The Interview Makes 15 Million Online + Randall Park On Playing Kim Jong Un

Monday, December 29, 2014



I haven't seen "The Interview" yet but will catch it online soon, and if you haven't heard - you will - it made about $18 million over the weekend with $15 million dollars of that coming from online sales. Not bad for a movie that got pulled from the majority of theaters (the millions of dollars in online sales an ironic twist thrown into the VOD vs Theater debate).

Randall Interviews
If you've seen a lot of Randall Park's work, especially some of his early, independent, APIA, online work, you can't help but feel good for him and the roles that he's gotten because he's always been great to watch and has had some good words to say on acting and race and being Asian American.

Remembering Wenjian Liu And Rafael Ramos

Tuesday, December 23, 2014



It's tough for me to look at that picture of Pei Xia Chen, Wenjian Liu's wife and now widow, because of the heartbreak so deep in her eyes.

The same heartbreak Jaden Ramos must feel about not having his father Rafael Ramos alive anymore.

And it all must be too much too soon. Because life doesn't need to be this way.

Remembering Rafael Ramos And Wenjian Liu



ABC News:

Rafael Ramos was 40, was a two-year veteran of the NYPD who previously worked as a school security officer. The lifelong Brooklyn resident was married and had two sons, the youngest of whom is 13.

Wen Jian Liu, 32, was a seven-year veteran of the NYPD. He moved earlier this year to Brooklyn's Gravesend section and was married two months ago.

NY Daily News

Slain Police Officer Wenjian Liu believed in leading a life of service — and his dedication was evident on the day he was killed: He volunteered to work a fill-in shift when a fellow officer was late. Liu, 32, took the assignment after the cop who was tardy called a desk sergeant at the NYPD’s 84th Precinct in downtown Brooklyn and bosses put out a request for a replacement, police sources said. “He wasn’t supposed to be there,” a cop source said.

Newsday

One was a newlywed, the other a father who recently changed careers to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a cop. The NYPD officers shot and killed Saturday in Brooklyn came to the force at different points in their lives but were together in the front seats of a police car when a gunman ambushed them, police said.

CBS

Walking slowly down the steps of her Brooklyn home, the widow of Officer Wenjian Liu gathered herself and spoke of the husband she married just two months ago. "This is a difficult time for both of our families, but we will stand together and get through this together," Pei Xia Chen said. She also thanked the community for its support. "We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to the police department, our neighbors and the entire New York City community, friends and co-workers for the help and support they provide," Chen said.

My Random Dig Dug Post + Screw you Santa!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014



I was looking at arcade machines - because I feel like I've been a good boy and Santa should get me something nice even though most likely Santa will be hitting the pipe, going to the club, and then vomiting all over the street before stumbling to another buffet - and I found one of those multi-game ones where you can play multiple old school arcade games on the same machine and I almost shit my pants when I saw Dig Dug.

Dig Dug!

And then I found a link to play Dig Dug online.

Sure, it's not as exquisite as playing it on a real arcade machine, but it will have to do while that Santa guy gets his act together (because I'm guessing Santa may also be hitting the casino on Xmas eve forgetting about the kiddos because he really is kind of a MF at times).

Now that I think about...

Screw you Santa!

Dig Dug!

The Closing Of AArisings After 25 Years And Some Q + A With Nelson Wong (AKA Five Questions, Two Bonuses, The 80's, And Where Did That Other Decade Go?)

Monday, December 22, 2014

This past Wednesday AArisings posted up that the door would be closing after 25 years of helping to spread the word about APIA's in the entertainment scene, and while the world is Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and Mobile Apps in every shape and form - you still have to remember what came before them and the voices that pushed through those mediums and evolutions. When I think about someone dedicating 25 years of their life - 25 years - to helping promote and connect APIA's in entertainment - I just have to stand back in awe - I think we all do. In that way this post serves two purposes: To tip my hat in the largest of ways to founder Nelson Wong for all that he's done and continues to do for the APIA community - and to give him some parting shots on the way out.

