Through the ashes of the Vietnam War, there rises a forgotten story of inspiring heroism about the resilience of the human spirit.
In war-torn Vietnam, impoverished orphanages swelled with cast aside babies and children, many the offspring of American GIs. They were the lost children, bui doi, the dust of life. International agencies like Holt International, Friends For All Children, Friends For the Children of Vietnam, Catholic Relief Service, International Social Services, International Orphans, and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation had already been in place to care for the children and arrange for their adoption and departure. As the war raged around them, many individuals risked their lives to make sure that the children would have a home of their own. As a desperate measure, Ed Daly (President of World Airways) commissioned his own flight and left Vietnam with 57 children on board. In the last days before the fall, time was of the essence. Volunteers worked under the most strained of conditions, with minimal supplies and food. With the impending Fall of Saigon only weeks away, President Gerald R. Ford ordered a $2 million initiative to airlift Vietnamese orphans to safety on April 3, 1975.
The issues that surround Operation Babylift are not without controversy. The first scheduled flight, a C-5A Galaxy cargo plane, crashed into a rice paddy shortly after taking off from Tan Son Nhut airport. Of the 330 passengers, 154 children and volunteers perished. Some criticized Babylift as a ploy for manipulating public opinion toward the war. Others felt it was America’s way of showing cultural imperialism. Documentation on the orphans was sketchy. Babylift was riddled with class action law suits – against Ed Daly, against the plane manufacturer, against the President himself.
In light of all this, Operation Babylift has been coined by many as “one of the most humanitarian efforts of all time.” In the course of a few weeks, over 3,000 orphans were taken to safety all over the world. More children were adopted in the US from Vietnam during this short interval in history than the total for the past 30 years. But the story is not over…
Flipping through this website gives me flashbacks of my days at Chaboya Middle School in Eastside San Jose (Ch-Cha-Chaboya! ROLL CALL!). Pregnant teens, droppin E in the middle of classes, knife fights between the 7th grade AzNs/Blacks vs. the 8th grade AzNs/Mexicans, and running into old classmates working at Wal-Mart and Safeway. The site, whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com is pure, brilliant, and purely brilliant. Not much more to add other than to say I’m pro-choice for all the following reasons.
I would just as well like to see a scan of the message on the back of this studio pic
Confucius say smile if your paycheck have many zeroes.
Confucius say only one Chinese actor can play Confucius in biopic, Chow Yun Fat. Confucius also say irony of People’s Republic of China funding Confucius biopic not lost on Confucius because of Maoist suppression of Confucius teachings. Confucius lastly say speaking like Confucius more fun than speaking like Yoda.
Cody: Dude, like, I smoked a whole bowl last night and I totally had a trippin dream. Like, I dreamed that my friend, this one Asian chick, like, did all the Presidents.
Chad: What what? Woah. That’s a trip man. So she went through all 44 Presidents? nutso. So did she, like, do the two terms Presidents twice and ish?
Cody: Man, I don’t know, but I had my girl paint what it was like:
Martha was out getting new Spring time bonnets.
Chad: OH SNAP! You should totally have her paint some more, man. I’d pay to see Obama Ba-rock her world.
Cody: Dude, that was a horrible pun. My girl, Justine Lai painted all of her Presidential escapades, but you probably shouldn’t look at them if you’re at work and stuff: justinelai.com/works.html. She went to Stanfurd, so she must know what she’s doing, right?
Duuuude! Have you heard of this AWESOME comedian Pablo Francisco?! I caught him on Comedy Central last night while I was shaving my twins for the big Zeta kegger, and he’s like MAJORLY fuckin’ funny bro! Aw man, Chet, this will blow your mind man! Pablo’s totally nailed my kinda comedy - fart jokes, poop noises, and roasting on Asian people! HI-FIVE YO!
LIKE BRO! He does this DEAD-ON impression of William Hung, with the “ting tong” accent and slanty eyes and buck teeth and everything! Dude’s a frickin’ genius! Check it — the most KILLER awesome lines about that little chinky dude are: “That’s why his face is so flat – when they went Christmas caroling they slammed the door on his face” or “My face is flat, I can bite a wall.” NOIIIIYCCCE!
CLASSIC, dude. CLASSIC. And he also has this bit about about how black people can make anything into a song, and does a Mexican accent real good, but man, when it comes to Asians, Pablo totally lets it RIP with how fucked up they look and talk! He’s got some WICKED talent. And he’s a Hispanic or something so it’s TOTALLY OK to laugh – am I right or am I right brah?
And dude woah! Check this suh-weet joke about how weird Chinese people sound having sex!
This Pablo broham is my like new idol, dude. I was just starting to wear out all my Dane Cook dvds anyway, and now I’ve totally got a hard on for this guy.
So anyways, Chet – I brought over a pack of brews, are we gonna have raunchy bro-on-bro sex now or what?
