Letter to the Editor

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I really enjoy reading hyphen magazines, because I find a lot of interesting article. Article that I can relate to in some ways, for example in the newest issue “The Consumption”, I find the article “The price is Rice” to be very interesting. Me being Khmu, (which is an ethic group that lives in the high land of Laos) we tend to consume a lot of sticky rice. I remember we had to eat everything with sticky rice, I really mean everything! From meats, to soups, even hot chips, and cup of noodle.

Every time my family receives their welfare and food stamp, rice was the first thing that was on the list. Growing up I always though that the reason we ate sticky rice everyday was because it was cheap and it made us full fast. But this was not true rice cost a lot, I found out the cost was like $20 a pound and that was back then, now it like $30. Me now knowing that there are people out their in Asia working hella hard to get this bag of rice for us to eat, I learn to appreciate the value of rice. I now tend to try to finish my rice, not waste a single grain. I value sticky rice because it’s a part of my culture, and keeping my family close.

-Phon Chanthanasak

I haven't blog lately.

Guys, I haven't blog lately and I can explain why. Im just a regular guy, tryna make it, and working as hard as I can to continue livin'. I think everybody has their own daily routine but the important part of our daily routine is the life lessons we capture from it. My average day for me is waking up in the morning, going to school, deal with bs, go to work, deal with bs, and finally go home, in peace. All the bs that surrounds us are there for a reason, its there to teach us shit loads of lesson about life. But sometimes, people just dont understand or know how to handle these problems we face. Like one of my homie said "The darker you are, the more stress are placed upon you." Its kind of true in a sense especially here in the US. I think we should just deal with it, and the last thing or never we should do is to runaway from it. It will eventually hunt us sometime in life. Im very thankful that my group (acting group) decided to do our part on stressing the issue about "Disposable Income". I think it is right to address this issue because large amount of Asian American elderly are dealing with poverty. To stop them from collecting recyclables is simply wrong because that's their only source of income. If they take that away from them, they will not be able keep up with their daily expenses. There is nothing wrong with recycling bottles, cans, or papers that are also contributing mess in our streets. Like I said in the beginning, this is another type of BS we have to deal with to fight for our right or to continue livin'. We should address this, and let everyone know that we are right!

Rovie Flores

F*** The Budget Cuts!!!

First I would like to thank all that participated in the walk out from Eths 210. In no particular order...Amanda, Kim, Donna, Jeff, Casey, Ericka, Jiawei, Noppol, and Vincent. They all deserve a hand of doing their part to show that we as a student body are not ok with the recent budget cuts to the state's education.

Now I was the one that came into a class filled with students and no teacher or TA's and told everyone that they were already at the march. Now I probably shouldnt have lied but I figured that they would have supported the cause and been there; I mean this march pertained so much to what we are learning in class about standing up for yourself when no one else will. So as we marched out of the class and up the side of Thornton Hall we saw one of the TA's whose name will be kept anonymous (Kristen!)...This discouraged many of the students to turn back expect for the ones named above. We continued on and marched with the rest of the student body to show our displeasure with the current budget cuts.

I would hope that in the future the rest of the students would take a more aggressive approach to voicing their opinions on the whole matter.

-Scott

Rest in Power Richard Aoki

DAAAng I Just hear some bad news, Richard Aoki passed away This Sunday at age 71. I very sad to hear that. He was a true like a hero, a fighter for the community. A TRUE BLACK PANTHER MEMBER

For those who dont know who Richard Akoi was here some info:

Richard Aoki was one of the first members of the Black Panther Party and a field marshal of the revolutionary group. And Yes there was Asian folks in the Party.

"Aoki was born in San Leandro, CA. He and his family were interned during WWII, and afterwards, resettled in West Oakland. Aoki befriended Black Panther Party founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale at Merritt College in Oakland, where they all went to school. Richard was also a student leader in the Third World Student Strike at UC Berkeley in 1968 and a member of the Asian American Political Alliance."- HYpHEn


Even though Your gone You will never be forgotten. WE will continue the fight.




PHON CHANTHANASAK

Walk'd it owwwwwwwwt last thursday !

So, Since I wasn't at class last Thursday, I figured I should explain why and my justification for missing a class. Well it was a normal day last Thursday and I had been hearing about the "Walk out" on march 12, but was sorta unsure about attending because that was the day of my most stacked classes. So I said to myself "Fuhhhhgedddabout it". Anyways, while I'm waiting in class for Ethics 210 to begin, I noticed a bunch of people still haven't showed up. So I'm sitting there, and in barges in a couple people from my group persuading us to go to the Walk-Out, so we all leave and decide to hold it down for the student community of SFstate. Well we begin marching onto 19th and joining the rest of the rebels at SFSU and begin chanting and yelling all the cheers that people are screaming. Although a large majority of the class left our group when they saw the T.A's -_-, some of 210s finest, mixed persuasian, and planateers held it down for the class. At first I saw this whole walk-out thing as somewhat obnoxious and pointless, Jiawei explained to me that it was these same types of events that got us Asian American Studies in the beginning! So while I was bummed about missing class, I knew that these protests were in fact important to making a statement as a community. Anyways, it was a great day with some different groups all being able to speak our mind as a community. Although the SF police department seems to be a little rude nowadays. Anyways, as you may have already seen the pictures, here's some photos from the march on 19th and the bonding with the other groups. ;D





Holding it down for Ethics 210 while still achieving true self determination. yayuhh.

210s Finest + Planeteers + Mixed Persuasion =
Probably the Finest Mixed Planteers you've ever met, Correct me if i'm wrong?




-Vincent Santiago

Sushi Boom I or II?

One afternoon my boyfriend and I were exploring the city and I got really hungry. So we stopped into this cute little sushi place, called Sushi Boom II. The place had a nice interior décor and had a clean smelling restroom. The waitress was attentive, got our orders out fast and filled our water glasses whenever they reached the half way point. Food was yummy and they had a deep fried California Roll, something different. The Lion King Roll was hella good and that was the first time I ever tried it, I always heard from friends how good it is but for some odd reason all the sushi places I’ve went to never had it, weird I know. Anyway, I was satisfied with the food and the service. As we were having our lunch we were talking about the name of the restaurant’s name. Sushi Boom II? So that must mean there’s a Sushi Boom I, right! Like a video game, Kingdom Hearts I and Kingdom Hearts II. Actually the restaurant name even sounds like a video game. And usually when a sequel comes out the first one is typically better. So we thought this place, TWO, was good so that means ONE must be better. Okay so a couple weeks later we decide to look for Sushi Boom I. We found it and I kinda wish we didn’t because I would have rather eaten some place else. The place looked pretty bummy, it smelled kinda funny, the Lion King Roll was nasty because the rice tasted old! Sushi Boom I was a disaster! Don’t ever go there!

-ashley

Berkeley Thai Temple SAVED!!!

This past couple months has been a struggle for my family and our Thai community. Our Thai temple in Berkeley, Wat Mongkolratanaram has been a part of the Berkeley community for 25 years. For the past 25 years, our Thai temple has been bringing together Thai Americans together every Sunday to enjoy food and some festivities. My parents, aunts, uncles, and grandmother have been attending this Thai temple since they came to the United States. With them, they brought my brother, my cousins and me every Sunday to surround us with the Thai culture and religion. They passed their culture to us and we mixed it in with our "American" culture. We enjoyed all the fine foods while praying and communicating with other kids whose parents also brought them for the same reason. Every Sunday, the Thai temple opens it doors to anyone to come and enjoy the fine foods and learn about the Thai culture. This is the main source of income for the temple to keep its doors open.

Last year, the temple celebrated its 25th year anniversary, but instead of proper festivities, it was slapped with notice to cease all festivities and cooking on Sundays! Surrounding neighbors have been complaining about the noise level, limited parking and the large amounts of people that come.
Surrounding neighbors want the Thai Temple to significantly reduce the offerings of fine foods and festivities on Sunday. Instead of every Sunday, neighbors want the Thai Temple to only operate on 3 Sundays out of the year!
Since late last year, the Thai Community has gotten even closer to saving the Thai Temple. It has even made it to the media as a very controversial topic. Since these festivities and fine foods on Sunday is the Temple’s main source of income, shutting everything down with ultimate close the Thai Temple.

To keep this post short as of February 18, 2009, I am very happy to say that the Zoning Adjustment Board in Berkeley has voted to allow the Thai Temple to continue its operations!
This is one of the main reasons living in the bay area is great! There are about 60,000 Thai people living in the bay area and while not all of them go to the Berkeley Thai Temple, almost everyone has come together to support it. At the recent hearing at the Berkeley City Hall, more thank 1,000 Thai, Thai-American, and American people showed their support. Many people traveled from as far as San Jose to support our Thai Temple.

