Thursday, August 31, 2006

injury

I busted my ankle on Monday. It's a stupid story, really. I was walking and my foot got caught in an insignificant groove in the sidewalk and my left foot turned in way too hard. Before I knew it, I was struggling standing. I hopped over to my car, took off my shoe and could see my ankle swelling. From there, I drove to my sister's house to ice my ankle, kept it elevated and fell asleep.

So I'm in Santa Barbara right now on a writing retreat, which also makes it an opportune time for my ankle to recover while getting some much needed writing done. It's going alright, but it's frustrating because I like being 100% mobile. I like being able to work out and am bummed that I don't get to run along the beach like I normally do when I visit SB. At the same time, the silly person in me says, "everything happens for a reason." Given this cliche, I'm going to say that this silly busted ankle is probably related to me having silly body issues and my constant need to come to positive terms with my body.

Having this still swollen and now bruised ankle reminds me that I need to be happy that I have good health. Busted ankle aside, I can walk, run, talk, and even stop and smell the roses - simple luxuries that I (we) take for granted. While I'm anxious to go back to the studio and work out (and that's the truth and not my sarcasm speaking), I'm also learning about being patient with my body and the importance of recovery. I think injury is lady fate's way of reminding us of these things. I write this because although silly injuries are rare for me, they usually occur when I need these reminders.

So lesson learned....

Monday, August 28, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Warm-up

Run 400 meters
25 pull-ups
25 push-ups
25 sit-ups
25 squats

I loves squat cleans!
10 resistance sprints
10 squat cleans
10 dumbell push presses
(Do three rounds)
Rest 5 minutes

The GHD Thingy
30 GHD back extensions
30 GHD sit-ups

OWMA Quotable Quote

"Now I can be the real Ponyboy!"
- Arnold getting excited over the resistance sprints with David


OWMA Bonus Quote

"Wow, you made TWO people puke today. That's impressive!"
- Ponyboy congratulating Freddy

Friday, August 25, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Run 400 meters

Wooden Dowels
10 reps per exercise, 3 rounds of:
Overhead press
Squats
Shoulder rolls
Good mornings

Get this 800 pound monkey of my f&%$ing back!
For time while carrying a 10-pound weight
Run 400 meters
25 squats
25 push-ups
25 walking lunges (each leg; 50 total)
25 sit-ups
Joanne's final time - 30:37


OWMA Quotable Quote

"I did not have fun."
- Marietta

Thursday, August 24, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Four rounds of:
Run 400 meters
100 straight punches
100 jump rope turns

Freddy's ten-minute abs

Partner glove work
15 second intervals, 4 rounds of:
Jab (two intervals)
1-2 punch (two intervals)
Push-offs
Speed punch

Burpees and company
Do as many rounds in 10 minutes:
5 burpees
10 push-ups
15 squats
(Note: Due to my delirious nature from doing so many burpees, I lost count of my rounds. I did 4-5 rounds.)


OWMA Quotable Quote

"I hate burpees."
- Joanne

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

An Open Letter to Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films, re: the Bebot Video

Note: I added links to the videos for those of you who haven't actually seen them yet. Comment and forward as you wish.


Tuesday, August 22, 2006

To Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films:

We, the undersigned, would like to register our deep disappointment at the portrayal of Filipinas and other women in the new music videos for the Black Eyed Peas' song, "Bebot." We want to make it clear that we appreciate your efforts to bring Filipina/o Americans into the mainstream and applaud your support of the Little Manila of Stockton. However, as Filipina/o and Filipina/o American artists, academics, and community activists, we are utterly dismayed by the portrayal of hypersexualized Filipina "hoochie-mama" dancers, specifically in the Generation 2 version, the type of representation of women so unfortunately prevalent in today's hip-hop and rap music videos. The depiction of the 1930s "dime dancers" was also cast in an unproblematized light, as these women seem to exist solely for the sexual pleasure of the manongs.



