NYE's Eve Reunions

Went to Spaceland last night to catch Mystic Chords of Memory and The Minor Canon. It was a night of reunion of sorts, a lot of old friends catching up on old times... some things never really change...

This is Mystic Chords of Memory with Nobody.

Chris & Jen: newlyweds, musicians, health enthusiasts, rad people.

We went to Josh's studio afterwards to continue the party and "jam." We played Destroyer & VU songs which was great fun for me. Josh made us chant, yoga style which wasn't really flowing with my smoke and Jameson-induced state.

Some random people showed up and there was this kinda cute girl in particular whom I was really interested in. She looked like she just shopped at Forever 21 from head to toe (which isn't so bad) and started playing drums (alright) and then picked up the acoustic guitar and started playing & singing "Under My Thumb" (alright) and then wanted to play Yes songs which everyone put an end to right away (like instantly). If we had let her continue, she probably would of busted out some Pearl Jam hits or something awesome like that...

I slyly took this of Trisha rocking it on percussion. BUT the real focus is on that cheetah-like guy in the background - what is Chris Holmes doing in Josh's studio all of the sudden?!?!? Chris Holmes (of W.A.S.P) is notoriously known from the rockumentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years," where his mother, present in the background, listens to her son discuss how much of an alcoholic he is. And I think he still is considering he had a big gulp bigger than the size of my head as we were anxiously waiting for the sketchy bathroom at 3am while this "lady" was putting on her "makeup",... or should i say "fixing" her makeup...

A Day in the Life (FOB, Part II)

I was told that I followed my dad everywhere; here we are with his male friends drinking soda (as alcohol wasn't permitted).

Third World hut construction: I like that saw being used to cut the bamboo and the man with the cigarette.

The "Angelina Jolie" of her day hanging out with us.

Check out our Sunday Best.

When we first arrived, we made a traditional prayer offering, a thanks.

FOB*

I've been scanning old faded photos of my parents' wedding and having them reprinted all nice and glossy for the family room. I'm surprised how many they still have considering they brought them on a Chinese Junk from Vietnam. Speaking of which, I came across pics of my family when we were at the Songkhla Refugee Boat Camp in Southern Thailand in 1980.

Since I was in a coma during that week we were on the boat, fleeing for our lives, I have no recollection of any memories until I came to America. The story that was told to me was that my dad decided for us to leave Vietnam after he had visited his cousins in Hanoi in 1979. My parents loved Vietnam and never intended to leave after the War but after seeing how worse the conditions were in Hanoi than Saigon (and it didn't look like it was going to get any better), my parents made preparations for the family to escape soon after.

We fled in the middle of the night, dressed as peasants (with newly coiffed boy's cut) pretending to head off to the central farmlands. My parents left everything behind, material possessions didn't mean anything, just the opportunity for their two young daughters to have a future. We were on a boat for a week with no food; my mom gave me her water ration while she drank her own urine! (whoa, yeah it was heavy). Pirates raided our boat and took anything of value but luckily, no one was murdered or raped like so many before us.

We landed in Thailand and the government officials didn't want to take us in (this was during the high tide of the boat people flight from Vietnam to SE Asian countries and they couldn't accommodate everyone) but an American journalist interjected on our behalf with some international human rights law so thus, we ended at the Songkhla Camp for 6 months as we waited for my Grandfather to sponsor us to America. Of course, there were a lot of religious proselytizing in these camps and my parents converted to Catholicism from Buddhism during this time.

Here is a shot of our sizable group who survived the escape. I'm the little survivor in the middle right with the hot red shorts.

Here I am with my uncle, aunt and older sister with a scowl on her face. Obviously, these were not the best of times for us. I had a biafra belly and an excessive tan; I don't recall sunscreen as one of the amenities available at this camp.

I noticed that there were a lot of photo ops in front of the boat. I guess we're just proud and feel very lucky that it didn't sink on us.

There are loads of books out there on the Boat People but I highly recommend Sr. Chan Khong's "Learning True Love: How I Learned to Practice Social Change in Vietnam" which is when I first really learned about the Vietnamese Diaspora. Oh yeah, the author and I are both tigers.

* means "fresh off the boat"

Chuc mung Giang Sinh

Feliz Navidad. 聖誕快樂. frohe Weihnachten. веселое рождество. vrolijke Kerstmis. 즐거운 성탄. Buon Natale. メリークリスマス. Joyeux Noël. Καλά Χριστούγεννα. Merry Christmas!

This is what it looks like this Xmas in Southern California.

Sano
Downtown HB

To Protect and Serve

LA's Finest have crossed the line between cop and criminal... How did LA's Finest fall so far so fast? Here's the evidence:

The perpetrators: Mouse, Wiggles, Owley, Munchkin and Little Boo Hoo

Little Boo Hoo shows us how to put the record back in its proper sleeve.

iPod usage only if you're on the run from Yale.

Munchkin, feeling it. This is how we do it... cutting it up.

The Wiggles dance party.
[Side Note: Wiggles has an excellent shop, Ooga Booga, located in Chinatown. For those who can't physically shop there, she has just created a webshop filled with treasures she carries in her shop. Please have a look, it's pretty ultimate...]

LA's Finest

After 1.75 years of hibernation, back in effect... the finest of LA... "LA's Finest"... returns...

Full DJ crew line-up: Ann Do, Anna Sew Hoy, Nanette Sullano, Amy and Wendy Yao

This Thursday, December 21, 2006
8-midnight

Mandrake Bar
2692 S. La Cienega Blvd., LA, CA 90034

LA's Finest...where they treat you like a King!

Owley Patrol: The Holiday Edition

Bonne Fetes! Gift season is here, holiday parties are abound and a few of those are the unavoidable but welcomed Pink Elephant parties. These are fun, at times cutthroat, and calls for creativity. But alas, in these exorbitantly fast times, one doesn't always have time for imagination so thus gift certificates are sadly, the norm these days. I'm not saying these are bad; my Sea Level Records gift certificate that I kindly received at Frosty's party has already been put to good use and that gift certificate for Dermalogica Spa is anxiously sitting on the desk.

The Bou-Clapp Annual Xmas Party: I was in charge of dessert so that's my flourless chocolate mousse cake.

This is the coral that everyone wanted. The probability of me getting it was slim since the number I had drawn was so so low. Nancy had a really good chance of getting it but she got too greedy and Christopher ended up with it to her dismay. And she was the hostess! I'm telling you, these parties are cutthroat!

Frosty's Annual Pink Elephant Party: I had originally gotten a nice bottle of Maker's Mark (omg, my favorite!) and really did think that I was going to get to keep it but at the very end, Frosty took it away from me! Grinch...

Cuties Erin and Jimmy. They got good gifts but don't exactly remember what they were...but they were good...

I baked a Snow-Topped Santa Spice Cake and was very proud of it (see foreground). Then Chloe comes in with her perfect double-layer Black Forest Cake. Damn, I can't compete with that! She is a master.

Jenny's spur-of-the-moment gathering. Though the heater was on the fritz and the firewood wasn't catching on fire, the wine, good company, Godard's "Contempt" and Jenny dressed as a Christmas tree made it all warm and festive.

Here's a relevant and celebratory song for Christmas:
Nina Simone's "Ain't Got No - I Got Life.mp3"

Everyday is like Sunday

I wished everyday was like this past Sunday. I saw good friends and ran into those old ones I haven't seen in forever...

The Wong sisters, Chrys & Linda, at their clothing label, The Battalion's sample sale. Sisters are so rad. I love sisters like the Wongs, the Yaos, the Bous, the Wittys and my own sister.
This is Jenny, my style idol, my Vietnamese soul sister. She said that she believes in magic. I said that I believe in fate.
Then my band played some Smiths covers (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Jeane and Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want) at Part Time Punks' special Smiths Nite. Here's Bennyshambles, the host, all Moz'ed out.
Ezra celebrating Smiths' morose introspection through freaky dance moves.
Miss Folkhands, my other style idol, believes that it'll all end in tears.... It always does...