Hello AACP Newsletter Readers

Happy Labor Day! We hope you’re having a good weekend

For those of us who are working this weekend, I always find it a little ironic when I work on Labor Day. It’s not that I am complaining. On the contrary it’s nice to have things to do.

I was thinking recently about how some people I know were feeling a bit down, with thoughts on big questions like the meaning of existence and whether they have any purpose in life. I was listening to some music that I liked and suddenly it hit me that the mere act of listening was giving the creators of the music some purpose in life. It was like one hand trying to clap. After all, what is a great song or a great book if there’s no one to listen to it or read it? Even the lilies of the field need various insects and birds to pollinate their beautiful flowers so that they could propagate and continue on.

For those of you reading that may be feeling a little blue too, we really appreciate that you’re reading this. We hope that this shared experience is as good for you as it is for us. Keep reading – not only our writings, but also the writings of the materials that we highlight and even those that we don’t. Support the arts, listen to some good tunes this weekend with the satisfaction that you are helping to make those arts and the artists have some meaning in life. Your passive appreciation does have meaning and purpose. And to give it even more purpose, do what we’re doing, pass what you know on to others, and let them know why you think something is great or beautiful.

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We only have one article for you this month, but it’s an interview with an old friend of AACP that I have known for over 26 years. Charlie Chin, a local historian, writer, and musician sat down with us to do this interview. Not only is he an historian, he was a part of AAPI and American history through his performances in small and large Greenwich Village clubs, venues across the country, and even before audiences of 80,000 people.

1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival (you can still catch it on the PBS website or other streaming services). Charlie was there as a performer along with some notables such as John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and many other.

This interview was so good that we’re splitting it in two and having part 2 next month. So read this month’s Interview with Charlie Chin - Part 1 and next month’s.

Check out some of Charlie’s music while you're at it (as I am doing right now; an album called “Charlie Chin in Concert: June 2, 1979 at the Chinese Cultural Center”; hey we have a copy of this album for sale at our store too). I’ll have some links of some other songs for you at the end of this month’s interview.

If you’d like to catch him in person, check out the Moon Festival celebration in San Mateo on Sept. 14 (2024). I have more information on it in our events section. Unfortunately, we won’t be there, but please check it out.

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Okay, for our featured books this month, we have a selection of science fiction books, some books related to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, and some other wonderful children’s books.

Please check them all out.

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Thank you so much for the interview Charlie.

Thank you Sarah Guan of Erewhon Books for helping me find some of the science fiction books for this month’s featured book selection.

Thank you Philip and Mina for your help with the interview.

Have a nice weekend and take care everyone.