Catch another fine upcoming performance by The Victor Lin Trio at The Calhoun School: 433 West End Ave (at 81st St) New York City.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD
Showtimes at 7pm and 9pm
Featuring
Victor Lin, piano
Phil Kuehn, bass
Joe Saylor, drums
and special guests!
Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors
RSVP here: www.calhoun.org/page.cfm?p=1953
Related Post:
Victor Lin CD Release Party
So I missed posting anything on Earth Day last week but I wanted to highlight a part of the Q conference that I was blessed to experience. We each had an opportunity to participate in what was called a Learning Journey. These were experiences throughout the city where we can learn how to engage culture. I was fortunate to journey with 50 other leaders to experience Sustainable South Bronx [SSBX], an environmental justice project created by Majora Carter to “Green the Ghetto. They’ve really made an impact in the community and address real needs. They’ve installed about 4 green roofs on buildings which has generated green collar jobs as well as providing a way to reduce the temperature below the roofs for residents which further reduce air condition needs. SSBX is one of the leaders of the green collar revolution.
When we arrived at Hunts Point we hiked up many flights of stairs to a roof that had been greened. Our guide explained how SSBX gave him a chance when no one else would because of his record. Now he loves horticulture and being green. He’s found a purpose for his life.
Apart from the green roofs the real impact has been Majora’s initial project, Hunts Point Riverside Park, the area’s first new park in 60 years. She was able get over $3 million in contributions and once where there was landfill is now two acres of green space for local residents to stroll, play and kayak on the water. The park is an amazing third place for the community.
What I find most exciting about SSBX is their ability to do something many others fail to do which is change culture and the way a community thinks. I was there with my friend Samuel Chez. We both grew up in Brooklyn in a different era (as if we were that old) and we were reminiscing about what it was like for us to grow up in the city. The thought of kids growing up in the ghetto having access to a park like this where they can learn to canoe left us both agreeing this is the real deal.
Links
• Fermi Project / Q co-founder Jeff Shinabarger shares his experience
WALK THE GREEN LINE
MAJORA CARTER: 5 QUESTIONS
• Charles Lee also was with us in this learning journey shares his thoughts.
• Sustainable South Bronx [SSBX] official site
• Watch Majora Carter’s TED Presentation
Here at The Q Conference by the Fermi Project in New York City for a few days.
Already heard from some amazing presenters and met some equally amazing change agents, innovators and doers disguised as people.
All I got to say so far is wow.
I’m getting so messed with here. My brain is struggling a bit after hearing from the mind of Francis Collins, author of The Language of God and director of the Human Genome Project.
Q: How can evolution and faith be reconciled?
Also I was pretty blown away by the passion and challenge of Bill McKibben.
Q: Can the church help make 350 a reality? Yea, it’s our problem.
Check out 350.org
Faced with the challenge of actually engaging culture directly was a panel on Christianity in a Pluralistic Society, featuring Veritas Forum, Socrates in the City, WorldFaith.
Tim Keller concludes the day doing his thing on Grace and the City
Don’t stay away from the city because of cowardice, ignorance, selfishness, comfort, etc…
I just stepped off a plane from LA hours ago and I’m headed to NYC for an event at OCM that will feature Acrobat, a band led by Andrew Au to cover U2 songs for the night, Peter Ong and myself to cover the intersection of faith, love and social justice.
“You broke the bonds and you loose the chains, carry the cross and all my shame, all my shame, you know I believe it…”
Link:
OCM Church: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
According to a recent aricle from the NYTimes, minorities now form majority in one-third of most-populous counties. That’s right, a whole lotta Asians.
Asians were the only major racial or ethnic group to record population gains in every county in the New York metropolitan region since 2005, according to recent census figures. Interestingly, the Hispanic population decreased.
From 2005 to 2006, the number of Asians increased by more than 10 percent in three New Jersey counties: Gloucester, Salem and Warren.
From July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, metropolitan Chicago edged out Honolulu in Asian population.
Whites are now in the minority in nearly one in 10 U.S. counties. Some of them aren’t too happy with the increasing diversity in our country. What year is this? Minorities have for a long time had large populations in the cities but now they’re spreading into the suburbs and beyond where many Whites moved to get away from the ails of the city. Change happens.
“The new melting pots are not large international gateways,” Professor Frey said, adding, “Rather, many are fast-growing suburbs themselves.
As a person who’s job is to be where the most people are to make the highest impact I used to think I needed to be in the cities exclusively because of population density. Being in New Jersey shown me otherwise. While I think I still need to be in the city for other reasons it would be wise to think strategically about the suburbs.
Some churches seem to be on top of that.
Who woulda thunk that Lansdale, Pa would have a growing Asian population? Just 21 miles north of Philly. Cornerstone Presbyterian is a growing Asian-American family church engaging that growing population. Lansdale? It has a population of 15,913 among which is 8% Asian. Neighbor, Montgomeryville also sports a hearty 8%.
Continue reading ‘The Asian Invasion and other minorities fast becoming the majority’
[updated] 
something i always anticipate greatly in nyc is the tribeca film festival. one of the films that i’ve been following that i would really like to see is west 32nd directed by michael kang starring john cho (of harold and kumar fame) and grace park (battlestar galactica, which i miss so much – the new season doesn’t start up again until 2008…grrrr). watch the trailer here.
here’s an excerpt from my boy won kim at adiversity interviewing michael kang.
What was your motivation for writing West 32nd? Do you think there could be a mainstream pull for this movie?
I co-wrote the script with Edmund Lee. We both felt like we had seen enough “Asian American” films that dealt with race, identity and politics through family dramas. Our hope was to write a movie that was entertaining while layered with things we were interested in about the Asian American community. For me, the character of John Kim (John Cho) was on one level a passport for the audience into this subculture of the Korean American experience, as well as a representative of my own experience as a 2nd generation Korean American who didn’t grow up in a Korean enclave. Ed and I often felt like the movies we had seen dealt with an insulated 2nd generation experience and we really wanted to explore the relationship between the 2nd and 1.5 generation and new immigrants. But first and foremost, we wanted to do this in a way that wasn’t academic. Choosing the crime drama genre made it possible to explore these issues without forsaking entertainment value.
At the heart of it, I think the film is very accessible to a non-Asian audience. It’s also a peek into a world that I haven’t seen on screen before. The story is about ambition and moral ambiguity; those themes transcend race. I hope that it has mainstream appeal. But you can never tell. I have no idea how non-Asians think. They may assume that it is a foreign film because it has so many Asians in it. I hope that they can get past that and realize that this is a uniquely American story.
the gates.central park.nyc :: 2.26.05
design 102 ::. design for life
i really appreciated all the great comments on my last post. lots of substance. it really got me going. here are some further thoughts in designing living – homes
design involves all of life to serve life
these days some communities are being built with openness and accessibility in mind. many of these architectural designs involve expansive windows that invite the world outside in. how would you like your family activities to be on display for all to see?
my good friend e. and her hubby just moved into a new dorm type apartment structure where they can easily peep into other people’s spaces from across, above, or below. now this may not make many people feel very comfortable. afterall, it goes against the design principles of modern suburbia that tend to separate, divide. people cherish their privacy. but what do we really have to hide? why do we hide especially when we are part of a “community”? during my stay here in jersey, i don’t know many people who care about their neighbors or even know who they are.
i grew up in a very italian part of brooklyn where everybody knew everybody. these older pizanos would sit outside on the sidewalk on summer afternoons just chillaxing. i saw them everyday on my way home from school. they watched me grow up. these fellas were even very protective of me, looking out for my safety and sometimes calling me out on my poor decisions or rejoicing in my achievements. that was a great supplement to my home-life. they cared for the neighborhood and those living in it.
the idea behind designing communities where everyone can see your family or individual business is about cultivating community responsibility. neighbors are to look out for their neighbors. it requires that people get involved in each other’s lives. it literally removes the walls and barriers that keep us from each other. the result should be a more secure, close and loving community. we like to hide behind our masks. we’d like for everyone to think that we have the picture-perfect family or perfect life. we know better today there’s much more behind those smiles in family portraits. we desire authenticity and acceptance.
in a recent conversation, it was asked, why don’t we live or like to live in glass houses? the answer — because people like to throw rocks, especially in the church. we like walls and darkness because we don’t want others to know everything in our lives. we need something to hide behind to show that we are better than we actually are. we’re afraid of being judged. our homes, our lives are fragile things. they must be handled with care.
taking church a step further ::.
the church needs to rethink its sense of architecture among other things. rather than asking people to go to “church”, invite them to see your home first. in other words, let them see how you live. between you and the people you hang with (e.g. fellowship, family), are you living in living together in redemptive practices of reconciliation, accountability, care and obedience? imagine what it would be like if your neighbors saw “church” happening in your open and accessible home? ++++++
movement 1 :: movement 2 :: movement 3
we need to rethink design/architecture/urban planning and its relationship to(1) being part of the Kingdom; and (2) being responsible stewards of creation. i’ve been long wild about sustainable design. i can’t believe i consider myself a treehugger. whowouldathunkit?
[Sustainable design is the art of producing objects using only renewable resources, and which themselves, in operation, deplete only renewable resources. Such designs are called ‘sustainable’ because they serve human needs without destroying the resource base on which human civilization is based. Thus, they can be used into the indefinite future.]
there is a restoring factor to design and not just aesthetics and functionality. design should aid the soul and not just the eye or body. when we design something it ought to have a purpose larger than itself. it ought to serve life.
some good conscious links ::
::Habitat for Humanity ::
a widely respected, nonprofit organisation that seeks to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world”
::Architecture for Humanity ::
AfH has a long, honored tradition of doing astoundingly cutting-edge work. they will be applying 100% of the money raised for this project to the reconstruction itself, with zero overhead costs. please consider making a donation.
:: food ::
share restaurant nyc
share’s desire is to connect people with the food that they eat and with the friends they eat with. cuisine is seasonal American, all served in tasting portions that are meant to be shared. portions are slightly larger than appetizer size to encourage sampling of various menu items.
the menu revolves around ingredients that are purchased fresh from farmer’s markets and local suppliers. since food should both taste and do good, share supports small farmers who are sensitive to the environment and practice sustainable agriculture.
share’s philosophy is to eat with the earth’s cycles; the menu changes with the seasonality of the ingredients. A strong emphasis is placed on using pure ingredients and natural resources such as organic and wild (not farm raised) products. sauces are integrated to enhance and elevate the natural flavors of the base ingredients. we feel that it is important to reconnect people with the land through the food they eat.
in the back of the house, owner-chef Kay Chun, runs the kitchen using her food education and industry knowledge to ensure that the food is of the highest quality. owner-manager Winston Shih runs the front of the house to create an intimate environment with friendly service and close attention to customer needs. “
brooklyn son ::. home coming
city hall ::. 11:37am | BQE ::. 11:48am | 36 & 12th :: my corner ::. 11:58am | the house i lived in the longest. home.
i love driving through brooklyn. sun breaking through the clouds. hot97 on the dial. craig mack bringing a brand new flava in ya ear. prospect park. church ave. i’m home. there are different faces. the writings on the wall have changed to tell new stories of glory and fame. i’ve moved on, said goodbye a long time ago. i kept on driving. i’m not home yet.
men must know their true purpose in life and live it.
save your life and lose it. lose it and save it. matthew 16.25
I planted my seed in unfertile land/ Myrtle Park, Marcy, Flushing, and Nostrand and/ Still I grew, somehow I knew the sun would shine through and/ Touch my soul, take hold of my hand/ Look man a tree grows in Brooklyn
“Some How Some Way” we gotta make it up out the hood Some Day.
“Some How Some Way” we gotta make it up out this life. {Come on}
“Some How Some Way” we gotta make it up out the hood Some Day……
Some Way we gotta make it up out this life.
Some How Some Way Lyrics :: Jay-Z
abcpastor 
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