Five Questions, Two Bonuses, Social Media, The 80's, Wanting To Be Phil Yu For A Day, And Isn't There One Movie You Hate?

1. Let's go back twenty-five years. AArisings started out as a record label and was originally Shock wAAve Records, later changing it's name to AArising Records and then transforming itself to be a general entertainment APIA hub and forum. Can you talk a little bit about the impetus for starting the record label and the transformation of AArisings throughout the years? Was there any specific moment that made you think to yourself "I need to start this"?

In the mid-80's, I was a DJ when a little known artist named Gerry Woo came on the scene. I remember getting the 45 vinyl single for "How Long?" with his picture on it and could not believe there was an Asian American on the cover. Then I saw him perform on "Showtime at the Apollo" and he brought the house down (and that crowd was known as a tough crowd to get into a frenzy). I felt like maybe a door would open up and I would see more APIA artists hitting the charts after that but alas, that was not the case.

In the late-80's I was involved with a couple of hip-hop independent record labels that were trying to launch but failed to get traction. Eventually, I ended up starting my own indie label which would eventually be called AArising Records in January 1990.

I wanted to do something to try to get more APIAs into music. The first step was to find the talent and since I was in San Francisco, my focus was on local talent. I scouted around the Bay Area and even put on talent showcases benefiting the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco. Ultimately, I found a male vocal group called One Vision and watched them develop over a few years to a point where I thought they could have some commercial success so we signed the group to our indie label and released the single "By Your Side" in 1995. Unfortunately, the group had some internal strife and we ended up coming to a mutual agreement to end our label/artist contract and with that AArising Records also ceased as a label in 1996.

However, the talent shows really made AArisings well known in the Bay Area and I was constantly asked about APIA talent for other events. I turned that knowledge into an online resource providing links to APIAs online and that proved to be very popular. Eventually, I expanded beyond a repository of site links to actually interviewing up-and-coming performers and artists and adding content from volunteer writers.

2. You've been able to see the landscape change in regard to APIA's and entertainment and the voice of the APIA community over the years. I know this is a general question, but I'll ask it anyway: What do you think have been some of the most significant changes you've seen that has helped elevate the community? Is it technology, generations getting older and being more vocal (or have we always been vocal but just have better platforms to get our voices out), a combination of both? More?

The biggest change for APIA's in entertainment has certainly been the blossoming of the Internet. AArisings, as a web site, is a huge example of that change. I went from a person with knowledge of local talent to providing that same type of resource by on a national and international scope just by having a web site. Having that type of reach allowed entertainers and aspiring entertainers to connect with people without regards to geographical restrictions.

After the popularity of individual web sites, the next significant change was the birth of YouTube. YouTube allowed APIA entertainers to show their talents online and that was important as technology such as webcams and digital cameras which could take video were becoming more and more affordable for consumers. We could see how people who might only sing in the shower could get on a webcam and record their own rendition of a song and release it on YouTube and get thousands and thousands of views.

And most recently, social media has really changed the landscape. People can connect to others, which has made networking so much easier, and sharing of content is an easy click away. Now if someone like Ryan Higa or the guys from Wong Fu Productions have new content out, it gets shared widely and quickly.

I think a combination of the technology and the use of that technology by younger generations has been the key to why the landscape has changed from the late-80's to now.

3. Twenty-five years is a pretty damn awesome run. When you look back and reflect on it can you believe how long you've been doing it? Did you think you would be doing it for twenty-five years?

Honestly, it does not feel like 25 years. I know people in my age group who grew up as teens in the 80's often think the 90's were just a decade ago (forgetting how there were years between 2000 and 2009) so I do think that I really had only been running the site for 15 years and then remember that missing decade.

I never thought about how long I might be running the web site. For me, as long as I could pay for the hosting costs out-of-pocket each month, I would keep running the site as long as people found it useful. Over the past few years though, it was becoming evident that people were spending less time on individual web sites like AArisings and more time on social media sites which would connect people to targeted content they would be interested in viewing. I could see the AArisings site having lived its usefulness. Hitting the 25 year milestone just felt like the right time to put AArisings to rest.