This ish is actually playing on Clement in the Richmond, the heart of SF's suburban Chinatown.
Editor’s note: Please click on comments below to hear from the Producer of Dogs of Chinatown, Blake Faucette and lead actor, Eric Jacobus.
Eric: Dude, let’s totally make an action movie!
Blake: Dude! How did we NOT think of this before?
Eric: Dude! Let’s start a movie company called Contour cause I like the contour of my Asian girlfriend’s back!
Blake: And I totally DRIVE a Ford Contour!
Eric: I know! Right? Let me try writing up the plot. *PUFF* *PUFF* *COUGH* Alright. I got it. Here goes:
Contour’s Eric Jacobus stars as Jack, a down on his luck dude who thinking of ending his own life one night, steps into a mob hit and saves the life of a young woman, Jin (Thi). She turns out to be the mistress of a local Chinese kingpin who is impressed with Jack’s nerve and people killing skills. He offers Jack a position in his ‘family’ sending him to train in the arts of martial, war and murder. Adapting to his new lifestyle with vigour, Jack becomes an elite killing machine but cannot stop his growing feelings for Jin. Soon the two are lovers and torn between his loyalty to his new ‘family’ and that of his woman, Jack sets out on a deadly course of action which will see the city’s gangs turning violently against one another and Jack and Jin fighting for their freedom and lives.
Blake: But Eric, we need like, race wars, violence and nude Chinese bitches, you know what I mean? My frat boys back at BC ain’t gonna watch it if there’s none of that.
Eric: Ok, how about I add this ish then:
The film is also violent in nature keeping in with the tone of warring gangsters meaning blood is spilt, there is a fair bit of nudity and you really feel it when characters are killed.
Blake: Dude, this movie sounds dark. I want Steven Seagal in Under Seige 2, NOT Steven Seagal in Under Seige 1!
Eric: Ooooh! Why didn’t you SAY so. Remember that Chinese dude we used to F with back at our parents’ vacation pad in Scottsdale, Arizona?
Blake: The one that delivered Chinese food on a moped?
Eric: Yea dude, Imma write a character like HIM into the movie:
Mercifully, there is a sense of humour, proceedings never taking themselves too seriously. Most of the comic relief comes from Jack’s trainer, Wei (Brian Lee) who, often drunk, has some great one liners especially when it comes to picking up women.
Blake: So we gotta find a lead character that knows Kar-a-te…
Eric: Yea bro. Let’s go down to the Wushu class downtown.
Blake: But everyone there’s Chinese and Filipino.
Eric: Oh thank God you said that. Cause I was TOTALLY not wanting an Oriental dude as the lead. We wouldn’t make any money outside of San Francisco and, umm, where ever else the F there’s Chinese dudes.
Blake: How we gonna find a white dude that knows karate then?
Eric: Let’s just YouTube “White” and “Karate” and treat those videos as audition videos. Or I can just do it.
Cody: But the girl’s gonna be Chinese though, right?
Eric: FUCK YEA! Ain’t no one gonna believe a white dude that knows karate would be into a white girl. And I know just the Chinese broad to do it. My girlfriend’s hot younger cousin Huyen Thi.
Blake: I think she’s Vietnamese, not Chinese.
Eric: *PUFF* eh? Whatever, let me add a bio on Huyen Ti on the website and add this, cause I totally think all Asian girls want white dudes all the time:
Eric Jacobus’ chemistry with Huyen Thi works well, the two making a believable couple.
Eric: Dude. You are being so critical. I’m spelling it phonetically when I want to, OK?
Blake: And I think we need more Chinese people to make this believable as a Hong Kong action flick type movie.
Eric: But we’re filming this in Winston-Salem and Raleigh! Fine, I’ll add something: mob boss, Chinese waiter, massage parlor madam. I’ll think of something:
There is also fine support from Rudy Chu as the Chinese mob boss and Brian Lee as Jack’s trainer, who manages to switch from drunken comedy clown to kick ass fighter with ease.
Blake: Great. Let me get my dad’s AmEx Black and we’ll be on our way.
Eric: *Puff*. F that. I just finished the trailer. I made sure I’m F’n the Chinese broad and pulling her hair and stuff all over the trailer in between punching out Asian dudes with mah fists and ish. Yea!
Blake: You’re a sick, sick man. But I likes! Let’s call it Dogs of Chinatown.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 28, 2009 by aznheartthrob
BETA KAPPA BETA. Since 1888.
Thanks everyone for pledging Betas. For the next few posts, in honor of Beta Kappa Beta pledge week, our posts will be written by our resident guest bloggers, the graduating Senior Epsilon Class of 2009. These men and women have been with our institution of higher education for a very short 8 years (doesn’t time fly?!) and we wish them well as they enter the real world.
