This episode of Naoness is had within the present moment of back-to-school for one Naoko and enjoying the remainder of summer for the other Naoko.  Listen to the previous episode 31, as we delve deeper into profound topics that inspire us. We reference two of ALOK'S (an acclaimed gender non-conforming writer/poet, performer and speaker's podcasts: one from their conversation with ACLU | American Civil Liberties Union reimagining gender, and one from "The Man Enough" podcast on transforming and toxic masculinity.  Listen to the podcast Renegades where Naoko wells up in tears when Naoko triggers the conversation and healing process between "ghosts and ancestors."  Of course, we end on a lighter note of food: pizza and turkey burgers.  Listen now for one of our most interesting topics as of yet.

Welcome to Season 3 of Naoness.  The more we explore themes of inclusion, belonging, and the human condition, we find ourselves naturally exploring what it means to be free from gender norms.  This is just the tip of the iceberg of being inspired by ALOK, an acclaimed gender non-conforming writer/poet, performer, and speaker, who captured our attention with their take on the necessity of bringing compassion into our everyday lives. We also share being inspired by musician Bruce Springsteen and former President, Barack Obama's relatively new podcast Renegades: Born in the USA.  Themes discussed include having continued hopes for the American Dream and how each of us is responsible to practice to have the uncomfortable dialogues and conversations to mend our divisive culture.  We pivot to our continuous love of food and talk about a traditional British dish and an innovative, easy pizza using Naan bread.

Alok Vaid-Menon's 2022 Vision Award by Stonewall Foundation

Alok Vaid-Menon: The Urgent Need for Compassion (The Man Enough Podcast)

Powerful clip shared by Alok via IG: today is international non-binary peoples day. i love us more than the world could ever hate us. let’s continue to dream beyond all binaries ✨

A clip from Larry Wilmore's podcast Black On The Air with Baratunde Thurston and the Lasting Trauma of Sundown Towns (America Outdoors PBS)

Renegades: Born in the USA (Relationships with our Fathers & Masculinity; Fatherhood)

The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim: "Hope is a discipline." —Mariame Kaba (an organizer, educator and curator. My work focuses on ending violence, dismantling the prison industrial complex, transformative justice and supporting youth leadership development.)

Stonefire Naan pizza

Bangers and mash

Is Béchamel sauce the same as Alfredo sauce? No, Bechamel sauce is not as same as Alfredo sauce. While Béchamel sauce is a simple white sauce and uses only all-purpose flour, milk, and butter, Alfredo sauce is made using heavy cream, butter, garlic, fresh parsley, and parmesan or cream cheese.

We're wrapping up our 2nd Season mid-summer. Naoness never fails to connect the present to our AAPI community. The preciousness of time is another  ever-present theme. What are your summer plans? We touch upon camping/glamping and always end on a delish food note. Are you familiar with Korean namul or Japanified Korean namuru? Listen to Naoko share the base of making namuru, her comfort food—a taste of home and belonging—and describe a poignant experience of connection to her mother and grandmother, to her roots and ancestral heritage beyond time and space.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Joy Harjo Teaches Poetic Thinking Masterclass

Episode 25: Reacting to Netflix series Love is Blind Japan: Social Experiment

Episode 7: A Surprise Guest! for More Intergenerational Conversations

Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-leader assassinated while giving speech (BBC)

Shinzo Abe's assassination spotlights Unification Church links to Japan's politics (NPR)

HBO Max: Studio Ghibli (Kiki's Delivery Service; Pom Poko; My Neighbor Totoro; Spirited Away)

Seattle Bon Odori 2022 (2022 Virtual Seattle Bon Odori on YouTube)

Namul; Bibimbap; Spicy cucumber salad (oi-muchim!)

Sesame Oil: Is it good for you? What is it?

Joanne Molinaro: The Korean Vegan

We honor Memorial Day by remembering our US military men and women who served our country for our freedom, protected the common good, and brought relief to disaster-stricken areas of the world. We pivot to highlight two high school students graduating this year - 2022.  Mia and Sam share how they met in 6th grade and how their lives converge from one who was born and raised in the same town, and one who grew up in multiple states.  Join us for the most present trip down high school memory lane, especially from students' perspectives through the pandemic, coming out of it, and how they're embarking on their transition of heading to university in the fall. 

We are opening up with gratitude toward our loyal listeners—shout out to Naomi and Annette! Teasers for future episodes to explore one's identity as a high-school all-star athlete starting over in college, and an Invisible Man book club discussion invitation to Naoko's mother-in-law. Naoness aka Nowness—everything that comes to mind in the present—grapples with addiction, privilege, and post-pandemic job search. Thank you for your patience with the audio glitch!

Speaking of sunscreen, sharing EWG's Guide to Sunscreens

Check out Episode 19 Guest: Sahira Iqbal Blows Naoness Away~

May is AAPI Heritage Month & Mental Health Awareness Month

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown: Accessing Joy and Finding Connection in the Midst of Struggle with Karen Walrond (powerful prompts for reflection: How can I feel connected? How can I feel healthy? How can I feel purposeful?)

Ibonoito Japanese Handmade Somen Noodles

We explore just the precipice of whether violence and love can coexist. Listen more to hear our thoughts and encouragement to explore beloved author, bell hooks's, "All About Love: New Visions," which discusses aspects of love in modern society. We also recommend Ly Tran's memoir, "House of Sticks," that recounts her journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, NYC, and the power we have to alter and fight against the odds for a greater opportunity. We shift our conversation to a lighter note on Netflix's, "The Adam Project," that explores the frailty of time and the dynamic between our current self in relation to our kid self.

NPR'S Book of the Day: Remembering bell hooks and 'All About Love'

Books by bell hooks: Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Feminism is for Everybody, All About Love: New Visions

Brittney Cooper's TED Talk: The racial politics of time

Reach and Teach in San Mateo

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Earth Day on April 22

Jane Fonda's quote from Netflix's Feminists What Were They Thinking? "Most girls, we're feisty when we're young before puberty sets in. And it's when the specter of womanhood begins to loom on the horizon, you have to stuff anger...you know, you have to be a good girl. Well, all your life, people are saying, "Be a good girl." Well, that implies that you're not naturally good." 

Netflix's Yes Day

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person (book) and My year of saying yes to everything (TED Talk) by Shonda Rimes

Steak Marsala recipe served with mashed potatoes

Rachel Ray's Short Ribs with Pasta e Fagioli

Naoko celebrates her birthday week! We share reflections on the beauty of our mid-40s and what is more to learn. Some analytics to share on which conversations have resonated with listeners and how we can further interact with our listeners. Happy Spring!

The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim

The Wake Up Fireside Chat with Michelle MiJung Kim and Lily Zheng

Tokyo Yuzu candle (blood orange and yuzu) by Cellar Door Candles

Scones recipe by Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery

Chocolate Mint Trufflettes recipe by Jacques Pépin (mint is optional)

Drive My Car Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

CODA (child of deaf adults) Directed by Siân Heder

House of Sticks: A Memoir by Ly Tran

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

PBS NewsHour: Ocean Vuong's Brief But Spectacular Take on grief and language

PBS NewsHour: Vietnamese American poet contemplates his ties to the war

Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart on HBO Max

Old Enough! (Hajimete no Otsukai) on Netflix

On Japan’s Adorable ‘Old Enough!’ Show and the State of American Childhoods

Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APALI) Civic Leadership Program

What Is the Model Minority Myth?

NPR Code Switch: 'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks

NPR Asian Americans Series

Steak Marsala recipe served with mashed potatoes

The majority of the conversation is sharing our synopsis and reaction to the Netflix series "Love Is Blind Japan."  Naoko x Naoko (one of us was born and raised there) pretty much grew up in Tokyo, then left for college in the US but still identify as culturally Japanese in many ways.  We share our impressions of the series after a recent binge-watch.  More than the premise of the creator, Chris Coelen's, social experiment designed to answer two major questions: Can love conquer all? And can people fall in love without ever seeing one another? Naoness explores the nuances of the Japanese language and the contestants on their approach, stories, and perspective on love, where marriage-minded singles in Japan meet, date and get engaged before ever setting eyes on each other.

"Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves." —Thich Nhat Hanh

Feminists: What Were They Thinking Revisiting 1970s photos of women that captured a feminist awakening, this film explores those women's lives and examines the continued need for change.

Turning Red Directed by Domee Shi, the first woman filmmaker* with sole directing credit on a Pixar feature (*correction from Naoko's statement of first female Asian American solo directing credit).

With ‘Turning Red,’ a Big Red Panda Helps Break a Glass Ceiling

Did you know that Girl's Day is celebrated in Japan on March 3rd every year? We'll take a celebration of girls any day, every day.  We also follow up and take a deep dive into why Ralph Ellison's, "Invisible Man" resonated with us when we read the book as required reading in high school and how the masterpiece is still relevant, poignant & a must-read to all who are trying to understand how to navigate life's intricacies and "absurd diversity" while seeking the truth in themselves.  

A spontaneous conversation (aka our minds and thoughts are all over the place):

References:

Masterclass BLACK History Freedom & Love Season 2 Ep. 2 Know the Black Intellectual Tradition

“We all have blind spots. We all have a lens through which we view the world that has no monopoly on truth, or beauty, or goodness. So as a revolutionary Christian, I don’t believe revolutionary Christians have a monopoly on the way the world is. We miss out on some things. I can’t conceive of myself without Malcolm X, a revolutionary Muslim....The variety of voices all around the country and the world have to be taken seriously, especially when you know that you are fallible. You are finite. And you are fallen. And therefore, you got something to learn. So I can read as widely as I can. I can learn and listen to my Indigenous brothers and sisters, many of whom when they hear the word “Christianity,” they look for a weapon because Christianity subordinated them, abused them, mistreated them, was a rationalization of genocidal attacks on them. And I understand that even as a Christian, you see? And you could imagine the variety of the other voices. Sister Bell Hooks, what a towering figure she is. She’s Buddhist now. I got to listen to the Buddhist traditions including Bell Hooks, including Charles Johnson, …I think all of us want to recognize that we have got something to learn from other people who disagree with us. It’s not just a matter of ‘I got a conservative friend. I got a non-Christian, or a non-Islam, or an atheistic partner. No. They got something to say. They’ve got something to teach us. And yet, in the end, you’re going to have to take your stand in terms of which traditions and which aspects of those traditions you’re going to try to live out. And so I always had to be honest in terms of what is inside my heart, mind, soul, and my own skin. ‘Brother West, where do you stand in terms of the various traditions that you’re a part of?’ Well, it is to be a Jesus-loving free Black man who learns and listens from others who tries to write, bear witness, sacrifice, got to jail, willing to die, put on cemetery clothes every day, coffin ready, but still got a smile on my face, and still trying to preserve the style that I got from Irene and Clifton, and Cynthia, and Cheryl, and Shiloh Baptist Church, and Reverend Willie P. Cook and Deacon Hinton and Sarah Ray.” -Cornel West