Notes from East Village

Love in Sin City – Las Vegas Wedding

2010-06-09T12:48:00.012-04:00

Bright sights, neon lights. Strip clubs, fun clubs. Casinos, amigos. Moments of high, moments of low. They come, they go. Welcome to Las Vegas, a great place to get married.

Away from the large traditional family wedding banquet that awaits us in New York Chinatown, away from the commotions of the city of Las Vegas, here inside the tiny Elvis Chapel it is quiet and calm. Spontaneous, small, intimate, loads of laughter and fun. Our attire of strapless vintage red dress and tuxedo with red bow tie suits the 1960s theme. Before Elvis in the presence of two of our closest friends, it seems we are holding infinity in each other hands, and gazing in one another’s eyes, an eternity in those few minutes. In the true Elvis way, we made a “Love Me Tender” vow to honor and love.

Our courtship is less than a year, but the family connection is more than two decades old. Our mothers worked in the same Chinatown garment factory in the mid 1980s when our families immigrated to New York. Their friendship continued long after they ceased working together. Summer 2009 over a weekend Mahjong session, they discussed how their two single kids should meet. We met for the first time that July at a picnic event I organized in Central Park area where they had free tango. We are two different individuals who enjoy doing things together. Our six month was celebrated in South America, New Year Eve in the city of Sao Paulo and the beaches of Rio in Brazil, to the tango capital of Buenos Aires.

Love and relationships are complicated matters. Words fail to explain why it happens, how it happens, where it will go. But I gather, it is rare and precious to find that special someone silly enough I could have so much fun with, and serious enough to look in the same direction of marriage and family. And seriously, what more romantic way to start off life together than in gales of laughter :) The weekend wedding in Las Vegas, though short and tight promises a future for us that is long and bright.

UWP Commercial in Berlin - Production Notes

2010-03-31T13:49:00.027-04:00

UpWithPeople.org Commercial from MA Shumin on Vimeo.

If it takes a village to raise a child (African proverb) - then it takes a global village (virtual & local) to make a 60 second commercial.

The idea all started when I saw the Sony PlayStation spot “Double Life”, I felt something of the same style could be adapted: a well-written prose, many diverse people talking, in different settings, film in dynamic shots. I pitched to Sebastian Hesse in Berlin and Leonardo Victorazzi in Brussels about doing an Up With People (UWP) Europe commercial with this style. I thought this could work very well, as it is a program about many diverse people having the global education experience – I envisioned many faces and voices in different settings, speaking meaningful lines – something relevant and timeless.

Pre-production officially started the first week of March in New York, and production was to take place three weeks later on location in Berlin. The script is like the foundation of a house, crucial to a project - I needed to work with a writer who had the UWP experience. Andrew Lanham, an alumnus studying Master in screenwriting in Texas came in as the copywriter. We worked together over the weekend via Skype, and by Monday morning Andrew got the script done.

I have never / Felt summer and winter / In the same month
I have never / Made a brother / In Mexico / And then helped him build his home
I have never / Overcome stage fright / In front of three thousand Thai children
I have never / Had Kimchi for breakfast / Or Surstromming for lunch
I have never / Known how much / There is to find / Not written in a book
I have never / Lived for a week / With a family/ Who couldn’t speak my language / And known the meaning of the word / Zusammen (subtitled: together)
I have never / Learned so much / Laughed so hard / Felt so strong / Or seen such heights
Until Now

Soon after then, Christine Paluf based in Connecticut who had worked as a UWP staff came on board as the Art Director. We spent the following days on Skype brainstorming visual ideas for the script. Sebastian Hesse, the UWP Europe Alumni Representative had a strong vision of the program and was the Creative Director. Danni Nielsen, also a UWP alumnus has a band in Copenhagen and participated by composing original music. It was starting to come together before my flight to Berlin.

The city of Berlin turned out to be the perfect location for the UWP commercial. So much history yet so much future, it is a coming together of east and west, dynamic arts and music scene with vibrant young people. Many UWP alumni flew in from various European cities to participate for shooting day. For the rest of the casts, we were able to recruit Berlin residents, both local Germans and international people. As they tell me, they wanted to participate because it was a meaningful, a cause they believe in. I hired Dimitri Hempel, a talented local cameraman whom I knew through a program I participated in 2006 in Italy, European Social Documentary via ZeLIG School. Jasper Brandt joined as our soundman. Sam Muirhead, New Zealand native who lived in South America and now living in Berlin worked on the editing. Michael Stuber, a Swiss based in Boston did audio post, keeping the diverse voices but unifying the sound. Between the cast and crew, this project was represented by over 17 nationalities: Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, USA, Russia, China, Ghana, Senegal, Brazil, Peru, New Zealand - a true taste of what UWP could be like.

I learned a lot throughout the whole intense production, particularly on production day: I thought I was prepared enough, yet even more could have been done in terms of production coordination, schedule and cast management, the need for an Assistant Director. It was a realization of skills I lack, the art of delegation of responsibilities, leveraging resources and people that are available. It was a test of leadership, keeping my vision yet accepting other people's views. I learn with each bigger project I do - I am getting better at directing. Above all, I am humbled and grateful to all the people who contributed. The UWP commercial is something we are all very proud of, and I hope it will be relevant and timeless.

Europe, I’ve Missed You

2010-03-23T16:17:00.006-04:00

As Delta Airlines crosses the Atlantic Ocean on a night flight from New York to Berlin, I sit at my seat with notebook out. Never a need for movies or music or sleep to preoccupy me, I am a happy camper with just a notebook and pen at hand. Such an old habit now I wonder if this is how I first traveled over ten years ago when I came to Europe for the first time.

Summer 1999 was my first study abroad experience in a small town in France. I chose Dijon, not because of its well known Kir or mustard but because of my French penpal whom I started corresponding via postal letters five years prior. That summer I studied French at Université de Bourgogne, stayed with a host family the Robbes in their castle home. I ate a lot of fresh baked bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I drank for the first time and got drunk over Kir during aperatif at the evening parties of chez Robbes. I tried the best wine from Bourgogne and Bordeaux, explored and got lost in Carrefour, felt I could live on a diet of cheese forever. I celebrated my 20th birthday with my penpal and his family in the village of Selongey. Like other Americans I backpacked through Europe. A lot of the little details are forgotten in time, but the highlights are still strong in my memory. If life is about the moments that take our breath away, I have gotten more than my share just in that summer.

The two months of studying abroad has as huge impact on my life. It developed in me the desire to live abroad, to be a local in a foreign country where I don’t speak their language well or understand their customs. It encouraged me to see beyond my own native Chinese heritage and my adopted American culture. I learned to be to be less petty and more easygoing, to try to understand other people’s circumstances. I became more outgoing, more social, more confident and thrive on wanting to see more, learn more, do more.

I am now returning to Europe in my 30s, while older and more experienced the last decade of travels did not lessen my enthusiasm or appreciation for Europe. It is like seeing an old friend who has watched me grown up – I’ve been nurtured so much that I feel a desire to give back. The morning sunlight shines bright onto the city of Berlin – I eagerly anticipate a creative and productive two weeks of work ahead.

Banjo Jim – Feel the Love

2010-03-06T00:17:00.012-05:00

When people get sad some turn to eating or drinking or smoking, playing video games all day and night, or shopping and buying lots of shoes or gadgets … I turn to music. Music of all kinds, from instrumental to vocal, traditional to experimental, jazz to electronic, Classical to blues, rock to country – especially to be able hear music live soothes my soul and uplifts my spirit like no other.

I feel blessed to live above a place where I can always hear good music. For years in Alphabet City of East Village on the corner of Avenue C and 9th Street is a music bar. My family moved into the neighborhood back in 1992 when the neighborhood was still in transition but there was always a bar on the corner. It used to be called a different name - I always have heard the music from upstairs but never went in. In 1998 I left the neighborhood, and the city to go away to college and after graduation moved to Europe. I came back to New York City almost a decade later and settled again on Ave C & 9 St. By then that bar had been sold and since 2005 was called Banjo Jim.

Banjo Jim is one of the rare gems in an ever-gentrified neighborhood of pricy restaurants and high-end bars and clubs. In a sea of homogeneity, there is uniqueness and distinct character to this bar. No cover, a friendly environment, one can have a beer in a wooden setting listening to music on a small stage. Whether it's bluegrass or blues or jazz, the music is guaranteed to be good. Known to be the best music venue in the East Village and the coziest dive on the East side, Banjo Jim’s slogan is “Feel the Love” – come and listen and judge for yourself.

Dim Sum in Queens

2010-02-21T13:14:00.004-05:00

Queens, because of its faraway distance is often never on the list of place to get together for a meal. But a bunch of friends who live in all corners of New York City decided to meet up in Flushing for Saturday dim sum.

The restuarant was a recommendation from a friend - we had a good appetite, our tummy was eagerly anticipating what await us. I love dim sum and always order my favorite two dishes: shrimp dumpling and chicken feet. I judge the quality of the restaurant just based on these two dishes.

10 mouths, 30 plates (5 chicken feet, 5 shrimp dumpling) ... all came out to plus tips only $9 each. It was extraordinary food - my mouth still waters long after the first bite. The chicken feet is meaty, well textured, good taste, fresh. The shrimp dumpling is soft, sweet.

A true foodie would travel 3 hours to eat 45 minutes of good food. This is the best dim sum I have had since my return to New York City.

[Article also appears in Yelp ]

Eye on the Tiger

2010-02-09T10:43:00.004-05:00

February 14 is Chinese New Year - the Year of the Golden Tiger.

While my memory fails me of the first six years of my life in China I remember vividly the Chinese New Year celebrations growing up in New York Chinatown in the 1980s. Eating lucky candies on New Year’s day. My mother’s cooking and table full of dishes all with names that sound like auspicious Chinese sayings. Fortune, happiness, longevity, prosperity. The hair seaweed (fat choy) with dried oysters (ho see) is “wealth and good business”. Lotus roots (lin ngau) is “abundance year after year”. Lettuce is “growing wealth". I would go around Chinatown, holding tightly to mom’s hands visiting many relatives and collecting lots of red envelopes. The sound and smell of firecrackers, dragon dancing on Mott Street made the holiday a real festive occasion.

Chinese New Year is so important in my family that even after my brother and I finished college and moved abroad, him to Shanghai, me to Paris - we would make the annual trek back to New York for the family reunion. The Americans have Christmas; we have Chinese New Year.

What future lies in upholding this ancient Chinese tradition? Growing up we embraced assimilation into American culture; our English is near perfect, our Chinese near illiterate. But other than the language, our whole attitude has changed. The more we work and travel abroad we acquire a global mentality. Many childhood friends and cousins who are married with kids have already decided to abandon this tradition. Some said money is an issue, there is mortgage to pay. There is no time; it’s too cumbersome. They live too far away from Chinatown. The list of reasons of choosing to not practice the tradition is long and various. As another Chinese New Year approaches, I am reminded of the fragility of preserving one’s heritage. The most important tradition in Chinese culture, it is hard to imagine my childhood without the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The Art of Commercials

2010-02-05T13:05:00.034-05:00

On Christmas Eve of 2008 I came across a public service advertisement, Polar Bears produced by the big advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather for Environmental Defense Fund. Simple. Visually engaging. Effective. The PSA triggered new thoughts in my short filmmaking career, awakening a different perspective on the role of advertising.

I entered Syracuse University in 1998 studying TV-Film production, concentrating on documentary filmmaking. At 19 years old I was adamant that documentary was the best way to tell stories that matter. In the seven years after graduation I worked in New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Paris - video documenting diverse subjects and places. I came back to New York to work for NPR Science Friday, producing environmental films on the endangered natural environment. Later I was commissioned by a non-profit to direct a documentary on an endangered urban environment: New York’s Lower East Side. After the project ended I took a pause to reflect on the direction of my career - I needed new challenges.

Nine months later saw the birth of RED LIGHT : Biking Rules PSA.

RED LIGHT : Biking Rules PSA from MA Shumin on Vimeo.

In September 2009 Transportation Alternatives came out with Biking Rules, a new campaign to encourage cycling in New York City. It was a perfect opportunity to create a PSA, and I started looking for a team. I first met Sean Kenney, a sculpture artist who uses LEGO while working on the series of environmental films. We recruited David Pagano, a young talented LEGO animator. Sean’s brother, Brian joined the team as the sound designer and composer. I took the role of envisioning the overall image. Sean created the set and the whole LEGO world. David brought the LEGO character and objects to life with movement and humour. Brian brought the final film to life with sound and music. Different talents and capabilities, together we joined forces to create something bigger than ourselves.

This first collaborative advertising effort made me realized how vital it is to expand and acquire new storytelling skills and techniques. The successful outcome inspires in me confidence - I feel invigorated, eager to tackle bigger challenges.

Park Slope, the Beating Heart of Brooklyn

2010-02-04T11:30:00.020-05:00

Nothing echoes the beating heart of a neighborhood more than with its musicians.

A bridge away from Manhattan in Brooklyn is a neighborhood called Park Slope. Though a New Yorker since 1985, it’s only been the last six months that I discover this neighborhood. About a 20 minute train ride from downtown Manhattan, conveniently accessed by a handful of subway lines - Park Slope is bounded by Prospect Park to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Avenue to the north, and 15th Street to the south. Its name comes from its location, situated on the western slope of Prospect Park.

“In December 2006, Natural Home magazine named Park Slope one of America's ten best neighborhoods based on criteria including parks, green spaces and neighborhood gathering spaces; farmer’s markets and community gardens; public transportation and locally-owned businesses; and environmental and social policy”. Historic buildings, Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, shops, bars, top-rated restaurants… there is much to like about Park Slope.

What stands out most for me about the neighborhood is its emerging music scene. Over the course of a half a year of having attended various performances in cafes and bars, I offer you three examples of the variety and dynamics in the realm of music in Park Slope:

Audrey Lo is a Taiwan born American Classical violinist. She and her group, Classsical Revolution get together once a month at Linger Café [533 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217] or Tea Lounge [837 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215]. The group has a unique mission, to present and engage the community by offering chamber music performances in bars and cafes. “By taking chamber music out of the recital hall and making it more accessible to an audience who does not otherwise hear such music in a live context, we hope to bring to a broader public consciousness the realization that this music is still relevant and needn't be restricted to more austere venues.”

Robin Verheyen is a Belgian saxaphonist in both traditional and experimental jazz. He came to study and work in New York in 2006, feeling that this city is the place for a jazz musician. Robin and the Devin Gray group performed at the Douglass Street Music Collective [295 Douglass St, Brooklyn, NY 11217 ]. Located in a nondescript brick building on an abandoned street, it is a space started by a collective of musicians for musicians to perform. “Performance spaces and clubs are booked in advance and you have to always think ahead. And they always expect something”. “One can only hope that it's a beginning of a trend toward more musician-run spaces for creative music.”

Andi Rae Healy performed at Hank's Saloon [46 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217]. Her category of music is alt-country/Americana, but her bluesy version is original. Small in statue, she has an amazing big voice. I rather like this quote of hers on her website, “Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I don’t have a whole lot to say, and a lot of passion to say it with.”

Some people love neighborhoods for the cafes, others for the bars, and still others for the food. I fell in love with Park Slope for its music and its charismatic musicians. If you ever come across great music venues, don’t hesitate to pass the word to me :)

The World’s Most Romantic Walk

2010-01-22T00:39:00.008-05:00

When we came back from South America friends were disappointed and some even angry with me for having no photographs to show of my trip. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a thousand words still means something?

It’s been two weeks since we left the humid 33 degrees Celsius weather of Rio de Janeiro. Long before I stepped on Leblon, Ipanema, Copocabana – the three famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro I have heard about its beauty from the 1960’s song, The Girl from Ipanema. In the early mornings, I would go jogging along the beach in Leblon. I can paint you mental photographs of open skies with an endless ocean that goes into the horizon, of long stretches of white sandy beaches with a breathtaking view of the mountains, of men and women playing volleyball and children frolicking by the beach shores. Young and old, all body and shapes dressed in bikinis and swimwear. This is a place that brings out the carefree and sensuality in all of us. I could offer you more beautiful images, but none of them would convey the sentiment of the most amazing experience we had in Rio de Janeiro ... the evening stroll.

Our hotel was located at the Two Brothers mountain in Leblon and was about a fifteen minute walk along the shore into downtown. We discovered the local juice bar and frequented every single of the five nights we were there. I ordered my cup of Acai with kiwi smoothie – and every gulp was savored. I was truly missing it as I was drinking it. It was the best fresh juice I ever tasted in my life, and somehow I knew I would not be tasting this great a smoothie again when I leave Rio. Along with a fresh baked beef empanada – it was a simple meal made in heaven. The taste of Acai smoothie with beef empanadas still lingers in my mouth as I write.

Along the walk, we passed by a stand with local food and fresh whole coconut where you can drink with a straw. We roamed the streets in downtown and went off the beaten path - drawn in by guitar and drum music in one local bar restaurant. We gulped down glasses of cold beer, slowly starting to cool down from the sticky heat. We listened to the music played by the locals while putting on lotion and soothing our mosquito bites. Families, old and young were singing and tapping along to the music of well known Brazilian songs. At night as we walk back to our hotel we would stare at the sky above and saw Big Dipper, Orion, a few others. We had wondered prior to our departure while still in New York, how different the night time sky and stars be in the southern hemisphere.

I left Rio de Janeiro and Brazil overwhelmed with sadness. My travel companion reassures me that every ending of a journey is a new beginning to another trip. But I am too sentimental and nostalgic... I will always remember this most romantic walk, such a wonderful experience that I feel no photograph can really show.

Tania: My Japanese Brazilian Penpal

2009-12-29T18:59:00.008-05:00

I am about to embark on an 18-day adventure to South America with my traveling companion. It is both our first time to discover this continent. Though an experienced traveler, I am very excited about this particular trip.

I first developed a wanderlust spirit back in the early 1990s when I was attending Intermediate School 131 in New York’s Chinatown. The teen magazines at that time had these penpal services and I started writing to dozens of teenagers my age around the globe. Young and too poor to travel, summer vacations were spent behind the desk memorizing Tang poetry in Chinese School on Mott Street. And every few years my family would take the summer months to be in our village in China where I was born. But travels of far away places were vast in the mind, and a seed of adventure was planted in me.

One of the penpals I wrote to that year of 1994 was Tania. She was a Japanese Brazilian from Sao Paulo. A second generation Japanese born in Sao Paulo, I learned not in Geography class but through correspondence with her that the largest Japanese population outside of Japan is in Brazil. It was incredible to find people my age, from all over the world who shared a passion for learning about different cultures, for writing. I was so content writing letters to these penpals, I never thought one day I would have the opportunity to visit them.

Snailmail became out of fashion as electronic mail entered the scene in the late 1990s but our friendship survived. We continued to keep in touch, and eventually met in person in January 2002 in Montreal where Tania was studying abroad. After university I moved to Europe and Tania came to visit me in Paris in summer 2006 while on her Europe backpack tour. We met again in New York City in September 2008. And finally this New Year Eve, after fifteen years of correspondence, I get to visit Tania in her home country! Young adolescents that we were, we built a friendship connection so strong, so enduring that it has transcended time and place.

I believe 2010 is going to be an amazing New Year and decade. It already is - by starting with something significant – reconnection of old friendships.

Morning Jog & Relationships

2009-11-20T19:57:00.005-05:00

At 6:30am, I stepped out of apartment building for my morning jog. The ground was carpeted with fallen Autumn leaves, wet from last night's rain. As I walked over to Tompkins Square Park, I waved hello to the regulars I see every morning. I made a few laps around the park, and my parents soon joined me.

Mom and dad never stay for as long as I do. After about thirty minutes of jogging, they settled by the jungle gym area for cooling down. As I continue jogging around the park, through the tree branches I see the shape of two familiar bodies. My parents stretched together in peaceful silence, almost like a harmonious dance.

There is much to learn from people a generation before us ... after thirty-five years of marriage, it is a relationship still committed, humble, resilient.

Paris to New York : A Moveable Feast on Two Wheels

2009-09-09T08:40:00.008-04:00

Ernest Hemingway wrote in his book, A Moveable Feast:
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young [wo]man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Hemingway stayed in Paris in the 1920s when he was in his early 20's. Eighty years later, I also got the opportunity to live in Paris in my early 20's. Like Hemingway, the experiences in Paris has a profound and lasting impression on my life. I have since left Paris to move back to New York City - but Paris is indeed a moveable feast. It came in the form of bicycling in downtown Manhattan.

I learned to ride the bike for the first time in my life summer 2007 in Paris. This summer 2009 I participated in the Bike Around Downtown New York program. I am no longer a beginner (though still mastering those brakes and turns!) - but the enthusiasm of when I first learned to bike is still there, ever strong. Marie Pierre would be proud to know that her student has learned well and kept the passion going ... two years later, a whole ocean away.

Learning to ride the bicycle in Paris holds a lot of significance me. It is a city I love dearly, and though I no longer live there I still think of the city and the friends fondly. As I did on two wheels along the Seine River, passing by Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower ... I am elevated on two wheels and cycling from South Street Seaport, to Battery Park, a view of Statue of Liberty, up along the Hudson River. I lived in Paris for over five years and thought I know it well, but near the end of the journey I saw the city in a new way. On bicycle I also got a new perspective of New York, this city I have called home since 1985.

Good memories never pass, they linger in us. Great memories, get stronger with time. Living in Paris in my early 20s taught me a lot. It has inspired me to learn to see a place with a fresh new eye. In Paris I was young, a foreigner in a new land, life was full of romance, culture and arts. I am no longer in my 20s now, but I try not to let those precious life experiences escape me with age and time. I came back to New York - not with indifference - but with great curiosity, interest, a passion to discover and explore, as I did with Paris - it's as if I have fallen in love with New York all over again.

Sound and Fury, Signifying Everything

2009-08-22T12:52:00.006-04:00

New York City is a place filled with infinite possibilities of things to do, especially in summer time. So many choices that it is an activity itself to filter out what are the worthy and interesting activities to do. Ironically, sometimes it is the unexpected and unplanned events that turn out to be the most memorable.

On this late August evening I was invited to an event I knew nothing about, except it is a play about Macbeth and is being acted out in Mineral Springs in Central Park. Without inquiring further, I gave an affirmative reply. Those two details was enough reason for me to want to attend. I worked in Central Park as a summer youth intern and love the park dearly, and am always happy to have a reason to return to visit. Shakespeare’s plays have interested me since high school where one very passionate English teacher, Mr Illman at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Arts taught the students the Shakespearean plays so thoroughly well that a lot of the scenes and soliloquy still stick firmly on my mind today.

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Twelve years later … just a few blocks away from Lincoln Center where I first learned Shakespeare’s plays I have the unique occasion to come see Macbeth performed by a young theater group, Extants Arts Company. Founded in 2007, the cast and crew are young, in their mid 20s, talented, and passionate. The director says, “Here in the park, against the backdrop of trees and sky, we can appreciate the most elemental story of Macbeth – the story of the society man has built upon the foundation of natural allegiances of kinship and marriage. We can see what these relationships can inspire us to become or what they can drive us to do”.

The weather has been scorching hot and humid this month of August. Recently a thunderstorm had struck more than 100 trees in Central Park, the most severe destruction that the park had experienced in the last 30 years. When I got to Mineral Springs, I noticed a huge fallen tree, kept off by yellow caution tape. The theater group has been rehearsing in Mineral Springs for some time - but their set has just been changed. Nonetheless the group adjusts and adapts; nothing deters their enthusiasm and the show goes on.

At 6PM the show starts and the audience has settled themselves on the picnic blankets on the grass. It was the first time I ever experienced sitting outdoors for a theatre performance. Unlike the traditional setting, where there’s a stage for the performers, and seats for the audience – here the audience is part of the set. The actors were performing in every direction, and we physically had to move our heads, move our bodies to react to the different scenes. It’s dynamic and engaging!

During the intermission, the audience was advised should it start raining, they could leave and come back the following day to see Act II. As raindrops steadily fall on my open umbrella, the actors continue their lines … oblivious to the rain. None of the audience left. The rain only made the scene more interesting. When MacBeth encounters the three witches, lightening sounds the sky, almost on cue.

Daylight fades from the park, the last act has ended, and the whole cast of eleven members stood in a row, bowing to the audience. The sound of applause fills the quiet park air and I glanced at each of the actors in admiration. They all put on a great show. The evening’s unexpected performance really liven me up. It left such a lasting impression on me that if I was to meet Shakespeare then and there, I would say to him: Life may be a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and heard no more, a tale full of sound and fury - but for sure, it signifies a lot.

The Secret 'Community' Garden

2009-05-20T21:39:00.041-04:00

The East Village has been my home since 1992 when my family first moved here from Chinatown. One distinguished characteristic of this neighborhood are the many community gardens. Of them all, my favorite without a second thought, is the 6BC Botanical Garden. This place is for a New Yorker, a Manhattan resident, an East Villager, an oasis from the busy city life.

Stretches of vines covered the tall iron gate. Bushes hide the view of the outside traffic of cars and pedestrians. My favorite spot to sit is at the stone table. Here I have spent countless hours reading and writing, pondering about life. Or just simply enjoying some precious moments of solitude. There is privacy here, despite it being a public space. A tiny pond is the home for a few delicate water lilies. The garden is filled with many diverse plants and though small in size, I feel like being in a forest. I am now a regular visitor, but I still enter the garden each time impressed and in admiration. Such care in creating something so beautiful, out of what was once nothing.

6BC Botanical Garden came from a rubble-strewn empty lot in the early 1980s when East Villagers, all volunteers, started re-building it. It is part of GreenThumb, a program of the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation. “Established in 1978, GreenThumb remains the nation's largest urban gardening program, assisting over 600 gardens and nearly 20,000 garden members throughout New York City. GreenThumb was initiated in response to the city's financial crisis of the 1970s, which resulted in the abandonment of a tremendous amount of public and private land. Residents of these devastated communities transformed these unattractive and unsafe spaces into green havens. These community gardens, now managed by neighborhood residents, provide important green space, thus improving air quality, bio-diversity, and the well-being of residents. But gardens aren't just pretty spaces; they're also important community resources.”

I went away for college and lived abroad in Paris where I frequented many of the city’s little parks and gardens. In the past year and a half, I immersed myself in environmental filmmaking and was exposed to more of what Nature has to offer. I have come to acquire a genuine appreciation for the conservation of green spaces, and feel for city dwellers it is especially needed for a balance living.

After a near decade away I came back to New York City to find a lot of the characteristics have changed. Like other neighborhoods in Manhattan, the East Village has been affected by the city's exploding development - and 6BC like that of other New York community gardens, was threatened. I am very grateful that such unique things like the community gardens are still here today in the East Village.

A Bouquet of Broccoli

2009-02-13T23:56:00.007-05:00

Finding love and keeping love in a big city like New York is not easy. With a population of over eight million people of locals and transients, there are many choices. There is a never-ending way to meet people: social parties for all type of interests, online dating, speed dating, industry networking meetups, matchmaking by family, friends, co-workers, etc. Many choices, many options, and as a result, many reasons for people to have an excuse to move on, one person after the next. Is it possible to find genuine, lasting love in a city like New York?

A year ago I met up for brunch with a group of girlfriends, in our late 20’s to mid 30’s. Of the various subjects we talked about, one was about relationships. Having moved back to New York just recently, I was not aware of the difficult dating scene. I, being the ever optimist believe that it is possible to find true love naturally. One girlfriend warned me that love just doesn’t happen that way. She gave a scenario of a supermarket, how a girl reaches out for a broccoli just as the guy reaches out for one and a great rapport strikes up between the two. Such scenario, my girlfriend says – I must erase it out of my mind because it will never happen in real life. The reality is that there are so many false starts, so many lost opportunities, so many disappointments, so many rejections, so many broken hearts – is it a surprise that so many people have become so jaded and so cynical?

But still, I remember the broccoli.

What intrigued me about my girlfriend’s example was not so much the supermarket, or that the guy and the girl reach for a broccoli (though I do love vegetables and broccoli is indeed one of my favorite) - What intrigued me was the possibility that things can happen on its own, the serendipity - that two people can meet and really find a connection, that things can work out. Finding someone to fall in love with is a miracle. Staying in love takes a lot of work from both sides, and sometimes it really is beyond one’s control. But I believe finding that special someone to love and to be loved is really worth the while. It makes a normal walk in Central Park that was once so habitual a whole new experience. It makes a cup of milk tea taste so much sweeter. It makes plain written words so much more multi-dimensional. It makes just merely being held in each other’s hand so full of emotions and love.

My favorite writer during college was Dostoevsky. In Brothers Karamazov, the character, Grushenka comments that she has done so many bad deeds but she is redeemed, because she gave an onion to a beggar. "Just know one thing, Rakitka, I may be wicked, but still I gave an onion." (Book VII, Chapter 3). In this big metropolis of New York City, where life and experiences may have caused cynicism and hopelessness about love - maybe we can have faith again in broccoli?

Art & The City

2008-12-21T23:59:00.026-05:00

On a cold, slushy, rainy day at Christmas time in midtown Manhattan – I step out of the subway station to find flocks of busy New York locals and visitors abound. In the mass of human bodies floating through the subways, the streets, the stores - how does one become a regular in a big city like New York City?

One secret may be to be a regular at a place. Some folks like to be a regular in their local café. Others have a favorite restaurant. And still others always hang out in their corner bar. I like to be a regular at
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

It was one of first thing I did when I moved back to New York City in fall 2007: I bought a membership card to MoMA. For $75, cheaper than the price of the unlimited monthly subway pass, I have unlimited access to the museum for an entire year. There are no lines to wait, no tickets to buy, no stress of people. Instead of trying to see everything in one day, we can take our time and just see a bit one at a time. I like to study and absorb one piece of work, and return at another time to see more. It’s a great way to appreciate the museum without feeling overwhelmed. I especially appreciate the movie theaters in the lower levels, where I have caught quite a few documentary and feature films.

The MoMA has a very nice atrium. The view is especially alluring through the windows from the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floor. In the current installation by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist who has created a 7,354 cm of landscape of sound, sculptural elements, and moving image that envelop the walls in a vivid panorama. There is a sign to take off your shoes before getting on the carpet – and to make friends with person next to you. The carpet is white and the huge sculptural seating island is made of suede like cushion. Despite being in a roomful of strangers from all over the city and all over the world, you get a sense of tranquility - you see people really relaxing, almost mediating. As I unlace my very wet hiking boots, I think to myself how welcoming it is to take them off and literally separate from the slushy cold outside. Sitting on the cushion and lying down, there is the comfort and warmth of being in one’s living room.

Encouraged by the other part of the sign to make friends with person next to you, I start to speak with this older couple from New Jersey. There are too many attractions in NYC and they don’t come to MoMA that often when they are in Manhattan. But today they are visiting with their daughter who is attending Savannah College of Art and Design. We then go into a deep discussion about art and its great value in society, and that there is not enough emphasis in the US education encouraging the study of art. After the couple left, I fold my coat to use as a pillow and lay down. As I stare at the panorama screen of a nude woman underwater, I begin to hear people speaking French around me. A sudden wave of nostalgia wash over me with the same image of me lying down…. on the square of Musée Centre Pompidou in Paris.

I developed an affinity for museums in the mid 1990s when I was a Fine Arts student at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center. Classes, homeworks, and projects required the art students to spend a lot of time with sketch pads in all the museums throughout the city. I enjoyed looking at the diverse objects in all forms of sculptures, canvases, and installations. It’s inspiring to learn about the artists’ backgrounds and their different time in history. I also love this concept of a public space as a place of learning and inspiration. From walking through the ancient artifacts of Mesopotamia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to going up and down the rotunda of The Guggenheim where the architecture itself is a piece of art, to walking through the skyscraping dinosaur bones at The American Museum of Natural History, to pondering while standing underneath the Greek columns of The Cloisters – I am in awe of how different people in different eras of different parts of the world have all been inspired to achieve all they have done and their accomplishments are passed down to us today. Though I stopped studying art after high school academically, the passion for museums and a love for history stayed strongly with me.

When I moved to Paris in summer 2002, the first thing I did was get a membership card to museums. The museum I frequented most often was Musée Centre Pompidou. I eventually settled in the 11th arrondissement in the neighborhood of Belleville and the museum was just about half an hour walk away. It soon became my favorite hang out place. In the summer months I would lay down on the leaning square and stared at the colorful pipes. Whether listening to street performers play their instruments, or writing in my notebook, it was a great way to enjoy Paris and live the city as a local. Inside the museum, I had spent many coffee breaks writing in the café. When it got too hot, the Bibliothèque was a great place to escape the heat. And still, like MoMA, there was a lower level (and upper) for watching documentaries and features.

Today, there is a screening of Henry James’ Washington Square Park. This version is by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland and came out in 1997. It is such a treat to see this film now, for the first time, on the big screen – it seem to be the right time as I have not lived in the city for almost a decade and am rediscovering it and trying to reconnect with it - watching the film in MoMA somehow made me feel closer to New York City. I am struck by the music composed by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. Long after the credits have ended and I have exited the museum and taking the subway home, one song from the film, "Tu chiami una vita" still lingers heavily on my mind. The lyrics are by Salvatore Quasimodo. It is a truly beautiful song, so well written, so meaningful, for all emotions it evoke, I am really moved.

Art is like love. So inexplicable, so not logical, so not something we think we need - but yet - without it, life is dull and not as meaningful. You do not need to study it, you do not need to read about it, all you need is to feel it. And when it does resonate with you, it is pretty powerful.

Cantonese Opera in Chinatown

2008-11-02T00:07:00.002-04:00

On a magnificent clear sunny day beneath the hustle and bustle of New York City’s Chinatown lies a different world, of semi-darkness, sound and music. Every Sunday at New York Chinese School on 62 Mott Street the doors are opened to the general public for performances on Cantonese Opera. I came as one of the spectators to support one of the musicians.

When my father retired five years ago I got really worried that he would get bored. His job at his Chinatown restaurant occupied so much of his time, six days a week at over twelve hours a day for the past two decade in New York City that he did not have any time to develop personal interests and hobbies. Not yet sixty years old, he feels old and worn out, and he has been through a lot. In the mid 1950s his parents left him and the poverty stricken Taishan village in southeastern China. At six years old, alongside his three siblings he had to learn to take care of himself. Growing up he experienced famine in China and got very little education. In his life he only knows of the three things: thirty years of farming in China, twenty years of working in a restaurant in New York, and how to care for his family. After I graduated from university and both my elder brother and I were supporting ourselves, my dad made the decision to quit the stressful restaurant job and finally start living; he joined a music group for retirees in Manhattan Chinatown.

In the basement auditorium, both on stage and in the audience are filled with senior citizens in theirs 60s to 80s. There are half a dozen singers and eight musicians playing various instruments: the er-hu (Chinese violin), the flute, violin, gong, bells, etc. All of them share the similar background as my father, recent or long time immigrants from China these former workers from Chinatown restaurant or garment factory all spent many years slaving behind the restaurant stove or a factory sewing machine. After their children grew up and left the house these immigrant had the rare situation of having to find something to do with their time. This is how, like my father they came to be performing on stage.

Despite living in America for many years, the oversea Chinese immigrants hold on to the Cantonese Opera culture that they know of from China. As a kid, I grew up listening to Cantonese Opera and understand it very well. On stage with makeup concealing their old age, the 70 and 80 year olds look like 20 somethings dressed up in traditional Chinese outfits. The singers are not just merely singing out words, there are also facial expressions and hand movements. The Cantonese Opera stories are taken from ancient love stories from Chinese history and from famous literary masterpieces. The best stories are the tragic ones. One story performed was taken from one of the four Chinese classics, Outlaws of the Marsh about Lin Chong, a chief military instructor of the late Northern Song Dynasty who was framed and sent into exile. Sitting in the audience if you understand Cantonese Opera and know the stories, you feel a sense of comfort and familiarity. But even if that’s not case and it’s your first time, it’s ok too. You can still appreciate the experience, by absorbing the music, emotions, gestures, and the whole atmosphere.

At 5:00PM the show comes to an end, and I stood up to give a hearty round of applause to my father and his fellow Cantonese Opera performers. I applaud them not just for that day’s performance, I also applaud them for their energy, their motivation and their will. From garment factory workers to restaurant workers, from a job that is behind the scenes to something that is on stage they have reincarnated in one lifetime. These retirees all had no musical background, and now they’ve all learned to play instruments. It is truly inspiring to know that we can never stop learning, no matter what age and what background. Some people say life ends with retirement but for these retirees, life only starts. Next time you are in Chinatown do stop by for a Cantonese Opera show, you’ll be surprised to find what you can learn.

America’s Most Endangered Place: New York’s Lower East Side

2008-10-12T18:24:00.014-04:00

In May 2008 The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed New York Lower East Side as one of America’s 11 most endangered places. After a year of producing films on our endangered natural environment, my latest project is giving me a whole new perspective on how the term “endangered” can also apply to a man-made place.

Lower East Side, historically an immigrant neighborhood has in the last two decades gone through much development. Gentrification, as defined by www.dictionary.com is “the restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people”. Located in downtown Manhattan, the Lower East Side's close proximity to the Financial District has attracted bankers and business professionals. Gallery owners who can no longer afford the priced out Chelsea has seeped into the LES and settled their little galleries on Clinton Street and various other streets. Original resident buildings called tenements were once homes to a lot of immigrants have now have increased in price. The first hotel, a glass-walled 22 stories building opened on Rivington Street in late 2004. Many condominium towers are sprinkling up and the prestigious private university, New York University has also expanded their campus down to the LES. As more and more higher buildings are constructed, there is huge concern whether the LES will become a place where only the wealthy can afford to live.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

~ Emma Lazarus’ poem on the Statue of Liberty

Lower East Side has been the most culturally diverse square mile in United States since the founding of this country. Most Americans can trace their roots to the Lower East Side one-way or other: Irish, Germans, Italians, Jews, Chinese, Hispanics, etc. When my family immigrated to New York City in the mid 1980s, we settled in Chinatown and LES. Speaking no English, the immigrant neighborhood provided support and resources with those similar to our backgrounds. Coming to America with nothing, immigrants learn English, get work, get an education, become American – Lower East Side played such vital place for many immigrants like my family that I can’t imagine growing up anywhere else but here.

Lower East Side developers such as Misrahi Realty talks about how change is inevitable and how development is necessary for a neighborhood. New York City is always changing, and LES is no different. For the developers, Lower East Side is still an immigrant neighborhood, just a new sort of ‘immigrants’ now. These ‘immigrants’ are international young professionals, college educated, good credits, and carry Blackberries. In face of these new ‘immigrant’, the traditional immigrants of the Lower East Side suffer. From long time tenants who are struggling to keep their rent control homes to small business owners (known as mom and pop stores) to artists, everyone is struggling to survive in the new Lower East Side.

Marylou, a Dominican American and Sharon, an African American were born in the neighborhood have lived here for half a century. They met when they were in second grade and have been best friends since. Greg, an old time resident in his mid 50s says any kid should be proud to grow up in the LES where there are all kinds of people and you learn to live with others very early in life. John, a long time Lower East Sider in is early 60s of Spanish descent said he could hardly recognize the changes now and missed the old time community feel of the LES. Shalom, an artist originally from Europe settled in the LES in the early 80s. Feeling the lost of the true flavor of the city, he said it’s just a matter of time that he will go back to Europe. He claims Berlin or Prague is more dynamic and open to poor artists than NYC. The list of long time residents affected by gentrification goes on and on. With development increasing every day, both the physical and symbolic character of the LES is eroding.

What is the future of the Lower East Side? Will it stop being a place that welcomes the poor, and instead only become a place for the affluent, for those who can afford to live here. In the natural environment, trees and oceans are potentially resilient; in time they may grow back. But once a neighborhood is changed and its historic buildings torn down with families and communities uprooted - it is all gone. For a country with little history as United States, I feel the need to hold on to its roots, more necessary than ever. But above all, I think what is endangered is not just the actual neighborhood of the Lower East Side – I feel, tragically what is also endangered is the idea and symbolism of an America that is a place accessible to all.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

2008-08-31T00:00:00.010-04:00

Baseball is claimed to be America’s favorite pastime.