This Thai Temple has been apart of my life, I have met so many other Thai American kids that were my age every Sunday when I was little. Because of this, I have learned extensively about my religion and about my culture. I have been apart of this Thai Temple since I can remember. I remember playing with many kids, working with many older grandma’s, and just spending quality with my brother and 7 other cousins who we saw every weekend.
If you don’t know about this Thai Temple, it is considered to have the BEST THAI FOOD IN THE BAY AREA!! All proceed s go to the upkeep of the Temple. It’s a great place to learn about Thai culture and to meet a lot of very nice energetic people. With more than 280 reviews on the yelp and an overall rating of 4 stars, I encourage you to try it out on Sunday, It is well worth the trip!
http://www.savethethaitemple.com

The Secret Recipe (katsu sandwich, rancher roll, red sun)

Hello everyone! Noppol here! As promised the super secret recipe to creating your very own delicious katsu sandwich, rancher roll with wasbi ketchup, and our famous red sun cocktail!

Katsu Sandwich

Boneless Chicken breast
Eggs
Flour
Panko (bread flakes)
cooking oil

Place flour in one bowl, scramble the eggs in another bowl, and panko in another bowl. Warm up enough oil in a cooking pan for frying. Start by placing the chicken in the flour and cover completely. Then place the flour covered chicken in the egg and cover completely. Now place the flour covered egg covered chicken into the panko and cover completely. Now fry in the cooking oil until chicken is completely cooked (turns a light golden brown). I recommend to take it out as soon as it starts to turn light brown because it will continue to cook even outside the oil.

Rancher Roll
Eggs
Bacon
Onions
Tomatoes
Seaweed wrap
Japanese rice (any rice will do)

slice eggs, bacon, onions and place into pan. Scramble eggs and place into pan. Cook until you get an omelette. Place rice on seaweed, place the omelette on the rice and roll it very tight! Be careful not to break the seaweed!

Wasabi Ketchup
Wasabi power
Heinz Ketchup

1 tablespoon wasabi
1 tablespoon ketchup

Mix until wasabi is totally dissolved into the ketchup. It will turn brown!

Red Sun Cocktail

1/2 part jack daniels
2 parts premium Sake
2 parts coke

Mix inside a Japanese teacup and enjoy!

Thats all folks!

-Noppol

Asian American Fashion; Bay Area DXC

Well since the fashion challenge is coming up, I wanted to blog about Asian American fashion which I find most prevalent in the bay area. This may not apply to all Asian in the bay area, but me personally being interested in sneakers I notice it a lot more. So first, take a look at this video of a bay area "Dunk Exchange", an event in which people from a local area come to sell shoes, trade shoes, buy shoes and being surrounded by shoes. Watch the video and tell me if you noticed anything in particular.

While i'm not going to say that ALL the people there were Asian American, and i'm not going to say that there aren't just a large amount of Asian Americans in the bay area in general, a majority of the people (if you noticed) were Asian. I find this interesting and I want to take a deeper look into this. It turns out there many Asian Americans are interested in purchasing nice things, and for some it may be designer brands and expensive accessories, for many Asian Americans in the bay area it's sneakers. If you are thinking to yourself at this point "That's a mighty big assumption" then just take a look at places where Asian Americans are typically occupying and then take a look down at their feet. For example, walk around Serramonte Mall in Daly City (A mall filled with Asian Americans) and just take a look at every Asian you see, then take a look at their shoes. Probably about 75% of the time they'll be wearing either Jordans, Nikes, Vans, or anything in hot fashion today. But you ask yourself "Why is this like this" and I see it as Asians wanting to not only be fashionable but also "Cool". Ever since I grew up, I was raised around Filipinos (I grew up in Union City) and I've noticed that many Asian families are in some sense well off or just extremely hard workers. And I've also noticed that with the income that Asian parents make, they're always willing to share the wealth and dress up their children. I feel as if there is a direct correlation between Asian American parents working hard/maintaining a steady income and the up rise of Asian Americans buying Sneakers. I also believe that there is a culture uniform that many Asians conform to. I feel as though Asians (especially in the bay area) are mass consumers of sneakers and now everyone else who isn't Asian American can understand why.

Perhaps people in this generation also have an inspiration;



I know i'm inspired HAHA.



Anyways,

Peace Out!

