Random Dumbass Comment

As most of you know - or at least some (including my parole officer) - I don't always comment back in comments. Maybe it's because I don't always want to fuel the flame. Maybe it's because comments are spread across posts months or even years ago. Maybe I don't feel there's a need too - because a good comment is just a good comment and sometimes it's just nice to listen - but for some reason I just felt like sharing a comment from "Patriotic American" who had the following to say on this post:

No, we all know how utterly messed up it is that hordes of economic terrorists from Mexico and many other countries are allowed to stay and breed in our beloved country. As for you and your utterly messed up racist, liberal attitude - why don't you find another country which shares your moronic views and go there

Honestly - it's just funny to me in some ways - it doesn't even get me angry. It's like I've seen so much of this, heard it too many times - online, offline - and it's kind of like really? Can't you please come up with something new - at least some sort of argument that actually might be dialogue worthy other than calling people terrorists and to go find myself another country?

Yeah...probably not...

Trailer: The Social Network

Yeah - as I was seeing Inception last night I caught the trailer for The Social Network (which also has Brenda Song in it btw) - and completely - even though I don't actually use FB anymore (unless it's my stalker profile) - I can't help but want to see this.

Headline That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

This article just made my day:

JUST CURIOUS: Did Obama Eat At A Racist Ice-Cream Shop?

One blogger even went as far as to suggest that Obama chose this ice cream shop to send out a message to his “core radical base.” Even though he’s a powerful man, I highly doubt that this much thought and deliberation went into deciding to go to this very ice cream shop.

Is it okay if I end this post with the word Sweet?

Alyssa Lobit + The Things We Carry

When I was down at AAIFF over last weekend, one of the films I wanted to make sure and catch was The Things We Carry - which ended up being one of the best Asian American films, and just movies in general, that I've seen as of late. On every single level - the story, the characters, the acting, the way it was filmed - I got lost inside it.

It took me to that other place.

Afterwards I got a chance to talk with Alyssa Lobit - who both wrote and stars in the film - and who was nice enough to answer some of my questions (even when I had to resort to capturing the interview on my iPhone - because apparently I'm just not that prepared).

Here's some of our conversation.

Did you consciously think about how you were going to portray Asian Americans in this film, or did you just say “We just want to have a story with Asian Americans?”

The latter, definitely. We just wanted to tell the story - and for me it was important to just tell a story where the people in the movie happened to be Asian because that’s kind of my experience in my life.

I’m a person and I happen to be Asian. My mom’s Korean – but I’m also mixed. So I have White culture - or he’s French Scottish by way of Oklahoma. So I have these two things happening. Neither one alone defines me.

I think that especially in the media and in Hollywood the way that’ll we know that Asian Americans are fully integrated in the mainstream is when people stop talking about them being Asian. So I kinda of wanted to go – yeah – and you know show things like they go to Korean food and have the mom speaking Korean because that’s just who she is, and they eat K-food because that’s what they do. It’s not a big deal. It’s not, well let’s all be real Korean and go eat K-Food – it’s just like no – let’s get something to eat. So hopefully we did that, because I wanted it to be that way.

Can you talk about some of the projects you’re working on?

I’ve written an indie romance called It’s All Love and it’s got a similar thing in the unique offbeat characters ‘cause that’s something that always attracts me - similar to Sonny’s friends - and these people that you look at and are like "They’re kind of interesting, or strange, or just, don’t make sense." I like to go talk to those people.

I’m also writing a sci-fi action, which actually, going to the Asian thing - the Asian actor thing - obviously a lot of Asian actors and actresses do the fighting, do the ninja stuff, whatever - and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think the same as with The Things We Carry, I’d like to do [in my sci-fi action] bad ass fight scenes - and they just happen to be Asian, not that it’s because it’s the only thing they can do.

Myself, I just think it’s - I don’t mind the roles, I think it’s the lack of roles we get so…

Right.

You know…

Well, and I think hopefully that’s changing and we’ll continue to just be…it’s all about integration, and just integrating everyone into everything. And it happens through festivals like this. And we have played festivals that were not Asian American - which that right there is us going like no - we’re being integrated and we’re integrating ourselves. And at the end of the day we’re all human beings - so I just want to remind people of that.

You kind of talk about the mixed experience. Did you want to say anything personal through the movie about the mixed experience?

No, in the same way that I didn’t want to address over the head that they’re Korean or Asian - kind of just put it out there. I mean we show the dad - he’s White. We show the mom who’s Korean. We don’t have a scene that explains this is my dad, this is my mom, and we are the offspring, which is how I wanted it to be. It’s just that that’s normal. It’s just a natural thing and it’s not a big deal. And in a weird way it ends up being one - other people do think it’s unique - which is cool. I love being mixed - but again, no one thing defines me. I’m not just mixed. I’m also from Los Angeles. I’ve been to UCLA. I have all these different little pieces that make me up.

