So two weeks ago i instagrammed from a book I was reading, Antony Flew’s There Is A God. On tumblr, it got reblogged by some atheists (friendly atheists at that) and it has resulted in a bit of discussion. It’s not unfriendly, and is actually kind of fun to bounce back ideas back and forth. It looks like this is getting a little too big to handle on tumblr so i’ve come to the wordpress.
What is the self?
Click here to see the exchange
Click here to see my other response
Here we go:
Filed under God
Dobry den is Czech for good morning/day/evening. I am saying it every day numerous times because it would appear that i am living in Prague for a few months!
Besides all the photos and videos i’ve been t/making (seen here at my tumble tumble) there are obviously many things i’ve been learning from living by myself for the first time in my life. I’ve learned how to make use of a kettle and a sandwich press instead of a kitchen, and i’ve also learned the value of public transport in this world.
Something else more interesting i’ve been learning about is the limitations of language and communication, but specifically when i am encountering my fellow yellow-skinned folk abroad.
I blame my Anglicised-Australianised upbringing, but so many times i’ve found myself wanting to communicate to a worker in a restaurant or the obviously lost tourist in Cantonese/Mandarin yet i simply cannot! It’s like there’s something deep in my blood yearning to jump across the air into their ears in some effort of communication, but it just cannot materialise. It’s almost as if it’s more worth it to learn Mandarin than English in a foreign country because there will always be a Chinese restaurant in whatever part of the world you are in. It’s a law of physics.
There is a sizeable Vietnamese population here in Prague due to Communist connections back in the day, and that has also been very interesting to observe. While the older generation seems legit Vietnamese, their children and their children’s children, are speaking Czech and are just as Czech as i am Australian. It’s a very interesting combination. But I gain from the situation by relatively easy access to pho.
What i get from all this is a strange disconnection. While I feel a connection with my Asian brothers and sisters, I am more foreign to them than Chris Tucker could be. They speak Czech and Vietnamese. I speak Australian and broken Cantonese. Heck i can barely order any food in Cantonese so i definitely do not qualify as a linguist.
Anyway, it’s an interesting disconnect added onto the fact that i am already a foreigner who doesn’t speak Czech.
I am going to try a Vietnamese restaurant tonight. It has been my goal to go through every Asian restaurant in my Prague lonely planet book. Almost done i think. 
It is a well-known fact that my family are very well travelled. One of the peculiarities of travelling so far and wide so often is that we make a habit of shipping items between countries of residence that normal travellers probably wouldn’t. For example, when in Malaysia, we often bring back umbrellas or boxes of a specific brand of toothpaste. Leading up to our trip to the States in 2009, mum commented that we needed new shoes, and dad replied by saying ‘Ok! Let’s go to the States!’. And most recently, mum came back from Malaysia with bags of goodies both from England and the States (Jaffa Cakes, and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups!) for us to enjoy in Australia for some time after.
Once you use this toothpaste, Colgate makes your teeth feel dirtier after brushing!
This time around however, mum brought me back something a bit out of the ordinary…that is, a pair of cut-off shorts owned and worn by Hayley Williams herself!
If you know me, I was once a HUGE fan of Paramore. Way back in 2006, I bought myself an Alternative Press from an airport in Europe. There was an ad for a band with a cute redhead and so I thought I’d check them out. The band was called Paramore and sure enough, I fell in love with them.
It started as a guilty pleasure, and at this time in life I was way into bands like The Used and Story of the Year. But when Riot! dropped it was like I fully embraced the style and forgot all about the haters. Their vaguely spiritual and positive lyrics were also refreshing for me, and the vocal pipes on one Hayley Williams just made me fall in love. The Final Riot! showed me even more reason to love this band. And with jams like at the end of When The Flames Begin or later on Into to Brand New Eyes tour, I knew this band had much more credibility and vision to them than just run-of-the-mill pop punk to top the charts.
I’m not a 15 year old Twilight fan who just blindingly swears allegiance to the next flavour of the week. I like to think that I can knowingly critique and appreciate a band for their musicianship and songwriting skills. And for me, Paramore had it all down.
Part of the spell I was under consisted mainly of the brother/sisterhood within the band. Now apparently a bit of a sham to believe in, but back then we were fully convinced that Paramore would’ve been the funnest band to be in in the entire world. Of course, that illusion was all but shattered last November, and the pedestal I had put the Tennessee natives on had crumbled surprisingly fast.
So anyway, I was a diehard fan. I bought the deluxe editions. I wore the t-shirts (even made a fan shirt). I had seen them 5 times live in Australia. But now, it just isn’t the same any more. I still have interest, and will probably buy the new album, but based on Monster, my opinion is that the departure of the Farro brothers has caused Paramore to lose a bit of their original magic.
However, that didn’t stop me from snapping up these shorts of Hayley’s on ebay back in February/March! Here are the reasons I bought them:
So I got my cousin in Texas to buy them (it was a US-exclusive auction), my aunty and uncle from Malaysia to pick them up, and my mum to bring them back here last week (about 5 months later).
And as you can see, they fit just nicely! (click here!)
So in conclusion, many thanks for the shorts Hayley. I will treat them well and take them far and wide. Rest assured that they’re in good hands, or rather that there are good legs that rest in them. (:
Harry Potter and DH2 was released to much fanfare and mourning last month. I was swept up in the storm of Potter fandom something severe, and was more than keen to partake in the ritual of dressing up and driving to the 3am screening at the Darling Harbour IMAX with a carload of death eaters and Voldemort in tow. Seventeen of us went in a convoy and it was a night to remember.
A few days prior to the premiere, I was out shopping for materials to make my death eater masks. I bumped into some friends and we just had your typical small chat exchange. When I explained that I was dressing up for Harry Potter, I was asked a question that really irked me. This person I had never met before.
‘Are you dressing up as Cho Chang?’
Now usually this kind of thing doesn’t bother me, and maybe i’m overreacting a bit…but i had just met this person and I was like. wtf. Sure my close friends do it quite often, and that’s fine, but if you just met someone, i think that kind of thing just isn’t on (it’s not the first time this kind of thing has happened either.)
*le sigh* gtfo.
It’s still a funny thing living as an ethnic minority in Australia. When there’s an Asian presenter on a TV show, people will still have a ‘huh. That guy’s Asian’. Or when relating a story about some funny thing on the weekend, the antagonist will always be ‘that Indian guy cut me off at the traffic lights the other day’ or ‘that damn wog took forever at the bank’. Is it really necessary to mention his ethnicity in relating the story? Is it necessary to imitate his accent in an embarrassing way?
I guess it just comes from having a Eurocentric worldview that we don’t have to mention he’s a white guy, unless of course he himself was in the minority, say in Hurstville, or certain areas of Melbourne. And it is true that we stereotype white people just as much as others do us. So the sword is double-edged. But the question is, when will it all stop? When will we progress into a truly multicultural understanding that the man comes first, and his skin colour second? I’ve heard it said that we live in a post-racial society, particularly beginning from Gen Y onwards…but the evidence I see around me begs to differ.
Don’t get me wrong. Obviously, these are very minor racial issues, but they creep in the background of our minds all the time. We’ve come a long way since the end of the White Australia Policy, (which by the way was only abolished in 1973. And the Racial Discrimination Act only passed in 1975. Hell, Aboriginals were classed as flora and fauna until 1967. That’s the year Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. Put that in your pipe and smoke it), but there is still a way to go.
Meh. Whatevs.
Last week saw the long-awaited premiere of Chris Lilley’s new series Angry Boys. Expectations were unreasonably high and while the hype was somewhat well-managed, much has been said in the media of how ‘unfunny’ the first episode was. However for me, there is no denying the genius that is Chris Lilley.
Many were turned off by its offensive nature. But here’s a newsflash for all you haters who write letters to the editor…Angry Boys is about angry boys! So of course it’s going to be littered with expletives. Delving into the mind of a 21st century boy is going to bring up some ugly stuff, so we shouldn’t be surprised if Daniel calls his brother a ‘dick-face’, or if Gran calls out occasional racist slurs. They are grossly exaggerated, yet there is a very strong element of truth in Liley’s characterisations. That’s why we should be celebrating his genius as Australians.
In Summer Heights High, many decried the portrayal of Tongan boy Jonah Takalua as racist and stereotyped- Islander kids’ struggles with academic work, bullying at school, problems with authority…but by the end of the series, we were heartbroken as he was expelled from school. We had become so emotionally attached to this boy’s journey, that we wanted him to succeed like a normal Hollywood ending. However, in his exaggerated portrayal of a real school situation, Lilley highlighted the failings of the Australian education system, unable to help another problem child in what is a very real ending to Jonah’s story. The tragedy is that Jonah’s story is the same as countless many in the real world.
There is a real heart to these stories that is disguised by all of Lilley’s lampooning and racist jokes.
And that’s why I love and respect Chris Lilley’s work so much! While it’s funny that he is dressed in drag, and takes care of a few dozen guinea pigs as Gran, the real comic genius is how the characters are shaped and formed as extreme, and painfully recognisable characterisations of real situations. I haven’t been in juvenile detention, but I’m sure that racist slurs get thrown around all the time. I’m no bogan from the country, but I’m sure I would probably pass time by doing doughies in the dirt, and I would probably make fun of my half-deaf brother in the exact same way that Daniel does Nathan, given the opportunity.
But the heart of each character is what cuts to our core. There are hints of it, even in the first episode. When Daniel talks of his father’s death, and his mother’s boyfriend moving in, you start to understand why he is such an angry boy. When it is revealed that Nathan is unable to have the operation and they skype with their grandmother, I’ll be the first to admit I was fighting a lump in my throat (no doubt assisted by the soft piano music in the background).
So while you may say that Angry Boys is rude and you didn’t find it all that funny, you cannot seriously say that it is just another dumb, witless show and that Chris Lilley is not something to be proud of as Australians.
Postscript: This show is going to go off the rails when the Japanese tiger-mum character and the African-American rapper S.Mouse come into the picture. I am psyched!!
Poh from Pohs Kitchen- Asia Australias poster child?
My friend had a uni assignment as follows:
We have been asked to interview people aged over 18 about their life during their school years and then i have to write a narrative based on your responses, we were told to choose people for their differences in their lives and intrest from us, such as surfers, country kids etc, we are doing second generation immirants…doesnt really matter if youre not 
should be fun and easy
So for an insight into what it’s like to be different, read on!
Background:
1. Where did live during your high school years?
Cordeaux Heights, Wollongong
2. Were you/your parents/grandparents born anywhere other than Australia?
Malaysia. I think my grandparents are also from Malaysia, and their parents possibly from China.
3. Can you speak any other languages fluently? Speak more than one with family?Not fluently, but I understand enough Cantonese and Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) to get by. When I speak it, it usually comes out funny. My sister is doing a mandarin101 course at uni and I am jealous.
4. How do you identify now? (e.g. some people identify as Italian-Australian etc)
I identify as being an Aussie, but obviously not an Anglo Aussie (they are inferior anyway hahaha). I read a phrase online about being a ‘hyphenated’ person, Asian-Australian, and I like that way of putting it. Uniquely situated distinctly in the centre of two completely disparate cultures and worldviews.
5. Can you tell me about those years between 11 and 18, maybe about the things that stand out for you both at school and outside of school?
