Jeremy LIn's Got a New Gig with ESPN

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Jeremy Lin shines in Luka Dončić breakdown on ESPN's 'NBA Today'

Yes, you love and remember him from the era affectionately known as Linsanity. But after retiring from pro basketball last year, Jeremy Lin has a new gig -- with ESPN. The former New York Knick debuted as a special guest commentator on the network this week. On Friday, in a segment on NBA Today, Lin walked studio hosts Malika Andrews and Tim MacMahon through what makes Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić so dynamic. And did a pretty awesome job. This is a good look. It's great to see him on this next chapter of his career and I'm hoping we'll see more of him on this side of the coverage.

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How casinos in New England are exploiting Asian communities for profit

It's no secret that casinos deploy sophisticated strategies designed to entice people to wager beyond their means. And their favored target: people of Asian descent. A three-part Boston Globe series found that New England's largest casinos are relentlessly targeting people of Asian descent across the region, often with devastating results, driving people toward addiction and sapping wealth from Asian communities.

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Another Alysa Liu mural in Oakland — this one with Kristi Yamaguchi

Another mural for a champion. Two champions, actually. Artist Julie Engelmann has created a mural celebrating hometown hero Alysa Liu -- at the Oakland Ice Center, where Liu first learned to skate -- alongside 1992 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, who also hails from the area.

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THE AUNTIE SEWING SQUAD RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK: A New Documentary Film

The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook is a feature-length documentary that follows the Auntie Sewing Squad founded by Kristina Wong, a collective of mostly BIPOC women volunteers who came together on social media with a mission: to protect vulnerable communities from COVID-19. This national network of hundreds of Aunties, Uncles, and non-binary volunteers turned their living rooms into "sweatshops," where they sewed and donated cloth facemasks to counter the US government's failure to provide protective gear for its people. They are currently in the homestretch to complete the film, and are asking for crowdfunding assistance. Your contribution would support editing, sound design, color correction, and other aspects of postproduction before they get the documentary out into the world. For more information, go here.

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No Other Choice Limited Edition Poster

"They didn't really send you the eel, did they?" I must have this incredible No Other Choice poster by acclaimed artist James Jean, celebrating legendary director Park Chan-wook's cinematic masterpiece. Limited edition print of 1000. Available from NEON.

This Massive Alysa Liu Mural is Oakland as Hell

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Alysa Liu now has her own massive Oakland mural

Last week, artist unveiled the first mural in Oakland honoring Olympic gold medalist figure skater Alysa Liu. The Illuminaries, a local graffiti artist group, designed and painted a mural in the Temescal neighborhood, on the corner of Telegraph and 43rd Streetm to celebrate the hometown hero.

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Buddhist Church of Sacramento vandalized with white nationalist symbols

Last month, vandals spray-painted hate symbols and white nationalist graffiti on the exterior walls of Buddhist Church of Sacramento. The church has a large population of Japanese Americans, and the vandalism occurred on February 19, the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese citizens and immigrants during World War II. The community's efforts to clean up the graffiti have reportedly been... challenging.

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Rev. Jesse Jackson offered powerful support to Asian Americans

Community leaders remember Jesse Jackson’s support of the Asian American community dating back decades. From seeking justice for Vincent Chin to condemning anti-Asian violence during the pandemic, the late civil rights icon embraced Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in his Rainbow Coalition, which united marginalized people for social justice.

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In The Latest Edition of 'You’re Not Korean Enough,' the Internet Attacks a Transnational Adoptee

"In another edition of You're Not Korean Enough, we have a contingent of cruel and clueless people on the internet who are taking a Korean adoptee to task for not being a real Korean. Why? Because she initially mispronounced the name of a Korean folk song, "Arirang" (아리랑)."

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Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami and EJAE perform 'Golden'

Your girls did it again. Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami and EJAE, the singing voices of Huntr/x from Kpop Demon Hunters, lit up the Manchester skies with this epic performance of "Golden" at the 2026 BRIT Awards.

Oakland's Chinese Garden Park vandalized with hate graffiti

"Canton"?



What is it with racist vandals who can't leave a clean surface alone? Congratulations, asshole. It's like you took a public shit with a Sharpie pen. This particular idiotic little act of handwritten hate was spotted over the weekend at Chinese Garden Park in Oakland's Chinatown. As you can see, someone scrawled the words "CHINAMAN" "CANTON" "INDIANS" "BITCH" and "CHINK" on the park sign. I guess the author is suggesting "Chinaman" as a replacement for "Chinese." And the rest are... alternatives? In order of preference?

Stand Up for Books: 2nd Annual Comedy Night

A Fundraising Event for Eastwind Books of Berkeley - Friday, June 3 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center



If you're in the Bay Area and up for some laughs for a good cause, Eastwind Books of Berkeley invites you to celebrate its 20th anniversary at Stand Up for Books, a fundraiser showcasing some of the best Asian American comedians from the Bay Area and Los Angeles. There will be food, drinks, raffle tickets and standup comedy featuring Jenny Yang, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Andrew Orolfo, and host Irene Tu.

