Hello my name is...

Naming a child or even something special like your car is very important. It is something that will follow them for their whole lives. The name given to you is something you hold dear to your heart, regardless of whether your like your own name or not. As your life progresses, you pick up nicknames that sometimes even shape your identity. Regardless, you are still stuck with your "government issued" name.

In Cisneros's "My Name," Esperanza tells us throughout the years how her name made her feel. They are mixed feelings of what the name actually means and what the people surrounding her made it feel. She also tells us that it is her great-grandmother's name. However, she feels that she also inherited her "life at the window." In the ending paragraph, she tells us that she would want to switch her name to a something unique that will show her individuality.

I can definitely relate to Esperanza. My full name is Joseph Monderin Gesuden. Gesuden is from a German descent, but I don't know the actual meaning. I always thought it was cool that it sounded like "hadouken" from the Street Fighter video game series. Monderin is my mother's maiden name. A lot of Filipinos have their mother's maiden name as their middle name. I was named after my mother, who's name is Josephine. When my parents told me this, I hated the story. I actually asked my dad why I my name what is was and he told me that my mom named me. Essentially, I am Josephine Jr. Interestingly, my father named my half-sister "Liza", and my older sister "Lizette", which meant "Little Liza."I always wanted a cool story to tell when people asked why my name was Joseph.

The name Joseph always has this "average Joe" connotation to it and that always bugged me. I remember when AOL was popular and you had to make your own "screen name" and I made mine "NoTTheAvgJoe" in grammar school. In grammar school I've gotten every version of nicknames that a person with my name can get--Joe, Joey, Joe Dirt, G.I. Joe, etc. In high school, I joined crew and the varsity guys said I looked Japanese, so they gave me the nickname "Kamikaze." At first I thought it was a cool nickname to have, but I was also embarrassed about it after learning the history between the Japanese and Filipinos during WW2. My good friend also gave me the nickname "Joe Blum." I asked him where Blum came from and he said I just looked like a "Blum." To this day, he still gives me this reason. Interestingly, my friends who've known me since high school refer to me as "Joe Blum."

I have used "Madapakaa", which is my twitter name, for a social media name since sophomore year of high school. I initially used it for my Playstation 3 username to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Ever since then, I've been using it for social media purposes. I can't explain it well as Rex Navarette of what "Madapakaa" means, so please enjoy this link.

When F.U.N.K. started, a lot of members started calling me "Tito Boy." Every family has a Tito Boy. There are a lot of different versions of him--whether he is the uncle that always brings a different girlfriend to family parties or whether he was the drunkest uncle at the parties. However, a Tito Boy always had a lot of respect without saying much. He was respected by the elders and loved by the children at the parties. I always thought it was an honor to be given this nickname to me since a lot of the younger members count on me and look up to me, and I always appreciated that.

"Grand Master Artist"

Early in the film, you here someone tell James Mirikitani to "take it easy." Mirikitani quickly snaps back and says, "Take it easy? Nevermind take it easy!" As simple as it sounds, it shows the character of James Mirkitani. You can tell that when he makes his art, he is fully focused. The Japanese are known for being devoted to their professions and talents. Mirikitani tells us that his roots descends from a 950 year old samurai family and you tell that through his work ethic and wisdom.

I enjoyed James Mirikitani's wit. He reminded me of a stereotypical old wise man who did not have to say much to make an impact. He had a unique wisdom and lively aura to him that can only be obtained through truly living a life. If James Mirikitani was part of a Filipino family, he would be the Tito Boy--the uncle who the children loved and who all the elders respected.

Throughout the film you can feel the resentment from Mirikitani against the U.S. government. He would try to hide it sometimes, but you can almost feel it coming out of the screen, especially when they talked about the internment camps. He said, "It doesn't make a difference if I'm Japanese. Born In Sacramento!"Interestingly, this was filmed around 9/11 and they make a distinct comparison of discrimination between the Muslims on the "War on Terror" and the Japanese during WW2. The film takes a sound bit from the news that says, "At a time of fear, there is a time of overreacting." This was a very powerful statement and it followed with Mirikitani saying, "Can't make war. Five seconds, ashes" and it cut to a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb. It was as if Mirikitani was making a prediction of where the "War on Terror" could lead to.

Mirikitani's resentment made him not want help from the U.S. government with social security benefits. The director keeps prying him to get it but he just brushes it off. Later on in the film he finally agrees and also visits the internment camp. It seems that James Mirikitani finally makes peace with all the wrong doings he has when he says that his madness "passed through him" late in the film.

It is important to make peace with things. The Filipino WW2 veterans still don't have full benefits that they deserve for serving alongside the Allies during WW2. In this Youtube clip, you can see that after 20 years of lobbying for full recognition, he surrenders the uniform and medals he earned as a symbolic "F U" to the people that would not give him what he and other Filipino WW2 veterans rightfully deserve

My final project, but first blog post

http://youtu.be/YZHbkR2sTSA

I am proud of my work and I definitely would like to see it in the eBook. Please note that none of the people I interviewed knew what I was going to ask or what everyone else said. If you want to watch other funny videos of F.U.N.K. members, please go to my Youtube page Madapakaa30