Cool Down Hawaii

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Seriously.

Please.

Cool down.

Take a break.

Have a Coke.

Keep everyone safe.

Random Culinary Impermanence With Edward Lee

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Far East Movement: Ktown Riot

Tuesday, October 28, 2014



Out now on iTunes and Spotify.

Window Horses: Help Fund This Awesome Sandra Oh Indiegogo Project Or Forever Hate Yourself. For Real.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

From the Indiegogo site:

WINDOW HORSES: THE POETIC PERSIAN EPIPHANY OF ROSIE MING. In this coming-of-age story, Rosie Ming, a young Canadian poet, is invited to perform at a Poetry Festival in Shiraz, Iran, but she’d rather be in Paris. She lives at home with her over-protective Chinese grandparents and has never been anywhere by herself. Once in Iran, she finds herself in the company of poets and Persians, all who tell her stories that force her to confront her past; the Iranian father she assumed abandoned her and the nature of Poetry itself. Rosie goes on an unwitting journey of forgiveness, reconciliation, and perhaps above all, understanding, through learning about her father’s past, her own complicated cultural identity, and her responsibility to it. It's about building bridges across generations and cultures through the magic of Poetry.

We hope this film will contribute a little more peace, love and understanding to our increasingly complex and conflicted world through art, poetry, history and culture.
Trailer



Here's a link to good article @ the hollywoodreporter.com:

Both artists welcome the cross-cultural representations of Chinese and Persian cultures in the film via a young Canadian poet in Iran learning about her culture and long-lost father. "I love that she's of Chinese and Persian heritage. If we can't get it [diversity] on TV, let's get it on animation," Oh said.

Still Going On: Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

From the site:

Asian Improv aRts Midwest, the region's leading presenter of the Asian American cultural arts, is proud to present the 19th season of the critically acclaimed Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival. The festival highlights the diversity of musicians that explore the Asian American experience though music, combining influences that include jazz, blues, rock, hip hop, improv/new music, and traditional Asian musical forms and instrumentation. AIRMW celebrates and documents the historic contribution Asian American musicians and their collaborators make to the Chicago music scene.
Check it out in full here.

Elementary Season 3 Trailer

Tuesday, October 28, 2014



October 30th on a TV near you on CBS.

Friday 3X: Kina Grannis + My Dear (Full Album Stream) + Write It In The Sky + Echosmith Cover (with Alex G)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Echosmith Cover (with Alex G)



My Dear (Full Album Stream)



Write It In The Sky Official Lyric Video

Big Phat Stats + "Asian Privilege"

Friday, October 24, 2014

Just some random thoughts.

Asian Privilege Lives In My Left Butt Cheek Along With Reverse Racism

I don't even know how this topic gets started, re-started, let's throw out everything we've learned from the application of the model minority and how it obfuscates the inequities that exist for the APIA community, but apparently it's coming up--talk shows, internal conversations, posts, comments, et al.

And I just have to wonder...

What happens when I get poison ivy and scratch by left butt cheek so hard it falls off?

Will my left butt cheek grow back?

Will I need to get therapy for my right butt cheek?

What if it never grows back?

Truly, and with laughable disdain, these are my thoughts on anyone who tries to push the subject that "Asian Privilege" exists.

Household Income Tells Me Nothing Of Racism and Inequality

My income says nothing about the racism that I have to confront, work around, or just hear about in my daily life as an Asian American and Person Of Color. At all income levels there is racism and inequality and that fact can never be denied and it truly is as simple as that.

Fine. Let's Talk Data

You can have four people in your household (related by family or not) where combined, everyone makes 120K. What that number doesn't tell you is the distribution of those funds. One of those people could be making 60K and the other three could be making 20K because they've reached the glass ceiling in their organizations - household income doesn't measure wage gaps by race (or gender) and by industry. At the same time, according to the ACS 2013 report, Whites still make more than any other group on a per capita basis and sure, while someone can argue about the mean versus the median, I can argue back that using this comparison, because of the distribution being the same across all groups (in regard to a calculated average) tells me more than household income, or the median income, about a specific group.

Is it as arbitrary and flawed as throwing out household income when talking about privilege and racism?

Yes.

But that's the point.

Because You Want Your Presidential Diwali Wishes

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Twitter Me This Twitter Me That (AKA APIA Male Twitter Love And Stardom)

Monday, October 20, 2014

In their own right you can say that each one of the people on this list is a star, but I thought I'd just check out some profiles and see how many followers they had (as of a few days ago) and wondered what, if anything, that said about their future stardom.

  • Aziz Ansari 4.37 Million
  • Harry Shum Jr. 1.02 Million
  • Kunal Nayyar 955K
  • Steven Yeun 628K
  • Sung Kang 239K
  • Booboo Stewart 192K
  • Daniel Dae Kim 156K
  • Justin Chon 138K
  • John Cho 126K
  • Daniel Henney 112K
  • Ki Hong Lee 110K
  • Ryan Potter 35.2K
Yes btw, Dwayne Johnson has 7.76 M followers, but he's a superduperstar so I didn't type him into this list.

BAAF 2014 Centerpiece Film: 9-Man

Friday, October 17, 2014

PMP Philms + Secret Asian Man + Boston Asian American Film Festival (October 23rd - 26th, 2014)

Friday, October 17, 2014



http://www.baaff.org/

Run Girl Run (AKA Kathy Joo Can Beat You In A Marathon)

Friday, October 17, 2014



Who was the winner at the Long Beach marathon for female runners ages 60-64?

That would be Kathy Joo, a skin cancer survivor from Anaheim.

And yes, she's way tougher than I will ever be.

You're A First: Vanita Gupta

Friday, October 17, 2014

From the National Law Journal:

Former American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Vanita Gupta will temporarily lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the department said today.

Gupta will serve as acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division and principal deputy assistant attorney general. She steps into the role at a time when the department has zeroed in on civil rights issues with the ongoing tension in Ferguson, Mo., and when a number of department leadership positions, including Attorney General Eric Holder’s, are in transition.

Gupta is expected to be nominated for the position permanently in the coming months, a person familiar with the administration’s conversations told the NLJ. Gupta will then face the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Nice.

Your Friday Russell Wong Pic Of The Day

Friday, October 17, 2014



From HBO Asia's Grace.

Episode 3 Best Selfie Yet

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

That's it.

Vine Star: Olivia Sui

Wednesday, October 15, 2014



You may or may not like Olivia Sui (some of the Vines I've seen are pretty funny), but you will not be able to deny her 313,000+ followers and 51 million loops.

And sure we can talk about vines and re-looping but 51 million is still, well, 51 million.

Jo Koy Goes Chinky With Small Penis Asian Jokes On @midnight

Monday, October 13, 2014

I respect a lot of work that people put into their craft,

pay their dues...

etc., etc.,

etc., etc., etc.,

and I even have a couple of posts with Jo Koy's name in it.

But MF.

Really?

That's what you go to?

Small Asian penis jokes with #asianproblems?

Even the White People looked uncomfortable...

Early Morning Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Monday, October 13, 2014

Who Needs A New Girl? Self Love Is The Best Love. Definitely (^_^) When Watching @SelfieABC + Ratings Don't Lie

Monday, October 13, 2014



Just for the record, not everything sugary and sweet tastes good to me.

But this...

I'd like more please.

More John Cho getting sucked into Facebook circa 2011 wrapped in his grandma's shawl.

More Karen Gillan smelling like dead people because that's how you know it's vintage.

And definitely more John Cho wondering if his ex sees him as a stalker with a lactation fetish because that's just the way I like it (and I hope we see him with some great women of color too).

Timing Is Everything

Even though in the first two episodes I think they're still finding that right balance between comedy and drama (e.g. when Cho is meeting with his ex and we find out he's been a workaholic to the detriment of his relationships) I say give them some time--because they'll get it right.

Blackish, which I'm loving as well, has it's own learning curves, but they're both new, something different we haven't seen.

Let's give them some room to breathe for a while.

Those Rating Numbers Don't Lie

While people can lament number drops from the pilot, the October 7th broadcast of Selfie had a total of 3.99 million viewers, more than Family Guy (1.96 million), New Girl (2.61 million), Supernatural (2.48 million), and The Mindy Project (2.19 million). At the same time its 18-49 share was also the same as New Girl and Supernatural, and more than Family Guy and The Mindy Project.

Call me crazy, but that's not something I'd let go without a fight.

My Offering To The Cult Of Jeon Ji Hyun: The Jeon Ji Hyun Phenom* Remix

Monday, October 13, 2014



A long time ago I had found this mashup video of Jeon Ji Hyun and Phenomena, but shortly after posting it, the video got deleted and while I knew the way it worked (because anything can be taken down at any time) I couldn't help but wonder...and feel a little guilty because it was such a great video...

Fast forward years later and I thought to myself that I should give back to the community...err...cult of Jeon Ji Hyun (of which I belong).

So with new 2014 commercial footage alongside some classics I humbly give my offering for as long as it stays up.


WTF: Harvard Email Death Threats

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder why people send racially charged death threats...

Oh yeah...because they're idiots.

Death Threat Investigation Continues [...]

Dinner Event Focuses on Asian American Identity, Email Threat

Keeping Stats Alive: 71%-76% Obama Loving APIAs

Sunday, October 12, 2014

I was reading some strange article on the Asian Republicans...yeah, I know...that picture kinda freaks me out too, but it got me thinking and I just thought I'd post up that stat on how 71%-76% of APIAs voted for Obama (colorlines/slate/politico).