It's happening Friday, June 3 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Here are some more details:

See you at CAAMFest 2016

A celebration of film, music, food and digital media, March 10-20



Bay Area film fans, it's on. CAAMFest 2016 is going down March 10-20 in San Francisco and Oakland. Presented by the Center for Asian American Media, CAAMFest is an 11-day celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists.

This year, the Festival adds new venues in the Mission district. In addition to the historic Castro Theatre, New People Cinema in Japantown and the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CAAMFest adds the venerable 106-year-ld Roxie Theater and the newly minted Alamo Drafthouse to its slate of venues.

CAAMFest showcases the work of new Asian and Asian American artists and pays tribute to the pioneers who have paved the way for Asian Americans in media and entertainment. The festival kicks of Thursday, March 9 with the Opening Night screening of the feature documentary Tyrus, celebrating the life and career of pioneering Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong.

Here's the CAAMFest 2016 trailer:

Kearny Street Workshop presents Celebrate Your Body 2016

A Body-Positive Fashion Show & Expo Featuring POC Designers and Stylists, March 5



Bay Area! This Saturday, March 5 in Oakland, catch the Kearny Street Workshop's "Celebrate Your Body," a body-positive fashion show and expo featuring POC designers and stylists. This night features the work of eight designers and a lineup of models who represent the diversity and range of bodies mainstream fashion ignores. There will also be performances by the drag troupe Rice Rockettes and folk trio Los Sirenas.

Here are some more details:

Popular ice cream man gunned down in Oakland

45-year-old Jasvir Singh was fatally shot Saturday in his ice cream truck.



Tragic news out of the Bay Area... In Oakland, police are searching a gunman in the killing of a well-known neighborhood ice cream vendor who was fatally shot in his ice crime truck.

Man Shot And Killed Driving His Ice Cream Truck In Oakland

The suspect is identified as 23-year-old Joevan Lopez, who is wanted in connection with the shooting death of 45-year-old Jasvir Singh, who was gunned down while he was driving his ice cream truck on Saturday afternoon in East Oakland. Police say the suspect approached the vehicle and fired five times before running away through backyards. According to witnesses, Singh crashed the van into a parked car during the shooting.

Singh reportedly died on the scene.

Dragons in Oakland Chinatown!

Dragon School is a neighborhood youth project to paint 99 golden dragons in Oakland's Chinatown.



Have you heard about the dragons in Oakland? I recently about an awesome community project happening in Oakland Chinatown called Dragon School. Founded by artist Luqman Lin, the project empowers local youth to reclaim their own neighborhood by teaching kids to beautify the walls with 99 golden dragons.

Luqman, who has been doing street art in Oakland and elsewhere for years, came up with the idea to paint 99 dragons in Chinatown to reclaim the community and walls. So he teaches young people how to paint dragons, offering templates and instructional YouTube videos. Like this one:

Buddhist monk critically injured in butcher knife attack

66-year-old monk stabbed by fellow monk wielding two butcher knives.



Damn. What the hell happened here? This week, an elderly Buddhist monk was hospitalized in critical condition after a fellow monk attacked him with butcher knives at their monastery in Oakland.

Elderly Buddhist Monk Survives Being 'Chopped Up' By Monk Reportedly Wielding Two Butcher Knives

According to Oakland police, the attack occurred Tuesday night at the Branch of International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center, a community "committed to living in peaceful co-existence with one another."

The attack happened on the lower floor of the monastery, where both monks lived. Another monk, Chundoeun Phin, said he heard the attack and rushed downstairs to see the 30-year-old suspect attacking the 66-year-old elder monk with two butcher knives, "just chopping him up."

Oakland Blasts Abortion Bans Based on Asian Stereotypes

Guest Post by Avani Mody


NAPAWF members at Oakland City Hall, coming out against sex-selective abortion bans.
On March 17, Oakland became the second city, after San Francisco, to pass a ban on sex-selective abortion bans. This is a huge victory for women, and in particular Asian American women. But why? What is a sex selective abortion ban?

Sex-selective abortion bans are an attempt by Republicans lawmakers to take away abortion rights. This time they are doing it using deceptive stereotypes of Asian American women. Much of the language around these bans indicates that Asian Americans do not value the lives of daughters. Their "evidence" is the high rate of female infanticide in Asia... because, you know, the situations of Asians abroad and Asians here in the U.S. are clearly the same. In an attempt to undermine abortion rights, they are exploiting a real women's rights issue abroad and putting Asian American women in harm's way -- all under the deceptive guise of equality. Oh, the irony.

Yet despite the intention to limit all women's reproductive rights, this logic is working. These Republican lawmakers are playing on the racist and anti-immigrant fears of Americans. Since 2010, it has passed in five states including Arizona and North Carolina, which have some of the fastest-growing Asian populations.

