While the Celtics made a dive, at least Erik Spoelstra is doing good

So the juggernaut that was supposed to be the Celtics, lost to the Hawks again last night (up by 10 points going into the fourth quarter) and while they haven't actually won anything together before this season - who thought they'd catch a lowly Hawk team who didn't actually lay down and die?

At least Erik Spoelstra is having a better time down in Miami, where he's worked for the Heat and is now poised to become the head coach now that Pat Riley has really made it official. Whether or not he actually sticks around is another question - but NBA Asian American head coach?

Yeah - that's pretty cool.

Asian American Groups and Voter ID Law

I'm all up for making sure that Asian Americans are getting fair treatment in voting laws - obviously - but at the same time, at some point, people need to be prepared to have an ID when they come to vote - no matter who you are - it's just good voting practice:

AALDEF and the Asian American groups have monitored elections across the country over the last decade and found that voter ID requirements have discriminatory impacts on Asian American voters. AALDEF's exit poll of almost 11,000 Asian American voters in 23 cities in eight states in the 2004 elections revealed how voter ID laws place additional burdens on the right to vote [...]

Read more down at VoteTrustUSA.

Hot Track: Micro - Odore

Video: DWTS Kristi Yamaguchi

I thought it was pretty good, not great, not 10 worthy - but then again, I'm not a ballroom judge, or even pretend to be one - so what do I really know?

Marié Digby, Thirteen Minutes, and Adrian Zaw

Here's some video of Marié Digby being interviewed by Adrian Zaw for Thirteen Minutes:

Pork Filled Players: Living Dead in Denmark opens

Passed on via e-mail:

Pork Filled Players presents the West Coast premiere of LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK, the New York hit of the National Asian American Theatre Festival, beginning Thursday, May 1, at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle)!

Buffy had her vampires...Ophelia (and two other Shakespearean heroines) has her zombies. Sword fu. Weapons fu. Cloak fu. And more. Check it out!

(Also...this Friday, May 2, PFP teams up with the National Association of Asian American Professionals (Seattle chapter)! NAAAP-Seattle holds their monthly social mixer at 6 pm at the Theatre Off Jackson. At a special time at 8:30, PFP presents Living Dead in Denmark---NAAAP member can get both dinner and the show for a special price of $15 [hey! that's the price of the show alone!] and non-NAAAP members get dinner and a show for $25. For more info, contact social@naaapseattle.org)

Living Dead in Denmark, the long running New York hit play, is by Qui Nguyen (originally produced by Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company in May 2006, NYC), with original music by Dan Deming, and directed by Lisa Anne Glomb, with arrangements and orchestration by Brad Nelson.

Video preview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ8sYDtN3ho

Buy tickets here: http://www.ticketwindowonline.com/show.php?shownumber=1870 (www.ticketwindowonline.com, 206/325-6500)

8mm: Vanity Fair and Miley Cyrus

18 is still the age of consent, and while you might have gotten it on when you were younger - there's something to be said for not being 15 and looking like you could possibly star in a snuff film.

Disney is proud.

So is Vanity Fair.

Jackie Chan, Waiting For Bollywood, and Mallika Sherawat

Next stop for Jakie Chan? Flicks in India - once he gets the right script of course:

Hollywood star Jackie Chan said here Friday that he yearned to do an Indian film and was "eagerly waiting" for a good project.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the audio release of "Dasavatharam", starring Kamal Hassan, Chan said: "India is the world's biggest market for movies. I want to do a film here. I am eagerly waiting for a good project."

Escorted by "Dasavatharam" director K.S. Ravi Kumar, Chan described Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat, who shares a brief screen space with him in "The Myth", as a "dear friend and a sister".

Who knew Sherawat and Jackie were so close?

The Big Asian Pop Directory

Got this sent along to me and it's a cool site - it needs a search option, but it definitely helps in finding out info on Asian Pop easy (hopefully it will keep on expanding versus becoming spam fodder):

Are Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, RAIN, BoA, or Mika Nakashima some of your favorite performers? Got a fix for Jeon Ji-hyun? Need to find a picture of Jackie Chan or Jet Li? No matter what you're looking for - or why - The Big Asian Pop Directory helps you find it by giving you an extensive list of artists, entertainers, movie stars, and singers -- and then gives you customized starting points for all of your favorite sites, for each individual entry.

When you click on an entry in the directory, it takes you to a "Reference Map" where it lists sites like Google Images, IMEEM, Flickr, YouTube (all the sites you love, and some you might grow too) and gives you a customized link to each one, passing along the entry as metadata, or keywords. Customized starting points for each entry means getting the information you want faster.

Check out the site at http://www.thebigasianpopdirectory.com/.

Will it ever stop?

Lord of the oil - make it go away:

Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel Monday after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K. The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar.

I can't help it - it's become a topic for me now.

Asian Americans: Just the facts please

The U.S Census Bureau put this out late last week, and while it's too long to quote out in this post (view the full release), here are some interesting facts (some of which you might already know because you're just that damn smart, because you're Asian, or because you know someone who's Asian - we rub off like that sometimes):

• 14.9 million people identified themselves as Asian alone or in combination with another race as of July 2006. 5% of the total population.
• 10.3% - the percentage of single race Asian Americans who live in poverty.
• 15.5% - the percentage of single race Asian Americans who live w/o health insurance.
• 292,100 - the number of single race Asian American vets (1 in 3 are 65 or older).
• 35.2 - median age for Asian America.
• 33.4 million - estimated number of Asian Americans by 2050 (single race only). About 8% of the population.

Just for the record - there needs to be better aggregation of non-single race Asian Americans with these reports.

Irwin Tang: Texas Asians

Cool interview and article with Irwin Tang who is the editor of the book Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives:

Austin American-Statesman: What did you learn that surprised you the most during the research of this book?

Irwin A. Tang: One of the most surprising phenomena that I discovered was that after the U.S. Civil War, Southern plantation owners were interested in making Chinese workers "labor as of old," as some had put it, meaning they were interested in making Chinese men into slaves. And if not slaves, then the slavelike workers known as "coolies."

Nice to know that after the war everyone was just looking for another non-white slave...oh wait - isn't that still happening now?

Vietnamese Americans: Black April

Some of these have already passed, but here's a list of Black April events that you can still attend:

The local Vietnamese American community commemorates this month as Black April to mark the events of April 30, 1975 when the communist regime took over in Vietnam.

A majority of Little Saigon residents are refugees, who fled Vietnam by boat after the fall of Saigon. Here are some of the local events being organized to mark the occasion:

— Youth Conference about Black April from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the Westminster Community Center, 8200 Westminster Blvd.

— Official Black April Ceremony at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the Westminster Vietnam War Memorial, 14180 All American Way.

— Protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, April 28. Bus will leave the parking lot of Little Saigon Radio at 15781 Brookhurst St. at 10 a.m.

— UC Irvine's Vietnamese American Coalition will host its 2nd annual Black April Commemoration at Doheny Beach A in the UCI Student Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 29.

— Prayer ceremony for those who lost their lives on Wednesday, April 30 at noon in the grassy area in front of A Dong Market Mall, 9221 Bolsa Ave.

For more information check out the Vietnamese Community of Southern California at 714-539-1607 or visit their Web site at www.cdvnnamcali.com.

Rep. William Tong: Getting it done

I blogged about William Tong last July about getting funding for the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission - if it actually comes into existence. Apparently Tong has made some inroads into the project, just receiving a 116-25 vote approving the bill and the commission. The bill how heads out to the Senate:

In reviving the proposal yesterday, Tong said many people believe Asian-Americans do not need help and assume they are one of the more successful ethnic groups.

"That suggests this continuing and pervasive 'model minority myth,' " Tong told his House colleagues before the vote.

Hopefully this will get off the ground. Read more here.

NYC 29th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival

Check it:

The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, a nonprofit organization based in New York City announces its 29th annual free outdoor music and dance festival featuring the most exciting traditional and contemporary Asian American artists. The event will be on Saturday, May 10th from 12-6 p.m. at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on East 47th Street and 2nd Avenue just steps away from the United Nations and Grand Central Station.

The festival is the largest Pan-Asian event on the East Coast. The festival features music and dance showcases, arts & crafts, martial arts demonstrations, children's fair programs and Asian delicacies.

This year's festival will be co-hosted by the following:
Ti-Hua Chang - Investigative Reporter, WWOR/My9
Nina Pineda - Reporter, Eyewitness News Team
Michelle Yu - Sports Reporter, NY1 News
Minya Oh - News Director, Hot 97
Eliot Chang - Comedian

The festival features performances by Soh Daiko, C. Eule Dance, DVL Dance, Misnomer(S), Taiyo Na, Hsunami, Makalina's Hawaiian Express, Yosakoi Dance Project and Bollywood Axion.

The festival is sponsored by Con Edison, Citi Foundation, Different Roads to Learning, Imaginasian TV, Sino TV and Buddha's Light International Association. The Children's Fair Program at the Heritage Festival is made possible by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Summary:
Event: 29th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival
Date & Time: Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 12-6 p.m.
Place: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, East 47th Street & 2nd Avenue, New York
Website: http://www.capaonline.org

Contact Information:
info @ capaonline.org
(212) 989-3610

2nd isn't bad: Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

At least it was Tina Fey that Harold and Kumar lost first place too on their opening weekend.

More Rice News

I know - I'm Asian American and I'm making another post on rice - but really, I can't help it - I do eat rice and I am concerned about the food crisis that is happening regardless of one of my previous posts (but I still believe it):

Poor Filipinos who are reeling from high food prices unseen since the 1970s will get some relief this week, when the Philippine government starts to distribute "rice passes" to the most impoverished families across the country, officials said Sunday.

The government has also set in motion an unprecedented relief program that would entail the distribution of cash subsidies amounting to about 1,400 pesos, or $33, a month to the poorest Filipino families.

Can't a brother just get a cup or two?

Torch Run in Seoul

To be honest - I'm not sure who I'm rooting for in all of this:

Thousands of young Chinese assembled to defend their country's troubled Olympic torch relay pushed through police lines on Sunday, some of them hurling rocks, bottled water and plastic and steel pipes at protesters demanding better treatment for North Korean refugees in China.

Two North Korean defectors living in South Korea poured paint thinner on themselves and tried to set themselves on fire in an attempt to protest what they condemned as Beijing's inhumane crackdown of North Korean refugees, but the police stopped them, according to witnesses and the police.

Read the full coverage down at the IHT.

Dale Talde Fanatic

So what are the expectations here - really? You find out he's not married, or gay, or both and then what? I have to bang my head against the wall just a little sometimes when I stumble across things like this:

Is dale talde from top chef chicago married?
I think he's really hot,yes he sometymes comes off as a douchebag , but i think he's super cute. Is he gay?- does anyone know?

Answers? I want answers.

There is no Kristi Yamaguchi sex tape

Just for the record my searchers and lurkers and anyone else in the middle - there is no Kristi Yamaguchi sex tape.

Repeat. No Yamaguchi sex tape.

Stop looking for something that doesn't exist no matter how hard you wish it to be true.

No Yamaguchi sex tape.

Just smoking some weed

How much more candid could Josh Howard be?

"What I was stating was just [in response to] a random question he asked me about the marijuana use. I just let him know that most of the players in the league use marijuana and I have and do partake in smoking weed in the offseason sometimes and that's my personal choice and my personal opinion. But I don't think that's stopping me from doing my job."

Where else except in the NBA can you talk about smoking weed and not have to fear losing your job. Don't you love America?

*Yes, I realize I'm posting a lot about the NBA - but it's the playoffs.

Viral: Kenny and Kobe

If you happened to miss this spoof on Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin - it's definitely worth the watch:

Marine charged with rape of 14 year old girl in Japan

Just another way we're showing the world how great we really are and how lucky everyone should be that we're in their country, friend or foe:

U.S. forces in Japan have charged a Marine with raping a 14-year-old girl in Okinawa, the Marines said Friday, pressing ahead with a case that spurred protests against the U.S. presence on the island.

U.S. military charges against Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott include rape of a child under 16, abusive sexual conduct, making a false official statement, adultery and "kidnapping through inveigling," or trickery.

No date was set for the court-martial. The charges were made Monday, but the military did not announce them until Friday.

See CNN for the full story.

Internet proves powerful tool for Chinese protests

Good article over at the Tibetan Times on how Web technology is playing a key role in political protests and the dissemination of information:

It may be decades before China gets democracy, but for many Chinese, political participation of sorts is only a mouse click away.

In the past few weeks, the Chinese have been anything but silent, faced with what they feel is an onslaught of unfair criticism from the West about their country's policy toward Tibet and the Olympic Games.

Chinese people began by using blog posts and websites to condemn foreign journalists for what they saw as biased coverage of China's crackdown on unrest in Tibet, following riots in the region's capital Lhasa on March 14.

Read more here.

$1 for every person in China

I'm all up for free enterprise and litigation, but this is going nowhere:

A Chinese primary school teacher and a beautician have filed a suit against CNN in New York over remarks they say insulted the Chinese people and are seeking $1.3 billion in compensation -- $1 per person in China, a Hong Kong newspaper reported.

If I had a dollar for every time someone from another country said something about Americans - I might vacation in Europe more.

Rationing Rice

This has been all over the news lately - but if 4 bags at a time is rationing - we're still fat Americans - fat Asian Americans:

In another sign the global food crisis is hitting North American consumers, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it is limiting sales of some kinds of rice at many Sam's Club warehouse-style stores in the United States due to "recent supply and demand trends."

Sam's Club customers can buy up to four bags of jasmine, basmati and other white long-grain rices, Wal-Mart said yesterday.

If we're dumb enough to run out of rice in the world, or make it so hard to get that rice no longer becomes a food staple, but rather an expensive item on the menu - I think we deserve to become extinct.

Win by 30 one day, lose by 30+ the next

What was I saying about Lebron again...at least the Dallas game proved predictable.

Marie Digby Autographed Guitar Giveaway Contest

Saw this up on YouTube a little bit ago - the contest goes until April 30th and the winner gets an autographed guitar:

Hey everyone, I'm so excited about my Say It Again video contest. All you need to do is make your own video of my song Say It Again and UPLOAD IT TO THIS GROUP. You can sing it acoustically, play it on the guitar, piano or any other instrument. You can even get super creative and make your own music video. As long as it has Say It Again in it you can enter to win my autographed acoustic guitar and have your video featured on my YouTube Channel and MySpace page.

The deadline to submit your video is April 30th by 12:00am and I'll personally pick a winner soon after.

Go to the YouTube Group page for more info on the contest and rules.

Woodstock: Ang Lee's next project

Caught this down at Variety Asia about Ang Lee's new project with Focus Features, based on a memoir called Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, Concert, and a Life:

Set during the politically turbulent summer of '69, story follows an Everyman working at his parents' motel in the Catskills who inadvertently sets in motion what would become the generation-defining concert.

"Elliot's exuberant and heartfelt story is a perfect window onto the Woodstock experience," Schamus said. "It explores an inspiring historical moment when liberation and freedom were in the air."

I'm glad Lee can choose his projects at this point in his career - but another Woodstock movie?

The sixties have been over for some time now....let it go people...

Evil Dead: Killing in Korea

This article on how "Evil Dead: The Musical" is taking South Korea by storm, just kind of caught my eye:

Evil Dead: The Musical" may not have been a killer hit Off Broadway, but it's slaying them in South Korea. The campy Canadian musical based on Sam Raimi's cult slasher films is packing them in at the Chungmu Art Hall Theater, where it opened March 19 and is scheduled to run through June 14.

According to lead producer Jeffrey Latimer, various representatives of the Japanese market are negotiating for the property, while a German production also has been signed for later this year. Back in Toronto, where the musical gorefest began in 2003, the show reopened for the fifth time on Feb. 14 and has just been held over into summer. So how does a show that failed commercially in Gotham manage to spin out a life halfway around the world?

One of my favorite quotes - "there's life beyond the Splatter Zone".

EU, China, Piracy

Better people can explain this than me:

Violations of intellectual property rights, trademarks and patents held by EU companies and researchers will be high on the agenda when European Commission President Manuel Barroso leads a large delegation into two days of economic and trade talks in Beijing starting Thursday.

The EU estimates pirated goods cost EU businesses €21 billion (US$33.3 billion) in lost trade annually — about a third of current EU exports to China. But unlike the United States, it has to date not pursued any Chinese piracy cases in the World Trade Organization.

Still, the EU has put China in the category of worst violators of intellectual property. It is the only country in that category because its anti-piracy efforts are so weak that 80 percent of counterfeit goods imported into the 27-nation bloc are Chinese-made.

More: While upset about piracy, EU is more serene about China than US

YouTube: Chinese Protest in front of CNN Los Angeles office

This is part 1 of someone's video of the CNN protest:



Go to this YouTube link for the other parts of the video.

Asian American Women Filmmakers & The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

A list of the feature films by Asian American women filmmakers at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival:

• PING PONG PLAYA - directed by Oscar(R) winner Jessica Yu
  
• NEVER FOREVER - directed by Gina Kim
  
• OH SAIGON - directed by Doan Hoang
  
• JOYFUL LIFE - directed by Anita Chang
  
• YOURS TRULY, MISS CHINATOWN - directed by Daisy Lin Shapiro
  
• WINGS OF DEFEAT - directed by Risa Morimoto
  
• LONG STORY SHORT - directed by Christine Choy
  
• THE SENSEI - directed by Diana Lee Inosanto
  
• CHANTS OF LOTUS - directed by Fatimah Tobing Rony
  
• AGAINST THE GRAIN - directed by Ann Kaneko

Check more out down at the festival's home page.

A Shot At Love 2

The first season, you make it believable - maybe there really might only be one. Maybe there's really a shot at love.

*sigh*

But after season one I think they should just call it what it is - "Some heavy petting and maybe a shot at sex with Tila Tequila".

It's honest.

Gritty even.

Video: Far East Movement Performance at Street Lab

I'm not exactly sure when the date of the performance is, but it was posted up on YouTube a few weeks ago - it's pretty slick.

I think Dallas is done for

I don't really try and predict the outcomes of games - or even series - well at least not in public - but I think this is going to be easy - Dallas loses the game, as well as makes a quick exit in the first round.

At least I'll be able to see Mark Cuban spend more money upgrading the locker rooms to get better players - and maybe a new coach?

DiversityInc's 7 things never to say to...

A group of interesting articles from DiversityInc - but shouldn't we all know this by now?

• 7 Things NEVER To Say To White Colleagues
• 7 things NEVER to say to Asian American Executives
• 10 Things NEVER to Say to a Black Coworker

Cynthia Lin, Cornell University & the Celebration of Asian American women

Sounds pretty cool - I just wonder about the late date on the press release, because the 23rd is tomorrow:

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In recognition of Asian American Heritage Month, Cornell University will host an event focused on Asian American women's experience and achievement Wednesday, April 23, at 4:30 p.m. in the Robert Purcell Community Center.

The event will feature a performance by Chicago-born singer/songwriter Cynthia Lin, http://www.cynthialin.com/; a talk on the history of Asian American women by Cornell's Asian American Studies Professor Derek Chang; and a one-act play R.A.W. ( Cause I'm a Woman ) written by Diana Son. The event is free and open to the public and will serve Asian food.

For more information, contact the Cornell Press Relations Office. The event is presented by the Asian & Asian-American Forum and Asian Pacific Americans for Action.

Contact: Sabina Lee
Phone: ( 607 ) 255-3024
Cell: ( 607 ) 227-3341
ssl37@cornell.edu


WHAT: Celebration of Asian American women
WHEN: Wednesday, April 23, 4:30-6:30 p.m
WHERE: Robert Purcell Community Center on the Cornell University campus
WHO: Asian American Studies Professor Derek Chang; New York City folk and jazz singer Cynthia Lin; and actors performing R.A.W., a play about Asian American Women
NOTE: For interviews and photo information, contact Sabina Lee at the Press Relations Office

*Note to Media-Newswire: Make links go to the right place.

Secret Asian Man Caption Winner

Missed this while I was away - the SAM caption contest - but the winner is only a few days old so it's worth noting:

After going through the pile of submissions one last time, the winner of the caption contest is: Mike Huang with his caption," That isn't THAT bad, try hailing a taxi." It was fun to see how many people had different takes on similar gags. The most popular themes were: eyebrow to penis correlations, something about SAM's shoes and jokes about using chopsticks!

Go to the SAM blog for more.

WSJ: What did you expect after Murdoch took over

I was reading this in the NY Times and I just couldn't help but think "What did you expect"?

Marcus W. Brauchli stepped down Tuesday as the top-ranking editor of The Wall Street Journal after less than a year in the job, the newspaper announced Tuesday. His resignation comes four months after the News Corporation, led by Rupert Murdoch, took control of the paper [...]

Reporters and other editors say that while Mr. Brauchli agreed with some of the changes made in recent months, it was clear that many of them were dictated from above, and that he questioned the shift toward general-interest news. And Mr. Thomson has come to be seen in the newsroom as a supereditor, looking over Mr. Brauchli’s shoulder.

Read more about the new WSJ here at the NY Times.

Hiding out in Vietnam? You'll get caught

If people think that Asia is a place they can hide out in if they commit heinous crimes - they need to think again. From China View:

Vietnamese police arrested and then handed over to Finnish police a 44-year-old Finnish man, who killed his wife last month and fled away, local newspaper Young People reported Tuesday. The murderer, Paul Nicklos Bernhard Gagneur, was arrested in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City on April 21. He killed his wife in their private house in Finland's Helsinki on March 14, took all their assets, and left home on March 15, according to information provided to Vietnamese police by their Finnish counterparts.

Is Lebron that good?

I wonder if Lebron could just be that good where he really might not need a supporting cast as strong as the one Jordan had around him during Chicago's 2 three-peats.

Will regular role players do? And in the end, what will he do with it?

From Wikipedia:

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances and three All-Star MVP, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.1 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He will be eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

As great as Lebron is, and could be - he's still got a long way to go.

China: $2.90 a gallon

Gas guzzlers are a big hit in China:

Gas costs 5.34 yuan (76 cents) a liter or 20.5 yuan ($2.90) a gallon. State oil companies are barred from passing on rising crude costs to consumers, instead covering their losses out of profits from their drilling units.

Ang Lee in Vancouver, Part 2: On Asia and Asians

From Asian Canadian:

In his talk at the Pacific Cinémathèque, Ang Lee spoke addressed many issues regarding Asian identity in filmmaking.

He said he values having both his Chinese heritage and his American work experience. “The Chinese side and the American side, or the Western side, they don’t usually fight each other. They feed off each other. The understanding of the Western drama…really helps me in the psychology and sociology…really help me to look at my own culture where I came from…I think Western culture has a lot of strong points that really helped me to reexamine my own culture, and watch it with different eyes…I couldn’t make Lust, Caution or something like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon without working here.”

Read the full article here.

Kristi Yamaguchi: Better than good sex?

I'm not sure it was better than good sex like Carrie Ann Inaba said - but it did earn a perfect score:



I have a Kristi and Mario final right now.

Tibet, China, Hacked, and The Sports Network

Screen grab from the original hack by Christine Lu

Caught this down at Techcrunch which was tipped off by Christine Lu who also got screenshots of the original hack:

The SportsNetwork, a privately held sports website located in Hatboro, PA, has been under attack from hackers for about 24 hours. Early Sunday the site was defaced with “Tibet was, is and will always be part of China” messages. Engineers returned the site to normal, but late Sunday evening the site was again hacked and taken offline. The message in the image second above is now all that can be viewed on the site.

The site itself is relatively small, attracting just 264,000 visitors in February 2008 (Comscore, worldwide). But it also powers parts of other large sports sites such as CNN/SI. The domain sports.si.cnn.com, for example, is also down.

Right now the site simply says "The Sports Network website and other major news sites have been hacked by a political entity from China, and as a result are temporarily unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to be back up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Sports Network Management."

Good questions to ask: Is it really a political entity? What do we really know?

Read Christine Lu's in-depth post on the hack (with images) as well as Techcrunch's.

Celtics' Big Three Conversation

If you happened to miss it - here's the ESPN Sunday conversation with Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce.

Oh yeah...Earth Day

To be honest - I completely forgot about Earth Day which is tomorrow April 22nd - and I'm really not that much of a recycler, even if I'm forced too (but I still care...) - so here's a linkup to a Mashable post on 10 Tools For The Best Earth Day Ever.

Also make sure to check out their GREEN LIVING TOOLBOX: 80+ Green Sites article.

Megazar Obra

It can be easy sometimes to forget about all of the people across the world - especially in Asia - who've helped maintain the peace - and who need to be recognized:

A Filipino Army soldier based in South Korea was recently awarded the Six Star Salute medal by the United Service Organizations, Korea (USO Korea), a group of American and Korean businessmen, for his exemplary service with the United Nations Command (UNC) there.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, quoting a report from the Philippine embassy in Seoul, identified the honoree as Technical Sergeant Megazar Obra, a member of the Philippine Honor Guard at Yongsan Base in South Korea.

Also awarded were other enlisted men from the US, South Korea and Thailand.

Read more down at Global Nation.

South Korean sniffer-dog clones

I want one:

The world's first cloned sniffer dogs have begun training in South Korea. Seven puppies have been created using cells taken from a labrador considered by customs officials to be their best sniffer dog. The puppies were born last year after the country's customs service paid a biotechnology company to reproduce a Canadian Labrador Retriever. Their handlers say they are already showing the same high level of skill as the original dog.

Read more down at the BBC.

Raytheon and South Korea: Working together

It's always heartwarming to hear about good business being done, with the added bonus of knowing that my beloved South Korean movies will be protected by some of the best defensive systems around - known as the Patriot air and missile defense system:

The Patriot system will provide South Korea with the capability to deploy command and control for the Patriot system and defend itself from the full spectrum of air and missile threats," said Sanjay Kapoor, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems' vice president of Patriot programs.

Read more down at Forbes.

Far East Movement Interview

Here's a new interview with Far East Movement down at Hyphen and Ningin:

Our major musical influences are as scattered as an ipod playlist. We grew up listening to Tupac, the Dogg Pound, Gun's n Roses, Nirvana, Biggie, Smashing Pumpkins, the Cure, Outkast and even the artists we hear on the radio today to keep our tastes.

Read the full interview here.

Film: Art of the Devil 3

If you liked 1 & 2 - 3 is looking pretty good, and it topped the Thailand box office a couple of weeks ago:

I still like you Cubs' Fans

A little old - but I've seen the shirts, the posts about the shirts, and really - who in their right mind does this?

Much has been made of a racist t-shirt sold by a souvenir stand outside of Wrigley Field that specializes in unlicensed Chicago Cubs merchandise. The shirt depicts the Cubs cartoon bear face on the front with slanted eyes and Harry Caray-style glasses. This image is surrounded by the words ”Horry Kow,” which are written in a “Japanese-style” font. The name and number of Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome are on the back of the shirt. (For a picture of the shirt, click here.)

The phrase "get a real job" comes to mind.

Some Asian Films from the Tribeca Film Festival

When I Become Silent(Watashi ga chinmoku suru toki)

Here's a quick rundown of some the Asian Films that will be showing at the Tribeca Film Festival - although not a complete list:

• Fire Under the Snow
  
• God Only Knows
  
• Lost·Indulgence
  
• Milky Way Liberation Front
  
• Sita Sings the Blues
  
• Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon
  
• When I Become Silent

For more go here.

