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2003 ARCHIVES
LATEST
COLUMN
2004
* 2003 *
2002
* 2001 *
2000 *
1999
* 1998
Howdy,
Welcome to the "Nikkei View" archives. You'll find the headlines for all my 2003 columns below; just click to read each article.
Thanks
for reading, and remember:
Each week's column is always available on the main
"Nikkei View" page!
-- Gil
- 8 December,
2003: Samurai
Lessons
Tom Cruise's new movie, "The Last Samurai," treats historical Japan with respect and a good story; there's no need to protest it without even seeing the film. - 10 November,
2003: Going for
Broke Again -- This Time from a JA Perspective
A new movie project worth supporting is a feature film about the heroism of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Nisei soldiers of WWII. - 27 October,
2003: Nikkei,
not just JA
A look at the Nikkei population in the Americas -- not just in the U.S. but in Canada and across Latin America. - 20 October,
2003: A Japanese
American Glossary
I compiled a JA glossary for a book I'm writing, and discovered that most of us probably know more Japanese than we realize. The problem is, most of the words are crude, rude, or remembered from our childhood. - 22 September,
2003: The Cultural
Diversity of Anime
Anime is serving as a vital cultural bridge between Japan and animation fans in the U.S. -- and reminding me how some non-Japanese can be more Japanese than I am. - 15 September,
2003: Heroes Worth
Saluting
The JACL honored a handful of JA lawmakers and I was awed by how importrant these heroes are, not just to our community but to the entire country. - 3 September,
2003: 'Shrooms
with a View
Matsutake hunting is a special acitivity of Japanese Americans along the Colorado Front Range, and I finally got my first introduction to the thrill of the hunt.
- 4 August, 2003:
Book Smart: JA
Fiction for Teens
Ken Mochizuki's novel about JA teenagers' lives in the '70s brought back memories of ordering books from Scholastic Press. - 14 July, 2003:
Banzai, My Ass
A new summer TV series on the Fox network is obnoxious, racist, offensive and just plain stupid. - 7 July, 2003:
Echoes of Asian
America, 1940s-style
Larry Ching, the "Chinese Frank Sinatra," has just released his debut album -- 60 years after he became famous at the only Asian American nightclub in the country, and just a week before his death at age 82. - 30 June, 2003:
We Speak Such
Good English...
Most Japanese Americas' families have been in the United States for three or four generations -- as long as a hundred years. No wonder why we speak such good English! - 23 June, 2003:
The Original Aromatherapy
Incense in Japan doesn't smell like the stuff that's used to cover up the smell of spilled bongwater in dorm rooms. - 9 June, 2003:
Occupational Hazards
The US Occupation of Japan after World War II by most accounts has left a positive legacy. How will the US role in Iraq hold up in fifty years? - 2 June, 2003:
Finding Asian
Culture in a Weekend of Films
The Sixth Aurora Asian Film Festival is a feast of culture, with two Japanese films but also films from all across Asia. You're missing out if you only go to see your tribe's movies. - 19 May, 2003:
Where Are You
on the Asian-ness Scale?
Does being Asian American mean you should always celebrate your traditional culture, or can you just be an American? And what about non-Asians who know more about Asian culture than APAs? - 5 May, 2003:
Speed Racer: Still
Go, Go, Going Strong
My tribute to Speed Racer, the anime that caught an American generation's passion in the late '60s and continues to hold my interest. - 28 April, 2003:
Roots and Branches
- Who's Japanese American?
It's difficult to pigeonhole all Japanese Americans as a group, because we're all different and we all weigh in at different places on the scale between our two cultures. - 14 April, 2003:
150 Years of US-Japan
Relations
Japan is celebrating the opening of its relationship with America 150 years ago, when Commodore Matthew C. Perry's black ships sailed into Tokyo Bay. - 7 April, 2003:
Happy Birthday,
Astro Boy!
A pioneering character in the history of popular culture (and US-Japan relations) celebrates his birthday. - 31 March, 2003:
A Voice for Asian
America
Margaret Cho is one of the few brave Asian Pacific Americans out there giving voice to our community. She happens to do it with comedy, but not all her material is a laughing matter. - 22 March, 2003:
Patriotism, Civil
Rights and Media
The JACL is taking on the US government by challenging the Patriot Act, and we should all be supporting the organization -- and the Pacific Citizen, the JACL's national APA newspaper -- in their efforts. - 10 March, 2003:
Personal Perspectives
on the Past
Why it's important to seek out personal stories of Japanese Americans' lives, instead of just reading the facts in books. - 3 March, 2003:
The New World
History
A new book explains how Chinese fleets explored the entire world centuries before the Europeans; the book left me wondering if the history we were taught has been incorrect. - 24 February,
2003: Hot Asian
Babes -- Then and Now
The acclaimed new movie about Vietnam in 1952, "The Quiet American," left me with troubling thoughts about the depiction of Asian women in American films. - 17 February,
2003: Life During
Wartime
We know a lot about the lives of people who were interned during WWII, but very little about Japanese Americans who lived outside the camps. - 10 February,
2003: Revisionist
History Lessons
It's hard to believe that in 2003, we have to worry about a US Congressman saying he thought interning of Japanese Americans during World War II was the right thing to do. - 3 February,
2003: Lighten
Up? What For?
Are Asians are being too sensitive and politically correct by harmless racial jokes? - 27 January,
2003: Extreme
Karaoke
The annual Red vs. White Singing Contest in Denver was an afternoon of extreme karaoke, not the sloppy drunk kind you might hear in a neighborhood bar. - 20 January,
2003: Why is it
OK to Pick on Asians?
Shaquille O'Neal made a racist comment about Houston Rockets player Yao Ming, and not a peep was heard in the media. Why is that? - 12 January,
2003: Going for
the Fold
I finally learned to make an origami crane, and found how it can be a powerful symbol. - 30 December,
2002: Ring Out
the Old, Sing in the New
A look at New Year celebrations in Japan. - 22 December,
2002: The World
Still Needs Min Yasui
Min Yasui was a giant of a community leader in Denver, but more importantly a giant of a civil rights pioneer nationally. We could use his leadership today, when the injustices of 60 years ago seem to be repeating. - 16 December,
2002: Recharging
through Community
Some thoughts on the importance of Japantowns, Little Tokyos and even "Tiny Tokyos" for preserving a sense of JA community. - 9 December,
2002: The Games
(Asian) People Play
I have vivid memories of games from when I was growing up in Japan. I was reminded of them when I recently played Hanafuda, a card game, with Erin's family. - 2 December,
2002: Crazy for
Kaki
I'm just about sick of kaki, a fruit I grew up eating in Japan, because I've had it every day for a month. It's a good hting I love them so much. - 25 November,
2002: The Importance
of Remembering Internment
After attending the Japanese American National Museum's All-Camp Summit, I realize the importance of remembering -- and talking about -- internment. - MORE
2002 ARTICLES