They Call Us Crusing J-Town

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.

In this episode, we welcome our old friend Oliver Wang, professor of sociology, curator for the Japanese American National Museum exhibition Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community, and author/editor of the exhibition's companion book. We talk about the rich history of Japanese American car culture in Los Angeles, its significance in shaping community identity, the impact of urban development, the surprising gamesmanship involved in street racing, and the complex tapestry of stories still waiting to be uncovered in Asian American history. Oliver also shares some of his research on an important question: why is "Bizarre Love Triangle" the unofficial anthem for Asian Americans (of a certain age)?

"Stop the Asian Invasion"? Yeah, we're coming to get you.

Racist car decal spotted on the streets of Alhambra, California.



Well, I suppose it's convenient when racists identify themselves. Especially while driving. This decal, urging no one in particular to "STOP THE ASIAN INVASION!" was spotted on a truck last week on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra, California. That also appears to be a racist caricature of an "Asian" ace in a coolie hat.

A sharp-eyed driver named Steve Kuo spotted the decal and snapped a photo and posted it on the Monterey Park Life Facebook group, imploring the internet to "find this person and contact his boss."

Ajumma EXP is back, behind the wheel and busting a move

Baby, remember my name.



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.

Video: Motorist calls woman "Fucking Cambodian n**ger"

Things got real racist real fast on the streets of Sunnyvale.



Protip: If you get the feeling something racist is about to happen, it doesn't hurt to pull out your camera and start recording. This one comes to us from Sunnyvale, California, where a woman recorded a racist encounter with an asshole motorist who called her a "bitch" and a "fucking Cambodian n**ger."

Paula Nuguid says she riding her bike with her 9-year-old daughter, attempting to make a legal left turn, when a man in a Nissan Altima started honking at her and calling her a "bitch." She confronted the man, rolling up to his window and demanding, "How fucking dare you, you entitled white prick?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up," he cleverly retorted.

When Nuguid told him, "I can tell you're not from California," the man responded, "You fucking Cambodian n**ger, get out of here." Aaaaaaand there it is. Smile, asshole. You're about to become internet famous.

Nuguid posted video of the encounter on Facebook, saying "I hope his friends, family, and employer see this."

Sports writer fired for racist tweet about Indy 500 winner

"I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend."



On Sunday, Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver ever to win the Indianopolis 500. Which was cool... but not so cool for one Denver sportswriter, who expressed on Twitter that he was "uncomfortable" with a Japanese man winning the storied motor race on Memorial Day weekend -- a tweet that promptly got him fired.

Not long after Sato crossed the finish line of America's most prestigious motorsports race, Terry Frei, a sportswriter for the Denver Post, farted out this ridiculous, thoughtlessly racist tweet trying to somehow draw an unfortunate connection between a Japanese driver winning the Indy 500 -- who says Asians can't drive? -- and the fact that he did so on a holiday meant to honor those who died while serving in the country's armed forces.

Taiwan is Doing Cars Better Than Us

A Very Short Photo Essay About The Weird and Wonderful Cars of Taiwan. Guest Post by Sanjay Shah



I was in Taiwan earlier this month to help shoot the upcoming season premiere of Fresh Off The Boat. I am also so obsessed with cars that I dropped out of college to work on them. Here are some of the cars that I saw on the streets of Taiwan:

68-year-old man on life support after road rage incident

Chun Tse was assaulted after getting into a minor traffic accident in Queens.



In New York, a 68-year-old man is hospitalized and on life support after being assaulted in an alleged road rage confrontation following a minor traffic accident. The incident was caught on dash cam video.

68-Year-Old Man On Life Support After Alleged Road Rage Incident In Queens

Chun Tse was involved in a fender bender last week in Queens. Dash cam video shows him walk to the front of the car to check the damage, then exchange words with the other driver, 44-year-old Cleaman Anderson. Moments later, Anderson punched Tse, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head.

Two families die in fiery car crash as fathers watch in horror

Aaron Ng and Wei Xiong were severely injured trying to rescue their wives and children.



This is an awful, horrifying story out of California... This week, tragedy struck two families who were killed in a fiery car crash while two men could only helplessly watch as their wives and children burned to death.

Two families are ripped apart when children, mothers die in car fire on 5 Freeway near Gorman

Two Bay Area families were on route to a vacation in Southern California on Tuesday when a big rig struck their minivan on the 5 Freeway, sending it off the road where it caught fire. Two women and four children died.

The minivan had gotten into a minor accident with another car, and they pulled over to the shoulder to inspect the damage. That's when a semi-truck slammed into the back of the minivan, propelling it completely off the road. It tumbled down a steep embankment with all eight passengers inside.

The two fathers sitting in the front, 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li, jumped out of the two front doors as the car burst into flames and attempted to pry open the back doors, but they were stuck. Both men suffered serious burns to their arms while trying to rescue their loved ones.

Steven Yeun spotted helping out at the scene of a car crash

Yeun and 'Walking Dead' co-star Norman Reedus pull over to help out auto accident victims in Georgia.



He plays a hero on The Walking Dead, and he's apparently a hero in real life. Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn on AMC's hit zombie drama, was recently spotted with co-star Norman Reedus helping victims of a car crash.

Stars from 'The Walking Dead' help accident victims

On Thursday, Yeun and Reedus were apparently riding motorcycles in Peachtree City, Georgia when they witnessed an auto accident and pulled over to help out. A witness snapped a photo of the two actors, who appeared to be trying to help, next to wrecked cars at the site of the crash.

Chinese student killed in Arizona road rage shooting

Holly Davis is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old ASU student Yue Jiang.



In Arizona, police have arrested a woman who shot and killed an Arizona State University student from China in a deadly road rage incident. Evidence suggests that she planned to commit a violent act.

Police arrest woman in deadly Arizona road rage shooting

According to Tempe police, 32-year-old Holly Davis crashed into another vehicle at a busy intersection, then got out and fired into the other vehicle's driver side window several times, hitting 19-year-old Yue Jiang.

Jiang lost consciousness, veered out of control and crashed into an oncoming car carrying a family of five, who were not seriously hurt. Jiang was taken to the hospital where she died.

Ice Cube, Kevin Hart and Conan school a student driver

'Conan' staffer Diana Chang gets the most unhelpful driving lesson ever.



Diana Chang, who works on the staff of Conan, is getting her driver's license. And because he purportedly likes to help his staff, Conan O'Brien strapped into the passenger seat to give Diana some pointers. Along the way, they hook up with some homies -- Ice Cube and Kevin Hart -- purchase a pinata and pick up some weed.

As a driving lesson, it all turns out to be fairly unhelpful, but it makes for a pretty funny segment.

Check it out:

Sung Kang gets behind the wheel again in 'Z Dream'

Five-part docu-series chronicles 'Fast & Furious' star's restoration of a classic Nissan 240Z.



Sung Kang, the super-cool star of several mega-successful Fast & Furious movies, gets behind the wheel again. Only this time, he's building his dream car. Fox Sports' new five-part documentary webseries Z Dream follows Sung as he goes through the process of restoring a classic Nissan 240Z. The car, known as "FuguZ," will debut at the 2015 SEMA auto show next month in Las Vegas.

In the premiere episode, Sung shares why he was motivated to pursue this unique passion project, and how he connected with friends and specialists to build the car. He says that he was inspired, in part, by the tragic, untimely death of his Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker -- who was also an avid auto enthusiast.

"I realized after he passed away that life is too short," Sung says. "You've got to just go after it."

Check it out:

Man caught on video in Koreatown road rage fight

Police are asking for help identifying the driver who slammed another man's head into the sidewalk.



In Los Angeles, police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who violently assaulted another man, slamming his head into the sidewalk during a road rage incident in Koreatown last May.

Driver seen on video slamming man's head into ground in road-rage fight

The LAPD has released video footage of the altercation, which left a man with a fractured skull. The incident happened on May 26 at the intersection of 4th Street and Ardmore Avenue in Koreatown.

The video shows two men squaring up to fight, occasionally throwing kicks and punches at each other while a bystander tries to break it up. The fight ends when the victim gets picked up and slammed into the pavement, hitting his head on the ground. The man then grabs the victim by the head and slams it into the sidewalk.

Mother arrested for leaving child unattended in hot van

Police officer smashes car window to rescue young girl in Costco parking lot.



You'd think people would understand this by now. Parents and caregivers, do not leave children unattended in cars, even for the quickest errands. This week in New Jersey, a mother was arrested after leaving her young daughter unattended inside her parked minivan while she went shopping at Cosctco.

Cop rescues young child from hot van, mom charged with endangerment

On Thursday in Hackensack, a Bergen County Sheriff's officer smashed a van window to rescue a 2-year-old girl from inside a locked car parked in a Costco parking lot. According to witnesses, the child was "sweat-soaked" and crying profusely. The officer estimated it was at least 80 degrees in the van.

The child's mother, Chaeyoung Lim-Kim, returned with her shopping cart to find a crowd gathered around her car and her daughter in the arms of a sheriff's officer. She was charged with child endangerment.

New Jersey EMT killed in ambulance crash

22-year-old Hinal Patel was responding to a routine call on her last day on the job.



Some tragic news out of New Jersey, where an emergency medical technician, on her last day on the job, was killed when her ambulance got into a fatal accident Saturday morning while responding to a routine call.

