Edition
37 May 1st May 31st
2011
in a city rich in shades, here is a COLOR that includes all...
How a Harvard Math Grad turned a latent Sweet Tooth into Culinary Perfection
Corporate Diversity Best Practices
Fashion: Aloha Style Korean Director Jee-Woo Kim Gives Censors Nightmares
Morgan Freeman on Born to Be Wild 3D
Joanne Chang of Flour Bakeries and Myers + Chang
Helping individuals and organizations communicate with today’s emerging majorities. 401.274.0033 globalviewcomm.com
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Contents
May 2011
Benchmarks
5 Corporate
Diversity Best Practices from Sun Life’s Tasha Kitty
6 Morgan Freeman on Voicing Born to Be Wild 3D
Dialogues
8 Homeo, Homeo Wherefore Art Thou Homeostasis? By Mimi Gonzalez
9 Nonprofit Spotlight: Raising a Reader MA
Feature
12 Joanne
Chang (Flour Bakeries and Myers + Chang) on finding her sweet tooth and following her dreams. PLUS she shares her recipe for homemade PopTarts.
Entertainment
20 Rheinhessen:
Novel Reviews: Go ahead, indulge in these multicultural guilty pleasures
Rediscovered German Wine Country by Trond Arne Undheim
16 I Saw the Devil director Jee-woo Kim gives censors nightmares
18 Asobi Seksu: Brooklyn band’s sound is hard to define (just don’t call it Jpop)
WHO WILL BE YOUR NEXT GENERATION EXECUTIVE?
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Lifestyle
10 Romance
22 Aloha Style: The shirt with the fashion sense all its own
21 The Painted Man in: Hair Club (For Boys)
The only program designed to prepare multicultural leaders of color for executive-level roles. Applications now being accepted! Session begins October 4, 2010. Learn more at: www.thepartnershipinc.org/train/senior_executives.html
6/10/10 3:35 PM
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Welcome
From the EDITOR
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roves of Asian-American applicants are being shut out or are held to a higher standard of admission at colleges and universities across the country. Meanwhile, the race-blind admissions policies at public schools in California have resulted in strongly Asian demographics: According to the Boston Globe, UCLA is 37 percent Asian-American, other schools have topped 50 percent. There are simply more qualified, Asian-American applicants than many school “quotas” would allow. The debate at the core of this issue is divisive – is the merit of the individual paramount or is diversity a core value of our society that should be fostered for the good of the whole? Is this reminiscent of what happened at Dartmouth College in the 20s and 30s, when they capped the percentage of Jewish students, in what they said was an effort to quell anti-semitism? Today, colleges are capping Asian-American admittance to promote a diverse student-body; in the case of
Dartmouth college it was to keep it homogenous. The means of doing so are the same – does the end justify them? And is a college which has no race criteria or cap resulting in a 52 percent Asian-American student body (UC Irvine, according to the Globe) what we are going for? In Michael Sandel’s excellent book, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, he provides an explanation: “The mission defines the relevant merits, not the other way around.” If a college thinks that a diverse student body will better serve their mission, then they should view someone’s race as a factor. We’re not accustomed to saying that being of a certain race makes you more or less worthy (which is why this is such a tricky subject) but in this case it might be right. Sandel offers what a college acceptance letter to someone at the heart of this debate could read like: “It turns out that you happen to have the traits that society needs at the moment, so we propose to exploit your assets for society’s advantage by admitting you ... You are to be congratulated only in the sense that the winner of a lottery is to be congratulated.” And if you didn’t make it: “Those admitted instead of you are not deserving of a place, nor worthy of praise for the factors that led to their admission. We are only using them – and you – as instruments of a wider purpose.” Can you imagine if Tiger Mother Amy Chua had to read either of those letters about one of her kids? Yikes. For all those college hopefuls out there, remember that the college you get accepted to does not define who you are, and qualities like hard work, perseverance and ingenuity are what truly shape who you can become. Michael
C ONTRI B UTING WRITERS
In a city rich in shades here is a color that includes all… Color Magazine is the premier all-inclusive monthly magazine that highlights and promotes professionals of color. 4 Copley Place | Suite 120 Boston, MA 02116 (617) 266.6961 sales@colormagazineusa.com Publisher
Josefina Bonilla
josefina@colormagazineusa.com Editor
Michael Chin
michael@colormagazineusa.com Event Strategist
Desiree Arevalo Marketing & Events Manager
Nicoleta Tache Advisory Committee
Greg Almieda Ferdinand Alvaro, Jr. Daren Bascome Sandra Casey Buford Mark Conrad Kim Dukes-Rivers Beverly Edgehill Yvonne Garcia George Gilmer Kimberly Y. Jones Samson Lee Brenda Mckenzie Juan Carlos Morales William Moran Oswald Mondejar Nereida Perez Russel Pergament Carol Sanchez John Sims Eduardo Tobon Leverett Wing Publisher
Color Media Group, LLC Distribution
Joanne Choi is a freelance journalist who also regularly contributes to AsianBoston Magazine. Her passion is staying up-to-date on people and society. She is working on her first novel.
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Tasha Kitty is a Senior HR Program Consultant, Talent Acquisition, Management, and Diversity for Sun Life Financial, and is responsible for managing Sun Life’s internal and external diversity & inclusion initiatives and relationships in the U.S., Lethbridge, Canada and Waterford, Ireland. She recently completed Cornell University’s Certified Diversity Professional Program.
MAGAZINE May 2011
GateHouse Media
Mimi Gonzalez is a stand-up comedian actively touring since 1998. She’ll go anywhere to make people laugh, including Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the U.S. military. She’s also a part-time black-walnut farmer in between comedy shows and writing assignments.
Trond Arne Undheim is an entrepreneur, speaker and author. He lives between Boston and London, speaks six languages and has a Ph.D. in sociology. He writes frequently on wine and society.
Jay Calderin is the author of Form, Fit & Fashion, the upcoming Fashion Design Essentials,and an instructor and Director of Creative Marketing at the School of Fashion Design. Jay is currently the Regional Director of Fashion Group International of Boston and the Executive Director of Boston Fashion Week which he founded.
Desmond Williams is a freelance writer and JUNO magazine columnist. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, is half of a mixed-race couple and father to a rambunctious, comedic and inquisitive kindergartner. Desmond is currently working on a graphic novel, The Painted Man.
benchmarks
Corporate Diversity Best Practices Recruit and retain the talent your company needs B y Ta s h a K i tt y
I
n today’s global marketplace, having a diverse workforce is critical for any successful business that wants to remain competitive. However, attracting and retaining diverse talent cannot happen without thoughtful and proactive attention.¶ As a senior HR program consultant at Sun Life Financial, diversity is a central theme in my daily duties. Today’s candidate pool is constantly expanding culturally, so to ensure your business is taking full advantage of the changing workplace landscape, I recommend the following best practices in corporate diversity.¶ Always require a diverse slate of candidates for every open position. How can a company ensure that it’s able to choose from such a field? For starters, it’s important to work not only with traditional recruiting firms, but also with diversity-specific recruiting companies, who can help bring you the right candidates.¶ Recruit thoughtfully. Cultivate relationships and recruit from institutions that typically attract a diverse student body, including historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Progressive-thinking or liberal arts universities also tend to attract students of differing backgrounds, while internationally-focused and highly reputable academic institutions also draw a diverse group.
