Yay! Councilman John Dowdy Likes To Shoot Pregnant Women Of Color!

Georgia City Councilman John Dowdy apparently thought it would be funny as hell to send out an e-mail with a link to the fucked up game above called Border Patrol saying:

THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes you feel better anyway, I did my part today, I kept a few from coming over!!! GET READY --- THEY ARE
FAAAST! ! !

And yes - big surprise - he's an old ass white guy.



This goes on all the time - we all know it - we've all seen it, heard about it - and it's just getting worse. The people are coming out in droves in our "post racial" society.

And while it's great that he's resigned and there's now a federal lawsuit in the works, you know what would happen to me if I'd circulate an e-mail as a POC with a game where you got to shoot White People?

Five words.

Patriot Act. Arrested. Terroristic Threats.

Joe Jonas: More Dumbass White Kids Do The Chink Eye

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NewsBytes

From around the way:

Slanties Eyewear?

In addition to the stunningly racist name, those fuckers will set you back $75. If you look on the sites photo gallery, you get to see people wearing these in public.

Interestingly enough, when I did a search for Inuit eyewear to see what they were actually called, I came across this tidbit [...]

student fights idiotic english language exam

This is an outrageous story out of Iowa... Lori Phanachone is a Laotian American high school senior at Storm Lake High School. She's a member of the National Honor Society, has a 3.9 grade point average, ranks seventh in the her class of 119 and has been offered a number of college scholarships.

But to school officials, she is considered illiterate and has been serving three days of in-school suspension. Why? Lori refuses to take the complete the English Language Development Assessment, a test she says is demeaning and racist: Student rejects 'demeaning' test, is suspended.

Japanese Boob Clawing Arcade Game

Not to be mistaken with fellow BcB founder, C-boob-slanger, this Japanese claw game replaces the typical Batman plush dolls with something a little more close to the heart of mens. Plush BOOBS! Thanks Gizmodo, this isn’t something Engadget would take on, but your blog is all about the hard hittin’ tech news.

Peering Through The Glass Ceiling

Readers of 8asians may not realize this, but writing for this blog doesn’t pay the rent, so most of the writers here have day jobs. I’m no exception. My day job is in marketing for a high technology company in Silicon Valley. In this slowing economy that we’re in, I’m fairly lucky in that I work for a company that’s still making money, and in a field that’s still growing. My company also happens to be fairly diverse in their hiring practices, as my coworkers span every racial and ethnic group. The company has also grown quite a bit since I started almost two years ago, and I’ve never really felt there was a glass ceiling at this company until today. (Glass ceilings for Asians has been a recent topic this month with the appointment of Jim Yong Kim as the President of Dartmouth, and L. Ling-Chi Wang’s comment that he could count the number of Asian presidents of universities in the U.S. on his hand.)

Urban Dimwitters

I was browsing the overpriced, shoddily produced merchandise on the second floor of my local Urban Outfitters today when I overheard this conversation by a trio of white store employees:

Girl 1: "My mom totally hates my boyfriend."

Girl 2: "Why?"

Girl 1: "He's like totally [whispers] Mexican."

Girl 2: "Is he a Norteño?" [laughs]

For those non-Bay Area folks, there are two main clashing Mexican gangs here: Norteños from Northern California and Sureños who moved up from Southern California

Girl 3: "Oh my God, she totally likes [whispers] Mexicans. We were at this club and there was this gross [whispers] Mexican guy with like a long ponytail and she totally thought he was hot."

“The Japanese example” is not suicide

The furor over bonuses given by AIG to employees after taking more than $170 billion in bailout money from the U.S. government is made all the more furious because of the sheer breathtaking scale of the cash flow. AIG paid 73 staffers more than $1 million, with one getting $6.4 and seven more getting $4.

A trip into Angel Island's past

Don Lee was 11 years old and recovering from seasickness when the SS President Coolidge anchored in San Francisco Bay in the summer of 1939. He had spent weeks in the luxury liner's steerage on the voyage from Hong Kong, struggling to sleep beside the rumbling of the ship's engine.

His journey would soon take a frightening detour.

Immigration officials boarded the Coolidge, separated Lee from his grandfather and ferried the boy and several dozen other immigrants to Angel Island. Here, he was detained in a bunk room behind barbed wire, with frequent interruptions for interrogations about his family lineage and his tiny village in southern China.

