Sat | January 21, 2006

Charles Kim

I had an English teacher in high school who one day handed out small notebooks to everyone, called them journals and told us we could write anything we wanted in them as long as it was more than one page and that we wrote something new every week. Like a diary? No. Couldn’t be too private or personal or pornographic because she was going to read it and grade it and for the length of the assignment we would be chosen at random to read an entry. I started doing it. Kept it up. On the day she called on me. I was ready. I wrote a story about a baseball player, standing in the outfield beneath a high fly ball at the bottom of the 9th inning at the World Series, bases loaded, two men out, deciding game. For twelve pages I described the thoughts running through his head as the ball plunged toward him. It began with the fear of letting the ball drop, which he had never let happen before in his dazzling career, but knew full well that there was always a first time. It ended with what he imagined he would be thinking at the end of his life, on his deathbed, as he looked back upon this day. Whether he actually caught the ball or not, I decided to leave out. The story was called “Pressure”. It was both personal and private because it expressed pressures in my own life at the time, straight A’s, perfect SAT scores, Ivy League schools, doctor or lawyer, dropping the ball. But, as instructed, it was not a diary entry. It was fiction. And writing it made me feel better about things. When the assignment ended, she encouraged us all to keep writing, not just for grades, for teachers, for money, for notoriety. But to keep writing for ourselves. More than 25 years later I still do. And will never stop. One of my favorite quotes is, “Learn as much by writing as by reading.” A quote by Lord Acton, the 19h century historian who was the same guy who said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I also enjoy films, music, and books. Good books I’ve read recently: “The Sportswriter” and “Independence Day” both by Richard Ford. “Atonement”, “Black Dog” and “Saturday” by Ian McEwen. “Underworld” by Don DeLillo. “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo. “Life of Pi” by Yan Martel. And I recently discovered Stephen Dixon by way of “Phone Rings”. I’m also a fan of Bukowski, Hubert Selby, Jr., Philip K. Dick and William Gibson. My favorite Asian American novel is “Face” by Aimee E. Liu.

Posted by Charles at 01:04 AM | Comments (6)

Tue | January 17, 2006

Chee-Ming Hung: Name Calling

I've walked up to Asians, introduced myself as Chee-Ming, and in the silence of them figuring out what the hell I just said, have added, "it's German."

1 in 4 fall for it. These people are retarded.

1 in 4 refer to me the rest of the time as "Jimmy," which sounds similar in loud and dance beat-friendly surroundings, so they are excused. It was a nickname I incorporated briefly in my life, during a time when being more American to white America was as appealing as an all-you-can-eat pie buffet. This change was not excusable. Please forgive me.

The rest of this focus group (2 out of 4) simply do what I expect most to do: ignore it. They will then introduce me to others as 'you' or 'this guy' until I explain myself again, flash a business card, or write my name on the blackboard, in big cursive letters, for all to observe and remark with, "Oh, I thought it was C-H-I. Weird."

No one gets it fully, and that suits me just fine.

It is a name given to me at birth, one which will be taken to my grave (Gee, I hope that never happens!), and will be questioned during every first impression in-between. I am proud of it, and enjoy the idea of people who have never met me mistaking me for either a mainland Chinaman with half my teeth missing, or a girl.

That's it. Thanks for coming. Now off you go.

Posted by Chee-Ming at 07:19 PM | Comments (11)

Sun | October 16, 2005

Heru, the Rabbit, but acts like the Rooster

I happened to respond to Lily's craigslist.org/nyc/activity partners ad many, many moons ago whilst lurking the MC's or missed connections section. IMHO, it's the best place to see how neurotic your subway denizens see you or anyone that cast their wistful eye upon. Not that it's one should be ashame about but, not too long ago, it could incite choice invectives in one's general direction.

Anyways, I'm in a midst of writing a fictional manuscript, it's companion screenplay and various missives to literary agents. My muses are historical, whimsical and metaphysical yet I can't stand convention. I hate being called a New Yorker but I love New York. I love the company of women but I tend to be feral. I tend to learn to fit in while others try to shut me out. Is it any wonder why the best writers in the land have the biggest woes of their lives?

Currently reading:

Dvořák in America : in search of the New World / Joseph Horowitz
Classical music in America : a history of its rise and fall / Joseph Horowitz.
The gospel according to RFK : why it matters now / edited and with commentary by Norman MacAfee.
John F. Kennedy on leadership : the lessons and legacy of a president / John A. Barnes.
Why do buses come in threes? : the hidden mathematics of everyday life / Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham ; illustrations by Barbara Shore
Fermat's enigma : the epic quest to solve the world's greatest mathematical problem / Simon Singh ; foreword by John Lynch
Ask not : the inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the speech that changed America / Thurston Clarke
High steel : the daring men who built the world's greatest skyline / Jim Rasenberger

Posted by Heru at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)

Mon | September 05, 2005

Kush Tandon

One of these days.... be Mahatma Gandhi, Breaker Morant, Subramanian Chandrasekhar, George Harrison, Jack Sparrow, Richard Feynman, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Langdon, Hans Bethe, Pink Floyd, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Shackleton, Edmund Hillary, Shaft, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Neil Young, Han Solo, Bruce Lee, Denys Finch Hatton, Mark Knopfler, and Like My Father.

I would consider myself successful in this endeavor, if part of being with Asian Writing Club makes me to read, write, and draw regularly, no matter how simple it be.

My blog: www.kushtandon.squarespace.com

Posted by Kush at 12:24 AM | Comments (1)