISSION FEE $20 CAD)
Email questions to Artistic Director, Heather Keung at programming@reelasian.com with subject ‘submission 2009’ or contact the festival office at 416.703.9333
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Telefilm and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
I'm on Twitter! (read: I am a weak, pathetic trend hopper)
Okay so I buckled and have decided to reactivate my Twitter account. In all honesty it just seems like a glorified Facebook status update, but after reading Aziz Ansari's hilarious movie commentary during 'Crank 2' I've decided to use my Twitter account as my movie rant platform as if you've ever seen a movie with me (especially with me and Al) you'll knows I can't keep my mouth shut during a film.
You can find me under 'rparungao.'
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
On Ritual, Secularism and Identity
Last weekend I was at a friend's passover Seder (for those who don't know a Seder is a traditional Jewish feast held in late March or April). As I'm not very familiar with Jewish tradition (and moreover I knew about 3 people at the table of 15) I just sat back and partook in the meal as a polite observer.
And man did I learn a lot.
While yes, I found out what a Seder was what particularly struck me was the dialogue that my friend Julia decided on for the event. Basically at a Seder a script is passed around from person to person at the table from which passages of dialogue are recited, followed by various ritual actions. What was interesting to me however was the selection of text Julia had picked. While the ritual actions that were conducted at the Seder were pretty much the same at any other Seder (so I'm told), their significance was different as Julia customized the script to represent the ideals of those at the table (read a bunch of loony leftys). As a result, there was no mention of 'God' in the entire event and a re-understanding of certain rituals to symbolize the importance of gay and lesbian Jews in the community, and finding a peaceful resolution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
As well, one of the other attendees (Ali) was Bangladeshi and told us all that the next day (April 15) was Bengali New Year and that he was going to celebrate it by 'going through the motions that he remembered' and of course this specifically involved consuming large quantities of food.
This got me thinking about the importance of ritual for us young adults who have grown up with a a predominantly secular identity. This rings particularly true for children of immigrant families be it second, third or (in my case) fourth generation. How important is it to maintain these rituals as we become more and more distanced from the 'motherland' or 'home' culture? Is the 'authenticity' of the ritual 'watered down' as we re imagine their significance? Or is a new identity and authenticity formed?
In my personal situation I don't hide the fact that I hold onto many traditional Confucian ideals despite considering myself a progressive. For example, when my grandfather died I didn't even think twice when I had to take care of his house for the summer because the rest of the family was busy and my application to law school was more than a little influenced by my heavy-handed parents and grandparents. However unlike most Chinese-Canadians, I'm not particularly bothered or burdened by filial piety, but understand it as my responsibility.
So is it possible to still consider myself liberal if I still cling to old tradition and ritual? What if this tradition is problematic or directly contradicts my more progressive beliefs (as is the case with many old Chinese customs)? Can we find a middle ground in re-interpreting customs? If culture is a collective identity, do we distance ourselves from it if we interpret our rituals on an individual level?
I don't really have any answers to these questions, but I'm muddling through it decently enough. And yet, while Julia and Ali were able to figure out how they were going to preserve links to their cultural heritage I completely forgot to celebrate Qingming. In an attempt to rectify this oversight - and pay homage to a great man (as I have no tombstones in Montreal to sweep) - I decided to burn some incense at the statue of Norman Bethune. While it was a bit weird to be doing this two weeks late (and I had a ton of people staring at me) it nevertheless felt good. For better or for worse...filial piety upheld.
And man did I learn a lot.
While yes, I found out what a Seder was what particularly struck me was the dialogue that my friend Julia decided on for the event. Basically at a Seder a script is passed around from person to person at the table from which passages of dialogue are recited, followed by various ritual actions. What was interesting to me however was the selection of text Julia had picked. While the ritual actions that were conducted at the Seder were pretty much the same at any other Seder (so I'm told), their significance was different as Julia customized the script to represent the ideals of those at the table (read a bunch of loony leftys). As a result, there was no mention of 'God' in the entire event and a re-understanding of certain rituals to symbolize the importance of gay and lesbian Jews in the community, and finding a peaceful resolution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
As well, one of the other attendees (Ali) was Bangladeshi and told us all that the next day (April 15) was Bengali New Year and that he was going to celebrate it by 'going through the motions that he remembered' and of course this specifically involved consuming large quantities of food.
This got me thinking about the importance of ritual for us young adults who have grown up with a a predominantly secular identity. This rings particularly true for children of immigrant families be it second, third or (in my case) fourth generation. How important is it to maintain these rituals as we become more and more distanced from the 'motherland' or 'home' culture? Is the 'authenticity' of the ritual 'watered down' as we re imagine their significance? Or is a new identity and authenticity formed?
In my personal situation I don't hide the fact that I hold onto many traditional Confucian ideals despite considering myself a progressive. For example, when my grandfather died I didn't even think twice when I had to take care of his house for the summer because the rest of the family was busy and my application to law school was more than a little influenced by my heavy-handed parents and grandparents. However unlike most Chinese-Canadians, I'm not particularly bothered or burdened by filial piety, but understand it as my responsibility.
So is it possible to still consider myself liberal if I still cling to old tradition and ritual? What if this tradition is problematic or directly contradicts my more progressive beliefs (as is the case with many old Chinese customs)? Can we find a middle ground in re-interpreting customs? If culture is a collective identity, do we distance ourselves from it if we interpret our rituals on an individual level?
I don't really have any answers to these questions, but I'm muddling through it decently enough. And yet, while Julia and Ali were able to figure out how they were going to preserve links to their cultural heritage I completely forgot to celebrate Qingming. In an attempt to rectify this oversight - and pay homage to a great man (as I have no tombstones in Montreal to sweep) - I decided to burn some incense at the statue of Norman Bethune. While it was a bit weird to be doing this two weeks late (and I had a ton of people staring at me) it nevertheless felt good. For better or for worse...filial piety upheld.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Rob Moment #5432
So periodically I help the old woman on the fourth floor of my apartment carry her groceries up the stairs. No biggie, but feel free to compare me to Jesus.
Anyway, yesterday after I carried her bags up the stairs she seemed particularly friendly and spread her arms wide open. Now, coming from the West coast I interpret this as her saying 'give me a hug' and thus, I lean in and wrap my arms around her. In Quebec however, spreading one's arms means she wanted to 'faire la bise' (for the uninitiated, this means we kiss each other on the cheeks).
In the resulting jumble of limbs and lips the old woman ended up kissing my neck and (as I realized I was doing the wrong thing) I ended up kissing the inside of her ear (Hey! She was short!) and not wanting to be awkward I decided to complete the action by continuing to kiss her on the opposite cheek as she stared dumbfounded at my inability to properly conduct the most basic of basic French customs.
Anyway, yesterday after I carried her bags up the stairs she seemed particularly friendly and spread her arms wide open. Now, coming from the West coast I interpret this as her saying 'give me a hug' and thus, I lean in and wrap my arms around her. In Quebec however, spreading one's arms means she wanted to 'faire la bise' (for the uninitiated, this means we kiss each other on the cheeks).
In the resulting jumble of limbs and lips the old woman ended up kissing my neck and (as I realized I was doing the wrong thing) I ended up kissing the inside of her ear (Hey! She was short!) and not wanting to be awkward I decided to complete the action by continuing to kiss her on the opposite cheek as she stared dumbfounded at my inability to properly conduct the most basic of basic French customs.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Aziz Ansari is a Fucking Badass
Once upon a time a few years ago I watched stand up comedy video about Google hit results starring Aziz Ansari and Rob Huebel and I laughed my ass off. Since I'm always interested in comedians of color I decided to start following Aziz's blog and boy has he exploded since! You might recognize him as the racist fruit vendor on 'Flight of the Conchords' or from his hilarious MTV show 'Human Giant.' Recently, his new project is a prime time TV show on NBC entitled 'Parks and Recreation' which is shot in a similar fashion as 'The Office.' Its great to see comedians of color taking roles that are more than just a token gesture and moreover, aren't race-specific. Good stuff! He's got plenty of stuff on the horizon as well, and perhaps in the next few years we'll be seeing even more ethnic diversity in popular media. Its about damn time.
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