(Blogophilia 49.3) Battle Hymn of an Asian Parent

Blogophilia 49.3 Topic: "In the Eyes of the Beholder"
Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2pts): s-p-e-l-l out a word in conversation
(Easy, 1pt) : use the phrase "working together"


H-E-L-L-O and fire the cannons!
The war of parenting has caused us to grouse
As the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Has ignited the conflict within the house.

Amy Chua’s criticism of her strict parenting
Depends in the eyes of the beholder
Western culture versus east challenges
Of creating children to be academic soldiers!

Play dates are forbidden,
A social life frowned upon,
Extracurricular activities condemned,
Only studying is the norm.

Coddling the child is shameful
Never nurture them in the womb,
Self-esteem should never be celebrated
Independence creates pending doom!

Working together and cooperation is futile
Competition must be enforced,
Demonstrate success through rigid teachings
Children are tomorrow’s workhorse!

Practice music until their fingers bleed
Along with the expectations of getting straight A’s,
Strip away all childhood distractions
By threatening to donate their toys away!

Yes, Amy Chau has the handbook on parenting
And many of her critics to dispel,
Her daughters are paragon examples of her teachings
That’s why her youngest has decided to rebel!

Whether you believe in this strict Asian upbringing
Or this high pressure competitive idea,
Please note successful children might grow up one day
To be Kim Jong-il of North Korea!

** Okay in all fairness. I read excerpts of Amy Chau’s controversial book and though I relate to the pressures of being successful in both life and school as an Asian man, my upbringing was never this extreme (practicing endlessly for hours, donating their toys to charity for not performing successfully, being constantly criticized, and forbidden to have friends). Again, I do understand the general idea of being raised in a strict household and the expectations to do well in school but Mrs. Chau took it to whole other level but again as long as the child believes that this is a necessary part in their childhood then so be it. However, I still believe you can have a successful child if you use positive reinforcement and provide them support.

(Blogophilia 48.3) Cheat, Stray, Laugh

Blogophilia 48.3 Topic: " Spring Fever "
Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2pts): incorporate 2 electric wood working tools
(Easy, 1pt) : mention a cracked pot


Please say it isn’t so!
The demise of a marriage
Between Tom and Myspace
And that dread 3.0!

Why had it come to this?
A social network no longer top dog!
Stuck in a loveless union with the subscribers
By destroying our sacred blogs!

Have we been diagnosed with spring fever?
Left in our cabins to completely rot?
Simply building with electric saws and sanders
Acting like insane, psychotic cracked pots!

No wonder we’ve all defected
And journeyed to parts unknown
From Italy, India and to Bali
Hoping for spiritual creativity to atone.

For now we’ll just get fat
With my Blogophiliacs to enjoy the food
Marvin the Martian will be our top chef
With spices and rare meats to be stewed!

Then off to Bollywood we go
To learn the significance of prayer
To incorporate and make our writings better
And to perhaps reform health care!

Finally we’ll make a pit stop
To some other exotic nook
Hopefully for some love and inner peace
We have! It’s called Facebook!

As we leave My______ now
Don’t forget this one little thought,
This upgrade was stupid and lame
Like that Julia Robert’s film. A bit overwrought!
* Okay we all know that My________ (dumb logo by the way) 3.0 upgrade was a mess and hence we are all over the place. Somehow after reading excerpts from Eat, Pray, Love and watching the movie, I thought it was a bad cliché. Yes, I get the point. Individual finds spiritual journey and herself by leaving her unhappy marriage and travels the world eating, praying, and do some self discovery. Blah. Blah. Blah. For some reason, I found a correlation with my write this week and My_________ which inspired me to write this. I guess I’m not behind the bandwagon of Eat, Pray, Love. I forming my own EPL. Enrage People Later!

(Blogophilia 47.3) It Isn't Easy Being Green

I've been terribly out of loop and have not posted anything so I'm just starting to get back in the game. This poem for this week's Blogophilia entry revolves around my attempts at finding a fun piece of literature at Borders and coming a bit empty handed. Yes, I opted for something trashy so I went in the children's/young adult section and found myself overwhelmed by the millions of teen supernatural genre being presented. Overwhelmed, I decided to post this poem which was inspired by it!



Blogophilia 47.3 Topic: "It Isn't Easy Being Green"
Bonus points:
(Hard, 2pts): incorporate outer space as a metaphor
(Easy, 1pt): mention a weird gummi animal


Teenage Supernatural Novel Reader

Going to Border’s bookstore
To find something good to read,
Sick of the same Oprah promoted fiction,
Hankering for some other trashy breed.

I’ve learned to stomach Twilight
Stephanie Meyers flooded the market in that bag,
Opted for some Young Adult fiction
Ignoring the twinkling vampires that made me gag!

As I go exploring from shelf to shelf
I notice it isn’t easy being green,
The majority of the genres are from outer space
Recycling the same supernatural genre? How obscene!

Would you like a zombie romance?
Or a werewolf Romeo and Juliet?
Some bratty coven of teen witches
Or gummi vampires I’ll bet?

Have we fooled the teenage market
By administering this schlock?
With topics from high school fairy clichés
To alien recording artists that rock?

What happened to important teenage topics
Like teen pregnancy, drugs, and gangs?
Instead we have pimply faced secret agents
And angst-ridden fallen angels bearing fangs!

Where are you J. K. Rowling?
C. S. Lewis has left the door!
Rid us of these insipid teenage genres
Bring back Narnia and Harry Potter once more!

But alas the teenybopper market makes money
With all this hype and hullaboo!
So make sure to catch my new television show
Called Vampire Werewolf Angel Fairy Slayers on the CW!