CAAM presents CAAMFest 2015

March 12-22 in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland



Bay Area film lovers! It's getting about time for one of my favorite events of the year. CAAMFest, formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, returns with another exciting celebration of film, music, food and digital media from the world's most innovative Asian and Asian American artists.

CAAMFest 2015 will showcase the work of new Asian and Asian American artists, as well as pay tribute to the pioneers who have paved the way for Asian Americans in media and entertainment. It's all going down March 12-22 in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. This kick off Thursday, March 12 with Opening Night Gala presentation of writer/director Benson Lee's coming-of-age comedy Seoul Searching.

Here's a rundown of some of CAAMFest's programming highlights:

SF JACL presents 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors

Saturday, February 28 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center



The famed 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors sketch comedy troupe is celebrating its 20th anniversary season. If you're in the Bay this Saturday, February 28, you can catch a night of old and new sketches at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Here's more info:

Kearny Street Workshop Presents: APAture 2014

"Aspire. Ascend. Awaken." September 26 - October 5.



San Francisco's Kearny Street Workshop is hosting its 13th annual arts festival, APAture, celebrating the work of over a hundred local artists and six showcases spanning a variety of disciplines. The festival starts September 26 and ends on October 5. Here's more info:

Fund This: 'Nailedit: Vietnamese & the Nail Industry'

A documentary film about the origins and impact of Vietnamese in the 8.7 billion dollar nail industry



Here's an interesting documentary film project that could be worthy of your crowdfunded support... NailedIt: Vietnamese & The Nail Industry is an exploration Vietnamese American culture and history, specifically looking at the impact of the Vietnamese nail salon industry -- a uniquely American story.

In 1975, a chance encounter between 20 Vietnamese refugee women and actress Tippi Hedren triggered the onset of the ubiquitous Vietnamese nail shop. Whaaaat? This documentary tells the story of incredible growth and impact a small community of people have on today's 8 billion dollar nail trade.

Watch this video with filmmaker Adele Pham for more information about the project:

Rhythms and Sounds: Celebrating Our #APIVOICES

Friday, April 25 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center



Hey, Oakland. On Friday, April 25, come to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center for Rhythm and Sounds show, with local API performers sharing their craft on stage. The theme is "Celebrating our #APIVoices" and showcases artists who won a recent video contest held by the OACC. The event is free and open to the public. More info, including a list of performers:

Kearny Street Workshop presents Dumpling Wars 2

Saturday, April 12 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center


Another one for my folks in the Bay Area... Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multidisciplinary arts non-profit addressing Asian Pacific American issues, is hosting its second annual "Dumpling Wars" competition, bringing a night of fun, flavor and culture to Oakland. It's happening this Saturday, April 12 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Here's a funny teaser video for the event:

SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot

April 19 - July 27 at the Oakland Museum of California



Good people of Oakland! To celebrate Giant Robot's 20th anniversary, the influential Asian art and culture mag is teaming up with the Oakland Museum of California to present SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot, an exhibition featuring works by fifteen contemporary artists who have been part of the magazine's social and cultural evolution. It opens Saturday, April 19:

Disoriented Comedy in Oakland, April 5

Use the promo code STAYANGRY to get $12 discount tickets



Hey, Oakland! Who wants some laughs? Dis/orient/ed Comedy returns to the Bay Area with another amazing lineup of nationally-touring talent and local, up-and-coming Asian American and Pacific Islander female comics. Join, Jenny, Atsuko and the gang for two shows on Saturday, April 5 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

Pre-sale online tickets are available now for $20. Get yours here. But wait! Do you want save a few dollars? (Yes, you do.) Then use the discount code STAYANGRY to get $12 discount tickets. Here are some more details about the Oakland shows:

Fund This: Restaurant dreams live on at Pi Dan Noodle House

Allison Chen was two months away from opening her first restaurant when she unexpectedly passed away.



Allison Chen had a dream of opening up a restaurant that serves fresh, authentic dishes from Taiwan and China. But one month from opening Pi Dan Noodle House in Uptown Oakland, she unexpectedly passed away.

Now, Allison's friends and family are picking up where she left off, and they're rallying folks to help reach her dream. They're raising funds to cover the remaining construction and equipment costs needed to open up Pi Dan in June 2014. Can you help make Allison's restaurant dream a reality?

Watch this video for more information:

CAAMFest 2014 Presents Awesome Asian Bad Guys

Catch the world premiere of National Film Society's action comedy webseries



It's time. If you're in the Bay Area, you're invited to the world premiere of the action comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guy, presented as part of CAAMFest 2014. It screen Thursday, March 20 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco, and Friday, March 21 at the Oakland Museum of California.

Follow National Film Society -- our friends Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco -- as they are tasked with recruiting a team of washed-up Asian action movie villains to take down a notorious crime lord. Starring Tamlyn Tomita, Yuji Okumoto, Al Leong, Randall Park, Aaron Takahashi, Dante Basco and George Cheung, it's a fun romp full of wacky gags and pop culture nostalgia.

Here are some more details: