station issues internal memo on dumbass "duck/dog" story

It's been weeks since Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO ran that ridiculous story about a Chinatown meat market selling dogs as food (turns out it was actually "duck" meat -- pesky Chinese accents, ya know). But the station still hasn't issued an apology, retraction or public comment. What's up with that?

According to sources inside the WCCO newsroom, station management is well aware of the gloriously awful fail, but still hasn't taken responsibility for the mistake. However, it has issued an internal memo that, at the very least, acknowledges that the poor man said, "duck": WCCO finally breaks silence on 'duck/dog story' controversy.

read these blogs

Giant Robot Podcast: Tamlyn Tomita: Giant Robot's got a great podcast conversation with actress (and my lifelong crush) Tamlyn Tomita, perhaps best known for her debut screen role as Kumiko in Karate Kid, Part II -- 25 years ago! -- and currently as Mike Chang's mom on Glee.

Red Chair Interview: Why Yul Kwon ditched law for TV: Yul Kwon, former Survivor winner and host of the PBS series America Revealed, talks about why he decided to leave a safe, respectable career as a lawyer to be on television.

The Secret Origin of ADAM WARROCK: Check out this interview with "the internet's foremost comic book rapper" Adam WarRock, featuring video of him performing at the comic book store Comicazi in Somerville, MA.

Dumbfoundead: A cool profile on our friend Jonathan Park, aka emcee Dumbfoundead, who "hasn't become huge because he's an Asian who raps; he made it because he's a good rapper who happens to be Asian."



Thick Dumpling Skin: How to Respect What's On the Inside: Our good friends Lynn Chen and Lisa Lee, co-founders of Thick Dumpling Skin, interview each other about food, body image and the Asian American community, as well as the advice they would give to their teen selves.

Top 5 Asian Hotties: Patrick and Stephen of the National Film Society give you their definitive list of the top five hottest Asian movie and TV stars of all time.

A Day with Sophia Chang: Hypebeast follows around and takes some photos of designer/illustrator and "the official bun queen" Sophia Chang.

Save Sessions LA: Here's a good LA Weekly piece on Sessions LA, a music writing and recording program for youth in the Rampart District of Los Angeles, and their recent fundraising efforts to continue programming.

Racebending And Actors' Responsibilities: "Now, as amused as I am by the prospect of America's Vampire Sweetheart playing an anti-government terrorist (though what do you bet her stance is watered down?), the offer raises an issue for me. Do actors have any sort of responsibility when they're offered work that furthers bad trends in the industry?"

K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool: "From the unapologetic fanaticism that is often connected with hallyu (the recent spread of Korean culture around the globe), it is almost as if the K-pop factor just fell onto the South Korean government's lap, eagerly waiting to be used as an instrument for expanding soft power and cultural engagement with the world."

Meet Karin Wang, Civil Rights Advocate and Proud Taiwanese American: TaiwaneseAmerican.org interviews Karin Wang, Vice-President of Programs & Communications at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

Asian-Americans are best kept demographic secret: "As the race to the presidency goes full throttle, candidates should not ignore the best-kept demographic secret in politics: the rise of Asian-American voters."

An Uplifting Tale" Gary Lee's pursuit of the American dream took him from a USC dorm room to a White House job to a Fulbright scholarship -- in Korea.

Southern Hospitality, but Not for Newcomers: Author Yunte Huang reflects on his Alabama roots and sounds off the state's recently passed law making it a crime to knowingly give an undocumented immigrant a ride.

this week's angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

• "the hottest star from china" is looking for love in the park


• today has been weird, a short film by quentin lee


• man murders wife for smashing his star wars toys


• "all the girls in vietnam are aggressive. they attack!"


• all asian reporters (at occupy oakland) look alike?


• kina grannis performs on ellen


• a tale of two chinatowns


• man charged with killing bobcat... then eating it


• the most creative use of chicken katsu ever


• lottery agency tries to recover money from stolen ticket

Stay Angry, my friends.

angry reader of the week: dave liang

Okay, everybody. It's time to meet the 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 Dave Liang of The Shanghai Restoration Project.

thanhha lai's inside out & back again wins national book award for young people's literature

Congratulations to Thanhha Lai, winner of the prestigious 2011 National Book Award in Young People's Literature for her book Inside Out & Back Again.

Winners were announced on Wednesday evening at the National Book Awards Dinner. You can watch video of the dinner and Thanhha Lai's acceptance speech on the National Book Foundation website here.

Inside Out and Back Again is an autobiographical novel about a Vietnamese immigrant family in Alabama:

the most creative use of chicken katsu ever

Saw this recently on Boing Boing, had to share. This delightful little piece of food art is the Domokatsu Bento, posted last year on the incredible Adventures in Bentomaking blog. Domokun! In chicken katsu form. And now I am kind of hungry for katsu.

seaca: raising up a new generation of community leaders

This is a great Los Angeles Times article on the youth leadership program of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance (SEACA), a grassroots organization that's engaging and organizing Southeast Asian youth on issues affecting them, their families and the community at large: Taking their Los Angeles community into their own young hands.

SEACA was founded in 2002 by Sissy Trinh, the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. Having grown up in a working class immigrant household, she started the organization as an outlet for her long-held feeling that families like hers were powerless. Now she's passing on lessons to young people growing up with similar struggles:

jayesslee covers "dare you to move"

During my recent YouTube wanderings, I came across this gorgeous cover of Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" by Jayesslee. I can't remember how much I've written about these two before -- they're a cute twin sister singing duo from Australia, with a substantial YouTube following -- but something about this particular cover knocked me off my feet, and I felt like sharing:

john liu's campaign caught up in fundraising scandal

A political blow for New York City comptroller John Liu... This week, one of his fund-raisers was arrested and charged with illegally funneling thousands of dollars into Liu's campaign account: Fund-Raiser for Liu Is Accused of Role in Illegal Donations.

