Feb 25 - Surprising Polls
I'm finding the results to my little poll (February Poll) about how people plan to vote this November a bit surprising. As of now, there are an equal number of Republican votes as Democrat by default votes. I wonder what the Republicans think about the content of what I write here on this site. I don't get any haters or flamers, but I definitely have more progressive political ideas. And since we all know that most polls are skewed... I'm appealing folks who haven't clicked in to cast their vote! Wednesday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 24 - Pre-Op
I've been worrying about some outpatient surgery I will be having later this week. I'm not sick, but will be having some exploratory procedures... it's a female thing. It's been on my mind constantly this week. What the doctor explained was a relatively simple procedure for her, is taking much more preparation and healing time than I originally thought. Luckily, my friends M & L have been through 3 surgeries last year and have been sharing a lot of experience with anesthesiology, pre-op and post-op care. So it's been good to have the benefit of their experiences. Last night I went to the spa, to cleanse my mind and relax a bit (cheap at $15!). Today, I'm dealing with the icky side effects of some medication, and tomorrow I've got to do some labwork, and get some paperwork in order. Tuesday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 23 - Trading Sims
I've been having such fun trading Sims stories with Tish. She has been sharing some great links and downloads. She has an awesome and hilarious piece about her addiction to The Sims that I totally relate to. There's something about the game that brings out such obsessive/compulsive behavior in a gal. Monday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 22 - Dead Battery/Stand Up Friday, I went to my HMO and was there for 5 hours--yes, 5 hours... for some tests I will be having next week. What a drain. Then I went to Senshin and got to see an "open rehearsal" of the Triangle Project, that Nobuko has been working on (with PJ Hirabayashi from San Jose Taiko and Yoko Fujimoto from KODO) developing a production for the past 3-4 years. It was pretty cool. Yesterday, I had a Manzanar meeting in the morning, then went to the office all afternoon. Unfortunately, I had to redo the flyer and make 250 copies to take to the Day of Remembrance at 7pm. Tony was giving a walking tour in J-town to UCLA students in the rain, then we planned to meet at DOR.
Anyways, I was running late, but I got to my car on the roof at about 6:40, and bam! Dead battery. Oh sh*t! I left my lights on! My cell phone is dying... Tony will be waiting for me at the theater in the rain with the tickets, he has no cell phone, crap! Luckily, there was one other car in the parking lot, and I had passed someone on the way out, so I ran down to see if she could help me jump my car. I told her I had jumper cables, but I couldn't really remember how it goes--with the red, black, positive and negative connections. The first thing we tried caused big sparks. Oh no! It was raining pretty hard and we were nervous to try again. The guy she was with kept saying I should call AAA, but I didn't have time, so we tried another way and my alarm started going off and more sparks. So we got out our car manuals, and figured it out... except I tried to start it without her car being on. Duh... I was in a panic, cold, wet and nervous. Finally, we got it. FYI, it's red and black on her battery, then black on mine, and red on the grounding wire. So I owe a big thank you to Simone, who I had never met before, even though she works for another org down the hall from me. Well, the DOR was great. It was pouring rain and the 841 seat theater was SOLD OUT with 200 people on the waiting list!! They did a cool candlelight ceremony honoring others who have stood for justice, and the main event was the premiere of "Stand Up for Justice" the docu-drama of Ralph Lazo's story, the Chicano teenager who went to Manzanar during WW2. I was in the train scene as an extra. It was great to see the finished product that NCRR has been working on for over 5 years.
After a tiring Friday and Saturday, and late nights with The Sims, I was exhausted. Tony and I slept in till 1pm today! Went to Costco, Trader Joe's in the rain, did some laundry, cleaned up some. That's the weekend. Oh, and welcome to new blogger Yuko in Okinawa! Sunday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 20 - Wedded Bliss
This morning I heard on the radio that over 2800 gay and lesbian couples have gotten married in San Francisco in the last week. I tell you, it so warms my heart to hear of all these couples finally being "allowed" to marry. I believe in love, and it makes no sense why people/governments think that this is a moral, religious or legal issue. LOVE IS LOVE. Being able to share that with everyone and have equal benefits and human rights should not even be a question. And then, tonight on the news, I heard that Arnold said that enough is enough and that he's going to put a stop to the same-sex marriages in California. Umm, excuse me? That's so inappropriate--but yet not unexpected. People who voted for him need to really look past the celebrity and see that this man is an arrogant, rich egomaniac. Back to the love... congrats to all the happy couples... may you continue to have many years of wedded bliss. Friday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 19 - 62 Years
With Dad and Jiggs at Manzanar. Jiggs lived at Manzanar as a child.
