Get the latest funny dose of Cho. Margaret Cho's new concert film, Beautiful premieres on Showtime this Friday, July 3 at 11:00pm ET/PT.
It's been a few years since Margaret's last concert film. Prepare yourself for another hilarious asskicking standup performance, this time posing perhaps her most shocking theory yet: "nice is sexy."
For more information about what's going on with Margaret, check out her website (and read her blog) here. To learn more about airings of Beautiful, go here. And watch the trailer for Beautifulhere.
According to authorities, Parker was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape, robbery, burglary and false imprisonment. The woman in this attack is white.
The victim was apparently a marathon runner who chased Parker after fighting him off, and off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agents assisted in the arrest. Sounds like this guy really messed with the wrong woman.
Parker will be charged in the attack and that of six Asian women stretching back to June 2008. DNA tests reportedly linked him to the other attacks.
In most of the cases, the victims had only recently returned home and were confronted by a man who brandished a knife and demanded money. The attacker often sneaked into the women's homes through an open garage.
Why would anyone want to make a t-shirt like this? Why would anyone buy one and wear one? It says, "NO MORE YANKIE MY WANKIE THE DONGER NEED FOOD." If you're not familiar with the quote, they're the regrettably immortalized words of Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles.
Over twenty-five years later, it's the character that refuses to die. For some reason, someone was compelled to create a shirt design out of this ridiculous quote from one of the worst Asian caricatures in the history of Hollywood. All for a cheap laugh. What's next - a t-shirt quote from Mr. Yunioshi?
Yesterday, Jim Yong Kim officially stepped in as the 17th president of Dartmouth College, becoming the first Asian American president of an Ivy League school: Historic Day for Jim Yong Kim and Asian-Americans.
He publicly addressed students, alumni, faculty, staff and other members of the Dartmouth community who had gathered to welcome Kim for his first day on the job: Kim addresses Dartmouth community on Green.
If you recall, when it was announced earlier this year that Kim would be taking office as Dartmouth's president, it didn't take long for idiot folks to respond with racist emails and ignorant remarks. But now he's President. What now, fools? (Thanks, Khee.)
The Machine Girl was the story fetishized story of a high school girl whose arm is replaced by a giant machine gun. RoboGeisha appears to be a story about really, really deadly robotic geishas. You really just have to watch it to understand. But even then, you still won't understand.
There are several moments in the trailer where I was like, "Wow, I've never seen that in a movie before." I mean, I've seen breast cannons (who hasn't?), but I've never seen someone stabbed in the eyes with fried shrimp. Nor have I seen armpit swords, or ass katanas for that matter.
I recently heard about The New Twenty, an indie relationship drama that's making some waves on the film festival circuit. The film's cast includes Nicole Bilderback and Andrew Wei Lin, playing twenty-something siblings.
Here's the sad part... according to The New Twentyblog, Andrew Wei Lin took his own life a couple of weeks ago, on June 12. He was described as "a brilliant, charismatic, intelligent, humorous and hugely talented young man." He was 28. (Thanks, Charles.)
I wasn't familiar with his career, and according to IMDb, he didn't have a lot of credits to his name. It looks like his part as Tony Kim in The New Twenty was his most significant film role to date. Tragically, for most of us, it's what we're left with. Rest in peace, Andrew Wei Lin.
Here's video of Mike Kim's appearance of The Daily Show the other night. Kim is author of Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country and founder of Crossing Borders, an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees. Pretty amazing guy. Much props to him for his tireless work, and for bringing this story to the Daily Show audience.
Here's a freaking sweet-ass Craigslist posting offers you the key to ultimate awesomeness... Have you been spinning in video game limbo, unable to advance and reach higher levels of greatness because of your sorry-ass Starcraft skills? Well, there's a reason for that: you're not Korean.
ByunTae, who is certifiably 100% full-blooded Korean, is offering his valuable expertise in Starcraft for the low basic training rate of $25/hour. He guarantees that you too can possess the skill of a Korean player: Starcraft lessons from authentic Korean (richmond / seacliff). Read on:
Starcraft lessons from authentic Korean (richmond / seacliff) Reply to: serv-62pzx-1246071348@craigslist.org Date: 2009-06-29, 5:00PM PDT
Hi, my name is ByunTae from South Korea. I have been playing Starcraft since 1998 and I was born and raised in Korea. I'm 100% full blooded Korean, meaning I have been gifted with unparallel talent to master any video game, particularly, Starcraft: Brood War. I'm also experienced in Counter-Strike, I am able to perform bunny hops, my best score on a public 32 player game was 171-2 with 170 kill streak. I'm offering my expertise in Starcraft to be taught to non-Koreans that wishes to have the skill of a Korean player. I have advised and coached many professional gamers such as Im Jae Dong, Park Myung Soo, Ma Jae Yoon, and more. Boxer and I were great friends until he started using my dropships to gain his fame. I started training other players to be on par with Boxer and eventually surpassing Boxer. He is no longer the best player thanks to my contribution to rest of the players. I did not compete in pro gaming because they KTF did not agree with my seven figure contract demand.
