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3.25.2012

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'Hunger Games' Vs. 'Battle Royale': With Friday's release of The Hunger Games movie adaptation, Jeff Yang's latest "Tao Jones" column holds it up to the Japanese cult classic Battle Royale, which has a suspiciously similar premise about a dystopian future in which teenagers are forced to kill each other in a last-kid-standing competition.

Similar Show for New Coach, With Lin Still in Picture: Despite some hasty declarations from the skeptics, the haters and the unfaithful, it seems that reports of Linsanity's demise were greatly exaggerated.

DIFFERENT RACISMS: On Jeremy Lin and How the Rules of Racism are Different for Asian Americans: Author Matthew Salesses, a Korean American adoptee, on how Linsanity has cast light on the many, many issues of identity and racism in America.

How George Takei Conquered Facebook: In just one year, Star Trek's George Takei has amassed nearly 1.4 million fans on his Facebook page. Because he is Sulu, and because he is awesome.

Why the Pretty White Girl YA Book Cover Trend Needs to End: When writer Ellen Oh's daughter was made fun of in school for the shape of her eyes, the author thought about the lack of diversity in book covers for young adults -- an audience she writes for.

Not Chinese enough in China? Chinese-Americans caught between 2 worlds: In China, where many American-born Chinese have gravitated over the past few years, race and nationality intersect in interesting, sometimes confusing, ways.

A Conversation with Tina Chang: Meet the amazing Tina Chang, Brooklyn's Poet Laureate.

Author Reveals Future Book & Series To Terminally Ill Fan To Fulfill His Wish: Nachu Bhatnagar, a terminally ill cancer patient, was disappointed that he might not find out how his favorite book series would turn out. So the author told him.

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Rocks on to New Challenge: 'The Raid: Redemption' Film Score: Mike Shinoda talks Linkin Park, Asian stereotypes, and composing his first film score for The Raid.

The Liu Wen Express: In this New York Tims profile on China's first bona fide supermodel, Liu Wen, she visits her old middle school in Yongzhou.