Film: The Warlords

While I posted on this film a while back about the awards it received, I just got a chance to sit down and watch this film myself - and while I could go on and on about how good it was, the way the movie really put into perspective the toll that war took on not just communities but on individuals, or how Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro had some of the best acting that I've seen by them - it's really just easier to say go see the movie - because you won't be disappointed.

If you needed more prodding - here's the trailer again.

First Gas, Then Rice, Now Beer?

First it was gas, then it was rice - now there's also a shortage of hops for making beer?

If you didn't go anywhere because you couldn't afford the gas, and you didn't eat because you had to ration the rice, at least you could drown those sorrows in beer.

But now that might not even be possible?

Two words that should never be heard by the human ears: "dry hopping".

M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening"

Chalk this up as a movie I'll be wanting to see when it comes out next month.



Here are also some links to recent interviews with M. Night Shyamalan:

• The most Happening director in town, M Night Shyamalan
• Shyamalan says his new movie, 'The Happening', is terrifying
• The good, the bad, and the frustratingly cryptic: "The Happening" trailer

Kiyomi

Just a quick note that Asian American Acoustic/Folk Rock/Pop singer Kiyomi has her new EP out - A Part of Me - with tracks available on iTunes.

Check out her MySpace page for more info and updates.

More on Asian Eyelid Surgery

I was contacted out by Karen Zraick from NYC24 about an article they were doing and while I didn't actually do anything (nor was even quoted - something about not being able to quote people who are called "Slanty" - but I can't hold that against her) - she does give up some facts that I've talked about before - particularly this:

"Almost half of all northeast Asians are born with an eyelid fold, which has long been considered more beautiful in Asia, according to Dr. Edward Kwak. Many people feel like people who get the surgery aren’t trying to look white; they’re just trying to look like the many other Asians who have the fold."

Check out the full article down at NYC24. And you can also check out Karen's blog about the Myanmar cyclone (which is pretty in-depth) at http://burmaemergency.wordpress.com/.

Fusion Stories: 10 books for young readers for APAH Month

From L to R: Cherry Cheva, David Yoo, Paula Yoo, Mitali Perkins, Grace Lin

This is pretty cool on just a lot of levels, and if you have kids, know kids, or just want to be in the loop about what's out there for young Asian American kids to read, you definitely need to check out the site Fusion Stories.

The project and site is a group of ten Asian American YA (young adult) authors who have joined together to promote awareness of Asian American young adult literature. The authors include Paula Yoo, David Yoo, Justina Chen Headley, Mitali Perkins, An Na, Joyce Lee Wong, Grace Lin, Lisa Yee, Janet Wong, and Cherry Cheva.

Here's a little more from their site about the project:

Ten new contemporary novels by Asian Americans aren’t traditional tales set in Asia nor stories about coming to America for the first time. They’re written by authors who understand two-time Newbery Honor Book author Lawrence Yep’s (Dragonwings and Dragon’s Gate) removal of the ethnic qualifier before his vocation. “I think of myself principally as a writer,” Yep told the International Reading Association’s The Dragon Lode. “I often write about my experiences as a Chinese American, but I’ve also written about faraway worlds. Writing is a special way of seeing.”

Without a doubt, an Asian American vision has moved into the mainstream of the children’s literary world. In 1994, only 65 of the 5,500 children’s books published featured Asian American authors. Last year, that number doubled. Some of these have become national bestsellers that are guaranteed a place on bookshelves for years to come. Linda Sue Park (A Single Shard) and Cynthia Kadohata (Kira Kira) each won the prestigious Newbery Medal, while Allen Say (Grandfather’s Journey) took home a Caldecott Prize. An Na (A Step From Heaven) won the Printz, an award for young adult novels, and Gene Luen Yang garnered a National Book Award for his graphic novel, American Born Chinese.

There's also a good interview with author and Printz Award winner An Na from the School Library Journal:

Tell me about Fusion Stories and how it relates to Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

Fusion Stories was the brainchild of a bunch of APA (Asian Pacific American) writers like Paula Yoo, Grace Lee, Mitali Perkins, Joyce Lee Wong, and many others. They invited me to join, and I was honored to accept. Fusion Stories serves as a helpful resource for parents, educators, and young readers. The Web site is a way for us to connect with a wider audience and raise awareness about Asian American History Month. Sadly, very little is done in schools to talk about the history of Asian Americans in the United States. And now, more than ever, APA writers and their stories are getting published!! It's really something to say that I belong in such a fabulous group.

You have said that as a child, books were your "cultural teachers." Do you think your books are "cultural teachers" to your non-Asian readers?

My stories give a glimpse of what it might be like to be immigrants, and specifically a Korean immigrant. I don't know that they are teachers, but rather, they might offer a sense that we all struggle with identity, acceptance, and love. That struggle takes on a different shade than say a non-Asian experience, but the emotions and issues probably remain true across colors and economics. It's always a journey to find your voice. I am just offering one perspective. I would hope that non-Asian readers would want to pick up other books from other cultures just for the adventure of being immersed in an unfamiliar world.

