Where are you (really) from?

As a Westerner living in Hong Kong one of the questions I get asked on a regular basis is, "So, where are you from?"

This question will be asked at dinner parties, church functions, the workplace, and nearly any other activity where at least one other person is involved.  The cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong means you have a lot of people "from" somewhere else and the question just seems to roll out when you first meet a new acquaintance right alongside of "So, what do you do?"

The "Where are you from?" question has become a lot harder for me to answer as the years roll by.  When I first moved to Asia more than 20 years ago I would always answer, "I'm from Detroit."  It made sense then but as I haven't lived in Detroit since 1990 am I really still, "From Detroit."

So where am I "from"?  Well here are some contenders and why:

Detroit Michigan USA:  (Birth - 1990) City of my birth and still very dear to my heart.  Its where I was raised and gave me the Mid -West American values I like to think have shaped me somewhat into the person I am today. The family moved to the suburbs when I was 8 and I experienced a wonderful childhood there in the 1970's and '80s with great friends and great memories.  To this day I'm still a Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, and (sigh) Lions fan!

Hong Kong:  (1990 -2000, 2009-Present) I arrived in Hong Kong in 1990 for 5 months and stayed nearly 10 years.  I met my wife here and both of my sons were born here.  A formative part of my adult life was established in this city.  I have had the privilege of experiencing Hong Kong both as a territory of Britain and then later as a Special Administrative Region of China.

Boulder Colorado USA:  (2000 - 2008) Our years in Boulder were not always easy but they were special.  It was the formative years for Gabriel and he is still quick to say he is "from Boulder".  Within Boulder though we have dear friends, a dear church family, and many dear memories.

We briefly lived in  Qingdao China in 2008 and  Gabriel would have a little fun whenever Chinese people would ask where we were from.  He would say, "From Hong Kong" often eliciting stunned reactions from the questioners.  There is a certain expectation based on a person's ethnicity of where they are "really" from.  I know when I have attended conferences where my name tag will say I'm a participant from Hong Kong but people would subtly try to find out where I was "really" from. 

Which had me wondering; "Are white people allowed to come "from" Hong Kong?" 

I realize now in America the sensitivity some people have when other people try to categorize where they are from.  For example we tend to assume a person of Hispanic origin is "really" from" Mexico or other South American country when they were very likely to have been born and led their whole lives in the States. 

I remember once when I was working in Colorado how I asked a hotel guest, who I recognized with a very distinct Singaporean (Singlish) accent, where he was from.

"Chicago" he replied.

He didn't elaborate and I was disappointed as I am quite familiar with Singapore and wanted to talk a bit with him about it but he said, "Chicago" in a way that indicated he didn't want it challenged...so I didn't.  But deep down I wanted to know where he really was from.

My children are Americans but born in Hong Kong.  Are they from America...Hong Kong... or both?  Recently I was chaperoning a school trip overseas with some of our students.  As we were entering the customs area there are electronic booths for Hong Kong residents allowing them to insert their I.D. card and thumb print and not have to enter the long immigration lines.  One of the Hong Kong Chinese students laughed and said, "Ha, Mr. Hackman now we get to go through here but you must go down there," indicating toward the long lines at the immigration counters.

The students inserted their cards and walked through.  I smiled and inserted my card placing my thumb on the scanner.  The metal gates opened up and I "departed" Hong Kong.

Watching this, the student's mouth dropped open and she asked in bewilderment.  "Mr. Hackman, how did you do that?"

"You do know I am from Hong Kong as well...right?"

"But ...you are a foreigner."

"I may be a "foreigner", I answered, "but I was living in Hong Kong since before you were born."

So where am I from?  Maybe the best answer is "lots of different places" or maybe Larry Norman said it best when he sang, "This world is not my home...I'm just passin' through"

"Planking" in Australia

I was surprised a couple weeks ago when my 13 year old son Gabriel came bounding into my office, dove onto my couch and just laid there face down pinning his arms flush against his side with his feet pointed out.

"Do you know what I'm doing Papa?" he asked.

A few thoughts came to mind but I held my tongue and said, "Nope."

"Its called planking...and everyone is doing it."

Now when teenagers say "everyone" obviously a few qualifiers come to mind.  Does "everyone" mean:

* your geeky friends
* your class
* your school
* 13 year olds in general across the universe

I mean is the Dahli Lamma doing it?  Is Betty White planking now? 

Turns out my 44 year old social circles just aren't "with it" anymore as apparently everyone  is planking.  And do you know where planking is REALLY popular?...

Australia

Yep, the Land Down Under which gave us other notable cultural curiosities like Crocodile Dundee, Yahoo Serious, Shrimps on a Barbie and Aussie Rules Football is now out on the cutting edge of relevance with this new export to the world...Planking!

Apparently the idea is not only to "assume the position" but to do it in the most creative and public place possible, get a picture of it and then post it to Facebook.  It seems there are contests with people trying to outdo the "plank" of a friend or co-worker.




Anyhow, I may have to give the "plank" craze a miss but when I saw the Youtube clip I have included, I had to give it a post.

Todd Helton's 2000th Game

Todd Helton is my favorite baseball player currently still playing and I just wanted to do a shout out that today he hit the milestone of playing in his 2000th Major League ball game.  Let me say that again...

His TWO THOUSANDTH game!!

Two thousand times running onto a field nearly every red blooded American kid dreams of running on.  Which also translates into going to bat 7139 times, striking out 1008 times, 2308 hits, 1273 Runs Batted In, and (ouch) being hit by a pitch 54 times.  Multiple years he has been an All Star, Golden Glove, and Silver Slugger

Whats even more impressive is in an era of big money and free agency he has done it all on the same team; The Colorado Rockies.  In fact, of the literally tens of thousands of baseball players who have played in Major League Baseball he is only the 54th ball player to play that long with a single ballclub.

Helton struggled last year with a degenerative back ailment.  The lifetime .326 hitter ended the 2010 season with a disappointing .256 and just 8 home runs.  Speculation was raised on whether the Colorado fan favorite may retire at the age of 37.  But Helton, whose contract with the Rockies runs through the 2013 season, wants to finish his career on his own terms.  Rising to the challenge, he has silenced his detractors going into the All Star break with a .306 batting average, 14 doubles and 9 Home Runs.

Usually when I see a hitter with a full count I feel sorry for the hitter.  When I see Helton with a full count, I feel sorry for the pitcher.  Watching him bat is always a pleasure as he has an uncanny ability to wait a pitcher out, put some stick on the ball on a bad pitch, and just plain make a play happen.  

He also is very "old school" in his approach to game.  He hustles on and off the field and has set an example for his teammates for years.  He said once that he was taught in Little League that you always had to run while on the play field; that you couldn't "walk" on and off between innings.  That mindset, coupled with his active Christian faith, has served to lead his team against the odds to a 2007 World Series appearance.

Todd's not done yet and I, and many Colorado fans, look forward to watching him at Coors Field and who knows, maybe another "Rocktober" season or two.

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

I don't usually do reviews of movies like X-Men First Class.  Not to say I don't enjoy typical summer popcorn entertainment as much as the next guy but if I'm honest, I had figured I would catch this installment of the X-Men franchise on DVD when it came out. 

But Tammy and I were watching the BBC news before church on Sunday morning and a movie review and interview with James McAvoy, who plays the mutant leader Charles Xavier, came on.  I hadn't realized that the new movie was a period piece set in 1960's Cold War America and that McAvoy would be assuming the younger version of the role Patrick Stewart played in the original 3 movies of the franchise.

Now, I'm a sucker for movies set in the '60's.  Besides the fact that it was the decade that brought yours truly into the world, the style of the time mixed with the US-Soviet paranoia makes for a fantastic film backdrop. No cell phones, internet, or Facebook.  Just good old fashioned CIA-KGB espionage with guys wearing cool horn rimmed glasses. 

Anyhow, the reason I'm doing a short post on the movie is because it so surpassed my expectations.  The four of us (yes Ethan was there) caught the 3:00 showing at Elements Mall and half way through I leaned over to Gabriel & Tammy and said, "This one is much better than the first movies."  To which they both nodded.

I'm not going to go into all the details but James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender's versions of a young Charles Xavier and Erick Lensherr (Magneto) surpassed even those of their more distinguished predecessors, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen respectively.  Watching the blossoming friendship between the two knowing that they will end up becoming mortal enemies is one of my favorite plot devices.  Smallville used it so successfully when it built up the Lex Luthor / Clark Kent feeling of brotherhood only to feel, as the viewer, the internal turmoil personally when you see it disintegrate.  X-Men First Class surpasses expectations because it's focus is on these two and their love / hate relationship.  Super powered fights and special effects were secondary to the feeling of a Shakespearean tragedy that was unfolding on screen before your very eyes.

And again, the 60's motif was another key element.  What could be more '60's than having Xavier & Magneto playing a game of chess in an English mansion next to a roaring fire while sipping martinis in their turtleneck sweaters?  They even segwayed the story into the Cuban Missle Crisis.  Superb!

Oh, and I can't finish this post without mentioning Kevin Bacon. When is this guy going to get an Oscar?  I mean, no he won't get one for X-Men First Class, but the guy brings his A-game to every film he's in.

Anyhow, get out to see X-Men: First Class...its well worth it!

"Big Brother, Little Brother" comment riles Vietnam in the South China Sea

The potential for conflict in the South China Sea is heating up.  While American forces continue to concentrate on Afghanistan and the 40 or 50 al qaeda members still left there, more ominous issues in the Pacific region are developing. 

Last week Chinese fishing boats allegedly attempted to cut the cables of Vietnamese gas and oil exploration vessels.  China lays claim to roughly 90% of the South China Sea and responds that it is simply exercising its jurisdiction despite the fact that the incident occurred within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Vietnam recognised under International Maritime Law.

China has been using these "fishing boats" on a regular basis in an attempt to enforce  its claim to a number of island chains supposedly full of untapped oil and natural gas.  Vietnam has responded by holding live fire navel maneuvers off its coast near the disputed region in an escalating show of force that is designed to highlight its view on the matter.

As various foreign affairs experts weigh in on the geo-politics of the dispute one particular comment, made by Mainland born academic Wang Hanling recently, has grabbed the headlines.  In response to Vietnam's use of naval drills in the area he says,

 "If the big brother bullies the younger brother it is not good and is something that should not happen, [but] if the younger brother challenges or bullies the older brother, it's just ridiculous."

This comment demonstrates the gulf in understanding between the West and China in regards to foreign affairs.  The West wants debate on territorial disputes to center on aspects of Internationally recognized maritime law.  China in contrast tends to see its role in International relations, particularly in Asia, as a paternalistic father that  will deal favorably with its children, or in this case "little brother" provided they display proper filial piety or "proper relationship" in keeping with the Confucian view of the world.

One could only imagine what would happen if President Obama reacted to trade issues with Canada with speeches suggesting that "Little brother" Canada needed to be less belligerent to its "Big Brother" if it wanted to stay in favor within the family.  While this line of reasoning seems peculiar to Western audiences, it is a way of looking at the world held by a country that is quickly becoming a regional, if not yet a global, superpower.

This Sinocentric view of International relations held by China, while largely ignored by the West in past decades, will have to be taken more seriously as the Middle Kingdom expands economically and militarily in South-East Asia.  Long held International laws are chafed at by a China that had no say in their creation and thus feel less bound by their stipulations.

The United States needs to keep its eye on the ball.  As a global player with no territorial claims in the area its role as peace broker is needed now more than ever.  The smaller countries of the region are looking to America for leadership on the matter.  The last thing they need is an America that is war weary, debt ridden, and withdrawn. 

Macau trip post lost!

Had one of those crazy computer glitches last week.  I'd been on a roll trying to keep up with the blog posts here at Beyond the Pale and a few days back I spent about an hour writing a post on my recent trip to Macau.  It included anecdotes of a good time spent there as well as a little history of the 500 year old former Portuguese colony for those readers not from Hong Kong or China. 

Alas, when I had the photos correct and the post just the way I wanted it, I hit "Publish Post"...and then whole computer froze!  A sudden panic turned to relief thinking that blogpost saves regularly and the loss, if any, should be minimal.  Re-booting the computer however proved otherwise.  For some reason, nothing was saved...and for those of you saying, "Did you try such and such"  the answer is "Yes, I did...and it didn't help" 

My wonderful blog post detailing our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, exotic dinner at Fernandoes, and the Vegas style extravaganza show "House of the Dancing Water" was forever lost into the digital abyss.  The thought of trying to recreate it was too depressing a thought to contemplate. 

Actually, I was furious... but rather than pounding on my desk like a madman and using language that my mother would disapprove of, I went to the gym and had an amazing work out. Now after avoiding this blog for the last 5 or 6 days....I'm back!  Here are the pictures from the post you never got to see




Book Review: Rob Lowe's "Stories I Only Tell My Friends"

I'm a sucker for a good showbiz memoir. Those of you that know me well also know that a move to Hollywood  and an attempt at movie stardom was the road ALMOST taken.

Yeah, in 1988 I was saving up for the big move to Los Angeles and often regale my friends in Detroit on what my Oscar acceptance speech was going to be one day or what quirky anecdote I was going to share with David Letterman when I was asked to be a guest on his show.

Alas, Jesus had other plans for yours truly and I took all that money I'd saved and headed out to Asia to be a missionary. I remember sitting in the parking lot of Burger King one day and saying to my friend Dave, "Should I move to L.A. and become a movie star or to Asia to be a missionary?"  Dave looked up from his Whopper, wiped his mouth and replied, "Steve, only you could be contemplating choices at such opposite ends of the spectrum."  In the end, the Holy Spirit got His way and overseas I went  

Of course I remember at one point laying on a bamboo floor trying to sleep in the hot Borneo heat thinking of all my L.A. money I'd shot to come there and saying to myself, "What in the hell have I just done?" 

Anyhow, back to Rob Lowe and his new memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends.  In it Lowe has delivered an insightful, intelligent, and very grounded look back at a career that has had both highs (The West Wing) and lows (dancing with Snow White at the Academy awards.) 

Because of his almost preternatural good looks Lowe can sometimes be erroneously dismissed as a "pretty boy".  This is unfortunate because what Stories instead reveals is a man with a sharp mind and a keen insight into the human condition.  For instance, when relating some of the tragedy to befall a number of friends and aquaintances living in the hedonistic counter culture of mid-1970's Malibu he states:

"To be counter to the culture, you are by definition willully and actively ignoring the culture, i.e. reality.  And when you ignore reality for too long you begin to feel imune to, or above, the gravitational pull that binds everyone else.  You are courting disaster"

Stories is filled with these observations and the former Brat Packer seems to both relish his successful situation as well as critiquing the absurdity of the system that got him there in the first place.

Lowe also has the uncanny "Forrest Gump" like quality of somehow connecting with every major person or event of the last 30 years.  For example as a 14 year old "nobody" his step father's sister is doing some technical work on a "Cheesy western" Sci-fi type movie.  She says it's stupid but if he wants to come down and watch some filming he can.  He goes to the warehouse where they are shooting and he gradually reveals that this "cheesy-western" Sci-fi movie is in fact Star Wars.  Whether he is meeting Liza Minelli, being chased on Halloween night by a baseball bat wielding Martin Sheen, or hanging out in history class with this funny kid sitting next to him named Robert Downey Jr., you are left thinking, "This guy has a lot of good stories to tell."

Lowe also seems to be aware of his audience.  This is no trashy Hollywood movie star "tell all".  He doesn't attempt to hide some of his bad choices but when addressed, are done tastefully in a manner that suggests that he has written this not just as a movie star, but as a husband and father. 

Anyhow, I literally can't put the book down and recommend it highly to readers of Beyond the Pale.  For someone who is fascinated with movies, story, and the creative process, I find myself enthralled with Lowe's tales.  He's a guy whose been around a long time, has seen a lot, and finally has sat down and wrote about it.  Ok, full disclosure. When I first saw St. Elmo's Fire in 1985, I came this close to getting an earring like his character Billy had in the film. Yep, it was the 80's and we did weird things.

In the end I find myself wishing I knew this guy personally just so I could hear some of these stories first hand over a nice meal and a cold beer.  Guess I'll just have to settle for the book...