According to court documents, Liu fund-raiser Xing Wu Pan tried to help a businessman circumvent the city's $4,950 individual donor limit by recruiting fictitious donors to funnel the money through. Shady. And as it turns out, that businessman was an undercover federal agent:

we write south philly high, november 29 - december 2

Here's some amazing work that's been happening in the wake of violence that has plagued South Philadelphia High... Philadelphia Young Playwrights, a program that gives a platform for the voices of students through writing, presents We Write South Philly High, a personal piece created by students who were affected by what unfolded in their hallways and classrooms.

It's the story you didn't hear in the news. The students' play features real-life accounts of students, staff, and alumni, collected through interviews conducted by the students themselves and will be performed by students on a professional stage, November 29 - December 2 at The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. Here are some more details:

david oh wins philadelphia city council seat

In Philadelphia, Republican David Oh has won a seat on the City Council. When he takes the job in January, Oh will become the first Asian American ever to serve on the Council: Oh wins at-large seat on Philadelphia City Council.

Oh edged out Al Taubenberger for one of two at-large seats on election day with a narrow lead of about 140 votes. And after a count of all the absentee, military and provisional ballots, David Oh was the clear winner:

american censorship day, november 16

It's American Censorship Day. I draw your attention to an emergency for the internet. Today, Congress holds hearings on the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, which would put our basic internet freedoms on the chopping block. We're talking about an American internet censorship system.

These bills can pass. It's not out of the question. And if they do, the Internet and free speech will never be the same. This video explains it quite simply:

a tale of two chinatowns

Bonnie Tsui, author of American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, has an essay in The Atlantic on the rise economic might of China, slowing Chinese immigration to the United States, and what she believes this all means for the de-population and inevitable end of America's Chinatowns: The End of Chinatown.

Interesting theory. Jeff Yang, however, takes major issue with the essay, calling her reporting questionable, her logic problematic, and her facts downright inaccurate or misinterpreted -- and he's got the figures to disprove it: The Reports of Chinatown's Demise Are Highly Exaggerated: A Response to Bonnie Tsui's "Atlantic" article, "The End of Chinatown".

kina grannis performs on ellen

Check this out! One of our favorite musicians, singer/songwriter Kina Grannis, performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show the other day. We've all known and loved her music for years, but her amazing jelly bean-powered music video for "In Your Arms" got over 2.5 million views in less than two weeks, and that turns a lot of heads. So Kina found herself singing on national television:

man charged with killing bobcat... then eating it

More news of the weird... In Morgan Hill, California, a man has been charged with, among other things, being high on meth, possessing illegal cockfighting accessories, and killing a bobcat... then eating it: Man in unincorporated Morgan Hill charged with killing bobcat, then eating it.

Eating a bobcat actually isn't against the law. But killing one without a permit is. 38-year-old Henry Arnibal did not have a permit. He apparently did have an illegal stash of sharp cockfighting ankle spikes. Prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor fish and game violations, as well as the penal drug charge.

Jane Lui's "Finally-Moved-My-Stuff-to-LA Show" November 19

Awww yeah. If you're in Los Angeles, and want to experience some super-good music, come to our dear friend Jane Lui's The Finally-Moved-My-Stuff-to-LA Show. Jane encourages you to come shake your booty. And she's bringing baked goods. It's happening this Saturday, November 19 at Hotel Cafe. Here's a video of Jane and band practicing like good practicers:

call for submissions: open the city: drunken boat/aaww

Looking to get published and have something to say about Asian American and Arab American populations in urban spaces? The Asian American Writers' Workshop encourages you to submit to Open the City: Drunken Boat.

They're seeking poetry, artwork, essays, photography and other media that respond to the question of Asian and Middle Eastern-American populations in the city. Here are some more details about what they're looking for:

new music: eighth notes by trebles & blues, mixed by dj phatrick

This was released about a month ago, so forgive me for not sharing sooner... The Find Magazine and The Soul Dojo present Eighth Notes, an extra cool jazzy chillout mix of original Trebles & Blues material, mixed by DJ Phatrick. If you liked The Blue Note, I guarantee you will dig this. Check it out:

the repatriation of henry chin by isaac ho

Looking for your next book to read? Just heard about The Repatriation of Henry Chin, the debut novel from Isaac Ho. It's a thriller set in a world where U.S.-China relations are so tense, Chinese Americans are rounded up into repatriation camps "for their own protection." (Sound familiar?)

One man, Henry Chin, escapes with his daughter but are soon pursued by an overzealous government agent who believes they are terrorists. Does that sound a little too far-fetched? The idea of internment camps used to deal with the pressing issues of national security? History has shown that as outrageous as it sounds, that could easily happen. Here are some more details about the book:

age of monsters: the most epic game of rock paper scissors ever

So I recently heard from my friend Mike Su, who started a mobile gaming company, Massive Joe Studios, with award-winning producer/animator Jeff Matsuda. Last month, they launched their first iPhone game, Age of Monsters - Rock Paper Scissors, and it looks pretty darn cool.

The game, the first in a series, transports players into a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monsters. It's basically the most epic version of Rock Paper Scissors ever. Take a look at the game trailer: