I've been sick since Saturday. I worked through the day, then felt headache-y on Sunday, collapsed on Monday, rested Tuesday, and am now gaining some semblance of health.
I still can't eat though. Campbell's soup? I ate one of those microwaveable bowls...then watched a few YouTube videos...only to feel that irrepressible urge to go. I'll spare you the details.
That bowl of soup was the only thing save water, tea, cough drops, and cough syrup to enter my body, and it didn't even last that long. 72 hrs now (Sunday's dinner at 9pm, pork with bell peppers and spinach on pasta) since my last solid-food meal...sad.
The videos I watched were of one brilliant football player. He plays for Celtic Football Club, which is pretty much the New York Yankees of the Scottish Premier League. Celtic is playing their rival Rangers (NY-Boston) in what's called the "Old Firm Derby." To open the scoring...well, I'll let Shunsuke Nakamura introduce himself:
More where that came from...a series of free kicks and lobs against the Celtic Premier League, and a pair of sweet goals against Manchester United during the group stages in last year's Champions League.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A sensitive interview
At KQED, I interviewed a father who lost his daughter to suicide. I had to ask some really tough, emotionally sensitive questions. I think I did OK considering I had never asked questions from somebody who had been through that sort of experience, but it was still a grinding 50+ minutes. The father seemed much stronger and more resolute than I.
I am stoked about tomorrow's show, which features SF Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto, baseball scholar Jules Tygiel, freelance writer Dan Fost (from the UC Berkeley freelance panel!)...and potentially a special guest. We're going to be talking about the SF Giants and their 50 years in the city, which should provide some great insight into baseball, the Bay Area, and America.
I sometimes like to stay in the office because I like to take it in, put on some basketball, read some magazines and books in peace...but as of late it's felt kind of suffocating after-hours. Too much basketball, haha.
Today I also met Asian American filmmaker Arthur Dong...his new film, Hollywood Chinese, can be found here: http://www.deepfocusproductions.com/HollywoodChinese/index.html.
I also listened to a new band on NPR named Pacifika on Six Degree Records.
I am stoked about tomorrow's show, which features SF Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto, baseball scholar Jules Tygiel, freelance writer Dan Fost (from the UC Berkeley freelance panel!)...and potentially a special guest. We're going to be talking about the SF Giants and their 50 years in the city, which should provide some great insight into baseball, the Bay Area, and America.
I sometimes like to stay in the office because I like to take it in, put on some basketball, read some magazines and books in peace...but as of late it's felt kind of suffocating after-hours. Too much basketball, haha.
Today I also met Asian American filmmaker Arthur Dong...his new film, Hollywood Chinese, can be found here: http://www.deepfocusproductions.com/HollywoodChinese/index.html.
I also listened to a new band on NPR named Pacifika on Six Degree Records.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Concert Agenda
And now a very difficult slate of decisions that calls for attention.
Sofia and I headed out to see China Forbes perform at the Great American Music Hall. Forbes sounded not unlike Sheryl Crow, which makes sense since her producer has worked with Crow among others (anybody remember the Wallflowers?). A lot of twangy guitars and alternative rock vocals, different from anything Forbes' does as lead vocalist of worldly mini-orchestra Pink Martini. Indeed, Forbes traded cocktail dress for cowboy boots, and seemed to enjoy the intimacy and lo-fi mood of the night.
Sofia and I first bonded over a Pink Martini concert, so it seemed fitting to see Ms. Forbes live. After the show, we ruminated over tempting future presentations:
Sat 5/10
Pink Martini @ Lincoln Theater, Napa Valley
Thu 5/15
The Bad Plus @ Palace of Fine Arts
Wed 5/28
Flight of the Conchords @ Nob Hill Masonic Center
Wed 5/28- Sun 6/1
Russell Peters @ Cobb's Comedy Club
Speaking of good music, there is an insane amount of good music coming through in the Bay Area, if you're an indie rock / electronic junkie like myself:
Wed 4/23:
Caribou @ Independent
Death Cab for Cutie @ Fillmore
Th 4/24
Hot Chip @ Fillmore
Fri 4/25
Sasha and Digweed @ Warfield
Booka Shade /MANDY @ Mezzanine
Sat 4/26
Mum @ Independent
Simian Mobile Disco @ Mezzanine
Goldfrapp @ Warfield
Mon 4/28
Devotchka@ Fillmore (of Little Miss Sunshine fame)
Tue 4/29
Minus the Bear @ Bimbo's 365
VHS or Beta @ Mezzanine
I mean, that is a friggin' carnival of musicians there. You give me one of those shows, I'd be a happy man. Sasha and Digweed proved too tempting not to buy...It's like Mick Jagger and David Bowie teaming up, two heavyweights with a rare reunion (last time on tour for Sasha and Digweed? I believe 2002, during their Delta Heavy tour).
Speaking of good music, I met one of my musical heroes a couple of days ago. It happened while I was on my break from work, and I heard these wicked beats emanating from Lower Sproul at UC Berkeley. I see this red-haired guy with a scruffy beard, and nice black shoes pounding away at a sampler/drum machine. I mean, he was playing all sorts of breakbeats, trip-hop, even hip-hop with a little MCing...He sounded much like a local producer I had known named Odd Nosdam. I first heard about Nosdam through his collaboration with Clouddead, a now-defunct group consisting of Why? and Dose One. I was moderately stirred by Clouddead's beats and vocal droning at first listen, with the neo-Neu sounds of "Pop Song" garnering the most repeat clicks. But I admired the beats and kept Clouddead in mind.
The more I listened to the red-head guy, the more I was convinced I was listening to Nosdam. He maneuvered with impeccable rhythm through these increasingly intricate drum structures. I was also convinced that this guy should be playing nationwide, opening for some big band, putting his name out, because this guy had just a great energy and liveliness. People were attracted to the big white tent because it was grad week at Berkeley, and a few people were munching on lunches. But people were bobbing their heads, genuinely curious about the guy pounding on a square foot of metal and producing this beautiful music.
A guy approached the red-haired maestro, shook his hand, adjusted a few knobs on the speakers, and sat down on a bench. I quickly approached him, needing to satiate my curiosity.
"Do you know who this is?"
"Yeah he's one of my best friends."
"What's his name?"
"Well, he goes by Joe."
"Does he perform around here?"
"Yeah, have you every heard of Anticon records?"
"Yeah. There's this guy named Odd Nosdam he sounds like. Is this guy him?"
"No, actually, I go by Nosdam."
And so goes the story of how I met Odd Nosdam, who was kind enough to drop me a copy of his newest CD...all the while responding to the questions of inquisitive passerbys who wanted to know what the hell Jel (the red-haired dude) was pounding. Jel was mesmerizing, and I don't doubt Nosdam would have been equally hypnotizing had he played that day. He didn't, but he did give me this link that everybody should check out:
Sofia and I headed out to see China Forbes perform at the Great American Music Hall. Forbes sounded not unlike Sheryl Crow, which makes sense since her producer has worked with Crow among others (anybody remember the Wallflowers?). A lot of twangy guitars and alternative rock vocals, different from anything Forbes' does as lead vocalist of worldly mini-orchestra Pink Martini. Indeed, Forbes traded cocktail dress for cowboy boots, and seemed to enjoy the intimacy and lo-fi mood of the night.
Sofia and I first bonded over a Pink Martini concert, so it seemed fitting to see Ms. Forbes live. After the show, we ruminated over tempting future presentations:
Sat 5/10
Pink Martini @ Lincoln Theater, Napa Valley
Thu 5/15
The Bad Plus @ Palace of Fine Arts
Wed 5/28
Flight of the Conchords @ Nob Hill Masonic Center
Wed 5/28- Sun 6/1
Russell Peters @ Cobb's Comedy Club
Speaking of good music, there is an insane amount of good music coming through in the Bay Area, if you're an indie rock / electronic junkie like myself:
Wed 4/23:
Caribou @ Independent
Death Cab for Cutie @ Fillmore
Th 4/24
Hot Chip @ Fillmore
Fri 4/25
Sasha and Digweed @ Warfield
Booka Shade /MANDY @ Mezzanine
Sat 4/26
Mum @ Independent
Simian Mobile Disco @ Mezzanine
Goldfrapp @ Warfield
Mon 4/28
Devotchka@ Fillmore (of Little Miss Sunshine fame)
Tue 4/29
Minus the Bear @ Bimbo's 365
VHS or Beta @ Mezzanine
I mean, that is a friggin' carnival of musicians there. You give me one of those shows, I'd be a happy man. Sasha and Digweed proved too tempting not to buy...It's like Mick Jagger and David Bowie teaming up, two heavyweights with a rare reunion (last time on tour for Sasha and Digweed? I believe 2002, during their Delta Heavy tour).