Consider the intern. Think of internships as a feeder program for your business. Try to recruit internationally and provide payment and housing. If a candidate is willing to travel across the world to intern with your company, you must be willing to provide the requisite support. Your interns should be a pipeline of diverse potential job candidates. Those who perform well should be given the opportunity to continue with your business, whether that means a full time job or a position in a rotational leadership program. Once you have a diverse workforce, it’s up to you to keep it. Finding the diverse talent your company needs is only part of the challenge. Retaining it is equally important. Think of it as “re-recruiting.” It’s important to have employee resource groups that are open to all employees, which help to organize opportunities for professional development, forge partnerships with diverse professional organizations, support community-relations efforts and enhance diversity awareness. There are a number of groups you can form depending on the resources you have to support each one. At Sun Life we have several groups including the Asian American Heritage Association; Black Leadership Awareness Council; Gays, Lesbians and Others Building Equality (GLOBE); Hispanic Organization for Leaders and Achievers; and Women’s Leadership Network. Each group you form should have a shared mission statement, tied to your organization’s diversity strategy, as well as its own vision statement, goals, and plan of action, and each should have a significant impact on the community, giving your employees a true sense of camaraderie. Support matters. Linking employees to a support network is crucial to your retention efforts. Whether it’s helping out-of-state or outof-country workers adapt to a new region; offering tuition assistance or opportunities to pursue industry-related courses; or making benefits available such as on-site fitness facilities at work sites in more remote areas, a company can go a long way toward retaining its diverse talent if its workforce feels supported and valued. Ultimately, talent is the biggest differentiator in today’s business world. Companies that invest in diverse talent both internally and externally possess a major edge over those that do not. Tasha Kitty is a Senior HR Program Consultant, Talent Acquisition, Management, and Diversity for Sun Life Financial
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benchmarks
Morgan Freeman Voices Born to Be Wild 3D Documentary ‘Resonates’ with Actor By John Black
Young elephants require several gallons of milk a day, specifically formulated by Dame Daphne Sheldrick over a 20 year period
P
A juvenile male orangutan satisfies his curiosity by checking out the IMAX camera, up-close
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ossessed with one of the most distinctive voices in the world, Morgan Freeman gets a lot of offers to do the narration on countless documentary films. To date, he’s only accepted a few of the offers, and only took those because the subject matter was something he thought people should know about.¶ When director David Lickley asked him to be the narrator for Born to be Wild, a documentary about two women who have dedicated their lives to preserving orphaned animals in Borneo and Kenya, Freeman didn’t hesitate to say yes.¶ “Every once in a while a project comes along that, to use an overused word, resonates. And when that happens, you’re hooked. You go with it,” Freeman said. “This particular project I think is extremely important and well worth doing. It highlights a couple of ladies whose courage and dedication really should be trumpeted. It also highlights the danger of what we are doing as humans in terms of the rest of the life forms on the planet.”
Photos courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. © Creative Photographers Inc.) Photo by Drew Fellman. © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
At the Orangutan Foundation International’s Care Center, caretakers have their arms full
different from everyone else? Morgan Freeman narrates the Born to be Wild 3D
Born to be Wild documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them, teaching them to be self-sufficient enough to be released back into the wild. World-renowned primatologist Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas works with Orangutans in Borneo; Dame Daphne M. Sheldick, a celebrated expert in her field, works with elephants in Kenya. “We’re not aware as people of what we are doing to the planet,” Freeman said. “We’re just blithely going along eliminating habitats, killing off other creatures in order for us to have more room to grow more food for more of us. There is an inherent danger in there that we need to publicize and bring to light. If we continue the way we are going, we are going to be eliminating ourselves. People think that we are the dominant species. So were the dinosaurs.” To prepare for his part in the movie, Freeman didn’t actually travel to Borneo or Kenya or meet with either of the ladies who run the animal rescue centers. All he had to do to, he said was watch the movie. “I have no hands on experience with these organizations. I’m an actor; that’s really all I do. So I didn’t go to the jungles and get involved personally, which is as it should be. These are places where those animals are ultimately protected. you don’t just show up to see the animals. you have to be invited, and if you are, then when you get there you’re not allowed to do anything. You can look, but you can’t interact with the animals, and they can’t interact with you. “I did see the film before I narrated it, though,” he added, “and I think everything about the film is outstanding, from the beautiful photography to the message it is passing on to us. The stories of these ladies is so important to the rest of us. It shows the absolute necessity of preserving other forms of life on this planet.”
welcome home. You carry with you a culture, energy, and perspective that are all your own. At Massachusetts General Hospital, we want every employee to let their own individual qualities shine. Here, talented and motivated individuals are surrounded by an incredible array of professional opportunities and challenges — opportunities to specialize, to continue their professional education, to become involved on a hospital committee or to volunteer for a community outreach project, and much more. Reach out for the opportunities that inspire you and cultivate a professional path as unique as you are. To support you in your journey, and to make you feel more at home, MGH also offers exceptional benefits and conveniences: • Employer-Funded Retirement Plan • Tuition & Certification Assistance • Resources for Childcare & Emergency Back-Up Childcare • On-Site Pharmacy, Post Office, Banking Terminals, Hair Salon and Convenience Store at MGH Main Campus • Subsidized memberships at Fitness Center adjacent to MGH Main Campus • Pet Insurance • “Dinners to Go” available through MGH Dining Services Join us. MGH offers career opportunities in all areas of patient care, research, administration and operations. To see a complete list of our current opportunities and learn more about our benefits, please visit our website.
www.mghfordiversity.org Standing up for Diversity. Together.
By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead: EOE.
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Dialogues
Homeo, Homeo Wherefore Art Thou Homeostasis? By Mimi Gonzalez
collar bone or clavicle
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he month of May heralds both Spring and Mother’s Day. The ground strives toward thawing, appreciating the sun’s shining messages of warmth. Cabin fever finds most people ready to shed housing’s protective layer and return to outside world. A little yoga and light exercise remind the body of what’s in store once out the door.¶ I’m stretching my arms by pin wheeling them in grand helicopter spirals. Every time I complete a circle, my elbow clicks. It’s a sound I picked up playing rugby. For college? Semi-pro? In Europe on a student-visa? Oh no. I volunteered my 24-year-old body to play full-contact without the sissified padding or helmet of an NFL player.¶ It cost me a broken bone.¶ Fortunately, the job I’d landed out of college came with the now-quaint notion of health insurance. I needed it. The moment I got up from being tackled, one arm hung apelike, lower than the other. Coach sent me off the field to the hospital. I’d never experienced a broken bone before so the possibility didn’t exist in my mind. I was proud of my battle wound – whatever it was.¶ The x-ray technician told me to hold a gallon of water in the hand at the end of my two-inch longer arm. Then I sat while he looked at the films.¶ “How bad does that feel?” he inquired.¶ “It’s throbbing,” I responded.¶ “Well it should hurt a little. You broke your collar bone,” he announced pointing out th fracture on the x-ray he’d just taken.
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MAGAZINE May 2011
The image of a severed part of my body hidden by my skin’s protective layer upset my psyche worse than any physical pain I was feeling. I started to cry. He assured me it would mend because “that’s what bones do” and it would be even stronger than before because my body’s internal ambulance was sending extra calcium to the area to heal it. Seeing it, not just feeling it through my skin, but having an actual image of an open space where there should have been one solid bone, gave my mind a vision to replay, which it does to this day, almost thirty years later. Shock is an amazing mechanism. I’ve experienced it twice and both times a deeper awareness awoke in me and commanded proper corrective action. “Lay down until the nausea passes,” it told me after a bicycle crash. “Put that finger in the cold water from the well,” it directed after my chunky silver ring caught on a swing, tearing my flesh to the knuckle. This wonderfully primal, survival, lizard brain provided the exact answer my system needed in the moment. Following it led me to healing and my body’s natural state of equilibrium – a state called homeostasis. Just as water seeks its own level, the body naturally seeks its own balance. Homeostasis is a mechanism of adjustment and regulation that maintains a constant, stable state. I learned this term from my mother whose thirty years experience as an operating room nurse and fifteen years as a nursing instructor, have come to my late-night aid several times. My Italian single-mother of three had a very low threshold for whining or streaks of weakness that could undermine a person’s independence. Her Hippocratic oath to her children included the decrees “Toughen up,” and “You’re not bleeding to death; get over it.” We rarely went to doctor’s offices. She administered penicillin shots and butterfly bandages when we enthusiastically denied her offers to “stitch it up” for us. From growing pain to chronic illness or disease, she’s served our entire extended family as a personal in-house adviser.
My Mother’s Hippocratic oath to her children included the decrees “Toughen up,” and “You’re not bleeding to death; get over it.” Continued on page 23
benchmarks
Creativity. Diversity. Excellence. The Colleges of the Fenway – Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Simmons College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College – serve a diverse neighborhood, and our students, faculty, and staff mirror that community. Individually, our colleges have been recognized for excellence in research and scholarship. Together, our colleges are dedicated to a learning environment that fosters creativity and celebrates differences. We serve a diverse workplace from IT experts and HR specialists to marketing and PR wizards and computer programmers.
Nonprofit Spotlight:
Raising A Reader MA
R
ecognized as one of the Top NonProfits Changing the World by Fast Company Magazine and Top NonProfit of 2010 by Philanthropedia, Raising A Reader helps families in need create high quality early literacy environments at home. As a result, these children will enter kindergarten ready to learn, so they can grow up ready to succeed.¶ “Early literacy is the major stepping stone for children to be successful in school and in life,” according to Joanne Stone-Linon, director of Head Start, “Raising A Reader children are scoring higher on their entrance tests into kindergarten and throughout their early education experience.”¶ Raising a Reader MA (RAR) was founded in the spring of 2006 with the support of the GreenLight Fund – an organization that identifies highly effective nonprofits around the country and replicates those programs in Massachusetts. Since then, RAR has circulated more than 32,000 books to more than 8,000 children (age 5 and younger) and trained more than 3,000 adults in early literacy techniques.¶ In Massachusetts, one child out of three from a low-income family will not graduate from high school partly because they are entering kindergarten behind and will never catch up. RAR gives parents tools to change these children’s trajectories, by equipping them with the early reading tools and parentengagement resources.¶ And these positive effects aren’t just in theory, RAR has a strong track record of quantifiable results. “Ten years of evidence shows that Raising A Reader works,” said Donna DiFillippo, executive director RAR, “And for ten years we have worked to refine and update our program model to increase our impact on the lives of children.”
The Colleges of the Fenway are committed to fostering dynamic and challenging work environments. The Colleges offer competitive salaries, great benefits, easy access to city culture, as well as convenient locations and tuition assistance. For more information, please visit
www.colleges-fenway.org
Building a diverse workplace is not just an ideal, it’s a commitment. Applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. EOE.
Color Magazine April 1/4 page Focus on Equal Opportunity
Join a new circle of friends and colleagues at Mount Auburn Hospital and find all the career challenges, opportunities and recognition you’re looking for. Located in Cambridge, just a short walk from Harvard Square, we are a Harvard-affiliated regional teaching hospital offering the challenges of tertiary care in a supportive, friendly environment.
Beyond the encouragement and room you need to grow, we also offer a competitive compensation program and benefits designed to help you succeed. To learn more about our current career opportunities, please visit our website, or forward your resume to: Mount Auburn Hospital, Human Resources, 330 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; Fax: 617-499-5168. An Equal Opportunity Employer.
See Your Future Take Shape
For more information visit raisingareaderma.org.
www.mountauburnhospital.org
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entertainment
Romances Reads Go ahead, indulge in these multicultural guilty pleasures By Joanne Choi
Coming Soon
Diaz’s fourth book, Take The Lead, comes out this June and is set in Quincy and Boston. It will have the expected romance in it but is also about a son helping a parent with Parkinson’s disease.
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Miami Manhunt
Beantown Cubans
Allegro
by Johnny Diaz
by Johnny Diaz
By Adora Bennett
Miami Manhunt (Kensington Books) is the story of Brian Anderson, Ray Martinez and Ted Williams. Brian has a long-term open relationship that becomes more complicated once he starts to fall for a fling named, yes, Eros. Ray is always comparing himself to his straight twin brother, Rasco, and falling short. On paper Ted looks like he has it all but has been single for the past four years and has residual pain from his last relationship. According to Diaz, “My favorite character would be Ted Williams, the Portuguese-Irish TV reporter. Despite having the success of his broadcast career, Ted is lonely deep down inside and I think many people can relate to that.” We become privy to the inner workings of these men; beyond just sex, they are seeking that right person to connect to and thus feel less alone. Can we consider them the gay, male equivalent to the Sex and the City gals? Johnny Diaz, agreed, and took no offense: “My books are akin to a same Sex in the City, celebrating the power of friendships but also the love of familia. I wanted to capture that positive spirit of friendship and celebrate it in each of the books,” he said. This is a quick and enjoyable read with a Latin essence weaved throughout. Be cautioned however, the very steamy encounters could even make Carrie Bradshaw et al. blush.
