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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Dude, Koreans Do Not Find Me Funny

I've created a bit of a...situation over at KoreAm Journal where I guest blog once a week. I put up was what meant to be a tongue-in-cheek post about this unending rivalry between Apolo Anton Ohno and the South Korean speed skating delegation and that it's a beef that should be dropped. Basically, I thought the culmination of Japanese/Korean tensions manifesting itself around a bunch of guys that skate around in circles in head-to-toe spandex suits was something too absurd to not laugh at. Apparently, I was wrong. Koreans are straight pissed.
The Jon Gosselin Story: Asian Men and Penis Size

I’ve been fascinated by Penis-Gate with the recent “controversy” over how Kate Gosselin joked that Jon’s penis was “stubby” and how his ex-girlfriend Hailey Glassman said that he had a “tiny, tiny, tiny” penis in a recent issue of Us Weekly.
Party With Hyphen Magazine And DISGRASIAN (Sorta), Friday, February 26 In SF

What’s up, party people! If you’re in the Bay Area this Friday, February 26, scoot on down to the Hyphen magazine Trailblazing Issue release shindig. To celebrate the issue, you know, where we’re on the cover? Because you love us, and you love Hyphen, and you love live music and live art (even though, like us, you’re not entirely sure what “live art” is)?
Chevron Supervisor Calls Employee 'Stupid Jap'

Oh hell no. Saw this here, from a press release detailing the plight of John Suzuki, a former Chevron employee who was forced to take early retirement this month rather than risk his health by returning to work under a supervisor who harassed and threatened him, and called him a "stupid Jap"...
‘The Last Airbender’ Toys Reinforce Casting Discrimination

While some fans will be happy to see a female character unveiled at least, supporters of Racebending.com have expressed disappointment because an action figure from the show would have been a rare toy featuring a character of color, while the movie figurine of Katara is white. The change in the character ethnicities is even more apparent in the new movie Sokka action figure.
Race in the Carnival and Mardi Gras Colour Face

So when reader Frida sent us in a tip about Carnival in Germany (roughly equivalent to Mardi Gras in the U.S.) I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. Frida noted that snide and politically satirical floats were par for the course at Carnival, and this year was particularly rife with floats mocking “fallen saviour” President Obama. Nonetheless, this float caught her eye.
The Buddha Bank: Save Money on Your Way to Nirvana

I’m only half Buddhist, so let me know if I’m half wrong about this. But isn’t the idea of turning Buddha into a piggy bank completely contradictory to the fundamentals of Buddhism? And would you ever buy a piggy bank shaped like Christ on the Crucifix? Then why would you buy any of these...