tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216514652026-06-04T08:56:11.089-07:00we push but they swingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger570125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-52964813274767651702014-10-18T04:57:00.001-07:002014-10-18T05:03:10.891-07:00

Right before the birth of our second child five years ago, we moved back to the Philip Roth suburbs in which I grew up. Back when I was a kid in the 1980s, if you weren't Jewish, you were either Irish or Italian, with the exception of a dozen or so Asian families. And if you were Asian, you were probably Filipino. And all the Filipinos knew each other either from church or through our parents

SoulSnaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685020878649396656noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-50081958493028005422013-05-22T10:37:00.002-07:002013-05-22T10:37:14.017-07:00

My friends Stefanie Liang and Kaitlin McGaw, along with their collaborator Tommy Shepherd, have been entertaining and educating crowds of children for the past several years as the Alphabet Rockers -- and are now trying to make the jump to TV! They've been writing and performing positive, educational hip-hop songs for live audiences around the country, and amassing fans of all ages along

Chris Fanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14563338266033533358noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-61939218048363551812012-09-17T16:20:00.000-07:002012-09-17T16:20:55.608-07:00

Janet Liang, a vibrant 25 year old UCLA graduate and a leukemia patient who spent years championing leukemia awareness and Asian American bone marrow registration, passed away last week. In Janet’s memory, this site is partnering with a network of other prominent Asian American sites to host 170 in 7: A Bone Marrow Cyberdrive in Memory of Janet Liang. Twelve years ago this month,

daddy in a strange landhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02838412669298860456noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-89815151144625727012012-07-29T05:00:00.000-07:002013-09-14T08:58:13.909-07:00

When I think of Jackie Chan, I usually think of a Kung Fu fighting Harold Lloyd. Jackie's the bumbler, the well-intentioned but clumsy "nice guy" who's just happened to save the day. Off the screen (from the interviews I've seen and read and the out take footage at the end of his movies), Jackie seems to be just as nice and well-intentioned as the characters he's played. Up until recently, I

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-79026102938995985062012-07-01T06:21:00.000-07:002012-07-24T05:04:12.389-07:00

Originally Posted at http://cranialgunk.com/blog/2012/06/30/vincent-and-danny-and-coping-with-betrayal/ Last weekend marked the 30th Anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin. The week that lead up to it was filled with posts from across the blogosphere about Vincent and the legacy of how little Judge Kaufman valued the life of a Chinese American versus the lives of the

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-15039625055588070122012-06-24T14:49:00.000-07:002012-06-24T17:53:58.354-07:00

Though not a Rice Daddy, she is definitely a Rice Mommy. Mia Wenjen has compiled an impressive bibliography of Asian American literature for Young Adults on her site JadeLuckClub.com. I asked her if she would provide us with some summer book recommendations. In her own words: Mia Wenjen blogs obsessively on children's books and young adult literature at Pragmatic Mom and creative

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-1045368658926420712012-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:002012-06-20T10:54:58.147-07:00

 Link to the larger image: Link 116 of Hollywood’s greatest stars on one stage at one time to celebrate Paramount Studio’s 100th anniversary. It's interesting to see which stars were actually chosen. I guess in some respects you have to be happy to see at least three Asian faces in the group, from left to right: Tommy Chong, George Takei and John Cho. The interesting part to me is the

Obiwanhavanesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033220787669844059noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-64468552934659944972012-05-23T09:15:00.000-07:002012-05-23T14:04:33.246-07:00

Summer is around the corner, so the local sporting goods store is clearing out their children's winter gear at 50% off. One of the things the kids will need for next winter is some snow pants. But with kids growing so fast, it's hard to figure out what's going to fit them next winter. So even though we might be saving 50% on last season's gear, there's no guarantee that what we're buying will

SoulSnaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685020878649396656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-29948515395137506832012-05-08T07:53:00.001-07:002012-05-08T07:53:35.681-07:00

In honor of today's release of the sophomore album by Los Angeles kindie rock family band (and Rice Daddies fave) Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips, we are happy to be giving away 5 autographed copies of the new CD to Rice Daddies readers. If you're not familiar with the music of Mista Cookie Jar, a.k.a. C.J. Pizarro, he calls it "Urban-Island-Funky-Rock-N-Roll for the Inner Child." His

daddy in a strange landhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02838412669298860456noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-51153226223165794862012-03-24T00:00:00.006-07:002012-03-24T11:20:08.675-07:00

I’m an avid road cyclist, and my riding buddies fit the stereotype: tough, quiet, spandexed. Before Eliot was born, I liked to soften these guys up by telling them how excited I was about my imminent fatherhood. I remember one of them—one of our team’s tougher, quieter, more spandexed members—telling me that after having his first child he could no longer watch Law & Order or CSI, or any of

Chris Fanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14563338266033533358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-26083023399538138982012-02-27T18:03:00.001-08:002012-02-27T18:10:49.858-08:00

Responding to a call for personal stories about school at my K2twelve blog, Ed Yau wrote me about the challenges he faced getting his son into a Pre-K in New York City. Sage, the app that resulted from his tackling the difficult process of placing his son in a public Pre-K program is the running for NYC Big Apps 3.0. Click Here to vote for it. Guest Post: “Sage” by Edward Yau It still blows

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-61479583618295429952012-02-23T18:13:00.001-08:002012-02-23T18:14:11.515-08:00

El (7, Chinese/Japanese American): I'm rooting for the Miami Heat. Me: You're not rooting for Jeremy Lin?El: Why would I? Me: Well, he's Chinese American and you're Chinese American. El: I don't like Chinese. Me:...

