Hi all,

You have til this Saturday, June 25 to order a t-shirt! Thanks to those who have already ordered, raising $290 for mental health and BIPOC arts! I am matching the total raised to $1000 - so please sign up and get this awesome t-shirt! It's based on what Daniel Kwan said at the Oscars, see link below to purchase and read more!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/withcollectivegenius?side=front&type=1&zoom=false

Brown’s Asian American Alumni Association is co-sponsoring a pan-Ivy-plus movie screening on Sat July 8th of the very fun summer road trip movie “JOY RIDE”. I wrote about it as it opened this year’s CAAMFest - link below.

Sat July 8th at 4pm, Marina Theater in San Francisco

2149 Chestnut St. San Francisco, CA 94123

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pan-asianasian-american-alumni-associations-private-screening-of-joy-ride-tickets-645784628207

Here’s my (no spoilers) review:  It was a very fun movie! Hope to see you there.

And the Korean American movie PAST LIVES is out in theaters now - my review is also linked below.

MOSF 18.4: “Joy Ride” and Asian Pride!  (May 12, 2023)

I’ve been to around 25 CAAMFest opening nights, and I’ve loved every one of them. Each one of them was unique, a pinnacle in its own way. But Joy Ride. Joy Ride. Joy Ride. Joy Ride dives into all our communal cringes and pulls out comic gold and Asian pride. It’s the kind of film that makes me say “we gonna be alright.” The girls’ (and nonbinary’s) trip from Joy Luck Clubto Joy Ride teaches us how to feel, speak and shout joy in that still developing language of Asian American being birthed in our souls.

MOSF 18.2: Celine Song’s Past Lives: Ambition and Emptiness (EAAPAAO Part 3)  (April 23, 2023, movie in theaters now)

The disrupted heart beats in many places, irregularly, achingly, disconsolately, but never steadily in one singular body, separate, alone. The Asian American heart has suffered specific and multiple disruptions, and we need a specific and pervasive electricity to make ourselves whole. This defibrillating charge has been coming more and more steadily in the pulse of major films: Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Minari, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and now Past Lives, Celine Song’s assured and haunting debut narrative feature.

And from Psychology Today:

Artificial Intelligence: Existential Threat and Litmus Test | Psychology Today May 16, 2023

“It’s as if aliens had landed, but we didn’t really take it in because they speak good English.” —Geoffrey Hinton, the “godfather of A.I.” on PBS NewsHour

11 Tools to Cope With Burnout and Overwhelm | Psychology Today June 6, 2023

Burnout is a major and growing problem. The pandemic and stresses of multiple cultural traumas, including the quest for racial justice and equity for all, including sexual and gender minorities, have taken a great toll. The National Academy of Medicine has produced a report on health force well-being, and the American Psychiatric Association estimates two out of five psychiatrists are experiencing professional burnout. As the saying goes, if you’re a caregiver of any stripe, it’s important to put an oxygen mask on yourself before you can assist others.

Thanks much!

Ravi