Ok, so there’s something definitely wrong with our system if the INS is extending the visa of 2 of the 9/11 suicide pilots, yet a very much ALIVE American citizen (yours truly) cannot receive naturalization for her spouse, even through a few years of marriage. Truly astonishing, and most undeniably fucked up.

On a lighter side of things, my parents were in town, and I thoroughly enjoyed feasting to oblivion. I took them to one of my favorite Filipino restaurants, Renee’s Kitchenette up in Queens, and they loved the food! Picking more and more dishes. My mom would just say, “Well, we can always take the leftovers home!” Renee’s makes some kick ass tokwat baboy. There’s something about the soy sauce, garlic, and fried tofu.

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Nyabinghi Productions presents...

An Evening of Performances for ANOMALY

What box do you check? African American? Asian? Caucasian? Hispanic? Other?

Through words and music, this event will gather performers from various ethnic backgrounds, exploring themes of multiracial identity, myths of racial purity, and self-identification as self-determination.

Appearances by:
Thaddeus Rutkowski, slam artist and author of “Roughhouse” (Kaya Press)
Sabrina Margarita Alcantara-Tan, poet and editress of the zine “Bamboo Girl”
Michelle Myers, spoken word artist from Yellow Rage and the performance collective Asians Misbehavin’ (Philadelphia)
Vaimoana Niumeitolu and Gabriella Callender from the performance troupe Mahina Movement
....along with other special guests.

Come to the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for raffle prizes, refreshments and fun.
When: Saturday, March 23, 2002, 7:30 pm
Where: The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 16 West 32nd Street, Suite 10A, (between Broadway and 5th Avenue), NYC
Admission: $7 suggested donation
Public transportation: W, Q, F, N, R to 34th St; 1, 2, 3, 9 to 34th St; 6 to 33rd St

All proceeds to benefit the production of a trailer for ANOMALY, a documentary that explores the lives of people of mixed race. Directed/produced by Jessica Chen Drammeh; Associate Producer Sharon Smith.

The hour-long documentary film, ANOMALY, will explore the inner lives of people of mixed race and the complexities of identity in a society defined by precise racial categories. Through a collection of interviews, the film is an investigation, by a woman director of mixed race, of the issues that multiracial Americans face. This groundbreaking production will locate multiracial people in a social, cultural and political context. The program will take the viewer on an intimate journey through the struggle for self-identification in a society that demands to know, “What are you?”

ANOMALY is currently in pre-production/production. The producers are conducting grassroots fundraising in conjunction with formal grant applications.

If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute to the production fund, you can make a tax-deductible donation to the project. Make your donations payable to our fiscal sponsor, Third World Newsreel, and write ANOMALY on the memo line. Send to: Jessica Chen Drammeh, Nyabinghi Productions, 853 Broadway, Suite 1516 #160, New York, NY 10003.

For more information or to get involved, email jchendrammeh@hotmail.com.

Thanks for your participation and interest in this landmark documentary!


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ALARMING INCREASE IN NYC SEX CRIMES

Rape & sex crimes in NYC has soared to 138% over last year's! 50 rapes & sex crimes this past week versus 21 last year for the same period!

Mayor Bloomberg requests Police Commish Kelly to form a Task Force on Rape and Sex Crimes. (The old one was disbanded in the early 1990s)

The women's movement, the community of women, must re-dedicate our efforts, must re-fuel our energies in order to escalate our efforts in the fight against sex crimes.

Please pass around the email to the Police Commisioner which is below. And please -- let's FLOOD him, the Mayor and ALL 51 on the City Council with similar email:

Email to all NYC City Council: members@council.nyc.ny.us
Email to Mayor & Police Commissioner, via NYC.gov

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Pass this along to every woman you have access to -- a new twist on kidnapping.

This story is from a flyer written by a smart survivor and then distributed by her at the shopping mall where she was almost kidnapped:

This woman had finished shopping, went out to her car and discovered that she had a flat. She got the jack out of the trunk and began to change the flat. A nice man dressed in business suit and carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, "I noticed you're changing a flat tire. Would you like me to take care of it for you?" The woman was grateful for his offer and accepted his help. They chatted amiably while the man changed the flat, and then put the flat tire and the jack in the trunk, shut it and dusted his hands off. The woman thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car, the man told her that he left his car around on the other side of the mall, and asked if she would mind giving him a lift to his car. She was a little surprised and she asked him why his car was on other side. He explained that he had seen an old friend in the mall that he hadn't seen for some time and they had a bite to eat and visited for a while; he got turn ed around in the mall and left through the wrong exit, and now he was running late and his car was clear around on the other side of the mall. The woman hated to tell him "no" because he had just rescued her from having to change her flat tire all by herself, but she felt uneasy.

Then she remembered seeing the man put his briefcase in her trunk before shutting it and before he asked her for a ride to his car. She told him that she'd be happy to drive him around to his car, but she just remembered one last thing she needed to buy. She said she would only be a few minutes; he could sit down in her car and wait for her. She hurried into the mall, and told a security guard what had happened; the guard came out to her car with her, but the man had left. They opened the trunk, took out his locked briefcase and took it down to the police station. The police opened it (ostensibly to look for ID so they could return it to the man). What they found was rope, duct tape, and knives. When the police checked her "flat" tire, there was nothing wrong with it; the air had simply been let out. It was obvious what the man's intention was, and obvious that he had carefully thought it out in advance.

The woman was blessed to have escaped harm.

Esp. pass this info on to those who are the most kidnapped: TEEN & COLLEGE-AGE GIRLS.


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SATURDAY APRIL 6, 2-5pm

ON THE CULTURAL FRONT: MULTIRACIAL DAUGHTERS

Drawing on writing, performance and personal narratives, mixed-race women will share stories of growing up in multiracial families and living in the larger world. How do ethnicity, identity and community get played out at home and in a complex society that is both racist and multicultural?

Co-organized with Jessica Chen Drammeh.

Moderator: Jennifer Chan, a Chinese Jew from California, teaches Asians of Mixed Heritage in the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program at NYU.

Sabrina Margarita Alcantara-Tan, of Filipina, Chinese, Spanish and Irish descent, creates the zine Bamboo Girl and is a performance artist.

Lenora Odeku, (Nigerian father, American white mother), is a corporate
attorney, writer and musician.

Ajani Schuster, a second-generation Jamaican American and a Jew, currently
attends Hunter College.

Saturday, April 6, 2002, 2-5 pm, $10/$5 limited income
New Georges/The Room, 27 W 20th Street
Room 701, NY, NY
Wheelchair accessible entrance