4. While AArisings will be closing its doors, you've also been doing some posts down at the Nerds of Color. Any other places we can see you around, or upcoming projects in the mind for 2015/2016 or beyond (not that you need to be doing more but if you are..) or just general projects/happenings you're excited to see come to fruition?

AArisings is going away but I will still be around. My connection to the APIA community, particularly with respect to entertainment, is still there and I don't see that changing. The only thing changing is that the AArisings web site no longer will be my tool. I'm still highly active on social media outlets and that's the tool of choice these days.

I'm not currently working on anything upcoming outside of an occasional post at The Nerds of Color.

5. What are five of your top tracks from the CHOPS 2014 release "Strength In Numbers"?

"Keep On" (Mountain Brothers feat. Ann One), "No Turning Back" (Dumbfoundead feat. Paul Kim), "Turn It Up" (Tiger JK & Tasha), "Come Go With Me" (Ann One), and "Oh Yeah" (J-Key, Rekstizzy, & Hoya).

BONUS QUESTIONS

1. If you could be one Asian American for one day, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Phil Yu, the Angry Asian Man. Why? Because I would love, even for just one day, to have the amount of energy he has to keep up with his site.

2. Name one movie that you absolutely hate and no one can tell you any different no matter how many people love it - because you hate it that much.

There really are not many movies I can say that I absolutely hate. The most recent movie I've seen that I could not even bother finishing was "Transformers: Age of Extinction." As a friend of mine said, "I was waiting for the movie to transform into a good movie," and I have to agree that it was pretty much unwatchable.

Sao Lue Vang Update

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

In case you were wondering or hadn't caught up on the news, yes there have been protests and yes, Kevin Elberg, 43, was charged with Aggravated Battery-Intending Bodily Harm and False Imprisonment, and the preliminary hearing was two days ago. He's out on bond right now coming back to court in about a month. Here's to hoping that this gets resolved quickly for the family of Sao Lue Vang and here's also a link to the Justice for Sao Lue Vang FB page.

Crazy Funked Up: A Little Gabe A Little Bondoc And Why Not Another Blank Space Cover (Because This Is Pretty Damn Sweet)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014



I think this is my favorite so far.

Maybe.

It's close.

Damn this is good.

500,000 Views And Counting: Blank Space Cover By Image Suthita (AKA That's Really Really Good)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014



If there's one person I'm hating right now it's Taylor Swift because of her catchy pop tunes, but...it did bring me the cover by Voice Thailand contestant Image Suthita who has one of the most popular covers on YouTube.

Here she is on The Voice Thailand with "Falling Slowly".

Monday Morning Kina

Monday, December 15, 2014

I'm Cheap As Fuck Ben Edelman But I'm Not An Asshat Like You

Monday, December 15, 2014

Dear Ben,

Listen man. I get it. I don't want to be overcharged for shit or pay more for what I thought was going to be less. One time I got some pasta noodles that were kind of suck ass so I called them up and got a $5 credit (one phone call btw).

I get it. I'm cheap.

But you're an asshat. I'm not. That's the difference.

I could go into it a lot more - race, class, the perpetuation of the sneaky chinks who want to rob you blind stereotype - but really - I just want to call you an asshat.

And btw, just between us, can't you do some simple math in your head when someone gives you the total? Didn't you go to Harvard?

I know being as cheap as I am I do that shit in my head at the register or when they give me the total over the phone...

Anyway.

Like so many other things, I just have to shake my head and give you a swift kick to the nuts.

Sincerely,
You're An Asshat

Well That's Some Juicy Racist Crazy Shit From The Sony Email Hacks

Monday, December 15, 2014

Wow.

It really must be a studio executive's assistant's dream to have this happen if they hated their boss or just wanted to see them go down in flames.

One (of the many items) I found interesting was that a lot of people below Kazuo Hirai made more than him.

Sure.

Put us up.

Bring us down.

And do it behind closed doors.