Meet Utada

Just a quick list of places Utada is going to be when her album drops:

Sephora Hollywood & Highland
Tuesday, March 24 - 6-8PM
6801 – Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Sephora 5th Avenue
Wednesday, March 25 - 6pm-8pm
597 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Sephora South Beach
Friday, March 27 - 7-9pm
721 Collins Ave
Miami, FL 33139

Random Housecleaning Notes

If you're viewing this from a feed one thing to note is that at the bottom of the posts you're going to start seeing links. Don't worry - these aren't ads for skin whitening cream - but they'll be links to events or items that are posted on the side because I want to make sure that people viewing the feeds are also getting the info that's posted up on the side sections "Cool Featured Impact" and "Upcoming & Ongoing". I'll probably rotate them on out every month or so - but just wanted to let you know in case there's some tweaking here and there as it gets put into the feed.

At the same time, while I do pick and choose what goes up on the side sections and sometimes customize them to fit, if you do have something to hype, the width is 238 pixels.

That's it.

Apparently I'm More Like Gandhi Than Hitler Which I Think Is A Good Thing

So I was hitting up down at TMM and while reading a good post on the death sentence, I hopped on over to the Political Compass and who knew I'd be in the same square as Gandhi.



Versus Hitler - because I am kind of a dictator.



It's the sweet sweet I'm not Hitler post!

Because you know you want to take it too, check out more down at the Political Compass.

Get Your Read On: My Man Kono And The Kogi BBQ Truck

Got this sent out my way and wanted to post it on up because Art + Food = Happy Slantys All Over The World:

EAST WEST PLAYERS and THE JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM present a FREE reading of MY MAN KONO

A new play by Philip W. Chung
Directed by Jeff Liu
With: Matt Braaten, Paul Byrne, Elizabeth Ho, Jennifer Holloway, Jun Kim, Michael Krawic, Tohoru Masamune & Donovan Oakleaf

Based on the life of Toraichi Kono who worked as movie star Charlie Chaplin's personal valet for two decades before being arrested as an enemy spy during the anti-Japanese hysteria of World War II. MY MAN KONO is the second place winner in EWP's Pacific Century Playwriting Competition.

FREE ADMISSION
Thurs., March 19, 2009, 7:30 PM
Democracy Forum of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.
111 N. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA

PLUS: The world-famous KOGI BBQ TRUCK is scheduled to be parked in front of JANM on Thurs. from 5:30-8 Pm so come out early and enjoy this treat. Check their website or twitter for any last minute changes: kogibbq.com

For more info on the reading and all the plays in the Pacific Century Reading Festival, go here.

For more info on Toraichi Kono: MySpace and You Tube

Hot Track: Children of the Sun - Deep Foundation, Hydroponikz, Nomi, Koba, Kiwi, and Encite

Apparently I'm posting a lot of music today - which is more than fine - because sometimes you just wanna vibe a little. Check out Deep Foundation's "Children of the Sun" ft. Hydroponikz, Nomi, Koba, Kiwi, Encite and Heber Bartolome.



Thanks to Jay for sending this on by (who's also in the background btw).

Performance: Se7en In NYC

Got sent down some info that Se7en is going to be performing his new single "Girls" featuring Lil Kim this Friday down at The Circle.

At midnight.

Check the details:

WHO: Winner of nine Korean Grammy awards and MTV Asia’s Video Music Award for Best New Artist, Se7en

WHAT: Appearance and live performance of the first single “Girls” feat. Lil Kim off his forthcoming US debut album.

WHEN: Friday, March 20, 2009 at Midnight.

WHERE: The Circle
135 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036
Btw. Ave of Americas and Broadway
(212) 575-4779

If you missed the video check the previous post.

Cool.

Video Linkage: Anoop Desai "Always On My Mind"

That was a great performance by Anoop on American Idol and while the videos are being taken down left and right of his performance (and Megan Corkrey's) I found a really good video of the performance down here.

Word to my Philippines.

P.S. Could I use the word "performance" one more time?

Yes I can.

Vietnamese International Film Festival 2009

So many film festivals, so little time - but if you have it - you definitely also want to check out VIFF which is going to be happening this April 2-5 & 9-12 which is going to have a lot films like Regina Park's Never Perfect, Nguyen Quang Dung's The Hot Kiss, Bui Trung Hai's When Autumn Sunlight Comes, the world premiere of Sad Fish (pictured above) as well as panel discussions like "Crossing Boundaries: Female Filmmakers and Questions of Genre and Gender."
For all the screenings and venues check out the vietfilmfest site.

Phở and Film?

I can taste it already.

Asian American Designers: Fashion For A Passion

Mark your calendars for this Saturday if you're down for fashion Asian American style:

Saturday March 21, 2009
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
LandCo./7 Senses
1202 N. Industrial Blvd.
(Complimentary valet on Howell St.)
Dallas, TX 75207

Join guest emcees Tina Craig (uberblogger of Bagsnob.com) & David Ninh (fashion reporter for Dallas Morning News F!D Luxe) at one of Dallas' coolest best kept secrets, LandCo./7 Senses, for a fabulous evening to celebrate emerging and established Asian American designers and raise money for a worthy cause.

Enjoy a red carpet fashion show by women's retailer Freedom Parc and up and coming designers Aiden Vo, Kim Phuong Pham, Khanh Nguyen & Lizzi London. (They will even auction off a few pieces for charity!)

Don't miss the to-die-for clothes, beautiful models, tasty light bites by City Kitchen, adult beverages (including our signature "Pink Lotus" cocktail), musical stylings of DJ Prada G and fabulous raffle prizes! With appearances by Miss Asian American Texas (Allyn Hoang) & Miss Vietnam Dallas/Ft. Worth (Alex Tran).

Dress: Fashionable cocktail, no jeans or sneakers.

And sure, you too may think jeans are fashionable (because I'm the same way) - but the money is going to charity - so just suck it up and at least put on some khakis (because technically they don't say anything about shoes...).

Check out more here.

Asian American Writers' Workshop

Just wanted to post up on some of the programs and events that the Asian American Writers' Workshop is going to be having:

Saturdays, March 14 to April 25 (7 sessions)
Drawing in Color: Empowering Girls through Comics

The comic book world is often viewed as a boy's club. Drawing in Color aims to pop that text bubble by offering a space for young women of color to render their own narratives. Come learn more about this medium as Chitra Ganesh leads an examination of the gender and ethnic stereotypes contained in mainstream cartoons, comics, and mass media, in the process, write and draw your own unique empowered narratives in comic form.

Open to female youth grades 9-12, of all racial backgrounds. All participants are expected to commit to a six-session program and complete all assignments. Space will fill up quickly, so applicants are advised to contact us with the subject line "Drawing In Color" as soon as possible for more information. This youth program is FREE.

Chitra Ganesh was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where she currently lives and works. Buried narratives and marginal figures typically excluded from official canons of history, literature, and art inspire her drawing, installation, text-based work, and collaborations.

Ganesh draws from a broad range of material, including the iconography of Hindu, Greek and Buddhist mythology, 19th century European portraiture and fairytales, song lyrics, as well as contemporary visual culture such as Bollywood posters, anime, and comic books. The process of automatic writing is central to her practice, and emerges from dissecting myths to retrieve critical moments of abjection, desire, and loss.

By layering disparate materials and visual languages, Ganesh considers alternate narratives of sexuality and power in a world where untold stories keep rising to the surface. In this process the body becomes a site of transgression, both social and psychic, doubled, dismembered and continually exceeding its limits.

This youth program is funded by The Asian Women Giving Circle.

@ The Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor
(btwn Broadway & 5th Avenue)

Free

Thursday, March 26, 7pm
Hari Kunzru and Porochista Khakpour

Khakpour reads from her debut, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and Kunzru reads from his latest, My Revolutions.

@ The Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor
(btwn Broadway & 5th Avenue)
$5 suggested donation; open to the public

Stage: Baseball Saved Us

Check out the world premiere of "Baseball Saved Us" by Ken Mochizuki and adapted for the stage by Katie Hae Ryun Leo playing now until April 4, 2009 at the Mixed Blood Theatre in collaboration with Mu Performing Arts:

During World War II, Japanese Americans were interned in camps inside the continental United States. These American citizens were treated as threats by their own government and forced to live in dwellings surrounded by barbed wire. This is the story of how some of these families dealt with their captivity through the use of the great American pastime. A collaboration with Mu Performing Arts and Mixed Blood Theatre, you will be inspired by Katie Leo 's adaptation of the Award-winning book by Ken Mochizuki and illustrator Dom Lee.

Check here for information on show times and buying tickets.

14th Annual 2009 Chicago Asian American Showcase (April 3-16th)

While the full schedule isn't up yet some of the cool films that'll be playing down at the 2009 Chicago Asian American Showcase are Dirty Hands: The Art And Crimes Of David Choe, Treeless Mountain, Karma Calling, Dim Sum Funeral, Fruit Fly, Half-Life, and The First Breath Of Tengren Rei.

Film.Pizza.Wind.

Damn straight I'm getting a slice.

The USA BoA Release: Get It Now, Misc. Information, Hot Tracks

You've seen the videos. You saw the concerts. You heard the previews.

Now you can finally get it.

The CD

Right now at the time of this post (which is early Tueday morning), the US release BoA is currently #20 on Amazon's Bestsellers in Music as well as #11 and #19 in the Rock and Pop categories.

Definitely a good showing.

iTunes, Get It Digitally, Don't Ask Me Why

If you want to download it digitally from either iTunes or Amazon, you can get your fix now - but not all of it. On iTunes the album is listed as "Partial" missing the tracks "Did Ya" and "I Did It For Love ft. Sean Garret". Down at Amazon those two tracks are listed as "Album Only".

I have no idea why they did it because the tracks have already been leaked all over the net.

Hot Tracks

The whole album is pretty damn hot, and there's definitely something for everyone on the disc (which is completely club certifiable), but here are a few of the tracks that particularly stood out for me: Hypnotic Dancefloor, I Did It For Love, Touched, Girls On Top (EV), and Energetic.

Trailer: White On Rice

David Boyle. Lynn Chen. Mio Takada. Hiroshi Watanabe. In Person.

Rush Line Only.

Didn't I tell you to get your tickets early?

Stage: Paper Angels

So I got some news sent to me from the folks down at Direct Arts who are putting on Genny Lim's "Paper Angels" directed by Victoria Linchong and are having a benefit in NYC at the end of the month to raise additional funds for the project.

Here's the info:

Direct Arts Presents "The Paper Angels Party"
A benefit on Friday, March 27 for a new multimedia workshop production of
Paper Angels by Genny Lim

Friday, March 27th
7 pm to 11 pm
Tickets: $50-100
Speyer Hall at University Settlement
184 Eldridge Street
b/t Rivington and Delancey
www.directarts.org

New York, NY – East meets West, past meets present at The Paper Angels
Party, Direct Arts not-to-be-missed Gala Benefit on Friday, March 27.

This exotic, eclectic evening of music, dance and silent auction will
feature Indonesian dance group Saung Budaya, Korean drummer Vongku Pak and Japanese DJ Jaiko Suzuki (Mon Mon Mon Amour), spinning garage, psychedelic and underground pop from the ‘60’s on. Revelers can bid on exciting silent auction items like a handbag by Marc Jacobs, a year-long membership for two at Film Forum, tickets to the Metropolitan Opera, and dinner for two at Nobu 57. Guests are asked to dress Gilded Age, villain, vamp or vintage for this night of mingling with downtown artists, activists and cultural adventurers.

High-resolution promotional photographs by Don Spiro available.

Artistic Director Victoria Linchong available for interviews.

Contact: info@directarts.org

General admission to The Paper Angels Party is $50. Angel Tickets at $100
includes a ticket to BOTH the benefit and the opening night of Paper
Angels, plus a gift bag sponsored by Sephora and Koream Journal. For more
information, go the Direct Arts website at www.directarts.org.

Proceeds from the Paper Angels Party will benefit Paper Angels by Genny Lim, opening April 29th for four performances only. Set in 1915, long before Arab-Americans were targeted as unwelcome émigrés to America, Paper Angels explores America’s historic ambiguity towards its immigrants through the story of a group of Chinese detainees on Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West. This new multimedia production of the seminal 1979 play will feature archival footage of Angel Island, a traditional Chinese music ensemble and Obie Award winner Jojo Gonzalez (The Romance of Magno Rubio) as a long-time Californ’ caught in the net of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Secret Identities Preview 5 of 8: Pg 135 - "A Day At CostumeCO."

Magnetic North And Taiyo Na

Caught this via bpr and wanted to post them on up here as well.