new york artist arrested for "false bomb"

Yikes. One person's art project is another person's bomb scare... Over the weekend in New York, an artist was arrested after his installation project prompted a call to the police bomb squad: To an Artist, It Was a Tribute to New York; to the Police, It Was a Fake Bomb.

Renowned artist Takeshi Miyakawa stamped white plastic bags with the "I [heart] NY" logo, illuminated the bags from within with LED lights, and hung them from lampposts and trees around Brooklyn and beyond. It was supposed to be his loving tribute to the city, in celebration of NY Design Week.

Unfortunately, the cops didn't have quite the same appreciation for Mr. Miyakawa's artistic intentions:

jessica sanchez could be the first asian american idol

It's on, America. I don't watch a whole lot of American Idol, but I've been following loosely enough to know that this season's competition has come down to two hopefuls: Phillip Phillips (seriously) and Jessica Sanchez.

I caught some Jessica's earlier performances, and based on what I've seen and heard -- with a powerhouse voice like that, it's hard to believe she's only 16 years old -- she's got the chops to be the very first Latina/Asian American Idol.

Tune in after tonight's show and vote for Jessica Sanchez. If you have AT&T, text "vote" to 5701. Everybody else, you can call 1866-IDOLS-01.

comic book artist ernie chan dies at 71

Just a week after learning about the death of Filipino comic book artist Tony DeZuniga, we get the sad news of another industry veteran's passing... Artist Ernesto "Ernie" Chan, who drew for Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s and 80s, died last week after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 71: Comics artist Ernie Chan, 71, passes away.

cops alarmed by upsurge in attacks on asian business owners

In the Philadelphia area, an upsurge in home invasion robberies targeting Asian business owners has alarmed authorities enough that they've resumed meetings on the issue and are giving safety pointers to Asian Americans: Cops alarmed about upsurge in attacks on Asian business owners.

The regional task force of law enforcement authorities was originally formed in 2008 when home invasions against Asian business owners spiked. The cops learned that criminals were following business owners to their homes because they thought Asians kept large amounts of money there.

After police arrested two of the Philadelphia crews responsible for the majority of the 2008 attacks, things seemed to settle down. But robberies against Asian business owners have kicked up again, and this recent spate has authorities looking for another crew:

author ed lin at gr2, may 23

Hey, L.A. writers, and I know there are a few of you. Ed Lin, author of One Red Bastard, is holding a writer's workshop this Wednesday, May 22 at GR2. Can't make it for the workshop? Swing by afterwards, when Ed will be signing copies of his novel. Here's more info:

petition for asian american studies at unc charlotte

Got this online petition passed along to me, and I gotta support... The Asian Student Association at UNC Charlotte has launched a online petition to bring Asian American Studies to the university. When I consider the powerful role of Asian American studies in my own identity and education, I'm always down to help out the effort to get the discipline into any school. So here you go: Asian American Studies at UNC Charlotte.

one-legged b-boy steals the show at billboard music awards

If you caught Cee Lo Green performing on the Billboard Music Awards the other night, you might be wondering, who the heck was that one-legged b-boy that was tearing up the stage? Here's your answer: One-Legged Dancer Steals Cee Lo’s Show at Billboard Awards.

His name is Jean Sok, aka B-boy Hourth, and he can do more on one leg than you can do with any and all your limbs intact. You can view a brief clip of Sunday night's performance here. But holy crap, be sure to check out this video of him in action:

dharun ravi sentenced to 30 days jail in webcam spying case

Today in New Jersey, a judge sentenced former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi to thirty days in jail for using a webcam to spy on his roommate being intimate with another man: Former Rutgers student gets 30-day jail sentence in bias crime case.

18-year-old Tyler Clementi killed himself three days after discovering that his roommate had spied on him in their dorm room. Ravi was convicted on 15 counts, including bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and tampering with a witness and evidence, and had faced up to ten years in prison:

oh, sweet irony. marion barry hospitalized, treated by filipino nurses

Oh man. This is one of those headlines you read and you really hope that it's not just a funny joke... and hallelujah, it's not: Marion Barry has change of heart after being saved by Filipino hospital staff.

Yes, D.C. Councilman Marion Barry, just weeks after making disparaging remarks about the overabundance of Filipino nurses in the city's hospitals, finds himself in the hospital with a life-threatening blood clot, getting treated by -- you guessed it! -- Filipino nurses.

Barry was so grateful, he took to Twitter, not only thanking the "kind professional Filipino staff" but also essentially taking back ("I stand corrected") his controversial comments:

how to view a solar eclipse

Did you catch yesterday's solar eclipse? These cute Japanese kids did, with the help of some awesome protective headgear. (Thanks, Martin.)

Suspects arrested in murder of USC graduate students

On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of two suspects in the fatal shooting of two University of Southern California graduate students that made international news last month.

2 are held in slayings of USC grad students.

20-year-old Bryan Barnes and 19-year-old Javier Bolden were arrested in connection to the murders of Ying Wu and Ming Qu, 23-year-old graduate students from China. The two were murdered April 11 while sitting in a car about a mile from campus.

read these blogs

Posters Celebrate Asian American Masculinity, From George Takei to Jeremy Lin: Deborah Enrile Lao's poster series, "Manhood," features five awesome dudes and challenges the portrayal of Asian American men in Western media. Also, it looks really freaking cool.

An Open Letter to Manny Pacquiao From a Gay Filipina American: Laurel Fantauzzo reacts to Pacquiao's recent remarks against gay marriage.

Why I, An Asian Man, Fight Anti-Black Racism: Scot Nakagawa explains why he focuses on anti-black racism in his work.

Minorities? Try 'people of color': Rinku Sen, President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center and publisher of Colorlines.com, on rethinking "minority" and embracing the phrase "people of color."

Are Asian Americans really for the end of affirmative action? The answer is no.

this week's angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

• bruce lee resolution introduced in congress


• nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen


• k-town reality show to premiere as web series


• man throws hot coffee on donut shop employee


• coffee-throwing man surrenders to police


• will jeremy lin stay with the knicks?


• food truck serves up lunch with a side of orientalist schtick


• angry reader of the week: florence yu


• wong fu productions presents away we happened


• protestors rally in support dharun ravi

Be sure to tune my buddy Goh Nakamura's Goh Nakamurathon and help him raise some cash for The Dream Sessions: Musical Travel Show. I'll be sitting with Goh as a guest on Sunday night, May 21 at 7:00pm PT.

revisiting vincent: the legacy of the vincent chin case 30 years later, may 22

Hey, New York. On Tuesday, May 22, come to the New York Law School for "Revisiting Vincent: The Legacy of the Vincent Chin Case 30 Years Later," a performance, discussion, and reception.

The performance is a dramatic adaption mixed with original trial transcripts and personal testimonies. It's co-presented by MOCA-NY, the Asian American Arts Alliance, and the Asian American Bar Association. Here's more info:

tongue and groove celebrates aapi heritage month

Los Angeles! Celebrate a week of Asian American poetry and literature all over the city with Tongue and Groove. Starting Sunday, May 20 and continuing through Saturday, catch the likes of Ed Lin, Chiwan Choi, and traci kato-kiriyama as they share their work. There will be bands, DJs, and food trucks! Here's what's in store:

students forced out of school by racist bullying

Sad, aggravating story out of the Houston area, where the parents of twin boys were forced to take their kids out of school due to persistent racist bullying and name-calling: Kingwood couple: Racist bullies forced sons to withdraw from school.

The boys, who attended Creekwood Middle School, are 11 years old and were born in the United States. But their parents were born in India, which is apparently reason enough for other kids -- being the f$%king young assholes they are -- to pick on them.

The boys say they've been repeatedly punched, kicked and called names like "terrorist" and "Osama bin Laden" for the entire school year:

2012 los angeles asian pacific film festival award wnners

The 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival announced its annual award winners the other night, wrapping up the main L.A. portion of the 28th anniversary festival: And the Winners Are...

Musa Sayeed's exquisite narrative feature Valley of Saints and Sasha Friedlander's documentary feature Where Heaven Meets Hell took home top jury honors, while Justin Tipping's short Nani received the Gold Reel Award, and Mitsuyo Miyazaki was honored with the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award.

Here's the full list of award winners:

angry reader of the week: florence yu

You know what's up. 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 Florence Yu.

nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen + nguyen

Meet Alexandra Nguyen, Angela Nguyen, Angelica Nguyen, Elizabeth Nguyen, Emily Nguyen, Isabella Nguyen, Madeline Nguyen and Vi Nguyen -- eight graduating seniors at Presentation High School in San Jose, California.

They've shot to 'net notoriety with their combined effort to create a pretty clever senior high school yearbook quote: "We know what you're thinking and no we're not related." (Though I'm pretty sure that Angela and Madeline are related.)

Greatest yearbook quote ever? I don't know. But I feel a little sorry for the girl who just wrote, "Live. Love. Laugh." The Nguyens win.

portraits after 5: identities in motion, may 18

Here's something for you, D.C. On Friday, May 18, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery presents "Portraits After 5: Identities in Motion," which is all part of the Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter exhibition. Come to the Kogod Courtyard to see a presentation of the KYOPO Project, an art project that mixes dance, new media, and visual projections to explore identity and immigration. More info: