New Issue of Whistling Shade: Winter 2010

Whistling Shade is still going strong! One the first journals in Minnesota where I got my start, they're celebrating an all new issue!

The Winter 2010 number will feature a review of literary cafes in the Twin Cities, a powerful memoir by Maryla Neuman about her time in Auschwitz, Hugh Mahoney on John Dos Passos, another Central American misadventure by Justin Teerlinck, some simply wonderful poems and stories, and more.

The issue release is Wednesday, January 27 at Merlins Rest (3601 E Lake St. Minneapolis) starting around 7. Get there by 7:30 and do the pub quiz. In any case, stop by and have a pint with them!

[Literacy] Encouraging Lifelong Readers

Good reading skills are essential for community success, growth and enjoyment. Starting kids early to not just be able to read, but to love reading, is one of the great gifts you can give as parents, relatives and friends. Here are some tips that are handy.

Keep print around the house.The more books, papers, labels and objects children can find around the house in English and other languages, the more they have to practice. Be sure to keep books on diverse subjects for children to explore.

Read out loud to children daily. Make it an interactive process, and don't be afraid to read them some of their favorites. But also be sure to encourage them to explore new books too and to teach them that reading can be for pleasure as well as for learning.

Encourage open-ended questions and critical thinking. Helping a child to think things through and put their thoughts into words makes a difference. Encourage them to imagine other possibilities and to question what they're reading, and to form new ideas.

There are many other great ideas out there! What are some of yours?

[Grammys] Yeah Yeah Yeahs duke it out for Best Alternative Music Album

This Sunday, it's the Grammy Awards, which, mind you, may not be very relevant in the industry anymore, but this year it's a good year for Asians and Asian Americans.

The big one I'm watching is the Best Alternative Music Album category, because the Yeah Yeah Yeahs album It's Blitz! is up. Korean American Karen O is the lead singer for the trio, most of whom met in the late 90s at Oberlin College in Ohio and are influenced by the Ohio Avant-Punk scene. I can appreciate that. They've been compared favorably with Blondie and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The fun bit is they're going up against David Byrne with Brian Eno, Death Cab For Cutie, Depeche Mode and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, most of whom I also enjoy. Who will come out on top? Oooh, excitement. :)

Also worth noting is Hiroshima's Legacy is up for Best Pop Instrumental, Kitaro is back again to contend for Best New Age, Museop Kim is up for Best Opera Recording and Yuja Wang is going for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without an Orchestra). Yo Yo Ma & Friends are trying out for Best Classical Crossover.

I was surprised to spot Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho up for Best Hawaiian Music Album, and Sandra Oh is one of the various artists who narrated The Maltese Falcon: Dashiell Hammett which is nominated in the Best Spoken Word Album. That one kind of raises eyebrows, but hey.

Refugee Nation at UCLA: February 1st

For those of you in California, the Laotian American Organization at UCLA proudly presents:

Written and performed by Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng
Based on the stories of Laotian refugees and their descendants.

Monday, February 1, 2010,
7:30-10:00 PM, (Doors open at 7:00 PM)
Ackerman Grand Ballroom,
2nd Floor, Ackerman Union, UCLA Campus

A mother lives in the darkness of a South Los Angeles apartment. An Army General struggles to forget a lost war. A son battles in the streets of urban America. Refugee Nation is about a young generation struggling to understand their history and the silence of an elder generation still healing from the traumas of the U.S. waged Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War era.

The event is free and open to the public. The show will run for 60 minutes and will be followed by a 30-minute Question and Answer session with the artists.

For more information, please contact Leslie Chanthaphasouk at laoatucla@gmail.com or 714-383-4543.

The following event was made possible through the following campus partners: Campus Programs Committee, USA/BOD Programming Fund, UCLA Asian American Studies Center, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and Critical Asian Pacific Islander Students for Action (CAPSA).