Perhaps the most glaring evidence of the President's poor comprehension of terrorism comes with his nifty sound byte:  terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness.  Mr. Bush apparently does not realize that terror is a weapon of the weak, the last resort of the disenfranchised whose only strength is hatred.  He has perhaps forgotten (or slept through) history lessons that should have been learned from the British in Northern Ireland, the Israelis in the occupied territories, or our own military in Vietnam.  And he fails to see the same pattern now:  despite the most awesome display of strength in the history of warfare, our fighting men and women in Iraq are now subject to more frequent and brazen attacks while our very presence in the area inflames anti-American passions throughout the Muslim world.  

Do the terrorists hate freedom as Mr. Bush has repeatedly droned?  If that were the case, Switzerland and all of Scandinavia would be in ruins by now.  Yet, the only democratic countries that have suffered major terrorist attacks from Islamic fundamentalists are those in the Presidents so-called Coalition of the Willing that partook in the invasion of Iraq.

The last several years should have taught us that defeating terrorism requires carrots in addition to sticks.  If we understand that many in the Middle East hate us because of our unequivocal support of Israel, our propping-up of Royal dictatorships and our constant meddling in the region, then we will realize that we must change ourselves so as not to give terrorists a reason to attack us.  We cannot continue our hypocrisy of saying we will promote democracy when the countries we support the most include those that commit the worst atrocities.  We should increase humanitarian aid to countries that play nice and make very public gestures of goodwill to Muslims around the world.

Of course, this does not mean pure appeasement.  We must continue to strengthen our ports of entry by finally implementing the recommendations of the non-partisan 9-11 Commission; we must continue to follow money trails and legally eavesdrop on suspected terrorists to foil plots while they are still in their naissance.  When necessary, we must use our military might to punish governments that harbor terrorists.  But these must always be just one part of the equation.

Supply-Side Economics, Reaganomics, Trickle-Down Economics are all synonyms for the theology of Republican fiscal policies.  Once dubbed as Voodoo Economics by the Elder President Bush, it follows a simple formula:  you cut taxes, companies have more money to spend on production.  More production means hiring more workers.  More working people with more money means increased consumer spending.  Increased consumer spending spurs the economy.  While the diehard conservatives will celebrate the Reaganomics Era as a period of economic rebound, I will point to skyrocketing budget deficits and warehouses full of unsold Cabbage Patch Dolls.  It is an era that paraphrases the Laissez-Faire policies of the post 1929 Stock Market crash that made the Great Depression so Great.

The problem is, the Republican economic ideology assumes everyone will do the right thing:  that the rich will donate to charities, that corporations will treat their workers fairly, that breakneck military spending will scare other countries into submission instead of spurring arms races.

And now, the Younger President Bush expects Big Oil will do the right thing.  In the face of Congressional calls to tax the oil companies windfall profits to reduce the burden of record gas prices on consumers, the CEO in Chief says "My attitude is that the oil companies need to reinvest their cash flows in such a way that it enhances our energy security."   Once again, Laissez-Faire Economic Dogma rears its ugly head, extolling a blind faith that these companies will do the right thing.  My memories of Exxon fighting to avoid paying damages after it spilled a couple of million barrels of crude oil over the pristine Alaskan coastline tell me otherwise.  It is more likely the oil companies will give their top management pretty bonuses and their record profits will not benefit their average worker or the American consumer.

So Mr. Bush, since I have so little faith in your Corporate Buddies, heres my short-term Demand-Side plan for dealing with our oil crisis:

1.  Instead of just hoping the oil companies reinvest their money, tax the bejesus out of them if they dont.  Its carrots and sticks.

2.  Promote a surtax on SUVs.  Unlike functional Pickup trucks and Minivans, SUVs have very little practical use for the vast majority of their drivers.  At the same time, they block lines-of-site, take up more road space, and drink gas like a CPA drinks coffee at tax time.  A surcharge should make them so expensive that only the wealthiest 1% of Americans could afford them with the annual average $78k tax break they got since Bush came into office.

3.  Reward one-seater small cars.  OK, this is long-term, but still something I wanted to mention.  Since carpooling is so gauche in our country, most commuters really dont need a five-seat SUV to get from home to work.  A one-seater, as envisioned by Toyota and perhaps other companies, would use less gas and takes up less road space.

4.  Federally fund carpool/Hybrid lanes.  If a local government wants to add carpool lanes, give them a helping hand.  The more carpool lanes available, the more you reward people who save gas and reduce noxious emission into our air.  You reduce the number of vehicles in the street and therefore the demand for oil.

5.  Give tax breaks to public transit companies for reducing their charges.  Doing so would make public transportation easier for those who need it and more attractive for people who might otherwise drive.

Yes Mr. Bush, this will hurt the Big Businesses that got you elected, but its better than just hoping they will reinvest in Americas energy security.

It hit me the night before my birthday, while instant messaging with a 26-year old friend:  despite the mere 8-year age difference between us, she and I had come of age at dramatically different times in human history.  In the decade that passed between my first e-mail account as a Junior at UVa and the year that she graduated from cross-state rival (read: losers) Tech, the Information Age began.  Just as people who had lived before the automobile, the television, commercial airlines, the Vietnam War, clean air, or other watershed inventions and events, I had born witness to a significant change in the way humans perceived themselves and how they interacted with each other.

The internet made it all possible.  Although over a quarter-century old, it had been limited mostly to research facilities, universities, military installations and Al Gore’s residence.  Yet, several simultaneous events brought it to ubiquity over a few short years.  Whereas most computers had once been too expensive for most individuals, a drop in microchip prices suddenly made the PC as regular a home fixture as the fondue maker.  And while DOS and UNIX systems remained too complex for most people’s patience, Windows made the computer far-less intimidating for the unwashed masses.  These factors, combined with visual browsers and AOL’s free introduction to dial-up, led to more-and-more homes with internet access.  Free pornography (AOL = Adult Online) probably had an influence as well.  While the ratio of toilets to computers was 23:1 in 1994, today it is closer to 2:1, and as high as 1:2 in Asian-American households.

To demonstrate the difference that 10 years makes:  when I got my first e-mail account, I hardly had anyone to write to (read:  one person – my older brother who is more of a tech geek than I).  To use it, I had to know the rudiments of UNIX, and I had to be patient enough to cope with text-based browsing.  Now, even elementary school children have e-mail, and the point-and-click convenience of the mouse makes using computers and navigating the world-wide web incredibly easy -- even my younger brother, who took six years to graduate from VCU with a less than 4.0 GPA can use it.

And the wide reach of the internet has changed how we interact with one another.  At one time, I naively believed that e-mail would help me keep in contact with friends:  international phone calls used to cost $1 per minute thereby preventing the joy of instant interaction; and I was too lazy to write letters, let alone walk a block to the post office to mail them, so I had fallen out of touch with so many people.  I figured that the ease and simplicity of e-mail would rectify that.  And maybe for the first twenty minutes of my e-mail experience, it did.  After the luster of the new toy faded, I came to the stark reality that my life was just not interesting enough to share with my far-flung friends anyway.   And therefore, E-mail has become a ritual not just for me, but for many people, with 75% of the messages taking up no more than 2 lines; another 20% (comprising the majority of e-correspondence among people under 20) is made up of smileys.  And the last 5% is for those folks who send their entire life stories in messages that their far-flung friends don’t bother to read anyway.  

The deeper impact of e-interaction may lie in the brevity of human relations.  The ease and inexpensiveness of instant communication across the globe has made us impatient, in need of immediate gratification.  More disturbingly, a brand new vocabulary of tech and smiley’s, delivered with an impersonal conciseness via Instant or Text Messenging, may find its way out of cyberspace and into our verbal and literary vernacular as the next evolution of the English language.  I can only imagine that Shakespeare’s @--‘-,-- by any other name, Beethoven’s :) Interlude, Dante’s >:), and other literary masterpieces may one day come to move both u and me, bringing :~( too our eyes.  I can only imagine what role the Internet will play in our evolution. (or Intelligent Design, if you like that better).

