This is a crazy, amazing Los Angeles Times story about a family that was reunited with their missing, long-lost daughter after 37 years -- through a Facebook posting: For Korean American family, an ache 37 years long.
I recently heard from actress Stephanie Y. Wang, who has had a recurring role as "Madison" on The Bold and the Beautiful for the last five years. I'm not much of a soap opera watcher, so I wasn't aware of her work, but she did pass along a very interesting message...
Yesterday, Californians observed the first official statewide day set aside to honor civil rights icon Fred Korematsu, who fought the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II when he was arrested for refusing to enter an internment camp: A civil rights hero gets his day.
Asian behaving badly... Red Glove Bandit edition! Police in Elk Grove, California are looking for a woman wearing red gloves -- and yup, it appears that she's Asian -- who is suspected of holding up a sandwich shop and attempting to rob a supermarket earlier this month: Elk Grove PD hunting for red-glove bandit.
Unbelievable. This week in Texas, 24-year-old Thai-An Huu Nguyen pleaded guilty to three charges of aggravated assault and three charges of deadly conduct after admitting to targeting and shooting at motorists because they were Asian or Hispanic: Sniper pleads guilty on day of trial after saying he deliberately targeted Asians, Hispanics.Nguyen shot at motorists in Richardson, Garland, Plano and Mesquite over three days in 2008. Fortunately, he wasn't a very good shot, and missed most of the time, but two men were shot, and two children narrowly escaped injury. The guy apparently had a pretty big chip on his shoulder:
Calling all performers! The AsianWeek Foundation is looking for talented up-and-coming artists to be a part of the festivities at the 7th annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration, happening Saturday, May 21 in San Francisco. Musicians, vocalists, dance groups and other entertainers are encouraged to apply.
Remember Grand Torino? In the 2008 drama, Clint Eastwood stars as a crust, racist, old-but-still-badass war vet who befriends the Hmong family next door and protects them from neighborhood thugs. I wasn't a huge fan of the film for a lot of reasons, but I did appreciate that it attempted to put a spotlight on Hmong American characters.
More Rush Limbaugh-related bullshit... California State Senator Leland Yee has reportedly received racist death threats after demanding an apology from Limbaugh for his recent on-air mocking of the Chinese language: Rush Limbaugh Supporter Sends Leland Yee Death Threats.
Asian students at McGill University are not quite done talking about that lame "Too Asian?" article that ran in Maclean's back in November. They're starting up a mobilization campaign to keep the dialogue going about the article and other racialized representations of Asians in the media: How did 'Too Asian' affect you?
This week, California Attorney General Kamala Harris argued in a Sacramento County Superior Court filing that religious beliefs aren't enough to trump corrections department regulations --a Sikh prison guard cannot be properly fitted for a gas mask if he keeps the facial hair required by his faith: Bearded man can't be prison guard, Calif. says.
The Huffington Post is profiling the Young Global Leaders attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Meet Calvin Chin, founder of Qifang, a nonprofit organization that utilizes social networking to help Chinese college students find a way to pay for higher education expenses: Investing In China's Future One Student At A Time.
Here's an interesting Associated Press article on Chinese sports brand Li-Ning, which is making an attempt to break into the highly competitive, super-saturated U.S. market: China sports brand tries to break into US market.
Asians behaving badly... exotic animal smuggling edition! Earlier this month at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities two Japanese men for attempting to smuggle more than 50 live rare turtles packed in cracker and cookie boxes: Exotic turtles seized at LAX in smuggling arrest.
by Dr. Seuss -- really, really fast. Those who are familiar with the book know just how tongue-twisty it is, but you really have to watch the video to fully grasp Xin Yan's super-crazy speed-reading skillz:
Got this casting call passed along to me, for an upcoming Paramount Pictures feature film called Fun Size. It's for an Asian character named "Peng," a "Debate Team nerd" who "talks twice his size, and sports thick glasses that darken automatically in sunlight." That raises a few red flags. Is this another Long Duk Dong waiting to happen? Here's the character breakdown:
Are you supporter of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival? Can you design a kickass t-shirt? Then you should enter the Center for Asian American Media and SFIAAFF's Best Fest Shirt Contest.