Things I will be teaching in Starcraft: 1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a0a Micro management (unit management) Macro management (unit production and economy) Map specific strategies Basic and Advanced strategies and build orders for all three races. In-game bugs to be used to your advantage such as unit stack, stop lurkers, etc. Counter strategies and perfect attack timings. Learn Korean lango, like "chobo" "gosu" "ww" etc Basic Korean to communicate with Koreans on battle.net Unit details, their size and their pros/cons against other units My signature cannon rush along with my signature cheese rush (boxer learned it from me)
My lessons will result in: Faster APM (actions per minute) - average professional gamers range from 250-550. Average player is about 100. Better Win/Loss Ratio Chance to become a professional gamer in Korea - Celebrity status, especially for foreigners, like Guillaume Patry (Grrr...) and Bertrand Grospellier (Elky) Bragging rights, that you're as good as a Korean in Starcraft You will be called a hacker because you're so good. Korean girls will be intrigued that you're such a good Starcraft player.
My lessons are offered to only non-Koreans or American born Koreans because they lack the blessing from the Gaming God, Norazi. Sun Tzu once said, "Defiler becomes useless at the presences of a vessel." You will be come the vessel against the defilers that treats you like a non-korean, laughing at your pitiful Starcraft skills...however, you will demolish them with the new profound skills.
Pricing: Basic training: $25/hr Estimated course length: 6-8 hours Basics of micro/macro management. Learning the units and buildings Basic strategies and build orders Learn attack/production timing Hotkeys Worker stacking Learn Korean words to understand Koreans talk in game
Advanced training: $35/hr Estimated course length: 8-10 hours Muta stacking Lurker stop and stacking Cloacked zergling Advanced strategies and build orders Map specific strategies Various secret tricks and tips Bootleg copy of Boxer's DVD imported from Korea Learning basic Korean to communicate with Korean on battle.net Advanced micro/macro management (able to stand off 12 zerglings with just 3 zealots or fend off 18 zealots with just 4 cannons) <- EXTREME SKILL
Race Specific Training: I will teach you EVERYTHING i know about those races, making you an unstoppable force within the World of Starcraft. Estimated course length: 4-6 hours Protoss: $20/hr Zerg: $25/hr Terran: $30/hr
For all students, i will also offer 2 hours of my time for the week of the lesson taken, to play together in 1vs1 Lost Temple/Python or other custom maps.
Please contact me if you have any questions, I promise that I will make you into the best non-Korean Starcraft Player EVER, amongst those trained by me.
Preach it, ByunTae. He's here to give you the hard truth. Your gamer ass sucks because you're not Korean, and you lack the blessing from the Gaming God, Norazi. The defilers laugh at your pitiful Starcraft skills -- as they should.
Do you want faster APMs? Better win/loss ratio? Supreme bragging rights? It can all be yours! And best of all, Korean girls will be intrigued that you're such a good Starcraft player. Yes, my friends. ByunTae can make into the best non-Korean Starcraft Player EVER. Not as a good as a Korean, of course. But still pretty damn good. And that's a promise. (Thanks, Todd, via Oliver.)
This new theatrical trailer for the upcoming Fame remake hit the internet a couple of weeks back. The movie is the feature film directorial debut of Kevin Tancharoen. The cast also features Anna Maria Perez de Tagle as Joy, who appears to have a fairly significant role in the movie.
It looks good, though I'm a bit bummed that this trailer doesn't feature more of the title song -- you know what I'm talking about -- like in the teaser trailer. But I'm sure we'll get to hear lots more of it in the movie. We better. Fame hits theaters on September 25.
Just read this ridiculous story about 14-year-old Jeff Sukkasem, a U.S. citizen and legal resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, who has essentially been barred from enrolling in public school for the past two years: Montgomery Schools Made Teen Wait and Wait and Wait.
Born and raised in California, Jeff moved to Thailand with his family when he was 9, but returned to the United States three years later after struggling in Thai school, unable to read or write in Thai. He took up residence in Montgomery with a family friend, who became his legal guardian.
Basically, Jeff is a the victim of overzealous "gatekeepers" intended to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of the area's superior public schools. It's apparently a significant issue, enough that the school system has developed an elaborate process for catching cheats.
Unfortunately, in this case, it locked out a kid with a legitimate claim to attend public school in Montgomery. School officials assumed that Jeff was just another Asian international student who had come to the U.S. for free schools. To them, it looked like his residency was set up "for the purpose of free school attendance."
They declared him an international student and said he could attend only if he paid nonresident tuition. Jeff could neither afford the $14,000 tuition nor a plane ticket back to Thailand. Jeff has apparently spent the past two years teaching himself, at home and at the public library.
Thankfully, this week, in the face of mounting publicity, the Montgomery school system granted Jeff admission to Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda as a regular student, free of charge. It's a about friggin' time.
Come on, you're thinking what I'm thinking, right? You have to wonder if Jeff would have been stuck in limbo this long if he wasn't Asian. Would they have been so quick to conclude that he was just another Asian kid gaming the system? Two years is a long-ass time to figure that one out.
This photo was recently snapped by an observant reader while waiting for the R train at Canal St. in Chinatown, NYC. Someone racist ass apparently felt compelled to modify this subway service announcement. At least they had a change of heart and crossed out "MOTHER FUCKER." Because "please" and smiley faces are how you ask nicely. (Thanks, Qbertplaya.)
I recently heard from Xuhua Qin, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who his working on his dissertation examining how family impacts the career choices of Asian Americans. He's looking for Asian Americans who are willing to help him out and respond to an internet questionnaire. Here's the formal invitation letter:
You are invited to participate in a research project about family’s impact on Asian American students’ career decisions. The purpose of this project is to help career counselors better understand Asian American clients’ career behaviors and their struggles to make a career choice, so that career counselors can more effectively help Asian American clients. This project is under supervision of Prof. James Rounds (Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign).
Anyone over age 18 who identifies him/herself as Asian American is welcomed to participate.
In this project, participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire about their attitude towards different activities and about their experience interacting with parents surrounding these career and academic choices. Participants can fill out the questionnaire in any places that is accessible to internet and at any time of their choice. The estimated completion of the survey is approximately 40 minutes.
Participant’s responses will be kept completely confidential. No identifying information will be collected. Participation in this research is completely voluntary.
Please feel free to contact me at xuhua.qin09@gmail.com if you have any questions/concerns. Thank you so much for your interest! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely, Xuhua Qin
Doctoral student of Counseling Psychology Division Educational Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
I regularly receive a lot of similar requests from graduate students needing help with getting participants their research. I'm happy to do it, with the hope that continued studies like this will give us a better understanding of our community and what makes us tick. If you're interested in helping Xuhua out, fill out the questionnaire here.
I'm really feeling Olivia Thai's studio-recorded cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize." She sounds awesome. The track is currently available for download on iTunes from Spin Move Records. To learn more about Olivia Thai, visit her website here, and her MySpace profile here.
UPDATE: Please ignore the wack ads that pop up on the player for "Hookup with Sexy Asians" and "Taiwanese Egg Donors." Yes, I know they're absolutely ridiculous. Blame YouTube. Blame Google. Blame the weirdos who actually click on that garbage.
According to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, profiling is still alive and well in the United States. Authorities detain thousands of people each year solely on the basis of religion, race or nationality: Racial profiling of minorities persists in U.S.
Not surprisingly, the report said racial profiling was often applied to immigrants from South Asia and to North Africans suspected of being Islamic militants following the September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by al Qaeda militants.
The report, submitted to the U.N. Committee to End Racial Discrimination, said profiling could involve harassment, detention, arrest or investigation.
According to 2003 federal guidelines, it's illegal to detain or investigate someone solely on the basis of race, religion or ethnicity, but there are apparently gray areas in the context of national security and border control.
Awwwww yeah. Are you ready for the season four of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew? Here's the promo for the new season. With the west coast completely dominating these last three season, they're definitely playing up the regional thing. Whatever the case, I just hope we get to see more Asian faces among the crews again. ABDC's fourth season begins on its new night and time, Sunday, August 9.
On Tuesday, a military administrative board recommended that Lt. Dan Choi should be discharged from the National Guard for violating the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy: Board: Discharge gay NY National Guard officer.
The recommendation was a setback for Choi, who came out earlier this year to challenge the policy. He would be the first New York National Guard member discharged for violating the policy against homosexual conduct.
In essence, it amounts to a discharge. I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. While "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is plainly ridiculous and unjust, it's a rule, and Lt. Choi broke it. To the military, it's as simple as that.
However, this isn't the end for Dan Choi. Make no mistake -- there will be an appeal. As he said last weekend in San Francisco, "A setback is an opportunity to keep fighting, and I'm going to do that through my actions." More here: Gay Iraq veteran must leave service.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 18... Tuesday Night Cafe, one of the longest running free public art space and revitalization project of Little Tokyo/Downtown Los Angeles, is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a party. And not just any party -- The Party. It's going to be a huge community event, and you're invited:
What is THE PARTY ???
THE PARTY is a...
* Music PARTY - Collaborative performances hourly!!! Find out who at tnkat.org! * Dance PARTY - Dance all night w/ DJs: +he op+imis+, Phatrick, ANT, Waxstyles, LinoType! * Community PARTY - check out & connect with awesome organizations and artists! * Family-Friendly PARTY - Kids 12 & under FREE admission! Art activity for the kids! * Yummy PARTY - The Park's Finest will be selling their L.A.-famous BBQ!! * Fundraising PARTY - When it comes down to it, we keep the TNC venue free to all, but your support keeps it going. We'll give you an amazing evening for an amazing price.
THE PARTY - Currently in our 11th season, the "1st & 3rd Tuesday Night Cafe" series is now one of the longest-running FREE public art venues in Little Tokyo/Downtown L.A. And, after 10 years, wouldn’t YOU celebrate?
Tuesday Night Project's 10th Anniversary Fundraising Celebration
Pricing: $15 presale/student/senior (60+) $20 at the door Free for kids 12 and under
This event is co-presented by the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.
Tuesday Night Cafe has been going strong for ten years with free arts programming and no government funding. They're practically an L.A. institution. So help them celebrate! To learn more about The Party, go to the TN KAT website here. And stay updated at the Facebook page here.
Description: "This design pays tribute to Philippine National hero, Jose Rizal. Quotation beneath image: “He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination." In honor of yesterday's post about the proposed street to be renamed for Jose Rizal. And do check out the rest of Archipelago's designs.
If you follow the Project Michelle blog, you might have heard that things aren't looking good for her: How Do You Know When to Stop Fighting? To be honest, I don't understand all the numbers and details about blast cells and peripheral blood. It's just clear from the post that Michelle's condition has taken a turn for the worse.
27-year old Michelle Maykin was originally diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a cancer of the blood, on February 27, 2007. After undergoing 5 rounds of chemotherapy, Michelle reached a state of remission... only to find out a year later that she had relapsed. She is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.
To learn more about Michelle and her fight against this disease, and to get information about how to register to be a bone marrow donor, go to the Project Michelle website here. You could save someone's life.