Yes, there was once a simpler time, long before the internet, long before the Information Age took off:  your parents or grandparents might have delivered this diatribe when you complained about how tough life was:

“When I was your age, we had to walk to school, in the snow, two feet deep.  Uphill!  Both ways!  Thermal materials?  We didn’t have that, we had to layer! We had to watch TV in black and white!  Cordless phones?  We were attached to the wall by a wire!   So don’t come complaining to me about how hard YOUR life is!”

But I suppose that one of these days, I will be telling my daughter:

I can only imagine what’s she’ll be telling her kids...

When the Joy Luck Club came out over a decade ago, critics lauded it as a breakthrough for Asian-Americans. More thematically similar movies like Double Happiness followed, exploring the modern Asian-American woman and mother-daughter relationships.  But while these films did remarkable jobs of spotlighting the dynamism of  Asian-American women, they often did so by juxtaposing them with strict traditional families and chauvinistic men.   Now no longer fresh and appealing, these tired old themes contribute more toward widening the gender and generation divide in Asian-America.

Therefore, how refreshing it was to see Saving Face, the breakthrough film by Alice Wu.  While the movie continues to explore the Asian-American woman and mother-daughter relationships, it does so without undo use of narrow stereotypes.  It celebrates the uniqueness of Chinese-American culture without wrapping it in an exotic package or making it a target for ridicule.  In keeping the story within the Chinese-American cultural backdrop, it differs from Better Luck Tomorrow where the characters could have been any race;  yet it shares the same boldness in portraying Asian-Americans as real people instead of one-dimensional gangsters, martial artists, dragon ladies or Geisha girls.

 Saving Face revolves around Wilhemina (Wil, played by Michelle Krusiec), an up-and-coming surgical resident who has difficulties expressing her feelings; her girlfriend Vivian (portrayed by Lynn Chen), a dancer torn between her interest in modern dance and the prestige of classical ballet; and Wil’s mother Huilan (played by the ever-brilliant Joan Chen), a widow who lives with her parents and has gotten pregnant at age 48.  Huilan’s father, a prestigious professor, initially stands out as the cliché male chauvinist.  Worried about his loss of face at his unwed daughter’s pregnancy, he throws her out of his house until she marries the baby’s father or “proves immaculate conception.”  Inexplicably, she refuses to reveal the father’s identity and, with nowhere else to go, moves in with her daughter Wil.  As someone used to a Spartan lifestyle, yet unwilling to face “Chinese Karmic Hell” for deserting her motherr, Wil sets out to find a match for her mom.  At the same time, just as her mother hides her lover’s identity, Wil vigilantly conceals her love for Vivian.  But Vivian, who has grown up in a family accepting of her sexual orientation, desperately needs the emotional validation that Wil cannot bring herself to express.

 As Saving Face unfolds through several enjoyable twists and turns, we see that the characters do not fit neatly into easily consumed stereotypes.  Even Huilan’s father, originally assumed to be Hollywood’s typical domineering Asian father who drives his daughter to rebellion, turns out much like Shrek the Ogre’s proverbial onion.  Not just worried about his own face, we learn that he is concerned about his daughter’s loneliness, dearly loves his wife, and is excited about the birth of his new granddaughter.  Other characters, both minor and major, truly represent a broad spectrum of the Asian-American mosaic:  the balding telecom VP, the dashing subway station agent, the romantic restaurant owner, the open-minded mother, the flatulent husband and more. 

 In the absence of glaring individual and societal stereotypes, Saving Face allows Asian-American characters to flourish with interesting, three-dimensional personalities that exceed our preconceived notions of identity.   It finds a way to frame us as individuals through a compelling story about juggling priorities of family, love and expectations.  I can only hope more future movies continue to tell our story, through our eyes, with our voice.

We have been clamoring for new Asian American faces in the mainstream media for years now:  ones that turn prevalent stereotypes on their heads, that escape the bonds of the laundry man, geek, geisha, kung-fu master and dragon lady.  But every time one comes out, whether it is a Jason Scott Lee, a CoCo Lee, a Better Luck Tomorrow, a Harold and Kumar, a Jin Tha MC or an Utada Hikaru, we hold out for the video, download the MP3, or burn illegal copies.

 With an Asian-American population of over 13.5 million, it would take just 1 in 14 of us reaching into our pockets to turn a CD Platinum.  Or 1 in 10 to generate over $10 million in movie ticket sales.  Sure we come from widely varying ethnic communities with stark differences in spending power.  But the majority of mainstream America lumps us together in twisted caricatures broadcast over the only medium they know-- a medium controlled by those who care only about potential sales. 

 How will we change how the lemmings perceive us?  Becoming doctors, lawyers, engineers, and successful business owners certainly hasn't worked:  you rarely see those roles depicted in the Hollywood features that influence the simple minds of the 7 in 10 that thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 or the 9 in 10 that can't locate Afghanistan on a world map or the 5 in 10 that think Chinese Americans are passing secrets to the PRC.

 Influence the mass media by spending your money! Regardless of whether or not you like hip-hop, regardless of whether or not you like Jin, go out and buy his CD:  because if sales continue to falter, how long will it be before we see another mainstream Asian artist?

However, a new buzz phrase is catching on among the Neoconservatives and their many unwitting followers:  “You cannot support the troops if you do not support their mission.”  Alas, this type of black-and-white view of the world seems typical of the lemmings who mindlessly follow their righteous President.  The same people who subscribed to his “you are either with us or against us” mentality now question the good will and intentions of the many people who clearly recognize that this particular war as a pet project of Neo-con Chicken Hawks. 

So here are some concrete ways that individuals around the country who oppose the Iraq War are supporting our troops:

1.  Small gestures to military families, to express empathy with their difficult situation:  bringing over prepared dinners, mowing their lawns, helping with simple home repairs

2.  Hoping and Praying for our troops safe return

3.  Donating goods and services to recently-returned troops.

4.  Assembling care packages for soldiers still in Iraq

5.  Offering discounts on services to families of people on active duty

These acts of kindness are far better than the policies of the hypocritical Bush Administration which supports the troops only with empty words:

1.  Sending military over without best protection available (i.e, the Rumsfield Doctrine of “fighting with the army you have, not the one you want”). 

2.  Cutting veteran benefits and funding to the VA hopsitals

3.  Pay disparities of Treatment of reservists and national guardsmen

Now for those who want to show their support for both the War and the troops beyond simply slapping a yellow ribbon the back of your SUV, the best way would be to enlist and encourage your sons and daughters to do the same.  This way, you will cut down on the length of time that your troops have to stay in Iraq by swelling our military with much needed soldiers.  If you really think that the War in Iraq is SO vital, put up or shut up.

Fans Want a New Contract for the Man that Bleeds Black and Gold:

For those of you who didn't know, I am a huge fan of football--American-style football, not that other silly sport of the same name that the rest of the world adores to the point where Europeans would overthrow their governments if the games were banned. And when it comes to football, I bow down to the Black-and-Gold Shrine of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sure they haven't won a Super Bowl in over 25 years, sure they have had their down years. But through the thick and thin of the last two and a half decades, I've been a devoted fan, screaming four-letter expletives at the TV whenever they are on.

So you can imagine how distraught I was when one of their marquee players, Hines Ward (who is half-Korean!), decided to sit out of training camp until he got a new contract. This guy worked his butt off to become a wide receiver after a college career as a quarterback. And since then, he has led the Steelers in almost all receiving categories. Hines excels at all aspects of his position: clutch-situation reliability, toughness to catch in the open water where the sharks (the safeties and linebackers, that is) are swimming, and, most importantly to a run-heavy Steeler offense, the ability to block. You wouldn't catch many of the prissy Prim Dona Receivers doing that. Hines gets it done without flamboyance, without attitude, without a lot of baggage. And above that, he is a field leader, whom is admired and respected by his teammates. I think they should respell their stadium name, Heinz Filed, to Hines Field.

And now, in the last year of his contract, where he is making a fraction of what the league's top receivers do, the Steelers front office is holding out on him. This is the team that offered juicy extensions to questionable prospects and players past their prime. And yet, they did not bother to talk to this irreplaceable pillar of their 15-1 season last year. If I were Hines, I would be ticked, too. Since then, the Steelers' training camp fizzled: many of their stars were injured and the mood was sour. That left only one last long-term team leader, Jerome Bettis (definitely a class player in the same mould as Hines -- OK, a much bigger mould), who is probably in his last season. Alas, my hopes for the 2005 season were virtually squelched.

And then, last night when the Steelers were about to play cross-state rival Philadelphia in the pre-season, Hines ended his holdout. He says he missed the game too much and he couldn't stand watching practice from afar. I am guessing that he sensed the depressing atmosphere at camp would hurt the team's prospects for the regular season. His arrival was greeted with jubilant cheers from the Steeler Faithful. He said in interviews, "I want to retire as a Steeler." You just don't hear that in these days of mercenary free agency.

Now the ball is in the Steelers Front Office. Yes, we know that there are salary cap considerations, but this guy is an essential part of your offense and one of the spiritual leaders for the team. Inasmuch as a Wide Receiver can represent the smash-mouth Steeler legacy, Hines Ward bleeds Black and Gold. In this day of age, finding a caliber player with so much team loyalty is like finding a diamond in city dump: he is worth whatever the team can afford.

 
Considering the how much financial burden that the President’s misadventure in Iraq will weigh on our budget for years to come, I can only hope that the now-large majority of Americans that distrusts the President on Iraq will view his proposed Social Security escapades with the same amount of dubiousness.

In November of this year, The Hero will hit theatres nationwide, giving Americans a chance to see what heights the wuxia martial arts genre can reach with an award-winning director and a star-studded cast.  It has already been released in Asia to much acclaim, and is already widely available in Chinatown video stores, specialty shops and DVD web vendors for those who cannot wait to see it.

 
Directed by Zhang Yi Mou-- whose credits include famous films such as Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1989), Raise the Red Lantern (1992), To Live (1995), and the Road Home (2001)--  The Hero follows the story of a loyal soldier who defends the King of Qin from three relentless assassins.  It stars martial arts sensation Jet Li (The One, Cradle 2 The Grave) in the title role; famous choreographer Donny Yen (Iron Monkey, Shanghai Knights), and Hong Kong superstars Maggie Cheung (In The Mood for Love) and Tony Leung (Chunking Express, Happy Together) as would-be assassins. Rising star Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Road Home) also makes a minor but memorable appearance.

 
Unlike many wuxia movies, The Hero stands as a completely original story.  It is unique in contrast to The Emperor and the Assassin (Chen Kaige, 1999), which follows actual historical accounts of the King of Qin after he has become the first Emperor of China; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000), which comes from a three-part novel by Wang Du-Lu.  Without these literary and historical contexts, Zhang has a lot of artistic flexibility to weave a complex and adventurous tale.

 
The result:  an intriguing story, stunning cinematography, brilliant martial arts choreography, and creative audiovisual effects.  Settings range from the specially designed and constructed Qin capital to the panoramic steppes of Dunhuang, and from the mirror-like surface of a lake in Jiuzai Gap to a battleground lined by yellow-leaved trees.  All of these sets, splashed with striking use of vibrant colors, provide breathtaking backdrops for displays of martial prowess and dramatic dialogue.    The instrumental score by Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) completes a wonderful integration of sights and sounds.

 
One scene epitomizes the overall nature of The Hero:  the epic duel under the rain between Jet Li and Donny Yen in the courtyard of a chess house.  The second time these two talented martial artists have fought on the big screen, this scene stands out due to its clever use of water, music, and choreography.  The duel makes use of black and white interspersed with color segments, along with interchanging unpretentious slow motion and believable sped-up sequences.  And while this particular scene is the least vibrant from the perspective of color use, it stands out visually because of the overall composition.

 
The Hero has shown that the excellent acting, direction, cinematography, and action of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were not a fluke in the development of wuxia movies.  These two movies represent the most recent evolution of the genre, which gained prominence with the acrobatic swordplay of the Shaw Brothers in the 60s and flourished in the 80s and 90s with Golden Harvest productions.  The Hero improves upon these predecessors not only with seamless choreography and a plot that moves beyond the stereotypical martial arts flick, but also with quality acting and overall visual and audio presentation.  Perhaps it belongs to a new genre altogether, the artistic swordplay movie.  Regardless of how we categorize it, The Hero, much like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be judged not as a martial arts movie, or even a foreign movie, but as a film of epic proportions.