"I still (mostly) believe in appealing to people's sense of reason..."
Greetings, people of the internet. It is time, once gain, 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 Rebecca Sun.
To promote his new movie Sorry to Bother You, actor Steven Yeun sat down with co-stars Jermaine Fowler and Armie Hammer for a couple of rounds of the WIRED Autocomplete Interview, in which they answered some of the internet's most searched questions about themselves. You might already know where this is going.
It starts off fairly trivial (i.e. "how do you pronounce steven yeun?" "where did steven yeun grow up"), but further down the list, the search questions reveal a sad truth about Yeun's career and the state of Asian representation in media: he is consistently mistaken for other Asians in movies and television. The former Walking Dead star takes the opportunity to drop some knowledge.
"We're getting to some real shit right now." Watch and learn a thing or two:
Inside the Movie That Made Bruce Lee a Legend
45 years ago, Bruce Lee starred in one of the most famous martial arts films of all time, Enter the Dragon -- the movie that posthumously launched him into international superstardom. Here, Matthew Polly, author of the new biography Bruce Lee: A Life shares his favorite stories from the set of the landmark action film.
The Last of the Tiger Parents
On growing up with strict immigrant parents, and undoing the pattern of tiger parenting.
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These Tiny Desk Contestants Set Stories Of The Asian-American Experience To Music
Julian Saporiti and Erin Aoyama create songs that illuminate the Asian American experience in their multimedia project No-No Boy. Their Tiny Desk Contest submission "Two Candles In The Dark" is a song about Aoyama's grandmother, who was incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
'Mulan' Turns 20: Ming-Na Wen Reflects on Animated Disney Classic
"I just remember being so taken aback that Disney was able to take an all-Asian story and was brave enough 20 years ago to go, 'You know what? We want to make this story, because it's an incredible one and it's very inspiring about a young girl who really followed her heart and believed in herself,'"
"We all need far more empathy and kindness for one another, and we need bravery now more than ever."
Hey, everybody! It's that time 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 Erin Quill.
AMC has renewed the horror drama series The Terror for a second season, with some significant changes: it's now officially an anthology series, and the next iteration will switch up its historical setting to center on the Japanese American community during World War II.
Season one of The Terror was inspired by the true story of a doomed Arctic expedition from the mid 19th century. But season two "will be set during World War II and center on an uncanny specter that menaces a Japanese-American community from its home in Southern California to the internment camps to the war in the Pacific," according to a press release from AMC.
Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.
What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. Each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.
On this episode, we welcome Will Choi, the multi-hyphenate mastermind behind the hit bi-coastal Asian American variety show ASIAN AF. We discuss improv, the art of trolling Scarlett Johansson, and the Good, Bad and WTF of the Asian American hustle.
The premise of Drunk History is fairly simple. People go on camera and narrate the story of a noteworthy historical figure or moment... while drunk. Then they present a re-enactment of this alcohol-fueled account.
On the latest episode of the hit Comedy Central series, Fresh Off The Boat star Randall Park gets liquored up and tells the story of civil rights activist Frank Emi, played here by Aaron Takahashi. Incarcerated at Heart Mountain during World War II, Emi protested against the drafting of Japanese Americans into military service.
An important part of the story of Japanese American incarceration, told under the influence, burps and all.
Asian-Americans Face Multiple Fronts in Battle Over Affirmative Action
A lawsuit that accuses Harvard of systematically discriminating against Asian-Americans in admissions, as well as a proposal to change the way New York City’s specialized high schools admit students, have brought new attention to fault lines in the racial politics both inside and outside the country’s diverse Asian communities.
'Guilt by association' logic poses dangers to schools, community
In Palo Alto, some community members are objecting to renaming a middle school after local hero Fred Yamamoto, arguing that he shares a name with an unrelated Japanese admiral of World War II. But other parents are urging the school board to reject prejudice and the faulty logic of "guilt by association."
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The mystery of the million-dollar California congressional candidate
Amid a crowded field in the 39th Congressional District, Herbert H. Lee was a mystery candidate who seemed to be on the ballot as a potential spoiler intended to sap votes from top Democratic contenders.
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Who was this mysterious candidate with little presence on social media or on the streets? Amid rising concerns that California’s top-two primary system could lock Democrats out, party operatives began to worry Lee was a potential spoiler who could sap votes from top contenders and keep them from advancing.
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'Star Wars' Doesn't Belong To You: A Message To The Men Harassing Kelly Marie Tran
Kelly Marie Tran, who played mechanic-turned-resistance fighter Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, recently wiped her Instagram account clear. While Tran hasn't spoken publicly about it yet, most believe it has something to do with the vile harassment she received from certain corners of the internet. Toxic fandom had struck again.
Omakase
Weike Wang's short fiction for The New Yorker, “Omakase," breaks down some of the frustrations and complexities of a Chinese American woman dating a white guy. Well worth reading.
Greetings, good people of the internet. It's that time again. Allow me to introduce you to 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 Helena Ku Rhee.
Awwwwwwww yeah. Grab your visor and get that perm tight. The ladies of Ajumma EXP are back, behind the wheel, and busting a move. This time, we find our favorite gang of ajummas getting caught up in the groove when Irene Cara's 1980 classic "Fame" comes on in the carpool. You will be unable to resist substituting "remember" with "AJUMMA AJUMMA AJUMMA" the next time you hear this song.
"They're just the brokest family in all of San Gabriel Valley."
Well, it was pretty much inevitable. The Crazy Rich Asians parodies have already begun.
I mean, somebody had to do it. First of all, if you haven't seen the hilarious, highly relatable first episode of Will Choi's webseries Crazy Poor Asians, check it out. It's well worth the 40 seconds of your time.
Similarly but differently, check out this video by improv troupe Miss Golightly, also entitled Crazy Poor Asians -- a beat-for-beat parody of the Crazy Rich Asians trailer. It's silly as hell. I don't know why the shot of "Rachel" holding a jar of nuts makes me laugh so much. And Kim Cooper does a pretty mean Awkwafina.
Another day, another encounter with everyday racism in the U.S.A., caught on camera. This one comes to us from a supermarket in Northern California, where over the weekend, a family encountered a fellow shopper who told them to -- take a wild guess -- "go back to your country," among other racist remarks.
The scene unfolded Sunday at the Lucky supermarket in Daly City, where a Filipino American family got into some kind of altercation with a woman in the checkout line. In an Instagram video posted by user @jennyveladera, you can see the woman behind them going off on her own little racist mutter tirade.
"Licky licky licky." She taunts them with some kind of gibberish, then asks, "You don't want me to talk Philippine?" Then, putting her groceries onto the belt, she says to no one and everyone listening, "Come on. Look at all the groceries they buy. Steal our food, steal our money, our jobs." (By the way, accusing someone of stealing food makes absolutely no sense when they are literally paying for their food right in front of you.)
Jenny, holding the camera, is understandably exasperated, and can only comment, "So racist. Oh my God."
The Other Asian.
Tanzila "Taz" Ahmed reflects on learning about Asian American movement history, and then learning about South Asian American movement history.
The Quiet Rage Of Mazie Hirono
A profile of the amazing Democratic Senator Mazi Hirono, who some may assume is polite and quiet -- the apparent "good girl" of Hawaii politics -- but she's one tough, funny cookie. And a fighter.
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Quantico, Twitter Trolls, & Resisting The Erosion of Truth
Writer Sharbari Zohra Ahmed shares her experience resisting the erosion of truth on social media, after she was recently attacked by Twitter trolls for a fictional storyline she did not write for ABC's Quantico -- a show she hasn't written for since 2016, "a fact that had escaped these people's notice."
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The Groundbreaking Queerness of Disney's 'Mulan'
Jes Tom makes the case that Disney's animated feature Mulan is a queer Asian American narrative. However unintentionally, the film depicts a queer narrative that explores both gender identity and sexual orientation.
3 Questions With 'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Tan Kheng Hua
Colorlines talks to Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua, who appears in this summer's Crazy Rich Asians, about her relationship with Asian America and why representation matters.
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Every Bruce Lee Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
Most people don't know that Bruce Lee was a child actor. By the time he was 18, he had made nearly 20 Cantonese films -- none of which were kung fu flicks. Here, Matthew Polly, author of a new biography on Bruce Lee, ranks all 24 of his films, from Lee's on-camera debut at two months old to his final film Enter the Dragon.
Xi'an Famous Foods will donate 100% of Friday's net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The tragic news of Anthony Bourdain's death by suicide stunned fans and colleagues of the internationally renown chef, television personality and world traveler, with a deluge of tributes to his unique life, career and legacy pouring out Friday across social media and beyond.
One such remembrance came from Jason Wang, CEO of New York City noodle chain Xi'an Famous Foods, who shared about the time Bourdain visited and ate at his family's tiny basement food stall in Flushing for Travel Channel's No Reservations in 2007. The endorsement lit a spotlight that helped propel Xi'an from a small noodle stand to a popular restaurant mini-empire boasting a dozen locations and counting.
Wang was still a college student at the time (and no idea who Bourdain was). But years later, he had the opportunity to tell Bourdain how that visit to his family's restaurant had changed their lives.
On Friday, June 8, in honor of Anthony Bourdain's memory, Xi'an Famous Foods will be donating 100 percent of all net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Here's Wang's tribute, shared on social media:
What's up, internet friends? It is time, once again, 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 Ethan Young.
I grew up thinking that you could be queer or Asian, but never both. That definitely had to do with the TV shows I watched (Will & Grace; Sex and the City) and the people I met at my Korean church (all straight or super super super closeted).
So when I started coming out as a queer Asian person in my twenties, I just assumed that I was on my own. Almost all of my gay friends from college were white, they all spoke the same language as their parents, and they had long ago dealt with the coming out process.
But a few years later, I moved to New York and made my first gay Asian friends in the city. We all met at a family acceptance workshop for Asian Pacific Islanders at the LGBT Center in Manhattan. That summer, we danced together, sang karaoke together, and ate Korean BBQ together -- and our chosen family just kept growing.
Many of us shared anxieties over communicating with our immigrant parents and coming out to our families. Visiting relatives abroad meant re-entering the closet. But we had each other to commiserate and confide in.
At the same time, I felt lost and unmoored in my personal history as a queer Asian American: I had found my chosen family, but who were our parents and our grandparents, our aunties and our ancestors?
Why Have So Many South Asian-Americans Won the Spelling Bee?
Last week, Karthik Nemmani became the 11th straight South Asian American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 19 of the last 23 winners have been of South Asian descent. Why?
Democrats Hope an Asian Influx Will Help Turn Orange County Blue
Asian American voters could be a deciding factor in this year's midterm races in Orange County, where Democrats are counting on immigrants to help the party pull off, if not quite a blue wave, then at least an unmistakable purpling.
"So I guess I'm saying we should all just cuddle more?"
Greetings, good people of the internet. It is time, once again, 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 Nathan Ramos.