Ok. Five best things about NYC?

Five Best Things?

Yeah.

Ok. So, well I’m staying at the Chelsea Hotel and it rocks. There’s so much history there and it’s amazing…I think you guys have LA Beat on the public transit, because there’s none in LA…weather, I don’t know…my hair’s a little frizzy so I think LA has that one, and there’s just a lot of artists everywhere. I mean I’ve met people, and they’re not all actors, and I think in LA, most of the people you meet are actors - even though I’m an actor too - but it’s just cool to have a mix.

A true melting pot mix of all these different flavors of people.

Okay I think that was only four…

Jeremy Lin Signing With Golden State Is A Gimmick? Hmmm.....

See, I have no problem with a lot of what Dennis Velasco said - except of course with the fact that he calls the signing of Jeremy Lin by Golden State "part-gimmick to appease the huge Asian population in the Bay Area".

And I know - it's not like I'm writing news for SI.com, Yahoo!, SLAM, Hoops Hype, or the NYT - but call me crazy - I kinda think there's something wrong with this picture:

Being Asian-American, I have to say Jeremy Lin. Do I think the Golden State signing is part-gimmick to appease the huge Asian population in the Bay Area? Yes, totally. However, Lin has some skills and can hoop… not just as an Asian, but as a person. I’m going to be pulling for him, despite the fact that he’ll probably spend most of his time on the pine. There will be a lot of pressure for Lin to represent Asian-Americans and that is no easy task to take on. Of course, he really owes Asian-Americans nothing, and I hope the pressure doesn’t get to him and he actually excels.

Obviously, marketing can play into who you sign - even if Lebron never wins a championship in Miami you know another team will give him a shot if only because they know he'll fill seats. But do we have to call Jeremy Lin signing with Golden State a gimmick right off the bat? Didn't he have interest from other teams? Were they all thinking about signing him too in part simply because he was Asian American?

I'm going to go with no on that one myself. I'll take the belief - maybe wrong as it is - that people were interested in him simply because he is a baller.

Because everyone passed up on him maybe in part because he was Asian American.

But yet he's getting in in spite of it.

Does the fact that he might be marketable also help?

Yeah.

The NBA is still a business - and just like you want to win - you also want to sell right?

But calling his signing with Golden State "part-gimmick"? Like there would have been riots if they wouldn't have signed him?

Call me crazy - and you probably already do - but I think the extension is a little long on that reach.

But...

The fact that people will bring this up, or that it can be debated just goes to show that in the long run we'll need a lot more Jeremy Lin's - because one just isn't going to cut it.

Legaci On NBC Bay Area News (Plus More Asian American Goodness)

Definitely check out this clip which highlights Legaci, YouTube artists like David Choi, Gabe Bondoc, and Cathy Nguyen as well as Asian American producers.

The LXD Episode 5: The Lettermakers

The LXD Episode 4: The Uprising Begins

I'm Actually Syncing That?

So as I was getting chastised by a friend a couple weeks ago that I have nothing actually on my iPhone except pretty much Asian/Asian American music - but that's simply because I'm kind of lazy - I decided to sync a few more gigs/folders from my laptop and one of my NAS boxes - and it's amazing all the great music I can't believe I've never actually transferred so I can listen to it as I drive:

• Blood Rave Techno - Blade Soundtrack
• Bullet And A Target - Citizen Cope
• Sugar Were Going Down - Fall Out Boy
• Keep Ya Head Up - 2Pac
• Smooth Operator - Big Daddy Kane
• Nothing [Remix] - N.O.R.E.
• Ribbons In the Sky - Stevie Wonder
• Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight - Amos Lee
• Leaving On A Jet Plane - Chantal Kreviazuk
• Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg
• Happy When It Rains - The Jesus And Mary Chain

And then there are these - some of which are guilty pleasures and others where I'm just looking at them going....hmmm....

• 5 songs by Mandy Moore (I will not divulge them)
• Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
• Love Train - The Ojays
• New Age - Sounds of Nature - Relaxing - Wind In The Trees (I have no idea what the name of the song actually is - it's just that way in the Name column).
• I've Been Thinking About You - London Beat
• Here Comes The Rain - Eurythmics
• Bad Girls - Donna Summers
• By Your Side (Reggae Mix) - Sade

That's it.

