RPR on The Terrace, 2023, Pt III

RPR on The Terrace, 2023, Pt II

RPR on The Terrace, 2023

TransFormation

All words and images by Julian Warmington

Downtown Pōneke/ Wellington in the afternoon of Sunday, 25 March, 2023 was a time and place of celebration.

While Cuba Dupa saw a second day celebrating conspicuous consumption in the streets around the Bucket Fountain, in Te Ngākau (Civic Square) about 4000 people gathered to recognize and demand trans rights and respect.

Many brought the flair of creativity to their signs of support, or their rainbow-themed dress sense. Others left messages chalked on the wall around the old library or on the path to the art gallery.

Speeches, conversations, and even dancing was shared. It was a time of affirmation, positivity, and unity.

Below: Māra Te Ata, with a sign someone gave them simply because they said they liked it. It features the kupu Māori takatāpui.

Above: There were a lot of people, many great signs, uncountable rainbows, and heaps of glitter.

Below: Takatāpui is an important and beautiful word. Like irawhiti, faʻafafine and fa’afatama, were commonplace and respected before the colonizing impact of christianity warped the beauty of social acceptance of whole sections of our populations, due not to any of christ’s teachings about love, but more about prudish hangovers from Victorian era fixations.

Above: Irawhiti means transgender; “ao” means world, or culture.

Below: “Solidarity with our trans whanau”

Above: I’m still learning to use the camera, which is all the more difficult now that I need reading glasses; it’s difficult to tell whether it’s actually in focus exactly where I want it. Still, this sign is legible, and I like the focus on the men contrasting with the centrality of the sign, and its message, alike.

Below: In the 1970s and ’80s there was talk in media about “Kiwi cringe” or “cultural cringe.” It’s interesting to see this term recycled for the modern context:

Above: I apologise for not getting this great person’s name. They and their friends were very kind in standing around while I figured out how to get the camera to take this photo. After what felt like five minutes getting the camera to work, they still have a wonderfully genuine, warm smile.

Below: There were various phrasings expressing lack of patience with folks more beholden to hatefueled stereotypes to a range of different degrees of creativity and politeness.

Above: Many of us know someone who has committed suicide, whether they accomplished it or not. When it feels like a whole society is against you, it must be tempting to look for easy ways out. It must take enormous courage to stand up and be one’s self when everyone else is so different.

Below: Feminism for all.

Above: I found the person who made this sign and they kindly chatted briefly about it. See the video, below.

Above: Photo taken with permission and gratitude.

Above: I met some students from Massey University. Watch the clip below, where Sophie and Sable explain about their signs.

Below: Photo taken with permission and appreciation.

More photos and videos to follow.

The Irrelevant Song

This is my (do, doo-do) irrelevant song
/ I like to sing it when there’s nothing going on

When my mind’s so bored it drives me up the wall
/ And my heart stops beating, nothing’s happening at all

That’s when I’ll turn to you
/ And say:  Boop dapidee, doo-do doo-do!

 

This is my (do, doo-do) irrelevant song
/ I like to sing it when there’s too much going on

When work just piles up too fast
/ And the day goes so quick that the world’s going to crash

That’s when I’ll turn to you
/ And say:  Boop dapidee, doo-do doo-do!

 

This is my (do, doo-do) irrelevant song
/ I like to sing it when everything keeps going wrong

When I’m poor and so far from home
/ And I cry and we’re all alone

That’s when I’ll turn to you
/ And say:  Boop dapidee, doo-do doo-do!

– Instro. –

This is our (do, doo-do) irrelevant song
/ We like to sing it while the world keeps spinning on

While the leaves fall from the trees
/ And the rain turns the rivers into the seas

That’s when I’ll turn to you
/ And say:   Boop dapidee, doo-do doo-do!

Whitney and the Terminal Family: Foufou, the Lulendos, and the lunch with a purpose

The tall young woman strides confidently along the sidewalk, face bright with parallel red lines of lipstick and shiny retro frame glasses. Whitney “Sol” McGhee arrives to introduce herself, her sharp new band, and her musical mission: to host the “lunch (and concert) with a purpose,” this Sunday at noon in the ultramodern EMU Artspace.

Settled in over drinks at a nearby cafe and talking over the tableful of boisterous ajeossis in cheerful conversation next to us, Whitney shares stories of her godmother pushing her forward at 3 years of age with a microphone to sing in church. It might be a familiar cliche, but few of the famous church-born singers also claim their home as being Fayette County, Tennessee, barely 50 kilometers east of Memphis, the very birthplace of modern recorded music since Sam Phillips recorded the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. The revolutionary use of the latest technology led soon thereafter to a young truck driver named Elvis Presley wandering into the Sun Records studios. Such is the strength and richness of the local music culture within which Whitney grew up.

But the highly honed talent that is Whitney’s vocal power and startling stage presence developed over decades of hard work. Surprisingly, though, she spent much of her recent life using her voice less to sing and more to develop a teaching career. She describes a year full of seven-day weeks of study for the sake of gaining her master’s degree in education within one year, with the one respite being her 26th birthday weekend. How did she choose to celebrate that day? On the stage with a microphone in front of family and friends. She explains this first event she organized as being more than just a celebration, but also her first realization that singing is her “calling.” 

Then again, Whitney first started singing regularly as an adult only since coming to Seoul just over two years ago. Joining in the open mic nights around the Haebangchon bar scene, she quickly met up with New Zealand acoustic guitar talent Pounamu Joyce. Each month the pair played a selection of famous and more obscure standards from across the years and various genres. They spent time learning songs with the regular goal of a single monthly performance. It proved a valuable opportunity to learn about performance in front of audiences vastly different to her own family and local hometown friends.

Then Pounamu returned home in early 2019. At a sudden loss for musical support, Whitney decided to look for a band for a more complete sound. Having decided upon what is often a long and grueling process of interviews and auditions, in the end the great challenge took only a week, due largely to the drummer’s reaching out to her, then helping find the guitarist, bass, and piano players. With the drummer being a Cornell University graduate, the other three coming from the more local Hoehwa University, and the percussionist hailing from France, Whitney now has now been leading The Seoul Seekers, a cohesive, talented, and dedicated band of a range of ages and backgrounds for over half a year.

It would be easy to continue to simply perform at open mic nights and then seek a venue to pay the band to perform every month or so. Certainly Eric, owner of Bundang’s long-established live venue Eric’s Pub of Jeongja Station, was extremely happy with the band’s performance in mid 2019. He says their sound is “uniquely smooth, like R & B, but also groovy in a way that makes you want to dance, and in a way no other bands are doing here these days.”

Suddenly Whitney learned of the plight of the Lulendo family. She describes her reaction: “I am a member of a Facebook group where someone posted that YouTube video by Asian Boss. I understand the refugee issue, but, look at the children!” So Whitney consulted with her band members, did her own research for a venue, sought out the extra-special catering service, and then set up the whole event basically single-handedly.

Now, after organizing every last detail, including even the transport of the family for the two-hour trip to the event on Sunday, Whitney says everything is ready to roll. “The band and I have been in rehearsal. It’s a special set of songs, a bit of jazz, a bit of R & B, and it’s very groovy. There’s a special theme, given that the time is about celebration and fellowship and being together.”

Even every last detail of the unique menu has been prepared. Whitney explains the special caterer offers “African cuisine: Give [the Lulendo family] a taste of home! The chef, Malaika Bagoudou, is a holistic wellness chef and is from Togo. She’s making foufou to accommodate the family, so they get a taste of home.” This is also a fantastic opportunity for anyone else who has never sampled this authentic northwest African staple made from starchy foods like cassava or sweet potato, but pounded into different forms, much like Korean-style rice cake or juk. Foufou could be anything from a doughnut-like ball for dipping to a savory porridge or soup-like dish. 

So just like the musical sampler provided by the band, the charity luncheon is shaping up to be a really fun, excitingly delicious experience. It is also a perfect start to the end-of-year season: for celebrating commonalities despite differences, for sharing the victories of this long year whether large or small, and for enjoying some time with others. And, whether we are living at home or are far away from our families, it is for supporting and celebrating a sense of fellowship with one family who have had an especially, uniquely long year.
– Tickets are available via the Facebook event page Charity Luncheon for the Lulendo Family. 

By Julian Warmington
_______________________________________________

Whitney “Sol” McGhee and The Seoul Seekers present the Lunch With a Purpose, EMU Artspace: Panta Garage, just north of Gyeongui Palace, at 12 noon on Sunday, December 22.

*All PROCEEDS GO TO THE LULENDO FAMILY*

For more information or interviews, contact
Ms. Whitney “Sol” McGhee (English): chseung73@seoul.go.kr 010 5801 2375

or Mr. Cheh Yundo (Korean): emailcyd@gmail.com 010 8728 3721

Charity Luncheon: Event page, Facebook
루렌도 가족과 함께하는 사람들: Facebook

“Whitney Sol” YouTube channel

IAmWhitneySol Instagram
With band in performance: Instagram
SolSeoulSoul Twitter

“Get to know Whitney Sol: An interview with Julian Warmington”
A preliminary interview: YouTube video (23 minutes)

Getting serious about the links between TPP and AGW

Reading the first serious assessments of Obama’s climate plan today, and then combining that with an opinion piece from NZ MSM on the importance of the connection between the TPP and AGW (anthropogenic global warming), or “climate change,” I realized something, and figured it was worth dusting off the old blog site.

1.) Our western developed nations Five Eyes countries are on a race to the bottom in terms of taking Our Big Challenge seriously, and Obama’s Grand Plan is just more cynical window dressing, when we all know, as Naomi K and Bill McK and so many others all point out, we really urgently need that world war-style mass mobilization.

2.) Another march in the streets full of the proletariat wringing their hands can simply be easily ignored, again. I support Avaaz and all cooperating groups looking to make it happen, but, the idea of having one as late as the eve of the big meeting in Paris seems so late as to be mildly farcical – although I do understand that the national reps should be arriving into town by then and I do hope it does help to create pressure – but realistically, we need to have won the publicity competition well before going to Paris. The night before just really is too damn late.

3.) Given 1.), what we need everyone to realize they need to demand of their elected representatives, starting right now, is something easy to understand, and very specific, and, it needs to have a proven precedent that cannot be argued away by the Powers That Be Corrupt, ie. we need to find the best example to counteract all their attempts at being the worse; we need to demand a race to the top, and be able to point at it and tell our elected reps.: We are going there, and you are leading us, starting NOW, well before December in Paris, where you will all agree to cooperate on achieving that, starting NOW – NOT in thirty damned year’s time.

4.) According to that opinion piece, Switzerland may provide the ideal such model, and, as James Hansen and so many others have said, we really do need to start with a price on carbon. (Actually, removing all subsidies for livestock agriculture makes as much sense as removing subsidies for fossil fuel companies… and perhaps we should have this point as People’s Demand #2.)… but anyway)… The article to which i refer is this: The TPP and Climate Change

 5.) I hope this article makes very, very clear that waiting until the last minute before Paris talks begin is way too late; our deadline is actually well before the next round of TPP talks which could be any day or week from now, but is not likely to be many months later, and, perhaps our People’s Demand #1 should actually be that climate change is mentioned at the top of EVERY section within the bloody awful secret monstrosity of an “agreement,” in the frightening case of a scenario of it actually being past.

6.) Given this very real and sudden extra pressure on timing, perhaps we should divert a little attention from any later activities, and start suggesting people immediately occupy or phone.. or in more appropriate ways approach all Five Eyes nation’s elected representative and their offices until they sign a declaration that they will

i.) oversee that climate change be acknowledged and the strongest possible provisions to combat it included in every section of the dreaded TPP, in the unfortunate case of the cursed thing not simply being dropped altogether; and,

ii.) take up a cry of following Switzerland’s great example in two ways: negotiate for nothing less than an equivalent of Switzerland’s target national greenhouse gas reduction goals (more is quite acceptable); and, achieve the establishment of a price on carbon matching Switzerland’s (in local currency).

iii.) facilitate the removal of all subsidies for the livestock agriculture, and fossil fuel industry representatives.

These clear, specific goals need to start being actioned well before the end of the current election cycle or term in office of our respective politicians.