Sara finally finished her very first year of school and has now been promoted to Kindergarten! Good job, Sara!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Austin/Arizona Boycott Debacle
So I'm reading today that "The Burleson Tea Party" wants to boycott Austin because Austin is boycotting Arizona. This is what Angela Cox, founder of the party, wrote:
"I call upon you, to take a look at what has happened, right here, in the great state of Texas. The voice of the few, in Austin, Texas, have taken matters into their own hands, by slandering the Arizona legislation, and voting unanimously of a boycott of Arizona. How dare they ignore the voices and wishes of Texans!"
Well, I just have to say...good riddance, Burleson Tea Party. We don't need you here anyway. The Tea Party movement, in itself, is a bit of a joke. They name themselves after a movement related to taxes. Particularly, "taxation without representation." Since the Obama administration has reduced taxes for most Americans, this seems an odd name for a movement against him.
But anyway, back to this boycott. As a "Texan" myself, the Burleson Tea Party doesn't speak for me. I support what the city of Austin is doing. Does that mean I support illegal immigration? No. Not at all. I just think that what Arizona is doing is going a little too far. Basically, it's racial profiling. Anyone who doesn't look "Anglo" can be stopped at any time, for any reason. If I'm driving through Arizona, will I be stopped because my wife is Asian? I mean, really, where does it end? It's almost tantamount to placing a five-pointed star on someones clothes.
My mother was an immigrant. My grandfather was an immigrant. My wife is an immigrant. I'm only the first generation of my family that was actually born here. This a country made by immigrants, and it's what makes it great. The diversity. My wife was telling me the other day that nobody ever treats her special here. She complains that when I was living in Taiwan, I always got special treatment from people because I was a foreigner. And it's true, I did. But now that she is here in American, she isn't treated any different from an American citizen. That's because an American citizen can be anyone, of any race or background. Christy fits in as much as anyone else. But once we start stopping people for "not looking right", we're heading down the wrong path.
"I call upon you, to take a look at what has happened, right here, in the great state of Texas. The voice of the few, in Austin, Texas, have taken matters into their own hands, by slandering the Arizona legislation, and voting unanimously of a boycott of Arizona. How dare they ignore the voices and wishes of Texans!"
Well, I just have to say...good riddance, Burleson Tea Party. We don't need you here anyway. The Tea Party movement, in itself, is a bit of a joke. They name themselves after a movement related to taxes. Particularly, "taxation without representation." Since the Obama administration has reduced taxes for most Americans, this seems an odd name for a movement against him.
But anyway, back to this boycott. As a "Texan" myself, the Burleson Tea Party doesn't speak for me. I support what the city of Austin is doing. Does that mean I support illegal immigration? No. Not at all. I just think that what Arizona is doing is going a little too far. Basically, it's racial profiling. Anyone who doesn't look "Anglo" can be stopped at any time, for any reason. If I'm driving through Arizona, will I be stopped because my wife is Asian? I mean, really, where does it end? It's almost tantamount to placing a five-pointed star on someones clothes.
My mother was an immigrant. My grandfather was an immigrant. My wife is an immigrant. I'm only the first generation of my family that was actually born here. This a country made by immigrants, and it's what makes it great. The diversity. My wife was telling me the other day that nobody ever treats her special here. She complains that when I was living in Taiwan, I always got special treatment from people because I was a foreigner. And it's true, I did. But now that she is here in American, she isn't treated any different from an American citizen. That's because an American citizen can be anyone, of any race or background. Christy fits in as much as anyone else. But once we start stopping people for "not looking right", we're heading down the wrong path.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Good Year for Concerts
"So ya, thought ya,
might like to go to the show?"
-opening lines from "The Wall"
I'm taking Christy and kids to see their first rock concert a little later this year. We're going to see RUSH. It's an outdoor concert, and I got tickets for the lawn seating. This way, if the babies want to run around and go nuts, there should be plenty of room for them to do that. Had we got reserved seats, it would have been another fiasco like the time we tried to watch the Austin Rodeo. Also, thankfully, kids get in free on the lawn, so I only had to buy two tickets.
I like Rush. They're not my favorite band, but they're in my top 10. This year they're playing the album "Moving Pictures" in its entirety. "Moving Pictures" has all the Rush classics that I grew up listening to as a kid: "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," "Limelight," "Witch Hunt,", and "YYZ." It's my favorite album by Rush, and if they weren't playing this front to back, I probably wouldn't be all that enthusiastic about going to another Rush "greatest hits" show (I've already seen them about five times before). Christy doesn't really like Geddy Lee's voice, so she's not sure if she will like the concert or not. I told her that Geddy has one of those distinct voices that you just have to get used to. I also told her just to go for the experience of an American rock concert (ok, Rush is Canadian, but you know what I mean).
In November, we're going to another concert, and this is one that I am really excited about. Roger Waters, of PINK FLOYD, is going to perform "The Wall" live in its entirety. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to see this show. I was too young to catch the show when Pink Floyd first toured it in 1980 (I was only 9, and there was no way in hell my parents would have allowed me to go). So I had to experience it through the pictures I would see in books, and the audio recordings. I'm realistic, so I know the show will not be the same as the one 30 years ago. David Gilmour will not be there, so his distinct guitar sound will be sorely missed. But the theatrical show will be almost the same, if not better. I'm taking Christy to this show without the kids (we're getting a babysitter). Christy, surprisingly, really likes "The Wall." I've probably made her listen to it about a hundred times, so it began to grow on her. She didn't even knew the band Pink Floyd existed until she met me. Apparently Pink Floyd is not that big in Taiwan. Too bad. Those poor Taiwanese don't know what they're missing.
I like Rush. They're not my favorite band, but they're in my top 10. This year they're playing the album "Moving Pictures" in its entirety. "Moving Pictures" has all the Rush classics that I grew up listening to as a kid: "Tom Sawyer," "Red Barchetta," "Limelight," "Witch Hunt,", and "YYZ." It's my favorite album by Rush, and if they weren't playing this front to back, I probably wouldn't be all that enthusiastic about going to another Rush "greatest hits" show (I've already seen them about five times before). Christy doesn't really like Geddy Lee's voice, so she's not sure if she will like the concert or not. I told her that Geddy has one of those distinct voices that you just have to get used to. I also told her just to go for the experience of an American rock concert (ok, Rush is Canadian, but you know what I mean).
In November, we're going to another concert, and this is one that I am really excited about. Roger Waters, of PINK FLOYD, is going to perform "The Wall" live in its entirety. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to see this show. I was too young to catch the show when Pink Floyd first toured it in 1980 (I was only 9, and there was no way in hell my parents would have allowed me to go). So I had to experience it through the pictures I would see in books, and the audio recordings. I'm realistic, so I know the show will not be the same as the one 30 years ago. David Gilmour will not be there, so his distinct guitar sound will be sorely missed. But the theatrical show will be almost the same, if not better. I'm taking Christy to this show without the kids (we're getting a babysitter). Christy, surprisingly, really likes "The Wall." I've probably made her listen to it about a hundred times, so it began to grow on her. She didn't even knew the band Pink Floyd existed until she met me. Apparently Pink Floyd is not that big in Taiwan. Too bad. Those poor Taiwanese don't know what they're missing.
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