*

4.30.2013

If you're not sufficiently pumped for Fast & Furious 6...



Are you ready for Fast & Furious 6? Here is the final theatrical trailer for Justin Lin's latest summer blockbuster, which features all kinds shootouts, vehicular warfare and muscly dudes with mean stares. There's a lot of stuff you've already seen in previous trailers, but also a few money action shots that'll have you shaking your head. It wouldn't be a Fast & Furious flick if the auto action didn't defy the laws of physics. Check it out:

4.29.2013

Join the Angry Asian Film Club at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival



For all you film fans in Los Angeles, we're just days away from the 29th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, which kicks off this Thursday, May 2 with the Opening Night Gala presentation of the feature documentary Linsanity, director Evan Jackson Leong's inspiring documentary on Jeremy Lin's unlikely, inspirational rise to basketball stardom. But that's just the beginning of what's good at the festival...

If you're looking for a few tips on what to check out, I invite you to take part in the Angry Asian Film Club, our second annual selection of LAAPFF programs that I've picked out and highlighted for you, the good readers of this blog. I'll be hosting some screenings and leading Q&As with the filmmakers. Basically, check out the list, grab a few friends, and let's all go watch some movies together.

Here are my program picks. I've seen a few of these films, but most are just interesting-looking films I picked out of the schedule, and I'm taking an educated chance on. Join me, won't you?

Hangout for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, May 1, 12:00pm ET

In case you didn't know, May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. To kick things off, I've joined forces with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center for a very special Google Hangout happening Wednesday, May 1 at 3:00pm EST.

Come join in on a Hangout with Lisa Ling, journalist, writer and host of Our America with Lisa Ling; Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Konrad Ng, Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center; moderator Gautam Raghavan, Associate Director of Public Engagement at the White House. And me! Here are some details about the Hangout:

Music Video: "We The Common (For Valerie Bolden) by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down



I love Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. Check out Ms. Nguyen being badass as usual in this superfun music video for "We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)" from her latest album We The Common. (Look for the cameo by former Angry Reader of the Week Sylvie Kim -- freshly engaged -- around the 0:55 mark.) Take a look:

California's Department of Education sued for failing to assist English-learning students

Last week, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center announced that it had filed a lawsuit, with the American Civil Liberties Union, against the state of California on behalf of students, parents, and teachers to compel the state to provide services to English learners: California ignoring some English learners, lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, the state Education Department has ignored its obligation to make sure that thousands of students learning English receive adequate and legally required assistance. An estimated 20,000 students in California who need to learn English aren't getting adequate language instruction:

In case you were wondering: the Asians on the 2013 TIME 100



TIME recently published the 2013 TIME 100, its annual list profiling The 100 Most Influential People in the World, from "artists and leaders to pioneers, titans and icons." Whether or not you can quantify an individual's influence, and whether or not you agree with what makes them influential, this list is always an interesting reflection of the times. (Pictured above: Bollywood film star and activist Aamir Kahn.) For the purposes of this blog, some noteworthy personalities on this year's list include:

Meet the characters from Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer



The movie I'm most looking forward to this summer? It's not Iron Man 3, Man of Steel or even Star Trek Into Darkness. It's Snowpiercer, the English-language feature film debut from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, the auteur behind recent masterpieces like Memories of Murder, The Host and Mother.

Boasting an awesome cast, his latest film is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama about a futuristic train whose passengers are the only survivors on an ice age-ravaged Earth. No U.S. trailer or North American release date yet, but here some supercool Korean character posters:

Rooster vs. Dragon: Trader Joe's has its own Sriracha Sauce



What is this?! What is this sad, unworthy imitation of our favorite tangy, spicy elixir?

Trader Joe's has stocked its sauce shelves with its own version of Sriracha, packaged in a familiar-looking green-tipped bottle, but swapping out the rooster illustration with a fire-breathing dragon. How does the rooster fare in a fight against the dragon? OC Weekly did the taste test: Trader Joe's Now Has Its Own Sriracha.

Dragon sauce? No way. I cannot purchase the TJ version, just on principle. I will not betray the man who turned up the heat. Just look at that face. I will stay true to the rooster. Huy Fong forever!

American accused of plotting to overthrow North Korea

In North Korea, an American tour operator is facing indictment on charges of plotting to overthrow the government: North Korea Expected to Indict American It Is Holding.

