Subverses panel discussion

Does that look sparse? Maybe. But as it went, more came in, and it didn't feel like as many seats were empty. It's a wide angle lens illusion. The talk itself was a lot more thoughtful that thought provoking at least to me than most panel discussions I am on. At this point in my life, being on a panel is about giving something to the people who attending to take with them, rather then dazzling them with useless "wow factor" facts and information. It's always a difficult situation since being on a panel is also being an entertainer. If you're not telling jokes and getting laughs which are good for a moment but are fleeting, then you have to care and hopefully have enough incite to offer some new thoughts about whatever topic you're on. Hopefully the audience will understand what you're talking about.

That's Phil, Angryasianman.com

The panel was about popular culture but crossed into many avenues of fairly thought provoking discussion at least from my end. What could have been tired stories about Asian pop culture heroes, turned into issues of politics, "community," Asian American representation, Asian vs Asian America. We were given a list of questions, which I didn't read, and maybe I should have. I was forced to think a lot which I don't have to do most of the times in panels or talks. We did get through all of their questions. It felt like a lot and usually time runs out quick, but we kept on going.

Jeff Liu from Visual Communications (yes go to the film fest in LA. May 1 - 8th) and Daniel Lee the professor at UCLA.

It was great to hear words from the other panelists. I learned about their perspectives, which differ from mine, but are backed up with their reasons and experiences. The audience questions were good too. They made me think, just to offer decent answers. If you missed it tonite, it might show up on video. The Subverses team did tape it. For maybe a few minutes, I felt in tune with where Asian America sits. It's not great yet, but it's moving, and that's good.