Crossing Borders is an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees. This is pretty cool exposure for the organization, and will hopefully lead to more support and awareness for its mission. More here: Mike Kim on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
These three little racially caricaturized figures are toothpick holders, part of a larger collection of household items called the OrienTales Monkey & Banana Collection. It's a design collaboration between the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and our old nemesis Alessi, maker of the Mandarin Juicer and the Mr. Chin Kitchen Timer.
It's an entire collection of designs featuring monkey caricatures with slanted eyes. Chinky Monkeys, if you will. Alessi appears to be obsessed with Oriental-ized everday household items passed off as cute, playful design. By the way, one of these toothpick holders will set you back 40 bucks.
For further proof check out the cover of OrienTales, a book conceived and designed by Stefano Giovannoni to showcase this collection and his other similarly themed work. Yes, an entire book of salt shakers and bottle stoppers with chinky eyes. That's racist!
Mark your calendars... Asian CineVision recently announced the full lineup of feature films selected to screen at the 32nd Asian American International Film Festival in New York. The festival will showcase 14 feature films and 50 short films during the weekend of July 23-26, 2009.
Opening Night will kick off with the New York premiere of respected Hong Kong screenwriter Ivy Ho's directorial debut, Claustrophobia.
The festival's Centerpiece Presentation on Saturday, July 25, will showcase a festival circuit favorite, Children of Invention, directed by Tze Chun.
AAIFF will wrap things up on Closing Night with the New York premiere of H.P. Mendoza's musical comedy Fruit Fly. Here's the full lineup of features:
Children of Invention directed by Tze Chun (USA) When their home is foreclosed on, the Cheng family moves into a unit in an unfinished apartment building, pushing mother and children to look for ways to pull in some extra income.
NYC Premiere of Claustrophobia directed by Ivy Ho (Hong Kong) A sensitive and deceptively serene portrayal of five office colleagues' relationships marks this intelligently crafted directorial debut by one of Hong Kong's best-known screenwriters.
World Premiere of Formosa Betrayed directed by Adam Kane (USA) FBI agent Jake Kelly's investigation of a loved professor's murder leads him to Taiwan, where he finds that the killers are part of a terrible web of politics that he only starts to cut through when he finds a friend in a local activist.
NYC Premiere of Fruit Fly directed by H.P. Mendoza (USA) A naughty, fast-paced, punchy romp of a musical, Fruit Fly follows young performance artist Bethesda on her soul-searching journey to find a place for herself while trying her luck in the art scene.
World Premiere of Hubad directed by Mark Gray and Denisa Reyes (Philippines) In a conservative community, theater director Andre tries to break new ground with a hyper sexual play. He faces obstacles in funding his project and working with his actors, but passion ignites between the two middle-aged leads as theater and life become intertwined.
NYC Premiere of Karma Calling directed by Sarba Das (USA) The Raj family is definitely not comprised of stereotypical model minorities living the American Dream. On top of the family's troubled finances, the family hosts a recently widowed relative who is an endless source of comic disasters.
NYC Premiere of Li Tong directed by Nian Liu (China) A restless young girl loses her bus pass one day after school. Her meandering trip home is the thread of this poignant “day in the life” tale, which wends its way through the various homes, personae and urban landscapes of contemporary Beijing.
East Coast Premiere of Manilatown Is In the Heart directed by Curtis Choy (USA) A documentary about the Manongs in San Francisco's Manilatown and a look into the life of the late poet Al Robles, Manilatown Is In the Heart is a touching eulogy to an activist/historian who was outlived by the vanishing subject that he strived to preserve.
Paper Heart directed by Nicholas Jasenovec (USA) Charlyne Yi doesn't believe in fairytale-like romance but can't deny that it may exist for others. With her friend and director, Nick Jasenovec, she sets out to film a documentary about true love.
World Premiere of Pastry directed by Risky Liu (Hong Kong) The youngest of five daughters traces the story of her life through the weddings of her sisters. As each member of the family comes to terms with her own womanhood, a simple egg tart becomes the anchor of their experiences and emotions.
Tibet in Song directed by Ngawang Choephel (USA) Ethnomusicologist Ngawang Choephel travels across Tibet to record and study the rich diversity of traditional folk songs but is arrested by the Chinese government for suspected espionage.
East Coast Premiere of Whatever It Takes directed by Christopher Wong (USA) The first year of the Bronx Center of Science and Mathematics is documented in this film. With a stated mission of patching the cracks in the education system, it's clear that the odds are stacked against it.
NYC Premiere of White on Rice directed by David Boyle (USA) Hung up over his divorce and sharing a room with his 10 year-old nephew, Jimmy can't even keep a job without help from brother-in-law, Tak. When Jimmy falls for Tak's niece, Ramona, it seems like he may be heading for trouble, but all is not yet lost in this quest for love.
East Coast Premiere of You Don't Know Jack directed by Jeff Adachi (USA) Way before Harold and Kumar's search for sliders, before we learned about Drifting in Tokyo's parking structures, and before the All-American Girl Margaret Cho's foray into network television, there was Jack Soo.
This year, the festival moves downtown to the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, where they'll be screening the majority of their feature films. They'll also be screening a limited number of films across the street at the brand new School of Visual Arts Theater, while short films will be screened at the new Museum of Chinese in America building. To learn more about the festival, visit the AAIFF website here.
Here's the music video for the English version of "Nobody," the debut U.S. single from South Korean pop group Wonder Girls. It's basically the same as the Korean music video for "Nobody," except dubbed in English, silly JYP toilet intro parts and all.
The Wonder Girls are the latest Korean pop act to take a stab at cracking the American market. They've begun their strategic takeover of the United States by opening for the Jonas Brothers on tour. Will their cute Korean dance moves and sassy girl-group appeal be enough break through to U.S. audiences? We shall see.
Manny Pacquiao! Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls! Starring in a movie together! At first I thought this might be a joke, but I've been looking around, and it's apparently true. Manny has conquered the ring, and now he's taking on the silver screen.
According to Philippines news outlet GMATV, Pacquiao will play the role of a father with a lot of kids who posesses superpowers. Batista will play Pacquiao's arch-enemy in the story while Scherzinger will star opposite as leading lady.
Any chance they have room in there for Apl from Black Eyed Peas? It's a movie with bursting a healthy dose of Filipino pride, starring a bunch of folks who are famous for stuff other than acting. But it's almost doesn't matter. This is going to highly entertaining and/or really terrible.
Yahoo! Movies recently ran the trailer for Amelia, an upcoming movie biopic starring Hilary Swank as famed aviator Amelia Earheart. Without having seen the movie, I'd venture a guess there aren't too many Asian faces in it. But it is notably directed by Mira Nair, who also directed The Namesake and Monsoon Wedding. And it looks pretty good. The movie is scheduled to open in theaters on October 23.
Bad news hanging over Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets... Yao's broken left foot has the team facing a cold, hard truth -- Yao could be out of commission all of next season and beyond: Rockets could lose Yao for season, if not longer
Multiple league execs, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing. Owwwwwch.
Judging from this article, nobody -- particularly Houston's management -- appears to be very positive about the situation. It sounds like he's missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games. And that's being optimistic.
The quiet truth is that the severity of the injury is probably much worse -- maybe even career threatening. But at this point, the Rockets aren't publicly disclosing anything specific. More here: Yao could miss entire season with foot injury.
"Anna May Wong Rebel" Available from 57thirtythree (at Etsy)
Description: "This black American Apparel Tee has a classic image of Anna May Wong with the Chinese characters for "rebel". The 1920's and 30's film legend Anna May Wong was the first notable Chinese actress to appear in Hollywood films. This tee is hand printed with discharge ink, which removes the color from the fabric rather than putting color on to the fabric. The result is an extremely soft tee." There's also a very cool women's shirt.
An intriguing debate is brewing in Carson, California over a street name. City councilman Elito Santarina wants to honor Filipino freedom fighter Jose Rizal, who was executed in Manila in 1896, by renaming a local street after him: Officials Want to Rename Street: Jose Rizal Who?
However, the proposal isn't going over very well with the residents of Moneta Avenue, the street that's going to get the new name. You can't really blame them -- a street renaming would require them to change their address, identification and all sorts of other headaches.
But also, while Rizal was a Philippine liberation hero, and certainly worthy of recognition, most folks on the street just don't have any idea who he was. Blame a lack of world history knowledge or whatever, but residents aren't interested in going through all that to honor the hero of another nation.
Personally, I think it would be really cool to live on a street named after Jose Rizal. But hey, I don't live on Moneta Avenue, and it's not my call.
This is a really cool Orange County Register story from a couple of weeks ago on Cheeming Boey, an artist whose work involves amazing, intricate drawings... on a canvas of foam. Styrofoam cups, that is. Pretty awesome stuff: His foam cup drawings sell for hundreds.
It apparently started as a handy, random spot to doodle, fished out of a trash can. Soon, the art-on-styrofoam obsession became his thing, and he had a collection on his hands. And now they sell for hundreds of dollars! Check out this slideshow of his awesome work.
Thank you to everyone who entered last week's We Saw Everything EP giveaway contest. Lots of good people out there interested in supporting Asian American indie music... and of course, getting free stuff.
You were asked the question: "What is the title of Jienan Yuan's forthcoming full-length album?" The correct answer is Afterglow (not We Saw Everything, as many erroneously submitted). The winners, chosen at random, are:
Toni D. of Philadelphia, PA Jon L. of Berkeley, CA Angel L. of Phoenix, AZ Chris F. of New York, NY Jason H. of Los Angeles, CA
They have each won a shiny new copy of Jienan Yuan's debut EP We Saw Everything. For the rest of you, better luck next time. The CD is available this week from "Actually, Records." For more information about Jienan Yuan, go to his website here. And purchase We Saw Everything over at CD Baby.
All right, Bay Area people. Our friends at Hyphen are celebrating the release of issue #17 ("The Family Issue") and throwing a party this Friday, July 3 at 111 Minna in San Francisco. The event will feature performances from iLL-Literacy, Jane Lui, Mandeep Sethi & Povan, and Neko Punch. It's gonna be a fun time, and you're invited. Here's what you need to know:
Celebrate summer in the city and Hyphen magazine's #17 Family issue!
Friday, July 3rd @ 111 Minna, San Francisco
9-2a | 21+
$10 | $20 includes door and 1yr subscription
Performances: iLL-Literacy Jane Lui
Mandeep Sethi & Povan Neko Punch
DJs: Citizen Ten (change the beat, SMT) DJ Franchise (Know the Ledge) MaliciousLee (Golden Age) Mothership
Be sure to pick up a copy of the Family issue to check out our stories on unconventional families, MSG's bad rap, Fobby chinese moms, iLL-Literacy and much more!
Gonna be another good-ass time, my friends. For more information, go to the Hyphen website here. Oh, and do pick up the issue if you haven't taken a look already. Or better yet, purchase a subscription to Hyphen. Support independent Asian American media. It's good for you.