On Bended Knee: Kero One ft. Sam Ock

From his latest album, Kinetic World, Kero One presents the official first music video entitled On Bended Knee feat. Sam Ock. Written from Kero One's own personal experiences, On Bended Knee is about finding “the one” to spend the rest of his life with despite having traveled the world looking for love previously “in all the wrong places.” And if you are wondering what happened with the girl he’s rapping about in the song, she said “yes.” Their wedding was literally a few days ago. The video was shot and directed by Johnny Le from Portland, Oregon.

Joy Osmanski, Wedding Palace, Surrogate Valentine, And I Think I'm In Love

Sure, you can say I have no business being in love with someone who married their college sweetheart and whom I don't even know - but I say I don't really care what you have to say because my internet love is forever and withstands what you may call reality.

Since, we all know that "by forever", I really mean next week.

See Joy Osmanski sometime in the future.

You Could Be A First: Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye

Word from the street.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to name 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye as the next chief justice, making her the first Asian American to lead the state's judiciary and giving the California Supreme Court a female majority for the first time in its history.

Cantil-Sakauye, 50, a Sacramento native who rose through the trial courts, served as deputy legislative secretary and deputy legal affairs secretary under former Gov. George Deukmejian. He plucked her from the Sacramento district attorney's office and later appointed her to the Sacramento Municipal Court.

Nice.

Kokuhaku (Confessions) + Autoreiji (Outrage)

Chalk these up as movies I want to see.

Rich Cho Becomes The First Asian American General Manager In NBA History

Is it just me or are we really starting to come up in the NBA - even if just a little? I mean you have Erik Spoelstra who's coaching a dream team and now you have Rich Cho who's becoming the first Asian American NBA General Manager (not to mention the growing Jeremy Lin fanbase).

Hmmm...yeah - I think so.

New Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho says while he's impressed with Portland's youth and depth, the team is still lacking the piece that will bring the city another championship. Cho, who spent nine seasons as an assistant general manager with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was introduced as the Blazers' GM on Monday. He replaces Kevin Pritchard, who helped usher the team out of the Jail Blazers era several years ago but was ultimately dismissed last month [...]

Cho interviewed with Blazers owner Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, last week in Helsinki, Finland. Allen, still traveling in Europe, said in a statement: "Rich has depth of character, a foundation in business and legal matters and a knowledge of the game of NBA basketball that will help our team get even better. He is part of the new generation of NBA executives." With a law degree and also a background in engineering, Cho has gained a reputation for his expertise with the salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement. He's also got scouting experience.

To be called the new generation of NBA executives? And he's Asian American?

How slick is that?

And This Is What I Have To Say On True Blood

If people would have told me that Anna Paquin was running around wearing short skirts and touching herself, and there was lots of gregarious sex, honestly, I would have started watching this show a long time ago - because episode one and that piece from episode five I caught when it first came on - that just didn't do it for me.

Thank goodness for DVDs and friends who loan them out to me.

Ly Tong, Dam Vinh Hung, And Pepper Spray

All I'm saying on this one is that I don't think pepper spray is as effective as dropping thousands and thousands of leaflets - but I'm not a freedom fighter - I'm just a regular guy who never be mistaken for a "James Bond" type.

It was a seemingly sweet moment, captured on video near the end of a Vietnamese pop star's concert Sunday in Santa Clara. Someone who appeared to be an old woman approached the stage with a long-stemmed flower, and singer Dam Vinh Hung bent down — amid great applause — to accept it. Or so Hung thought. As cheers turned to cries of horror, he staggered back — wiping what police believe was pepper spray from his eyes. And that sweet would-be admirer? Santa Clara police say "she" was none other than Ly Tong, the self-styled anti-communist "freedom fighter" best known locally for a 2008 hunger strike aimed at persuading San Jose officials to name a retail district "Little Saigon." [...]

Notoriety is nothing new for Tong, 61, who has long fancied himself a Vietnamese James Bond. In 1992, the former South Vietnamese fighter pilot hijacked a passenger jet and dropped 50,000 leaflets over the former Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was given amnesty in 1998. Later, he dropped leaflets over Cuba. And in 2008 he was detained by South Korea after a foiled attempt to drop 20,000 anti-communist leaflets over Seoul during a visit from the Chinese president.

An Open Letter To Tomo And Emmie

Dear Tomo And Emmie,

You know that sometimes this place is just for me.

Vent, hype, shout, be still, think through things, and just be - in whatever way that is - and I was thinking to myself a few weeks ago that there's no reason it shouldn't include the two of you.

That it had to include the two of you.

And I wonder why it's taken me so long - because when all is said and done, if I'm writing about some of the things that really matter - that really make me think - that I truly draw passion and inspiration from - than I have to write this,

It just wouldn't be right if I didn't.

