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Around the Horn: Growing Old as an Artist

  • May 20, 2013 10:26 am

How do you feel about getting old? Maybe not in the physical but in an artistic way… Last Saturday evening UCLA Film & TV Archive did a mini-retrospective of two early features Flow and Drift that I made. I got a Facebook message from a friend who said “Thank you for friending him” as he showed Offender Justin’s and my early shorts in his cable program. In fact, Offender Justin shot “Fall 1990,” a majority of Flow when he was still an undergraduate at UCLA. In fact, it might have been his first and last DP gig. Correct me if I am wrong… my memory is fading!

Honestly I haven’t thought about getting old. I just kept making films the summer I graduated from Berkeley. I’m sure it will be challenging watching my early works and I’ll cringe at all the innocence and the rough edges of my craft. Nevertheless I still have the same enthusiasm and excitement about making films… and I still feel very much a beginner.

Maybe I’m a kid who refuses to grow up. How about you?

I’d be especially curious in hearing how Offender DHH (David Henry Hwang) feels as I was studying David’s works in college—before I became a filmmaker—and now I’ve worked with David and we are on the same blog!  Read more...

Around the Horn: The Digital Newfront

  • May 13, 2013 12:00 pm

I was recently in New York for the Digital Newfronts which is the online world’s equivalent of TV upfronts where the big names trot out their content for the upcoming year to get advertisers and brands on board. All the biggies from YouTube to Hulu to Yahoo, etc… made their bid for internet dominance (I’ll write more on my thoughts later) but one thing was crystal clear–everyone is getting into creating original online video content and they’re putting real money behind it.

Along those lines, check out these YouTube stats that were recently released: 1 billion unique visitors watch YouTube every month–that’s a whooping 15% of the planet. And in a month, those 1 billion people watch 6 billion hours of content (up from 3 billion just one year ago). 93% of teens visit YouTube every week–the closest competition is Facebook where 65% of teens visit weekly. Those are staggering numbers. Imagine if a traditional outlet like ABC or CBS can claim to have 15% of the planet or 93% of teens watching–that would be unheard of. And how we consume online content is rapidly changing too. Almost 50% of online videos are consumed on mobile devices.

I can go on, but clearly the landscape is shifting and very quickly. As YOMYOMF has our own YouTube channel that’s supported by YouTube, we’re in an interesting position being in the middle of the storm.

So my question to everyone is how have these changes in the digital space affected you? Has it affected what you watch and how you watch things online? Most of us fall into the category of content creators so especially curious to know if these changes have also impacted how you create your work? The fact that we’re adapting Offender DHH’s play Yellow Face for YouTube–the first time anyone has ever done such a thing–is both exciting and scary since it’s unprecedented but that’s an example of taking risks in this space with no guideposts.  Read more...

Around the Horn: Family Intervention

  • May 6, 2013 10:22 am

Usually, I’m a person who would rather not meddle in other people’s affairs.  Even when it’s family, I may have opinions and disapprove of certain things, but I don’t want to get involved in debates about their personal affairs.  But sometimes, there comes a point when I feel there is a need to intervene, especially when it involves someone’s safety.  Alcoholism and drug addiction are examples that come to mind.

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AROUND THE HORN: The Unwinding Road

  • April 29, 2013 9:51 am

Living in Los Angeles often means that your life’s pace is permanently set to a breakneck speed.  I find that I’m no exception and, as someone that thrives more in relaxed environments, it’s often overwhelming and stressful.

That’s why when there’s a means available to decompress and regroup, I take it – no matter how unusual it may be.

Of course, there’s the classic “close your eyes and take a deep breath” technique, which has undoubtedly served me well, but I’ve been picking up on some new ones as of late.  My personal favorite is assembling Ikea furniture.

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Around the Horn: Mother’s Day

  • April 24, 2013 6:40 pm

Chinese mother by Bertha Lum

So Mother’s Day is rolling around and I’m at a loss at what to do this year.  As you may have read in my Tiger mom blog, she’s an OSCM (‘Old School Chinese Mom’).  So for her, an ideal Mother’s Day has always involved me visiting her in Oakland and accompanying her on errands to Chinatown while taking her out for a nice Chinese dinner.  It’s a day that’s perfect for her – it’s predictable, all on her terms, and she eats at one of the handful of usual restaurants she knows will not disappoint.  Read more...

Around the Horn: Grief

  • April 15, 2013 12:06 pm

Beverly, one of our Yomyomf crew, recently lost someone dear to her.  I’ve always enjoyed and admired Bev’s raw, touching and hilarious posts about her adventures and search for love.  It was heartbreaking to hear that her fiancé recently passed away.

I can’t do anything to lessen the pain or grief, but I’m wondering what you all find healing or even the least bit helpful in dark times.  It can be anything – a painting, song, dance, story, quote, kama sutra position (ok maaaybe not this one), Youtube video made by a magical dragon, etc.

I don’t know how to answer this myself.  Part of me wants to suggest funny stuff, but I don’t know if that would be ineffective or tactless.  So for now I’ll share a photo that I find comforting.

Another part to this question is:  if you’ve gone through a period of mourning, what would you have liked people to say to you?  To have done for you?  How did you want them to interact?  Did you want to be left alone?  Did you want to be asked about the person?  I’ve always thought that people would want to share stories and talk about their loved ones, but I’ve usually refrained from asking because I didn’t want to make the bereaved feel uncomfortable.  Obviously everyone has varying preferences, but maybe sometimes I was mistaken not to ask.

Anyway, I just want to say that I’m thinking of you, Beverly, and we’re all here for you.  A big hug.

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Around the Horn: Marriage Equality

  • April 1, 2013 7:45 am

One big issue around the country this week has been the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the issue of marriage equality. I’m assuming that my fellow Offenders join me in supporting the right of gay couples to marry. Throughout my adult life, I’ve been fortunate to have had both straight and gay friends. As we all got older, most found partners and began pairing up for the long term. Except those who were gay couldn’t get married, which always struck me as unfair.

The issue really hit home for me, however, about seven or eight years ago. The partner of a good friend suddenly suffered a heart attack and went into the hospital. Even though they’d been together ten years at that point, my friend didn’t have any legal standing to visit his partner, nor would he be able to make medical decisions should this become necessary. Thankfully, President Obama mandated in 2010 that the partners of gay patients were entitled to equal rights of visitation and medical consultation, but this example really made me conscious of the many ways — small and large — that the inability of gay couples to marry relegated them to second-class citizenship.

Was there a particular moment or incident in your experience that brought home the issue of marriage equality for you?

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Around the Horn: Growth

  • March 26, 2013 8:52 am

Growth… it could be good or it could be bad.  Let’s express the good.  I just had dinner with two offenders (Sung and Anson) and there’s nothing like feeding our soul with good stories that gives me more wisdom and humility… and stuffing our face with sushi.

I’m 40ish and my sustenance has been to gleen off positivity from people I admire.  Can you think of your moments of growth?


ANDERSON: For me, its a close-knit group of friends that have formed a karaoke pact and we meet every 6 weeks. Since we all are extremely busy because of career, family, etc., we make sure that we go into karaoke congress to stay in touch and just feed off the good vibes. It is so fun and in a new agey kind of way, we feed off each other’s energy and I feel so replenished and lucky to have friends like them. It is awesome.  Read more...

AROUND THE HORN: Honestly Officer, I did it for LOVE!

  • March 18, 2013 12:51 pm

I’m a fool in love. Always have been. I don’t know where I ever learned it, but I am all about preserving and growing my love relationships to the point where even I go, “I did that? What was I thinking?!?!”

Introducing the former Crown Prince of England who abdicated the throne for a girl, and the girl he did it for.  Read more...

Around the Horn: Car Crash Tales

  • March 11, 2013 2:58 pm

Last week I got into my very first car accident ever…and it was my fault. I was rushing to meet some friends for dinner and turned into Han from Fast and Furious and drifted out of the parking lot and onto dinner. As the light turned green at an intersection I was behind an SUV that started to take off. As I gassed the pedal, I took my eyes off the road for a second and next thing you know the guy hit his brake for some reason and I went straight into his back bumper. If I was an observer, I would have probably thought what’s wrong with this idiot. Yes, this idiot being me. Since this was technically my first time in a car accident, I was a little flustered for a second. What do I do? Was it his fault? I actually had a moment where I could have taken off and he would have never caught up to me while we were both pulling into a Ralph’s parking lot. But something inside me thought I had to do the right thing. So I proceeded to pull over and face the consequences. I debated in my head whether to be the guy who would blame everything on the other guy since you’re never suppose to admit fault at an accident. But what I did was a pretty boneheaded move and I just made sure the other guy wasn’t harmed. Luckily, the guy was ok and even though his bumper was bent down, he wasn’t tripping about it since his car was already in such bad shape. He said to me, if I can bend it back up then don’t worry about it. I was quite surprise especially since I live in the land of people suing each other and thought he would definitely want something. But oddly he didn’t care enough. That night alotta things were running through my head like I need to take my time driving and I need to get my own brakes checked. But mostly what ran through my head was how lucky I came out of that situation. Was it because I didn’t drive off? Was it because I was just honest about the whole situation and didn’t try to escalate it? Or am I truly just a happy-go-lucky person? I rather just like to think that everything happens for a reason.

Do you remember the first time you got into a car accident whether it was your fault or not? Did you learn anything from the experience?

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Around the Horn: Most anticlimactic moment?

  • March 4, 2013 11:27 am

I was having a conversation with a friend about how so many things in our life always has ‘some catch’ to it. When things seems simple and all will go our way, it turns out a completely different way. Essentially the old adage that “nothing in life is easy” really seems to apply in my life. We ended the conversation by agreeing that it’s best to have a sense of humor about the anticlimactic ironies of life. So this brings me to the ATH question. What was one of your most anti-climactic moments?

When I turned sixteen, all I wanted was a car. What kid in high school doesn’t want a ride at sixteen. It’s a big deal for every American teenager. My family had a old junky 79 Dodge Monaco parked on the side of the house. It had a broken windshield so it was retired and waiting to be pawned to some sucker. I asked my dad if I could have the car. He said I could if I fixed the windshield. I called around and the cost to replace it was around 250 bucks. I had no job, no savings, no source of income except my lunch money. So I starved myself and saved my lunch money for about 5 months. I finally had the money to fix the windshield and was ready to take possession of my sweet ride. I went to my dad to take possession of the keys. When I asked him for the keys he asked me if I had insurance. What?! In short, I never had a car in high school.

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Around the Horn: Do the Oscars Even Matter?

  • February 26, 2013 2:10 am

Ang Lee enjoying an In-n-Out burger after winning the Best Director Academy Award for LIFE OF PI.

By the time that this AROUND THE HORN blog is posted, the Oscars will be done and we’ll know the winners. I have become personally jaded when it comes to who is chosen to win Academy awards or most awards for that matter. The telecast is also long and boring and in a world where Twitter exists, I would rather be doing something else (like drinking at my neighborhood bar) and just checking my Twitter feed for announcements.  Read more...