In general, we value Apl.de.Ap's willingness to be so openly and richly Filipino, especially when there are other Filipina/o Americans in positions of visibility who do not do the same, and we appreciate the work that he has done with the folks at Xylophone Films; we like their previous video for "The Apl Song," and we even like the fact that the Generation 1 version of "Bebot" attempts to provide a "history lesson" about some Filipino men in the 1930s. However, the Generation 2 version truly misses the mark on accurate Filipina/o representation, for the following reasons:

1) The video uses three very limited stereotypes of Filipina women: the virgin, the whore, and the shrill mother. We find a double standard in the depiction of the virgin and whore figures, both of which are highly sexualized. Amidst the crowd of midriff-baring, skinny, light-skinned, peroxided Pinays - some practically falling out of their halter tops - there is the little sister played by Jasmine Trias, from whom big brother Apl is constantly fending off Pinoy "playas." The overprotectiveness is strange considering his idealization of the bebot or "hot chick." The mother character was also particularly troublesome, but for very different reasons. She seems to play a dehumanized figure, the perpetual foreigner with her exaggerated accent, but on top of that, she is robbed of her femininity in her embarrassingly indelicate treatment of her son and his friends. She is not like a tough or strong mother, but almost like a coarse asexual mother, and it is telling that she is the only female character in the video with a full figure.

2) We feel that these problematic female representations might have to do with the use of the word "Bebot." We are of course not advocating that Apl change the title of his song, yet we are confused about why a song that has to do with pride in his ethnic/national identity would be titled "Bebot," a word that suggests male ownership of the sexualized woman - the "hot chick." What does Filipino pride have to do with bebots? The song seems to be about immigrant experience yet the chorus says "ikaw ang aking bebot" (you are my hot chick). It is actually very disturbing that one's ethnic/national identity is determined by one's ownership of women. This system not only turns women into mere symbols but it also excludes women from feeling the same kind of ethnic/national identity. It does not bring down just Filipinas; it brings down all women.

3) Given the unfortunate connection made in this video between Filipino pride and the sexualized female body both lyrically and visually, we can't help but conclude that the video was created strictly for a heterosexual man's pleasure. This straight, masculinist perspective is the link that we find between the Generation 1 and Generation 2 videos. The fact that the Pinoy men are surrounded by "hot chicks" both then and now makes this link plain. Yet such a portrayal not only obscures the "real" message about the Little Manila Foundation; it also reduces Pinoy men's hopes, dreams, and motivations to a single-minded pursuit of sex.

We do understand that Filipino America faces a persistent problem of invisibility in this country. Moreover, as the song is all in Tagalog (a fact that we love, by the way), you face an uphill battle in getting the song and music video(s) into mainstream circulation. However, remedying the invisibility of Filipina/os in the United States should not come at the cost of the dignity and self-respect of at least half the population of Filipino America. Before deciding to write this letter, we felt an incredible amount of ambivalence about speaking out on this issue because, on the one hand, we recognized that this song and video are a milestone for Filipina/os in mainstream media and American pop culture, but on the other hand, we were deeply disturbed by the images of women the video propagates.



In the end we decided that we could not remain silent while seeing image after image of Pinays portrayed as hypersexual beings or as shrill, dehumanized, asexual mother-figures who embarrass their children with their overblown accents and coarseness. The Filipino American community is made up of women with Filipino pride as well, yet there is little room in these videos for us to share this voice and this commitment; instead, the message we get is that we are expected to stand aside and allow ourselves to be exploited for our sexuality while the men go about making their nationalist statements.

While this may sound quite harsh, we believe it is necessary to point out that such depictions make it seem as if you are selling out Filipina women for the sake of gaining mainstream popularity within the United States. Given the already horrific representations of Filipinas all over the world as willing prostitutes, exotic dancers, or domestic servants who are available for sex with their employers, the representation of Pinays in these particular videos can only feed into such stereotypes. We also find it puzzling, given your apparent commitment to preserving the history and dignity of Filipina/os in the United States, because we assume that you also consider such stereotypes offensive to Filipino men as well as women.

Again, we want to reiterate our appreciation for the positive aspects of these videos - the history lesson of the 1936 version, the commitment to community, and the effort to foster a larger awareness of Filipino America in the mainstream - but we ask for your honest attempt to offer more full-spectrum representations of both Filipino men and Filipina women, now and in the future. We would not be writing this letter to you if we did not believe you could make it happen.

Respectfully,

Lucy Burns
Assistant Professor
Asian American Studies / World Arts and Cultures, UCLA

Fritzie De Mata
Independent scholar

Diana Halog
Undergraduate
UC Berkeley

Veronica Montes
Writer

Gladys Nubla
Doctoral student
English, UC Berkeley

Barbara Jane Reyes
Poet and author

Joanne L. Rondilla
Doctoral candidate
Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Rolando B. Tolentino
Visiting Fellow, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Film Institute

Benito Vergara
Asian American Studies / Anthropology, San Francisco State University

Luisa A. Igloria
Associate Professor
Creative Writing / English, Old Dominion University

Monday, August 21, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up
Partner Intervals:
Straight punches
Partner 1: shoot and leap frog
Straight punches
Partner 2: shooot and leap frog
(30 second intervals; three rounds with a 30 second break in-between rounds)

Bars and Balls
For time:
Run 400 meters
50 wall balls
30 jumping pull-ups
Run 800 meters
30 jumping pull-ups
50 Wall Balls
Run 400m

(Joanne's time: 25:34)

Abs
25 full sit-ups
25 (50 total) opposite hand to foot
25 knees to elbows

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Bend over Arnold."
- said by Freddy to Arnold while demonstrating the warm-up


OWMA Bonus Quote
"That's why they call me Ponyboy!"
- said by Joanne posing as Arnold in response to Freddy's previous request

Friday, August 18, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up
Cone Drills:
Redlines x 5
Run 400 meters
Running backwards x 5
Run 400 meters
Side-to-side x 5
Run 400 meters
Sprints x 5
Run 400 meters

Freddy's 10-minute abs

Welcome Back Stefanie
(3 rounds; 1 minute per station; 1 minute break after each round)
Rowing machine
Hard straight punches on the heavy bag
Skip knees
Hard hook punches on the heavy bag
Deadlifts with the olympic weights


OWMA Quotable Quote

"I think I need training wheels."
- said during Freddy's crazy bicycle abs.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up
Jump rope 5 minutes

In 5 minutes, do as many rounds as you can:
5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 squats
(Note: This is just a warm-up, so don't push too hard. Your body is still warming up and getting ready for what's next.)

Tabata Love!
(Note: A tabata is 4 minutes of work that is broken up in eight rounds. In each round, it's 20 seconds of work followed by a 10 second break. It sounds easy enough, but it's really tough.)

Tabata: Wall ball sit-ups
Run 400 meters
Tabata: Rowing machine
Run 400 meters
Tabata: Hard punches on the heavy bag
Run 400 meters
Tabata: Jumping pull-ups
Run 400 meters
Tabata: Box jumps

(Note: I ran an extra 800 meters after the workout and stretched.)

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Joanne's gonna smoke you guys!!!"
- said by Freddy to my teammates Larry and Hanlin. Note: I didn't smoke them at all.

P.O.T.D.: Why schmoozing pays off



During our visit to the Olympic Museum in Calgary, Norbert, my brother-in-law was schmoozing with one of the volunteers. According to Norbert, she was so taken by him that she let Brendan take this photo with the official olympic torch. (Personally, I think she was touched by Brendan's charm.... but don't tell Norbert I said that.)

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

going the distance

I think one of the unfortunate things about life is that we're taught to think in binary terms: black vs. white, good vs. bad, winning vs. losing. There's no middle ground and no room for mistakes. You're either it or you're not. In my life, if I had to choose which side of the spectrum I was on, I'd have to say that over all, I fit mostly on the losing side. Not that I mind this, I'm just saying that this is how it is.

I see this mentality a lot in my students at Berkeley. The undergrads at Berkeley are taught that unless they are in the top 1% of their class, their lives have no real meaning. It's a sad way to live what should be a great time in your life. A student once tried to dispute the A-minus he recieved in my class. His upbringing made him believe that there are only As. Anything less would mean that you had no reason for living.

The A-minus stayed. I refused give in.

When it comes to sports, I'm definitely on the losing side of the spectrum. I'm just not a competitive person. The eye of the tiger just isn't in me. So coming in last place is a natural part of my existence. It's frustrating, but I learn to cope. But lately, during my Fit-to-Fight classes, I've been finding my self frustrated. Completely frustrated. Frustrated that everything seems so impossible to do. Frustrated that I come in last so much that there should be a tin medal waiting for me at the finish. Frustrated that my quest to work harder leaves me feeling like I'm stranded in quicksand. I can't begin to tell you how many times I feel like not getting out of bed or just throwing in the towel because I've had enough failure in my life.

But for some reason, I can't do it. I can't not get out of bed. I can't throw in the towel. I can't not finish. It's just not in me. A few entries ago, I mentioned this story about middle school P.E. Even then, while being made an example by my P.E. teacher, I still could't just walk out of class. I served the whole period. Through pain and tears, I did it. For no real reason, except that not doing something, not finishing just isn't in me. I'm just not made like that.



I never thought I'd run a marathon. But around this time last year I was preparing for the Maui Marathon. Running a marathon is something I would never do again, but I'm glad for the experience. It brought out something in me that I really needed to see. Running a marathon isn't about the time it takes you to complete the 26.2 mile journey. It's about your own personal will and desire to go the distance. Do you have the will and desire to go the distance? I didn't think I did. But looking back, I realize that I always had it in me.

It took me nine hours, a gallon of tears, and two monster-sized blisters to cross that damn finish line. I couldn't walk for three days afterward, but I did it. Even when they took the finish line down, I crossed it. The runner who was slated to come in first ran off the course and decided to drop out of the race when he realized he wasn't making the time he needed to come in first. I could have never called it quits. Even in the dreadful Maui heat, I could have never allowed myself to not cross that finish line. It's not in me. I'm not made that way.

This is what I remember and what I hold on to when I'm feeling frustrated with my workouts. When fellow classmates are passing me by, blowing me away with their athleticism, while I continue my work feeling defeated. I hold on to the fact that coming in last doesn't matter. Going the distance, having the will and desire to finish is what matters. Even on hands and knees, I'll always make it to the finish.

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up
Run 400 meters
5 minute jump rope
Stretch (with wooden dowels)

Circuit
50 jump taps
40 squats
30 crunches (or full sit-ups)
20 push-ups
10 jumping pull-ups
(5 rounds of this circuit for time; Joanne's Time: TBA)

Run 800 meters


OWMA Quotable Quote
Freddy: Go ahead, say it.
Joanne: I hate you Freddy!
Freddy: That makes it $2!
- Freddy trying to enforce a new OWMA law. Joanne completely ignoring the law.


OWMA Bonus Quote!
(David holding up a gallon of water) "This is a CrossFit drink."
(David spilling water on his shirt while drinking) "This is a CrossFit t-shirt!"
(okay... so you had to be there in order to see the humor in this.)

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

P.O.T.D.: A new olympic sport?



Ahhh... the amazing things kids come up with. Again, this was taken at the Olympic Museum in Calgary. Brendan decided that snowboarding wasn't a challenging enough sport... how about hockey snowboarding?! Could the kid be on to something?

Monday, August 14, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up
Jump rope - 5 minutes
Jog 5 laps on the mat
25 jumping jacks

Wooden Dowels
10 deadlifts
10 military presses
10 clean & jerks
10 shoulder rolls
(Do three rounds)

The Dirty Thirty
Run 400 meters
30 push-ups
30 squats
30 wall ball sit-ups
30 jumping pull-ups
30 lunge steps
(Do four rounds for time;
Joanne's time: 47:49)

OWMA Quotable Quote

"Leave now!"
- said by Sam warning Caroline about The Dirty Thirty

Friday, August 11, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-up on the mat
Running forward/backward/side to side