As for you pond scum, pledging will be a grueling process, but once you come through the other side, you will be one of us, brothers and sisters. There will be many weeks of elephant walks, cookie eating, and keg tapping, but if you are as dedicated in pledging as you are with attending Sports Psychology classes and celebrating the life and times of Jesus, you will be just fine, Pledges. Now please, put this blindfold on and take off your pants.
Pretty stock image of the shit Vice Magazine is all about.
Yes, the magazine everyone loves to hate (or hates to love – you know who you are). Whether you like it or not, the Do’s and Don’t section is a helluva lot more fun to look at than any other magazines. If only for the fact that really gorgeous looking people wearing Ed Hardy or anything equally as douchey get blasted. Hot girl in Juicy Couture? DON’T. The SAME hot girl with a touring bike cap, purple wife beater, Thai army jacket, boy shorts, tattoo of Max Headroom, and ballerina flats? DO. But we all know Vice’s schtick. So I decided to gather up all the Asian ones from their online Do’s/Don’t list.
And what did I discover? It becomes apparent that the writers only post Asians when its one of the 3 following scenarios:
Hot Asian girl.
Asian girl of any look, as long as she’s coked out and sweaty next to a white guy in an abandoned warehouse party.
Asian dude who may or may not be recently Fresh Off the Boat or in some crazy, embarrassing situation. Or an ultra-uber-super hipster dude (see #19 for an “Asian dude rockin’ a marching band jacket” DO’S). But mostly losers getting a DON’T.
Please click through each category to get a link to the pic/caption. It won’t take you long to figure out that Vice writers are all mid-twenties, hipster-geek, Asian fetish having, small east coast liberal arts college alumni from New Haven/Palos Verdes with tons of family money wasted away on blow and PBRs in their Williamsburg/Echo Park studio apartment shared by 4, but only until they’re sick of NYC/LA and decide to take over their dad’s multi-million dollar ad agency. Basically, my dreamlife. Excuse me now as I drink this bottle of Dos Equis and use this rusty razorblade to cut my arms, parallel to the veins.
Yes, I realize the very basis of hipster wear requires you to:
A. Never, ever match any article of clothing
B. Dress like you don’t give a damn.
C. Wear articles of clothing conveying a message that is somehow ironic.
So the Oakland A’s green and yellow brimmed MLB New Era fitted is perfect because:
A. Yellow and green will (not) match pretty much anything you’re wearing other than, well, yellow or green.
B. Liking the A’s is like telling the world you don’t give a damn. Cause you watch games in a shitty stadium, you like rooting for a Yankees minor league club, you’re gonna do jackshit while your team moves to San Jose, and you prefer the action on the field rather than the whole baseball watching experience (can you tell I’m an SF Giants fan?)
C. Being a white hipster wearing a cap from a team in Oakland, California is as ironic as you can get with any official MLB wardrobe. Unless you start rockin Negro League gear.
So when I saw you, skinny hipster riding your bike in Park Slope with an A’s cap as a helmet, or you skinny gangsta hipster in front of Johnny’s in LA stepping up to me and my crew while wearing an A’s cap. Or when I saw you, white girl, at a Flosstradamus, Kid Sister, and A-Trak party at sxsw:
AzN: Yeah! Oakland!
White girl: What?
AzN: You’re from Oakland?
WG: Yea! Oakland, Colorado!
Understandably, the Colorado Rockies fitted is a little muted and civil servant to match your v-neck American Apparel shirt and plaid Corey Haim in Licensed to Drive button up top, but you gotta show some love to Bay Area folks if you’re rockin’ their shit. (I’m talking to your friends who looked like they wanted to give me a cold, refreshing taste of the Rockies).
So please. Buy a New Era Twisted cap, the ones that have your teams logo, but with the Oakland A’s colors. Like my beloved Giants fitted cap.
Cause if you’ve made it on Vice Magazine’s Do’s or Don’t list, as a DO, rockin’ an A’s cap, then you are IT.
2012 LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Southern California’s Largest Asian Film Festival Runs May 10 – 20, 2012, Will Present 188 Films From Over 20 Countries Featuring World Premieres, Sneak Previews; Showcasing Documentaries and Narratives Focusing on the Voices of Asian Americans and Asian Peoples from Around the World.
MAY 10 – 20, 2012 28th LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL A VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTION www.vconline.org/festival
Bookish Bitchin
Its gonna be hard as hell to write a review of a book like this without spoilers. So let me just say this book has gently nestled its way into my Murakami top 3, just under Wind Up Bird Chronicles and barely inching above Norwegian Wood. This means a lot cause I'm a fanatic over his ish and spend way too much money on multiple copies of his books... If you're a veteran Murakami reader, you'll love how long this book is. More time before the Murakami-withdrawal hits. You'll also like hearing from a female protagonist for the first time. If this is your first Murakami book, I'd read one of his books with less magical realism first, After Dark or Kafka on the Shore then move up to 1Q84 about 3-4 books later. Also, you might wanna buy the digital version (although the US hardcopy is a sight to behold) cause this book be phat!