Diaz revisits Latino journalist extraordinaire Tommy Perez, in Beantown Cubans (Kensington Books). We were first introduced to Tommy in “Boston Boys Club” when he falls for Mikey. This time it’s Carlos Martin, a high school teacher adjusting to life in Boston, and dealing with the recent death of his beloved mother. Carlos and Tommy bond over their similarities (gay Cubans living in Boston who are originally from Miami) and build a solid friendship. In Beantown Cubans, when Tommy Perez interacts with his ex, Mikey, he has more caution and understanding in his emotional arsenal, especially regarding alcoholism. “I felt that there was more of a story to be told of how to support a friend, or a partner, who is a recovering alcoholic,” Diaz said. “Tommy is pretty much my literary alter ego – although he is about five pounds thinner!” Diaz admitted, “I gave Tommy my quirks: mild O.C.D., penchant for drinking Diet Cokes, the curly dark brown hair and pretty much my professional resume. Most authors have a main character modeled after themselves.” The book’s themes of loss, relocation and figuring out how to navigate family and relationships through the lens of gay Latino men, while not universal, are very relatable.
Adora Bennett’s Allegro (2011 Genesis Press) was my first time reading a romance novel about a heroine who was in her 40s and African American. Jada Green and Luca Alessandri are instantly attracted to each other when they meet at Honoraria, the ad agency where Jada works. However, they have to proceed discreetly as Luca is a potential client and Jada is vice president at Honoraria. Their sizzling romance unfolds as address the relationship’s obstacles of age, race, work and culture. “I think the key message is that love can happen at any age and we shouldn’t give up hope,” Bennett said, “But I think there’s a secondary message for professional women like Jada: Don’t take your high-powered position for granted. Make sure you’re getting everything that your position entails – money, responsibility and all the fringe benefits, too.” This heroine didn’t require a knight in shining armor, but still enjoyed it when he did show up. “Romance fiction also tends to feature a strong male who sweeps the young, vulnerable female off her feet,” Bennet explained. “Jada and her love interest, Luca, are more equal. Romance fiction has typically been associated with younger women, so the heroines have tended to be of that age. Multicultural romance is one of the fastest growing segments within romance fiction, so things are changing.”
MAGAZINE May 2011
Congratulations to the Academy of Women Achievers Class of 2011 Geri Denterlien President Denterlein
boston 17
th
Laura Sen
Annual
Academy of Women Achievers Celebration Luncheon June 15, 2011 Westin Copley Place www.ywcaboston.org
Superintendent Boston Public Schools
Carol Sanchez, CPA
Founder and Partner Sanchez & Santiago, LLC
Nancy Tarbell, MD
C.C. Wang Professor of Radiation Oncology Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs Harvard Medical School Founding Director, Office for Women's Careers Massachusetts General Hospital 2011 Sandra B. Henriquez Racial Justice Award
Keynote Speaker
Anita Hill
President/CEO BJ’s Wholesale, Inc.
Carol Johnson, Ph.D.
Diddy Cullinane
Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
Founder Black & White Boston Coming Together
energized by
Diversity At National Grid, one of the world’s largest investor-owned utilities, we understand the power of inclusion and diversity in our workforce. We value an individual’s skills, special talents and multicultural experiences – qualities necessary to develop and deliver clean energy products and services. We provide services to more than 7 million customers, managing their energy needs while maintaining our commitment to preserve the environment. Learn more about us by visiting our website at www.nationalgridus.com.
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an hour before the dinner rush at the trendy, South End, Asian “diner” Myers + Chang and owner Joanne Chang emerges from the kitchen in slightly dirtied chef’s whites (she still works the line regularly). As we talk, her eyes survey the restaurant. At one point she has a waiter move a two-top a few inches to avoid crowding the nearby diners. This woman is a perfectionist in a hands-on kind of way. Fortunately for us, she is overseeing Mama Chang’s Dumplings here at Myers + Chang and perfecting the croissants at her now famous Flour Bakeries, instead of working in her more conventional, post-Harvard career track as a management consultant. But you have to go back to her upbringing to see how Chang became Boston’s unlikely first lady of sweets. She grew up in a traditional Taiwanese household and, due to a prevailing absence of desserts, only became aware of her sweet tooth by visiting her friends’ houses where PopTarts, Oreos and Fig Newtons lined the cupboard. (She has since created superior, homemade versions of each, available at her bakeries.) She went on to earn a degree in applied mathematics at Harvard, but as a hobby she would bake for friends and even sold cookies to the dormitory grill. It wasn’t until after graduating and working in the corporate world for two years that Chang decided to try cooking professionally. Without any formal training, she began working in kitchens and learning the trade from established chefs. Since opening the first Flour Bakery in 2001, her career has taken off: She has launched two other Flour Bakeries and the aforementioned Myers + Chang, written a Flour cookbook, appeared on Martha Stewart and The Today Show, and her sticky buns stole the show on the Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay. CM: When someone on the Chinese side of my family likes a dessert, their response is always, ‘Mmm, not too sweet.’ Sound familiar? JC: Yes, definitely. CM: How did you come to love sweets so much? JC: I think because I didn’t grow up with sweets, I didn’t really have much of an experience eating sweets early on. Then when I got a little bit older and started to spend time with various friends, and going to their houses and being exposed to the types of sweets that typical American families have, that definitely triggered in me something that I didn’t know existed – that I have a really, really big sweet tooth. [Laughs.]
