Sushi Restaurant Vandalized with Racist Graffiti

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Police Arrest Man Accused Of Spray-Painting Hate Speech On Restaurant
In the Sacramento area, authorities arrested a man accused of spray-painting hate speech on the front of a restaurant. 43-year-old Lahn Hansen faces various charges including committing a hate crime. The incident happened early Thursday at Umai Bar and Grill in Elk Grove. Hansen was reportedly caught on surveillance footage and identified. Evidence linking him to the vandalism was located inside of his vehicle, where police also located narcotics, burglary tools and items related to a previously reported church burglary.

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Rock Thrown Through Window Of Foster City Vice Mayor's Home
In the Bay Area, police are investigating after a rock was thrown through a window of the home of Richa Awasthi, Vice Mayor of Foster City. The incident occurred on Tuesday night. In a letter distributed by the city, Awasthi said the large rock broke the glass and blinds and nearly hit her husband in the head. Her two children were also in the home when it happened. Police are investigating the incident as felony vandalism though there are no suspects or motive identified. This is actually the second time an incident like this has occurred against a local elected official this year. In June, San Mateo Councilwoman Amourence Lee also had a rock thrown through her window. It's worth noting that Lee and Awasthi are Asian American councilwomen and the only sitting women of color on their respective councils. Doesn't sound like a coincidence to me.

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Bong Joon Ho and Lee Isaac Chung Talk 'Minari'
Variety hosted a conversation between Bong Joon Ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite, and Lee Isaac Chung, writer/director of the critically-acclaimed Minari. The two filmmakers discussed creating on-screen families, telling personal stories and their work with actor Steven Yeun.

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Ted Chiang's "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" is Being Developed for TV
Acclaimed science fiction writer Ted Chiang's short story "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" is being developed as an hour-long TV drama. Set against the backdrop of technology that grants users exact recall of their past, the series combines a kidnapping with a messy adult love story in a cautionary tale about privacy in the modern world. The short story was originally published in 2013 by Subterranean Press, was a Hugo Award finalist and later became part of Chiang's collection Exhalation.

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Tamlyn Tomita Returns as Kumiko in a Clip from Cobra Kai
As the latest trailer for season three of Cobra Kai revealed, Tamlyn Tomita and Yuji Okumoto will reprise their roles as Kumiko and Chozen, repsectively, from The Karate Kid Part II. In this advance clip, we get a glimpse of Kumiko and Daniel's reunion. Cobra Kai season three premieres January 8 on Netflix.

Andrew Yang Does The Math, Drops Out of Presidential Race

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



"It's Clear From the Numbers We're Not Going to Win This Campaign"
Andrew Yang is dropping out of the presidential race. The first Asian American man to run for president as a Democrat, Yang is an entrepreneur who promoted a universal basic income and warned of the perils of automation. After running a long-shot campaign that built unprecedented support and persisted longer than anyone expected, he ended his long-shot bid for president on Tuesday night. "I am the math guy, and it's clear from the numbers we're not going to win this campaign," he announced to supporters in New Hampshire. "So tonight I'm announcing that I am suspending my campaign." You gotta hand it to him for hanging in there as long as he did, and getting so many Asian Americans excited about a candidate like never before.

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Parasite Cookies
Because we're still quite excited Parasite's historic Best Picture win at the Oscars... Cookies! By Judy Kim.

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'Parasite' Won, but Asian-Americans Are Still Losing
Parasite's extraordinary Oscar victory is a triumph for South Korean cinema and a huge boost for the Academy's abysmal track record with diversity, but in the long view, Walter Chaw points out that this historic moment still isn't much of a win for Asian American representation.

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Late Night Writer Karen Chee on Parasite's Oscar Wins
Then again, let us Koreans bask in the collective glory and pride of this moment. Check out Late Night writer Karen Chee -- rocking a Bong Joon Ho t-shirt! -- celebrating Parasite's Oscar sweep, her Korean heritage, and her hot Korean grandpa.

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Fresh Off The Boat Series Finale: February 21
It's the end of an era. Time to say goodbye to the Huang family. Mark your calendars, set your DVRs. Fresh Off the Boat will air its special one-hour series finale February 21 on ABC.

What We Lost in the Museum of Chinese in America Fire

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



What We Lost in the Museum of Chinese in America Fire
Last Thursday night, 70 Mulberry Street in Manhattan caught on fire, likely destroying much of the Museum of Chinese in America's collection of some eighty-five thousand items -- a trove of priceless, irreplaceable artifacts from Chinese American history, salvaged, preserved and archived over several generations. If you'd like to contribute to the museum's recovery effort, donate here: MOCA Archives Fire Recovery.

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Trump's immigration rule could disproportionately hurt Asian immigrants
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to begin implementing new "wealth test" rules making it easier to deny immigrants residency or admission to the United States because they have used or might use public-assistance programs -- standards that could create serious barriers for many Asian immigrants. This article, published last fall, outlines how these new exclusionary rules could significantly affect the Asian American community.

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Charles Yu on The Daily Show
Writer Charles Yu was on The Daily Show to discuss Interior Chinatown (on shelves now!), his new novel about race, pop culture and escaping the roles we are forced to play. He talks about screen representation and the insidious divide-and-conquer strategy of the model minority myth.

