January 2012

1.31.2012

asian arts initiative presents marvels & monsters: unmasking asian images in u.s. comics, 1942-1986, february 3 - march 23

Philly comic book lovers! The Asian Arts Initiative presents Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics, 1942-1986 starting Friday, February 3.

The exhibit, which draws from the collection of Yellow Peril author and scholar William F. Wu, includes a retroactive look at how Asians were portrayed in graphic art, organized by the archetypes they reflect: the Alien, the Kamikaze, the Lotus Blossom... I think you get the point.

Once your blood is at a boiling point, though, the organizers are also highlighting the works of contemporary graphic novels written by Asian Americans. More:

Bay Area students! If you are interested in learning about independent Asian American cinema, here's a cool opportunity to learn a thing or two. Our friends at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival are currently looking for participants in the Student Delegate Program.

Selected participants, along with Festival staff, will spend several days together during the festival to view, discuss, and reflect on films and media. They will have a chance to interact with industry guests and join in thoughtful conversations with selected filmmakers, artists, and other festival guests.

Applications must be completed and postmarked by February 9. For further information, and to apply to the Student Delegate Program, go to the Center for Asian American Media website here. And if you have any questions, contact vsese@caamedia.org or festival@caamedia.org.

This website is a proud media sponsor of the 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, which runs March 8-18 in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. Mark your calendars. I'll see you there.

music video: "run fly fall" by paul j. kim

Los Angeles-based musician/speaker Paul J. Kim, who music I first became acquainted with at one of those Kollaboration events a couple years back, recently released a new music video for his song "Run Fly Fall."

The song is entirely a cappella -- everything you hear is Paul's voice, from the verses to the melody to the percussion. It's a pretty cool track, and they've come up with some pretty compelling visuals to go along with it:

Sorry. More news to make you sick... In El Cerrito, California, an elderly woman is in critical condition after being found severely beaten and possibly sexually assaulted over the weekend: Elderly El Cerrito woman brutally beaten.

The woman, described as an 81-year-old Asian female in a white coat, was found bleeding and badly injured in a dark corner near a tire store on Saturday morning. Police say she was dissheveled and unable to talk, and was airlifted to a hospital:

So... This ought to be interesting. Here's the new teaser trailer for the upcoming thriller 7500, from filmmaker Takashi Shimizu, director of The Grudge.

The movie is about a group of airplane passengers who encounter what appears to be an supernatural force while on a transpacific flight. The cast includes Jamie Chung, who plays a flight attendant. Take a look:

Chinese girls, this totally awesome Romeo awaits your sex and companionship, somewhere in the Gaithersburg/Rockville area. He sounds like everything a girl could want! English proficiency is optional. But you must be unsophisticated.

Blech. Is anyone in need of some vomit? Then you should read this sad Washington DC Craigslist posting by a 48-year-old lonely loser looking for an "unsophisticated Chinese girl." It will have you barfing right away:

This is for fans of The Walking Dead... Saw this on io9, got a big kick out of it: What if The Walking Dead was a heartwarming 1980s sitcom?

AMC's apocalyptic zombie drama, which includes Steven Yeun as Glenn, gets mashed up with the theme song to Growing Pains, and re-imagined as an impossibly upbeat 1980s-era sitcom. It's pretty amusing. Take a look:

There's been a lot of attention, rightly so, on the death of Army Private Danny Chen. Meanwhile, one the Marines who took part in the hazing of Lance Cpl. Harry Lew before he committed suicide, has pleaded guilty: Marine admits hazing California Marine who committed suicide in Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby, who pleaded guilty to assault, was sentenced to thirty days in jail and will have his rank reduced to private first class. He admitted to punching and kicking Lew, apparently out of frustration that Lew repeatedly fell asleep while on watch:

common ground open mic series, february 2

Orange County residents! Your bubble just got a little less boring. The year-old [common ground] open mic series has another show this Thursday, February 2nd at the VAALA Cultural Center in Santa Ana. This month's theme is "Multitudes of Expression," and the range of features lined up reflects just that. More information:

Hey students! Sorry, this one's a bit short notice... The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership in Washington, DC is currently accepting Internship and Scholarship applications for 2012.

CAPAL is charitable and educational organization dedicated to building leadership and public policy knowledge within the Asian Pacific American community. Its mission is to promote APA interests and success in public service careers, to provide information and education on policy issues affecting the APA community, and to serve the APA community at large.

Here are some details on the internship and scholarship:

Our good friend, singer/songwriter Big Phony, has been international as of late, currently making some musical waves in South Korea. It's been a while since I've seen him, so I was quite pleased to see the latest music video for "I Love Lucy," one of my favorite songs from his album Kicking Punching Bags. Take a look:

Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee, who was arrested this month on assault charges for allegedly beating up a homeless man, has pleaded not guilty: Pinkberry co-founder pleads not guilty to tire iron assault.

Lee was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after an altercation with a homeless man at a freeway offramp last June in Los Angeles. Lee apparently got angry with the guy's "sexually explicit" tattoo, chased him down with a friend and beat him with a tire iron:

So last week, word got out that Quentin Lee's latest film White Frog will be making its world premiere as the Opening Night presentation of the 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

The indie coming-of-age drama, written by Ellie Wen, boasts a great cast that includes Booboo Stewart, Harry Shum Jr., B.D. Wong, Kelly Hu and Joan Chen. And now you get your first look in the recently released festival trailer:

Just wanted to share this crazy cute photo of 4-year-old Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who plays the older, more talkative Lily on the ABC comedy Modern Family, standing next to a trophy that's just about as big as she is.

Over the weekend, Aubrey and her castmates collectively picked up a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She got to go up on stage and everything. And if what I'm reading is correct, she's the youngest actor ever to win a SAG Award.

Congratulations, kid!

lego man in spaaaaaaace

One small step... In Toronto, two teens have made headlines for sending a Lego figure carrying a Canadian flag into the stratosphere with a weather balloon, and capturing the tiny toy man's space journey on camera: Lego man in space: one (very) small step - video.

Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, attached four cameras to a homemade styrofoam spacecraft and launched that sucker fifteen miles into the sky, recording and tracking the little Lego astronaut's incredible journey into the final frontier and back. Check out the video:

Ling Woo Liu, Director of the Korematsu Institute, shares a short list of things you can do to celebrate Fred Korematsu Day -- that's today! January 30.

Today, January 30, is Fred Korematsu Day! Here are 5 ways you can celebrate:

read these blogs

YOMYOMF at Sundance: The First Time: Philip at You Offend Me You Offend My Family commemorates the anniversary of Justin Lin's breakthrough indie film Better Luck Tomorrow, which made its controversial world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival a decade ago.

Nominated for Nothing: 'Fast Five': Speaking of Justin Lin... Okay, so it was probably a long shot that Justin Lin's Fast Five would be nominated for an Oscar, but this EW blogger makes the case that this non-nominee was perhaps simply too awesome for the Academy Awards.

They 'went for broke' in WWII while their families were broken: A recent viewing of the movie Red Tails, producer George Lucas' World War II tale of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, inspires a blogger to wonder when Hollywood will finally make a movie about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Celebrating the New Year With Asian American Poetry: In honor of the Lunar New Year, here's a Huffington Post video slideshow featuring the twelve kickass Asian American poets doing their thing.

this week's angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

student found dead at uc irvine

philadelphia store owner shot and killed in front of his wife

casting call for blood games seeks a truckload of asian stereotypes

yes, we're open trailer

manslaughter charge could be dropped in danny chen case

"heron"

chinese zombies in resident evil 6 and li bingbing in resident evil: retribution trailer

underwear stealing stalker arrested

party rockin' tiger dance

woman sentenced to death for killing husband and two sons

Happy Lunar New Year, my friends. Stay Angry in the Year of the Dragon.

1.27.2012

artist paints yao ming portrait using a basketball

A bunch of folks have sent this one my way... In this cool video, Shanghai-based artist Hong Yi, aka "Red," painting an impressive portrait of basketball superstar Yao Ming... using a basketball. Whaaaaat. Thankfully, it's sped up so we can see her artistry take shape in just two and a half minutes. Check it out:

For the bookworms... The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) recently announced its selections for the 2012 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, which "honor and recognize individual works about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage with exceptional literary and artistic merit."

The awards were announced last week at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, and will be presented during the ALA Annual Conference this summer in Anaheim. The awards are given in five categories, including Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, Children's Literature, Young Adult Literature and Picture Book:

Some new tunes for you... Check out "Sounds Like Love," the latest single from Oak & Gorski (aka Ken Oak and Ed Gorski). While still bringing their distinct cello rock vibe, I think it's their most commercial song to date -- and I mean that in a good way. Take a listen:

In Boston, two brothers have been found guilty of manslaughter and other charges for the death of the three people who perished when their apartment caught fire in March 2009: Huang brothers found guilty of manslaughter in fatal Quincy apartment fire.

Oudah Moshah Frawi and his two young sons were killed in the illegal basement apartment kept by Andy Huang and Jason Huang. The apartment had only one exit, rather than the two required, and no smoke detectors -- all in violation of Massachusetts' enhanced fire ordinances:

Hey everybody. Gather 'round to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Melissa Hung.

Last year, I posted about 19-year-old James Malecek, who was charged in the death of another teen after punching him in the head during a fight. Last week, the parents of the victim filed a wrongful death suit against Malecek and his family: Family of Mt. Carmel student killed in Indiana fight files lawsuit.

Malecek apparently "sucker punched" 17-year-old Kevin Kennelly in the head, sending him to the hospital where he died of massive brain trauma. He was arrested on charges of aggravated battery, involuntary manslaughter and battery. And now, Kennelly's parents are suing Malecek, his sister and their mother:

Perhaps you've seen this odd series of Nike commercials featuring Kobe Bryant, in which the Lakers star as self-help coach instructs a variety of notable celebrity personalities on the virtues of something called "The Kobe System."

It's a weird mix of folks. Between Kanye West, Jerry Rice, Serena Williams, Hope Solo, Richard Branson, Paul Rodriguez, as well as Aziz Ansari and Wang Leehom, they appear to have their bases covered. Take a look:

This week in Sacramento, an 80-year-old retired Indian police officer successfully fought off a masked gunman who was attempting to rob his convenience store: Elderly Store Owner Fights Back Against 'KISS Robber.'

The so-called "KISS Robber," named for his evil clown mask, reportedly robbed two stores last week. But he'll need a new mask. Baldev -- may I remind you that he's 80 years old -- managed to pull it off when he fought off the suspect, grabbing his gun and chasing him away:

gr2 presents year of the dragon, january 28 - february 15

More good stuff for art lovers in Los Angeles... Giant Robot is celebrating the Year of the Dragon, an art exhibition featuring dragons! And dragons are awesome. It's running January 28 through February 14 at GR2 in Los Angeles. Here are some more details:

Got this recently passed along to me, and it looks like a pretty cool opportunity for Lao American writers... Some folks are putting together the very first full-length anthology of Lao American speculative art and literature.

Come on, nerds. This is for you! Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. They've put the call out for original stories, poems, plays and experimental literature, as well as visual art. Here are some details on what they're looking for:

Some more new music for you... Here's the video for "Fire Dance," the second single from Toronto-based musician LEO37's upcoming EP Fanfare from PPF House. It's a funky little in-studio jam. Take a look:

Damn, this is depressing as hell. Last week in Southern California, a woman was sentenced to death for murdering her husband and two young sons in 2007: Manling Williams sentenced to death for murder of husband, sons in Rowland Heights.

Manling Tsang Williams, who was 29 at the time, suffocated her 3-year-old and 7-year-old sons while they slept, then stabbed her husband to death -- nearly a hundred times -- with a samurai sword. She apparently did all this so that she could be with her lover.

Do you like the Madea movies? Then meet "Ming Mei." Filmmaker Tyler Perry has signed a $50 million deal to expand his franchise to include films targeted at the world's 1.4 billion Chinese moviegoers.

Also, none of what I just said is true. The Onion knocks it out of the park again with some fake entertainment news: Tyler Perry Expands His Fan Base With New Films About Sassy, Chinese Grandmother.

It's on, Bay Area. It is on. The 30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival has announced its Opening Night Gala and world premiere presentation of White Frog. The indie drama kicks off SFIAAFF30 on March 8, 2012 at the Castro Theater, followed by a reception at the Asian Art Museum.

The film stars Booboo Stewart as high-school freshman Nick, a young boy with Asperger's syndrome who is often neglected and misunderstood by his seemingly perfect family. When tragedy suddenly strikes, Nick is forced out of his comfort zone, and into finding the strength he needs to survive.

A year ago, I shared a post about All About Ami, Stephanie Lau's blog dedicated to the art and craft of crocheting cute stuffed animals. Last year, it was the Chinese New Year Doll. This was apparently a pretty popular post.

Well, Stephanie is back to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and since this is the Year of the Dragon, she's sharing step-by-step photos of how she made a little crochet dragon. It's cute as hell, and I thought some of you crafty folks might appreciate it. Check out the rest of the photos here.

fred korematsu portrait to be featured at smithsonian's national portrait gallery

Next month in Washington DC, civil rights icon Fred T. Korematsu will become the first Asian American to receive a well-deserved place in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery permanent exhibition, "The Struggle for Justice," which features of the images of American cultural and political heroes.

Two 1940s-era original photographs of Korematsu -- gifts from the Korematsu family -- will be presented at a private ceremony on February 2, just days after the second annual Fred Korematsu Day. Here's some more information on "The Struggle for Justice," from the Korematsu Institute's press release:

finding voice: spoken word, indigenous hip hop and interactive show, february 4

Three years ago, Stephanie Tanny was sexually assaulted. Her artist debut show, "Finding Voice," explores expression in the wake of what can be a silencing trauma. Her performance and interactive art show will be accompanied by live music performances on February 4 at the Leela European Café in Denver.

Don't live there? The internet is here. Stephanie will be streaming the whole night live on her official website. Details about the show:

This is for all you aspiring screenwriters in Los Angeles -- and I know there are a lot of you. Visual Communications is partnering up with Koji Steven Sakai to present another ten-session course on the art and craft of writing a screenplay: Intro to Screenwriting with Koji Steven Sakai.

Koji graduated from USC's Masters of Professional Writing program and has written two feature films: Haunted Highway, co-written with Naoko Ihara Witmer and director Junichi Suzuki, and The People I've Slept with, directed by Quentin Lee. Here are some more details on the class:

This video is just 38 seconds long, but you get a nice taste of Nick Ngo of The Bangerz in action, doing a little stutter edit set. Check it out:

Out of New Jersey, more news of a historic Asian American judicial nomination... Earlier this week, Governor Chris Christie nominated Phillip H. Kwon to the state Supreme Court: North Jersey Koreans welcome state Supreme Court nomination.

If confirmed, Kwon would become the first ever Asian American justice on New Jersey's Supreme Court, as well as the first immigrant to serve on the court since 1947. Kwon currently serves under Governor Christie as first assistant attorney general. Here's some more information on his background:

Capcom recently unveiled a new trailer for Resident Evil 6, the upcoming latest edition of the popular video game series, promising that it's their biggest and baddest installment yet. The game deals with a global bio-terror outbreak, and part of the action takes place in China. You get a few glimpses in the trailer:

research study: coping with discrimination

Got this passed along to me the other day... Researchers at Iowa State University are looking for Asian Americans who are at least 18 year old, not a student, and fluent in English to take part in a research study on coping with discrimination. Here are some more details about the study:

Don't know when or where this was recorded, or who this guy is, but it's both ridiculously frustrating and hilarious. Watch this kid do his best to eff with officials and create an awkward, clip-worthy moment at the spelling bee: Hilarious Spelling Bee Troll.

This week in New York, Senator Charles Schumer recommended attorney Lorna Schofield to the White House as a candidate to serve as a federal district court judge for the Southern District of New York: LORNA SCHOFIELD SUGGESTED FOR SEAT ON THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.

