Kimchi Mamas

Celebrity Gawking at the AAPI Caucus at the DNC08

I spent last week at the Democratic National Convention, covering various events for MOMocrats.  One of the most interesting events I attended was the Asian-American Pacific Islander Caucus.  I had to extract myself from a wonderful event called "Unconventional Women" featuring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, among other Democratic women luminaries.  It worth it to miss Nancy for my one and only opportunity to see Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands.

I've written here before that I'm a Survivor fan, and Yul is probably my favorite Survivor of all time.  He was the first (and as far as I know only) Korean-American to win the show.  So, when I saw his name as moderator of a panel at the AAPI Caucus on "Reaching Out to the Youth Vote," I had to be there, despite the fact that I'm hardly a "youth."

The Caucus started with a surprise visit from DNC Chair Howard Dean, and was moderated by Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong.  There were a number of speakers from various AAPI communities, including elected officials on all levels of government and several individuals running for office.  It was inspiring to see so many different communities of Asians, South Asians, and Pacific Islanders coming together to support those in office and those who aspired to office.  Most of the attendees were delegates from across the country, and represented all parts of the US.  Congressman Mike Honda gave a very rousing speech about coming together to elect Asian-American Democrats.

Kimchi Mamas featured on Pacific Time

Update: The piece will air Thursday night at 6:30PM and 11:00PM on KQED radio 88.5 in San Francisco. Check their website for broadcast times in your area. The program will be archived and available for podcast as well.

A couple of days ago I was contacted by a producer of Pacific Time, a public radio program about Asian affairs produced by KQED in San Francisco.

She wanted to know my thoughts on Yul Kwon winning Survivor and if I would be willing to record something for the show. She had read my recent post about James Kim surviving because he was Korean and wondered how that point-of-view would apply to Yul.

From the very beginning we Kimchi Mamas have been rooting for "Team Yobo" (Becky and Yul), and I think I speak for everyone here when I say we knew a Korean would win. Why? Because he's Korean. That's the gist of the piece I recorded on behalf of the Kimchi Mamas for Pacific Time today. (I hope it comes off as tongue-in-cheek.)

I went down to the local public broadcasting station here in Honolulu where I'm spending the next three weeks. They put me in front of a mic in a sound-proof room and by the magic of radio technology I was connected with Pacific Time producers in San Francisco.

I read my piece a couple of times and even got to say, "For Pacific Time, this is Stefania Pomponi Butler in Honolulu." That was fun.

I'm not sure if they will use it, but if they do, you can listen to a podcast by checking out Pacific Time's site.

—Stefania Pomponi Butler

[photo credit: AP]

Survivor: Snooze Islands

I hate to admit it, but I'm a long-time Survivor fan.  I was hooked in during the first series of Survivor when Gervase convinced Ramona to eat a rat and remarked that it "tastes like chicken."   After that, I watched the show faithfully for several years, and am even the proud owner of a Survivor: Marquesas buff.  For those of you non-fans, a "buff" is a stretchy-spandex headband/tube top/do-rag that the Survivors wear to indicate which tribe they're in by the color of the buff.  Yes, I'm that uncool.  I own a Survivor buff.

Despite my former obsession with all-things Survivor, my interest started to wane in the last few seasons.  The people on the show were just not that interesting to me.  They all seemed remarkably the same--the same as each other and as Survivors past.  The show has been long enough to develop its own stereotypes--The Villain, The Ingenue, The Couple, The Old Guy, The Beefcake with Two Brain Cells. 

Survivor has always been touted a "social experiment" to see how people of different backgrounds would react to harsh conditions. More than anything, it has convinced me that Sartre was right and "Hell is other people."  Right now, my personal vision of hell is being stuck on an island watching the toothsome Parvati work her "assets."

Survivor thoughts

Goddammit I can't believe I watched Survivor again for the second week in a row.  I don't watch Survivor.  Really, I don't.

I don't have much to say on the subject except, well... okay:

We kicked ass again! FACE!

Did anyone catch the conversation when Becky was talking to Yul about forming an alliance.  How she said that naturally she'd form an alliance with him because they were both Korean? No other reason really. Not because one can spear fish real good and one can kill a chicken. Not because one can build a fire and the other can stand on one foot for a long time. Just, you know, the Korean thing.

Every Korean watching nodded silently, giving their tacit approval.

And everyone else was probably all, "Huh?  Why would they form an alliance just because they're Korean? What kind of strategy is that?"

You'll see, suckas.

—Stefania Pomponi Butler

Survivor: Did you watch?

We came. We saw. We kicked ass!!!

Just kidding.

Kinda.

Okay. So. After writing about Survivor "Race Island," I had to watch the first episode to see how it all played out. (God, this show is BORING, but I digress.)  Yes, they divided the tribes by "race," but all the contestants were obviously schooled to refer to it as "a social experiment" (a term used multiple times in the first ten minutes). They also said over and over again that "race didn't matter," it's about the individual wins in the end.

Yes, we know.

Early on, Yul, one of two Korean-Americans in the Asian "Puka" (Hawaiian for "hole") tribe, expresses concern over being grouped according to race. He worries that the ethnic stereotypes will be flying and yet, ironically, it's his teammate, Cao Boi (the grizzled hippie), that lets the first epithet fly.  He wonders why his team can't get their boat moving when Asians are "so light" or "don't weigh a lot" or something like that. He is quickly admonished by one of the women who essentially tells him "no more Asian jokes."

The first challenge is a multi-phased race for fire and a "fire kit" full of kindling and kerosene. The Asian team comes from second place to handily win the challenge followed by the Hispanic, Causasian, and African-American teams.

(Ugh, it felt weird to write that last sentence. Anyway...)

The African-American team, who have to face Jeff Probst, immediately divides along gender lines. The men seem weirdly domineering and the women, despite their tough-talk, immediately succumb. Their voting is also split "boy-girl" with the three women bonding together to vote off a man. The two men did the same but were out numbered.

In all it seemed like a pretty harmless hour with no racial slurs being thrown around (except for Cao Boi). Jonathan, one of the white dudes, had a moment where he referred to contestants as the "Asian guy" and the "African-American guys." He might have been made a scapegoat by the editors—all the players could be referring to each other that way—but we'll never know.

What we do know is that next week, Cao Boi (aka "the First Asian voted off") will continue cracking Asian jokes and pissing off his teammates.

For a more thorough live-blogging re-cap, click here.

—Stefania Pomponi Butler