-Vincent Santiago

To the Editor of Hypen Magazine

Dear Editor,
I was taking a look at your "Consumption Issue" of Hyphen Magazine and I just wanted to let you know that I was really impressed with your Sex Education Article regarding pornstar Hung Lo. Honestly, I read it at first and thought to myself, "Oh an asian man pornstar, what's so great about that?" but after discussing during class what this article really stood for I was thoroughly impressed. First of all, I now understand the reasons and drives that actor Hung Lo has. It is a common stereotype about Asian males that they are "well you know", and personally I feel as if this actor is standing up for all Asian Americans. Personally, i'm impressed that you were able to take such a unique and somewhat awkward subject and were able to spin in constructively. Also, i'm also impressed that you reported on a subject that not many magazines would even consider. I find this very entertaining and feel obligated to say "Thank you" for being able to publish issues like this. These issues are overlooked today in society and i'm glad that your crew at Hyphen was capable of shining some light on touchy aspects of society. Furthermore, the entire magazine is great and I also enjoyed the article on the DJs from seattle. It is always nice to read up on asian american musicians who are trying to make it in the music industry. Your magazine is an inspiration, keep on writing!

Thanks,

Vincent Santiago
San Francisco, California

To the Editor of Hyphen:

I am a new reader to your magazine and have truly enjoyed it. I like the message behind each issue, and each article is well thought out and well written. But I have a suggestion that I feel would take Hyphen to the next level. Hyphen should get a celebrity to write an article in each issue. This can go one of two ways: get a celeb to write an article per issue or get a couple of celebs to share the load. I think the first option is the easiest since the duties fall on one person and there is only one issue per quarter. But if you can get a couple of celebs it might keep it more interesting especially if you get them from both genders. The celebs need to be relevant and ones that the readers can connect with. This will benefit the magazine in the fact that it will separate you from other magazines by getting a firsthand look at what’s going through these celebs heads or show what they are passionate about. It also benefits the celeb with publicity and getting an inside look into their lives, the reader will be more likely to keep up with the celeb. It will also be a start to giving the Asian American’s an icon to look up to. When you look around there aren’t many prominent Asian American figures around. But this can be a start to that, especially for those young Asian American individuals trying to make a name for themselves. If these celebs write about their lives, what it takes to make it in the industry they are in, passion projects, projects they are currently working on, hobbies, or how they stay involved in the community would be huge. This would be an article I would look for in every issue. The important thing is that it has to be written by the celeb themselves. Don’t make it a question and answer thing, make it something that they can take and run with. It will take you into the mind and thoughts of the successful ones that made it. You can also broaden this by also reaching out to other successful Asian Americans such as politicians, engineers/scientists, writers, athletes, CEO’s/VP’s of Fortune 500 companies, the possibilities are limitless. And this would probably be the best way to start off as it is hard to get musicians, artists, and movie stars to commit to something like this. But once they see how successful it is and how Hyphen is gaining influence within the Asian American community, you’ll have everyone knockin at your door to get on the Hyphen Hype!

Scott Siordia
Fairfield, CA

Yeah I'm Chinese,.. And what?..

A couple weeks back I posted on how Asian American artists aren't capable of becoming as big or as popular as other major stars today. However, during my other Asian American Studies class we were discussing Asian Musicians and if their videos battle or reinforce stereotypes. These are the two videos we watched.

1st Video-Jin-Learn Chinese

Well this video brings back memories, Jin, first Asian American on the Ruff Ryders and another rapper in the Hall of Fame for freestyle friday on 106 and Park. I feel as if Jin is accepted into the rap community. Although there are a lot of Asian stereotypes in his music video, Jin embraces the fact that he's Asian and never seems to feel uncomfortable with mentioning it in his freestyles or raps. An extremely talented musician, Jin tha Mc is an inspiration for us all.

2nd Video-Natalise-China Doll

This video is an up an coming Asian musician who apparently is aware of typical Asian stereotypes but tries to "battle" them by making them evident in her music video. I feel as if this video didn't have a lot of real Asian themes. The whole video is full of stereotypes and bad editing. I do not feel as if this artist represented Asians in a positive light, but in some sense made us look that much more idiotic. While this artist may have had good intentions, just her persona in the video portrays her in a far different light. And while people who know Natalise and her background know she is trying to prove a point in the creation of this video, people who aren't familiar with her are going to pass judgment.


Another video of Jin before entering the hall of fame; Raps in Chinese at the end! =O




Anyways, Goodnight Yall!

-Vince Santiago

Go hard or Go home..things heat up in the kitchen.

As my other group members have already begun to mention, we recently had our group iron chef project. Although the competition was difficult and challenging, I feel as if both groups put out a commendable effort(Shoutout to Mixed Persuasian and 210's finest).


For our group we had a variety of different dishes and entrees.
The food consisted of;

Chicken Katsu Sandwich; Integrating to the american on the go past-time of a sandwich with the protein of a traditional japanese cutlet.