Just trying to do my part to keep stats alive.

The Explicit Spotification Of Michael Nhat + I'm Not Your Asian Sidekick

Sunday, October 12, 2014



I love it when my jaw drops because I'm just not expecting it - whatever that might be - and it was great because I was checking out Michael Nhat on Spotify and listened to his song "I'm Not Your Asian Sidekick" and it was one of those moments because it's got this hook that just draws you in and then you get lines like:

I'm the gook this country can't handle I facefuck white girls to "16 Candles"

It's kinda like the militant viet american postal service.

Kinda.

Maybe.

You know what I mean.

Maybe.

Play the album Hyenas And Hyenas.

And for reference.

Read It: What Sleeping Dogs Gets So Right About Being An Asian American

Sunday, October 12, 2014



Great game.

Love the write up down at kotaku (some spoilers).

But unlike Wei, who lost his Chinese culture in America, I never had much to lose. My parents split up language duties — my mom would teach me English, and my father would teach me Cantonese. That didn't work out the way they planned. I was in America, and so my parents emphasized that I learn English, really, really well, to the detriment of everything else. Thus, I grew up speaking and writing English exclusively — what little Cantonese I learned was gone by the time I was six. I kept my filial piety, and I still had little signifiers of Chinese culture — three bows at the cemetery, never group things in fours — to hold onto.

Today, I am an English teacher and writer, and so I don't regret my upbringing. But this doesn't prevent other people from finding fault in my monolingualism. Most Asians and non-Asians project a mixture of condescension and pity — proclaiming that I have been deprived of some crucial, cultural component. [...]

Wei also endures this push and pull between two cultures — the Chinese Triad culture, with its familial brotherhood and tribal loyalties, and the American Cop culture, with its objective principles and loyalty to country. Ultimately, Wei manages to split the difference [...]

Definitely a must read.

Seriously.

No, really.

What are you still doing here?

Ken Shima Joins The Slants

Sunday, October 12, 2014



Making his debut in Portland this weekend, Ken Shima has joined The Slants after what seems to have been a rigorous set of interviews:

We definitely took our time making sure that Ken was the right fit. He had to fill out an online application with essay questions. Then, he had an audition on stage with the band in front of a camera and was expected to perform as if it were a real live show. After that, we still interviewed him, put him through more vocal training, and had him take a 1200 mile road trip with us to do a few shows before extending the offer. We loved the energy and enthusiasm that he brought to the table and think he's going to be a great fit for our band!

Cool.

More @ The Slants

Random Friday Thought: Is It Wrong That I Have Six Jeon Ji Hyun Commercials On My Phone?

Friday, October 10, 2014



I'm going with no and that I should add in more.

Awesomely Geeked Out: Data.gov/AAPI

Thursday, October 02, 2014



Well if you wanted stats on us, you got 'em.

A lot of 'em.

Maybe too many of 'em...

(It's like we're being watched...ssshhhhh)

White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Launches Data.gov/AAPI, Single Place to Find Government Data on AAPIs
The White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), in partnership with Data.gov, has launched Data.gov/AAPI, the most comprehensive hub of government data on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). The goal of this new resource is to help policymakers and the public understand and address disparities in socioeconomic status, educational attainment, health, and other areas of importance to the AAPI community.

“The launch of Data.gov/AAPI marks an important milestone for better understanding and responding to the complex needs of AAPIs, now the fastest growing racial group in the country,” says WHIAAPI Executive Director Kiran Ahuja.

When President Obama reestablished WHIAAPI under Executive Order 13515 in October 2009, he detailed the need to foster evidence-based research, data collection, and analysis on AAPI populations and subpopulations.

Data.gov/AAPI reveals stories about the AAPI community that are not widely told. For example:

· Asian American veterans are among the oldest in age. Explore the data.

· In the first year of college, Asian American and black students have the highest enrollment rates in remedial education courses. Explore the data.

· Of the immigrant orphans adopted by United States citizens, nearly half are of Asian descent. Explore the data.

· Pacific Islanders have among the highest unemployment rates of all racial and ethnic groups. Explore the data.

· The AAPI community is expected to more than double to over 47 million by 2060. Explore the data.

Data.gov/AAPI features approximately 2,000 datasets and reports from nearly 50 federal, state, county, and city sources pertaining to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community. These data have been categorized and tagged according to a wide variety of themes, designed to give researchers easy access to disaggregated data from the government.

Says Ahuja, “We hope that this effort propels new research and analysis to more clearly define the needs of AAPI subgroups and create more effective policies and programs to better serve the community in the long term.”