Speaking of good music, I met one of my musical heroes a couple of days ago. It happened while I was on my break from work, and I heard these wicked beats emanating from Lower Sproul at UC Berkeley. I see this red-haired guy with a scruffy beard, and nice black shoes pounding away at a sampler/drum machine. I mean, he was playing all sorts of breakbeats, trip-hop, even hip-hop with a little MCing...He sounded much like a local producer I had known named Odd Nosdam. I first heard about Nosdam through his collaboration with Clouddead, a now-defunct group consisting of Why? and Dose One. I was moderately stirred by Clouddead's beats and vocal droning at first listen, with the neo-Neu sounds of "Pop Song" garnering the most repeat clicks. But I admired the beats and kept Clouddead in mind.
The more I listened to the red-head guy, the more I was convinced I was listening to Nosdam. He maneuvered with impeccable rhythm through these increasingly intricate drum structures. I was also convinced that this guy should be playing nationwide, opening for some big band, putting his name out, because this guy had just a great energy and liveliness. People were attracted to the big white tent because it was grad week at Berkeley, and a few people were munching on lunches. But people were bobbing their heads, genuinely curious about the guy pounding on a square foot of metal and producing this beautiful music.
A guy approached the red-haired maestro, shook his hand, adjusted a few knobs on the speakers, and sat down on a bench. I quickly approached him, needing to satiate my curiosity.
"Do you know who this is?"
"Yeah he's one of my best friends."
"What's his name?"
"Well, he goes by Joe."
"Does he perform around here?"
"Yeah, have you every heard of Anticon records?"
"Yeah. There's this guy named Odd Nosdam he sounds like. Is this guy him?"
"No, actually, I go by Nosdam."
And so goes the story of how I met Odd Nosdam, who was kind enough to drop me a copy of his newest CD...all the while responding to the questions of inquisitive passerbys who wanted to know what the hell Jel (the red-haired dude) was pounding. Jel was mesmerizing, and I don't doubt Nosdam would have been equally hypnotizing had he played that day. He didn't, but he did give me this link that everybody should check out:
Sunday, April 6, 2008
I really do underappreciate KQED
1) I met Lewis Lapham, currently of Lapham's Quarterly fame and formerly of Harpers Magazine fame. From San Francisco, Lapham is one of this generation's finest writers and editors. His Quarterly collect the works from past greats and aggregates them under one large, unifying theme. Volume 1 released in November revolved around War, Volume 2 around Money.
2) Groove Armada played at Mezzanine, and I almost did not get in because I submitted their performance under the wrong date. Aye, rookie mistake. I apologized profusely to Mezzanine's marketing director. Have to be more careful with these things. GA played a great set, Mezz was rocking, especially for a $40 at the door ticket! But the railigs were filled, the floor was packed, the bathrooms were damp...you know a place is busy if the bathroom floors are nice and slick...
3) The Asian American Journalism Association had a panel of journalists discuss freelancing: http://aajasf.org/. The panel provided some illuminating points, namely have a lot of ideas, continue to network, and stay persistent. The group gave me the false hope that I could succeed at freelancing alone. False? Maybe not...
I'm debating whether or not it would be practical to try to shift more of my time and resources into freelancing. Basically, I would have to pitch and submit more articles for AsianWeek and would probably have to find some sort of extra publication. Where? In any case, I gained some insight and hope to keep plugging away. I have to read more!
2) Groove Armada played at Mezzanine, and I almost did not get in because I submitted their performance under the wrong date. Aye, rookie mistake. I apologized profusely to Mezzanine's marketing director. Have to be more careful with these things. GA played a great set, Mezz was rocking, especially for a $40 at the door ticket! But the railigs were filled, the floor was packed, the bathrooms were damp...you know a place is busy if the bathroom floors are nice and slick...
3) The Asian American Journalism Association had a panel of journalists discuss freelancing: http://aajasf.org/. The panel provided some illuminating points, namely have a lot of ideas, continue to network, and stay persistent. The group gave me the false hope that I could succeed at freelancing alone. False? Maybe not...
I'm debating whether or not it would be practical to try to shift more of my time and resources into freelancing. Basically, I would have to pitch and submit more articles for AsianWeek and would probably have to find some sort of extra publication. Where? In any case, I gained some insight and hope to keep plugging away. I have to read more!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Festivals and Jobs
Uh hello.
I might as well reacquaint myself with this site, seeing how it's been nearly two months. What's happened since then? A lot. And a little. I can run down the career highlights later, but needless to say, I'm still freelancing.
I've been looking up a lot of websites lately for jobs, and I figured I might as well post them onto here just to make sure I have all of them in one nice convenient list:
Job websites
Craigslist
JournalismJobs
MediaBistro
Academic Programs
University of California, Berkeley Grad School of Journalism
New York University Dept. of Journalism
Journalism resources
From the Detroit Free Press
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Poynter Institute
Asian American Journalism Association
Journalism grants and fellowhsips
Asian American Journalists Association
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Michigan State University links
A list to come about some of the festivals I want to visit,
including Coachella, SFIAAFF, NoisePop, SF Sketchfest, Pitchfork festival, SXSW,
Treasure Island, Winter Music Conference...too many to name!
I might as well reacquaint myself with this site, seeing how it's been nearly two months. What's happened since then? A lot. And a little. I can run down the career highlights later, but needless to say, I'm still freelancing.
I've been looking up a lot of websites lately for jobs, and I figured I might as well post them onto here just to make sure I have all of them in one nice convenient list:
Job websites
Academic Programs
Journalism resources
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Journalism grants and fellowhsips
A list to come about some of the festivals I want to visit,
including Coachella, SFIAAFF, NoisePop, SF Sketchfest, Pitchfork festival, SXSW,
Treasure Island, Winter Music Conference...too many to name!
Monday, January 14, 2008
My first co-produced show!
Well, the focus sheet for Monday, January 14, 2008, 9AM, "Proposition 93- Term Limits" says I'm a co-producer, when really what I did was background research and pre-interviewing. But I learned a lot about local politics, and I got some folks up on the political pyramid to call in and talk. I'm expecting a spirited discussion, and can't wait to hear what Steve Westly and Kevin Spillane have to say. To have a tangible, notable contribution to something that's going to be on-air...it's kind of like having a by-line in the Guardian, small but no less important than any other contribution. I am proud to have my notes and research in the capable hands of producer Dan Zoll and guest host Rachael Myrow of The California Report. For the first time, I feel like my background work and my hours will prompt public discourse, induce conversation, which is really why I wanted to get into journalism in the first place.
Hopefully, both pundits call in on-time...
Hopefully, both pundits call in on-time...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
First Day at KQED...
I should preface this by noting there's a hilarious article in The Onion concerning internships...but no web version yet, I'll be sure to post it later.
I woke up at 5:30 this morning to finish some clips for the Guardian, and that was fun. I didn't get out the door until about 7, almost falling behind schedule on the first day. What a great impression that would have turned out to be.
Luckily, after maneuvering through the Mission District and some direction from an elderly garage worker, I found the KQED studios. Julia, my fellow Thursday-Friday intern, quickly familiarized me with documents and tasks. I basically followed her around like a lost sheep for the first hour.
My first uneasy moment came when Clara Jeffery, an editor from Mother Jones magazine came in to talk about gender politics and Hillary's run for the presidency. I told her that I had visited the Mother Jones office before...then let loose that I had interviewed for an internship there. Uh...awkward! Smooth, Kevin. Reeaal smooth. Mother Jones rejects end up at KQED apparently.
I was going to give a spiel about how I would be interested in applying for MJ but figured Ms. Jeffery, a stern-faced thirty-something, had more important things on her mind. I figured I had blown it with my "rejected intern" small talk.
The next meeting with guests at the 10AM hour went a little more smoothly. Jared and Susan Diamond came in, the former a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, the latter an author and former contributor to the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times. I managed to actually engage in small talk this time around, touching on their appearance at the Herbst Theatre the night before. They seemed like genuinely nice people, towards the elderly side, experienced and wizened to the world. They remembered my name on the way out, which was nice to hear, a graceful endnote to remember them by. I even traded contact info with Ms. Diamond so she could drop some notes of wisdom for me and my green writing skills.
From 11AM onward, producer Dan Zoll had me work on getting guests for next Monday's 9AM show, featuring proponents and opponents for Proposition 93. I did not think one proposition could sustain my attention, but I took off on the project and was still going pretty strong by 5PM, especially considering I had been up nearly 12 hours.
Background research went rather well. I'd post some links, but I'm afraid I'd start arguing both sides, getting into messy details, yadayadayada. But I'll say this: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" really REALLY applies to politics. Folks on each side knew their counterparts like the back of their hands. The media contacts for the Yes and No sides had ideas on the hierarchy for the opposite campaign. It was interesting to note.
The recent presidential primaries, my first day at KQED, and numerous viewings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report clips have got me more excited about politics than at any other point in my life. I feel like politics are more riveting than sports right now in terms of drama, highlights, scorekeeping, competition...You can't take your eyes off it! Too bad these wide-open national elections only happen after an incumbent leaves, which for the presidential races, is pretty much once every eight years...
Waking up tomorrow at 6:30 again. Hopefully I can secure some guests for next week's show...
I woke up at 5:30 this morning to finish some clips for the Guardian, and that was fun. I didn't get out the door until about 7, almost falling behind schedule on the first day. What a great impression that would have turned out to be.
Luckily, after maneuvering through the Mission District and some direction from an elderly garage worker, I found the KQED studios. Julia, my fellow Thursday-Friday intern, quickly familiarized me with documents and tasks. I basically followed her around like a lost sheep for the first hour.
My first uneasy moment came when Clara Jeffery, an editor from Mother Jones magazine came in to talk about gender politics and Hillary's run for the presidency. I told her that I had visited the Mother Jones office before...then let loose that I had interviewed for an internship there. Uh...awkward! Smooth, Kevin. Reeaal smooth. Mother Jones rejects end up at KQED apparently.
I was going to give a spiel about how I would be interested in applying for MJ but figured Ms. Jeffery, a stern-faced thirty-something, had more important things on her mind. I figured I had blown it with my "rejected intern" small talk.
The next meeting with guests at the 10AM hour went a little more smoothly. Jared and Susan Diamond came in, the former a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, the latter an author and former contributor to the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times. I managed to actually engage in small talk this time around, touching on their appearance at the Herbst Theatre the night before. They seemed like genuinely nice people, towards the elderly side, experienced and wizened to the world. They remembered my name on the way out, which was nice to hear, a graceful endnote to remember them by. I even traded contact info with Ms. Diamond so she could drop some notes of wisdom for me and my green writing skills.
From 11AM onward, producer Dan Zoll had me work on getting guests for next Monday's 9AM show, featuring proponents and opponents for Proposition 93. I did not think one proposition could sustain my attention, but I took off on the project and was still going pretty strong by 5PM, especially considering I had been up nearly 12 hours.
Background research went rather well. I'd post some links, but I'm afraid I'd start arguing both sides, getting into messy details, yadayadayada. But I'll say this: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" really REALLY applies to politics. Folks on each side knew their counterparts like the back of their hands. The media contacts for the Yes and No sides had ideas on the hierarchy for the opposite campaign. It was interesting to note.
The recent presidential primaries, my first day at KQED, and numerous viewings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report clips have got me more excited about politics than at any other point in my life. I feel like politics are more riveting than sports right now in terms of drama, highlights, scorekeeping, competition...You can't take your eyes off it! Too bad these wide-open national elections only happen after an incumbent leaves, which for the presidential races, is pretty much once every eight years...
Waking up tomorrow at 6:30 again. Hopefully I can secure some guests for next week's show...
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