Entertainment Weekly recently published its "EW 100," the magazine's annual list of "movie, TV, and music stars we love right now." Heroes stars George Takei and Masi Oka, are on the list, connecting two generations of sci fi geekdom (and Asian Americans in the media). By the way, that's a really goofy photo.
27-year-old Fatima Hoang, aka "Rockness Monster" has once again won the Los Angeles regional competition of the US Air Guitar Championships, beating out stiff competition in the categories of technical merit, performance and "airness." He goes on represent L.A. in the US Championships in NYC on August 16. LAist has a play-by-play of last week's showdown: US Air Guitar Championships: Rockness Monster takes it again. And here's Rockness Monster's MySpace page.
So, will Yi Jianlian actually end up wearing a Milwaukee Bucks jersey? The Bucks hope so: Kohl wants to meet with Yi. But Yi's agent is talking trade trade trade: Yi seeking trade from Bucks. Meanwhile, meet 6-foot-9 Sun Yue, the other player from China drafted into the NBA this year: Sun hopes to shine for Lakers. He's still waiting learn from coach Phil Jackson which position he'll be playing for the Lakers.
Whoooooo. Yao Ming will marry his longtime sweetheart Ye Li in Shanghai next month, after an eight-year courtship: Yao Ming to wed sweetheart in August. The two have dating since they were teenagers, but have tried to keep their relationship closely guarded from the media. And now, together, they will have freakishly tall kids.
The Bay Area seems to have a high concentration of popular fan-favorite Asian American reality show contestants... like Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands), Yau-Man Chan (Survivor: Fiji), Erwin and Godwin Cho (Amazing Race)—all doing their part to break the typical mold and hopefully change perceptions of Asians in the media: Asian Fusion. I didn't watch The Amazing Race, but Yul and Yau-Man kicked some serious on their respective seasons of Survivor. I'm a fan.
Okay, it seems that I am rather late to this party, only recently discovering the wacky videos of HappySlip, the hardest working woman on YouTube. The attractive, funny lady has apparently gained quite a following with her humorous series of videos, which she writes, produces and stars in (sometimes in multiple roles). She's a web celeb!
Bangladeshi-American producer Labid Aziz could've had a hit sitcom a few years back with Never Mind Nirvana (starring Kal Penn), but the pilot unfortunately never made NBC's final cut: Producer eyes better TV, film roles for Muslims. He gets a second chance this fall with the new CW sitcom Aliens in America...
After a long day at work, Tom Chiu fell asleep on a New York subway platform waiting for a train home... only to wake up and find that his rare, handmade 1913 Scarampella violin was missing—stolen! Fortunately, the violin somehow found its way into the hands of transit authority officials, safe and sound: Violin Taken in Subway Is Reunited With Owner. Reunited, and it feels so good.
Last week, 23-year-old Army medic Shinwoo Kim of Fullerton, CA was killed by insurgents in Iraq: Local soldier dies in Iraq. He and three other soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colorado, when they were killed by makeshift explosives in Baghdad. The guy sounds like he was a good kid.
Kaz Suyeishi is one of the estimated 300,000 people who survived the atomic bombs attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and is part of a long-term study on the health affects of the bomb blasts: SoCal woman who survived A-bomb: 'It should never happen again'
The Orange County Register profiles Cookie Lee (real name: Debra Lin), the woman behind the crazy-successful costume jewelry empire, invading living room parties across the country: O.C.'s hidden gem. She sells her products through consultants at "home shows," sort of like Mary Kay Cosmetics. Call it a cult of costume jewelry.
This is an interesting Slate article from back in May on Wendi Deng, wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, often characterized as an ambitious ladder-climber: Meet Mrs. Murdoch. She apparently has a great deal of influence over News Corp.'s operations and investments in Asia, recently taking on a job as chief of strategy for MySpace's China operation: Mrs. Murdoch Takes The Wheel At MySpace China
Here's an inspirational Boston Globe story on Kimberly Woo, who spiraled down from an elite prep school to drug addiction and homelessness, but turned her life around and is now on her way to earning a bachelor's degree on a prestigious scholarship for community college students: A life reclaimed
The Wall Street Journal reports from a recent prison graduation on a growing effort to help inmates earn college degrees: Colleges Go Back Behind Bars. This includes valedictorian Jae O. Choi, who is serving a 10-year sentence for manslaughter in the first degree, but received his degree from Mercy College of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. along with 32 inmates Sing Sing Correctional Facility.