Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. more ›

Saturday, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and about 400 Democratic Asian American party activists and officials filled the halls of the San Jose Marriott to attend the Asian American and Pacific Islander Democratic Leadership Summit (.pdf). Howard Dean was the keynote speaker and spoke on Saturday morning at around 9:30. He gave the DemocraticMessage, or what we perceived as the "Together, we can do better" speech. [Ed. note: is that the same or different from the "yeeeeaaaaargh!" speech?] For those who weren't there, and are interested, it is similar to the speech he gave to the Jewish Council of Public Affairs. The conference was energizing and uplifting with speeches from the first Asian American Boston City Council member Sam Yoon and from the first Asian American San Jose City Council member Madison Nguyen. The Saturday lunch speaker was Mike Honda, who spoke on leveraging an Asian American background to run for political office. Of course, no conference is without handouts. Consequently, there was an organizing tip handout given out in the late Saturday afternoon titled, "Democratic State Party Structures - How to Navigate and Move Ahead, Four Important Things to Know." This handout did not talk about how Democrats can win elections, but instead focused on the finer points of the Party such as becoming familiar with Robert’s rules of order. Who said that politics was all fun and games? Do not despair though, as another rule from the handout was to "ESTABLISH Political Convictions and Strength." (capitalization in original). Well, Asian-American Democrats, go change the world! Just make sure to do it according to Robert’s Rules of Order and only after establishing your political convictions.

Sure, being a zombie is all fun and games, but what if you could do it professionally? Monster Magic, a San Jose creature/effect company, is seeking actors for a haunted house on Pier 48, subtley entitled "GYRO's Festival of Fear." Like any acting gig, being a zombie is a lot of tough work and late hours -- the house is open for 20 days between October 6th and 31st, with shifts as long as 6pm to 1am. For your moaning and staggering, you'll make $700 and have a shot at some valuable haunted-house-related prizes. AWESOME! more ›