Wooden Dowels
Military presses
Squats
Shoulder Rolls
Good Mornings
(10 reps each; 3 rounds)

Interval Training
Bag push
Medicine ball-to-wall
Push-ups
(30 second intervals; 3 rounds)

For time, 4 rounds of:
Run 400 meters
50 sumo dumbell deadlifts (25 lbs.)
25 full sit-ups
(Joanne's time: 32:16)


OWMA Quotable Quote

"Eating Mexican last night was a big no-no. I should have learned from that chile verde."
- said by Marietta

Thursday, August 10, 2006

P.O.T.D.: Arses



For some reason, Brendan thought it would be funny to take this photo at the Olympic Museum in Calgary. What is it with kids and their interest in brass arses? Hmph.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Warm-Up
Jog 5 laps on the mat

Cone Drills:
Sprint
Backward
Side-to-side
High knees
Low duck walk
Lunges (2 sets)
Jump Squats (1 set)
(3-24' intervals; do 3 sets)

Wooden Dowels
Push press
Shoulder Rolls
Overhead squats
Good mornings
(3 rounds of 10 reps per exercise)

Interval Training
Jumping pull-ups
Sit-ups
Push-ups
(30 seconds per exercise, 15 second rest in-between; 4 rounds)

Heavy Bag Intervals
1 punch
2 punches
3 punches
4 punches
4 punches
3 punches
2 punches
1 punch
(15 second intervals, 2 minutes per round; 4 rounds)

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

P.O.T.D.: Manilatown Memories



This was taken during the premiere of the Maui Marathon DVD. I wanted to post this photo because it's been a year since the I-Hotel opened. Yea! Congrats to the folks at Manilatown.

Monday, August 07, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-Up
Run 400 meters
5-minute jumprope

Superlite Dumbells
10 push presses
10 squats
10 "good mornings"
10 thrusters
(using 2-5 lb. dumbells, do three sets)

Twenty-ones
20 push-ups/1 sit-up
19 push-ups/2 sit-ups
18 push-ups/3 sit-ups
17 push-ups/4 sit-ups
16 push-ups/5 sit-ups
15 push-ups/6 sit-ups
14 push-ups/7 sit-ups
13 push-ups/8 sit-ups
12 push-ups/9 sit-ups
11 push-ups/10 sit-ups
10 push-ups/11 sit-ups
9 push-ups/12 sit-ups
8 push-ups/13 sit-ups
7 push-ups/14 sit-ups
6 push-ups/15 sit-ups
5 push-ups/16 sit-ups
4 push-ups/17 sit-ups
3 push-ups/18 sit-ups
2 push-ups/19 sit-ups
1 push-up/20 sit-ups


OWMA Quotable Quote
Arnold: I even checked to see if there were batteries in the handle!
Freddy: (laughing) There's an idiot born everyday.
- a conversation between Freddy and Arnold... you had to be there in order to understand the context of this.


Bonus Quotable Quotes!
Freddy: How you feeling?
Marietta: I'm feeling fat!
- morning greetings between Freddy and Marietta

"The only reason why you like to jumprope is because you don't have any boobs!"
- said by Joanne to Freddy

The Black Eyed Peas and their video for "Bebot"

Hello all,

Just to clarify any confusion. The Little Manila Foundation mentioned here is different from the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, who I ran the Maui Marathon for last year. Either way, both groups do great work for the Filipino community, so I urge you to check out the videos. The more views the video gets, the greater the chances of having it aired on TV. Kudos to my pal Dawn Mabalon for her work on this project. Enjoy!

-joanne


Little Manila Foundation
BEBOT Press Release
The Little Manila Foundation

For Immediate Release: Pop Stars the Black Eyed Peas premiere video for "Bebot," set in Stockton's Little Manila neighborhood circa 1938, online on August 4.

STOCKTON, CA - On Thursday, international pop stars the Black Eyed Peas will premiere their new video for "Bebot," set in Stockton's Little Manila Historic Site, circa 1938. The video premieres in Los Angeles and in the Philippines on Thursday August 3, and online worldwide at http://www.kidheroes.net/bebot/ on Friday, August 4.

The Little Manila Foundation, which works to preserve the Little Manila Historic Site, hopes the video will be an entertaining history lesson for a young generation of Filipino Americans and young fans of the Black Eyed Peas, and that it will bring attention to need to restore the buildings. Last year, the Foundation purchased the historic Mariposa Hotel, a three story residential hotel next to the Rizal Social Club, which had been home to hundreds of Filipino immigrants through the
decades.

They are kicking off a campaign to raise 1.5 Million to restore and revitalize the building, which will be the site of the Filipino American Cultural Center and Phase One of the Filipino American National Museum, a project of the Filipino American National Historical Society. The Foundation produced a mini companion documentary for "Bebot" at www.littlemanila.net that describes the history of the Little Manila area and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the production.

In the video, Apl.de.Ap (Allan Pineda), plays a young Filipino immigrant who visits a dance hall, the Rizal Social Club, in
Stockton's Little Manila, in 1938. There, he rocks a crowd backed up by a jazz band. In its time, the Rizal Social Club, at 138 E. Lafayette Street, was a dance hall owned by a Filipino American entrepreneur, was one of the hottest spots in downtown Stockton's vibrant Little Manila neighborhood, which was the largest Filipino neighborhood in the nation from the 1920s to the 1970s.

"It's not just about doing a video," Apl told MTV News. "Filipino culture is like a community movement, and it feels good to represent my culture and to be embraced by my people."

"Actually, it's based on true history," director Patricio Ginelsa told MTV News. "I took Apl's farmer roots and placed him in the role of a Filipino farmer," Ginelsa told MTV news. "Back then, Filipino farmers had their day jobs, but all we looked forward to, though, was getting in our best suits and going to the best clubs - looking nice, and meeting all the bebots (hot chicks)!"

Ginelsa said he first learned about the significance of the Little Manila Historic Site and early Filipino American history on an extended trip to Stockton in the summer of 2000 to promote the Filipino American independent film The Debut.

"The Little Manila Foundation struggles to kind of keep all these historic landmarks alive and (they were) making sure they weren't torn down," said Ginelsa. "As a filmmaker, this was a story that needed to be told in some way. It was really their campaign to raise awareness about Little Manila that really inspired me, and I was able to make a music video with a worldwide band."

"I think it's important to learn something about Filipino American history that you can't read in your U.S. history books," Ginelsa said. "I learned about it while living in Stockton with the community leaders and the youth. It really inspired me."

"Bebot" which is loosely translated as "hot chick," recreates the world of 1930s Stockton. Few Filipino women immigrate to the United States before World War II, and Filipinos lived in a mostly-male world. To have contact with women, Filipinos flocked to downtown Stockton and Little Manila's dance halls.

In 1938, Stockton was rigidly segregated. In the video, Apl and the Peas pass a hotel emblazoned with "Positively No Filipinos Allowed." Such signs were common in Stockton and in many California cities before the Civil Rights movement.

Last year, Little Manila Foundation helped to save the original Rizal Social Club, now shuttered, from a wrecking ball. A developer had planned to raze the entire neighborhood, but community pressure from the Foundation, and a new administration at City Hall, prevented the destruction. The Foundation argued that the building, and the block, had historic significance for all Filipinos nationwide and in the Philippines. The fact that the multi-platinum Black Eyed Peas chose Stockton as the setting for the video for "Bebot" bears this out, says Dillon Delvo, executive director of the Little Manila Foundation.

"We are so honored that one of the biggest music groups right now chose to set their newest video in Stockton's Little Manila Historic Site," said Delvo, who was a consultant to the video. Delvo and members of the Little Manila Foundation traveled to L.A., where they assisted in the production. "We taught the band and extras how to cut asparagus, and talked with them about what life was like in the 1930s for Filipinos in Stockton."

Delvo said that filming the entire video in Stockton was too cost prohibitive with a large cast and crew, so they filmed interiors in another significant site - Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. The crew filmed exteriors in the Little Manila Historic Site. The video features cameos from Filipino American celebrities such as American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias and local Stocktonians.

The video project, produced and directed by Filipino American independent filmmaker Patricio Ginelsa and singlehandedly funded by the Peas' Filipino American member, Apl.de.Ap, was a labor of love for all involved. The Peas' record company had little interest in promoting the all-Tagalog single, but the group and the production company felt that it was important to bring an aspect of Filipino American history to the group's fans and to the larger community in general. It is unknown whether the video will receive airplay on MTV and VH-1. Online distribution, community viewings, and film festivals will bring the video to wide audiences.

The song's lyrics, all in Tagalog, describe Pineda's childhood in the Philippines, and his experiences as an immigrant in the United States. In the song, he expresses thanks to his Filipino American fans for their support. In the video, Apl plays a young Filipino immigrant who works in the fields cutting asparagus in the San Joaquin Delta all day, then dresses up to dance and perform at a jazz and dance club at night.

"Apl's real-life experiences as a Filipino immigrant in the United States who leaves a life of poverty in the rural Philippines, misses home, and struggles against racism to make a life in America, mirrors the experiences of early Filipino immigrants who came to Stockton in the 1920s and 1930s, so the song is actually very fitting to depict how these early Pinoy pioneers saw themselves," said Dawn B. Mabalon, a co-founder of the Little Manila Foundation, and a professor of history at San Francisco State University. Along with Delvo, she provided background research and historic photographs for the production.

Mabalon says the video is a good historical interpretation of life in Stockton's Little Manila in 1938. The video shows the Peas working in asparagus, and then getting dressed up at night to go out to the dance halls in downtown. "Filipinos came to the Central Valley and performed backbreaking work in the agricultural fields, particularly in asparagus, but at night, they had a reputation for being the sharpest dressers in Macintosh and zoot suits, the slickest dancers, the best jazz musicians," she said. "The video depicts all of that hardship and all of the fun that must have been life for Filipinos Depression-era Stockton. Because of the sex ratio imbalance of very few Filipino women and a lot of young, single Filipino men, the multiracial dance halls were like magnets to Filipinos."

Stockton was the party central for Filipinos in the United States, she said, an aspect of history depicted in the "Bebot" video.
"Stockton in the 1930s was a wide-open town - gambling, dance halls, pool halls, saloons. To turn a blind eye, police were paid off handsomely - and so these young bachelors flocked from all over the nation to Stockton for fun," she said. Stockton in the 1930s, according to oldtimers, was even more fun than downtown Los Angeles or San Francisco, Mabalon said.

Historic photographs of Ernie Hernandez's 1930s jazz band from the 1930s, San Joaquin County asparagus crews, and photographs of young Filipinos dressed in snazzy suits taken on El Dorado Street in the 1930s were used as inspiration for the production design, down to some painstaking detail. The crew, for example, tracked down a similar guitar to the one used in the Hernandez jazz band photograph.

The Little Manila Foundation works to preserve and revitalize the last remaining buildings of the Little Manila neighborhood, which was ravaged by urban redevelopment in recent decades. Since 1999, the Little Manila Foundation has fought developers and demolition-happy politicians to save the remaining buildings, among them, the original Rizal Social Club. In 2002, the city designated four blocks of downtown Stockton as the Little Manila Historic Site. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Little Manila Historic Site to their annual list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in the nation.

Since then, the Foundation has successfully saved the neighborhood from imminent destruction, and works to educate the public about the need for Filipino American cultural and historic preservation in Stockton. They hope to restore and open the Mariposa Hotel in 2007.

"Our struggle continues as we begin the process of remodeling and refurbishing the Mariposa Hotel to help remind us of our past struggles but also to celebrate the contributions and our participation in building this country," said Rico Reyes, co-chair of the Little Manila Foundation. "The community's financial commitment is crucial to preserving and revitalizing the neighborhood known as Little Manila." Tax-deductible gifts can be sent to the Little Manila Foundation, PO Box 1356, Stockton, CA 95201.