While I know I've been there. Given an ear when needed. A shoulder if necessary. In my own way helping each of you grow - because friendship, love, and everything in-between is reciprocal -

I can't help but think that I have been, and always will be, getting the better part of the deal.

One in the city, one a call away, one with that Scotts Irish Native mix but a Mountain Girl at heart, and the other my Viet girl, my Immigrant 2nd Gen - I'll never be able to truly say what each of you means - how your voice, your vision, the way you just go and never look back - take what's yours because you know you deserve it - those late nights, those long conversations, that honesty, that clarity that's each of you,

I really don't know what I did to get so lucky.

But I'm glad that I was,

That I've had a lover, a friend, an oracle in training, passion, truth, a reason, five feet of fury, South Carolina, Savannah, confessions, Thailand, Mexico City and Green Cabs, that place I call Chattaquaca somewhere in NY close to the Falls, late night texts from the WPB, Hooks Fish And Chicken, Scrabble, infectious laughter, Franklin Street, University Avenue, Elliot Park, how you always know when to find me even though you're never on time, fights that only made us understand each other more even though they were few and far between, and that room where you first told me about you in Boston, and those endless things that will always be no matter how many zip codes you travel through to get to the suburbs -

I don't really know how to say it other than that,

Other than what it is,

And I hope always will be.

Asian Pacific American Legal Center Goes To Fight Arizona's Bullshit Law

We all know how utterly messed up Arizona's SB 1070 is so it's great to see groups like the APALC getting on down and standing up against it.

PHOENIX, AZ - On Thursday, July 22 at 10 a.m. PST, Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and a coalition of civil rights organizations will argue in a federal court in Phoenix that Arizona’s racial profiling law, known as SB 1070, should be blocked while their lawsuit against the unconstitutional measure is being litigated. Immediately after the hearing, the coalition will be available for questions from the press. The U.S. Department of Justice will also ask the court to block SB 1070 in a hearing at 1:30 p.m. PST on the same day.

The civil rights coalition filed its lawsuit challenging the extreme law on May 17, charging that it interferes with federal law, invites racial profiling, and violates various constitutional guarantees including the First Amendment, equal protection, and the right to travel.

The coalition includes the APALC, a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), ACLU, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), ACLU of Arizona, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The law firms of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP are acting as co-counsel in the case.

WHAT: Court hearing on Friendly House, et al. v. Whiting, et. al and press availability with lawyers from the civil rights coalition. Clients represented by the coalition will also be available for interviews.

WHO: Julie Su, Litigation Director, APALC

Nina Perales, Southwestern Regional Counsel, MALDEF and Omar Jadwat, Staff Attorney, ACLU will present argument at the hearing.

Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney, NILC
Lucas Guttentag, director, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF

Co-counsel from ACLU of Arizona, NDLON, and Munger Tolles; and plaintiffs from Friendly House, et al. v. Whiting, et al. will be available for press questions outside the courtroom. .

WHEN: Hearing at July 22 at 10 a.m. PST
Press availability to follow immediately after hearing

WHERE: Courtroom 200 (Special Procedures Courtroom)
Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse
401 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona

Founded in 1983, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for civil rights, providing legal services and education, and building coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society. APALC is a member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, which also includes Asian American Institute (Chicago, IL), Asian American Justice Center (Washington, DC) and Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco, CA).

K-Town Reality Show + TMZ Part 2

So it seems the last video clip was taken down, but the YouTube Channel KTownRealityShow has put up their own clip - and yeah I know - love those jokes by SNL and Chelsea....ughh.



In case you were wondering this is from the YouTube clip's notes:

This cast reel is NOT an official teaser or trailer to the K-TOWN show. The reel was cut from the collective cast members' audition tapes and was meant solely for presentation purposes to our agents and managers. Since TMZ has leaked it, we are forced to release the full version of the K-TOWN cast reel.

News Is This: Golden State Signs Jeremy Lin

If all the rumors are true - including ESPN's Marc Stein - Jeremy Lin is going to Golden State.

The Golden State Warriors are closing in on signing summer-league sensation Jeremy Lin, according to sources with knowledge of the talks.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Warriors, by offering to guarantee more than half of Lin's potential first-year salary of nearly $500,000, have reached an agreement in principle with the point guard from Harvard. Lin is expected to receive a multiyear deal, sources said. [...]

A Western Conference scout said of Lin's play in Las Vegas: "He showed that he can be an NBA point guard. He showed us he can finish, defend and has above-average athleticism."

I guess we'll all be following some Warriors next year?