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CM: Do you think your upbringing affects Flour? JC: I think it affects the desserts that I make at Flour. Like you said, Asian desserts tend not to be really sweet. So naturally that’s what I gravitate to. I like desserts that are flavorful and have a lot of different, interesting elements, but I’m not looking for something that will knock me over the head with sugar. CM: Myers + Chang is a funky, diner-style, Asian restaurant. How did you come up with the idea? JC: Myers + Chang is a collaboration between my husband and me. He’s in the restaurant business as well, and he has always wanted to do a Chinese restaurant. I hadn’t ever thought of doing a restaurant, but when we were dating, before we got married, I was always cooking things for him that I grew up with. At one point he said to me, ‘Wow, what is this food you always make for me?’ And I said, this is Chinese food as I know it – I’m Taiwanese, so it’s Taiwanese food – and I said to him I feel sometimes Chinese food is misrepresented in America. A lot of people think it’s sweet and sour pork and lemon chicken and all that kind of stuff. So I really wanted to create a restaurant that would showcase a different side of Asian cooking, something that was more true to what I grew up with. CM: What does your family think? JC: They love it. My mother always orders Mama Chang’s Dumplings to make sure they are just right. CM: When did you know management consulting wasn’t going to work out for you? JC: It’s not that I felt that consulting wasn’t going to work out. I did it for a couple years after college, and I knew that I didn’t want to keep doing it for the next couple years. So I decided to spend some time in a professional kitchen to see what that was like. But there was never a time when
I thought, I’m never coming back to consulting. Had I not enjoyed cooking so much, then I probably would have gone back, because it’s a really great field and I worked with really great people, but I personally had this passion for cooking that I wanted to explore. CM: Did your business consulting experience help you as an entrepreneur? JC: I’m sure it did, in that I was comfortable working with spreadsheets, working with numbers, doing business presentations, which are important skills to have when you are going in front of a bank trying to look for money, or going in front of a contracting firm trying to get the best deal. My ability to move around comfortably in the business world has helped. CM: When you look back, who were the mentors who helped you succeed in the culinary world? JC: I think every single one of the chefs who I worked for really had a hand in helping me become a successful chef and business person. Starting with Lydia Shire who hired me for my first cooking job. And then Rick Katz, who was my first pastry chef boss, showed me many things about how to run a small bakery and taught me a lot of the basic pastry skills. Jody Adams, who hired me as her pastry chef, taught me a lot about how to balance flavors. When I was working for Jody, I met my husband Christopher, and he’s been a huge mentor my entire career, teaching me how to be a better business person, a better leader, a better motivator.
Excerpt from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe CM: What do you look for in an employee? JC: Definitely enthusiasm. Definitely an ability to focus and be realistic about what the job entails. Especially because of food TV, a lot of people have a very glamorous vision of what being in the restaurant business is like. It’s important that anyone who comes and works for me to understand it’s not all about glamour, it’s also a lot of drudgery day to day. CM: That being said, what was it like being on Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay? JC: It was great. It was an entirely un-staged performance, they don’t tell you what is going to happen until it actually happens. It wasn’t something that I had to get ready for or get nervous about, because I didn’t know it was happening. And it’s definitely been great for business because it has such a large, national reach to introduce Flour to a number of people who probably wouldn’t know we existed. JC: You’re very natural on camera. Would you ever want your own TV show or to do the celebrity chef thing? CM: I definitely looked into that right after the Throwdown thing. I had people coming after me saying, ‘You should do this!’ but it’s not really my goal. I really enjoy what I do, working hands on with the bakeries and at the restaurant. I like mentoring the people who work for me. I definitely will appear on TV if I think it will bring more visibility to Myers + Chang or Flour, but that’s just part of the role I play, always thinking six months from now, a year from now, how do we keep our name in people’s heads? But do I want to be a celebrity chef? No. CM: I always wonder about chefs giving away their recipes in cookbooks. Were you worried about giving away your secrets? JC: I have almost all the pastry recipes in the first Flour cookbook and I am writing a second cookbook which is going to contain all of the sandwiches and soup recipes. The recipes are a big part of what we do everyday, but it’s the execution of the recipes that keeps Flour going – consistency is the key to success. The fact that somebody now knows how to make the sticky buns, doesn’t mean that we are selling fewer sticky buns. I don’t really feel that recipes are meant to be held tight.
CM: Chefs and mathematicians don’t always make for good writers. Is writing something that came easy for you or was it a challenge? JC: I’ve always been a huge reader. When I was little that was my hobby, I was always reading and playing the piano. I was a very good Chinese kid! [Laughs.] And I think if you are a good reader you tend to be a good writer. I love reading, it’s all I ever do, and I’ve always enjoyed writing. CM: Was it hard for you to let go of your cookbook when it was finally done? JC: Well you’re with this manuscript, in my case it was a year, where every day you would visit it, tweak it and change it, add or subtract. Then you get to this point where, all of a sudden, you give it up to somebody else and you can’t do anything more to it. It’s very hard, especially if you’re a perfectionist, which, as a pastry person I’m definitely a control freak and perfectionist. When I finally gave it to my editor and that was it, it was very difficult. CM: Between the restaurant, the bakery, the cookbooks, the appearances and your personal time, how do you fit it all in? JC: I’m pretty disciplined. Although, I do have a bad tendency of over scheduling. But I have a schedule, my husband teases me about it all the time, but I have a schedule everyday, 8 to 9 I’m going to do this, 9 to 10 I am going to do this. And that’s all it is, writing it out and trying to stick to it. CM: What advice would you give to the person who wants to break into a new field to follow their dream? JC: The same advice I was given. I wanted to cook and bake and I went up to somebody and said, what do I do? They said, ‘Go get a job in a bakery or a restaurant.’ If someone is in that position you really have to ask yourself, would I be content doing this for a year, three years, five years? I think a lot of people, at least in the food business, think, ‘OK I am going to quit being a lawyer and I am going to go open a restaurant.’ The path is not quite that direct. There really are steps that you shouldn’t skip. You should be a prep cook, then you should be a beginning line cook. Or not even just from a cooking perspective, go be a server for a year. I just feel like there’s this desire for people to fast forward, and I don’t know that everybody is fully aware of everything that goes into it. See if you really like it first, before you give up everything and go do it!
I took the bus to elementary school every day with Linda, my best childhood friend and next door neighbor. We always sat together in the third row and shared our breakfasts on the go. Most of the time I had buttered toast or a traditional bao (Chinese white steamed bun) —pretty boring. Linda’s mom often sent her with foil wrapped packets of Pop Tarts, which I could never get her to trade with me. She shared bites with me occasionally, but I longed to have my own, and I could never convince my mom to buy them. When I started baking professionally, I dreamed of all the things I would offer at my own bakery. Those childhood tarts were high on my list, and I thought if I made them from scratch, they could surpass the packaged supermarket version I remembered. I was right. The tarts we make at Flour get steady attention from both our customers and the press. Making them is similar to making ravioli, but even if you’ve never done that, you’ll find the process quite straightforward: First, you roll out flaky, buttery dough into a big sheet and score it into rectangles. Then, you spoon jam into the rectangles, lay another sheet of pastry dough on top, and press down to make little jam pockets. Finally, you cut the pockets apart and bake them to golden brown yumminess. [ 3 ] Using a knife, a pizza roller (easier), or a fluted roller (easier and prettier), and following the scored lines, cut the layered dough into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles, well spaced, on a baking sheet.
Homemade PopTarts
[ 4 ] Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pastries are evenly golden brown. Let cool on thebaking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
Makes 8 Pastries
Pâte Brisée I (see separate recipe) 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 cup raspberry jam [ 1 ] Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half. Press each half into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 14 by 11” rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score 1 rectangle into eight 3 1/2 by 5 1/2”rectangles (about the size of an index card). [ 2 ] Brush the top surface of the entire scored rectangle with the egg. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the jam in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle. Lay the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first. Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other.