$40.61 billion and gas prices are still going up

According to Fortune 500, Exxon Mobil raked in a cool $40.61 billion last year, which begs the question of why we're still all going broke trying to fill our cars up.

Just give me $2.50 a gallon and I'll be happy.

Northwest and Delta Merger

You really can't help but hear about this merger and I haven't really delved into the numbers a ton - or what it really will mean to consumers in the end - or if I'll get better use from my combined frequent flier miles - but if you want to know more, here's some links:

• http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003789531
• http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/04/21/daily6.html
• http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/14/news/companies/delta_northwest/index.htm?section=money_topstories

DesisVote.com

I have to admit that in a lot of ways I'm just not this ambitious - good thing people like Ali Najmi, who helped start up DesisVote.com are around:

For recently immigrated and recently nationalised communities in the metropolitan centres of this country, participation in local politics has more to do with achieving upward mobility and security than national campaigns. The South Asian community of New York City provides a compelling case for what a widespread and organised effort to register and mobilise voters could look like [...]

Believing in the importance of this potential, a team of us has started 'Desis Vote', a project under SEVA Immigrant Communities Advocacy Project. Desis Vote is focused on registering and mobilising as many South Asian voters in New York City as possible. At the moment, there is a unique opportunity to tap into the social momentum and hype created by the 2008 presidential election, as seen through the Democratic primaries, in order to create a South Asian American political voice.

Read more here, and visit the site at http://www.desisvote.org/

RAIN scheduled to come to ImaginAsian's advance screening of Speed Racer in LA

I can see the pandemonium now:

ImaginAsian Entertainment, America’s first 24/7 cable network that provides Asian-inspired media content, will host a special advance screening of the new high-octane, live-action family adventure “Speed Racer” at the newly built ImaginAsian Center in Los Angeles on Friday, April 25. Asian pop superstar Rain is scheduled to walk the red carpet at 7:00pm.

The special advance screening is part of an integrated worldwide marketing campaign for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ upcoming family adventure “Speed Racer.” Rain stars in the film as Taejo Togokahn, a rival driver to Speed Racer, alongside Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox.

“ImaginAsian Entertainment is proud to host this special advance screening with Warner Bros. Pictures,” said Michael Huh, VP of marketing & strategic development, ImaginAsian Entertainment. “As America’s premiere content provider of Asian-inspired entertainment, one of our important goals is to be active in making connections between Asian-based entertainment and entertainers and the U.S. media and entertainment market. This ‘Speed Racer’ event is a perfect fit with our brand.”

“We’re proud that Rain is making his U.S. feature film debut with Warner Bros. in ‘Speed Racer,’” said Viviana Pendrill, VP of targeted marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. “Rain has established himself as an extremely strong performer onstage and we are thrilled to be part of extending his talent onto the big screen. With Rain’s international popularity it made sense for us to team up with ImaginAsian Entertainment to promote ‘Speed Racer.’”

Cool.

Nordstrom's APA Heritage Month Exhibit

From the press release:

Gifted Artists Share Their Diverse Vision
SEATTLE, WA USA

Nordstrom Exhibit Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

SEATTLE, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- During the month of May, Nordstrom is showcasing a vibrant array of compelling work from nine Asian American artists. These artists are coming together from communities in San Francisco to Taipei City and Austin to Hawaii with one common goal: to celebrate diversity and share their interpretations of the beauty of Asian American culture. Nordstrom selected this talented group of artists to share their work reflecting Asian Pacific American-inspired themes in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The exhibit will be displayed in the windows of select Nordstrom stores and online at Nordstrom.com throughout the month of May.

Now in its fourth year, the exhibit celebrates both accomplished and up-and-coming Asian-American artists. Their award-winning art has appeared in magazines, books, board games, galleries and ad campaigns, and their biographies are as different as their techniques and media.

"We are thrilled to bring the work of these talented artists to our stores again this year," said Amelia Letcher, diversity affairs director. "We hope that the exciting window displays will continue to raise diversity awareness and understanding among Nordstrom customers and our communities as a whole."

The exhibit will feature pieces by 9 artists:

• MalPina Chan, Olympia, Wash., Red Envelope, 2006
  
• Grace Chen, Oakland, Calif., On a Lazy Spring Day, 2008
  
• Jui Ishida, Long Beach, Calif., Bedtime in India, 2007
  
• Pearl Ling, Waianae, Hawaii, Mo'olelo for the Essence of Being One, 2002
  
• Tristan Longstreth, Phoenix, Ariz., Rare Beauty, 2008
  
• Naoko Morisawa, Lynnwood, Wash., Kuhio, 2007
  
• Sherwin Parayno, Austin, Tex., Buddha #1
  
• Yihsin Wu, Taipei City, Taiwan, Fantasy at Work -- Office, 2007
  
• Adrienne Yan, San Francisco, Calif., But I Don't Want to Answer Anymore,
  2008
  

Exhibit Locations

The exhibit will be on display at the following Nordstrom stores: San Francisco Centre, San Francisco; Irvine Spectrum Center, Irvine, Calif.; Michigan Avenue, Chicago; Downtown Portland, Portland, Ore.; Southcenter,Tukwila, Wash.; Santa Anita, Arcadia, Calif.; Ala Moana, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Downtown Seattle. The exhibit can also be viewed online throughout the month of May in the Nordstrom e-gallery at http://www.nordstrom.com/.

Gina Kim

I haven't read through the whole interview yet - but it looks interesting from the beginning:

During the 2008 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, Ravi Chandra sat down with director Gina Kim to discuss her latest film, Never Forever.

Kim grew up in Seoul, South Korea where she majored in Studio Art, before turning to video art at CalArts. She eventually made Gina Kim’s Video Diary and then her debut feature, Invisible Light. She views film as a “democratic medium” and a way to share her ideas with a wide audience. In her new film, Sophie is the Caucasian wife of her depressed and (unbeknownst to him) infertile Korean American husband. Sophie plots to make him happy and save the marriage by becoming pregnant. To do this, she begins an affair with a Korean man. Her feelings about both men, marriage, and children evolve dramatically in this compelling feature film.

Read the full interview down at NHA.

Trailer

Goh Nakamura gets Shuffled

Cool post with Goh Nakamura on BPR:

Goh Nakamura is a San Francisco Bay Area based musician who likes to write ditties about parking tickets, impossible crushes and faraway dreamlands (amongst other things).

Go to the full post here.

Oriental fantasy

Hmmm....

Oriental fantasy The Forbidden Kingdom wafted to the top of the weekend chart with an estimated $20.9 million on approximately 3,900 screens at 3,151 locations. The Lionsgate release was sold as a family adventure, a hyper Wizard of Oz-Karate Kid-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon hybrid, and as the first pairing of action stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who each have fan bases that have led to consistent returns in the past. Forbidden Kingdom's start ranked on the high end for each with attendance in the vicinity of Chan's Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights.

Didn't we ban that word? Wasn't there a meeting or a memo or something like that?

One and done?

It'll be interesting to see if Detroit takes the next 4 games, and this was just a one time deal for Philadelphia - or if it could go all 7.

Crazy White People: Ryan Schallenberger

I can't seem to find the picture anymore - but you can tell he's a white guy because there's no mention of ethnicity, race, or color in any of the stories:

A teenager in a small South Carolina town planned to conduct a Columbine-inspired attack this week, the ninth anniversary of the Colorado school shootings, authorities said Sunday.

The parents of 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger became concerned after 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate were delivered to their house Saturday, authorities said. They then found a lengthy journal with maps and details of a planned attack the teen called "Columbine III." That's when they called police.

More: http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/500529.html

Rocket Fuel's Asian American Identity

Stumbled upon this blog post by Rocket Fuel on being Korean American, Asian, and everything in between:

My Korea is my parents…it’s through them that I appreciate what Korea is and where I came from. It’s through them that I learn certain customs and traditions related to my DNA……..other than that, I’m as Korean as Kimchee made by Jose in the back kitchen of a Los Angeles Korean restaurant.

Read more here.

Random Thought: Asians and Music

For no other reason besides that I'm hopped up on cough syrup -- it really does make sense that some of the greatest musicians are Asian - it's the tonal languages - it's like perfect pitch built in from birth - unless you're tone deaf - which is like a lot of my Asian American friends who also have two left feet.

What was my point again?

DWTS, Kristi Yamaguchi, and I'm just putting this out there

All I'm saying is that you know somewhere in America, someone said, "I hate that skinny bitch."

That's all I'm saying.

I wonder if there'll be a Yamaguchi backlash.

Cool cover art: Xeno

Korean singer Xeno on her debut album Seventeen Xeno.

Rain - Samsung Anycall CF (Any Dream) MV

I'm not judging...I'm just listing.

Music: Aya Kamiki - Kimi Sarishi Yuuwaku

AXA: Almost Famous Asians

More thoughts on the AXA awards down at Asia Pacific Arts from last week:

What exactly is Asian Excellence? According to the Asian Excellence Awards Committee, Asian Excellence = Asian face + mainstream notoriety. Good acting, non-stereotypical roles, and representing Asian American experiences are all not required to get nominated and walk the red carpet. Those who win the awards, to AXA's credit, tend to have done more than just be a recognizable Asian face in American pop culture. For example, last year, Kal Penn's crisis-of-desiness performance in The Namesake beat out Jet Li's predictable action role in Fearless.

Read the full article here - originally written for AZN Television's Outspoken blog on the topic of "Asian American Awards Shows".

Democratic Ticket: I shouldn't think this, but...

I understand the importance of the Democratic Presidential Primaries - I realize the history that is being made - the role that everyone is playing.

At the same time I just want it to be over too - I can't help it.

Somedays I'm a fast-forward kind of guy where I just want to see the money-shot, and this long drawn out snail race to the end - so unlike the high-impact slugfest I was imagining - I kind of feel like I'm watching re-runs.

NY Times: Harold and Kumar

From the NY Times Film article on Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantánamo Bay:

AMERICAN political cinema of the George W. Bush era has come to assume a few familiar forms: the documentary indictment (“Fahrenheit 9/11,” “No End in Sight”), the sober memorial (“World Trade Center,” “United 93”), the angry or earnest Iraq drama (“Redacted,” “Stop-Loss”). In this cheerless landscape “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantánamo Bay,” the sequel to the 2004 cult favorite “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” creates its own category: the stoner protest film.

The hookah saves the world.

Really, who doesn't want Boston to win in it all?

Out of all the teams in this year's NBA finals, there's really not another team I want to see win it all.

It would just make a great story - a great piece of sports history that I would be around to actually see.

If the Celtics can really make the transition and cap the league's biggest season turnaround with a championship - complete with a Sam Cassell look at how big my balls are clutch shot at the end of game - it would be one of the most amazing runs.

How can you not want to pick Boston?

Rain Interview

For Rain fans, in case you haven't seen it yet, AllKpop.com has a new interview with the Korean singer.

More Pro-Olympic protests?

I guess (?) it was bound to keep happening?

Several thousand Chinese on Saturday rallied in Paris, Britain and Berlin in support of the Beijing Olympics and against allegedly biased media coverage of the torch relay and recent unrest in Tibet. Clad in T-shirts daubed with the slogan "One China, One family" and brandishing signs critical of the western media, up to 4,000 Chinese students and other expatriates gathered in the Place de la Republique in the French capital, according to police estimates.

"We're demonstrating against the disinformation in the French and western media, to promote the Olympic games and to construct a bridge between the French and Chinese people -- and not a wall as the media do," said one of the rally's spokesmen, Thirry Liu.

The full story is at The Times Of India.

Vietnam gets a spaceship

Well - not really a spaceship - but they did, after 13 unsuccessful tries, finally get a satellite into orbit - and I'm glad about that because Starz just wasn't doing it for me:

The 2.6-ton medium-sized satellite, Vinasat-1, was successfully launched to its geostationary orbit position using rocket Ariane-5in Kourou site in French Guiana at 5:16 a.m. Saturday (2016 GMT Friday).

The satellite project was first approved by the Vietnamese government in 1995, with an aim to serve increasing local demand for better communication services with lower costs.

After the approval, Vietnam had to negotiate with other countries to determine the satellite's orbital position.

Read more here.

Do you know your Filipino Korean War History?

This is a good read at the Philippine Daily Inquirer - 500-peso note may tribute Filipino heroes in Korean War, by Art Villasanta:

When the 500-peso bank note was first issued in 1987, my late father, Johnny Villasanta, noted with pride that here at last was a tribute to the Filipino soldier who fought in the Korean War (1950-53), and who helped rebuild and protect Korea between 1954 and 1955.

Go to the Philippine Daily Inquirer for the full article.

Fat Bush: I just liked the title

I couldn't help but be drawn to this NY Times Op-Ed piece called The Fat Bush Theory - and I don't even really care about global warming (I feel like I just personally shot a small family of seals with that sentence):

Instead of Kyoto, the administration is pushing for “a new process” in which the countries that do most of the polluting will get together and work on a climate agreement. That process was in fact chugging along this very week at a gathering in Paris, where Bush’s speech was greeted with a round of excited reviews. Germany’s environment minister, for instance, dubbed it “losership instead of leadership.”

Read the full article here.

Korean And U.S. Beef: That's a switch

I don't really know why I read this in the first place - but I did - and while it doesn't have the ring of NAFTA, I am glad to know about KUSFTA:

Early Friday morning, Seoul officially announced it would gradually open its
market to U.S. beef imports as Washington intensifies safety standards.

Eventually, if all goes well, a full range of U.S. beef boneless and
bone-in, from animals of any age, would be shipped to a market estimated to be
worth up to $1 billion a year.

The announcement came after days of negotiations in Seoul aimed at resuming regular U.S. beef shipments for the first time since mad cow disease was discovered here in 2003.

Read the full Reuter's article here.

DVD: Protege

Another bite sized DVD review - Derek Yee, Andy Lau, and Daniel Wu - Protégé. I just can't believe it took me this long to actually see it.

Check out the movie's Wikipedia page.

UVaClub of New York: Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Event

The description of the event:

Please join the Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Network for a reception to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the launch of local chapter of AAPAAN in New York City. Light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. It is a great way to get connected and networked with fellow U.Va. Asian Alumni in the NYC area! Online Registration available.

Read more here, or go to the event web site.

They really named you dumbass?

No seriously - I think someone really must have named him dumbass.

Somehow I came across this and from the first paragraph you already knew what it was going to be:

Asians - those smart, hard-working people you've always been told believe in merit and would never act like the NAACP or La Raza - have joined the racial spoils system.

I wonder if dumbass means the same racial spoils system white people have been running, or if he means another racial spoils system.

It gets tough telling the two apart.

More Cho

It seems John Cho is everywhere. Check out the interview down at Fancast.com:

All I do is read things and see if there’s something exciting. Even if someone says this is a great project and you should do it, if I’m not excited by it, I’ll probably do a bad job and then I’ll ruin my career. The smartest move for me is to just be excited about something, if it’s a small movie or a big movie or a play or a TV show, and if I’m excited about it, it’ll probably lead to good things because the chances are better that I’d do a good job. If I’m not excited about it, then I’ll probably commit career suicide trying to do it.

Read the full interview here.

It really is Lusty

One of the things I love about Asia - good films at bargain base prices - and while I already saw Lust, Caution in the theater a while back, it didn't stop me from picking up a copy while I was down and out and after re-watching some of the scenes again - yeah I know - I couldn't help but think to myself "It's definitely not porno, but it could pass."

Just another reason to love Ang Lee - it really does keep on giving.

DVD: 13 Beloved

During one of my lazy nights away I got a chance to finally see the Thai suspense/thriller 13 Beloved, and it didn't disappoint. Good story, tight scenes, and it makes you think about what you'd do if you were in the same situation.

Description from Wikipedia:

13 Beloved (Thai: 13 เกมสยอง or 13 Game Sayong, also 13: Game of Death) is a 2006 Thai psychological thriller and black comedy directed by Chukiat Sakveerakul and starring Krissada Sukosol Clapp. The story, about a man who is led through progressively challenging, degrading and dangerous stunts by mysterious callers from an underground reality game show, is adapted from the 13th Quiz Show episode in the My Mania comic-book series by Eakasit Thairaat.

Check it out if you're looking for something good to watch.

Brandi Milloy's Big Give

Brandi Milloy - pageant winner, Travolta kisser, and also one of the last three remaining contestants on Oprah's Big Give.

Apparently her curriculum vitae also includes graduating from the University of Arizona where she continues to show her school spirit even to this day and has the pics to prove it.

Did I really miss that much when I was gone?

Maybe Ron will come out too and see if he can't get in on some of the action.

And I care about the Pope because why?

I'm all for your spirituality and God Fearing collectives - to each their own - but it's a little too late for the Pope to be praying with victims from the Catholic church's sexual abuse cases, seeing as how before he was the great white Pope - aka Joseph Ratzinger - he oversaw the sexual abuse cases from afar - and really - what actually got accomplished?

Another Pope, Another Day.

Agent Zero, or just plain Zero?

When you blog about wishing to get Cleveland in the first round of the NBA playoffs - the same Cleveland that's knocked you out twice before - and your teammate calls Lebron overrated through the wire -- you should probably be backing that up with something called defense versus standing around like Ben Wallace and watching Lebron take over the last couple of minutes in the game.

Maybe someone whispered into Gilbert's ear again.

Back from the mothership

Well my Slanty Eyed peeps - I'm back in the U.S. from a well needed vacation, and while I'm still in Asia in a lot of ways (mainly my palette, because where else can you get the best Asian food except from the mothership?) - it's nice to be back where wi-fi doesn't discriminate and I seem to have a lot on my mind for the blogging...I don't think it's going to be gentle.

Maybe it wasn't a scandal after all? Edison Chen in new movie with Shu Qi

In what barely seems like an hour since his photo scandal has passed and his role in Hong Kong media up in the air (if not completely done with - at least for now), it seems like our little photo happy Chen won't just be back in a new movie but is also getting a lot of suitors for upcoming films.

From batwga.com:

Edison Chen (陳冠希) is to make his showbiz comeback in a movie starring opposite Shu Qi (舒淇), Lianhe Wanbao, a Singapore newspaper, reported today.

It reported that the movie is a collaboration between a Singapore company and an independent American production house.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that $13.8 million has already been secured for the film's budget, and filming will take place in Singapore and Chicago.

From ChinaDaily:

The agent company also disclosed that Chen is going to start shooting this summer. Meanwhile, there are also some other western film producers who have expressed their wishes to cooperate with Edison.

As long as it's better than Blood Brothers...

Rich versus Wealthy: Kaba Modern, Ramiele Malubay, and JabbaWockeeZ

So hearing that Ramiele Malubay has been dismissed from American Idol it got me thinking - where does everyone go from here?

I'm glad to see all these Asian faces in the popular culture - and that alone is significant to the AA community - but I've also been wondering for a while, especially with Kaba Modern and JabbaWockeeZ- what's next for them as individuals - and in the end, how significant is it to the Asian American community or other communities of color when asking the question of how far we've really come?

Are these just little blips on the radar screen that really don't mean as much as we may think, or are they extremely significant because of the inspiration that comes along with seeing someone represent the AA community in major media, even if just for a short time?

If one person is touched by the Asian face they see on the television, could that inspire them to do something great - to cross boundaries they might not have before? Can rock and roll really save the world?

I have to admit that while I think it only helps the AA and other communities of color - and being on television can only be a boon to each person (and they're definitely great building blocks because nothing is made in a day and I love seeing the inspiration they bring) - I also can't help but think of Chris Rock and the difference between being rich and being wealthy - the difference in being an NBA player who gets paid huge sums of money, and the owner that actually pays them.

As a community - in part or in whole - I have to think that we're more rich than wealthy - and while I know you can never become wealthy without being rich first (and that it's better than sleeping on the street), I'm hoping I see the time when we're wealthy as a community - when we're not just getting paid - but we're the ones cutting the checks.

APF News Flash: Hillary drops out of the race

I can't believe it - yes - I just heard about it from a friend of a friend who works at the Hillary campaign - no kidding, no b.s. - no really.

Hillary's bowing to the pressure and has decided - from what I heard - to leave it all behind and seriously let Obama take the Democratic nod. Right now she's not sure if she'll end up running with him, but apparently it's something she'll consider - but if that doesn't work out I guess she has plans (it was overheard) that she wants to start her own humanitarian effort to help poor and underpriviledged kids and get this too - start adopting some kids from Asian countries like Angelina Jolie (which I guess they've somehow become good friends).

I'm not sure if maybe it's the empty nest syndrome - just speculating - but maybe with all of the campaigning she's done - to no avail (I remember ducking from snipers too) - she'd rather go back to something she really loves - raising children.

Apparently she's not read to go public with it quite yet - and I was sworn to secrecy - but that didn't really happen because I'm kind of a news gossip.

But seriously. That's what I heard from the APF News.

No really I did.

Can I link to it?

Didn't you read my post?

Grace Lee "American Zombie" Interview

There's a good interview down at The Evening Class with director/writer Grace Lee on her new movie American Zombie:

I've long felt that Grace Lee's American Zombie and J.T. Petty's S&Man would be the perfect doublebill date, primarily because they're both refreshingly honest about being false documentaries morphing into the horror genre. As I've already written, horror movies are once again the rage; but, curiously the really good ones are now called documentaries.

I caught American Zombie when it played the 2007 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and spoke briefly with Grace Lee at that time...

For the full interview read it here.

Go Go Possible Mayor Andrew Shaw

While the turnout is supposed to be extremely low - about 20% of those eligible to vote - hopefully it might play into Andrew Shaw's favor who is the first Asian American to run for the office of Mayor in Milwaukee WI. Here's a little bit more about Andrew from a Q & A down at wisn.com:

The determined candidate was born in South Korea and raised in Minnesota. He graduated in 1992 with a J.D. in Law from Marquette University Law School. Since then, Shaw has worked for 15 years as an attorney and an entrepreneur.

He has always been interested in addressing issues involving race. While attending law school, the candidate participated in the creation of Marquette University Law School's chapter of the Asian Law Students Association.

In 1999, he became the first Asian-American to run for judge in Milwaukee County receiving 26 percent or 22,017 votes against Judge Pat McMahon.

Now, he is the first Asian American to run for a Milwaukee mayoral position.

Shaw addressed Milwaukee's racial divide and outlined his mayoral plan during this interview...

The interview is pretty righteous and I hope Shaw can get it done. For the full article and Q & A, go here.

Different View: More on the movie 21

So while the movie "21" hit some box office #1 gold - haven't seen it yet and have yet to ask people I know who have - while I was iffy on the casting - 'cause like I said - big difference for me in college kids gambling away versus truly historic Asian American history - there is definitely a contingent of people who argue a much stronger stance, and for other views check out a post by Hyphen Blogger Alvin down at the newly revamped Hyphen Blog as well as down at Can I have a word please.

Lebron, King Kong, and Eva Longoria's used panties

Are you people completely on acid tripping the light fantastic and then double dipping again with a side of meth and a complete shot of idiocy? I mean seriously - if you think for one instant that one media image on effing Vogue is something to complain about - that it's racially insensitive - I got some news for you - it's not even close.

But let me try and get this straight for a second. You think Lebron looks like a gorilla (that's telling)? You think it's representative of the stereotypical dangerous black man image that perpetuates the media? Either you haven't met enough of the African American population or your media watchdog hat is on a little too tight.

You know what's representative of the steroetypical dangerous black man image syndrome? It's your local news media which only pictures black suspects - or rather should I say - chooses to not depict white ones (or the Asian ones, or the Hispanic and Latino ones). It's the news media who puts out descriptions of suspects to simply race bait - deft descriptions fit for a blind man like "5'6 African American man with mustache and cap" - you know those great sketches you see - ones that simply say "Stay away from every black man because they're all criminals."

Yeah - I just love those.

Lebron James - he was worth 100 million before he even signed a contract with an NBA team. He's a young cat who's got the world at his fingertips and gets invited to every single star studded gala that there is - he's a franchise player - he's the second coming - he's King James. If Lebron and his game face image are indicative of the every day black man who gets smacked by the system, than I'm the pope dressed in Eva Longoria's used panties which I got second-hand off Ebay courtesy of Tim Duncan.

P.S. to magazine analyst Samir Husni who's been quoted as saying "So when you have a cover that reminds people of King Kong and brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman, it's not innocent." - I don't know about you Samir - but black men and white women - black men with any woman of any color - seems quite innocent to me. But then again maybe I just think that because I have opposable thumbs.

No kidding: Struggling Asians go unnoticed

So after reading this article via the Chicago Tribune and reading quotes like:

Some educators have begun to call disadvantaged Asians an invisible minority, unseen because their low test scores are masked when lumped with higher achieving counterparts.

A 2002 U.S. Department of Education study—one of the rare national reports examining Asians by ethnicity—found that Southeast Asians, including Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong have reading and math scores comparable with Latino and African-American students.

I just have to wonder how much longer it's going to take for the education community as a whole - and the communities that they live in - to realize this and start doing more about it rather than complaining that there just isn't the funding.

I know educators, I know the curriculm they teach, the sessions they go to - and while I can't say I know everyone and everyplace, from everything I hear and see - they focus much more on integrating African American culture and history and looking at the division between white and black students - leaving out Asian Americans.

Don't get me wrong - they SHOULD be doing all those things - they NEED to be doing all those things - but schools and the communities that house them also have a responsibility to provide the necessary resources to all students and to focus on the divide for all students, not just the division between white and black.

Theatre: Trapazoid

Got this sent to me and it sounds like it should be pretty cool. It's called Trapazoid and it's about man and machine and what happens when they fall in love with each other. The show is being put on by the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and is running from April 19, 2008 through May 25, 2008 at the GTC Burbank located in George Izay Park. Here's more info on the show:

Lodestone Theatre Ensemble presents the world premiere of Trapezoid, running April 19 - May 25, 2008 at the GTC Burbank (1111-B West Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91506) located inside George Izay Park. Following on the heels of one of its most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful seasons, the award-winning theatre company kicks off its ninth season with a new play by Lodestone Resident Producer Nic Cha Kim and directed by Scott Horstein.

Lodestone's first presentation of a play in the science-fiction genre, Trapezoid tells the story of a Korean American poet in love hired by a technology think tank to put the "art" in artificial intelligence. When the robot creation falls in love with the human creator, it's man-made versus mankind with sometimes comic and sometimes tragic results.

The cast includes Julia Cho, Antonia Grace Glenn, Alberto Isaac, Lanny Joon, Elaine Kao, Charles Kim, Ryan Mercado , Leonard Wu, Elpidio Ebuen, John Fukuda, Grace Kim, Stephanie Lincoln, Brian P. Nichols and Enoch Wu.

"Trapezoid is a loose adaptation of Pygmalion and Galatea but instead of sculpture, we use poetry," explains playwright Nic Cha Kim. "From Collodi's Pinocchio, Shelley's Frankenstein and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, artificial intelligence has been a fixture of science-fiction for centuries despite only being a science for the last 65 years. Trapezoid is my homage to scientists and science fiction writers alike."

For more on the show check out the MySpace page, and for more on the Loadstone check out their page here.