#david yoo

[difashiondiaries]

[davidyoofingers-blog]

(david Yoo)

[18mr]

At some point, everyone with a desk job has thought about it: Kicking over that cubicle wall, quitting on the spot, and opening a restaurant. Or maybe a bakery? Or better yet, an ice-cream shop. David Yoo actually did it. Not the cubicle-kicking part, but he did leave his job as a graphic designer (clients included Versace and Madonna) in order to open Davey's Ice Cream in the East Village, where he spends his days making flavors like roasted pistachio and "strong coffee" from scratch. Four months after opening, Yoo's shop is off to a solid start (despite the cold weather), so Grub sat down with him to talk about the realities of living so many people's dreams: balancing financial and creative needs, the challenges of opening in the off-season, and big plans for moving forward.

Davey: All I care about is making the best ice cream. If I don't make really good ice cream, I'll die. Ultimately, it's not about making money. That's why I quit my job. But money's also important because I need to pay my employees.

Right now, I'm figuring out what the neighborhood — the East Village — wants and tailoring it to that. I want it to be a neighborhood shop first. I live by Tompkins Square Park, and the East Village feels like it's the last part of old New York — or true New York. I like it here. It's only been a few months since I opened, and I'm trying to pace myself. But I want to do wholesale. I want to do cakes. I want to do all of it.

[asamstudiesintro]

Statement from UCLA's Asian American Studies Center on Yuri Kochiyama's recent passing (received via email):

Dear Alumni and Friends, We received word of the passing of Yuri Kochiyama who touched and inspired the lives of thousands of people through her decades-long activism and incredible dedication to social justice.  The Kochiyama Family has issued a brief statement: “Life-long activist Yuri Kochiyama passed away peacefully in her sleep in Berkeley, California on the morning of Sunday, June 1 at the age of 93. Over a span of more than 50 years, Yuri worked tirelessly for social and political change through her activism in support of social justice and civil and human rights movements.  Yuri was born on May 19, 1921 in San Pedro, California and spent two years in a concentration camp in Jerome, Arkansas during World War II. After the war, she moved to New York City and married Bill Kochiyama, a decorated veteran of the all-Japanese American 442nd combat unit of the U.S. Army. Yuri’s activism started in Harlem in the early 1960’s, where she participated in the Harlem Freedom Schools, and later, the African American, Asian American and Third World movements for civil and human rights and in the opposition against the Vietnam War.  In 1963, she met Malcolm X.  Their friendship and political alliance radically changed her life and perspective.  She joined his group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, to work for racial justice and human rights. Over the course of her life, Yuri was actively involved in various movements for ethnic studies, redress and reparations for Japanese Americans, African Americans and Native Americans, political prisoners’ rights, Puerto Rican independence and many other struggles. Yuri is survived by her living children -- Audee, Eddie, Jimmy and Tommy, grandchildren -- Zulu, Akemi, Herb, Ryan, Traci, Maya, Aliya, Christopher, and Kahlil and great-grandchildren -- Kai, Leilani, Kenji, Malia and Julia.” Yuri Kochiyama’s stint as a scholar in residence at UCLA in 1998 enriched the life of our Center and the campus. Those connections deepened as we were honored to work with her on the publication of her memoir, Passing It On (UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, 2004). The Center is also honored to house some of Yuri Kochiyama’s papers relating to the Asian American movement. We are grateful to be part of preserving her legacy for future generations. Our condolences go out to her family and friends. Rest in power and peace. Sincerely, David K. Yoo Director & Professor

[booksforarainyday]

THE CHOKE ARTIST: CONFESSIONS OF A CHRONIC UNDERACHIEVER (David Yoo)

"In this brutally honest collection of often cringe-inducing episodes, David Yoo perfectly captures the cycle of failure and fear from childhood through adulthood. Whether he's wearing four layers of clothing to artificially beef up his slim frame, routinely testing highlighters against his forearm to see if he indeed has yellow skin, or preemptively sabotaging promising relationships to avoid being compared to former boyfriends, Yoo celebrates and skewers the insecurities of anxious people everywhere." (taken from back cover)

David Yoo's The Choke Artist is his experience as being pretty much the complete opposite of the Asian stereotype, complete with pages and pages of those awkward moments that virtually everyone has experienced in one form or another. Although it's a memoir, the stories Yoo recounts have the ability to resonate with everyone, since this book is ultimately about growing up, overcoming our insecurities, and coming to terms with who we are. 

I do have to say that for people who are uncomfortable with the idea of sex or masturbation or prefer to avoid books that wander into this topic during its storytelling, it's probably best to forgo this book, since a decent sized section of The Choke Artist talks about Yoo's experience with sex and all that fun stuff. For those of you who are okay with it, onwards!

One of the most interesting aspects of The Choke Artist was the relationship between the narrator and his sister, Liz, and their similarities and differences. Although the narrator was the complete opposite of the Asian typecast while Liz was almost the complete replica, there were still similarities between the two. They both seemed to care about the same things; it's their reactions that differed. Liz and Yoo both cared a lot about their rankings in relation to everybody else; however, while Liz did so to ensure that she would be at the top, the narrator paid attention to make sure that he was nowhere near the top. Both characters face discrimination and judgment from other people. Liz chose to devote her time to her studies and beat them in the end by entering an elite college and the narrator chose to do his best to conform to white society and defy his typecast. 

There is also a bit of irony in Yoo's relationship to the Asian stereotype. Everything he does, everything he's interested in, seems to defy the cliché. However, if these interests and actions were a result of defiance rather than what the narrator was really interested in, then they're really no different from someone deciding to conform to the stereotype because in both scenarios, they are letting the typecast define what kind of person they are. To me, defying the stereotype isn't really about simply being different. Rather, it is about doing the things that you like, regardless of whether or not that adheres to the label society has stuck on you. Defiance is disregard. 

I also was really intrigued by Liz. As the story progressed, she became more and more human, and I began to sympathize with her. It must have been extraordinarily difficult to move from a place where you were popular and loved and lauded for your academic and musical talent to a place where you were hated and mocked for those same talents, and I can't even imagine the emotional and mental turmoil that she must have undergone that led to the razor incident. (And if I may digress, the parents' response to it illustrates one of the problems in East Asian society: there's this belief that people are resilient, and with the right attitude and approach, anything is possible. Even if things are tough, there's always a way to make it through and make ends meet. While this mindset allows people to push themselves and do amazing things, it also causes people to overlook the moments when people really do need help and perhaps make things worse in the long run.)

All in all, this is a pretty good book. I will admit that some parts can seem to drag a bit, but there are little gems hidden within that give a huge insight into the stereotypes and racism that characterizes present-day American society. At first, I really wanted to add some tidbits about typecasting, but I think Yoo already does such a great job that I can't really find a better way to express it than by copying his words. If you're looking for a book written through the eyes of a minority, I would definitely suggest this one!

Thanks for reading~

[deerdana]

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