Read the full interview here, and then check out the Fusion Stories website at http://www.fusionstories.com/.

Billboard.com Review: Lyrics Born and Everywhere At Once

Billboard.com came out with a review of the Lyrics Born sophomore effort and had this to say:

For his second solo studio record, the Quannum Projects godfather veers left from his sample-centric background and into something that should be highly pleasing to anyone who enjoyed hip-hop in 1988. "Everywhere at Once" isn't the map-jumping free-for-all inferred by its title; rather, this is a focused and thoughtfully crafted party record that finds Lyrics Born employing a live band to work up his newfound love of shimmering, shining pop-funk, even as he expands his hoop-jumping, rat-a-tat rhymes.

Read the full review down at billboard.com.

Kristine Sa: My Last Goodbye

While this came out about 2 months ago, I just ended up checking it out tonight and it's pretty good. The video is for Kristine Sa's song "My Last Goodbye" which is the first song she's written in Vietnamese (coupled with English lyrics as well).

Film: Once Upon A Time In Corea

I finally got a chance to see this flick and it didn't dissapoint. Part history, part action, a little romance - it's a fun ride and I can see why it was tops at the box office in South Korea this year.

Check the trailer below

Google and Supporting disaster relief in Myanmar

Online giant Google is helping assist cyclone victims and survivors in Myanmar and will be matching up to 1 million dollars through UNICEF and Direct Relief International. Go to there support page to participate in their matching gifts program for relief.

On a side note, while a matching program for 1 million dollars is a great start, and I don't know what Google is doing otherwise - it would be nice to see them reach that goal and then push it up to something larger - maybe something like $25 million.

DWTS: Kristi Yamaguchi

Just in case you happened to miss it earlier this week, here's Kristi Yamaguchi's dance from this week from DWTS:

Samba

While I wanted to say that Asian women just shouldn't wear that outfit, it occured to me that really no one should wear that outfit.



Quick Step

I think it was the hair that did it this time...

Yoky Matsuoka and Robotic Hands

I was reading this article in Wired on Yoky Matsuoka and I couldn't help but think of all the useful things I could do with a robotic hand. Use it to hold spoons, scratch my back, help with my closet juggling - maybe even have a little fun with it (they do call it "The Stranger", and what could be stranger than that).

Really. The possibilities are endless.

You're Asian and you just don't know it

Celtics 2, Cavs 0

Let's proselytize on just accepting Kevin Garnett for who he really is

Obviously I'm geeked up for tonight's game with the Celtics and the Cavs, and as I'm eagerly awaiting the game to start, I thought I'd post out a few opinions on Kevin Garnett, and why win or lose - and contrary to the ESPN article by Scoop Jackson - there's no love lost even with the Celtics 1st round tests against Atlanta.

First let's break down the awards and stats (it's long):

• NBA Most Valuable Player: 2004
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2008
• NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2003
• 11-time NBA All-Star: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• 8-time All-NBA:
  First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008
  Second Team: 2001, 2002, 2005
  Third Team: 1999, 2007
  8-time All-Defensive:
  First Team: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
  Second Team: 2006, 2007
  NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1996
• 4-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounds per game: 2004 (13.9), 2005 (13.5), 2006 (12.7), 2007 (12.8)
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounds: 2004 (1,139), 2005 (1,108)
• 5-time NBA regular-season leader, defensive rebounds: 2003 (858), 2004 (894), 2005 (861), 2006 (752), 2007 (792)
• NBA regular-season leader, points: 2004 (1,987)
• NBA regular-season leader, field goals made: 2004 (804)
• J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award: 2006
• Career triple-doubles (regular season): 17 (as of March 4, 2007)[40]
• Career triple-doubles (post-season): 3 (as of 2006)
• Only player in NBA history to:
  average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for 6 consecutive seasons. (1999-2005) , average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for 9 consecutive seasons. (1998-2007), reach at least 20,000 points, 11,000 rebounds, 4,000 assists, 1,200 steals, and 1,500 blocks in his playing career.
• Ranked #70 on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of All Time in 2003.
  

If one series that took longer than you thought, tarnishes what Kevin Garnett has done in his career or him winning a championship - you just aren't a KG fan. It doesn't really matter how KG wins a ring - now or later - you just want him to win it all.

Crunch Time

I've watched a lot of games (thank you NBA League Pass) from KG's career and the bottom line is that he doesn't back away when it counts, when the game's on the line. Win or lose KG has always tried to exert his will at the end of games in any way that he can.

But let's get real - the national media - the pundits who've watched maybe 50 games from Garnetts career never actually see it. Even one ESPN writer admitted that you really have to see KG for long stretches of time to see how he dominates the whole court - the whole game - intimating that the writer hasn't done that in the past, but rather has just caught glimpses of Garnett to form his opinion.

But what about scoring?

Kenny Smith said it best when he said Kevin Garnett is the first player in the modern age of basketball who can't really score 40 points at will, but who can still take over a game. It's not just scoring in the 4th, but how many assists, how many rebounds, how many times he takes care of the ball or is involved in plays where he sets up the offense first - where the offense runs through him because of his decision making - all of those - and some of which just can't be put into stats (or haven't), are all the reasons why you just can't look at Garnett in terms of scoring during crunch time.

But did you also see Game 1 of this second round? Yeah, I think it was KG that carried the team on his back in the 4th in terms of scoring as well.

So you want him to be even more than who he is?

We do it all the time. We always want people to be more than who they actually are. From politicians to partners to even good old grandma Nguyen down the street - we have a hard time accepting people for who they are - and that goes double for Garnett.

We see his athleticism, his height, his drive - what he's already been able to do - and we just want more. We want him to be everything we think he should be.

Let's pause though and just take a breath.

Let's accept Garnett for the future HOF player that he is and hope for the best.

He's not Kobe. He's Not Lebron. He's not CP3. He's KG.

He's the Defensive Player Of The Year, he scores 19-20 pts a game, he's the top scorer so far on the Celtics in the post-season, he's been a rebounding machine for his entire career - and don't forget about his assists. For most of his career the offense hasn't only just gone through him - but he alone has been the offense.

And he plays the game the right way.

I mean really - what more do you want from the guy?

DVD: Lovers Behind

I ended up sitting down to watch this last night and it was a lot better than I thought it would be - funny, quirky, and even a subplot I didn't see coming.

Good fluffy popcorn.

Check out the trailer below (the movie is also known as Love Exposure).

Caught: Wayne Nelson Corliss

I don't really know why they use the words "suspected" and "alleged" when they have Wayne Nelson Corliss, a 58 year old sick perv, in pictures abusing Asian children no older than 8 years old -- because there really isn't anything suspected or alleged about it from what I understand.

But I do know this - I'd give anything to be alone in a room with the guy so I could wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.

Here's to something called lethal injection.

Technote Warning: Firefox Vietnamese Language Add-On Has Virus

Just a note for any Firefox users who have added in the Vietnamese Language Pack Add-On, that according to a Wired article released at 8:00 PM on May 7th that the add-on has a known trojan horse attached to help files which could end up running malicious code (the actual name is called the Xorer Trojan).

So if you've installed the add-on it would probably wise to un-install it.

Mixed Race: Yes - even I can learn a thing or two at times

As great a Slant Eye as I find myself to be, at least in my own world where like Iron Chef my cuisine reigns supreme - let's face it - I still can learn a few tricks or two myself and I'm not above sharing the things I learn either.

Take for instance DiversityInc's latest "8 Things NEVER to Say to a Mixed-Race Colleague" and point #3 which is "You make beautiful babies".

While I still can't help myself thinking occasionally "Mixed-race babies are usually quite cute", and I know all babies aren't born equal, including babies of a mixed racial or cultural heritage (and you know someone who has an ugly kid) - even though I'd never say something like that inside a work setting - which should be obvious - the point about it being a catch 22 isn't really something I've thought as much about before until now for some reason.

And I can see that - the bridge, the stereotype, and how it can put someone in an awkward position no matter what type of setting.

As we celebrate mixed race or those that have passed that have helped in the cause (see posts by Disgrasian and 8Asians), probably too often we can put the weight of the world on people who are of mixed race - and like the article says - aren't we all mixed anyway?

Bill Hudson, CBS, WCCO, Minneapolis and Neiggerhood?

Make sure to also see That was unexpected: Part 2 of Bill Hudson, CBS affiliate WCCO, Neiggerhood, and now News Director Scott Libin.

Yeah - you heard me right - apparently another white guy - a white news anchor named Bill Hudson (from television station WCCO a CBS affiliate) - showing his true colors when talking about a neighborhood in Minneapolis where the majority of people living in the neighborhood are predominantly black and Hispanic.

Instead of saying the word "neighborhood" he came out with "neiggerhood".

Yeah - I know - that's just fucked up - and no - there really isn't any other phrase to use to describe how actually fucked up that is because in all reality you don't get that from a mistake - that comes from your hoard of White friends (maybe White Hooded?), and your White racism, and the little jokes Bill and his friends must have made prior to that little slip for sometime.

What? Don't believe me?

C'mon - you honestly think that just rolls off your tongue like that as a "mistake"?

Sorry - just doesn't happen like that - I know - I've met my fair share of racists in my lifetime and that comes from being - well - it comes from being a racist.

Read more here.

Hydrogen Cars in South Korea?

I want one:

A handful of high-profile Koreans gathered at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul on Tuesday to test drive a hydrogen-powered BMW sedan. The 20 or so guests, including former Seoul National University president Chung Un-chan, rode in four BMW Hydrogen 7s in the parking lot of the Soma Museum of Art, checking out the performance and safety of the alternative fuel vehicles.

Check out more coverage at the Digital Chosun Ilbo.