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-29942611836688372082012-02-13T20:29:00.001-08:002012-02-13T20:29:22.311-08:00

Am I the only one who thinks about the infamous battle between Kirk and Spock in “Amok time” (Star Trek Season Two Episode One) when it comes to Asians and public displays of affection? It’s OK. You don’t have to admit to anything. I’m not trying to out anyone. Let me take the brunt of the ridicule and taunting. But at minimum admit that the rigid ritualistic act of dating in traditional

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-20044822960957978632012-02-05T03:30:00.000-08:002012-02-13T20:43:54.039-08:00

If I were to put together a “Recommended Reading” list for dads, Fàbio Moon and Gabriel Bà’s Daytripper would definitely be on it. It’s tough for me to talk about it without spoiling it for those who haven’t read it yet. I suck at being coy with the details – especially when it comes to a story like Daytripper -- where I’ve been so eager to tell to anyone who’ll listen about it. So

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-20351192089880967852012-01-17T15:38:00.000-08:002012-01-17T15:38:41.223-08:00

Sorry I couldn't resist, with all these videos circulating on the internet why not this one:

Obiwanhavanesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033220787669844059noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-5047044225703525162012-01-14T04:00:00.000-08:002012-01-14T04:00:06.457-08:00

As a parent and a former elementary school teacher, I cringe every time a parent tells me his or her child’s teacher “can’t teach” or “doesn’t teach right” – And when that teacher is a math teacher I drop to the floor, curl up, and squeeze my eyes shut real tight -- I wrap my arms around myself and rock myself and tell myself that everything’s going to be alright – You see, my mother -- my

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-86042338203797186562012-01-02T07:10:00.001-08:002012-01-02T07:10:37.912-08:00

I stumbled across this video from Active Dad UK while searching for links to free ebooks for kids (their aunts and uncles got them Kindles for Christmas). In addition to providing descriptions to free ebook sites, Active Dad also included this video regarding the impact of parental (namely fathers) literacy on their children. It had some interesting statistics (though I didn’t see a source so

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-60102060597924804042011-12-30T03:00:00.000-08:002011-12-30T03:00:01.605-08:00

Just before the recent Christmas holiday, Jennifer at Retrevo.com sent out a list of “Epic Nerd-Approved Movies for Kids.” It concluded a longer list of overall Nerd-Approved Movies (scroll to the bottom of their list for the kids movies). It included (in my opinion) some great movies like The Goonies, The Secret of Nimh, The Witches, and The Dark Crystal. It also included some questionable

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-18304941122807764512011-12-23T03:00:00.000-08:002011-12-23T08:06:08.583-08:00

As a parent, two stories I would like to tell better are the story of 9/11 and the story of Christmas. With the former, I’m still trying to get it “just right.” Both my children were born after 9/11 (my older one just nine months after). They are also still very young and naïve. People are still “linear beings” to them. There is a distinct line between right and wrong, good and bad -- And good

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-86718215537518370592011-12-13T22:48:00.000-08:002011-12-13T22:48:19.925-08:00

My parents are against same sex marriage. At their advanced age, there's no convincing them otherwise. They are devout Catholics, and so they believe everything in the bible as it is interpreted by the Catholic church. Most of the people I know who are against same-sex marriage are just like my parents: elderly, religious, set in their ways. Fortunately, their old age means that they'll be dead

SoulSnaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11685020878649396656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-75563158630733528252011-12-10T04:00:00.000-08:002011-12-12T03:32:28.073-08:00

For the holidays, Netflix is streaming Miracle on 34th Street with Edmund and Natalie. With the recent brouhaha over kids being told by a teacher that there is no Santa, it felt OK to repost what I wrote last year around this time on my Cranial Gunk blog. For the record, I believe in Santa Claus. Not the jolly red-suited man who breaks into homes to leave gifts instead of taking, but the

Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113387712503734505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-51384574057905872752011-11-11T23:28:00.000-08:002011-11-11T23:42:24.416-08:00

Today, Saturday, November 12, I have the honor of reading from the new Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood anthology at my old neighborhood bookstore, Los Feliz' venerable indie Skylight Books.Please join me, editor Tomás Moniz, and two very special guests, YA/middle grade novelist Lisa Yee and kindie musician Mista Cookie Jar at 5:00 p.m. for an awesome, kid-friendly celebration

daddy in a strange landhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02838412669298860456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-54122658007421196472011-10-30T14:36:00.000-07:002011-10-30T14:39:04.332-07:00

My friend Daniel and his daughter Olive on this CBS segment about a Boot Camp for New Dads in NYC!

Chris Fanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14563338266033533358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-82652423544951404462011-10-27T23:52:00.000-07:002011-10-27T21:34:03.779-07:00

Halloween's creeping up on us, and I'm dreading it.I've always hated dressing up, and I've never had a sweet tooth. Ok, maybe there were one or two Halloweens when I was a kid when my friends and I would shaving cream rival gangs of pre-teen suburban sugar hounds, or go on midnight missions to t.p. houses, and maybe I really enjoyed those. But I really hate wearing masks because I hate how warm

Chris Fanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14563338266033533358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21651465.post-50449068648574808252011-10-23T23:55:00.000-07:002011-10-24T00:23:28.194-07:00

Tomorrow's Eliot's first day of daycare.Actually, it's just a "transition" day: we drop him off in the morning, cry, leave for two hours, cry, come back and pick him up (and maybe cry some more). Tuesday, we do the same thing, but at the end of the day. His first full day is Thursday.Therefore, in both a symbolic and concrete sense, today is the last day of a very special period in our family's

Chris Fanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14563338266033533358noreply@blogger.com3