a new brain.

saw a musical on saturday night as well called a new brain. short version: i thought it was pretty good. long version: the music was great, but the performers were at times lacking - some counting issues, and the lead didn't have great stage presence or a great voice. on the plus side, one of the other main characters had just a great voice and according to a friend who's seen a professional production of it, this guy was pretty close to what it was supposed to be.

sadly i can't find the words to my favorite song from the musical which was "the music still plays on", but i did find the words to another song that i liked "heart and music" - it's hard to get a song from its lyrics because really you're only getting a bit of it but i figure its still worth a try.

MINISTER
Stories of passion
Stories of friendship
and tales of how romance survives

GORDON SCHWINN
I have so many songs

MINISTER
Stories of yes-es
of frogs making messes
and poor unsuccessful and fat people's lives

GORDON SCHWINN
Stories of living
Stories of dying
and ways we can deal with our fear
Stories of horses, parental divorces
and how rich or poor, it's a very small sphere
where we appear

But you gotta have heart and music
Heart and music
Heart and music get along

ENSEMBLE
You gotta have heart and music
You gotta have heart and music
Heart and music make a song

GORDON SCHWINN
If I only had the time
What I would write for your delight

MINISTER
Stories of illness

GORDON SCHWINN
Stories of illness

MINISTER
Songs of improving

GORDON SCHWINN
Songs of improving

ENSEMBLE
And everyone talks about change

GORDON SCHWINN
I have so many songs

ENSEMBLE
Stories of stillness,
of people not moving

GORDON SCHWINN
And throwing out books when things turn out too strange
We rearrange

ENSEMBLE
But you gotta have heart and music
Heart and music
Heart and music get along (you gotta have heart and music)

You gotta have heart and music
You gotta have heart and music
Heart and music make a song

Oh, you gotta have heart and music
You gotta have Heart and music
Heart and music get along

Oh you gotta have heart and music
You gotta
Heart and music make a song

You'll always get along with your heart
With your heart and music

GORDON SCHWINN
Heart and music make

ENSEMBLE
Heart and music make
Heart and music make a song

Heart and music make a song

tripping on feminism.

so had a women's center board retreat today and we went around and talked about how all of us had gotten involved in women's issues etc. which forced me to think about how i had sort of fallen into feminism and gone on that (still continuing) journey. at first i thought it went back to junior year of high school and sitting next to K in mr. g's gender imbalanced econ class. but then i remebered that really it went back to init (bccj leadership initiative) and gender night which had been an infuriating, self-discovery kind of night that was complex and emotional. i wish i remembered it better...what was written, what was said...i just remember shaking.

i realized today that aside from getting into women's issues and feminism because all the inequalities and problems infuriate me, i also got into them because for most of my life, if i was stereotyped, it was as an asian, but never as a woman. which to me is a curious thing that i'm going to have to think about a bit more. (i'll let you know if i come up with anything good).

political identity in northern namibia

ah, great talk. but since it is almost 2 in the morning, this will be only a quick hit and details may or not follow as i have somehow allowed myself to become part of a cosi fan tutte production that will take over my life next week. woohoo.

take back the night

so last wednesday night my college's rape and sexual assault network (RASAN) put on the event take back the night which is a march and protest aimed at bringing greater awareness on rape and sexual assault and creates a safe space for victims and friends of victims to tell their story. i'm really grateful that this college even has a sexual assault and rape hotline because even though thankfully i've never had to use it, it's nice knowing that it's there because even within this bubble of college, rape happens. it happens to and it has happened to members of this campus and knowing that there are people to talk to is something that not many other colleges offer (or at least not to the extent that they should).

it's a powerful thing to walk in a group of people, holding a candle, in complete silence. the thoughts that run through your mind are completely unpredictable but more profound that you could ever imagine.

i was struck by the stories told. both by one brave individual who had been raped over the summer and by numerous others who spoke at the open mic portion. i think it's really important to put a face to the stories. i only wish that people could "take back" more than just this one night. it's such a big issue, it affects so many people, and yet it's still not treated the same way that numerous other equally serious crimes are because there is such a big stigma against it, about consent, about what to do when it happens within a relationship. starting the dialogue, learning how to talk about it. those are important first steps that i'm glad to be able to undertake.

oops.

oops again. i am getting really bad at updating this. i'm trying to think of what has happened over the past couple weeks since i last posted - must have been something but i wonder what it was...midterms? possibly. papers? another possibility. still begs the question of what i've been up to...today had big polisci diplomatic simulation that was 6 hours so i'm glad that's over finally (with the moral of the story being we were not well equipped enough to be doing this and heads of states and obstructionist nations cause huge problems. oh, and not to become a diplomat).

oh. i've thought of what else has been going on and i think i need a whole post for it. so just hold on.

giles li

yesterday saw giles li, a community activist and slam poet (who coincidentally works in a community center in my grandmother's condo building) perform and talk as the keynote speaker for asian heritage month. really liked his performance and his poems none of which i remember well enough to quote but i always find it amazing how much word twisting and texture can go into these poems that are also embedded with meaning both for the poet and for the listener. even though most of his poems cover pretty serious stuff, he kept the show light with lots of talking and stories and some acoustic guitar.

here's one of his poems that he didn't perform, but that i found on his website and really liked (remember what i said about some of his poems being serious/a bit of downers):

For Bang Mai, 16
stabbed to death on July 11, 2004 in South Boston

The sky is getting darker.
We’re losing our stars one at a time
to streets that don’t hear prayers
and calls to stop the violence.

Our sons are dying in the city scenes they call home
as their mothers send breakfast-time chants in their direction,
keeping them safe until streetlights come clean
to serve as makeshift guardian angels.
A generation disappearing before its light has a chance
to shine through,
etch its shadow in our minds,
decorate our night sky with spirits
we can remember without having to try.

A generation disappearing, begging for blessings
from anyone who might have them to give.

It’s harder to notice stars from the city
because lights from the ground
make them harder to see.
Another one of our stars has fallen to the ground,
and all we can do is keep our heads up,
eyes toward the heavens,
and wish there was an answer that
would keep our night sky from falling,
falling,
trying to lull us back to sleep.

But it’s hard to find sleep tonight,
because looking into the sky,
we know another one of our stars was taken
before his time.

copyright Giles Li, 2004

vietnam and iraq: lessons for obama

two excellent historians talking about the vietnam war and the iraq war and what lessons we can draw from them for the present day situation. (basically the title of the talk said it all).

more on this later if i get a chance.