20th Annual Asian American Showcase

Presented by FAAIM, April 3-16 at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago



Chicago film fans, it is on. The Asian American Showcase, presented by the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media, celebrates its 20th anniversary as a platform for new work by established and emerging Asian American filmmakers. The festival kick runs April 3-16, and kicks off this Friday with the Opening Night screening of the critically acclaimed thriller Man From Reno at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

Here's a rundown of their awesome program:

Alabama cop indicted for assault on elderly Indian man

Officer Eric Parker is accused of using "unreasonable force" on 57-year-old Sureshbhai Patel.



Last week in Alabama, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that the police officer who threw a 57-year-old Indian man to the ground, severely injuring him, has been indicted on civil rights violations charges.

Madison Police officer indicted for civil rights violation

Officer Eric Parker of the Madison Police Department was fired and charged with third-degree assault for using excessive force on Sureshbhai Patel, who had been visiting his family from India. The incident left him partially paralyzed and hospitalized with a fused vertebrae.

Mr. Patel, who does not speak English, was on an afternoon walk when he was stopped by police responding to a call about a "suspicious person." Police video shows Parker yanking Patel's arm and slamming him into the ground. He suffered serious injuries requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation.

'Star Wars Epic Yarns' recreates iconic scenes in felt

May the Felt Be With You.



Epic Yarns, a book series for kids of all ages by twin brothers Holman and Jack Wang, tells the story of each of the first three Star Wars movies -- A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, of course -- in just twelve words and twelve iconic scenes depicted in incredibly detailed and adorable needle felt.

Yes, people. NEEDLE FELT.

First Look at Gemma Chan in 'Humans'

AMC's upcoming sci-fi drama series is about robots in the parallel present.



In addition to our first look at Daniel Wu in Into the Badlands, during the season five finale of The Walking Dead, AMC also offered a quick glimpse of Gemma Chan in the upcoming sci-fi drama series Humans.

The eight-part series, based on the award-winning Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans, is set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a 'Synth' -- a highly developed robotic servant eerily similar to its live counterpart. It looks like Gemma Chan plays the "upgrade you've been waiting for."

Here's the teaser:

First Look at Daniel Wu in 'Into the Badlands'

AMC's genre-bending martial arts series premieres in fall 2015.



Folks who tuned into Sunday night's season five finale of The Walking Dead caught a brief glimpse of AMC's upcoming martial arts drama Into the Badlands starring and executive produced by Daniel Wu.

The show is described as a "genre-bending martial arts series" loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. In a land controlled by feudal barons, the series tells the story of a great warrior and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment.

Here's the 15-second teaser:

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.

'Big Trouble in Little China' Screening

Wednesday, April 8 at the Japanese American National Museum



Film fans, this is going to be a good one! If you're in Los Angeles, we invite you to a screening of John Carpenter's action cult classic Big Trouble in Little China, presented by Japanese American National Museum in partnership with Angry Asian Man, First Pond Entertainment, and Visual Communications.

Join us for a fun screening and a Q&A with some of the cast and crew. Confirmed guests includ George Cheung, James Hong, Jeff Imada, Peter Kwong, Al Leong, James Lew and Gerald Okamura. It's happening Wednesday, April 8 at the Japanese American National Museum.

Here are some more details about the event:

Rutgers student took LSD, got naked and stabbed his friend

22-year-old Kevin Huang is charged with attempted murder for stabbing his buddy in the neck.



Asians behaving badly... LSD-is-a-hell-of-a-drug edition. A Rutgers University student is charged with attempted murder after allegedly taking LSD, taking off all his clothes and stabbing his friend in the neck.

Rutgers student stabs pal in the neck after taking LSD: officials

On Saturday night, 22-year-old Kevin Huang and a buddy decided to spend their evening taking LSD. Things took a wrong turn when Huang suddenly became violent, tearing off his clothes and destroying the apartment. A witness left to get help, but when he returned, he found Huang had stabbed his friend in the neck.

Tammy Duckworth announces bid for U.S. Senate

Congresswoman will challenge incumbent GOP Senator Mark Kirk.



In a YouTube video posted Monday morning, Illinois Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth officially announced that she is running for the United States Senate against incumbent GOP Senator Mark Kirk.

Tammy Duckworth launches Illinois Senate bid

"I'm running for the United States Senate in 2016 because it's time for Washington to be held accountable and put Illinois' families and communities first," Duckworth says in the two-minute video, which highlights her humble upbringing and her personal background as a wife, a mother and a combat veteran.

"If you elect me as Illinois' senator I will fight my heart out to represent you with honor and integrity."

Here's the announcement:

Disney is making a live-action 'Mulan'

The studio has bought a script based on the legendary Chinese woman warrior.



Well. This is some interesting movie news. On the heels of the box office success of its live-action Cinderella retelling, Disney has announced that it is developing a live-action version of Mulan.

Disney Developing Live-Action 'Mulan' (Exclusive)

Disney has reportedly bought a script by Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek, based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the female warrior fans know and love from the studio's 1998 animated feature Mulan.

Would you drink a beer called "Happy Ending"?

Retailer refuses to carry beer over racist, sexist bottle label.



Would you drink a beer called "Happy Ending"? This one comes courtesy of Atlanta-based SweetWater Brewing Co., who apparently have no problem marketing their beverages with sexist, racist stereotypes. One Chicago retailer has a problem with it, and has made headlines for refusing to carry the beer.

Does craft beer have a sexism problem? Binny's rejects Happy Ending

SweetWater's Happy Ending imperial stout label art features a box of tissues, the silhouette of a geisha and that "O-face" guy from Office Space. The beer is subtly described as "sporting a huge dry hopped stiffy resulting in an explosive finish!" Well, I'm sure someone thought they were being clever.

Starbucks employee accuses customer of stealing secrets

"If you want steal our stuff for your store in China, go ahead, we're fine with that."



Oh hell no. Did this really happen? During a recent visit to a new premium Starbucks location in Seattle, one Asian American customer says he got the "acrid taste" of racism with his coffee when he was "lectured" by a corporate employee who jokingly suggested he was trying to copy company secrets to use in China.

On a recent visit to Seattle, Yelp user Daniel L. visited the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room, which is described as intended to be a "Willy Wonka experience" for coffee connoisseurs and amateurs alike. Daniel says the coffee was awesome, and he was ready to give it a 5-star review, but then...

Daniel says he and a friend started chatting with a "corporate guy" from Starbucks who pegged them as people in the coffee business, then advised them, "if you want steal our stuff for your store in China, go ahead, we're fine with that." Later, he followed that up with an unsolicited mini-lecture about good, old-fashioned American training, which cannot be copied. "That's something we'll never give to you." Whaaaaaat.

Here's an excerpt from Daniel's Yelp review:

Read These Blogs

Embracing My Chinese-American Identity: In the New York Times, photographer An Rong Xu shares about the coming-of-age story behind his photo series "The Chinese-Americans," and how he found empowerment and acceptance in his own Chinese American identity.

* * *
Chinatown hotel next up in S.F. gentrification wars: "This is the most direct indicator we have seen of gentrification in Chinatown. This is the bottom of the housing market. This is last-resort housing, where immigrants and poor people live." The recent eviction of two dozen families at 2 Emery Lane, could be a signal that Chinatown single-room-occupancy hotel may be the next frontier of San Francisco's gentrification wars.

* * *
The Dim Sum Revolution: How a brigade of kitchen workers took on Yank Sing, San Francisco's most lucrative and popular dim sum restaurant, and got back what had been stolen from them, and then some.

* * *
Hey, white Hollywood: Looking for work in the age of "Empire"? Here's some friendly advice : "The 'ethnics' are invading TV!! What's a struggling white actor to do?!" -- Some friendly advice from Arthur Chu.

* * *
As Multicultural TV Shows Succeed, Some Wonder if Diversity has Gone Too Far: Jeff Yang's latest "Tao Jones" column responds to Deadline TV editor Nellie Andreeva's controversial, much-criticized piece about recent "ethnic castings" on television being "too much of a good thing."

'Fresh Off The Boat' Live LA Community Viewing: LGBTQ Episode

Tuesday, March 31 at the Japanese American National Museum



If you're in Los Angeles, please join us for another community viewing of Fresh Off The Boat! Because it's fun to watch it together. The next episode, "Blind Spot," is a LGBTQ-themed episode, so a bunch of community groups are getting together to co-present a live viewing and post-show panel discussion featuring Fresh Off The Boat showrunner/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan, episode guest star Rex Lee, author/comedian D'Lo and artist/organizer Erin O'Brien, and moderated by filmmaker Curtis Chin. It's happening Tuesday, March 31 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.

Here are some more details:

Angry Reader of the Week: Kathy Uyen

"I love new ideas, stories and inspiration. If you've got one or two, let's talk, connect and make it happen."


(Photo Credit: Vic Nguyen)
Hey folks! It's that time again. Gather 'round 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 Kathy Uyen.

Bikers plead guilty in 2013 motorcycle mob attack

All but three of the eleven men charged have pleaded guilty in the attack on motorist Alexien Lien.



Remember the case of the New York motorist who was chased down the highway by a pack of bikers, pulled out of his car, and beaten on the street in front of his wife and toddler? This week, four of the assailants pleaded guilty for their role in the September 2013 road rage attack.

More plea deals in West Side Highway biker road rage case

For those unfamiliar with the case, here's the abridged version: A motorcyclist, riding with a pack, brake-checks a Range Rover and gets hit. Bikers surround the SUV. The driver, Alexian Lien -- who's with his wife and 2-year-old daughter -- takes off, plowing through several motorcycle riders and sparking a crazy pursuit on the West Side Highway. Driver gets chased down, pulled out of his car and beaten in front of his family.

'Rad American Women A-Z'

Picture book profiles "Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History... and Our Future!"



THIS IS AWESOME. If you're looking for a fun, colorful book to teach kids -- and heck, grownups too -- about real-life incredible, visionary, revolutionary women, spanning the entire alphabet, then you need this book.

Rad American Women, A-Z by written by Kate Schatz and illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl, profiles 26 of America's famous and unsung heroines -- past, present and future. It's feminist history in a picture book.

A is for Angela Davis. B is for Billie Jean King. C is for Carol Burnett. Y is for Yuri Kochiyama. Z is for Zora Neale Hurston. X is for the women whose names we don't know, "the women we haven't learned about yet, and the women whose stories we will never read." Incredible.

Here are a couple of the illustrations:

Driving instructors get pranked by a pro racer

Watch pro driver Leona Chin scare the crap out of unsuspecting driving school instructors.



This is just mean. What happens when a professional racer, disguised as a timid driving student, gets behind the wheel for a lesson with an unsuspecting driving instructor? Lots and lots of squealing tires. And screaming.

A driving school enlisted the help of 28-year-old Leona Chin, a professional motorsport racer from Malaysia, to play a prank some new instructors on their first day on the job. Chin winningly plays the part of a nerdy newbie driver, starting off the lesson with some blunders... then proceeds to show off her insane drifting skillz.

Needless to say, the poor instructors freaked the f*ck out. Watch:

Restaurant owner arrested for enslaving cook

Pradeep Kumar is accused of enslaving and abusing an Indian restaurant worker for three years.



Damn. Been hearing way too many stories like this lately... In Southern California, a restaurant owner has been arrested for allegedly enslaving an Indian employee and holding him in servitude for several years.

Valencia restaurant owner accused of slavery, beating employee

47-year-old Pradeep Kumar was arrested this week on suspicion of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, human trafficking and holding a person in involuntary servitude. Police say the victim, an unnamed 55-year-old Indian national, endured three years of slavery and physical abuse.

The victim was lured to the United States in 2012 to work as a chef at Tandoori Grill in Valencia. But Kumar confiscated his passport, barred him from contact with the outside world, and forced the cook to work seven days a week, about 12 to 14 hours each day without pay. When he made mistakes, Kumar would beat him.

Angry Asian America: Name That Sitcom Challenge!

In which we quiz Randall Park on classic sitcom families.



Heyyy, video watchers. We're not quite done with this one yet... On the latest edition of our talk show Angry Asian America on ISAtv, co-host Jenny Yang and I milked one last segment out of our conversation with Randall Park. Having passed the 90s Rap Challenge, with flying colors, in this special Name That Sitcom Challenge! edition, the Fresh Off The Boat star gets quizzed on classic sitcom families.

Check it out: