William and Kate

Yes, I did get up to watch. Not as early as I did when Diana got married in 1981, but I recorded it and watched the entire news coverage later. It's an historic event and the next chapter in a fairy tale I've followed for most of my life. It's the future of the British monarchy and a happy ending to what was, for the most part, a sad story about real people. I don't get how so many young people can be so disinterested in this real life story... about a family that, like it or not, good or bad, has affected the history of the world we all live in. They tell me that if an event doesn't have personal impact, why should it interest them? A co-worker said "All young people worry about is themselves nowadays." I hope that's not true. I worry about a generation who can't  - or won't - see far enough into the past to know that the present exists because of what happened before. How in the world will they be able to learn from MY generation's mistakes? Whatever its significance, it was a beautiful day filled with hope, and a welcome escape from normal life. 
Sorry you missed it.

Quiz: Is Your Cat Plotting to Kill You?

What Secret Asian Girl is Reading: Swamplandia!

Probably one of the most unusual novels I've read in awhile. Swamplandia! is creative writing at its best and reminds me of some very good juvenile fiction targeted towards more open-minded audiences. I don't see this one making it in to many Book Club circles, but this is precisely the type of book I'd like to discuss (which may explain why I'm not welcome in most Book Clubs). Author Karen Russell is obscenely young (28)  - and is named as one of the New York Times' prestigious 20 Under 40 best fiction writers of the year and deservedly so. I'm impressed and disgusted at the same time. Swamplandia! is an impressive work: quirky, heart rending and achingly honest all at the same time.  Like a bad car wreck, you want to look away but you can't. Our protagonist, 12 year old Ava Bigtree is part of an eccentric family who owns and operates an Alligator Wrestling Theme Park called Swamplandia! in the humid, murky swamps of Florida. At one time, the park was the talk of the everglades but hard times and changing entertainment preferences have put the park, and the family, into dire financial straits. To make matters worse, the star of the park, Ava's mom, Hilola Bigtree, has died from cancer. As you can imagine, a family that wrestles gators for a living has a "different" take on life and handles this crisis in a non-typical manner. The kids (older sister Osceola "Ossie" and older brother Kiwi) are pretty much left on their own while their father, Chief Bigtree (whose Indian name has no ties to any Native American tribe), slowly spins out of control in his personal grief.  Ava imagines herself as her mother's gator-wrestling successor, "performing in the moonlight" as her mother did. Disgusted by their impending financial implosion and their dad's inability to save them, 16 year old Kiwi leaves home to find work at the newly built, so-advanced-it's-not-even-competition park, World of Darkness. His plan is to earn enough money to save Swamplandia!, and therefore, his family. When he discovers that he owes his new employers more money than he earns, he begins to understand the weird bubble his parents raised him in. Ossie's grief, meanwhile, manifests itself in beyond-the-grave ways, immersing herself in Ouija boards and self-imposed trances. She even believes that she's in love with a dead dredge man, accidentally killed while clearing the swamps of invasive plant life during a 1930's government-subsidized WPA whoopsies mission. All this drama takes place in the now abandoned and increasingly creepy amusement park overrun with deadly alligators that they call home. Among the Bigtree Museum are artifacts from generations of Bigtree family life: a yellowed wedding dress, gator skulls and the like. When Chief leaves his family to pursue another terrible plan (something about a salute to Darwinism), the sisters are left alone with little food or money. Ossie departs soon after to find the entrance to the Underworld so she can be with her imaginary dead lover. This leaves poor Ava alone and exposed to the glaring reality of life outside of her strange family. She sets off to find Ossie before her sister enters the dreaded Underworld and in her innocence discovers that gators with razor sharp teeth are marshmallows compared to the ugliest segments of humanity. Although the reader's instinct to want to save Ava is strong, at least as motivating is the feeling that Ava needs to wake up and realize that while her parents' eccentricities were endearing and unusual, they also became a handicap to the kids' preparation for life. This is a handbook in bad parenting skills. The descriptive narrative is excellent and you can actually feel the humid hopelessness of the failing park.  I also loved the historical background on the area and the facts surrounding the government's attempts to fix something that wasn't broken. Ava is a modern day Mockingbird's Scout, whose big heart and wide-eyed courage transcends the best intentions of her gator-loving family. This novel is a big bite of delicious storytelling when you're hungry for a satisfying read. Ugh. That even made ME gag. Just read it.

Fukushima Shelties Are Safe!

Japanese shelties abandoned in the radioactive evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have an angel in 56 year old Etsumi Ogino, a volunteer at an animal shelter. Ms. Ogino saw a news photo of these shelties left to fend for themselves when their owner was forced to leave after the disaster. A dedicated Sheltie owner herself, she contacted the photographer for a location and then called a local Sheltie Rescue group who risked their lives to round up most of the shelties and get them to a vet in the Kanegawa prefecture. They were found near Odaka Railway Station, most probably trying to find a train outta there!! (Shelties are SO smart!) Whew!! Sam is very relieved to hear that his brothers are safe. Mao....well, right now she's eating some tuna but I'm sure when she's done she'll be very happy the puppies are safe.

Hooray for Sheltie Rescuers!!

Please, please help as much as you can. Humane Society International or HEART, both are verified, authentic organizations. Or check out this page for more ways to help starving, injured animals affected by the Japanese disaster.

50 Things I've Learned In 50 Years

I'll only get to do this once.

50 Things I've Learned in 50 Years

For the Love of a Dog

Arigato Gozaimasu

Maybe it's a misplaced criticism, but amidst all the horrific news that continues to come out of Japan following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis is something that is niggling at the back of my mind. Where is the emotional outpouring of grief and sympathy from the general public? When Haiti suffered through a terrible (and although it's inappropriate to compare - not AS severe as Japan's) earthquake, every popular celebrity couldn't organize fast enough to generate donations, telethons and other charity events to help the suffering victims. That wave of compassion (forgive the metaphor) seems to be missing following the triple tragedies that have occurred in Japan. Where's George Clooney? Are Kanye and Oprah too busy? Or maybe after Katrina, Darfur and Haiti, a certain Crisis Desensitization has developed. There do seem to be a lot of natural disasters lately and not every one can be addressed, I suppose. Apple's iTunes released an album today benefiting relief efforts in Japan. I went to the iTunes Store to see what songs were available and was impressed to see the artists who have donated their work for this effort. In the comment section however, was an odd smattering of people saying "Why are we doing this? Japan is a rich, industrial nation who doesn't need our help recovering." Have you watched the news lately? Ten thousand confirmed dead, over 17,000 still missing, thousands homeless, food sources scarce or contaminated...the devastation goes on and on. Regardless of how powerful a nation is, none can survive something like this without help. Didn't Katrina teach us that? I could speculate on other reasons the Japanese don't appear to need help: the people seem calm and organized with no looting or wailing for someone else to rescue them. They're not destroying what little they have left but are instead hanging onto their dignity and trying to preserve their humanity. Although the Japanese people to do not appear to require assistance, they most definitely do. Their culture just doesn't allow for that kind of helplessness. Just look at the Fukushima 50, the nuclear power plant workers who volunteered to stay behind to try to contain the a possible meltdown at the plant. These heroes knowingly risk cancer every minute they stay there to try to save thousands more from exposure. One man was 6 months away from retirement but volunteered to do what he could to help. These people, and all the survivors, make me proud of my cultural heritage. The Japanese are a proud and dignified people who will rise from these ashes as they've done before, but they need help. Please donate to the American Red Cross or to Japanese Red Cross if you can. Or you can do what I did - help the Humane Society International rescue Japanese animals in need. And that iTunes CD is only $10 for 38 songs by popular artists like Beyonce, Lady Gaga and the Black Eye Peas. All proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross. Arigato gozaimasu.

Still Boldly Going

Happy 80th birthday to William Shatner and also to 
Leonard Nimoy who turns 80 as well on March 26. 
Long life and prosperity.

Please Help

The Humane Society of the United States is mobilizing to help animals affected by the disaster in Japan. Sam took one look at this photo and immediately whipped out his checkbook. Mao was unmoved. Please click here and give as much as you can.

The Tao of Mao

I made this mock cover of the book I'm going to write.

Sleepy Sam

Kitty herding is exhausting.

Portrait of a Mao

Beautiful kitty? Or evil trouble-maker?

Either way, her response is: Meh.

Update: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom

Now an update to my earlier post, Tiger Mom: Declawed. At the time, I hadn't read the book but wanted to comment on how I felt regarding the whole idea of culture-based parental pressure in general, and how it did or didn't affect my own life. Now, having read the book, I was hoping to find some sort of redemption in this mom's story: whether it was true concern for her children's well being or whether she had somehow discovered the motivation behind her actions, like a need to impress her parents. What I found was a woman who is wholly unapologetic for hijacking her children's early years and who doesn't even see a need to justify it. I've never understood it; although I've seen it time and time again, in my own family as well as in other "ethnic" families, a lack of self-esteem perpetuated through generations. Whether it's cultural or just habit, the parent believes that by putting down the child, it will somehow stimulate them to try harder. I don't believe that the put-down is even fully believed by the adult; it just seems to come naturally to them. A knee-jerk behavior. To Western sensibilities, this seems harsh, but to certain cultures, it's benign and even beneficial to the child. Amy Chua does allude to this but never admits that it could be harmful. She does acknowledge the differences in the two cultures but ultimately commits herself to the belief that a child cannot motivate themselves enough, that it is up to the parent to usher the child to success. That is, success being defined as perfection.  So many times, while reading this book, I wanted to slap this woman...hard. With chopsticks. And not those disposable break-apart balsa wood ones, either.  I don't believe that Ms. Chua's treatment of her children was motivated by her concern for their welfare. I also don't think that her parent's self-made success story inspired her to want her children to exceed their expectations. I think it's far simpler than that. I believe that her motivations are purely selfish: the need to brag and feel superior to others. Whether inherited by culture or by a personal lack of self-esteem, some people simply love to look down their noses at others. Based on what I know of her own accomplishments, Ms. Chua certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. Her resume is stellar and enviable. It's possible her personality prevents her from ever being satisfied which is too bad because her personal lack of fulfillment bleeds onto her children.  My heart goes out to those kids, who don't know any different to comment on whether or not their childhood was short-changed. I told Tristan about this book and some of the things the author said to her kids and he said he could never have lived with a mom like that. I joked with him and told him that by her standards, he was an utter and complete failure. (No, we can talk like that to each other...it's okay, really) He joked back and said, "Not just by HER standards!!" We laughed and I thought to myself that I was glad his self esteem was healthy enough to make fun of himself and that our relationship was strong enough to be able to discuss such a topic. I learned a long time ago that I can't force him to do anything. I still try, but I know I'll only damage what we have. He's not perfect, but I tell you what - he's never stood up in a restaurant and shouted "I HATE YOU!!" like the daughters in this book. There's something wrong with me, as a parent, if my actions would ever incite my child to do something like that. Dear Tiger Mom, take a good look at yourself before it's too late for your kids. Stop trying to disprove your own self doubt through the achievements of your children. I'm a Tiger Mom too...but I'll fight to protect his life, not destroy it.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Snow In Houston