I saw an Abercrombie & Fitch store last weekend and I wondered how they're still in business, which reminded me to watch Netflix's documentary, White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch​. Maybe because Abercrombie was such a cultural staple during my tween and teen years, I felt especially angry watching this. I think it's an important watch, because it also highlights the problem with many diversity & inclusion initiatives beyond the obvious.

I read somewhere that the Year of the Ox (this last year) was all about recognizing our responsibilities and putting in the work, while the Year of the Tiger is about putting that work into drive and really making things happen. So let's find out who the Tiger is, the Tiger's lucky and unlucky signs, and what to expect in the Year of the Tiger. (Anyone else suddenly bust out singing "Eye of the Tiger" whenever they say "Year of the Tiger" 🐅?)

These handmade artisan Chinese cloth shoes, bù xié, are a 3,000 year old tradition. They're typically made of 100% natural fibres such as cotton, wool, hemp, silk, and linen.  They are sturdy, lightweight, and comfortable. Intended for outdoor use, they also make great home slippers. 

We had our first incident with baby sending something down the toilet without us realizing it. That something was the silver metal toilet paper rod. He has dropped other items in the toilet and I've always fetched them out. How I missed the rod, I do not know.  Anyhow, this fun incident brought to light one of the cultural differences in my marriage.

I've seen a lot of people get upset over this film recently, and say the filmmakers exploited children and made child pornography. It all started when Netflix released a piece of promo for the film that showed the young stars of the film in provocative dance positions. At first, knowing nothing of the film, I thought it was a bad poster for a tasteless cheerleading movie. So, I mostly ignored the whole thing, because I thought, I'm not watching a movie that exploits children. Isn't that what "Dance Moms" is? (I don't know, I've never seen it) Then someone shared an article that was titled "We Watched Netflix's 'Cuties' So You Don't Have To" and they were asking their friends and followers to sign a petition to have it removed from Netflix. That's when I decided I needed to watch it, because I'm not letting anyone make judgments for me.

What I mean by "new cultural discovery" is that it is new to me. A few weeks ago, in one of the mommy Facebook groups I'm in, I saw a post by one mama about shaving baby's head. According to the post and/or comments in the post, it was a Mexican cultural thing. I didn't think much more on it, until the other morning when my dad jokingly talked about shaving our baby's head and I immediately asked if that's a Chinese thing, too. He said, yes, Chinese people shave babies' heads, but he didn't recall why, so I decided to do some investigating! By the way, when I say baby, I mean months old, maybe even days old babies.

I finally watched Black is King on Disney+ and it has got to be one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have ever seen. Following my recent post on screen time for my kid, I decided to turn the screen on. But, when I turn the screen on, I want to surround my son with art and inspiration. Black is King is everything glorious and large you'd expect from Beyonce, but more than a 90 minute Beyonce music video (which is basically what this film is, and every minute is worth it), this is a celebration of culture, history, and the beautiful and powerful tomorrow that still lies ahead. SPOILER ALERT: There's a lot I love about this and don't want to spoil too much, but I think one of my favorite things in this piece of art is seeing Beyonce and Kelly Rowland's friendship and sisterhood still growing strong.

Watching this has further inspired me to dig deeper into my ancestral history, because I'd like to see Chinese and Asian cultures celebrated and empowered this way. I've been thinking a lot about how one big misconception of Asian culture is that we are a submissive culture, especially the women. It's time to tell the truth, to show the world the truth. There's not much else to say on this, because you need to witness and experience it for yourself. So, go watch it. And then re-watch it. We all need more of this kind of magic to rain down on us.

Last month, Don Lemon spoke with Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University. When asked why he thought while others countries are trending down in COVID-19 cases, we are doing the opposite and trending up, Dr. Schaffner made a very interesting cultural point, that I’m not sure I ever expected an American to admit to, especially a white American. Dr. Schaffner feels our individualistic culture plays a factor in why we can’t seem to contain the virus. He makes an interesting point, especially when you think about all the people arguing that wearing a mask goes against their individual freedom. We aren't the only country with "anti-maskers," but we appear to be the only country with a lack of leadership that has lead to turning a global pandemic into a partisan issue, and it has raised some questions about the importance we place on individualism. And is individualism really a factor in our failing fight against COVID-19?

In my family, everyone speaks at least three languages, so I grew up in a house full of languages. Beyond my home, growing up in a multicultural part of Los Angeles, I was also constantly surrounded by different languages. This exposure to different languages has been a major influence in my life and as I grew older and studied more languages it was like opening up a special kaleidoscope window into the world that I wish everyone could look through. Now that I have my own child, it is all the more important to me to raise my son knowing and appreciating different languages. While I think most of us are aware of the general benefits of knowing at least a second language, I wanted to dive into this, as well as add my personal experience and perspective on being a polyglot.

I grew up in a family where my parents called each other's parents "mom" and "dad." Well, "mama" and "baba" in Chinese. For me, that was the norm and what I expected to do should I ever get married. And I like that, because to me, it suggests a closeness and warmth in the relationships. When I got engaged, I asked Chris if it would be weird for me to call his parents "mom" and "dad" or some version of it. It feels weird to me to call them the same thing I call my parents--it's just so personal. But I wanted to build a closeness with them, especially as I felt it must be hard for them to have their son permanently move an ocean and a country away. So, it was helpful we could go British with the terms, since Chris' father is British. But I was surprised by Chris' response. He said, "It's old-fashioned, but I think they'd like it." Old-fashioned? Up until then, I thought everyone did it. Then just a few weeks ago, I learned something interesting about Chinese culture that I didn't know before, and I decided to survey my friends to see how everyone addresses their in-laws.