Celebrating Anna May Wong
Today's Google Doodle is a beautiful slideshow celebrating the life and career of screen icon Anna May Wong, the first-ever Chinese American movie star in Hollywood. The slideshow, created by illustrator Sophie Diao features snapshots of Wong's life, from her humble beginnings working in her parents' laundry to some of the more famous characters she portrayed in the more than 50 movies she appeared in over her career.
LEGO 2020 Chinese New Year Playsets
Look, if you're not celebrating the Lunar New Year with an official LEGO 2020 Chinese Lunar New Year playset, then you're missing out. There's the very cool Lion Dance playset (882 pieces) featuring 5 dancing lions, 8 minifigures (including a man in a rat costume to mark the Year of the Rat), a percussionists' stage, a detailed temple gate and more. There's also the Chinese New Year Temple Fair playset (1664 pieces) featuring an ornate Chinese temple, stalls displaying an array of LEGO barbecue dishes, candy, toys, vases and dough figurines, plus 13 minifigures and a baby figure. Red envelopes included!
MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy -- you're just racist
"To this day, the myth around MSG is ingrained in America's consciousness, with Asian food and culture still receiving unfair blame. Chinese Restaurant Syndrome isn't just scientifically false — it's xenophobic." Asian American activists, restaurateurs and medical professionals are calling monosodium glutamate's bad rap outdated, racist, and unscientific.
What It's Like to Never Ever See Yourself on TV
Charles Yu, author of the forthcoming new novel Interior Chinatown, reflects on a lifetime of watching television, never seeing yourself reflected on the screen, and the generational feedback loop the denial of subjectivity creates for Asian Americans and America at large.
Awkwafina is Nora From Queens
Awkwafina's new series Nora From Queens premieres tonight on Comedy Central. The half-hour scripted comedy is inspired by her real life growing up in Queens, New York. Raised by her Dad (BD Wong) and Grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) alongside her cousin (Bowen Yang), Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-NYC.