I started high school at 10 and finished at 16. So that was interesting. Never really copped any flak about being Asian or whatever. Went to a mostly Anglo school so I adapted to that and my Asian-ness never really affected anything other than friends having to take off their shoes in my house. As we got older though, coming into uni, it seemed that all of a sudden I was more aware of the Asian jokes and simultaneously grew to be more proud of my heritage.
I guess as children, race doesn’t really play a factor in how we relate to others. And because all my friends were white, I was probably just as white as them in most circumstances. As we get older though, our views get complicated by the world and differences between people become emphasised and lines are drawn. Even if in good nature, the lines still exist.
6. How did being a second generation immigrnat influence these years?
I think I answered this in the above. I’m a first generation Aussie and I don’t think this really impacted my high schooling years all that much, other than the great importance placed on education and hard work at school, which is stereotypical, but true when compared with Anglo Australian values. Having said that though, my parents were by no means slave drivers, and I definitely did not have a tiger mum.
Relationships:
1.Have you ever been responsible for the care of other people (e.g. family members, a person at school)
No. Does youth group count?
2. Had/have any serious relationships in way of a boyfriend/girlfriend? If so when?
In one now with the wonderful Clare.
3. How did being a second generation immigrnat influence your relationships?
Oh man. I could write an entire essay on this question…but I won’t. Let’s just say that whenever someone asks me if I prefer Asian girls or white girls, I usually reply ‘I like girls’. The end.
School:
1. How old were you when you began high school? How old were you when you left? – kevin….whats your genious history, like what years did you skip?? How did you feel skipping grades?
Lolzzzz. I skipped from year 4 to year 5 in 1999. Then after doing a term of year 4, I skipped from year 5 to year 7, skipping year 6 altogether. I was fine with this because we went to a small Christian school (400 students from K-12) so I saw most of my old friends anyway (most of whom I see now more than my high school friends). If anything, I was blessed by having 2 circles of friends instead of being limited to one. I could transition easily between the two circles, and eventually the two circles began to overlap anyway.
2. How would you describe yourself at school eg. as nerd? jock? popular?
I guess I was the smart one, but also not afraid to have a good laugh. My year 12 award was the ‘Fish On Fire; There Is No Kevin’ award because I was supposedly so random in my humour/behaviour. Classic.
3. What was your school like? (ethnic mix, government/private school, how thought about by the local community? What did you think about it?)
My school was Illawarra Christian School and is a private school. I went there from K to 12. It was a great school environment to be in, but exists very much as a Christian bubble- which has its pros and cons. Looking back, I always ask myself what it would’ve been like to go to another school, but while I was going through it, I never considered changing schools at all.
Even now at uni, people always kind of assume I went to Smith’s Hill because a) I’m a supposed genius, and b) I’m Asian…but assumptions are stupid anyway. ICS in my time was very much a white school, but nowadays there are many more Asian families and African kids around. Also the usual mix of miscellaneous brown people too (Italian, Lebanese etc).
4. How did being a second generation immigrnat influence your time at school?]
Obviously, there was a high regard for academic excellence so I always strived to do my best. But that shouldn’t just be an Asian thing, it should be a human thing.
Leisure/recreation
1. What do you like to do for fun?
Play music, watch movies, chill out at the blue house lolol
2. Have you travelled anywhere?
A lot of places. The US, France, England, Switzerland, Austria, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Phillipines, New Zealand, Japan…
3. What kind of music do you like and How important is music to you?
Music is life. I don’t like a specific genre of music…I just like MUSICCCC! I listen to a lot of punk hardcore, and alternative music. I don’t listen to the radio at all.
4. How did being a second generation immigrnat influence what you did outside of school etc?
All Asian children play piano and/or violin. So I can do that. I didn’t do any sports as a kid other than swimming.
Work and finance
1. Do you have a job now or work when you were at school? (why, where, how often, what was it like etc)
No job. I demonstrate a first year physics lab once a week. And occasionally teach drums to some kids.
2. How did being a second generation immigrnat influence work and finance?
My parents are happy to support me until I get married/ get my own full-time work. Don’t typically see that in white families.
Technology
1. Would you say you are dependent on technolgoy?
Hellz yeah!
2. What type of technology do you use most? eg computer, phone
Computer, phone
3. How old were you when you got your first, tv, phone, computer?
First TV? TV has always been in my life.
First phone? Year 10 or 11.
First computer? Bought my own laptop last June. But we’ve always had some sort of Mac computer in the house literally since I was born.
Playstation/video games has also been a part of my life since early childhood.
4. How did being a second generation immigrnat your view of technology?
Azns are 1337 h@x. It’s in our blood. (don’t know what that means? Haha. It’s because you’re white.)
The future
1. How did you imagine the future?
Probably with more robots and/or dinosaurs.
2. If you were talking with policy makers/politicians responsible for ‘youth affairs’ what would you like to say to them about improving young people’s lives?
Introduce more facilities and events that don’t involve getting smashed and getting your photo on wollongongnightlife.com.au. Demolish the binge drinking culture and bring back some real culture and verve into the student attitude.
3. How did being second generation immigrnat influence your view of the future?
I’ll probably be the one designing the robots and dinosaurs.
ABC=Australian Born Chinese.
XYZ=International Chinese (Xi, Xiao, Yu, Yao, Zhang, Zhou etc…).
FOB=Fresh Off the Boat (see XYZs, also applicable to Maoris, Islanders, southeast Asians…)
Wog=western oriental gentlemen (but not many know this). Kind of derogatory, but also kind of not.
Skip=generic Caucasian Australian (ala Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
Lad=a specific kind of Skip. Also some possible crossover with wogs.
You may not be entirely familiar with all those terms, but I’m sure you are familiar with the people behind the terms.
For all the rhetoric on whether it officially works or not, multiculturalism is unavoidable. It was the mid to late 20th Century’s greatest gamble, and today in the 21st Century, it is an even more confusing and disorienting landscape to navigate. If left unchecked, it threatens to grow into an angry ball of misunderstanding, hurtful, self-inflicted pain. Australia- we have much to teach the world about multiculturalism, yet simultaneously we also have much to learn still.
Now there are impossibly numerous facets to the issue. But I just want to touch on the angle from the older generation’s point of view.
All i can say is... *le sigh* ...
The basis of the problem is a double-edged dagger, and is by no means unique to Australia.
Those who emigrate from far and distant lands tend to group en masse in suburban enclaves- see Cabramatta (Vietnamese) or Lakemba (Lebanese). Now of course, this is only too natural and makes complete sense. You arrive from a foreign land with little to no language or marketable workforce skills? By all means, move in next door to your cousin and work at her nail salon parlour! It’s a ‘duh’ move.
The downside to this is that it creates big opportunity for communities to coagulate amongst themselves in a closed-off manner. Because Vietnamese are living amongst Vietnamese, there is no reason to better their English, or even interact with the ‘gwei loh‘s if not for the fact that they keep coming back to eat in their phó restaurants. (mmm…beautiful beautiful phó).
Such living creates little opportunity for them to interact in a meaningful way with the larger ‘Australian’ community. It becomes the responsibility/burden of the first generation born in this fair country to learn the strange customs- to eat the peanut butter sandwiches before playing Saturday morning cricket and going to McDonald’s birthday parties. Those born to migrant parents have the unique task of bridging the cultural gap between ‘Aussie’ attitudes and ‘FOB’ attitudes, because let’s face it, we are the physical manifestation of mixed cultural confusion and angst. Ha!
But as for those who keep arriving to Australia and forming their own closed off communities? Somewhat understandably, this generates animosity with the ‘Australian’ populace.
But I will elaborate on this in a later post.
Here is a picture of phó. I freaking love this stuff.
I have always joked that I would easily marry a Vietnamese girl, just to eat phó every day. It's a half joke...
Filed under asian, australia, culture, Uncategorized