Today is the Day of Remembrance, the 63rd anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, by President Roosevelt, that sent Japanese Americans to U.S. concentration camps in 1942. My parents, all of my aunts and uncles (all American citizens by birth), grandparents, and 110,000 others were directly affected by the camp experience. It is the foundation for my becoming active in the Japanese American community... and in the struggle for justice and peace. For the past 8 years, I have been a volunteer organizer for the Manzanar Committee, which has sponsored annual pilgrimages to Manzanar for the last 35 years. Manzanar is in the Owens Valley, 200 miles north of LA on the 395. This year the National Park Service will be dedicating the Interpretive Center, their Park Headquarters at the original auditorium, built by internees, political prisoners of war. Stay tuned and I will share some of the issues and controversy surrounding the dedication, and the reasons why "we" as a community need to pass on the story of our experiences in our own voices, from our perspective. So that it doesn't happen to the Muslims, American Arabs, or anyone else. I'm not convinced we as a country have come so far in 62 years that it couldn't happen again. So share, educate, tell the story, and rise up if necessary. Thursday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 18 - Addicted
I I heard that Arnold set up a smoking area outside of the State Capitol so he and his cronies can smoke cigars... He said he is against children smoking, but pointed out that he is an adult. Gee, he sounds like a child. Ugh. On another note, I am so addicted to TheSims. I know, I am years behind the trend, but I am having such fun! I have set up a multi-ethnic neighborhood with a very happy interracial lesbian couple, and a Japanese American single woman Hiromi Lynn Sansei. When she was lonely, I created a partner for her, Jake Shimizu. They're totally in love. Jake (at right) has a lot of friends because he is so cool. Unfortunately, the wealthy Goth family is having a bad time. His sweet, artistic wife died in a kitchen fire, and then while he was sleeping, his straight A student daughter drowned in the pool. If he doesn't get his act together, he's going to lose his job. OK. Back to real life... I have a timer next to the computer so I don't play too much, but sometimes I ignore it because I am addicted. Wednesday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 15 - Dad's Life Story
Dad's 73rd bday
I went to Washington DC on Wednesday morning and got back on Friday night. It was my first time. Later, I'll share my pix, comments and impressions. Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Tony & I went to
Mitsuwa, the Japanese market, and took sticker photos, which we plan to make an annual thing. Then, we went to my parent's house for my dad's 73rd birthday. It was fun... after dinner I interviewed my dad on video camera--and he shared some of his early childhood memories, born on a farm in the Valley with no running water, just an outhouse. They boiled water for the bath in a galvanized tub every night. The only electricity was a single light bulb hanging in the kitchen. He also talked about being interned in camp from 5th-8th grades, first living in horse stables at Tulare Assembly Center, then in the hot desert in Arizona for 3 years. I'm going to continue filming and documenting his life story now while I can, and I encourage you to do the same. Pictures from dad's family in the 30s and 40s. Sunday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 10 - (Old) Friends
Minna, Alyce & me
at Aly's wedding in 1999
On Sunday, I had lunch at The Loft in Torrance with Minna and Alyce--it was so great to see them. I met Minna in the 2nd grade when she moved to the San Fernando Valley from Taiwan. She had a note pinned to her dress that said, "Hi, my name is Minna." Anyways, we've stayed friends over 30 years, but we realized that we hadn't seen each other in almost 5 years since Alyce's wedding. We've been in touch by email, phone and cards, but 5 years goes by fast. I met Alyce through Minna in college. We started the Asian American Business Association together, Alyce was the President and I was the Secretary. Alyce and I were roommates for a year after college, but I hadn't seen her in 3 years! We plan to meet again in May. After lunch, I went to Joann's Fabrics at the Del Amo Mall to buy skeins of yarn for crocheting an afghan, then came home and got hooked on The Sims. Quick Update: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a 24 hour stay of execution for Kevin Cooper so that the evidence the jury never heard, and because there so much new evidence that hasn't been looked at. As of yesterday, we were asked to contact Attorney General Bill Lockyer's office by phone, email and fax to demand that he not accept appeals to set aside the stay. Stay tuned. Tuesday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 8 - March on Arnold's Doorstep Woke up listening to Mike Farrell of Death Penalty Focus and others on KPFA talk about Kevin Cooper and the death penalty. Did you know that 80% of death row inmates are Black and Latino? They were talking about these horrific cases of prosecutorial misconduct, similar to Kevin Cooper's case. I have also been reading Al Franken and Michael Moore lately, and I just can't help but think that the only thing I've seen of Kevin Cooper on the news are him entering the courtroom, and voiceovers about the case... and not the amount of support for him from the world. But, the detail and analytic voice on KPFA paint such a different picture... of the discrepancies and decades of examples of abuse of the legal system and racist use of the death penalty. Nationwide, prosecutors have had the wrong man in 112 capital murder cases, forcing innocent men and women to spend years on death row facing execution for crimes they did not commit. You also hear about the dozen or more rallies, marches and vigils on behalf of Kevin Cooper or against the death penalty.
On Thursday, a former UPI reporter who covered the original Kevin Cooper trial stepped forward with new evidence. Kristina Rebelo, revealing startling new evidence surrounding the multiple murder case: that a former San Bernardino Sheriffs Deputy, Albert Anthony Ruiz, told her flatly that 'Kevin Cooper did not kill that family.' Mr. Ruiz asserted that the wrong family was tragically executed in a drug-related retaliation, and that he was directed to plant evidence used to convict Kevin Cooper.
Join Rev. Jesse Jackson & dozens of protesters for a visit to Schwarzenegger's neighborhood today at 5pm in a last minute plea to save the life of Kevin Cooper set to die Tuesday at 12:01AM. Cooper's attorneys ask for two more weeks to perform tests that may prove his innocence.
WHEN: 5 PM Sunday, February 8th (that's today) WHERE: Near Home of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Mandeville Canyon Rd. and Chalon Rd., Brentwood DIRECTIONS: 405 Fwy, Exit Sunset Blvd., West on Sunset 4-5 miles to Mandeville Cyn., North on Mandeville Cyn Rd 1.6 Miles to Chalon Rd Sunday - Click here to comment:
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Feb 7 - New Party Poll
Which way will you vote in Nov. 2004?
(Totally anonymous!)
Democrat b/c I am a Democrat
Democrat by default
Republican (Bush)
Green Party
Independent
Other
Why Bother?
Undecided
My February poll-of-the-month is up. I'm interested in hearing how people plan to vote come November. Progressives and left of dems... what are we going to do in '04? Stay true to our beliefs and ideals for a better world...or do what we know needs to be done. How many who voted Green or Independent in 2000 will do so again? I know that we must have republican visitors to our site, I wonder how many? Or, are people just so disillusioned about the process that they won't even bother this time? These are questions I wonder about. I hope that we can all get along in November and get the bad guy out of there.
So, sign the poll and let us know what you are thinking. It's completely anonymous - I have no means of gleaning who you are if you click one of the buttons at right. And if you have answers to any of my questions, or want to give your reasons, click on the comment below and voice your thoughts. Saturday - Click here to comment:
Comment Feb 6 - Letter to Arnold re Kevin Tony asked me to share a letter he wrote to Arnold about Kevin Cooper, a Black man who is slated to be executed on February 10. In it he says, "Your initial response to let the Cooper's execution proceed is very much like a politician concerned with his or her image as being 'tough on crime.' Instead, California needs leaders who are tough on finding out the truth. Six of the original jurors have already signed affidavits stating that had they heard about much of evidence... they would have changed their guilty verdicts." Read the facts, call, email or write the governor. Here is Tony's letter. For more info, go to www.savekevincooper.org or www.nodeathpenalty.org. Friday - Click here to comment:
Comment Feb 2 - World Traveler... NOT! Got this from Zeebah, who has been to tons of states. I've been to 17 states... I've been to Detroit 7 times, and I want to see Philly and Chicago to see the urban gardens there. I have spent time in airports in Houston, Chicago, Cincinnati, but I don't think they count, since I didn't really visit them. I also haven't been to DC, but I'm going in a few weeks, so I thought I'd include it. I have only been to 10 countries, including the one I live in... my favorite countries were Cuba and Greece, for different reasons. My friend Lily has been to many, many more places. I'll have her sign in... you'll see much more red than mine! Create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide. Ciao! Au Bientot... Jaa mata... Manana Monday - Click here to comment:
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