Fall 2013 semester

The Fall 2013 semester at UH-Manoa has come to an end!

During that semester, I have taken 2 classes within the Library and Information Science (LIS) program.

And both classes were once a week classes that fell on Tuesdays.

The first one was LIS 610 : Foundations of the Information Professions

This class covered the various aspects of the information professions. While the class is part of Library and Information Science program, it doesn't just cover the library setting but also archives, museums, database and other settings that are part of the information profession. 

The first portion of the class was about the job market within the information field. The students were to pick a field (ie. public library, academic library, specialized libraries, archives, etc) and search the job ads. We were to investigate whether there are many opportunities within that field and if those opportunities exist in places we want to live in the future. We were also to read through the required and desirable qualifications as well as the salary range (if indicated within the ad). 

Some doubt if there are job opportunities in the library profession. Nothing is guaranteed, but some of the recent LIS graduates that I know personally are employed within their desired field. I saw at least 2 at a public library that I occasionally visit. I know two that are working within the UH mulit-campus system. I know 2 that were working in local public school libraries. A few returned to their hometowns in the continental US. One found a library fitting her specialty (theological library). I know two who coincidentally ended up in the same city in the western US. 

We're just talking those who just graduated in the spring/summer of this year.  And there were just the ones that I actually met and later kept in contact via social media. Obviously, there's some recent graduates that I never got  to know, but I'm sure some found a job in the library field. The point is: opportunities are out there within the library field!

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After learning about the job market, we learned about making Curriculum Vitae(CV), which is a more specialized style of resume. This is different from the traditional resume where you just list your previous jobs. For the CV, you list the most relevant previous jobs related to the position you're applying for, then describe some of the duties of those previous jobs.


My example is at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pwegesen/resume.html

 

screenshot from Pablo Wegesend's e-portfolio

An example of a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Later in the course,  we learned about the history of the writing from the ancient clay tablets, illuminated manuscripts, the development of the printing press, to rise of Google (and everything in between). 

A few videos on those topic

On the illuminated manuscripts common in Europe before the printing press

BBC, Illuminations Treasures of The Middle Ages (30 min)

www.veoh.com/watch/v186724903QkjJCEp?h1=Illuminations+Treasures+Of+The+Middle+Ages+

On the invention of the printing press

"A Matter of Fact: Printing Transforms Knowledge (Day the Universe Changed – Ep. 4) (45 min). www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g70rGW2bwM

On Google and the possible future

The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan. 

 May 2011. 1 hour 30 min.

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwLwaB7pJC4

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Afterwards, the class focused on the ethical codes and ethical dilemmas within the information profession.   We discussed questions like

• do we place age restrictions on certain library materials?
• how do libraries decide what books to order, keep and remove?
• how should museums deal with indigenous art stolen by conquerors centuries ago? 
• should libraries, museums, archive centers digitize their whole collection?
• what about patrons who are homeless or are undocumented immigrants? 

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Our classes also had several projects.

As you may see from the earlier screenshot, we did an e-portfolio, highlighting our academic and professional career.

The e-portfolio is at  http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pwegesen/index.html
(the www2 that you see are websites reserved for UH faculty and students)

screenshot from the e-portfolio home page

The e-portfolio can also list projects. Uploading certain types of files (ie Word documents, power-points,  pdf's) to the www2.hawaii.edu  websites is an extremely tedious process, so I decided to try uploading them to a WordPress page and a Wix page. Wix is superior to Word Press in my humble opinion, so here's the link to my Wix page.

 http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis

screenshot from my Wix page

http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis

And the projects I did for this class were

• the career study and personal objective
• presentation on an institution (for me, it was on Manoa Public Library)
• presentation on an ethical dillemma (mines was on shelving and labeling)

Check them out at  http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis#!lis-610-projects/cvkl

http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis#!lis-610-projects/cvkl

screenshot from the LIS 610 projects page

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The other class I took was LIS 611: Intellectual Freedom

Basically, intellectual freedom means the freedom of thought and freedom to express a thought!

Most of this class focused on intellectual freedom as it relates to the library setting, but we also explored intellectual freedom from a more broader perspective as well.

Intellectual freedom issues relating to the library setting includes

• age restrictions on library materials
• collection of diverse viewpoints within the library collection
• who shall be allowed to use exhibit space and meeting rooms within libraries
• how much privacy shall a patron expect when searching materials in a library
• how shall libraries protect patron privacy
• internet use policy
• USA PATRIOT Act and how it allows government to secretly collect patron's records

Those are things that any modern U.S. librarian can relate to. 

However, there are extremely serious backlashes against intellectual freedom that has occurred in the world through various times in history. 

The following situations were discussed in this class

• Nazi's destruction of Jewish and Polish materials
• Authorities confiscating and destroying personal book collections in Cambodia (Pol Pot's era) and Afghanistan (Taliban era).
• Destruction of rival religious institutes by religious fanatics in India and Sri Lanka
• Anti-apartheid protesters destroying a South African historical institute located in the Netherlands (even though that same institute wasn't a pro-apartheid institute)
• Looting of libraries, museums and archives in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was overthrown. (but hey, at least the Oil Ministry headquarters were guarded)  

All of that (and more) were covered in the professor's own book "Burning Books and Leveling Libraries". 

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~knuth/publications.html#books

The professor also wrote another book (not covered in this class, but was mentioned in class) called "Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century" which focused on government's censorship of libraries and other sources of information. 

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The students in the class also did various presentations on various intellectual freedom issues incluing

• flag burning
• pornography
• indigenous intellectual property
• government spying and secrecy
• reactions to anti-Islamic cartoons
• violent & extreme music lyrics (this was my topic of presentation) 

As you can tell, this is a great class for those who are interested in sociological, political and historical issues. 

This class was an elective course that doesn't come every semester. The professor is about to retire next year, but I hope this class will be available to future generations of LIS students. 

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Here's the projects page for that class. 

http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis#!lis-611-projects/cm2r

 http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis#!lis-611-projects/cm2r

partial screenshot of LIS 611 projects page

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Special activities

Being in the LIS programs, I was able to take part in some special activities. I wasn't able to do all that was offered, but I did a few including

a) Guest speakers :

• Ms Kanno from the Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) came last week to discuss job opportunities and the hiring process for Hawaii's public library system. 

b) Volunteer activities

I was able to help out Children and Youth Day (10/06/2013) which took place on the lawns next to the State Capitol. I was assisting the table sponsored by the Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS).  That table gave out brochures, and had some fun, games and prizes for the kids. I helped out with the matching game where the kids matched a book cover with the title of the book. The kids had multiple chances to win a prize (pencils, snacks, etc.).  I know public libraries do similar fun activities for the kids year round. This is something I want to be a part of after I earn my LIS degree. 

c) Banned Books week

LIS students gathered to talk about various books that have been banned from various public and school libraries. Those books included the Harry Potter books, Mark Twain books,  as well as other juvenille fiction like "Catcher in the Rye" and "The Chocolate War".

d) poster contest presentations

I didn't take part in the poster contest, I did attend the presentation and saw what the other students were interested in researching. Their interests included digitization, archival presentation, and cataloging of indigenous materials.

e) banquet

There was the end of the semester banquet to honor the latest graduates.  It was at the ballroom   on the 5th floor of the Japanese Cultural Center.  There were short speeches and words of recognition. There was dinner and cake.

My favorite part was talking to some of the new graduates that were in my LIS classes to congratulate them, thank them and share a few memories.

Some had jobs lined up, others just want a break before diving in to the job market. Good luck to all of them.
 
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There was less people at this semester's banquet as compared to the Spring 2013 banquet. Some on the list of graduates didn't show up! They missed out on a major life experience. I truly believe that students need to go to their final banquets and graduation ceremony, and that the only excuse for not going should be a severe emergency (it happens).

You don't always have another chance to say goodbye to the people who were with you during your time on campus, so if you have a chance to go, then go!

screeching halt

Now, I have finally finished all my projects for this semester   :)

This past few weeks was all adrenaline as I balanced my LIS projects with work and free time.

Now all that adrenaline has come to a screeching halt!


No new papers, power-points, readings, or class-related online discussions for the next 4 weeks.


Substitute teaching assignments will decline as the winter holiday season approaches.


But it's not all free time since I have rejoined the Macy's recovery team for the holiday season.  Recovery  in Macy's language is recovering the sales floor from all the mess the customers left behind as they look through all the clothes.  It's basically re-organizing stuff on the sales floor. I love to organize stuff and I'm glad to be doing it again.

As for free time, I will have to set aside time to

• re-organize my paper collection
• spend more time on the bike again :)
• spend some time working out at the YMCA
• and of course, to write blog posts I have planned but didn't have time to write. 

 

Nelson Mandela

Last week Thursday (12/5/2013), one of the greatest historical figures Nelson Mandela, has passed away.

I have talked about Nelson Mandela in a blog post in 2010, which was officially 2 decades after Mandela was released from prison

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/02/nelson-mandela-20-years-later.html

20 years ago, South African President Nelson Mandela was released from prison. He was in prison for 27 years for opposing the apartheid regime in South Africa. During the apartheid era, the natives of South Africa weren't allowed to vote, and lived under the same types of racist segregation laws that Martin Luther King protested against in the United States!

He later became the President of South Africa.

1) A historical background

Around the 1500's -1800's, the Europeans were looking for new lands to conquer. They conquered the Americas, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and large parts of Africa and Asia!

While the Europeans conquered major parts of Africa, they didn't send much people to settle there! Most Europeans had no desire to live in the jungles or deserts which covered large chunks of Africa.

However, South Africa was far below the equator and had a lot of good farmland. So the Dutch, and later the British settled there! Those 2 European groups even fought over land the African groups settled in centuries before!

The Europeans who conquered South Africa wanted all the good farmland to themselves. They also kept all the well-kept suburban lands to themselves.

They didn't allow the native South Africans to vote, or to enter European-dominated neighborhoods. Just like the Jim Crow laws in the southeastern US, those of African and European ancestry had to use separate facilities, attend separate schools, and couldn't marry each other!

Many native South Africans got tired of that. Nelson Mandela became a leader of the protest movement.

In 1962, Mandela was convicted of treason!

During the 1980's, after decades of struggle, the anti-apartheid protests have gotten more violent. Many felt non-violence has gotten them nowhere! The police has gotten more brutal! The rest of the world watched in horror, as South Africa was increasingly isolated from the rest of the world!

It got to the point where many white South Africans feared that if black South Africans don't get equal rights, things will get even more violent.

In 1990, South Africa had a new president F.W. De Klerk. Though he was once an apartheid supporter, he felt that things would get worse if apartheid was to continue.

FW De Klerk decided to release Mandela and all other political prisoners. Apartheid laws were repealed. All South African adults had gotten the right to vote!

1994 had the first multi-racial elections. Nelson Mandela won the presidential election. He was the 1st native South African President.

2) Some South Africans of European ancestry feared what would happen if the native South Africans took over.

In Zimbabwe, a country just north of South Africa, the British settlers and their descendants had apartheid laws there as well. Robert Mugabe led the armed resistance against white-domination of Zimbabwe.

When he became president of Zimbabwe, Mugabe tolerated and encouraged hate crimes against citizens of European ancestry. Mugabe took property away from European-descendants.

It was totally different under Nelson Mandela! Mandela wanted a multi-racial democracy! He wanted everyone to get along. He understood that South Africans of European ancestry didn't chose to have ancestors who stole African lands!

While Zimbabwe disintegrated under Mugabe, South Africa had prospered under Mandela.

While Mugabe wants to be Zimbabwe's dictator for life, Nelson Mandela chose not to run for re-election in 1999. He wanted the next generation to continue democracy in South Africa.

There are challenges in South Africa. It has one of the highest AIDS rate in the world. It does have a violent crime problem.

But things could easily have gotten worse. This is why leadership matters. Robert Mugabe is all about hate, grudges, grievances and revenge. Nelson Mandela is all about unity, tolerance, and reconciliation.

Also in 2010, I wrote a blog post about the World Cup that took place in South Africa, and how it improved the world's perception not only of South Africa, but Africa in general

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/07/world-cup-2010.html

Some doubted whether South Africa could be a good host to the World Cup!

There were delays in construction of many needed facilities!

There was the worldwide economic crisis!

There were concerns about the high crime in South Africa. Would it be safe enough for the fans?

The verdict is now in! The facilities were built in time, and there has been no violent incidents surrounding the games! There weren't many reports of fans getting robbed in the streets, nor were there any riots from the fans!

It was a major public relations victory, not just for South Africa, but for all of Africa in general!

It was a great show for a country that 2 decades ago, was a segregated country in which the descendant of European conquerors once denied basic civil liberties to the native population! It was a great show for a country that overcame its shameful past, and show a happy, united front where all its citizens can celebrate!

It was also great show for the continent of Africa. For too many outside of Africa, Africa is portrayed as a land of war, starvation, corruption, disease and poverty. THERE'S A LOT MORE TO AFRICA THAN THAT! Not every African country is at war, not every African is starving, not every African is poor! There's African entrepreneurs, Africans who can afford the same luxuries the average US citizen has! There's African cities with a great nightlife! There's many styles of African celebrations! While this should be common sense already, too many of the TV portrayals show the negative side of Africa! While people should be aware of the negatives occurring there, it shouldn't be the only thing people know about Africa!

This was why the World Cup 2010 was great for Africa's reputation! People from outside of Africa got to the see the African styles of celebrations, some of their great cities, and just seeing them have a good time! They see that Africa that isn't always at war, Africa that doesn't only have starving children begging for another day.

Most people in the world honored Nelson Mandela on their facebook/twitter/blog pages when the news came in.

However, there were still haters out there, most of them screaming that Mandela was a communist. They posted pictures of Nelson Mandela standing next to Fidel Castro. Yeah, Fidel Castro aided Mandela during his struggle against apartheid, but you know what? Joseph Stalin aided the U.S. against Hitler in WW2. The corrupt French monarchy assisted the Founding Father against the British rulers. When you're in a battle, sometimes you take help from whoever will help, even if they're not the most moral people around.

When Mandela took power, he embraced free markets, realizing that socialism has ruined other post-colonial African societies like Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe. Capitalist investments increased when Nelson Mandela took control of South Africa, and it has become one of the rising economic powers.

Now, are there struggles in South Africa. Of course. Poverty hasn't been eliminated, and the crime and AIDS statistic are too high. Those things were already problems during the apartheid regime, and they don't go away over-night. Improvements on those things take decades. But any reasonable person can say that Nelson Mandela prevented his country from going the route of nearby Zimbabwe, which had a similar colonial history, but a much worse post-colonial leader Robert Mugabe.

Former Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich praised Nelson Mandela in his website as well as his facebook page. He had angry response from the "Mandela's a communist" conspiracy crew.

Here is Newt Gingrich's response.

http://www.gingrichproductions.com/2013/12/what-would-you-have-done-nelson-mandela-and-american-conservatives/

Yesterday I issued a heartfelt and personal statement about the passing of President Nelson Mandela. I said that his family and his country would be in my prayers and Callista’s prayers.

I was surprised by the hostility and vehemence of some of the people who reacted to me saying a kind word about a unique historic figure.

So let me say to those conservatives who don’t want to honor Nelson Mandela, what would you have done?

Mandela was faced with a vicious apartheid regime that eliminated all rights for blacks and gave them no hope for the future. This was a regime which used secret police, prisons and military force to crush all efforts at seeking freedom by blacks.

What would you have done faced with that crushing government?

What would you do here in America if you had that kind of oppression?

Some of the people who are most opposed to oppression from Washington attack Mandela when he was opposed to oppression in his own country.

After years of preaching non-violence, using the political system, making his case as a defendant in court, Mandela resorted to violence against a government that was ruthless and violent in its suppression of free speech.

As Americans we celebrate the farmers at Lexington and Concord who used force to oppose British tyranny. We praise George Washington for spending eight years in the field fighting the British Army’s dictatorial assault on our freedom.

Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote and the Continental Congress adopted that “all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Doesn’t this apply to Nelson Mandela and his people?

Some conservatives say, ah, but he was a communist.

Actually Mandela was raised in a Methodist school, was a devout Christian, turned to communism in desperation only after South Africa was taken over by an extraordinarily racist government determined to eliminate all rights for blacks.

I would ask of his critics: where were some of these conservatives as allies against tyranny? Where were the masses of conservatives opposing Apartheid? In a desperate struggle against an overpowering government, you accept the allies you have just as Washington was grateful for a French monarchy helping him defeat the British.

Finally, if you had been imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of them in a cell eight foot by seven foot, how do you think you would have emerged? Would you have been angry? Would you have been bitter?

Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison as an astonishingly wise, patient, and compassionate person.

He called for reconciliation among the races. He invited his prison guard to sit in the front row at his inauguration as President. In effect he said to the entire country, “If I can forgive the man who imprisoned me, surely you can forgive your neighbors.”

Far from behaving like a communist, President Mandela reassured businesses that they could invest in South Africa and grow in South Africa. He had learned that jobs come from job creators.

I was very privileged to be able to meet with President Mandela and present the Congressional Medal of Freedom. As much as any person in our lifetime he had earned our respect and our recognition.

Before you criticize him, ask yourself, what would you have done in his circumstances?

AMEN to that!

Same-sex marriage in Hawaii

This past month, I was busy working on LIS projects at UH-Manoa that I didn't have time to blog about as much stuff as I wanted to.

A major issue at the time was the Hawaii legislature holding a special session to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii.

It passed and marriage licenses will start being issue this coming Monday (December 2).


I did record 2 videos for YouTube on this topic which you can watch at

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Same sex marriage, Individual Freedom and Religious Freedom 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN_thOT6ga8

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  Speech on Homophobia  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_jAgUTK_g

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And another video, this time from a testimony to the legislature by geneticist Dean Hamer telling them that sexual orientation is something you're born with.  Conservative legislator Bob McDermott asked what he thought would be a slick question to through Dean Hamer off guard. Dean Hamer hit a homerun with his answer. You can view it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8H5hJz52E

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And now excerpts from a previous blog post on the same-sex marriage issue http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/05/obama-evolution-and-same-sex-marriage.html

I was NEVER a religious conservative. I had NEVER agreed with them on sex-ed, birth control, abortion, porn, or most other sexual issues.

I was NEVER raised in a religious conservative home! While my extended family had a mix of Catholics and Mormons, my parents never raised us in a religious tradition. Yes, they had books on spirituality. Yes, they had belief in a higher power, but they also believe that we shall find our own spiritual path instead of being force-fed religion from an early age!

However, when I found out about how homosexuals got their pleasure, my first reaction was "EWWWWW!" and "Yuck".  That's probably the reaction of most straight male teenagers, regardless of whether they grew up in a religious or non-religious home!  And for most of us, this led to negative feelings about homosexuals.

This is where mature proper guidance and exposure to information comes in. Me and my older brother were making negative comments about gays, and my mother would not tolerate that! My father was totally silent on the issue. My mother emphasized that we should respect others even if they were different.  My mother was right!

Meanwhile, in high school, I would spend a lot of time in the library reading books about controversial issues. They ranged from gang violence, racism, drug addiction, colonialism, war, you name it! I was becoming an amateur sociologist before I even know what a sociologist was.

I also read books dealing with sex and gender. We're not just talking "Playboy" (though our past-times did include watching and reading such stuff at friend's homes when the adults weren't around). I'm talking about books on issues like sexual harrassment, sexual abuse, STDs, and then sexual orientation.

This was when I learned the horrible reality of what homosexuals had to go through growing up.  Feeling like crap because while their peers are happily checking out the other gender, they felt alone and isolated because they find themselves being attracted to "the wrong gender". And even worse, their peers are making negative remarks about those "attracted to the wrong gender". And many gay teens wouldn't want to publicly admit how they really feel, because they KNOW they'll never see the end of peer abuse!  This leads to self-hate and suicide!

YIKES!  All the guilt I felt now, knowing that! All the guilt now because I once debated against same-sex marriage in a social studies class with homophobic jokes. I could've been insulting the very heart of my peers and not even know it!

Not easy to live with that!

and more 

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Later, I found a shocking revelation about one of my uncles. I would call him "Uncle Pat". He was my mom's sister. I would always enjoy long conversations with Uncle Pat about my topics, and I considered him one of my favorite relatives. He was a very friendly guy.

He was also having health issues. I kept hearing about Uncle Pat having diabetes. However, I later remembered one time I was in my grandma's home, the topic of Uncle Pat came up. She mentioned about Uncle Pat having HIV.  My mind was "wait a minute, everyone kept mentioning diabetes". Then my mind became curious, so I asked grandma "how did he get it?". Then she told the truth --- he got it from one of his friends that I had vaguely heard about it!

That's how I learned the truth about Uncle Pat, something that was kept secret from many relatives. I didn't even know he was homosexual until that conversation with grandma.  He was never a cross dresser, never wore stereotypical feminine colors, didn't limp his wrists, didn't talk like those stereotypical "mahus" that everyone kept joking about!

I learned from my mother that this was something Uncle Pat was struggling with for decades. She was always the closest sibling to Uncle Pat, and this was why my mother was against homophobia. At first, my grandma wasn't happy when she learned about Uncle Pat's sexual orientation. My grandma did grow up in a traditional Catholic family. My Uncle Pat then told my grandma straight up "do you think I like being this way?" My grandma then understood.

Uncle Pat died from AIDS related illness in 2002!  I had long conversations with my mom and my grandma about Uncle Pat and the struggles he went through. My mother said "very few will ever understand the struggles Uncle Pat went through".

Uncle Pat said before his death that he didn't want a funeral. We respected his wishes. Though if he did have a funeral, I would have wanted to make a speech to honor him.

It is now a decade later. It is still emotionally hard thinking about this.  I feel very bad about saying things that would have offended Uncle Pat and millions like him who struggle with having to live a secret life because many people are mean-spirited about those with different sexual orientations.

Now, many people might say "I don't hate the LGBT, but I won't be comfortable seeing 2 men or 2 women holding hands or kissing".

You know what? You'll eventually get used to seeing it!

It's their business, not yours!

How Salon.com lost it's way

Since 1995, Salon has been a prominent website covering current events, social issues, pop culture, the arts, sexuality, and a whole bunch of other things.

screenshot from Salon.com

Salons logo

It has always been a predominantly liberal website, and has been my daily choice to check out the latest in center-left though.  

(For my daily choice to check the latest in center-right thought, I usually check Townhall.com. For my daily choice to check the latest in libertarian thought, I usually check Reason.com. I also check TheNation.com (far-left website) and WorldNetDaily.com (far-right website) on a usual basis. So yeah, I have a balanced diet of socio-political thought in my daily Internet adventures)

Back to the main topic of this blog post  ---- Salon has always had a mix of great insightful articles as well as cliche-ridden junk.

However, there has been more cliche-ridden junk than usual the last few months.

 For example, there is Brittney Cooper, who thinks that African-American dominated musical genres shouldn't be touched by "non-blacks".

For example, her analysis of the recent American Music Awards.

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/26/the_politics_of_rihanna%E2%80%99s_hair_her_ama_do_was_a_powerful_form_of_resistance/

The AMAs haven’t been particularly good on this point in a long time, which is why it is not one of the major shows that I watch. But last night, Justin Timberlake won for best soul/R&B album in a category that featured him, Robin Thicke and Rihanna, and Macklemore won for best hip-hop album, just as he did at the VMAs.

When Sarah Silverman made a quip about the category being dominated by two white guys and a Caribbean artist, Justin, upon winning, remarked that Silverman’s remarks constituted the first time that he had ever felt “racially profiled.”

Race analysis #FAIL, JT. Please don’t make it hard for me to like your music. It’s already hard to admit I like it, since your musical career has relied on the appropriation of a black sound and the requisite awarding of cookies because you are a white boy who does it well.

I know some folks consider it the triumph of multicultural America that white artists are now winning for making music in categories traditionally reserved for black artists. I am far less optimistic about this American post-racial project, and wonder if the dominance of Macklemore and Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke signal yet two more black musical forms that are about to go the way of rock ‘n’ roll.

Notice what I highlighted in  red. This is a bunch of racist garbage. But because Brittney Cooper is African-American, very few people will have the guts to call her a racist and a cultural segregationist. But she is!

Salon.com

Brittney Cooper

racist, cultural segregationist

Here is my responses to Ms. Cooper (with slight edits for grammar)

Britney Cooper is a racist prick! I mean what other kind of person would be upset at Macklemore winning an award in his own genre?

What other kind of person would be upset at the song "Same Love" winning an award? I would go as far as saying that I put "Same Love" at the same level as Grandmaster Flash "Message", Queen Latifah "UNITY",  2pac "Keep Ya Head Up" and "Dear Mama" as among the most powerful message songs in the rap genre. Anyone who doesn't understand that is either  a racist or a homophobe. I put Brittney Cooper as a racist.

 And for Britney Cooper to say this about Justin Timberlake "It’s already hard to admit I like it, since your musical career has relied on the appropriation of a black sound and the requisite awarding of cookies because you are a white boy who does it well" is EQUIVALENT TO A WHITE SUPREMACIST SAYING  "Tiger Wood gets too much attention for being a black man in a white game"

Britney Cooper is a racist prick, and we need more people to have the guts to say so!

I also wrote this

Britney Cooper, let's give you a true sense of context. The reason why Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke and Macklemore adapt hip-hop/R&B is THE SAME EXACT REASONS for the following situations

- 1800's Hawaiians noticing a bunch of Portuguese laborers playing a mini-guitar and think it's cool. The Hawaiians start playing that instrument and call it a "ukulele" (yeah, that's right, there were ZERO ukuleles in Hawaii before any Europeans came)

- 2000's era South Koreans winning break dance competitions and rapping along with EDM (German invention) and dancing like a cowboy (which by the way are what the Spanish brought to the Americas)

- African Americans in Louisiana playing European instruments (ie, trumpets, saxophones, etc) and starting a new genre called jazz!

- A whole bunch of European-Americans practicing yoga (from India) and martial arts (from East Asia) and practicing Christianity (from the Middle East)


These are all signs of GLOBALIZATION! Cultures influence each other! People adapt other cultural things to the point where they become a part of everyday life.

But Britney Cooper doesn't understand that! Britney Cooper wants cultural segregation! She cries about  "Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and Macklemore stealing my culture" nevermind the same exact s__t  she is saying was said about the Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, House of Pain and Eminem AGES AGO!  Their presence has NEVER erased the overwhelming African-American dominance of hip-hop so why does RACIST PRICK Britney Cooper think it will happen with the presence of Macklemore?

In another article, Britney Cooper complained about European-American feminists complain that Michelle Obama isn't pushing the feminist agenda hard enough.

My opinion is that Michelle Obama is less interested in pursuing gender grievances and more interested in promoting healthy eating and reducing the racial gaps in education.

But Britney Cooper played the silly race card game

 http://www.salon.com/2013/11/29/lay_off_michelle_obama_why_white_feminists_need_to_lean_back/

 And this is where it becomes challenging for me. I am not here for the facile arguments from white feminists about what Michelle Obama is supposed to represent for all women. Until these mainstream white feminists really grapple with the history of racism and the ways it has shaped all of our performances of gender, then, frankly, I think they should be quiet.

Those white feminsts Cooper is referring to (Michelle Cottle, Linda Hirshman) were criticizing Michelle Obama as an individual woman. OMG!!!

Here is my comment on all this

Britney Cooper is a racist prick who thinks that European-American INDIVIDUALS should refrain from judging African-Americans INDIVIDUALS on "content of character".

In other words, Britney Cooper goes against Martin Luther King's dream!

Because to Britney Cooper, people are not individuals, people are member of groups based on genetics.

And here is Linda Hirshman's response to Brittney Cooper's nonsense

Linda Hirshman

Hi, I'm the Linda Hirshman (no C in Hirshman)  who Michelle Cottle interviewed for her piece on the FLOTUS. I'll defend to the death Salon's right to publish any argument, however incoherent. There are two things that writers of any race or ethnicity, however, should not ever do.

One, mistakenly attribute a source's comment to the writer. I said Michelle Obama's situation was "treacherous;" Michelle Cottle did not say it. Professor Cooper, that's what quotation marks in a written piece mean. They mean the writer is quoting from the source, usually the one in the paragraph where the quote appears. That would  be me. "Linda Hirshman . . . she posits" would be a dead giveaway right before the "treacherous" quotation appears. Since you open your point about ME  with my failure to, and Cottle's merit in, recognizing  the "treacherous" spot Michelle Obama is in, the mistake is not trivial; it is central to your conclusion. In the future you might try to read the portion of a text you're resting your point on just a teeny bit more carefully before making the (entirely erroneous) point.

Two, misspell your subject's name. Misspelling the name of the person you're writing about bespeaks a certain loose relationship with facts in general. That's why professional journalists always make such a point about getting you to spell your name when they interview you.  See above point regarding who said "treacherous spot" for more evidence of same. 

Of course, under your ground rules, you should not be writing about me at all. After all, how would you know what a white woman knows about what it's like to be a black woman?

 Here is more race-baiting cliched nonsense that has been on Salon lately

www.salon.com/2013/11/25/katy_perry_offends_in_geisha_costume_at_ama_performance/

That garbage editorial complained about Katy Perry wearing a Japanese costume at a performance

And my responses

So, if a non-white person wears Western clothing, is that person being a racist?

Seriously, I AM TIRED OF THIS "if you wear another culture's clothing, you're a racist" NONSENSE!

and

"Cultural appropriation"? You mean like the time a South Korean vocalist used EDM  beats (a German invention) and  rap (African-American vocalist style) to make a worldwide hit!

Look, people, the world is getting more integrated! That means a South Korean guy is going to use EDM and hip-hop, and a European-American woman will dress in Japanese clothes! 

GET OVER IT ALREADY!

WORLDWIDE INTEGRATION FOREVER!

and more nonsense at

www.salon.com/2013/11/18/hip_hop_doesnt_need_another_white_savior/

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/14/lily_allen_responds_to_criticism_over_hard_out_here_i%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99m_not_going_to_apologize/

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/18/lady_gaga_and_r_kellys_depressing_sex_show_on_saturday_night_live/

I have posted comments on all those listed articles.

These are silly articles and  they are paranoid nonsense written by fools who allow their personal traumas to prevent them from looking at the world rationally! (like Brittney Cooper)


Those articles all show signs of the latest batch of Salon writers truly don't understand globalization and the mixing of cultures.

Social justice is NOT about getting pissy over "white people copy non-white styles" because ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE COPY OTHER PEOPLE'S STYLES!  

This is reality of the globalized world!

Sadly, the new Salon writers are not willing to understand such things!

----- 
And more garbage on Salon  

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/15/this_google_ad_doesnt_get_relations_between_india_and_pakistan

The author of this garbage is upset that a Google ad, which celebrated a reunion between an elderly Indian and an elderly Pakistani who were separated after the 1947 partition, wasn't realistically fatalistic enough. The author then asked a stupid question  --- Until then, however, just like India and Pakistan posture about making peace, one has to wonder if Google isn’t indulging a little fantasy as well.

My response

,QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE:  "one has to wonder if Google isn’t indulging a little fantasy as well."

 MY RESPONSE: Duh, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF MOST ADVERTISING OUT THERE! DUH!    DUH times a million

and 

The author of this article is one of those chumps who hates fiction stories with happy endings because to them "happy endings aren't realistic" and therefore should never exist in fiction.
Look, we all heard stories of friends/lovers who survived the Holocaust but never seen each other for decades until old age. Do most Holocaust survivors experience such joy?No, but THAT IS WHY THOSE RARE STORIES OF SURVIVORS RE-UNITING BRING HEART-WARMING JOY!  

 When people have extremely unlikely reunions, MOST OF US (except pessimist chumps like Hamna Zubair) ARE HAPPY FOR THE RARE PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE SUCH JOY!

 But the "realistic" killjoys like Zubair, nobody should be allowed to experience such rare joy (even in fictional ads) unless everyone experiences it! 

"Realistic" killjoys like Zubair thinks every FICTION story should have a sad ending! Well, screw that mentality!

And here's more comments  in response to the same article

Serai1 Nov 15, 2013

My gods, you mean there's a commercial that isn't realistic?  I'm SHOCKED, I tell you!  SHOCKED!

Also, India has just instituted on-arrival visas for Pakistani senior citizens.  So maybe you should do a little research before playing the authority on international relations.

 

muslimgirlpower

This ad has proved popular with desis (people of South Asian background) around the globe because it speaks to our desire to heal the rift of 1947. To reunite across borders. Google seems to have done its market research very well, to judge from the response that the ad has received from people who know very well about the difficulties in obtaining Indian visas for Pakistani citizens.  Humna Zubair, on the other hand, does not seem to have researched this article very well at all - even to the extent of logging onto facebook.

---------------

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/25/robin_thicke_really_is_that_gross/

The author of this garbage is upset at Robin Thicke for saying words that were obviously not meant to be taken literally!

Here are the great comments

TLow Oct 29, 2013

I will admit I am not exactly an expert in Robin Thicke's life and history of public statements, but I would like to point out that no actual, non-internet-justice-warrior human being in the real world would find any of the things mentioned in this article remotely "shudder worthy."
Oh gee his dad told him not to ogle girls when he was 12. Also, he used the word "had" to mean "slept with," which no one respectable has ever, ever done. Williams, please fan me a little before I faint.

Ellemm Oct 25, 2013

Oh, stop the presses! So he sounds like a creep; so do about 70 percent of stars like him. We wouldn't want to slut-shame him or deny him his *agency,* would we? Why do we care?

Trog Oct 25, 2013

@Ellemm Stud-shame him?

pablo wegesend Oct 25, 2013

Why does anyone take Robin Thicke's words literally?

Thanksgiving blog post

Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving!

I dont have time to write much here, since this is crunch time when it comes to my LIS classes at UH-Manoa. There are projects, presentations, web-pages and readings to finish up!

But hey, that's one thing for me to be thankful. I'm thankful that I am in the Library and Information Science (LIS) program at UH-Manoa. It gives me a goal, a motivation, a purpose in life! Plus, opportunities to learn new skills, new ideas, and meet new people!  Plus, I get to use their computer lab :)

Plus, being at UH-Manoa gives me an opportunity to enjoy the green scenery as well as campus activities.

-----

As for other things I am thankful for in my life (ie. family, work, etc.), here is a repeat from last year's Thanksgiving blog post

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-blog-post.html

1) Family


This year, I felt I had greatly improved relations with my family


In the past, I held a lot of anger some of the bad decisions my parents have made when I was growing up.  However, in the past few years, I have written them letters on how their bad decisions have hurt me in a negative way. 

This is something I encourage all you adults to do ASAP, before your parents pass away.  Some of the false prophets of wisdom will tell you to "just let it go", but "letting go" without telling your parents how you truly feel is NOT a sign of wisdom, it's a sign of cowardice!

But now that I pretty much told them everything that has been annoying me all these years, my relations with my parents have dramatically improved!

By truly communicating how I felt, my parent got some important feedback. And I have learned that their past bad decisions was more of good intentions gone wrong instead of bad decisions on purpose.

But the main thing now is that I have been getting along with my parents great this year. 

I do recognize that in many ways, my parents have done more to help me than they really needed to.

I also recognize that other people had a worse family upbringing than mine.

I was lucky to have both parents raising me, while others have been abandoned by deadbeat parents way too early in their life.

I was lucky to have parents who were employed, while others had parents who were unemployed (or under-employed) and therefore struggled to provide the life's neccessities.

I was lucky to have parents who understood the importance of education and had books in the home, whereas others had parents who were totally negligent on their kid's education.

I was lucky to have parents who valued cultural diversity, whereas others had parents who are bigots.

I was lucky to have parents who valued spirituality without forcing a religious belief on me, whereas others had parents who are religious fanatics.

I am also lucky that I had parents who learned from their mistakes, whereas others had parents who acted like they did nothing wrong!


I can now say my parents are good people who have "bailed me out" during the times I was struggling to find work. 


And also, my family always have plenty of food for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings!  :)  :)    :)    :)

I sure can't wait :)    :)   :)   :)   :)


2) Employment

I may not be a millionaire, nor am I even anywhere close to an upper-middle-class lifestyle.



My main job is working as a substitute teacher, with both the public and private schools.

(2013 note: this is a great job to go along with being a graduate student. You can choose from the available sub jobs and skip on some if you need study time. Plus, it does pay more than most "student jobs" on the UH campus )

Some people have a hard time finding a job.  I know people who said they've been unemployed longer than the 99-week limit for unemployment benefits! YIKES!!!

So I'm grateful to have a sub teacher job as well as finding some side jobs.




3) Having basic neccessities

Being employed as allowed me to have basic neccessities such as shelter, running water, working toilets, food, electricity and a bus pass.

Millions of people worldwide (and even some here in Hawaii) don't even have access to basic neccessities.  

Even worse, some people are living in war zones, which makes it even harder for food and other supplies to be shipped and readily available.

Right now, there are wars going on in Congo, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza and Syria. It is hard for me to imagine living under such conditions.

So anytime I'm feeling stressed and annoyed, I have remind myself that those people would love to trade places with me.


4) Some luxuries

I'm definitely not living the life of  mega-luxury.

However, I'm grateful for having such minor luxuries like a bike, cell phone YMCA membership, a stereo system, a matress and 2 bookshelves.

I also have access to public services like the bus and the libraries.

(2013 note: plus finally having a smartphone! My BlackBerry Q10 is one of the most under-rated gadgets of all time. check out the post  http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/10/adventures-on-my-new-smartphone.html

5)  Living in the Internet Age

And with the Internet Age, I have easy access to information.

And not just with Google and Wikipedia.

I can use YouTube to listen to old speeches and classic songs.

I can use my social network to find some pretty cool information.

I can keep in contact with former classmates, former co-workers and  distant relatives with Facebook.

And of course, I am thankful for Blogger, which has allowed me to express my thoughts to the world.   With my blog, I can tell everyone my side of the story and  share it with my facebook friends :)

(2013 note : and now that I got a smartphone, I can easily access internet information when I'm outdoors, on the bus, or at home. )


I'm sure I got more to be thankful for, but time is running out for me!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

And good luck to those who have to work tomorrow.

A productive incentive for the homeless

(note: I have been very busy with major projects for my LIS @ UH-Manoa, so I haven't had as much time as I would like to write my blog posts. But this should be a good short one).


Here in Hawaii, a state legislator Tom Brewer has been taking the law into his own hands by confiscating shopping carts, returning the labeled ones to the stores, and destroying the ones where the label was either broken or faded beyond recognition.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20131118__Lawmaker_takes_on_shopping_carts.html

There has been a backlash against the homeless presence. But where do the homeless go?

Some are down-on-the luck guys who just been laid off and can't make ends meet.

Others are long-term homeless who haven't worked in years (or decades).

Some want the police to harass them out of existence, chasing them out of parks, sidewalks and other places.

Others have a better solution.

One of my facebook friends mentioned this

pay the homeless to collect trash. Give them free living space in a shelter and pay them to clean up trash. Pay them state wages as well.

That is one way to give the homeless a job, one way to get people to pick up the trash. Win-win situation

I also believe that if the homeless want to live in the parks, then they can stay if they help keep the parks clean.  They can

- pick up litter
- paint over graffiti
- scrape gum
- water plants
- mop bathrooms


I mean who better to help keep the parks clean than those who live there. Give them incentive to work and do something productive.

If they refuse, then they can't sleep-over. Nothing comes for free.


Now, will that idea solve all the problems. No, but it's a start!