John Yoo is not welcome in Russia

I don't know if John Yoo had plans to travel to Russia any time soon, but he just made the Russian government's shit list, so that's out. In response to American sanctions imposed on Russians accused of rights violations, Moscow published a list of 18 current and former American officials who will now be barred from entry into Russia: Russia Bars 18 Americans After Sanctions by U.S.

The list includes Americans who, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry, are responsible for "the legalization of torture," "unlimited detention," and/or violating the rights of Russian citizens abroad. This includes Yoo, who is perhaps best known as the primary author of the Bush Administration's torture memos.

Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, also found himself on the barred list. Bharara oversaw prosecution of the case against Viktor Bout, the convicted Russian arms smuggler now serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison for conspiring to sell weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.

I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story, Opening May 1

Heads up. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you're in Washington DC, the Smithsonian American Pacific American Center invites you to its upcoming exhibition, I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story, opening May 1 at the National Museum of American History.

Summer Internship: Getty Foundation 2013 Multicultural Undergraduate Internships at Visual Communications

Hey students! Are you in the Los Angeles area and looking for a summer internship? If you're interested in working with an awesome organization in the realm of digital media, community and history, read on...

Visual Communications, the nation's premier Asian Pacific media arts center, is looking for qualified undergraduate students to fill full-time internship positions this summer (June 10 - August 16) in the following categories:

New Music: Desire by Spazzkid

Check it out. I've been enjoying the hell out of Desire, the recently released new album from Mark Redito, who makes electronic music as Spazzkid. I get a lot of music coming across my desk, and this was one of those records I instantly took a liking to. It's got this gorgeous, extra chill, dreamlike quality that's been haunting me (in a good way) long after I hit pause. Here's a preview of the album:

Man assaults Army officer at Walmart

This is a bizarre one... Last week in Albany, New York, police arrested a man for assaulting a member of the U.S. Armed Forces inside a Walmart: Army Captain assaulted at Wal-Mart.

On Thursday, 47-year-old Yiqiang Wu starting yelling at a uniformed U.S. Army Captain at the Walmart checkout register, making derogatory statements about the United States and his service to the country. He then struck him several time in the face. A surveillance camera caught video of the attack:

"A Letter to JK Rowling from Cho Chang" by Rachel Rostad

This poet is angry as hell, and I like it. Check out Macalester College's Rachel Rostad performing her award-winning spoken word piece "A Letter to JK Rowling from Cho Chang" earlier this month at the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational in New York City. She has some critical words for the multigajillionaire author about the Asian characters in her bestselling wizard series:

Deftones bassist Chi Cheng dies at 42

Some sad music news... Bass guitarist Chi Cheng, co-founder of the Grammy-winning Sacramento-based alternative/metal band The Deftones, died over the weekend, five years after a car crash left him in a coma. He was 42: Deftones bassist Chi Cheng dies after fighting 'the good fight'.

Cheng's mother announced his passing in a statement on the website oneloveforchi.com. On early Saturday morning, he was taken to the emergency room where his heart stopped at 3:00am. Cheng had been in a semi-conscious state after suffering major injuries in a car accident in 2008:

Cigarette Hat and Other WTF Moments at the MTV Movie Awards

So... if you missed the MTV Movie Awards, then you missed Hana Mae Lee with a giant cigarette butt on her head. You think I am joking. But last night, the Pitch Perfect star got dressed, drove to the MTV Movie Awards, and just as she was about to step on to the red carpet, an evil giant put out his cigarette on poor Hana's head:

Please stop using the term "Chinaman."

Memo to sportscasters discussing 14-year-old Chinese golf phenom Tianlang Guan -- or anyone of Chinese descent, for that matter: please refrain from using the term "chinaman." I know you think this is okay, like it's the same as calling someone from France and Frenchman. I can see how you would think that. But "chinaman" is considered a derogatory term. I know you had no idea. But now you know.

That's what happened during the sports segment the other night on KLFY, the CBS affiliate in Lafayette, Louisiana, when sports anchor George Faust referred to the golfer as "14-year-old Chinaman Tianlang Guan": Louisiana TV Station Refers To Guan Tianlang As A "Chinaman."

Read These Blogs

10 Ridiculously Offensive Things People Tell Asian Women On OkCupid: BuzzFeed does a "greatest hits" roundup of posts from the Creepy White Guys Tumblr, which collects exceptionally horrifying messages from "creepy white guys with Asian fetishes" on dating sites.

To (All) the White Girls Who Didn't Get Into The College Of Their Dreams: Did you catch Suzy Lee Weiss's extended whine about "tiger moms" and "headdress" wearers and why she didn't get into the colleges she wanted to? Don't. Read Kendra James' reply instead.

An Open Letter to Suzy Lee Weiss: A letter from one college-bound high school senior to another -- except YingYing Shang knows where to check her privilege.

We Are Not Newcomers or Bystanders: Asian Americans and the Struggle for Immigration Reform: Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of SAALT, on Asian Americans and rallying for immigration reform.

This Week's Angriest Posts

Not necessarily the angriest, just the most viewed.

All Asian cyclists look the same

Totally Gratuitous Lee Byung Hun Workout Video

Saturday Night Live Fail: Bobby Moynihan as Kim Jong-un

Jeremy Lin on 60 Minutes

Manslaughter plea agreement in beach beating death

Airport worker accused of stealing from luggage

Happy ten-year anniversary, Better Luck Tomorrow

J. David Kuo, former leader of Bush's faith initiative, dies at 44

Saw director James Wan to take on Fast & Furious 7

Angry Reader of the Week: Giles Li

If you're heading to the Association for Asian American Studies Conference in Seattle this week, please come to our panel on Thursday afternoon. We'll be talking about Linsanity. If you're a student in the vicinity of North Carolina, I have the honor of delivering a keynote address next weekend at TAASCON 2013. Hope to see you there. Stay Angry.

Kero One at Drom NYC, April 15

If you're in New York City, make some plans this Monday night for some good music. Essentic presents one of my favorite emcee/producers, California's own Kero One, alongside YouTube sensation Jenni Suk, and rappers Rekstizzy, Mugshot of Deep Foundation, MC Budha and more. It's happening Monday, April 15 at Drom. Here are some more details about the show:

Angry Reader of the Week: Giles Li

Awwww yeah. Once again, it's time for you 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 Giles Li.

DC Comics' Batgirl introduces transgender character

Little by little, DC Comics keeps taking steps towards LGBT diversity. Last year, Earth Two's Green Lantern Alan Scott was re-introduced as a gay character as part of the company's "New 52" relaunch. This week, the latest issue of Batgirl introduces the first openly transgender character in a mainstream superhero comic -- and oh, she's Asian: DC Introduces First Transgender Character in Mainstream Comics.

14-year-old Tianlang Guan is the youngest player ever to compete in the Masters

At 14 years old, Chinese golfer Tianlang Guan is the youngest player ever to compete in the Masters. But he didn't show up at Augusta National merely to play. The eighth grader carded an impressive 1-over 73 in his opening round on Thursday: China's Tianlang Guan, 14, at 1 over.

But kid still has a few things to learn, according to one official. On Friday, after repeated reminders, Guan received a one-stroke penalty for slow play on the 17th hole -- a ruling that almost jeopardized his chances of making the cut: Tianlang Guan penalized for slow play at Masters.

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, May 2-12

This for all my film fans in Los Angeles. Heads up. Tickets are currently on sale for the 29th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, running May 2 through 12 at venues around Los Angeles and Long Beach. With a lineup of over 140 films, LAAPFF is a showcase of some of the latest and greatest documentaries and narratives representing a diversity of Asian and Asian Pacific American voices. Here's the 30-second festival trailer:

Angry Poetry Corner: "Flight from Seoul" by Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut

We're getting poetic up here. It's time for another installment of the Angry Poetry Corner, a semi-regular spotlight where we present the work of various poets from the AAPI community -- not necessarily angry poems (though there are certainly some of those too) -- curated by Cara, our Angry Asian Intern. Because you could use a little more poetry in your life.

In the corner this week, a poem by Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut:

Happy ten-year anniversary, Better Luck Tomorrow

This week marks the tenth anniversary of the theatrical release of Better Luck Tomorrow, an independent film that arguably changed the direction of contemporary Asian American cinema. With last week's passing of venerated film critic Roger Ebert, I noted his unique, influential moment in the legacy of the film.

Ten years later, I look back and marvel and at what Better Luck Tomorrow meant for me and this blog, and I'm thankful. The film itself is a shock to the system, offering a dark, shocking portrait of Asian American youth. Director Justin Lin's story of making the film is an inspiring, a great example of what can happen when you stop waiting for someone else to tell a story, and get off your ass to make it happen yourself.

The theatrical release of the Better Luck Tomorrow is an awesome example of how the indie film-appreciating community rallied around the film to get butts in those seats. It was early on in the life of this blog, and it showed me a lot about the power of the online voice. And best of all, I made some great relationships with folks who were similarly passionate about Better Luck Tomorrow -- folks that I'm still friends with to this day.

If you haven't seen Better Luck Tomorrow, well, you should. (Dude, the DVD is only $6.49 right now on Amazon.) I shared this last week, but I figured I'd re-post Evan Leong's documentary BLT: Genesis, a behind-the-scenes look at the scrappy journey of making the film. Take a look:

Trial underway for actress suing IMDB

We've been following this case with mild interest... Huong Hoang, aka Junie Hoang, is the Asian American actress suing the Internet Movie Database for posting her age on her public IMDB profile. She claims that the site violated her privacy by posting her age, which has led to a "substantial decrease in acting credits, employment opportunities and earnings."

I don't know if she's got much of a case, but the arguments are interesting. The Hollywood Reporter has been following the trial with recaps and analysis. Here's the take on day one, during which Hoang and IMDB battled over the importance of truth and perception in the digital age: Actress Suing IMDb Takes the Witness Stand.

And here's the recap of day two, where things got a little lively, and Hoang was challenged about how much IMDB's posting of her true age actually affected her acting career: Actress Suing IMDb Faces Tough Questions on Second Day of Trial.

Manslaughter plea agreement in beach beating death

This case bums me out. This week in Illinois, a young man reached a manslaughter plea agreement in the 2011 death of a 17-year-old Chicago boy: Plea reached in LaPorte County fatal fight.

20-year-old James Malacek pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, battery and aggravated battery, and agreed to serve 145 days in prison for the fatal punch that killed Kevin Kennelly. The rest of the four year sentence would be served on electronic monitoring.

According to police, Malacek punched Kennelly, who may have been trying to break up a fight at a 4th of July beach party. The altercation was apparently set off by racial insults -- Malacek and his sister are Korean adoptees: