Wednesday, Oct 8, 2008 4:29AM /
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I noticed on most of my political related blogs there were some comments from people saying that they don't like or care about politics, so I thought I'd address the matter. I actually don't like politics either but I do care very much about politics. Let me say, I'm not forcing any ideas upon anybody here I just want to tell you my story...
When I was five years old, I wanted to be the first Chinese American President of the United States, then soon after I wanted to be a fireman then later a cop so I stopped paying attention to politics for many years. As a kid I hated political talk, it was boring and I felt that politics had nothing to do with me. Even as a teenager and college student I didn't care that much either. I saw Bill Clinton speak my first year in college and voted for him because I turned 18 that year and I thought it was cool to go and vote but I still didn't really care that much. I didn't vote the second time, nor did I vote in 2000. That was mainly because I was in Hong Kong already and I couldn't be bothered to figure out how to do an absentee ballot and I thought for sure Al Gore was going to win. I was in my twenties then and I didn't really care that much about world affairs. Quite frankly, I only cared about myself and the immediate people around me. What did that stuff have to to with me anyway? I just wanted to have fun and do what I wanted. But it was that 2000 election that started to make me wake up.
When Al Gore won the popular vote but lost because of the corruption of the Florida vote that was rigged by Bush's younger brother, I started to think, "Hey! Wait a minute...what's going on here?". When Bush took office and started to do the terrible things that he is now known for I started to become angry. When he started the war in Iraq to find "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and find Osama Bin Ladin, I really woke up. We later learned that there were no WMD's and that Bin Ladin was far from Iraq and that basically we spent and are still spending billions of our own tax dollars to basically assassinate Sadam Hussein and control oil so that Bush and all of his friends could get rich. That made me really angry.
When as an American, living outside of America, I started to see people from around the world change their attitudes towards Americans and begin to hate Americans, I really began to worry. I remember telling a taxi driver in Cairo, Egypt that I was from Hong Kong because I was afraid to admit that I was an American after hearing him tell me how much he hated "stupid, ignorant Americans and that they deserved what the terrorists are doing to them", I started to realize that it was politics and bad politics that got us here.
That's when I decided that politics are actually really really important. When things are going well around the world or in your country or in your neighborhood, then politics don't seem to matter that much but when things start to really get bad, like they are now, then politics are really important. When you do have the power to choose your government, it is probably the most important thing you can do for your country, for your community, and for yourself.
When you are young, still in school and don't yet have a job it may seem like politics aren't important but when you start making your own money, raising and supporting a family you start to understand that a good government and good politics are the key to your survival and that politics affect every single thing you do.
When you can't get access to a good education that's because of politics. When you can't get health care, that's because of politics. When your government waits several days to help you after a flood or earthquake that's because of politics. When the cost of gasoline goes up, that's because of politics. When the cost food goes up, that's because of politics. When your house and car gets taken away from you that's because of politics. When your parents lose all the money they have worked for all their lives for retirement because of faulty banking that's because of politics. When your friend goes to war and comes back home in a coffin, that's because of politics. When innocent women and children are killed by the tens of thousands in countries like Myanmar and Dafur, that's because of politics. When you see the Hong Kong harbor slowly disappear due to the influence of rich developers that's because of politics.
On the flip side, when you see an amazing and successful Beijing Olympics, that's also because of politics. When measures to protect the environment are implemented, that's because of politics. When laws are made to protect things like freedom of speech and human rights, that's because of politics. When you see the end of apartheid, that's because of politics. When you see women's equal rights that's because of politics. If you ever see world peace, that will come because of politics.
So as you can see politics and government are really important and when you live in a place where you have a say in things like this, it is very important that you care and it's even more important that you try and understand and at the very least vote. A lot of people want you to not care and not think about these things because that's how they can control you better. Now the reason why Americans politics are so important is because quite frankly, America is still one of the most powerful countries in the world and the things they do affect everyone from China to Africa to Papa New Guinea, so it's very important to have honest and caring leaders who really want to make this world a better place.
So you can choose not to care and live your life, that's fine. That's your business, I'm not going to judge you for that. But as you grow up and you begin to come across problems or begin to get upset by the state of the world or are moved by travesties caused by evil dictators or something gets taken from you, then you can help but care about politics and government. And that's exactly why I care so much.
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Monday, Oct 6, 2008 5:54PM /
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Monday, Sep 29, 2008 6:41PM /
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San
Jian Bao is a special kind of dumpling, much similar to the Xiao Lung
Bao but bigger and less delicate. It's characterized by it's crispy
bottom that is pan fried after it is steamed.
I
had to get up at 4am today for work so we could catch the sunrise.
After that scene was done we had some time off and I was craving san
jian bao for breakfast. My driver took me to this famous spot called
Xiao Yang San Jian Bao. It's a little tiny hole in the wall shop on a
street you normally wouldn't pass. When we got there , there was a line
of like 20 people waiting to get their little dose of San Jian Bao.
These ones were very similar to Xiao Lung Bao in that there was a
delicious soup inside. The crispy bottom was pan fried to perfection,
and along with some hot soy milk, I managed to put down six of them. At
only 1 rmb(12cents US!!!) each, this has got to be the best meal for
your buck. Actually less than a buck because 6 were still less than
$1us. If you're in Shanghai try them, you won't be let down!
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Monday, Sep 15, 2008 6:37PM /
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After
reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in fifth grade, I have
always had this dream of going on a river raft adventure down the
Mississippi River. Since moving to Asia I still kept the dream but
wanted to do it down the Yangtze or the Yellow river. Wouldn't it be
fun to build a raft out of bamboo and just cruise, letting the river
take you down it's path to wherever it goes?
Well I haven't done
this trip yet and quite frankly haven't thought about it for a long
time but a few days ago I was in Wu Yi Shan, Fujian province to film a
scene for this new film I've been working on and I was reminded of ol'
Huck Finn.
Wu
Yi Shan is famous for it's majestical mountains and dreamlike scenery.
On the day of the shoot, we arrived at the bank of the "9 Corner River"
where you could see row after row of bamboo rafts waiting to be set in
the water to take tourists down through the rocky terrain. I was
immediately reminded of Huck. The rafts were simply lashed together
with wire and made entirely out of bamboo. Even the seats were made of
bamboo. They didn't look that sturdy but once they were set in the
water I realized it wasn't going to be a problem.
Our
boatmen skillfully manuevered us to the locations we needed to get to
and we spent the morning shooting and enjoying the awesome views. I
think the footage we shot is gonna look really cool.
After
taking this short raft ride, I'm convinced that my dream of a river
adventure is possible. I'm not really sure if it'll be down the Yangtze
or the Yellow River. I think all the industrial waste and the huge
shipping boats may make it a bit life threatening but I'm sure I will
be able to find a nice river somewhere that will allow me to cruise for
a couple of weeks. Hopefully I will get to do this sometime...keep the
dream alive!
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Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 9:15PM /
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Ever had an unreasonably nasty neighbor? They're a pain in the ass, kind of like getting a splinter that you can't pull out. There's this lady who lives below me and she's one of those nasty ones. When I moved in three years ago, I was unpacking boxes at around 9:30 at night and she came up to complain about the noise. I told her I was sorry but that I wasn't actually making that much noise and I would try to be more quiet. Mind you they live two floors below me. Then just as I was about to shut the door she started going off about how her son gets up early and how I woke him up. I felt bad because she made it seem like he was a toddler that I woke up so I apologized again and shut the door. A couple days later I was in the same lift with them and saw that the son was a teenager, I highly doubt he was the one complaining because he had his ipod on blasting music.
So after that incident I thought, well I'm new here so I should be nice, so the next time I ran into her in the lift I smiled and said hi but she had nothing but dirty looks in return. She has also been very rude to my girlfriend as well. One time, while riding the same lift, she even had the audacity to cough back into the elevator while exiting. I mean she actually stepped out then turned her head back towards the elevator and coughed at us. Is that really neccessary? You would figure in the three years that I have living here that she would chill out. I even caught her twice snooping around and looking into the window of my car and the car of a friend of mine.
Then yesterday, as I was carring a very heavy box out of the lobby, she was on the other side of the door about to come in. When she saw me, she decided to take her time going in by slowly blocking the door and then pushed it inwards into me so I had to take several steps back. As I walked past her she told me that I needed to be patient!
Not once in all the times that she has been rude to me or my girlfriend have we ever said anything back. We've always been polite and just ingored her nasty comments or looks or actions because I feel that people like that will get what they deserve. She's just a bitter, nasty, over weight, unhappy divorcee house wife that has nothing better to do than to hold a three year grudge for nothing. When she was messing with me yesterday I wanted to ask her what the hell her problem was but then I decided she did not even deserve that. When you come across idiots like this, the best thing you can do is ignore them because really all they want is attention and by responding you're just feeding the fire.
I'm moving in a couple months anyway but I truly believe Karma will get her in the end. Most of the people that have been nasty to me have always had something really bad happen to them later. It's simple physics, an action will be met by an equal reaction. If you're nice to people they'll be nice back to you. If you're nasty to people, nasty things will happen to you.
I know this because I used to be a real jerk when I was younger. I would make fun of people or say really nasty things to get attention. During that time nothing good ever happened to me. Once I got into college, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try to make a change in my life, new people new environment. It could have been less of a conscious decision and more of me becoming more mature but you know what? It really worked. I started to get better grades and lots of great opportunites began to unfold in front of me. Now I've got an awesome career and really believe that's because I stopped being a jerk. Too bad the lady downstairs hasn't realized that yet.
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