Hey guys, so if you really enjoyed the film project that we did for our presentation and wanted to see it again, here is the link below to it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYVPAQhf6rw

What does it mean to be "Americanized"? Do you feel like you have been "Americanized"?

I believe that to be "Americanized' means to essentially act white because those that don't specifically behave the way that is expected of their race and culture are immediately characterized as "Americanized." For example, someone once told me that I didn't act at all like the other Asian girls at my (high) school, meaning no accent or quirky asianistic behavior. Instead I was like a "white girl", aka "Americanized" in their eyes. Even though I see myself as Americanized, , I still have a strong connection to my Chinese heritage. However, I recognize being Americanized means that I have lost a part of my Chinese side in order to better fit into the greater part of American society.

-Megan Wong

Morsel and Robot: Neil Aitken and R2D2

Prompt 1: If you could choose to be lost in a country that you would be free to explore,what country would you choose and why?
Prompt 2: Would you trust your life to a robot or a machine in general? If yes, explain why, and to what extent you would trust that robot.

-Megan Wong

I already made a blog post on my definition of digital mixed race a while ago, but after reading through our wikipedia page I decided that my thoughts overlapped a lot with what people had already written, so instead I wrote a little bit on how Lyrics Born's Yes, Bay Area is an example of digital mixed race.

Here is what I contributed to our wikipedia page:
Twitter poetry is a new genre in its own, creating a new form of literature to meet the advancement of technology. Yes, Bay Area is an example of digital mixed raced in multiple ways. Firstly, it demonstrates how technology can effectively showcase mixed racial issues. Many racial topics are presented in the text because the Bay Area is a very racially diverse area. This particular tweet is an example: “White dude, Black chick, Asian baby?” (16). Secondly, although Lyrics Born is technically the author of Yes, Bay Area, he is only the compiler. Yes, Bay Area is actually a collaborative piece of work created by all the Bay Area natives who contributed the tweets. Therefore, this text is an example of how technology can unite people of different races under a common idea, the Bay Area, to create digital mixed race. Thirdly, Yes, Bay Area is currently only available in eBook form, meaning all the ideas it represents and what it symbolizes are digitally expressed. 

- Michelle Fong

Poet: Purvi Shah
Poem selection: 
“Cultivation” (an excerpt from Purvi Shah's book, Terrain Tracks) 
We could listen to the way flowers
open like thunder, the bold unfurling
to begin, the spreading, a drum
scatter, the wet wash.

As much as your hands, thoughts
make me tremble. You banish
the light because you want
me to come to bed. Images
of fields, opening
like an accordion, sweet sonnets
of wheat, I am dreaming, not just
of you or the tight warmth
of your fingers when the hands turns
around body, but also of harvesting, bending
a back to retrieve the tall 
fruits of rain and soil. I reach

my favorite spatch
of skin, the nexus
of hip and waist, the curve
an ellipsis, like a song on its way
to higher notes. The window open

and beyond the city grime, the smell
of soil waiting
to be overturned, and seeded,

a body to be explored.

Robot: Kawasaki Unimate
While researching the Unimate, I found out that the one of the creators of the Unimate, Joe Engelberger, had actually been inspired by Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics and fiction books on robotics.  I've included the Asimov's Laws of Robotics below as well as my corresponding prompt.   

Laws of Robotics: 
o   A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm

o   A robot must obey orders given it by humans beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

o   A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not

Question: Should the definition of robotics continue to be bounded by Asimov’s laws?  If not, what new Laws of Robotics do you propose?    

If you're further interested in the Unimate's story, here's an interesting article: 
http://www.botmag.com/index.php/the-rise-and-fall-of-unimation-inc-story-of-robotics-innovation-triumph-that-changed-the-world


Enjoy!
-Jonathan Li

Hyphenated Asian Americans-
“It is a term used to describe how Asians can never be seen as just Americans since Asians can and will never be able to fully assimilate to American culture or image”—or at least that’s how my best friend describes it.

My friend is a current first year here at UC Berkeley; she is also taking an Asian American class through the FPF program. During one of our conversations, she mentioned how she is learning about the term “hyphenated Asian Americans” in her class right now. I felt like sharing this term and her definition of it with all of you today, because I feel as if it relates to our continuous discussion of what it means to be “Asian American.” Personally, I had never heard of such a term; after hearing my friend discuss the term and the issues of race that surround it, I felt as if the term itself had added another nuance to the complex definition of the personalized meaning of “Asian American-ness.”

In class we talk about how being Asian American (in particular) creates a personalized and specific part of each of our identities. However, I also feel as if aspects of our supposedly unique identities are shared among us—such as our similar experiences of racial discrimination or categorization into this term: “hyphenated Asian Americans.” In other words, despite our unique cultural customs, one underlying fact that continues to bind us to one another is the fact that as “Asian-Americans,” this hyphenated label will continue to be associated with our racial identities further and possibly even forever emphasizing how even as individuals living in the 21st century of America, a majority of American society can never see us fully assimilating into their white and American society.

The definition of one’s “Asian American-ness” is complex and this new term: “The hyphenated American” adds a whole other level of complexity to the definition, allowing American society to forever categorize and separate those individuals that have already and supposedly assimilated into society at large. 

Should robots still be governed by Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics? If not, what new rules should there be?

I don't know if you remember, but back in May this year, there was a commercial for Cheerios featuring a biracial family: a white mother, a black father, and their biracial daughter. What was suppose to be a simple advertisement for Cheerios turned into an all-out national debate, with people writing such negative, hateful comments that Youtube, Reddit, and other websites had to turn their comments off. Even looking at the comments people continue to put today on Youtube, I am absolutely horrified and disgusted. Take this comment, which was made just five days ago (note that I've taken out the n-word and other cuss words, which are used many times:

Youtube user piraiba said:
    "why are the ni----s so over represented in the media and why is interracial dating (ni---- with white woman)                 promoted so much? People are getting sick and tired of this bull---- , because its bull---- and it encourages young         people to do this. Whats so special and great about you ni----s anyway? You are the lowest scum ape resembling         monkey race in the whole of human history , never achieved anything great , so why must the media force you             worthless ni----s upon us?"

Why is it that some people have such hostility towards multiracial families? And why is that major companies don't want to accurately display the modern American household? It is uncommon to see ads featuring biracial families because it is a big risk, according to marketing strategists. But with multiracial families on the rise (_married couples of different races and ethnicities grew by 28 percent in the decade between 2000 and 2010, from 7 percent to 10 percent, according to a Census), we can't possibly avoid the fact any longer. Apparently this is the first ever biracial ad company run by General Mills, and so far, it's caused quite the controversy. The company, much to my relief, is standing by their portrayal of a mixed race family. I applaud Cheerios for taking a risk and being true to the American lifestyle... Because the fact of the matter is that families aren't just one color, one ethnicity, one appearance. I really wish we could be accepting of everyone and not carry such hatred for each other. What does it matter that a black man and a white woman fall in love and have a child? What does it matter that races intermingle and create a diverse blend of individuals? That's what I don't understand...

To view the video, check out these links:
VIEW THIS ONE FIRST!----->Actual video of ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTwkFqnk7r8
New's report of advertisement (the new's reporters are talking over the ad): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgDrwD6MvJE

To check out an article regarding the video, check out http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130606/PC05/130609541/1010/mixed-race-family-in-cheerios-ad-spurs-debate-vitriol
-Rachel Chung

How would you respond if technology surpasses human knowledge?

RIght now, I believe that technology has already surpassed human knowledge. The amount of information available on the internet is so great that it is impossible for any human being to possibly digest it all and retain the information. Another interpretation of technology surpassing human knowledge could be robots that are smarter than humans in that they develop a mind of their own. In this case, I would say that this could go wrong for humankind in many ways. If robots were able to develop a conscience of their own it's very possible that they start to question our authority and then rebel against us even though we are their creators. 

Jack Chen

What does poetry means to people?

In the poem "Bamboo's Insomnia" the author Barbara Jane Reyes expresses her struggles with insomnia. She describes the reason for her inability to fall asleep, she said that a poet is stuck within her. She cannot sleep because there is a poetry she needs to write. Even though the poem is slightly short, she effectively demonstrates the importance of poetry. Through this poem, the readers can see how people might have internal struggles, things that need to be expressed. All these stuff bottle up in a person mind, and causes internal problems such as insomnia. Instead of saying this, Barbara Jane Reyes described it as poetry, the purpose of this is to tell us all that poetry is one of many beautiful ways to express oneself. To her poetry is the source that will help her relieve all her internal pain, express the way she feels, and a way to get rid of her insomnia, to write poems.

Huu Pham