On her last shift as EMT, woman killed in ambulance responding to call

22-year-old Hinal Patel and her partner were in their ambulance, responding to a mutual aid request in East Brunswick. It was supposed to be one of one her final calls, on her last day of work as an EMT. Patel, a recent graduate of Rutgers University, was scheduled to start graduate school next month.

According to a police news release, the ambulance had its emergency lights and sirens activated and was crossing an intersection when it was struck by another car. The ambulance overturned and slid into another car. Patel, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was killed.

Man fatally struck while walking on San Jose freeway

20-year-old Daniel Nhan was killed when two cars collided with him on Interstate 280.



In San Jose, authorities have identified the 20-year-old man who was killed when two cars collided with him on the freeway on Saturday. Daniel Nhan was apparently struck while walking on the busy highway.

Milpitas man, 20, fatally struck on Interstate 280

On Saturday night, California Highway Patrol officers responded to reports of a pedestrian in the roadway on Highway 280, just north of Highway 101. Nhan was found dead in a northbound lane after being hit by two vehicles. Both drivers reportedly stayed on the scene after the accident.

Undercover cop found guilty in motorcycle mob attack

Road rage biker acquitted on more serious charges in the assault on Alexian Lien.



This week in New York, an undercover NYPD detective and another man were found guilty for their role in the 2013 road rage attack on an SUV driver in Manhattan, but were acquitted on more serious assault charges.

2 Motorcyclists Found Guilty in 2013 Attack on Driver but Acquitted of Top Charge

If you're not familiar with the case, here's the abridged version: A motorcyclist, riding with a pack, brake-checks a Range Rover and gets hit. Bikers surround the SUV. The driver, Alexian Lien -- who's with his wife and 2-year-old daughter -- takes off, plowing through several motorcycle riders and sparking a crazy pursuit on the West Side Highway. Driver gets chased down, dragged out of his car and beaten in front of his family.

34-year-old Wojciech Braszczok, an undercover cop who was off-duty at the time of the attack, was found guilty of second degree assault, criminal mischief, coercion and riot over the attack on Lien.

36-year-old Robert Sims was convicted of attempted gang assault, attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, coercion, criminal possession of a weapon and riot.

Cop "apologizes" for viral roadside tirade

NYPD detective Patrick Cherry was caught on camera losing his shit on an Uber driver.



The cop who was caught on video screaming and cursing at an Uber driver in an abusive, xenophobic roadside tirade has apologized for his actions -- after the video went viral -- though in this interview with NBC4 New York, he also comes up with a lot of weak excuses for his behavior. It's not much of an apology.

Cop in Viral Uber Rant Video Apologizes, Says Emotions Got the Better of Him

The video, recorded and uploaded to YouTube by passenger Sanjay Seth, shows NYPD detective Patrick Cherry cursing at the driver and screaming, "How long have you been in this country?" He has been subsequently stripped of his badge and gun and transferred out of the FBI's elite Joint Terrorism Task Force.

NYPD officer under investigation for abusive tirade

Det. Patrick Cherry was caught on camera screaming a xenophobic rant at an Uber driver.



A New York police detective is under official investigation after getting caught on camera going off on a rage-filled, profanity-laced, xenophobic tirade towards an Uber driver during a traffic stop.

Police Officer Screams At Uber Driver In Xenophobic Rant: 'How Long Have You Been In This Country?'

The New York City Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau says it's reviewing the video, which shows Patrick Cherry, a detective assigned to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, yelling at the driver (identified as "Humayun") and repeatedly mocking his accent and pronunciation of English.

Cherry can be heard shouting during the encounter, "I don't know where you're coming from, where you think you're appropriate in doing that; that's not the way it works. How long have you been in this country?"

The video of the incident, recorded by passenger Sanjay Seth, was uploaded to YouTube:

Bikers plead guilty in 2013 motorcycle mob attack

All but three of the eleven men charged have pleaded guilty in the attack on motorist Alexien Lien.



Remember the case of the New York motorist who was chased down the highway by a pack of bikers, pulled out of his car, and beaten on the street in front of his wife and toddler? This week, four of the assailants pleaded guilty for their role in the September 2013 road rage attack.

More plea deals in West Side Highway biker road rage case

For those unfamiliar with the case, here's the abridged version: A motorcyclist, riding with a pack, brake-checks a Range Rover and gets hit. Bikers surround the SUV. The driver, Alexian Lien -- who's with his wife and 2-year-old daughter -- takes off, plowing through several motorcycle riders and sparking a crazy pursuit on the West Side Highway. Driver gets chased down, pulled out of his car and beaten in front of his family.