ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!

Photo from BBC NEWS/ASIA-PACIFIC

Chen Sui Bien gets Life

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! In a country saturated with corruption and political embezzlement, the only one getting a (in my opinion) EXTREMELY HARSH sentence is the Man who stood up for Taiwanese Independence and FREEDOM from CHINA?!!  I'm sorry I can't stand by the wayside and not react in disgust to this lopsided 'justice'.  Chen may be wrong but everyone on this island knows this kind of stuff happens left and right in the government.

I'm not Taiwanese, but I grew up here.  This is home, and I know better than to speak out of turn, but this is ridiculous.  Forgive me if you don't agree, but what I have witnessed these past few years is a corrupted system of media, politics, and JUSTICE carried out by the CURRENT Ruling Party.  I'm tired of watching young Taiwanese cheer for the national team in the Deaflympics by yelling, "GO! CHINESE TAIPEI!"

CHINESE TAIPEI!!!??? Are you serious?!  Has the whole island decided to lie on its back as THE BULLY UP NORTH WALKS ALL OVER US?! This is TAIWAN!  I'm not even Taiwanese, and I was so offended that I had to walk away from the TV immediately.

I am even ashamed of the fact that I can't speak a lick of TAIWANESE.  To the point that every time I am addressed in the local language, I apologize for disrespecting the heritage of my adopted country by not learning to SPEAK in TAIWANESE!

I will always be a foreigner living in Taiwan.  But after all these years of watching a single party rule this 'democratic' country, the voice of a generation begging for identity and national pride voted for a local son of Taiwan to be their President and leader back in 2000. I jumped out of my chair with joy after the election votes were tallied. I watched my folks jump with joy and called local Taiwanese friends to congratulate them.  It was awesome. 

and now?

Now I get on BBC, and this same man is led away with a life sentence for embezzling money and allowing gross corruption during his presidency.  I'm sure he's not innocent, I'm pretty sure he stole from the Taiwanese people, but I also have a feeling that the CURRENT PARTY has abandoned JUSTICE by the wayside in favor of making an example out of anyone that would try to declare INDEPENDENCE from CHINA.

This trial was nothing more than a faux.  A giant "Don't F*** WITH Us" sign from the current party, and their buddies in China.

I love Taiwan, this is my home.  But aside from all this political 'riff raff', what I saw today on BBC was the current state of my beloved adopted country. Taiwan, nothing more than an infested, corrupted, corpse of a once bold and promising new NATION.

HELLO DESTROYERs

So what have I been up to?  


Especially with all these new little graphics and drawings that have been floating around my facebook? 


Well I've started a T-shirt/Printing/Design company with a two of my best friends. It's called HELLO DESTROYERS  


"why?" 


Cuz I think its sounds cool duh! Also because this company shares alot of my passion, and my friend's passion for art, music, and social issues. Just like how I used to burn for you guys my HELLO DESTROYER mix cds, this is me sharing my passion with people through other medium.  


“...but what does it mean?”  


To me Hello Destroyers stands for you, me, everyone. Everyone has huge potential to change or effect their community, their society, or even the world. We can either ‘destroy’ what is good in the world by ignoring those who need help, or we can ‘destroy’ the very hurts of this world by helping to spread the message of change, hope, and healing.  


“...so simply put…?”  


Danny and I started Hello Destroyers as a way to independently support our favorite 'Destroyers’. Those who have given their lives to bring change, hope, rescue, and love to those who hurt all over the world, this is our way of helping get their message out to more people!  


“Who are these ‘Destroyers’?”  


Right now we are planning to work with: Rapha House based in Joplin, Missouri. Their goal it to help young girls rescued from sex slavery in Cambodia; Mwanzaga International, a group that helps rescued child soldiers and women who have been affected by the war in the Congo region; and Watoto, an orphanage in Uganda focused on raising the next generation of African Leaders. We hope to continue to find more partners and share in their vision. (there is a possible N.Africa partner in the works, PRAY!!)  


“What if I know some really cool group that needs to heard?”  


LET US KNOW ABOUT THEM!!! If you start asking us to help your group, or help to spread the message by wearing our shirts, then we have accomplished what we set out to do! This is OUR MIX CD for the world.  


“So are you non-profit?”  


Sadly, no. We both just started this company, but we give 10% of our sales to these groups, and all our designs are inspired by their hearts and passion. But hear us out, “WE WANT TO GIVE MORE!!!” I want to give so much more, but we need to build revenue to run the sites, the printers, the shirts, and sometimes, Danny and I have to pay the rent. In the future, we're hoping to get to a point that we can give up to 50% of our sales.  


Take some time to check out our PAGE on FACEBOOK! I'm stoked, this is something that I've always wanted to do!! Plus I get to talk about Social Justice, and Promote my friends and favorite Groups!! I'd love for you all to be a part of this.

Music Moosick Muezik Muelsick Mewzlick

currently listening to CASS MCCOMBS - CATACOMBS

I remember when I was about 8 or 9, one of my dad's ministry friend came to visit him.  He brought his two sons with him, both of them older than my brother and I by about 5 years.  They had with them a brand new Nintendo Gameboy.  So of course we took them back to our room, and took turns playing Megaman for about 2 hours.

A year later the same minister came back to see my dad, and brought his younger son.  So I went up to his son and asked, "Did you bring your gameboy?"

He looked at me and said, "Dude, I promise you, in a few years, your life will be swallowed up by music.  Music is way better than video games, trust me."

I laughed.

Now I'm juggling at least three music sites looking for the newest bands, songs, music news, labels etc.  I've subscribed to 15 music blogs, and Hype Machine, Myspace, Last.Fm, and even that atrocious online radio Pandora are life savers.  I hunt music down.  I stalk my friends like Joseph Roth, Ryan Larson, Zach Allen, Alexis Crandell, Kristi Hill, Andy Nash, Joe Carney and Antonio Montez's Facebook profiles to see what they're listening to.  If I watch a movie and I like the tune, I find the DVD, rush to the credits and scope the lists of songs.  I bring a tape recorder with me around in Taiwan just to record old people playing Taiwanese flute.

And ever since my friend Logan taught me how to play a few chords, I've been pounding away on that old guitar I bought from our school's janitor.  I write simple songs, love songs, worship songs, but mostly stuff I want to hear.  I think I write songs so I can have more songs.  My friend's music aren't my "friend's music" to me, they are "BRAND NEW SONGS NO ONES HEARD YET!"  I've sat in my bathroom, fighting off my cat who's trying to get in to take a crap, because I'm trying to record.  I've made two 'record labels', I've printed cd's, I've recorded demos, played at bars, played at coffee shops, jumped off a stage, get kicked out of a band for NOT WEARING GIRLS' JEANS, write an entire album in 2 weeks for a girl, wrote an entire album to try to get over her, writing another album because I'm still getting over her.  Got punched in the neck by my friend at a hardcore show, got spat on by the guys from Black Lips, cooked burgers for War of Ages and prayed for Four Year Strong in the middle of a rest stop in Tulsa, lived with one of my best friends and one of my favorite artist in the world Andy Nash.

This isn't my resume or a list of my achievements so that I may recieve some 'musical cred' by those who deem me worthy, no no no.

Music is a gift, its a beautiful art that I've always felt is "the language our souls speak".  That our God made music the same way he made falling in love, eatting good food, or sneezing... So F****** AWESOME

So what is my point? I don't really know, I just remembered what that minister's son said to me all those years ago, and I think about how much music has been a part of my life, and I think about the One who created music. And I wonder, "what's God been listenng to recently"