Simple Vanilla Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 to 3 tablespoons water • Rainbow sprinkles for sprinkling (optional) [ 1 ] While the pastries are cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and enough of the water to make a smooth, pourable glaze. You should have about 1/2 cup. (The glaze can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.) [ 2 ] When the pastries have cooled for 30 minutes, brush the tops evenly with the glaze, then sprinkle with the rainbow sprinkles. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the glaze to set before serving.
www.colormagazineusa.com May 2011
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entertainment
Min-sik Choi and San-ha Oh in I Saw The Devil |
Jee-woon Kim | Magnet Releasing
Magnet Releasing
Jee-Woon Kim Korean Director gives censors Nightmares By John Black
O
ne of the leaders of the new Korean wave of cinema, director Jee-woon
Kim faced the challenge of his young career when the Korea Media Rating Board demanded he make cuts to his latest film, I Saw the Devil, if he wanted it to be shown in theaters in his homeland.¶ “There’s nothing in my movie that people haven’t seen before,” Jee-woon explained in a telephone interview. “If I had made it ten years ago, it would have been allowed to go to theaters as it was, but the political climate in Korea is very different today. It’s much more conservative. Instead of letting people see the movie and make up their own minds, they’d rather censor it with their own changes.”
Jee-woon eventually made the cuts the government demanded and the film was a huge hit in Korea. Before releasing it to American theaters, however, the director put back every single frame that he had been ordered to cut out. There’s no denying that I Saw the Devil is intense. The film starts with the brutal murder of a young woman stranded on the side of a highway with a flat tire in a snow storm. The man who stops to help her, played with unnerving intensity by Min-sik Choi (Old Boy) beats 16
MAGAZINE May 2011
her into submission in the car, unaware that her boyfriend (Byung-hun Lee), the last person she called before the killer broke through her window, is a government agent. When the woman’s severed head (and not much else) is found floating in a river, the agent takes a leave of absence from his job to track down her killer and make him pay. By the end of the film, audiences will see several brutal murders, a number of gory fights, some torture scenes and, unless they
look away in time, a stomach-churning dinner scene where the meat on the table was probably screaming for its life a few minutes before the guests sat down to eat. It’s not for the squeamish, but that doesn’t mean it’s just another exploitation film; the graphic nature of the film makes it difficult to appreciate the art and style that director Jee-woon pours into every frame of his riveting thriller. “It’s never done just to shock or manipulate the audience. The movie doesn’t glorify violence, but it also doesn’t try to hide it,” Jee-woon said. “If you tell a story about violent men, you need to show people the results of their violence. The story takes the time for the audience to get to know the men involved, both the killer and the cop. That doesn’t mean you sympathize with either one through the entire film, but once you know a person, their actions become more important to you as a viewer.” I Saw the Devil is a big departure from Jee-won’s last film, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, a Korean-style spaghetti western that was an international hit mainly due to its seamless blend of comedy with large-scale action scenes. The action in I Saw the Devil is far bloodier than anything Jee-woon showed audiences in his western, and the humor tucked in alongside the carnage is so dark you feel bad for laughing at it. “After (The Good, the Bad, the Weird), which was such a big movie with lots of extras and big action scenes, I wanted to do something smaller, something more intense,” Jee-woon said. “I really wanted more control over everything in the movie. When you’re shooting dozens of people chasing each other across a desert, there is only so much you can control. When it’s just two actors in a room, you can concentrate your energy a lot more to make every second count. Sometimes that means using music to underscore a scene or an emotion, sometimes that means just using silence to get the same results.” And sometimes, as audiences will see when they watch I Saw the Devil, it means filling the screen with images that will give them nightmares.
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17
entertainment
Asobi Seksu
Brooklyn band’s sound is hard to define (just don’t call it JPop) By John Black
18
MAGAZINE May 2011
L
abels are easy. Critics (and publicists) love them because it let’s them pre-judge a band’s sound and put them in a convenient category. They’re a rock band, so they sound like this. They’re a folk band, so they sound like that.¶ Letting a band’s music stand on its own without trying to shoehorn it into a critical category is a lot harder. But, at least when you listen to Brooklyn-based band Asobi Seksu, it’s worth the effort.¶ “We’ve been hit with a
lot of labels,” said singer/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate, who along with guitarist/ singer James Hanna, Bassist Billy Pavone and drummer Larry Gorman makes up the band. “A lot of people call us shoegazing rock, which I don’t think fits at all. Introspective music has been a big influence on me and my lyrics, but there’s no way you can listen to James’ guitar and call it shoegazing.¶ “Because I’m from Japan, we get a lot of people trying to call us JPop, too, which is ridiculous,” she said with a laugh. “I think our music is too varied to fit into any category but our own.”¶ Yukie isn’t just bragging, either; she’s speaking from experience she’s gained from writing songs with the guitarist. “There are times when I come up with something very melodic and ballad-like on the keyboard and James takes it and turns it completely into something else,” she said. “I’ve done the same to some of his ideas, too, so it’s only fair. The studio is the perfect place for us to throw together any ideas we have and throw out what doesn’t work for us.”¶ As much as she love spending time in the studio honing her craft, Yuki readily admits that the best thing about being in Asobi Seksu is getting up on stage and putting the band’s hard work to the test by playing it live.¶ “It’s such a powerful experience to be on stage and know that people are really enjoying the music you are making,” she said. “Before I was in this band, I had no other experience singing in front of people, not even in front of my family, so I was very shy. I had no idea what I was doing so I’d just hide behind the keyboard. I’m much more comfortable now; I love being on stage. It’s the most direct form of communication with people that I’ve ever experienced. It doesn’t matter where we are or if we even speak the same language. As long as you can make that connection with the people listening to your music, it becomes a very powerful shared experience.”¶ Make up your own mind about what Asobi Seksu sounds like by listening to them at myspace.com/asobiseksu or see them live May 17 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.
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LIFESTYLE
Rheinhessen:
Rediscovered German Wine Country By Trond Arne Undheim
W
hen I was little, I wanted to become an explorer. I read all the first hand
accounts of territorial conquests but concluded with some sadness that the world was already explored. It took me a while to learn that some things can be rediscovered. Rheinhessen is such a place. Riesling is such a grape.
Once upon a time, Riesling wines used to be recognized as the world’s most noble wines due to their diversity of styles, regional character, consistent quality and compatibility with food. Then it became a mass market commodity, and the downhill trajectory began. Rheinhessen, located west of the Rhine river, is the largest of the 13 regions that make Germany the world’s 9th largest producer of wine. Outside Germany, it is best known as the home of Liebfraumilch, a style of mass-produced, semi-sweet white German wine mostly made out of the everpresent MüllerThurgau grape. Liebrfraumilch is a German word 20
MAGAZINE May 2011
literally meaning “beloved lady’s milk” and was originally produced at the same church estate in Worms that accused Martin Luther of heresy.
Message in a Bottle “Our parents were not so involved in the wine side of agriculture. They grew up right after the Second World War and did things out of necessity, not out of passion like now,” said vintner Johannes Landgraf, “However, the young generation is more open, and looks for experiences outside Germany, and we plant fewer grape varietals, which is easier to market.” He is
part of Message in a Bottle, an initiative from an emerging, 28-person strong, eponymous young vintner’s society. Message in a Bottle, which according to winemaker Jochen Dreissigacker, “started with a big party in Mainz in 2002,” is all about focusing on much needed quality, marketing and international impulse. “The Germans don’t drink their own best wine,” said Oliver Müller, winemaker at Wagner-Stempel, “our consumers have not yet understood what took place in German gastronomy.” In a decade, the vintners behind Message in a Bottle have transformed Rheinhessen wine. They have turned formerly back country estates into wineries. They have maximized the impact of such old treasures as the Red Slope vineyards. So far, the movement has had the most success domestically, but this is about to change.
Roten Hang Red Slope (Roten Hang in German) are famous, chalky, red sandstone vineyard terraces in Nierstein that were formed some 280 million years ago. I was there on a cool, sunny March afternoon tasting outstanding wine with Konstantin Guntrum, and I remembered why I am involved in the wine trade: it is linked to exciting stories, sensations, places and colors. One small discovery I made this day was that Konstantin’s winemaker is Korean-German, Kim Ky Hian Ferdinand Kirchhoff.
Trond’s Picks The secret to enjoying German wine is to be aware of the difference between the harmoniously dry varieties (labeled trocken, halbtrocken, Classic or Selection) and the more known ones displaying rich, ripe fruitiness at harvest (kabinett, spätlese, auslese or eiswein). Keep in mind that the latter could also be categorized in levels of residual sugar or dryness as felt in the bottle, from dry to sweet and aromatic. The classic grape varieties are Riesling, Silvaner or Pinot Noir (often written in German: Spätburgunder). At the low end you find house wine (Ortswein), the next level is marked by vineyard site (Klassifizierte Lagenweine) and the good stoff is called grand cru (Grosse Gewächse) or first growth (Erste Gewächse). Dreissigacker Riesling Geyersberg
Wagner Stempel Siefersheimer Riesling
(2008, $45, 92/100) The mighty mineral bouquet reveals a surprisingly smooth, rich and vibrant wine on the palate. Superbly balanced and with 4g residual sugar, this is a fantastic Riesling with lots of flavors. Made on pure limestone with very low leaf growth, the resulting small berries produce a concentrated juice with long aging potential. I also tasted the grand cru stuff – its immense concentration, density, and strength was impressive if you like your classic Riesling with a generous aromatic profile.
2009 vom Porfyr (2009, $25, 90/100) This entry-level wine from the superstar producer in the Rheinhessen back country has it all. It is dry and elegant, with a Porphyric, minerally, salty taste. The wine is very fresh, with lots of fruit, and aromas of lemon, lavender, ginger, apricot and nuts. Airlines want it, but as a mediumsize producer, they can’t fill the demand, which means more wine for us regular consumers with an appetite and wallet for excellence.
Generation Riesling
Destination Riesling
Stories and generational vibrations are what moves the wine scene at the moment. Generation Riesling is a well-educated, internationally oriented, and ambitious younger generation, a total of 300 vintners all under 35 years old. “We tour the world to show them off, like rock stars,” said Ernst Büscher of The German Wine Institute. Other groups include Rheinhessen Five, Mosel Junger and Frank und Frei. Moreover, thanks to the work of the International Riesling Foundation, we now know that Riesling is produced around the world, with Germany only accounting for about 60 percent. Riesling is the fastest growing white wine in the United States, and second only to Pinot Noir of any wine; yet market research has shown that many consumers think of Riesling only as “a sweet white wine” despite the wide range of tastes it can represent.
Every trip needs an anchor destination, somewhere to relax and from which you can explore other areas. Dohlmühle winery & luxury B&B, restaurant and sauna is such a place. Kids can play on the playground. Everyone can enjoy the wellness center and the food is fabulous. Dohlmühle in the small village of Flonheim, founded in the 1390s as a mill is the only 4-star establishment in this part of Germany. Their fully renovated property is truly unique, clean, and elegant. The family is incredibly hospitable and friendly, and their top wine, a Scheurebe Eiswein 2009, is super fresh, with appropriate sweetness and quite a bit of elegance. Their food is German fusion, full-flavored with authentic flair. Their winery is a two-pronged affair, with both limited and mass market brands in the mix. “We sell more Eiswein than others sell wine,” said owner
The Rheinhessen Wine Scene Rediscover one of the most beautiful places in Germany, enjoy wine, spas, hotels, and get to know some new people, particularly among the emerging young vintners who have an international outlook. Having less time, ask for these wines in your local wine shop or online.
BeckerLandgraf Winery www.beckerlandgraf.de Bäderhaus Bad Kreuznach (sauna and spa) www.baederhaus-sauna.de Dohlmühle (winery & luxury B&B/resto/sauna) www.dohlmuehle.de Espenhof (winery and B&B) www.espenhof.de Frank und Frei (young vintner’s society) www.frank-und-frei.de Generation Riesling www.generation-riesling.de/ english Guntrum (winery) www.guntrum.de International Riesling
Foundation www.drinkriesling.com Keller (winery) www.keller-wein.de Kuehling-Gillot (winery) www.kuehling-gillot.de Mainz Regency Hyatt (luxury wine hotel) mainz.regency.hyatt.com Message in a Bottle (young vintner’s society) www.message-in-a-bottle.info Mosel Junger (young vintner’s society) www.moseljuenger.de ProWein (trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany) www.prowein.com
Red Slope (GE: Roter Hang vintner’s society) www.roter-hang.de Rheinhessen Five (young vintner’s society) www.rheinhessen-five.de The German Wine Institute www.deutscheweine.de Wagner-Stempel (winery & 3-star B&B) info@wagner-stempel.de Winter (winery) www.weingut-winter.de Wines of Germany (official US representation) www.germanwineusa.com Wittman (winery) www.weingutwittmann.de
Wittmann Morstein Riesling Grosses Gewächs (2009, $45, 94/100)
This cool climate, bone-dry Riesling was created on rocky limestone soil in Westhofen. The result is a wine with unparalleled intensity of fruit and minerality. Complex, elegant and sculptured, Philipp Wittmane’s wine is made by hand picking and selecting grapes already in the vineyard’s limestony soils and crushing them softly. Natural fermentation is key to the über clean result. With a stellar reputation in Germany, and exports to 30 countries, only 5,000 bottles make it to the States.
Claus-Dieter Stütz. Rheinhessen is a hilly countryside largely devoted to vineyards, therefore it is also called the “land of the thousand hills.” Its larger towns include: Mainz, Worms, Bingen, Alzey, NiederOlm and Ingelheim. Many inhabitants commute to work in Mainz, Wiesbaden, or Frankfurt. Flonheim, a small town of 2,600 people built completely in stone, has a history linked to the horse trail coming down from the Rhein river. Nowadays, as large parts of the mass market wine harvest is automated, people mostly work in the nearby cities. Also in Flonheim is Espenhof, a luxury B&B and family owned vineyard. The young vintner, Nico Espenschied, a soon to be graduate of Geisenheim wine school, will go places. His wines start at a very low price point yet will, in a few years, approach the 90-mark in quality for sure. His thesis on the diet of plants is sure to give him competitive advantage as well as friends among German vines. However, don’t get too lax: “Just as with people, a certain level of stress makes you stronger.” Back in the main regional city, The Mainz Regency Hyatt, a luxury wine hotel that integrates the historic 19th-century building Fort Malakoff into its 21st-century architecture, located on the banks of the River Rhine, brings it all together for a wine trip. According to marketing manager Kristina Ulrich, “We have a wine boutique, cooking classes, dining in the wine cellar, Very Important Baby (VIB) facilities and babysitting services, and a spa. Sommellier Giovanni Lucchese’s wine list of 250 wines are 80 percent German.” Re-exploring Germany’s Rieslings is a bit like rediscovering the north Pole on cross country skis and using traditional gear without the biting cold winds. Was it not for the purist sting of an occasionally perfectly bone dry wine, the cost, and the hours of driving involved, it would be almost too pleasant.
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LIFESTYLE
Aloha Style The shirt with a fashion sense all its own b y J ay C a l d e r i n
A
loha can mean hello or goodbye. It can also be used to describe a garment – the Aloha shirt. Although it’s a short sleeve shirt with a collar, usually printed with a bold colorful print, it is considered a dress shirt in Hawaii where it originated. Most mainlanders associate the Hawaiian shirt with big brand names like Tommy Bahama, or as being the appropriate attire for a Jimmy Buffet concert. Parrothead or not, the Hawaiian shirt seems to build an audience within every generation since it was introduced to mainstream America by G.I.’s after World War II. For some it’s nostalgic, some it’s camp. For others it has become the symbol of an escape to a slower, hedonistic island lifestyle.
Ellery Chung is credited with having designed the first of these iconic shirts in the early 1930’s. He was a Chinese merchant who used old kimono fabrics to create brightly colored shirts for eager tourists in Waikiki, Hawaii. The locals also embraced this fashion phenomenon. The surfing community in particular, adopted both the shirt and the patterns featured on them into the cultural aesthetics of their sport. Even before Hawaii became a state in 1959, it was a very popular vacation destination. The shirt became as synonymous with the island as leis, ukuleles and grass skirts, not to mention being infinitely easier to incorporate into your wardrobe. The Hawaiian shirt became a part of mainstream fashion thanks to many famous individuals who contributed to its popularity. President Harry S. Truman was often seen sporting one in The White House. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby brought them to the big screen in many of The Road movies, and Elvis Presley wore one on the cover of his Blue Hawaii album in 1961. One of the most unique attributes of any Hawaiian shirt is the print. The traditional Aloha shirt features Polynesian patterns that take their inspiration from Hawaiian quilts, Tapa designs and floral motifs. Hawaiian quilts usually feature boldly colored, botanical patterns that radiate from a central point on a white background. Tapa is a bark cloth that is often decorated using natural dyes. 22
MAGAZINE May 2011
The geometric patterns in many Tapa are distinctive in that the shapes and colors are created by using repetitive lines. These patterns are applied using hand-painting, stamping or stenciling techniques. Many floral patterns are created using native flora such as Hibiscus, Orchids, Plumeria blossoms, Ginger flowers or Birds of Paradise as inspiration. Contemporary versions of the garment use the design of the classic shirt and how the pattern is laid out to feature almost anything that can be used as a motif - cars, drinks, and even brand or sports team logos. There is also a definite difference between the aesthetic preferences of the Malahini and the Kama’aina. The former is what newcomers are called, and their general preference leans toward bold, busy and colorful patterns. The latter, identifying natives of Hawaii, who might be more inclined to opt for subtler variations, like the ‘reverse print’ - a shirt which is assembled with the intent of having the printed side of the fabric on the inside of the garment, resulting in muted version of the pattern being displayed on the outer surface. Aloha style has endured for over seventy years so think twice before you take to heart what the fashion gatekeepers might have to say about it. The humble yet expressive Hawaiian shirt is here to stay, but as in all matters of fashion a discerning eye is key. Not all Hawaiian shirts are created equal. It also takes a little courage to don bright colors and big patterns. So the next time you’re getting checked out at Trader Joe’s, smile and take a moment to compliment the cashier on their fashionable uniform. Many places with a tropical climate have adopted similar garments in the name of practicality, cultural pride and of course style. In Okinawa for instance, many Kariyushi shirts incorporate elements of Shisa temple guardian designs. The Puerto Rican community is another culture that has their own special shirt, the Guayabera. I have vivid memories of how elegant my grandfather and his friends looked in their clean, crisp, pleated Guayaberas as they played dominos at a small card table in the summer sun. But that’s another story.
entertainment
Continued from page 8 Homeostasis is a term she shared when I almost cut off the tip of my pinkie finger – I was chopping cabbage with a large kitchen knife when I mistakenly julienned it. Immediately I held my hand up to fight nature’s collusion with gravity, getting the injury above my heart. I knelt in front of the sink, praying for cleansing and coagulation from the cold water flushing the wound. The relief was instant until I looked at my finger and saw how much I’d severed. The vision of the laceration sounded my internal stress alerts. Now I knew I was dealing with a gash and not a grazing. Being Therese’s daughter, I knew what to do. Instead, I chose to call her out of retirement to patch me up. Healed scars on my body bear testament to
my mother’s expertise and curative abilities. Her brand of tough love has instilled a confidence in me that’s given me a perspective of trust and belief in the body’s ability to right itself. Without stitches, but proper cleansing, dressing and a splint to avoid banging the wound open again, my fingertip rejoined the family of my hand and has sealed shut. Bodies are extraordinary vehicles with perfect mechanisms capable of corrective action and wholeness. The three-quarter moon, five-year-old scar on my finger is testament to that. The feeling has yet to fully return to the tip, but Mom warned me “nerves only grow the thickness of a dime’s edge every year.” A scar where healing naturally occurred without stitches is the visual I use to remind myself that health is the body’s natural state of balance. www.colormagazineusa.com May 2011
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