After twenty-three years of living in United States, I have not yet experienced watching this important American sport. Recently, I decided to follow a friend who’s a passionate Mets fan to a baseball game at Shea Stadium. I was curious about two things, just what exactly is baseball all about and why it is “America’s favorite pastime”.

It’s an express subway ride on the 7 train from Manhattan’s Grand Central to Queen’s Shea Stadium – about half an hour journey. The whole baseball craze started as early as when I got on the train. My friend handed me a Mets cap. As I put on the cap, I started to notice other people also wearing Mets cap, and some with jersey shirts. Once we arrived at the Shea Stadium, people spilled out of the subway, in a sea of white and blue, and a tinge of orange. Boys were dressed in complete uniforms, including the gloves. People wore jerseys of their favorite players; Santana, Wright and Beltran. It occurred to me it was not just merely watching baseball, it was just as important to dress the part. Even before entering the gigantic stadium I was getting excited just observing the thousands of passionate fans - the enthusiasm was in the air!

A woman came on stage of the baseball field. All the spectators stood up. As the words of the national anthem “Star-Spangled Banner” filled the air and the American flag fluttered in the breeze I couldn’t help but noticed how patriotic sports can be. The audience is diverse, not just male, but women, kids and adolescents, various ethnicities and age group. Though it was my first experience, I quickly sensed that baseball is very much a family and friend event. Armed with plenty of hot dogs and beers or soft drink, this was a moment for family members and friends to catch up. People go to a baseball game not just of the game, being with their family and friends is important too. I enjoy hearing my friend talk about baseball and his granddad. As a kid, his granddad who lived in Flushing near Shea Stadium would take him to see many baseball games. My friend developed at a very young age the love of baseball, and the Mets. What I could connect with was not the affinity for the sport itself, but the memories it provokes of a childhood long gone, and the relationships with people.

How long in history has baseball been playing in the lives of Americans? “Baseball became an extremely popular sport during and just after the American Civil War. It was called "America's Pastime" because during the late 19th and early 20th century it was probably the most widely played sport in the country. Baseball was to that time period as video games and television are to today. Before TV Baseball was what kids did after school and on the weekends and during the summer...etc. It was literally how America passed the time.”

I tried to think of a childhood experience I may have had related to this great American pastime. I had none. In walking miles and miles down memory lane, the only recollection I could think of is from a book I read in fifth grade, “In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson”. The story took place in 1947, the year Jackie Robinson took bat. In the book are these two passages:

“In our national pastime, each player is a member of a team, but when he comes to bat, he stands alone. One man. Many opportunities. For no matter how far behind, how late in the game, he, by himself, can make a difference. He can change what has been. He can make it a new ball game.

“Jackie Robinson is the grandson of a slave, the son of a sharecropper, raised in poverty by a lone mother who took in ironing and washing. But a woman determined to achieve a better life for her son. And she did. For despite hostility and injustice, Jackie Robinson went to college, excelled in all sports, served his country in war. And now, Jackie Robinson is at bat in the big leagues. “

The author, Bette Bao Lord is a Chinese woman who based the story on her life as an immigrant from China to Brooklyn, her struggle to learn English and fit in, and her passion for baseball. Sports have often been associated with the American Dream. It may not be true that dreams can come true in America, but one can dream and there is a possibility the dream can come true. In many countries, one can’t even dream. This is what I have learned in the past decade living in other countries. With all the problems and faults, America is still a great country. Success is never guaranteed, but it is a country of second, third, fourth chances.

“Take me out to the ball game... take me out to the crowd…. ”, the song blared from the sound system at the seventh inning, near the end of the game. I have heard of this song countless times in other settings. But as I hear it this time, I had to smile to myself : Here I am out seeing a ball game! and here I am out amongst the crowd! The first baseball game at the Shea Stadium is special for me - and as I found out at the end of the evening, it would also be my last game at this stadium. Shea Stadium will close down after this season. The new stadium, directly across the ball field will replaced this old one next year. Will the new stadium continue to provide for future generations, as it did for my friend and his granddad the same great experience of where people can come together to watch this great American pastime?

My Herculean Father

2008-04-26T20:48:00.004-04:00

My father is the strongest man in the world.

When he was six years old, his parents abandoned him, his brothers, sisters, and their hopeless village lives behind in search of a promising life elsewhere. At that age when we were loved and pampered by our parents, my father was to learn to fend his own demons.

In 1985, my family and my uncle's family immigrated to the "Land of Opportunity". Having heard of tales of streets paved with gold, my parents eagerly anticipated the improved life that would surely await us there across the Pacific. Little did they know of the hardships that we would face as "fresh-off-the-boat" immigrants. We settled in New York City's busy Chinatown. All nine of us crammed into a run-down, one-bedroom apartment that was to be called home for the next three years. It was all that we could afford, after paying off the debts to our relatives for the trip here.

My father was thirty-five when he came to the United States. All his life he worked in the rice fields. But New York City didn't have any rice fields for him to work in. He had to familiarize himself with a whole new profession, all over again. Due to his illiteracy in English and Chinese (his poverty stricken childhood prevented him from getting formal education) he had to resort to washing dishes in a local restaurant. It was an extremely endless and merciless job. It was also the only way he could pay the bills and put food on the table. Till this day I am still haunted by the nights when he came home with sores all over his hands. Over the years his responsibilities deepened as he ascended to a position in cooking. Now, instead of coming home with sores from washing so many dishes, there would be scars on his arms from the hot stove.

There is a saying that goes, "It is from adversity that strength is born." My father would always say in our native dialect Taishanese, "I've eaten more salt than you'll ever eat rice." It is true. I never had to experience the suffering my father went through. I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a comfortable environment and still be able to understand the grief and poverty existing in this world. Growing up, I was never deprived of the education, love and support (like my father had) that is so vital to a person's upbringing. When my father stepped off the airplane at JFK airport in 1985, he didn't expect a better life for himself. He had already experienced the worst that could be during his thirty years in China. He came to the United States because he didn't want my brother and I to go through a similar childhood. He wanted us to have everything he didn't have.

As I've matured and learned my father's true reasoning, I push myself even harder in all that I do. I don't believe I could ever forgive myself if I didn't. I owe it to him, the strongest man in this world.

[ written in Autumn 1997 ]

The Caribbean’s Best Kept Treasure

2008-04-09T17:17:00.016-04:00

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It all started with the glittering turquoise blue Caribbean Sea.

And then, a thatch-roof airport. This was the sight that greeted me as the plane descended on the runway. Swaying coconut palm trees. Rocking on a beach hammock. A morning jog along the coast to watch the sunrise. Thatch-roof huts glowing in silhouette against the sunset. An endless array of colorful fruits of papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, mango. A postcard paradise. Welcome to the Caribbean’s best kept treasure: the Punta Cana resort in the eastern tip of Dominican Republic.

What brings most people to Punta Cana is vacation; what brought me and fifteen other journalists to Punta Cana was a week-long seminar, “How Environmental Issues Influence Our Daily Lives: The Nexus Between Environment, Economics and Business” by The New York Times Institute on the Environment. We came from diverse ages, experience, and media backgrounds. From spread out locations of New York, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington DC, California, Montana and internationally, from Johannesburg, Montreal and Santo Domingo – we all united in Punta Cana resort with one purpose: to learn about the current environmental issues. It is my first time to Dominican Republic and the first time to the Caribbean. I hope staying at a luxurious resort will not inhibit me from having a real experience.

The Punta Cana resort was founded by Ted Kheel, and his partner Frank Rainieri over 30 years ago. A labor lawyer from New York he invested in this eastern part of Dominican Republic at a time when the area was barren and unknown. As a result of the resort and tourism, the region’s economy has been transformed, providing all sorts of employment for the Dominicans. But not just the locals benefit, also benefiting are their neighbors, the Haitians. These two countries share the island of Hispaniola, a significant historical location as it was first stop for Christopher Columbus when he first arrived in 1492 on his way to America. Ever since reading: Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, I’ve been intrigued by how history and environment affects a country’s economy. Though Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same island, with similar environments, resources, climate, and a history as former colonies - their current situations are totally different. Haiti is one of the most impoverished nations on earth and is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. So poor are the Haitians that they escape to Dominican Republic to become ‘environmental refugees’.

Less than a century ago, Haiti was still a lush country with 60% forests covering the lands. Since then, the trees have been cut down and today Haiti only has 1 percent of its land covered in forest. Its neighbor, Dominican Republic on the other hand has environment that is protected. Its economy continues to grow and there is interaction with the international community. From this simple case study, I learned how vital it is for a country to be aware of its environmental problems. Unlike most resort owners in the world, Ted Kheel believes and supports environmental sustainability. He understood early on that the business of tourism is also a business of preserving the natural environment. Punta Cana Ecological Foundation was established to preserve the coastal zone, monitor water quality and has a recycling center and an Ecological Park and Reserve. Punta Cana Resort is setting an example of how it’s possible to develop a region, maintain economic growth and still preserve the environment.

Each day the journalists had the seminar classes in Ted Kheel’s resort home, Casa Guayacan. We had a field trip one afternoon that took us outside our Paradise-land to the shantytowns. Located in an area around the resort, this is where the resort workers and locals live. People are poor, with homes made of plywood or sheet metal. Our van passed by fields of migrant workers, of all shades of skin of black, chocolate and caramel, working on building the roads, gardening the plants, etc. We visited a medical clinic and an elementary school, all established by the resort owner to help the people in the impoverished area. Journalists get the rare privilege to view things differently, seeking out the extraordinary in the ordinary – just by definition of their profession. And whether in written words or photographs or moving images, they transcend what they have learned to others. Environmental journalists especially, I feel are humbled by their exposures of what they see. The interactions during the week-long seminars, both in and outside of class were tremendously dynamic - and because of all of them, Punta Cana was not only alluring for the sight but also stimulating for the intellect too.

As I sat on the plane heading back to New York City, I thought how Punta Cana turned out to be the perfect location for an environmental/economics seminar and a great introduction to Dominican Republic. It was as one fellow journalist said, “A rejuvenating experience learning about environment, socio-economics and life in general that left me with a great will to travel more and do better work". The experience has made me eager to return to the Caribbean. The next time I hope to be speaking with the locals in Spanish and making some great films. But until that next opportunity, I will always have the image of the coconut palm trees swaying in the foreground of the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea.

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Alphabet City

2008-03-30T00:00:00.003-04:00

Paris or Shanghai, London or Hong Kong, Amsterdam or Singapore -- the more I travel and live abroad, the more I notice that no matter how international or how charming a city is reputed to be, all cities feel more or less the same. What makes a place special? During the years living in Paris, I learned what I value about a city is the relationship I develop with the people living there and the neighborhoods. While the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Montmartre, Seine, and Eiffel Tower all ring bells of greatness for Paris…. what will stay in my memory are the little details: my love for the neighborhood of Belleville, biking along the Canal St Martin up to Parc Villette, speaking with the locals who live there.

In Summer 1992, my family moved to Avenue C also known as Loisaida, in Alphabet City of East Village, Manhattan. It was a summer of transition for me; I just finished elementary school and was going into junior high school. It was also a period of transition for East Village; it just finished an era known as the dodgy 1980’s of crime and drugs (a time when Madonna was said to have lived here) and going into an era of gentrification. I went away to college in 1998 and came back in late 2007 to a neighborhood that has totally changed - but then, so did I.

The Lower East Side area has long been a first stop in New York City for new immigrants, because of the cheap rents and the ethnic enclaves. Puerto Ricans first settled in Alphabet City or Loisaida of Lower East Side in the 1950s. Loisaida is term first coined by poet Bimbo Rivas in his 1974 poem "Loisaida" and was officially added to Avenue C in 1987. Only recently have I learned the right pronunciation: "LO-EES-EYE-DAH"; it is Spanglish for Lower East Side. In the 1970s the culture of Loisaida began to flourish - characterized by art, poetry, gardens, and community organizations. Poetry was the favored form of cultural expression and the Nuyorican Poets Café began during this time, “Nuyorican poetry took on the characteristics of expressing the sorrows and struggles of Loisaida life but also celebrating Puerto Rican heritage”. Today the association is still a strong neighborhood landmark.

In these past six months that I’ve been back in East Village, I am reminded of the many things that make this neighborhood so quaint. Alphabet City has a local treasure that not many people know about. Community gardens were first formed in the 1970s from neglected lots and are tended by volunteer neighborhood residents. There are several scattered throughout the neighborhood. Across the street from my building, at the junction of Avenue C & 9th Street are two community gardens, La Plaza Cultural and the Ninth Street Garden. This is a haven for Lower East Side residents, a piece of Nature among the fields of concrete buildings. In both my community gardens there is a gigantic willow tree - my favorite tree.

I jog around Tompkins Square Park every morning and know ever corner blindfolded. As I jog by I would greet a group of senior citizens huddled together, deep in discussion over the daily news. On another side, I’d hear the sound of Chinese instrumental music coming from a portable stereo player before I catch the sight of people doing taichi. In the middle of the park is a dog run area where the owners chit chat with one another, while their pets roam carefree. Morning exercise is great for the body, but a good environment can strengthen the spirit and the soul. Running at Tompkins Square Park is peaceful, and the scenery is nice. In October, I was mesmerized by the colorful Autumn leaves - and now as Spring is here, I am in awed of the new green buds on the branches of trees. Each season really comes and goes so fast, and I am more aware than ever of how fast our days go, as I jog right through it.

Gentrification has changed the Loisaida neighborhood immensely. Bars, cafes, high end supermarkets, condominiums have all sprung up - I noticed the change especially by ears; it’s a lot noisier at nights now. Like all other gentrification in cities throughout the world, this is the case of young urban professionals moving in, rents rising, Puerto Ricans and now other Latinos fighting to keep their homes and institutions. The Lower East Side has the presence of public housing to act as a defense, but still it is not strong enough. Looking at the situation, I feel hopeless and very sad. I lived in this neighborhood during the formative, the adolescent years of my life. Looking back now, I believe growing up in this neighborhood helped shaped me to who I am today. It is a neighborhood of different culture, history, and vibrating arts. And because I lived here from an early age I developed a sensibility to be more aware and appreciate the different aspects and beauties of life. Losaida of Alphabet City is a special place.

The Great American Outdoors

2008-03-16T22:08:00.012-04:00

The heart of a country lies in its landscape. When I was a kid in elementary school I learned about all of United States of America’s vast range of geographic features: rolling hills and forests and grasslands and prairie land of Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes, all from ‘sea to shining sea’. This famous phrase comes out of the song from Katharine Lee Bates’ 'America the Beautiful' (1893), a patriotic song familiar to most Americans, to which today I still know by heart the tune and lyrics:

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties. Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee.
And crown thy good with brotherhood. From sea to shining sea!

But for all the wonderful natural landscapes that I learned as a kid growing up in America, I have never had the opportunity to see them firsthand. Most of my life is spent in the urban metropolis of New York City, and studying/working in San Francisco, Hong Kong, and the last five years in Paris. Bubbled in concrete buildings, mazes of people, mixed noises of cars, and mass transportation, I rarely know a time that is quiet, or a view that is empty. So used to urban life, I sometimes wondered if I could ever be anywhere else. Now as I get older and am settled in one location, it occurred to me, as I’m a filmmaker making films on both the man-made and the natural environment, perhaps it’s not a bad idea to learn more about the latter. Thus this is how I started my quest to discover the Great American Outdoors.

This weekend a group of us embarked on a day winter hike and it was ensured to me that it would be a one-of-a-kind experience. Mount Monadnock, the chosen destination is most climbed mountain in North America, and the second most climbed mountain in the world after Japan's Mt. Fuji. Located at 3,100 feet in southwestern New Hampshire, the word "monadnock" originally comes from the Abnacki Indian language meaning "mountain that stands alone." As a filmmaker needs her camera, a Tour de France cycler needs his bike, a chef needs his wok, a soccer player needs his ball - - a winter hiker needs her gear. We made a quick stop to REI, the #1 chosen retailer for quality outdoor gear to get the essential items. Once I entered the store I understood why it is haven for outdoor enthusiasts; they have everything! Snow pants, long underwear, heavy jacket, neck warmers, hats, boots, etc. Somehow felt compelled that this first hike is going to be the beginning of a lifetime of outdoor adventures, I signed up to become a lifetime member. The membership immediately gave me great discounts on my rented crampons. My curious reader may ask: What is a crampon? I would eagerly reply: It is a spiked iron/steel framework that is attached to the bottom of a boot to prevent slipping when walking or climbing on ice and snow.

Winter hiking on Mt. Monadnock is truly unique. The amazing tree-free views stretch far into the distance into surrounding New England states of Vermont and Massachusetts, because the mountain "stands alone”. Because of the winter weather and the snow, it discourages most people from coming. During our hike, we saw very few people and really got to enjoy the view of the natural landscape. Water running through the stream. The vast sky. The fresh air. The white snow. Not a sound at all. I was in total awe of where I was and felt utter joy. I now can understand how the snow, the trees, just Nature, have inspired so many great literature and poetry. I was also pleasantly surprised to find how comfortable I am at hiking and climbing and strategizing how to move through the snow in my crampons. I was at ease being in the middle of nowhere – to get away from the civilization, that of cars, buildings, people, Internet – even the cell phone had no reception. I had time to think and ponder my place in this world. And at times, I would just stand still, not do any thinking at all, and just enjoy the view. Just those moments are so precious. Coming downhill, we decided to let go of our crampons and just slide down in some parts. The thrill! The turn! We laughed so much! For a few moments we group of adults felt just like kids.

The winter hike on Mount Monadnock is a discovery into myself. I realized how comfortable and at peace I am with Nature. “REI is helping build a lasting legacy of trails, rivers, and wild lands for generations to come, supporting programs to help people of all ages and experiences participate“. Environmentalists would also applaud the need to preserve the beauty of Nature for the next and future generations. I, as an environmental filmmaker also agree. But I, as the new outdoor lover, want the natural environment to be protected not just for the next generation – I want it protected for our present generation too. Nature offers us so much beauty to discover and to experience; it would be great tragedy for us to lose it in this lifetime.

SHARK Fin Soup: A Cultural & Environmental Conflict

2008-03-10T14:55:00.013-04:00

Culture is a wonderful thing; it gives us history and tradition. But at times, culture can be detrimental; it clouds our judgment and prevents us from changing.

A month ago I met up with a former Chinese-American colleague, now working for Humane Society International who pitched to me an environmental film I must make: Sharks are becoming endangered and shark finning is a big cause of it. Humane Society International is now actively doing a public education campaign in New York Chinatown and in the Chinese American communities across the country and Canada. Other than raising awareness, the goal is to encourage restaurants and markets to take shark fin dishes off the menu. I thought to myself: So what if the sharks are dying? What do we care? Why are we trying to save them? Aren’t sharks the man-eating monsters portrayed in the 1975 Spielberg film, Jaws?

Growing up in Chinatown, I know very well how important shark fin soup is part of Chinese cuisine custom. A rare and expensive delicacy dish, shark fin soup originated from south China in the Sung dynasty (AD 960). Shark fin soup became an established tradition in Ming dynasty (AD 1368) and since then the Chinese eat it during Chinese New Year celebrations, weddings, corporate functions, and other special occasions. If shark fin soup is not served at these important events, the host will look very cheap and is not giving face (respect) to his guests. In Chinese superstition, there is a famous saying: “nian nian you yu”, meaning “yearly prosperity”. Yu means ‘plentiful’ (in material wealth) and has the same tone as yu (fish). A fish dish is always served at Chinese New Year to welcome prosperity for the new year.

Despite my lack of concern for these ‘man-eating monsters’, my interest was ignited and I started reading everything about them. In February 2008 along with the Science Friday team, I attended the AAAS, The American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Boston. This year there was a symposium on sharks, “Will Too Few Jaws Take Too Big a Bite? The Importance of Sharks to Ocean Ecosystems”. I interviewed two of the experts, Lance Morgan, a conservationist at Marine Conservation Biology Institute and Julia Baum, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is here that I really started to understand the importance of sharks and their role in the ocean ecosystem.

Sharks can be traced back to around 400 million years ago. They have existed 100 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared on land. Sharks are the world’s apex predator and are guardians of our oceans. They inhabit every ocean and play a vital role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems. Situated at the top of the food chain, sharks keep everything in balance in the oceans. The removal of sharks lead to increases or declines in other species below them in the food chain that causes unpredictable consequences for ecosystems. This is a big problem for fishermen and millions of people who rely on the ocean for their food, when the fish we do want no longer exist.

Although they have managed to survive all sorts of mass extinctions for millions of years, sharks have never encountered a predator as powerful as us, the industrialized humans. Sharks are being overfished and many populations have declined by as much as 90%. Up to 100 million sharks are being killed worldwide, mostly for their fins. The demand for shark fin soup is at an all-time high. The rapid rise of the economy in mainland China has created an increased middle class who has disposable income to spend on luxury items. What was once eaten on rare occasions, now is common to eat shark fin soup. With the ever-increasing environmental problems in the world today - it is urgent to raise awareness, concern and self-restraint among consumers. Because ultimately it is no longer a Chinese issue, or an American issue - one environmental disaster affects us all.

Is it possible to change a tradition that has run down over a thousand year? Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws (1975) for which Spielberg film was based on, spent the last decade before his death in 2006 campaigning for wild life. He said this about sharks : “For, world-wide, sharks are much more the oppressed than the oppressors". If Mr. Benchley can have a new insight to this great creature and the ocean, I hope it is possible for the Chinese people, and us global citizens of our planet to change our views too.

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MA Shumin produced environmental videos for NPR Science Friday.
View her video on shark awareness/conservation: A Bowl of Trouble for Sharks

The Oyster Is My World

2007-11-21T19:47:00.006-05:00

“The world is my oyster“ is one of the most widely used proverbs.
It comes from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600) in Act II, Scene II and goes: Falstaff: I will not lend thee a penny. Pistol: Why, then, the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open. It’s quite poetic and there’s a reason why it appeals to so many people; our world is whatever we make of it. Ironically after almost a decade of traveling the world to see what I can make of myself, I came back to New York in end of 2007 to find this old saying has a new twist for me.

One of the more spectacular New York City skyline views can be appreciated at the edge of the Hudson River. At Pier 40, located at West Street and Houston Street in the lower west side of Manhattan is The River Project. A marine science field station founded in 1986, it works to protect and restore the ecosystem of the Hudson River estuary. They have a lot of programs there, running from scientific research to hands-on environmental education to urban habitat improvement. I was there for oyster gardening event to learn more about oysters and see if I could produce an environmental video about it for NPR Science Friday.

Up until that point in my life I knew very little about oysters, what I know was that we eat them raw. One of the scientists I interviewed suggested reading Mark Kurlansky's The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. After reading, I now have a better understanding of the history of oysters and the history of New York City. I was quite amazed to learn that NYC used to be the oyster capital of the world. When the Europeans first came, oysters were used for trading. The oysters in NYC were such good quality that even the French and other Europeans demanded for them. Up until less than a century ago, oysters were abundant along the Hudson River and East River. Savored by both the rich and the poor, it was truly a people’s food.

But not just for eating, I learned about the wonders of what oysters do for our environment. For our fragile ecosystem, oysters restore the habitat in numerous ways. Known as filter feeders, they have the capability to clean water. Similar to coral reefs when oysters form oyster reefs, they create home for other animals. Living on the shores, they help prevent coastal erosion as the tides wash in. For all the practical, social and environmental purposes, the dying out of oysters in New York City is a great tragedy. The last line of Kurlansky’s book sums it up well: "The great and unnatural city was built at the site of a natural wonder, and that the lowly oysters working at the bottom were a treasure more precious than pearls".

Would New York City, this great big city that I call home, have had the same history had there never been oysters here? That I may never know but for sure I believe the oysters are a valuable part of our society. I’ve learned a whole lot along the way and above all I learnt: Oysters aren't only good as a half shell; they are even better as a whole shell.

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MA Shumin produced environmental videos for NPR Science Friday. You can watch her "Oyster , Not Just For Eating" video here:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/55