...

WTF: Delta Gamma + University of Maryland + "Suck a n****’s d**k"? WTF I Ask Again

Monday, December 15, 2014

I expect that kind of language from Chris Rock but not on a Delta Gamma birthday cake:

The racist slur, made by Delta Gamma students at the University of Maryland, came as they had the phrase ‘suck a n****’s d**k’ emblazoned on a birthday cake given to celebrate a girl’s 21st birthday. After being posted on Instagram, the post caused outrage. Before it photo was taken down from the social media site, it had notched up 77 'likes'.

Wait.

Let me check out their FB page and their cover photo...



Hmmm.....

A little suspect...

The Delta Gamma's put out a statement:
We have become aware of an unacceptable Instagram post by a member of our chapter. The Fraternity volunteers and staff are working with our chapter at the University of Maryland at this time to hold this member accountable. Delta Gamma Fraternity is a dynamic organization committed to diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religious affiliation, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status or physical disability. All efforts are in place to guarantee those selected for membership are committed to living our values. Delta Gamma stands for high ideals of friendship, promoting cultural and educational interests, a true sense of social responsibility and developing the best qualities of character.

Well...I guess that settles it then.

This Is How I Keep My Little Guys Fresh And Good

Wednesday, December 10, 2014



Say what you will and some people might, but I believe that I should share some of the knowledge that I've acquired while on this earth, because if nothing else I should at least be able to do that for my community, and I think this is one of those conversations that just sometimes needs to happen, because no one really talks about ball maintenance. We talk about abs, hair, wrinkles, clothes, et al., but I'm not going to the local store and seeing "12 Fabulous Ways To Make Your Balls Smooth And Succulent" on the cover of People.

But it's important.

Because everyone wants nice, good, smooth, fresh loving balls.

So, without further ado, and to the best of my ability...

Tips On Good Ball Maintenance

I really have a two step regiment, one in the shower and one after I get out. I like the Olay in the shower after I get done with the soapy goodness, and the Vaseline after I get out of the shower, and sure, it could just be that the marketing department did their job well, but I do in fact feel that my balls are more supple and radiant.

Now in the shower with the Olay, I really like to get a nice handful, spread it into both hands and then just start going to town on all of it. Right side, left side, cup my guys with one hand while the other gets to the head of the household, and just massage it all in. I'm not trying to get off, but just tenderly clean (although if a detour is necessary a detour is necessary). At the same time, I also like to pay attention to the inside of my thighs and what I sometimes like to refer to as the butt cheek continuum, because I want those to be fresh and good too because it's all connected (and no one's focusing on new rims if the engine is smelling kind of funky...). Once I'm done getting it all in and I feel like it's good - a few minutes - then I water it off and step on out of the shower (usually the last thing I do).

Once I'm out I like to dry off and then get a little of the Vaseline cocoa radiance (about two quarter sized dollops) and then go over my guys in the same way that I did with the Olay moisturizer. I just work it on in, take a little time, not too heavy, but enough to give it all a good shine - that being said - I cannot say that I've done a picture to picture comparison in different shades of light to truly test this statement, but, I feel like they're spiffier.

And then I'm done. That's it. Easy.

They're clean. They smell nice. They Feel nice. They're good to go for even the harshest of environments (because the Midwest can be harsh on the skin). And just knowing you're walking around with supple radiant goodness truly does give you a lift in your step.

*** While this may or may not work the best for you, or your skin type (be careful with skin allergies or irritations you may have), or region and weather - or you may already have your own regiment - I hope it at least gives you a few ideas and if nothing else gets the dialogue started for your own ball maintenance program, initiative, or upgrade.

I'm Convinced Selfie Is Just That Awesome Because Now It Turned Into A K-Drama And Who Doesn't Like John Cho Singing? Harmony Indeed...

Wednesday, December 10, 2014


Latest Episode (total of 3 new on Hulu so catch up before watching)

Note: Random Spoilers.