Schofield is a litigation partner at the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. If nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first Filipino American in the history of the United States to serve as a federal judge. Here's more on her background from NAPABA's press release:

year of the dragon boy

If you haven't noticed change in visuals up top, this week is dedicated to the Year of the Dragon, featuring artwork by illustrator Martin Hsu.

The character is called "Dragon Boy," a little kid in a superhero-like dragon suit who's looking for his roots in a foreign land. Dragon Boy is currently being featured in a show at Dragatomi Gallery in Sacramento, running now through February 4. Here's some more information:

The Asian American Writers' Workshop, a national arts center dedicated to Asian American stories, is currently looking for a new Program Director in New York. Interested? Not so fast -- are you awesome enough?

The part-time position will need a dedicated book-lover who will curate, publicize and manage literary events and other programming initiatives that are "quirky, progressive and awesome." Here are some more details:

Got this fun little video passed along to me... Check out TC & The Geunj, aka Tiffany Chung and Sam Geunjin Kang, sharing an original song entitled "Take My Eyes From You" from inside what looks like someone's laundry room. But first, an awkward introduction:

Some tragic news out of Orange County, where a college student committed suicide by jumping from a parking structure at UC Irvine: Man found dead at UC Irvine identified.

The student was identified as 18-year-old Andy Chau, a UC San Diego freshman who was visiting a friend at UCI. According to authorities, he apparently jumped from the seventh floor, and was found by students on the road near the parking structure late Sunday night:

84th Academy Award nominations were announced today. As usual, the list of nominees is pretty uninteresting -- actually, even more so than usual. But there is a slim number of notable names for our purposes here on the blog...

Um, what the hell is this? Got this casting call passed along to me, for a low-budget feature film called Blood Games. And it does not look good.

I don't know what this movie is, but they're looking a handful of Asian guys to play an "average karate master," a "sneaky Asian tour guide," a "scary looking" Asian fighter, and an Asian cop. They certainly aren't hiding the fact that they want some seriously stereotypical Asians.

But really, the worst part is the characters' names. Take a look:

For fans eagerly awaiting the The Legend of Korra, the animated follow-up series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, here's a little taste of what's in store... io9 recently posted the first scene, which features the titular heroine in action: First scene from Avatar: The Legend of Korra shows our heroine kicking butt.

Looks pretty darn cool. And you get a nice glimpse of the show's setting -- sort of a more modern Asian-inspired milieu. The show was originally set to premiere last fall, but got pushed back so they could produce more episodes. Hopefully, we'll get to see the show on Nickelodeon sometime later this year.

manslaughter charge could be dropped in danny chen case

What the hell? A military investigator has suggested that the most serious charge be dropped against one of the soldiers implicated in the death of Private Danny Chen, who suffered weeks of hazing and abuse before taking his own life while serving in Afghanistan: Most Serious Charge in a Private's Death May Be Dropped.

Officials recommended 32-year-old Specialist Ryan Offutt face thirteen charges, including assault, negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. But after a pretrial hearing, the investigator concluded that the charge of involuntary manslaughter be dropped:

little dragon tales at moca, february 4

New York parents, start the Year of the Dragon with cuteness. Dave Liang of the Shanghai Restoration Project recently released Little Dragon Tales, a collection of traditional Chinese children's songs mixed with electronica beats and other modern twists. May sound strange, but like all of Dave Liang's unexpected combinations, it works. He'll be at the Museum of Chinese in America with Shanghai jazz singer Zhang Le to teach kids some of those songs. More information:

Yo, all you writerly creative types out there. Open City is a new online magazine on Asian American news and culture in New York, coordinated by the Asian American Writers' Workshop.

They're looking for Creative Nonfiction Fellows to write and produce stories on the vibrant immigrant communities of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Open City offers a unique platform for writers to tell the stories of low-income Americans too often ignored or misrepresented. If you're an emerging creative nonfiction writer looking for financial support, a work space and career mentorship, apply to become a Creative Nonfiction Fellow.

Here are some more details:

1.31.2012

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