Yesterday, my band released a new single in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It's called Anthem. I hope you'll take a listen and consider making a donation to an organization fighting for racial justice (we have a few listed at http://www.theslants.com/anthem) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1h_XOfmOjU
10 years ago I helped a woman I barely knew escape from a violent relationship. Her boyfriend beat her up badly but never went to prison because the cops didn't believe her, even though she was quite bruised. She had nowhere else to go so I offered my home as a safe place to take … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness
I'm honored to announce that I'll be sharing my story in Austin, TX at SXSW 2019! If you're going to the festival, please check out my session here. For the past few years, I've been telling portions of my story about growing up as an Asian American, starting The Slants, and fighting my way through … Continue reading Redefining What’s Offensive
What's the advice that you find yourself always giving to the people around you? Mine is simple: If your closest loved one were in your situation, what would you tell them to do? Most people know what the right thing to do is - they just either lack the courage and discipline to do so … Continue reading The Advice I Give Out Most Often
Susan Loesser, daughter of the iconic Frank Loesser, has been defending her father's song, "Baby, it's Cold Outside." "Absolutely I get it," she said. “But I think it would be good if people looked at the song in the context of the time. It was written in 1944” I think people understand the context in … Continue reading Baby, You’re Cold Inside
Who are we? Consider the preamble to the United States Constitution. When you hear, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union," have you ever stopped to think about who they were referring to? It actually did not refer to the people of the United States, but rather, the … Continue reading Where are You in “We?”
Over the years, I've worked in a couple of areas that dealt with framing: In photography, framing helps with composing the image. You use natural elements to draw your viewer's eye to the subject. This helps emphasize the subject, bringing a natural structure as well as isolates the subject from distractions. In fact, for any … Continue reading The Art of Framing
Yesterday, I was thinking about how people train for a marathon. It seems pretty straightforward: you run a little more each day to build up stamina, you eat appropriate food to get more energy, and you get advice from other experienced people who have run marathons before. What you don't do is sprint short distances, … Continue reading Sprint vs. Marathon
If you've been in a long, deep slumber and looked outside to see the sun on the horizon, you would not be able to tell if the sun was setting or rising. It's the solar equivalent of the glass being half empty or half full: the only difference is what has changed from before and … Continue reading The Next Day
When I was in fourth grade, my family moved across town to be closer to the restaurant we owned. My new elementary school was only about a mile from our home so I walked home everyday. Soon, I made friends who lived near me and they told me about their super-secret shortcut. The shortcut involved … Continue reading Shortcuts