I was watching the latest episode of the Hulufied Selfie and I'll just say that they can take me anywhere they want to and it will be all right with me because I just wasn't expecting that (and maybe I should have).

Eliza after Henry? Henry after Eliza? First nakedness in the elevator and now a semi-musical episode including a Tove Lo Selfie video remix, John Cho karaoke version of Wide World + more?

Oh yeah.

It really is Solid As A Rock.

R.I.F: Jack Linshi + Why Ferguson Should Matter to Asian-Americans

Friday, December 05, 2014

Just a good article @ http://time.com/3606900/ferguson-asian-americans/

Finally Something House Speaker Boehner And I Can Agree On

Thursday, December 04, 2014

And I quote (from the WP):

Clearly both of these are serious tragedies that we’ve seen in our society. I think the American people want to understand more of what the facts were. There are a lot of unanswered questions that Americans have, and frankly I have [...] I do think that the American people deserve more answers about what really happened here and was our system of justice handled properly

70's, 80's, And 90's Connie Chung

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

70's



80's





90's









Wow. Some People Just Amaze Me With Their Comments

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

All I would say is great for Nicole Maines and WTH to everyone else commenting on this MSN page.

Family Of Assaulted Hmong Hunter Sao Lue Vang Speaks Out

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

There's a video of the family of Sao Lue Vang, and a member from the Coalition for Community Relations, speaking out and asking questions on WQOW about the assault by Kevin Elberg on Vang.

While we technically still have to hear from Elberg (because he's been tight lipped so far) when you beat down a 64-year-old man for what seems to be nothing more than a land dispute over hunting, I can't help but think to myself that yeah, criminal charges are looming (or at least they better be and according to this story they could be).

Yeah...

Supposedly one of the people commenting in the above story knows the family, and while trying to "defend" Elberg is just showing what a complete ass they are:



So I think Patty pretty much hit it all in her comments when it comes to standard racist/xenophobic lingo.

1. Go back to your country? Check.

2. "Real" Americans don't include Hmong Americans? Check.

3. Being an American citizen by birth makes you "truly" an American? Check.

4. Throw in a comment about learning English? Check.

*Sigh*

My Random Viet Post For The Day

Monday, December 01, 2014

Some days I really do think to myself that since I survived getting bombs dropped on me back in the day in Vietnam and everything that it encompassed with so much loss and tragedy and new endings and beginnings being written in a fluid state that I really can do whatever I want and no one can tell me any different because that's just the way it is. If I want to live on the edge every now and then in my own way doing whatever I do, to do what I do, because in some ways it's all about chance, timing, and the gamble - who am I to deny it?

Visceral, faded, fated, and sometimes ill-fated, I'll grab it all.

It's Okay. You Can Think That Asian American Guy Is Sexy As A MF (AKA She Said I Looked Like Wolverine But Only Because She Was High)

Monday, December 01, 2014

I'm not exactly sure why this happened to become a post except that I heard this song on XM from Alesso called "Heroes":



And then it features Tove Lo who either has a great song, or an annoying song (depending on who you ask) in "Habits (Stay High)".

Which I guess is the way my mind is tethered.

And maybe I should see someone about that...

But anyway...

So I was out and about and happened to get into a conversation where for some odd reason, and I say that because I really don't hear that, she had said "You know, I'm only saying this I think because I'm high, but you look like Wolverine right now." We talked for a couple more minutes and then went on our way. Nobody went home with each other. There was no sexy time. In part because I use phrases like sexy time and I also have someone at home to have sexy time with and I'll include myself there as well (because it's okay).

Now I'm not saying anything about anything, but people are obliged to say what they will and I'll take a portion of that as a compliment and a portion of that as a reference to an air that's changing but still there if you have to qualify a compliment with the fact that you were only giving said compliment because you were semi-inebriated.

But it's okay.

Have no fear.

You can think an Asian American guy is sexy if you want to. No need to qualify it. Others don't. Revel in whatever gets you going because it will only be that much better when you just accept it.

P.S.

Sure, I'll post up that video too, but I'm doing the Hippie Sabotage Remix.