As this week has been a little busy and I haven't been able to read or post as much as normal, here's a little longer version of NewsBytes with some news from blogosphere and around the way in no particular order from this week, and some recent happenings still worth mentioning:
Are You Excited... To Vote?
It’s not that I’m against Sunny Leone (NSFW). I am totally pro desi woman in any non-mainstream industry. I even blogged about her on Sepia Mutiny previously as a ‘cool desi woman under 30.’ I like her, you know, for a porn star [...] So here’s my personal request. Though it’s great Sunny is the first desi face in a voting PSA, I think there should be more. And since the boys have Sunny, how about we gals get some brown sugar like Sendhil Ramamurthy, Naveen Andrews or Kal Penn to make a voting PSA? That would definitely rock my vote.An Unusual Cancer Burden: APAs battle both disease and taboos
When it comes to cancer, APAs are not the model minority. Lack of awareness surrounded by taboo and a tendency by health professionals to treat APAs as a homogenous group make the battle over the disease especially challenging. With all cancers considered, APAs may have lower rates of cancer compared to other groups. But what makes the burden of the disease unique is that APAs are the only group with death rates from cancer exceeding that of heart disease.Bhangra Idol Contest In Canada
The 3rd Canadian Bhangra Idol contest kicks off in Vancouver. 10 teams of singers and dancers will take stage tomorrow at the Orpheum Theater, donning traditional Punjabi clothes. Grammy Award-winning hip-hop and R&B group 112, and British Bhangra star Jassi Sidhu, will also perform at the event.Korean Mexicans And Korean Cubans Explore Their Roots
One of the things we love the most about being Latina is being able to claim ties with a vast and varied group of people. Of course, that’s only cool once we kind of gloss over some of the historical aspects of how it that some of these people came to Latino in the first place. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a segment of Latinos often forgotten - Korean Mexicans...Shuffled! Marlino Bitanga aka DJ Marlino “da5footafunk”
As a 20-year veteran to the DJing game, Marlino’s DJ career started as a mobile disc jockey in 1988, which led to an opportunity to work in the radio industry in 1995 at WILD 107.7 FM (which shortly changed to WILD 94.9) in San Francisco. In 1997, he landed himself a spot as an On-Air Personality and Mixshow DJ at Jammin Z90.3 FM in San Diego where he made his mark as the first DJ in San Diego to spin live on the air on 3 turntables.113th Birthday For World's Oldest Man
The world's oldest man, Tomoji Tanabe celebrated his 113th birthday on Thursday, September 18, 2008. For his birthday, he got gifts, flowers and $1,000 cash from the mayor of his hometown of Miyakonojo. Tanabe told reporters he wants to live about another five years. The guy looks young for his age.Kearny Street Workshop Presents APAture 2008 & Win Free Tickets
Holy! It's that time of the year again for Kearny Street Workshop's (KSW) APAture! Can you believe they're celebrating their 10th year already? Check out the awesome event schedule below, and join the 90+ artists, musicians, filmmakers, comedians, writers, and performers for 10 exciting days of APAture starting this Thursday, September 18-27, 2008ROCK OF ASIAN: Kid Koala
Few tickle vinyl with such brilliant fervor as our favorite Canadiasian deejay Kid Koala, whose turntable-told stories fascinate us, and soft-spoken illustrative aesthetic somehow warms our icy cold hearts. Kids are cute, koalas even cuter...meet ken of survivor: gabon
Oh boy. The new season of Survivor premieres next week. This time, among the castaways, we have Ken Hoang, a 22-year-old professional gamer from Westminster, California. Yes, as in video games. According to his bio, he is the current international champion of Nintendo's Super Smash Brothers Melee game, and apparently known to the gaming community as "the King of Smash".MILITANT NEWS FLASH: MARGARET CHO PLAYS FREAK POLITICS!
I've already said my piece about her so I'll let you decide whether or not she's pulling stunts for ratings tonight. I did think this was funny in a freaky, political kind of way.Oh, Danny Bhoy!
So, anyway, on the subject of Asian stand-up comedians, one of the most talented and yet underrated young comedians in the world, I must admit, is Scottish comedian, Danny Bhoy. I say underrated because he is still very obscure in the USA. He is much more well known in the UK and er… colonies, I suppose is the word I’m looking for! Well, I mean Australia, New Zealand and Canada is what I mean!Actor George Takei, Partner Wed in Private Ceremony
Actor George Takei, best known for his role as Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek,’’ married his longtime partner Brad Altman on Sunday in a private ceremony in Los Angeles. About 200 friends and relatives — including fellow “Star Trek’’ actors Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols — attended the ceremony. Takei, 71, and Altman, 54, had been planning the nuptials since May, when the California Supreme Court declared the state’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. They were among the first to obtain a marriage license in West Hollywood when they became available in June.White People Like taking credit from Asians: Who is Myles Valentin?
“#11 Asian girls” is the all-time most popular post of web-phenomenon Stuff White People Like, but it was written by Filipino-Canadian Myles Valentin, not White-Canadian Christian Lander. While Christian Lander received a $350,000 advance and receives royalties for his book, Stuff White People Like: the Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions, Myles Valentin is living paycheck to paycheck in East Vancouver.Crimes of Fashion
The arrival of Fashion Week and a controversial Vogue India photo shoot featuring poor rural villagers decked out in designer bling have Jeff Yang thinking about globalization, extreme consumerism and the perils of cultural criticism.Asian and Asian-American films at caachi
Caachi distributes award-winning independent films for downloading and streaming on its website http://www.caachi.com. Independent filmmakers sell their films directly to their fans and retain 75% of the sales revenue.