Omelete "On a roll" Sushi Roll; The collaboration of the American breakfast and the traditional Japanese Sushi roll.

Wasabi Ketchup; The fusion between two entities of tomato sauce and spicy wasabi topping.

Red Sun Drink; Jack Daniels, Coke, Saki, Splash of lemonade.



Last, like my other group members mentioned, although during class we may act like the confident, cocky guys, I hope everyone understand it's simply a persona that we put up to get into part. I personally would like to apologize if we come off as a bit too arrogant for our good, however I think I speak for the entire 210's finest when I say that the competition is good for the class. In conclusion, while we come off as the cocky group in the class, hopefully everyone knows that it's all fun and games between the groups. See everyone tomorrow and good luck to the next group up for projects.

-Vince Santiago

A little of this A little of that...

I wanted to say thanks to Phon for hookin up the links on our page. I add the foundation's website that I am apart of, The Matt Garcia Foundation. Go check it out and please get involved. It doesnt have to be with this foundation but I feel that everyone should be involved in some kind on community service. You dont think that you can make a difference but the little things count. You can help change one kids life, clean up a bad neighborhood (literally), or just be there for someone who needs help. And I know we all have busy lives but if you can sacrifice 5-8 hours a month and make a huge difference!

I also wanted to give a shout out to Jiawei for his Food Challenge post. I totally agree with him on the whole situation. Thats all I have to really say about that.

Now many of you dont know I am involved in some local politics in Fairfield. There have been some things that have happened over the past couple of months that I dont agree with. I do not believe in biasing, personal agendas, or voting on things for personal gain or in spite of a person/group. I can understand not liking a person or group if thats the decision you want to make in life. But when you are in a position on power and your opinion can hurt a certain person or group you have to remove all biases. That is the problem with today's politics, people have their own personal agendas and make decisions based on these agendas. And their decisions can really affect people is the long run. They know what the right decision is to make but make the wrong one on purpose for their own personal gain or in spite of a person/group. We have to become more conscious of this as a society as to make sure we, the people, do not vote these people into power. Now some people are appointed positions of power and we can not do much about it, but once they use there power in the wrong ways and are making terrible biased decisions those individuals have to be put in check. I guess I am just venting a little bit, but I would hope that people would have better morals then that.

Lastly, I want to address all those that feel our group is too "cocky". I know we do a good job of letting everyone know we are the best group but with a name like 210's Finest you have to be a little cocky. We all decided that this would be our persona in class, just to mix things up and make it interesting. So please do not get offended by how we do things. We like everyone in the class, and personally this is my favorite class of the semester. I like what everyone brings to the plate, and this is the main reason I stayed in this class. If anyone has been hurt or offend by us then I would like to apologize but remember this is who we are. We are going to be loud and in your face. We want all of you to remember who 210's Finest was!

-Scott

Yellow Fever

Hey guys, check this video out. I saw this video from my Asian American class last semester. Its very interesting, funny, but true at the same time. My co-workers and I had a conversation about the girls we had in our life in the past. Some are friends, girl friends, classmates and even co-workers too. My co-worker happened to be Asian too, and I noticed a lot of similarity in experience we had. We both never had a caucasian girlfriend (not like we want too) but its just we were never approached by them. I didn't realize this until college because in my high-school, the percentage of Whites was about 5%. What we noticed, is that it is more difficult for an Asian man to hook up with a Caucasian woman while it is opposite to a Caucasian man. More likely, a Caucasian man can hook up with an Asian woman because their White. "Its true and sad, but its all good. I'm fine with mine."

Watch the video so you'll know what I am talking about!!!

-Rovie Flores

These videos encompass all my feelings about how the media portrays Asian American men. I don't understand what we did to deserve such treatment from the media. I don't feel I could relate to any Asian American actors in the American mass media because they are either foreign computer geeks, or action heroes such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. I don't know how to hack computers and I don't know kung fu, so where are the Asian American actors that are respresenting Asian Americans males like me? The only two I can remotely relate to are John Cho from Harold and Kumar, and Leonardo Nam from "The Perfect Score", and that's only because they both smoke weed.
-Jiawei

NEW ADD ON (LINKS)

Hey Team I just want to tell you I add on a new feature on our blog site. It’s on the corner, Title Links. There you can add on the links of your Myspace, Facebook, and Web of your organization, either grass root, non profit, or others links.

I feel this is a good way to support one other, outreaching and networking.

So yea feel free to add on whatever there.

-Phon