Alpha Asian

I've been at my current job for 10 years. That's very rare in this day and age, especially amongst my generation (X) and after. I've never met anybody whose job was truly their passion. I've never met anybody who was truly happy with their job to stay longer than a few years. With some exceptions, everybody I've known has always moved around from job to job. I was like this too in my 20's. I once quit a job on the very first day. At one point, I was working 3 part-time jobs at the same time. There wasn't a full-time job out there that I liked, so I created a composite with 3 part-time jobs I did like. Of course those of us who have jobs should be happy these days. Nevertheless, some of you may feel distraught being trapped in a job you don't like. Here's some tips on how to maintain career longevity: 1) Underpromise, overdeliver- Don't promise the world and fail to deliver. If you do that repeatedly, then everybody knows you're ...

Let me tell you, I'm not a big charity guy. I'm also the most apolitical person you'll run into. I don't watch the news at all. I get my news from Angry Asian Man, but even then, I skip over most of his stuff.  Which probably explains why I'm such a happy-go-lucky person. It's not that I don't care about social issues, but I'm selective as to which issues to be active about and how to be active about them. Otherwise I'd spread myself thin worrying about everything.  Asian American issues mean a lot to me, but I focus on self-improvement as the way to enrich our communities. Money runs out, time is limited, but idea viruses spread like, well... viruses! But if you're blessed with a lot of disposable income to donate $2,000 to a cause every month, then consider donating to the following: 1) The Asian Law Caucus- These guys do a lot of great work for the Asian American community, but unfortunately, they're located in a really sh!tty part of ...

I'm a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was by far the best series of the franchise, although Deep Space Nine had some excellent seasons and episodes as well. You know you're a Trekker when you refer to classic episodes for guidance in life. Here are some notable lessons from some classic episodes: 1) Ensigns of Command- In this episode, Data must convince human colonists to evacuate their world, because the Federation has ceded it to the Sheliak. Meanwhile, Picard has to negotiate with the Sheliak for more time to evacuate the colonists, otherwise the Sheliak will "eradicate the human infestation." This episode was a classic lesson on how to negotiate, hardball. Picard tries to appeal to the Sheliaks' compassion, but discovers that the Sheliak have none. Picard eventually resorts to looking at the treaty between the 2 races: "Let's look at that treaty. They've been beating us over the head with it. Let's see if there's so...

Here are some more ruminations on the nature of art. I'm sure there will be others who disagree with my viewpoints but I'm throwing this out there for discussion. In our last discussion, we talked about defining art and what role the artist has. My last post was my groundwork and a frame of reference for this one in regards to using an art form as entertainment as opposed to creating a tangible piece of work designed to stir the human soul. Moreover, I wanted to pick up on the train of thought Alpha Asian raised about staying true to one’s work and not worrying so much about popularity or acceptance. All art forms don’t have to achieve a high level of art. It’s great when it does, but these art forms don’t necessarily have to have that purpose. As previously stated, the art forms can be used merely for entertainment and that is fine. Life would be boring if we didn't have some form of entertainment. But even within that purpose of entertainment, you can still attai...

I didn't even realize this until today, but the Alpha Asian blog is one year old. Wow! Who knew that I'd be keeping this thing going for this long? When I set out to write this blog, I didn't have any delusions of grandeur. I didn't think I would make money off of this blog or even gain much of a readership. But what I did want was to create a blog that aggregated positive energy, energy that inspires Asian Americans to follow their bliss. I think in a way I've made my mark, because other bloggers are starting to do the same thing. One year and I posted about 215 entries with the help of talented Asian Americans on the web. That's a lot of stuff that can get buried over time, so I decided to categorize the more popular posts into select categories: Alpha Asians- If you want to be inspired by real life Alpha Asians who are doing their own thing and kicking ass, then check out some of these videos and interviews. Asian Americans- History, activism and community....

Alpha Asian was nice enough to invite me to be a guest contributor to his blog. After mulling it over, I thought, what the heck? Alpha had some interesting posts on writing and on the integrity of one’s work. I thought I’d delve deeper into the topic and share some of my own thoughts on creativity and art. So, how would you define art? What makes one project art and the other just a project? There are various definitions, but for our sake, let’s keep our focus to the readily accessible things the average person would say is art: visual arts, literature, music. A conventional definition is that art is a reflection of society. Artistic works are supposed to tell us something about our lives, to enhance it with beauty, to make us think. It is an expression of human creativity and imagination, its purpose to bring us into harmony or balance with the world around us. Or, you could take a more cynical approach and define it the way Andy Warhol did when he said, “Art is anything you can ge...

Here's an interesting article I picked up from IIStix.com .  You should read the full article, but here an excerpt: South Korean kids get a taste of boot camp "The Blue Dragon Marine Corps Training Camp is the brainchild of Park Kyung-hoon, a rock-hard 52-year-old former drill sergeant who sees the younger generation as a sorry lot: physically fragile, undisciplined and weak-minded, hunched over their computers playing video games, talking trash to their overworked parents. "But the moms and dads aren't blameless. They grew up during the lean years after the Korean War, and many overcompensate with their children, giving them everything they didn't have. "Finally, after years of such pampering, some parents realize that their young need more discipline to become better students and more conscientious adults... "Unlike similar camps in the United States, where such tough treatment is usually reserved for youths with drug problems or those in t...