Starting August 4, the Black Eyed Peas video "Bebot" can be viewed at http://www.kidheroes.net/bebot/index.html. The Little Manila Foundation has produced a short companion documentary to the video, which can be viewed at www.littlemanila.net.

Friday, August 04, 2006

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

CrossFit Circuit (for time)
Run 800 meters
25 walking lunges with dumbells
25 dumbell cleans
25 pull-ups
25 squats
25 dumbell push presses
25 full sit-ups
2 rope climbs
25 push-ups (on knees)
25 wall balls
25 hanging knees to elbows
25 kettlebell swings
120 jump rope turns
25 dumbell hang clean squats
Run 800 meters

(Joanne's Time: 49:48)

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Awww.... You got your first CrossFit callous!"
Said by Freddy to Joanne

Thursday, August 03, 2006

P.O.T.D.: I'm a wild bear!


For those of you that know the story, here's Nikko with a faux wild bear. Kudos if you know who the wild bear is.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

I'm in my head.

I know that you can't be perfect all the time. Believe me. I, the queen of I'm-so-not-perfect-that-I'm-in-the-negative-zone definitely know this. Lately I've been feeling like I've been faltering in my work-outs. I feel like I'm slower, slacking, and in a rut that I just can't manage to get out of.

Granted, this may not necessarily be the reality of my performance, but I'm definitely feeling it. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a competitive person. I can't stand competition. Something about it just conjures up painful memories of middle school P.E. when Mr. Burkhart would single me out and torture me in front of the class. During volleyball, he made me serve the entire period after letting him know I had a pulled muscle in my right arm. Because I didn't have a doctor's note, he thought I was lying and wanted to prove a point to the class. Through tears, extreme pain, and classmates pleading with Mr. Burkhart to sit me out, I had to suffer through the game. During gymnastics, I landed wrong and blacked out for about a minute. When I came to consciousness, he berated me because I did the move wrong (according to my classmates, it looked like I was going to snap my neck). Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge advocate of P.E. and definitely think that it should be part of the daily school curriculum. However, I think crappy P.E. teachers deserve the death penalty.

I think these memories are some of the demons l'm fighting each time I work out. This is why I try to push a little harder and go a little farther than what I'm used to. So when I'm in a slump (like the one I'm in right now), it just feels like those demons are back and they've won.

One thing I do know about working out is that your mind can take you farther than your body thinks it can go. This kind of mental endurance is what comes over you when you're training for a marathon. It's mile 20 and you can feel that wall creeping up on you. The body can easily surrender, but what separates you from reaching that 26.2 mile mark is the distance your mind will allow you to go. It's fact. Simple fact.

Freddy pointed it out to me. I'm in my head. I'm in my head and I just need to get out of my head. This is why I'm struggling in class right now. I'm in my head.

While I'm not a competitive person, I can't help but notice that I'm coming in close to last all the time. Other folks in the class are getting better and better while I'm just slipping. I don't expect to be better than anyone else, but I can't help but notice that I'm slipping with nothing to hold on to.

UGH! It's me. I'm in my head.

I'm in my head.

OWMA W.O.T.D.

Instructor: Freddy

Warm-Up
Run 400 meters
100 punches
100 jump rope turns
Repeat sequence 4 times

Tabata Luv! (and some other stuff)
50 jumping pull-ups*
Wall ball abs tabata
50 ball push-ups
Bottom to bottom tabata squats (20 seconds of squats; 10 second holding squat)
(A tabata is 8 rounds of: 20 seconds of work, 10 second rest)

OWMA Quotable Quote
"I can feel that chile verde from last night coming up."
- said by Marietta


*Note: I did 30 jumping pull-ups. I stayed after class to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes, do my missing 20 jumping pull-ups, and stretch.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

P.O.T.D.: Cool Runnings Part II


Nikko and Bren posing in front of the infamous bobsled. Yes... the store actually sells the dredded hats and allows you to photograph in them.


Although Bren has no idea what it means to look stoned, I think he does a pretty good job here. (FYI: I did not tell him to "look stoned," that was the face he gave me and I clicked. Check out Nikko fixing Bren's locks. Such a good older brother!)