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HBO And JuVee Productions To Develop 'House Of Chow' From Ken Cheng
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon's JuVee Production is teaming with HBO to develop the comedy House of Chow from writer Ken Cheng. "Based on Cheng's experiences growing up in a restaurant kitchen, House of Chow is a comedy about the reluctant partnership that forms between estranged, thirtysomething siblings Vicky and Charlie Chow. Both realize that the best way to salvage their disappointing and dysfunctional lives is to revive their family's old Chinese restaurant and turn it into something it's never been: a success. To do that, all they'll need to do is exploit the gullible foodies of L.A. into believing they're something they’ve never been: happy to be there. The comedy untangles the intertwined quirks of culture, sex, family and food that are part of everyday life for many first-gen, blue-collar, "immigrant Americans" and does it in the sexiest place imaginable: a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a B-grade on the window."

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Bong Joon Ho on making ‘Parasite,’ then making history
I really enjoyed Kim Masters' interview with Parasite director Bong Joon Ho (and his translator Sharon Choi) on KCRW's The Business. Bong tells some fun stories about the making of Parasite and offers some new details into the upcoming HBO limited series adaptation of his acclaimed film. Plus, he's charming as hell.

Oscars Still Pretty Damn White

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Oscars: Full List of Nominations
Nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this morning, and considering some of the amazing work of the past year, the overall lack of diversity among the nominees is pretty appalling... but more or less business as usual. I'm particularly bummed that The Farewell was completely shut out without a single nomination. On the other hand, Bong Joon Ho's Parasite made history as South Korea's first Oscar nominee, receiving six nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

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Andrew Yang won the internet, but can he win a 2020 primary?
"After months of running on unconventional campaign strategies, cool branding and novel ideas, Yang has arrived at a pivotal, new point in the 2020 campaign — one governed by the conventional rules of election and where the idea that matters most is your strategy for winning. The candidate powered by the online buzz is now trying to make it on the real, and often uncool, campaign trail through Iowa and New Hampshire."

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My Child Is An Honors Student at Iltiong-Vera Cruz Middle School
On Friday, Alvarado Middle School in Union City, California was renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, honoring two of history's most important (and too often overlooked) Filipino American leaders in the state's civil rights and labor movements.

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Meet the 13 astronauts who could be the first humans on Mars">
NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday -- the first class to graduate under the Artemis program that will send humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The new graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars.

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'Young Rock': Dwayne Johnson Teams With Nahnatchka Khan For NBC Comedy Series Inspired By Him
NBC has given an 11-episode straight-to-series order to Young Rock, a single-camera comedy inspired by the formative years of Dwayne Johnson, written by part of the Fresh Off The Boat team, creator/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Jeff Chiang. I think we can all agree that this show will only be legit if it is the broadcast television embodiment of the above photo.

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 84: They Call Us Parasite

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. (Almost) 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 TV writer Liz Alper to talk about the plight of assistants in the entertainment industry and organizing #PayUpHollywood. And then we geek out about Bong Joon Ho's Parasite.

The Family That Sticks Together...

Your favorite family from the best damn movie of the year.



I just want to make sure everyone knows that this shirt exists, and if you're like me, and you believe that Bong Joon Ho's smash hit masterpiece Parasite is the best damn film of the year, you will order this shirt immediately. I won't say anything more about the film, except that if you haven't seen it yet, don't read anything and don't talk to anyone about it -- just go watch it and get your ass kicked. That is all.

Get the shirt at the Neon Shop.

Bong Joon Ho, Steven Yeun and a Giant Super-Pig Named 'Okja'

'Snowpiercer' auteur's latest film premieres on Netflix on June 28.



Fresh from its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, here's the crazy new trailer for Okja, the story of a little girl trying to reunite with her genetically engineered super-pig pet.

Director Bong Joon Ho, the Korean auteur behind such films as The Host and Snowpiercer, has assembled an international ensemble that includes the likes of Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Seo-Hyun Ahn, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins and Jake Gyllanhaal, who all cross paths in the battle to control of this monstrously giant pig.

Check it out:

Steven Yeun joins the cast of Netflix sci-fi feature 'Okja'

'The Walking Dead' star rounds out Bong Joon Ho's anticipated follow-up to 'Snowpiercer.'



Steven Yeun, who may or may not or may or may not be back on the next season of The Walking Dead, has joined the cast of the sci-fi feature film Okja, director Bong Joon Ho's anticipated follow-up to Snowpiercer.

'Okja': 'Walking Dead's Steven Yeun, Lily Collins & More Round Out Cast Of 'Snowpiercer' Follow

Written by Bong and Jon Ronson, Okja centers on Mija, a young girl who befriends a genetically manufactured pig named Okja. When the pig grows up to gigantic proportions, the corporation that created him takes him, thrusting the girl, now a teen, into a mission to take it back.

No word on Yeun's role in the movie, but Tilda Swinton is playing The Ancient One the head of the corporation (and her twin sister), while Jake Gyllenhaal is a zoologist, and Paul Dano is an animal activist looking to expose the corporation's dastardly dealings.