help decide the future of hyphen

After publishing for eight years, Hyphen magazine is at a crossroads, and wants to hear from you. Looking to the future, they're calling on readers and e-newsletter subscribers to take a survey so they can better understand how to serve you and the community. Read on for details:

angry reader of the week: jasmine chan

Okay, time to meet another 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 master's student Jasmine Chan, coming at us from London.

the japanese robert pattinson... in 1860

The is fascinating article in the New York Times, reaching way back into New York history. Once upon a time, the city threw a big ass party for a bunch of samurai: Dusting Off a 150-Year-Old Ode to the City's Favorite Samurai.

It's about 17-year-old samurai Tateishi Onojiro, aka "Tommy," the youngest of 76 samurai who toured the United States in 1860 on Japan's first diplomatic venture beyond its shores. He was apparently a bit of a heartthrob:

guy proposes to girl at improv class

"Yes, that's exactly what I said." Saw this posted on Facebook, and found it both really sweet and extremely awkward: Jhemon's Proposal to Misa.

A guy surprises his girlfriend with a proposal... at improv class, in the middle of an exercise. Luckily, she said yes. Nice job, Jhemon. Hey ladies, looking for love? This happens every week at Cold Tofu's improv class!

more on the gulf spill and aapi communities

Here's a New York Times article on psychological stress and the mental well-being -- hopelessness, anxiety, stress, anger, depression and even suicidal thoughts -- of those whose lives and jobs have been most affected by the oil spill: Spill Takes Toll on Gulf Workers' Psyches.

And here's a blog post by Miya Saika Chen and Audrey Buehring of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, who were recently deployed to the Gulf Coast to assess the immediate needs of the Southeast Asian American community: The Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill on AAPI Communities.

apia collective at u.s. social forum 2010

The U.S. Social Forum is happening next week, June 22-26 in Detroit. People will be gathering from all over the country to "build relationships, learn from each other's experiences, and share analysis of the problems our communities face. It will help develop leadership, vision, and strategy needed to realize another world."

music video: "f*ck the robots" by far east movement

Got this one from my friends at Arowana Films... Here's the music video for "F*ck the Robots" by Far East Movement, off their album Folk Music. It's apparently been sitting on the shelf for a while, but with a few retouches, they've finally pulled it out:

a jet plane full of pot

Asian behaving badly... drug mule edition! In Columbus, Ohio, 28-year-old Lisette Lee was arrested at the airport after walking off a private jet with 506 pounds of marijuana stashed in 13 suitcases: Feds: Woman took 506 pounds of pot to Ohio on jet. Damn, that's a lot of pot, girl.

help teri li find a bone marrow match

Unfortunately, you've heard of this situation before... Here is the simple truth: Teri Li is suffering from acute myeloid leukemia, and her chances of survival greatly depend on finding a matching bone marrow donor.

If you haven't done so already, would you consider joining the National Bone Marrow Registry as a potential marrow/stem cell donor? All it takes is a simple, painless cheek swab. You could save Teri's life, or the life of someone else who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.

To find out more about Teri's condition, and what you can do to help, go to TeamTeri.org. To join the registry, go to the Asian American Donor Program website here.

apalc releases new citizenship video and workbook

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center has released "Citizenship 101: Your Guide to Citizenship," a new video and workbook to help immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship navigate the naturalization process.

Available in seven languages, the "Citizenship 101" video presents helpful information in a visually rich and engaging manner. The English language workbook complements the video with additional guidance and details. From APALC's press release:

los angeles film festival, june 17-27

L.A. film fans! This one's for you... This website is a proud online sponsor of Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival, which starts today. Now in its sixteenth year, and making its debut appearance Downtown, the festival showcases over 200 features, music videos and shorts from over 40 countries.

Things kick off tonight with the Opening Night presentation of Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right, and continues through June 27 with a full schedule of outdoor screenings, parties, panels and other cool film events. Here's a sampling of some of the programs I'm looking forward to checking out:

my ninja! x angry asian man x wiredrebels: limited edition dhmk world cup shirt

Got up ridiculously early this morning to watch South Korea get thoroughly trounced by Argentina, 4-1. Man, that hurt. Things got pretty messy. Lionel Messi, that is. And I shake my fist at you, Higuain.

Still, win or lose, why not cheer for your team in style? In celebration of South Korean soccer and its fans, I've teamed up with the fine folks of My Ninja! and Wired Rebels to create a limited edition World Cup tee. Red shirt with black/white lettering, guest starring Park Ji-sung.

kina grannis to perform on cbs' early show

Saw this cool bit of news via Twitter... Singer/songwriter Kina Grannis, who is currently on her Stairwells Springtime Tour, is scheduled to perform on CBS' The Early Show this Saturday, June 19 at 7:00am as part of "Second Cup Cafe": Kina Grannis CBS Early Show.

whitewashed toys: the last airbender movie action figures

I've recently been a little obsessed with collecting action figures, particularly those based on Asian characters (i.e. Sulu from Star Trek). Yes, I am a geek. I can tell you though, I won't be picking up any of these Last Aibender movie action figures hitting stores this week.

queens councilman halloran vs. traffic cop chu

In New York, traffic cop Daniel Chu has drawn the ire of Queens councilman Dan Halloran, who says he saw Chu blowing through stop signs while yakking on his cell phone -- then got slapped with a $165 ticket when he confronted Officer Chu about it: Queens councilman Dan Halloran irate over light-running, yakking traffic cop Daniel Chu.

Halloran says he saw Officer Chu zooming through his neighborhood, lights blazing, blasting through stop signs. So where exactly does a traffic cop have to go in such a hurry? The councilman followed him to... Dunkin' Donuts:

locus @ ksw presents mix tape, june 18

For my friends in San Francisco, make sure you make it out to party with Locus and Kearny Street Workshop for Mix Tape, a night of music with Locus favorites and emerging artists, featuring Denizen Kane, Keep, Bryan Jason and Lumaya. It's this Friday, June 18 at 1246 Folson Street. Here's some more details:

5th annual talent 1 media film festival

If you're in Los Angeles, here's some information about an important event happening this weekend: the 5th Annual Talent 1 Media Film Festival, seeking to raise awareness of human trafficking issues and support independent filmmakers. It's happening June 18-19 at the Aratani Japan America Theater in Little Tokyo. Here's some more information:

the president's sister, and growing up multiracial

Maya Soetoro-Ng, half-sister of President Obama, was recently a special guest speaker at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, talking about her experiences growing up multiracial in America: President's half sister speaks on her mixed-race experience. For her, it was often a struggle with wishing like she belonged:

should I be dreading or looking forward to outsourced?

The Wall Street Journal has a story on Outsourced, one of NBC's new fall sitcoms. The show, produced by Ken Kwapis of Th e Office, is about an American office manager who has to move to India to manage a call center. Hilarity ensues: 'Outsourced': Can American Comedy Work in India? Here's a preview:

t-shirt love: world cup team names

Saw this on Korean Beacon the other day and thought it was pretty funny... Somebody's made cool t-shirts with all the World Cup teams' players' names. When I looked at it a couple of days ago, they didn't have one for South Korea... but now they have two! A shirt with players' family names ("Cha, Park, Ki, Lee...") as well as one with given names. Simple but fun designs.