Kenneth Bae, an American born in South Korea, has been detained for nearly six months. Details are unsurprisingly vague, but Bae was reportedly traveling with a group of businessman from China to the North Korean special economic zone of Rason last November, when he was taken into custody.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the government had already finished its investigation, and Mr. Bae admitted his guilt to charges that could draw the death penalty:

4.28.2013

Read These Blogs



Watch out! Angry little girl is sharing her feelings: Lela Lee is an L.A.-based artist whose online comic strip, Angry Little Girls, is coming in cartoon form to television. Yes!

Blame Photoshop for Korea's Beauty Queen "Clones"? A little bit of truth and clarity behind those seemingly identical "plastic surgery" photos of Korean beauty pageant contestants.

Why We Must Remember Rohwer: Over 70 years ago, George Takei and his family were taken by gunpoint from their L.A. home to Rohwer, Arkansas. As Takei remembers this time, he asks the nation to consider how we talk about the Boston marathon bombing.

Koreans are 'good,' 'bad' and everything in between: Grace Lee is an L.A.-based independent filmmaker whose latest film, American Revolutionary, explores the life of Grace Lee Boggs. Here, she talks about perceptions and expectations of Korean Americans.

4.26.2013

The Crumbles kicks off the "Awkward 'n' Awesome' Tour



Hey, indie film fans. If you're in the Los Angeles area, I've got one for you. The award-winning indie rock tragicomedy The Crumbles, written and directed by Akira Boch, is kicking off a nationwide theatrical "Awkward 'n' Awesome Tour," starting this weekend for a one-week engagement at Laemmle's Playhouse 7 Theatre in Pasadena. With an original soundtrack by Quetzal Flores, the movie follows up the ups and downs of the greatest garage band nobody's ever heard of. Check out the trailer:

Chin Ho Liao was elected to San Gabriel's City Council. So why won't they let him serve?

Got this news passed along to me from our friends at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center... In San Gabriel, California, Councilman-elect Chin Ho Liao was the second-highest vote-getter in the city's March elections, where the top three candidates are elected to the council. So why is Mr. Liao still fighting for his seat?

Despite his clear victory, the City Council voted not seat Liao and launched an investigation after a resident filed a complaint alleging that his true residence is outside the city's borders. The council has been holding hearings to determine Liao's residency: San Gabriel councilman-elect in residency fight for his seat.

The vote not to seat Liao was taken by the previously constituted council, which included two outbound incumbents who had been defeated in the March election, having lost to Liao. Instead of seating Liao or appointing a neutral third party to adjudicate the claim, and despite the potential conflict of interest, the council decided to hold a hearing on whether the challenge to Liao's residency is valid.

APALC's voting rights team, which is representing Liao in the hearing, says the council's actions and the entire hearing process is huge conflict of interest:

Angry Reader of the Week: Vincent Fang



Okay, friends. We're doing this again. Time 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 Vincent Fang.

The night Danny got carjacked by the Tsarnaev Brothers



By now, if you've read all the accounts of last week's harrowing events in Boston, from the carnage inflicted during the Marathon bombings to the perpetrators' dramatic death/capture, you might have heard about the carjacking and hostage that the Tsarnaev brothers took, just before what would be the beginning of the end for them. Turns out, that hostage was a 26-year-old Chinese guy named "Danny."

In this exclusive interview with the Boston Globe, Danny, who is only identified by his American nickname, gives his crazy, strange account of the carjacking that put him in the path of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that night, filling in some of the gaps in the timeline before the brothers' eventual shootout with police in Watertown: Carjack victim recounts his harrowing night.

Held captive at gunpoint, Danny was able to escape when the Tsarnaev's stopped for snacks:

4.25.2013

Things go horribly wrong in the Filipino thriller Graceland



Movie fans! Before the summer movie season gets in full swing, I want to point your attention to the acclaimed Filipino indie thriller Graceland, directed by Ron Morales, opening this Friday. You can see it in select theaters starting April 26, or watch it now on iTunes, On Demand and digital download from the venerable Drafthouse Films. First, here's the trailer:

APAPA Bay Area College Summer Internship Program

Here's an summer internship opportunity for college students in the San Francisco Bay Area who are interested in gaining firsthand knowledge and experience in governmental and public affairs, as well as the API community.

The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association invites you to apply to the APAPA Bay Area College Summer Internship Program. Internships this year will include opportunities to work with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, and Congressman Mike Honda. Here are some more details:

Music Video: "Gone" by Kina Grannis



Oh, you know I love that Kina Grannis. One of my favorite singer/songwriters recently released the official music video for "Gone," from her album Stairwells. Filmed around Los Angeles and directed by Ross Ching, the video stars Kina and two glowing stick figure things. Yep. Take a look:

NYPD Chief Thomas Chan appointed head of Community Affairs

NYPD Chief Thomas Chan, currently head of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, has been appointed the new head of the Community Affairs Bureau, the department's community policing initiative: New NYPD Community Affairs Chief Thomas Chan grew up in city housing.

Chan, the first Asian American to be made a two-star NYPD chief, is a 31-year member of the force, is fluent in three languages -- English, Cantonese and Toisan -- and grew up in a Manhattan housing project. He'll be officially elevated to his new command during a promotion ceremony on Friday.

Here's some more information about his background:

Jeremy Lin injured with bruised chest muscle



Dude. Jeremy Lin injured! On Wednesday night, Jeremy was injured during the first half of Game 2 of the Houston Rockets' playoff against Oklahoma City. Jeremy left the game holding is arm, in visible pain, and was unable to return for the second half. An MRI revealed that he had suffered a bruised right chest muscle. It's unclear how soon he can return: Lin's status up in the air after injury.

Did the Chew TV series get scrapped because of racebending?



Fans of the comic book series Chew were bummed to hear that long-awaited plans for a TV series adaptation had been scrapped at Showtime. Now there are rumors circulating that it never got off the ground because the network wanted Kiefer Sutherland to play the lead Asian American lead character Tony Chu: Did Racebending With Kiefer Sutherland Stop The Chew TV Series At Showtime?

At a recent comics retailer summit, Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson told a crowd that the Chew TV series didn't happen because Showtime wanted Kiefer Sutherland, who, you know, is not Asian, to play the lead. But series creator John Layman said no way to that. Maybe this is true, but the Layman is telling it, Stephenson might have been joking. Still, the speculation gives you an unpleasant glimpse of how things could have gone awry:

Confirmed: body identified as missing Brown University student Sunil Tripathi



Damn. Sad news out of Rhode Island... It has been confirmed that the body recovered from the Providence River earlier this week is missing Brown University student Sunil Tripathi, who had been missing since last month: Body pulled from water in Providence ID'd as missing Brown student.

Tripathi was last seen on March 15. His body was pulled from the water Tuesday at India Point Park in Providence. The identification was confirmed by the state medical examiner through dental records. According to police, there were no signs of trauma, but the official cause of is pending further studies.

Here's his family statement, posted on the Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi Facebook page:

Oh Hell No: Blackface in Asian American fraternity video



This is the kind of stuff that makes me shake my fist at the sky and wonder why the hell I ever bother... Over the years, I've seen an abundance of racist idiocy involving fraternities, from racist ragers to hate attacks. This is not necessarily a frat thing, so much as it is a dumbass-dudes-doing-dumbass-things-together thing. The latest incident comes from UC Irvine, and it involves an Asian American fraternity.

Oh yes, we Asian Americans are most certainly not immune to perpetuating our share of racist ignorance. The brothers of UCI's Lambda Theta Delta recently posted a video (at 0:55), in which a member is seen performing in blackface. Like it ain't no big deal. I don't care about good or bad intentions, or why this video was made -- this is some ignorant shit, and the people responsible need to know it.

4.24.2013

Kick Ass! Kung Fu Posters from the Stephen Chin Collection, April 18 - August 25



Holy smokes. Last week, I had the pleasure of the attending the opening of Kick Ass! Kung Fu Posters from the Stephen Chin Collection, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences insanely awesome exhibition of martial arts movie posters, from Bruce Lee movies to the some of the most cool, weird and obscure kung flicks of yesteryear. It's running now through August 25 at the Academy Grand Lobby Gallery. If you're in Los Angeles, you've got to check it out.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

The Bruce Lee Classics: Limited Edition Sneakers



Get 'em while they've got 'em! The Bruce Lee Official Store is offering an exclusive run of special edition sneakers -- yellow and black Onitsuka Tigers in the style of the classic look immortalized by Bruce Lee in Game of Death: The Bruce Lee Classics - Exclusive LTD Edition of 100.

Individually numbered and limited to 100 pairs. They're going fast, so get them n.... oh hell, never mind. They're practically sold out, and completely out of my size. But they're certainly nice to look at. Ah, well. You can always get a regular, non-exclusive version of the iconic yellow and black sneakers.

Be sure to peruse all the other cool gear in the Bruce Lee Official Shop. A portion of the proceeds from all merchandise purchased benefits the Bruce Lee Foundation.

Body found in river could be missing Brown student

After everything that's gone down, this is some awful news... On Tuesday in Rhode Island, a man's body was recovered from the Providence River, and is believed to be 22-year-old Sunil Tripathi, the former Brown University student who has been missing since mid-March: Providence police say body found in river could be missing former Brown student Sunil Tripathi.

Tripathi was last seen at his apartment in Providence on March 16.

Although nothing is certain until the medical examiner's office performs and autopsy and identifies the body, according to authorities, it's "very possible" that the body could be Tripathi's. The body was discovered floating in the water by the coach of Brown's rowing team:

4.23.2013

John Woo to direct WWII movie (or miniseries) Flying Tigers



Director John Woo's next project is Flying Tigers, which revolves around a group of U.S. pilots who joined the Chinese Air Force during World War II. And depending on where you are in the world, it'll be a two-part movie or a six-hour TV miniseries: John Woo's 'Flying Tigers' to Be Released in Two Versions.

Flying Tigers, which will start production early next year, is based on the true story of an American who trained the Chinese to fly fighter planes against Japanese invaders. Moviegoers in China will see the two-part feature film, while audiences in other countries will see the miniseries:

4.22.2013

7th annual New York City Asian American Student Conference, April 27



This for all you students in the New York area... what are you doing this Saturday? You should make plans to be at the 7th annual New York City Asian American Student Conference, bringing together student leaders from the area for a day of workshops, panels, speakers and networking. This year's conference theme is "En Route." Are you ready? It's happening April 27 at the Kimmel Center New York University. Here are some more details:

2013 Kollaboration New York Auditions



Do you have what it takes to be the next Kollaboration Star? Kollaboration is constantly on the lookout for the nation's top performers, hidden talents and undiscovered superstars. If you're in New York, and you want to show the world what you've got, Kollaboration New York is currently accepting audition applications for performers of all mediums (song, dance, spoken word, etc). Here are some more details:

New Music: From My Father by Trebles and Blues



Some more beats to make you think... You must check out From My Father, the new sophomore album from producer Trebles and Blues. I was a huge fan of his first instrumental LP, The Blue Note, and this is a worthy follow-up, striking a personal chord and drawing from his own family history, culture and heritage. Here's a video for the second single, "Clear the Fog":

Boston University honors marathon bombing victim with scholarship fund

Boston University announced that it has established a scholarship fund and is accepting donations in memory of Lu Lingzi, the Chinese graduate student who was one of three people killed in last week's bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon: BU Scholarship to Honor Lu Lingzi.

Trustees created the Lu Lingzi Scholarship Fund in response to an outpouring of support from alumni, friends and others, initially committing $560,000 to honor her memory. The fund has since quickly grown to $716,000, thanks to contributions from more than 600 donors from 14 countries:

HBO's East of Main Street: Milestones celebrates life, death and everything in between



For folks who have enjoyed East of Main Street, HBO's documentary series celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, here's the trailer for this year's series, "Milestones," directed by Jonathan Yi. Rather than profiling personalities, celebrities or cute kids, as in previous years, the fourth season gets a glimpse of moments from our community -- life, death, and everything in between. Take a look:

James Hong stars as dead Ryan Reynolds in R.I.P.D.



In the recently released trailer for the supernatural action-adventure R.I.P.D., Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds star as two cops dispatched by the otherworldly Rest In Peace Department to protect and serve the living from the unruly undead. Think Men in Black, but swap out aliens with bad souls and evil spirits.

The joke is that the cops are dead, so they take on a different appearance when they dwell among the living. Ryan Reynolds happens to look like an old Chinese guy. And when you need an old Chinese guy for your movie, there should be one man at the top of your list: James Hong. The one and only. Take a look:

News anchor has the worst first day ever



Ah, you gotta love those small-market local newscasts. Check out this video clip of A.J. Clemente's momentous first night on the job as anchor for KFYR, the NBC affiliate in Bismarck, North Dakota. Things did not go well. The first words out of his mouth -- on air -- were "fucking shit," as co-anchor Van Tieu sits there next to him in horror. Let's go to the tape:

Reporter/Bride covers China quake wearing wedding gown



I've been on the road for the better part of the last week, so I haven't been able to follow some of the major news stories very closely -- including the huge 6.6 earthquake that struck southwest China, killing nearly 200 people and counting. So why is this reporter wearing a wedding gown while reporting on the quake? Because when an earthquake strikes -- even on your wedding day -- duty calls.

TV reporter Chen Ying was off-duty, apparently on route to her wedding ceremony on Saturday morning when the earthquake struck. But Ms. Chen takes her job seriously, and jumped into action, reporting the story on-camera while still wearing her wedding dress. I wouldn't be surprised if she enlisted the help of the wedding videographer. Here's video of her intrepid reporting:

4.21.2013

Read These Blogs



The 12 Best Tweets About CNN's "Brown-Skinned Individual" Fail: In the mad scramble to pin the Boston Marathon bombings on a perpetrator, CNN jumped the gun and began reporting that a "dark-skinned individual" with "brown skin" had been arrested and was behind the act -- a report they embarrassingly had to retract. Here are the best tweets about the mixup.

My Innocent Brother Was Made Into a Bombing Suspect: Sunil Tripathi's Sister Speaks: On March 16 of this year, Brown student Sunil Tripathi went missing. As the nation panicked over finding the people behind the bombing, people began pointing fingers to Tripathi on the news and on social media -- putting his family and friends through a second hell.

Being Brown After The Boston Bomb Blast: Deepak Sarma's article on Racialicious expresses legitimate concern over racial profiling in the hunt for the perpetrators of last week's Boston Marathon bombing.

In Times Like These We Are All Americans. Not Really. Let's All Be Human.: In the wake of the Boston bombing, our good friend Kathy Khang reminds us to be human.

4.19.2013

7th Annual Mr. Hyphen, April 27



It's time, San Francisco! On Saturday, April 27, Hyphen invites you to watch as judges crown the next Mr. Hyphen at the Brava! Theater. The finalists are five awesome API dudes who are dedicated to community activism and social justice work, and the winner will receive $1,000 awarded to his associated nonprofit organization. Get a chance to get to know their work, talent, and style better. Here's some more information:

Angry Reader of the Week: Lakshmi Gandhi



Hey. 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 Lakshmi Gandhi.

Sunil Tripathi is still missing. And is not a bombing suspect.

Late last night, social media was ablaze with near-certain speculation that one of the suspects responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings was missing Brown student Sunil Tripathi, who has been missing since March. A massive Reddit thread fueled the fire, with internet sleuths posting side by side grainy photo comparisons of Tripathi and the suspect, giving way to even wilder speculation.

None of it turned out to be true: The Internet's shameful false ID.

4.18.2013

Senate immigration bill: know your rights and act

Passing this information along... Now that the Senate has introduced its immigration reform bill, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center urges you, AAPI community members, to know your rights and take action to ensure our voices are heard throughout the legislative process.

The bi-partisan Senate leadership's proposal is a substantial step in the right direction toward fixing our broken immigration system, eliminating the family backlog over a period of ten years; redefining "immediate relatives" to include spouses and minor children of green card holders, allowing an expedited process not subject to numerical caps on green cards; and allowing parents of U.S. citizens who immigrate to the U.S. to bring their minor children with them, keeping families together.

But the proposed changes also significantly threaten family unity, eliminating the "F4" visa category so that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to sponsor their brothers and sisters; placing an age cap on the "F3" visa category so that U.S. citizens can only sponsor their adult married children who are thirty years old or younger; and continuing to exclude LGBT couples and families from sponsoring their loved ones for family reunification.

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center is urging these actions from the community:

Customer sues CVS for "Ching Chong Lee" on racist receipt

I'm sure somebody thought they were being clever. That somebody needs to get fired.


Oh hell no. Not this again. The latest edition of Racist Receipts comes from New Jersey... And Asian American woman is suing a CVS Pharmacy, where an employee referred to her with a racial slur -- "Ching Chong Lee" -- on her receipt: N.J. woman sues CVS for $1M, saying worker used Asian slur on her receipt.

Hyun Lee was picking up photos being developed at a CVS in Egg Harbor City, when she noticed the racial slur on her receipt. Yes, "ching chong" is a racial slur. Ms. Lee's actual f$%king name was apparently too difficult to type in, so the employee took it upon themselves to use something more convenient.

Transformers 4 to cast Chinese actors through reality show



Hey, want to be in the next Transformers movie? (Yes, they're making another one.) Then you might want to make your way over to China. Transformers 4 will be partially shot in China -- gotta get that China money, yo -- and they will be casting some of the Chinese roles in the movie... through a reality show: Chinese Reality Show Will Choose Four Actors for 'Transformers 4.'

Whether you're a professional actor or an unknown with no prior experience, if you are lucky enough to snag yourself a place on The Transformers 4 Chinese Actor Talent Search, airing in June, then you might have a chance to see yourself alongside Autobots and Decepticons on the big screen:

Bronx man assaulted, called a "f**kin' Arab"

Well, that didn't take long. In the aftermath of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings, a man in New York City was assaulted by a group of men on the mistaken assumption that he was an "Arab": Boston Marathon Bombing Fallout: Bangladeshi Man Beaten In Bronx For Being An 'Arab.'

On Monday, 30-year-old Abdullah Faruque, who is Bangladeshi American, stepped outside an Applebee's in the Bronx when he was beaten up by a group of four or five men who called him a "fuckin' Arab." The incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

4.17.2013

Clippers fan hits half court shot to win a new car



I'd say this guy had a good night. Check out this Los Angeles Clippers fan, Kevin Liao, hitting a halftime half court heave the other night to win a new car. Pretty awesome, considering he only found out about 20 minutes before that he'd get the chance to take the shot. That dude drove home in a brand new 2013 Dodge Dart. Here's the video:

4.16.2013

Pacific Arts Movement presents Spring Showcase, April 18-25



Hey, San Diego! If you're a film fan looking for the latest and greatest in Asian and Asian American cinema, Pacific Arts Movement invites to its 3rd annual Spring Showcase, a week-long 12-film presentation happening April 18-25 at Birch North Park Theatre and Digiplex Mission Valley. Program highlights include...

Fund This: Chinese in Hollywood



Here's a cool book for film fans... Chinese in Hollywood, by Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, is a book of over 180 photographs celebrating the contributions of Chinese and Chinese Americans to the film and television industries -- from Anna May Wong to Keye Luke and Nancy Kwan. The project just reached its funding goal on Indiegogo, with just a few days left. Here's a video with some more information on the book:

Far East Movement turns up the love in this HTC One spot



Oh snap! It's our friends Far East Movement and their song "Turn Up the Love," all of a sudden all over the TV in this commercial for the new HTC One campaign. I first saw the spot on MTV, but then I started seeing it nonstop everywhere. Heck, it just played on the tube as I was writing this. No joke! Because FM's music sounds better with BoomSound, duel speakers with built-in amplifiers:

Our hearts are heavy for you, Boston



Last night, after hours of watching the news and reading one too many tweets of people being awful to each other, I shut the television off, downed a stiff cocktail, and said prayer for the victims of yesterday's bomb attack at the Boston Marathon. The explosion killed three people and injured 176.

My deepest condolences to the loved ones of the dead, who were all watching the race near the finish line at the time of the blast: 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester; 29-year-old Krystle Campbell of Arlington; and an unidentified Chinese national who was a graduate student at Boston University: BU student killed in blast identified as Chinese national.

New Star Trek Into Darkness trailer needs more Sulu



I am a true Trek fan, so I can't get enough of these trailers for this summer's blockbuster sequel Star Trek Into Darkness... so here's the newest one, with a little bit more new footage of the final frontier. I still don't quite understand everything that's going down, but it looks like Captain Kirk has gotten the Enterprise crew into some serious trouble. Take a look:

Peter Kang named Paramount's Executive VP of Production

Some movie studio news... This week, Paramount Pictures announced the appointment of Peter Kang as Executive Vice President of Production: Former Fox Exec Peter Kang Joins Paramount.

Kang recently left 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw films like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and ran the studio's New York-based book division, handling the acquisitions of rights to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children:

The Walking Dead Glenn Pop! Vinyl Figure



This one's for fellow devotees of AMC's The Walking Dead. Specifically, fans of Glenn, our favorite Asian American guy holding it down and kicking ass in the zombie apocalypse. If you like Glenn, played by Steve Yeun, this 4-inch Walking Dead Glenn Pop! Vinyl Figure from FUNKO, complete with red cap and shotgun (circa season one), will look pretty nice on your shelf. Zombie figures sold separately.