Here's news about an extremely cool event happening this week: The Chinatown Film Project, the inaugural film exhibition of the Museum of Chinese in America. Ten of New York's most exciting filmmakers present their unique vision of the mysterious, elusive, vibrant, iconic community known as Chinatown. It's happening Wednesday, July 1 at MoCA. Some details:
MOCA's Chinatown Film Project Premiere
Wed, Jul 1 from 7pm - 9:30pm
Chinatown is an evocative place. It exists in our cities, in our imaginations, on our television screens, and in our memories. It is at once a sprawling, vibrant immigrant community and a forgotten strip mall of buffet restaurants. Chinatown is the ultimate Hollywood metaphor and a space where families still live.
The Chinatown Film Project tackles Chinatown's elusiveness and its stereotyped representations by constructing new images for the viewer. The project starts locally, where we ask ten of New York's most exciting filmmakers to present their unique visions of this global icon.
Featuring ten original short films: The Guy with the Cigarette - directed by Miguel Arteta Church Basement Bomb Shelter - directed by Patty Chang New York Night Scene - directed by Jem Cohen Kiwi Lotion - directed by Cary Fukunaga I Can’t Wait - directed by So Yong Kim & Bradley Rust Gray Fortune Cookie - directed by Amir Naderi Chinatown: In Their Own Words - directed by Sam Pollard Five Approaches - directed by Shelly Silver Sunday at 6 - directed by Rose Troche Tuesday - directed by Wayne Wang & Richard Wong
Special Opening Trailer directed by Richard Wong
Screening followed by Q&A and reception.
Tickets: General Admission $20; MOCA members $15. Please email education@mocanyc.org or call (212)619-4785 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Location: Museum of Chinese in America 215 Centre Street New York City
That's extremely solid lineup of filmmakers. This is going to be a really interesting evening, so make plans to be there. For more information, visit the MOCA website here. Also watch this cool musical introduction to the Chinatown Film Project, directed by Richard Wong, here. You can also view (and take part in) the Chinatown Film Project over at MOCA's YouTube channel.
I recently came across this bizarre marketing campaign for McDonald's Mac Snack Wrap featuring a fictional guy named K.J. Kim, "World's Smallest Food Architect." Huh? It gets weirder...
A gifted graduate (Mini Cum Laude, at age 15) of The Culinary Architect Institute of America, he has a Bachelor of Food Architecture, and is supposed to be, literally, the world's smallest food architect. Like, he's miniature dude -- only a few inches tall. And yes, he is an Asian man.
I don't know what any of this has to do with the Mac Snack Wrap. Hooray, the little Asian man made a gross-ass McDonald's sandwich. Is all this supposed to make me want to buy and eat the damn thing? It's just... weird.
It was their first meeting since a North Korean court sentenced the reporters to twelve years of "reform through labor" for their alleged crimes of illegally crossing into the country and unspecified "hostile acts."
Unfortunately, there aren't too many details about what transpired between the ambassador and Euna and Laura. The Swedish ambassador represents U.S. interests in the country because the United States doesn't have diplomatic relations with North Korea.
Meanwhile, there was another vigil on behalf of Euna and Laura held in San Francisco: Husbands of jailed reporters speak at SF vigil. Their husbands said that they had received phone calls from them earlier in the week, and that Laura and Euna sounded scared.
Iain Clayton, the husband of Laura Ling, said her medical condition has deteriorated and Lee has developed a medical problem. Ling reportedly suffers from an ulcer. This is extremely disheartening, troubling news. Let's continue to pray for their safe release and return.
Description: "We are unique, gentlemen, in that we create ourselves. Through long years of rigorous training, sacrifice, denial, pain, we forge our bodies in the fire of our will. But tonight, let us celebrate. Gentlemen, you have our gratitude."
Words from the nefarious Han, host of the infamous island martial arts tournament in Enter the Dragon. Of course, this unexpectedly happened to be the final year of the tournament... all due to the badassness of a dude named Lee. Consider this shirt a souvenir.
Description: "Flying through the air with the greatest of Lees." Yes, another Bruce Lee shirt. Can't help it. As much as I try to avoid shopping at Urban Outfitters (nothing really "urban" about that place), this shirt, with an iconic image from The Big Boss, was irresistible. What can I say? Bruce rules, and I will amass as many cool Bruce shirts in my drawer as I can possibly fit.
Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American/ Pacific Islander population in the United States and they are projected to become the largest Asian American population by 2010. With 1.37 million Filipino-born immigrants living in the US, Filipino Americans are the second largest immigrant population in the country.
As descendants of the Philippines, a country that was colonized by Spain for over three centuries and by the US for nearly 50 years, Filipino Americans are an ethnic group with a sociocultural and historical experience that is unlike any other. First, they are the only ethnic group that has been categorized as Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic. However, California state laws require that all personnel surveys or statistical tabulations classify persons of Filipino ancestry as "Filipino" rather than part of any other racial or ethnic group. Additionally, Filipino Americans have often been referred to as the "Forgotten Asian Americans," because their presence has been invisible in psychology, education, humanities, and other social sciences.
Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice offers a comprehensive look at the psyche of Filipino Americans. By examining history, cultural values, influences of colonialism, community dynamics, and intersections with other identities, the reader will have an opportunity to understand essential information about this population. Students will gain knowledge and awareness about Filipino American identity and personality development, while practitioners will learn culturally-competent techniques to become better counselors, clinicians, and educators. This book is the first of its kind and aims to promote visibility of this invisible group, so that 2.4 million Filipino Americans will have their voices heard.
Sounds like a really interesting, much-needed book. Learn more about the book here. And learn about author Kevin Nadal at his website here. He's embarking on a multiple city reading/signing tour to promote the book. To find out more, go here.
Wow. Just watched another Michael Jackson tribute... this one's by Jane Lui, doing an absolutely gorgeous cover of "You Are Not Alone" sort of mashed up with "Ave Maria." Beautiful. More from Jane Lui here. And as I mentioned the other day, catch Jane playing a show with Goh Nakamura on Tuesday at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco.
The Orange County Register has a nice little interview with one of coolest, cutest people on the internet, singer Kina Grannis. She playing a show tomorrow for the free concert series in Lake Forest at Pittsford Park: Super Bowl star to play free concert in Lake Forest.
Kina got her big moment in the spotlight last year when she won the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, getting her video for "Message From Your Heart" shown during the big game broadcast and getting a record deal. It was a career-defining moment for her.
She's currently working on her fourth album and her first official album release with a producer. Can't wait to hear it. To learn more about Kina, go to her website here. Also definitely check out her YouTube channel here.
It wasn't my intention to post so many mentions of Far East Movement in such a short span... but oh well. Propelled by their hit single "Girls On The Dance Floor," which is tearing up radio charts around the country, the boys of FM have a really big show next week, headlining at the historic Roxy Theatre in Hollywood. It's going down Wednesday, July 1. Details:
Far*East Movement at the Roxy Theater
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 8:30pm - 11:30pm
Roxy Theater 9009 Sunset Blvd Hollywood, CA
Performing their hit single, Girls on the Dance Floor, the Far*East Movement Headlining at the historic Roxy Theater.
The mainstream says we can't do it! That we can't fill a venue like the Roxy! Lets show them what the MOVEMENT can do by BLOWING THE ROOF OFF THE ROXY, FM Style!
If you love FM and you want to be a part of the MOVEMENT that blows the roof off the music scene, join us on July 1 in Los Angeles.
It's all ages show, so everyone's invited. Get your tickets here. You've also got the opportunity to win dinner and a movie and just hang out with Far East Movement -- a very cool group of guys. (You have to purchase a ticket to the show to enter.) Find out how: WIN DINNER & A MOVIE WITH FM and ISA TIX? The winner will be announced at the concert. Good luck.
If you've never seen the original video, which generated more than 23 million hits on YouTube, you've got to take a moment to check it out. It's downright surreal. 1,400 inmates in orange jail uniforms dancing in sync to Michael Jackson's biggest hit.
The mass dance performance will be held Saturday inside the provincial jail in Cebu. Hopefully, their "Thriller" moves haven't gotten rusty. Crisanto Niere, a balding, gap-toothed drug dealer who played MJ in the original video, is apparently still an inmate.
Description: "The FAR EAST MOVEMENT and WONG FU PRODUCTIONS have teamed up for the Dance Like Michael Jackson music video featuring Quest Dance Crew." Indeed, you can see the shirt being worn in the music video here. In fact, I'm wearing mine right now as I write this, in honor of the King of Pop's untimely passing.
On Tuesday, he'll face a panel of colonels who will decide whether or not to discharge him from the military for "moral and professional dereliction" under the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
141,262 people signed Lt. Choi's letter to President Obama a few weeks ago. Now he needs your help again. You can sign the personal letter of support and add your own personal message. Here's the letter:
To Members of the Board:
We, the undersigned, urge you not to discharge Lt. Daniel Choi from the Army National Guard.
Lt. Dan Choi, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an Iraq War veteran, is a capable soldier and leader who can continue to play a vital role in this time of war.
As a member of the military who is fluent in Arabic, Lt. Choi's skills are especially needed at this critical time in our nation's history. America's national security is dependent on the service of soldiers like Lt. Choi, who is ready to deploy again if his country calls on him.
Lt. Choi's dedication to West Point and the Army brings credit to the military. His fighting spirit on behalf of his country -- and on behalf of supporting the freedom of gay and lesbian Americans to serve -- demonstrates the values of honor and duty so vital to our nation's military.
Please do not discharge Lt. Choi and deprive him of the right to serve his country.
Sincerely,
To sign it, go here. Lt. Choi is upstanding, experienced and qualified soldier. Now, he might be fired from the military for refusing to lie about who he is and who is loves. Don't you think that's ridiculous?
My man Randall Park stars in yet another web series on Channel 101, an "IKEA furniture store melodrama" called IKEA Heights. If IKEA knows what's best for them they'll hire these guys to make commercials for them.
Basically, the whole thing was shot guerilla-style at an actual IKEA store in Burbank, California using a still camera video and wireless lav microphones (presumably during open store hours). I love that you can hear the ambient shopping noise in the background.
It's all pretty damn silly, but the use of IKEA's signature stylish-but-economical furniture displays is rather clever, and Randall's deadpan delivery is hilarious as always. My favorite part is when he storms past unsuspecting shoppers on the way to the "bedroom."
For those using Twitter while on the job, here's a cautionary tale... The D.C. Department of Employment Services fired a contractor, David Le, who was working with youths in the city's summer jobs program after officials became aware of an excess of Twitter messages while he was working: D.C. Summer Jobs Contractor Fired for Posts on Twitter.
Le, who was working as a participant service specialist, was terminated yesterday. It wasn't just the large number of Tweets. It was the stupid, lame and offensive messages he was posting while he was apparently supposed to be working; messages about lame work was, how little he was working, and how "ghetto" the area he was working in was. Some of his greatest hits:
davidle630: "thank goodness my boss is making things easy, he told me to pretend to do work so he can mark me down for hours...
davidle630: "one of the schools I am in charge of is Anacostia HS. If you are from here, you know ANACOSTIA... about 100+ murders in one year..."
davidle630: "They decided to just pay us for 40 hours a week bc we are too lazy to sign in and out..."
davidle630: "In americas ghetto anacostia... If i get scared i will just yell chinese carry out! They will not shoot me."
davidle630: This 40 year old woman pulled up next to me and said 'Ayyy yo can i ride wit chu?'"
Not too smart. The firing came a day after The Washington Post showed a spokesperson for the Mayor's office a month-long string of tweets from Le's page. Yes, David. This might come as a shock, but what you post on the internet can be seen everyone. More here: Lazy, Racist Twitter Slob Fired From D.C. Summer Jobs.
I'm really getting hyped for Thirst, the new vampire thriller from award-winning South Korea auteur Park Chan-wook. Recently awarded the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival, Thirst will be released in select U.S. theaters July 31 from Focus Features. It looks insane.
Top Korean star Song Kang-ho stars as Sang-hyun, a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives -- but now exists as a vampire.
Struggling with his newfound carnal desire for blood, Sang-hyun's faith is further strained when a childhood friend's wife comes to him asking for his help in escaping her life. Sang-hyun soon plunges into a world of sensual pleasures, finding himself on intimate terms with the Seven Deadly Sins.
I'm both thrilled and kind of scared of seeing what kind of twisted, horrifying film Park has cooked up this time. The early buzz from Cannes is good, but it all indicates it's another serious gut punch. Can't wait. For more info on the film, and to watch the trailer, go to the website here.
This year's 72 Hour Film Shootout theme is: "TIME'S UP"
All right, filmmakers. Gather 'round. It's time for the 6th Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout. The Shootout is a nationwide competition where filmmaking teams have 72 hours to complete short films up to five minutes in length. Teams compete for cash and prizes, the chance to have their films screened at film festivals, and ultimate glory.
Oh, it is on. Are you ready? Got your teams together? The 72 Hour Film Shootout officially kicks off tonight, Friday, June 26 when the competition theme is announced at 8:00pm EDT at the New York City launch party:
White Rabbit Lounge 145 East Houston Street (Btwn Forsyth & Eldridge) (F or V train to 2nd Ave) New York NY 10002
The theme will also be simultaneously posted online at AAFilmLab.org and the 72 Hour Film Shootout website. And hey, even if you're not competing, come out the launch party and socialize. Singer/songwriter Cynthia Lin will be performing live.
And if you want to take part in the Shootout, but don't have a team yet, it's not too late to register! For interested folks in the NYC area, head to the White Rabbit to find a team or find that missing link! For those in other cities, post your info on the Asian American Film Lab Facebook group wall.
It's going to be another awesome Shootout! There are nearly 50 teams competing from around the country. For more information on the 72 Hour Film Shootout, including prizes, rules, registration details and previous winning films, with the Shootout website here.
Here's probably what is the final update in the saga of Lori Phanachone and the Storm Lake School District... Lori is the Lao American high school student who refused to take her school's required English-language assessment, calling it racist and demeaning.
Lori, who was born and raised in the United States, indicated that had indicated that English was not the primary language spoken at home, the school erroneously classfied her as an English Language Learner.
Under threat of suspension, expulsion and other penalties, Lori boycotted the exam, and received national attention (and big props from Asian Americans everywhere). The school ultimately agreed that she didn't have to take the exam.
In the aftermath of her standoff with Storm Lake, the district has created a comprehensive new ELL classification policy, which sets forth clear steps for identification and classification of ELL students as well as parental notice. Here's the press release from AALDEF:
AALDEF COMMENDS IOWA SCHOOL DISTRICT'S NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER CLASSIFICATION POLICY
New York, NY - Addressing criticism from the misclassification of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) client Lori Phanachone as an English Language Learner (ELL), Storm Lake School District has created a comprehensive new ELL classification policy. Storm Lake will retroactively apply this new policy, which sets forth clear steps for identification and classification of ELL students as well as parental notice, to the approximately 1,000 ELLs currently enrolled in Storm Lake public schools.
Khin Mai Aung, the AALDEF staff attorney representing Ms. Phanachone, said: "We are heartened by Storm Lake's willingness to improve its ELL classification policy. Moving forward, we will monitor how Storm Lake applies this new policy to current students who - like Lori Phanachone - may have been misclassified as ELLs."
Storm Lake erroneously classified Ms. Phanachone, a Lao American student with a 3.98 GPA, as an ELL without assessing her actual English ability. This spring, the honors student protested Storm Lake's faulty classification by boycotting a yearly ELL test, resulting in a 3 day suspension, revocation of her National Honor Society membership and extracurricular privileges, as well as a threat of further discipline. After AALDEF's intervention, Storm Lake agreed to reclassify Ms. Phanachone as English proficient, lift all disciplinary consequences from her record, and restore her National Honors Society membership.
Lori Phanachone said: "I'm glad my taking a stand has led Storm Lake to improve its ELL classification policy. Now, other students who were misclassified under the old policy will have a chance to be reclassified as English proficient."
Like I've said before, this issue really struck a nerve with me, and I was so impressed with Lori's determination and conviction to see it through. To be honest, if it was me in the same situation, and I was back in high school, I'm not so sure I would've stuck to my guns. Can you see why I named Lori one of the 30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30?
and founder of 
