m. night shyamalan takes on avatar: the last airbender?

Man, it didn't take M. Night Shyamalan very long to sell out. After taking a hell of a beating for this summer's cinematic mess, Lady In The Water, looks like he's retreating to safer fare. So what's he doing to recover his credibility? A movie version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, of all things. He's apparnetly signed a three-picture deal to write, direct and produce a franchise based on the popular Nickelodoen kids TV series: Shyamalan Planning a Different Avatar. (This shouldn't be confused with James Cameron's new film project, also titled Avatar.) For those unfamiliar with the series, it's set in an Asian-influnced fantasy world with martial arts and magic stuff. Seems like a far cry from The Sixth Sense.

asian american leads palo alto

This week, Yoriko Kishimoto became the first Asian American and ninth woman to lead the city of Palo Alto, CA: City's first Asian mayor elected

faked voter registration

Two years after Jimmy Meng narrowly defeated his incumbent opponent by less than 200 votes to become the first Asian American elected to the New York state legislature, an aide to Meng has surrendered to the Queens District Attorney on charges that he faked voter registration documents: DA: Jimmy Meng Aide Surrenders. 42-year-old Simon Ting will be arraigned with a Class E Felony in relation to at least 36 fraudulent voter registration forms. Though a spokesman for the district attorney says it appears Ting acted alone, I really do have to wonder...

what kind of brotherhood

Sickening. According to an autopsy report, Phanta "Jack" Phoummarath, the University of Texas student who died of alcohol poisoning in December 2005, had anti-gay and other derogatory phrases scrawled on his body when it arrived at the medical examiner's office: Body of fraternity pledge had offensive markings, authorities say.

The three leaders of Lambda Phi Epsilon -- Phoummarath's would-be "brothers" -- were indicted on multiple counts of hazing and serving alcohol to minors last month. They deserve everything that's coming to them.

just another lame youtube video

Foolish white man uses chopsticks to impress Asian girl: "That's Awesome!" (It's not.) Just another idiotic video clip populating YouTube.

kind of like netflix, but more yellow people

Check it out... You may have noticed the little ad for TigerCinema flashing on the side there. They're an online DVD rental service for Asian and Asian American cinema. Kind of like Netflix, but more yellow people. Good stuff to feed your expand your knowledge/feed your addiction of Asian cinema/television. And for you, good readers of this website, a deal... TigerCinema normally offers a free 2-week trial, but for the month of January 2007, from now to January 31st, use the promotional code ANGRY to extend your trial for a total of 3 weeks. You know you want it. For more information, and to sign up, head on over to TigerCinema.com.

masi on hiro

People are crazy for Masi Oka, easily the breakout star of Heroes... At first I was going to post this story, but then I came across this lengthier one on IGN: Heroes' Hiro Talks. He discusses all the success that's been coming his way lately, from the fan-favorite role of Hiro to his recent Golden Globe nomination. I'm still hoping we'll see Oka make a reappearance as Franklyn on Scrubs soon...

creator of scooby-doo dies

Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created the cartoon character Scooby-Doo as well as characters on such shows as The Flintstones and The Jetsons for Hanna-Barbera, died Monday after suffering a massive coronary. He was 81: Scooby-Doo creator dies at 81. Born in Los Angeles in 1925, he was one of the many Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during World War II. My childhood owes a lot to Scooby-Doo. I salute you, Mr. Takamoto. I hope you never watched that awful live-action Scooby-Doo movie that came out a few years ago.

call for entries: aaaiff and disorient

Attention filmmakers! The Asian American Internation Film Festival in New York is now accepting film and video works for its 30th annual festival, which runs July 19-28. That's right, thirty years. They're taking works produced, written and/or directed by media makers of Asian descent from any nationality. The deadline is February 9th. For more information and details on how to submit your film, go here. From one of the oldest Asian American film festivals around...

... to one of the youngest: DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon is now accepting entries through February 2nd. The festival returns for its second year April 27-29, 2007. You rock, Oregon. For more information, go here. Good times.

three weeks in jail for possession... of flour

Remember Janet H. Lee? She's the Bryn Mawr College student who was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport in 2003 after screeners found three condoms filled with white powder in her carry-on and city police said field tests showed that the substances likely contained opium and cocaine. Problem was, the powder was actually flour—a joke stress relief thing—and Janet was wrongly jailed for three weeks on drug charges. She spent three weeks in jail, until further drug testing proved that she was telling the truth all along. The damn stuff was just flour. D'oh. She filed a civil rights case against the city, which was settled last week for $180,000: Student mistakenly held on drug charge settles with Phila.. Okay, really really dumb idea to bring any kind of powder substance on a plane. But man, what a nightmare that must have been. Sorry, Mom. I can't come home for break. I'm in jail for possession. Of flour.

a.o. scott on letters from iwo jima

A.O. Scott has a really in-depth look at this scene from Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima: Surrender and Survival in the Crucible of Battle. Here's another story on star Ken Watanabe (SPOILER ALERT. The article kind of reveals what happens to his character in the movie, though you probably could've guessed): 'Letters' hits home for actor Watanabe. The more I read about this film, the more I intrigued I am to see it...

event: f-stop

For folks in Southern California, here's a cool event happening this weekend in Los Angeles, put together a cool dude named Peter Phan: F-Stop, a night of art, music, dance, turntables and prize giveaways. For the full lineup, see here. Saturday, January 13th at Grand Star Jazz Club in downtown Los Angeles. I was told it's some kind of fundraiser, though it's unclear what exactly they are raising funds for. Guess you'll just have to find out.

actors, contact your lawyers

Here's another article, from Backstage.com, on that UCLA study that argues minority actors have the right to sue the entertainment industry for violating their rights under Title VII, the equal employment opportunity clause of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: UCLA Study: Minority Actors Can Sue. So has anyone actually sued anyone yet?

steve byrne on comedy central's stand-up showdown

Check it ouuuut. Last year, my man Steve Byrne did a half hour standup special for Comedy Central Presents. It was good stuff. Now Comedy Central is taking the top hundred specials and letting
everyone vote for their favorite comedian. From there, they'll take the top twenty and air them all on a marathon countdown all day on Sunday, January 28th: Stand-Up Showdown 2007. Who will be this year's champion? I'm voting for Steve. Come on, do you want Dane Cook to win? Or that Pablo guy? Noooo.

UPDATE: Thanks to your votes, Steve has clawed his way into the top twenty, and is sitting comfortably (as I write this) in the number five spot. Can you dig it? You can vote once every day, so keep it coming.

nwaaff schedule

The schedule for the 2007 Northwest Asian American Film Festival is now up and running. The festival, Washington State's largest showcase for Asian American films and videos, runs January 25-28 in Seattle. Things kick off with not one, but two opening night features, Julia Kwan's Eve and the Fire Horse and Ham Tran's Journey From The Fall—two amazing, award-winning first features. For the full schedule and ticket info, go here. Support Asian American cinema!

hmong hunter found dead in wisconsin

A Hmong hunter, Cha Vang, was found dead Saturday in Wisconsin wildlife area: Hmong Hunter's Death Has Wis. on Edge. Investigators are treating the case as a homicide. This, of course, has people in the area recalling the November 2004 incident involving Chai Soua Vang, who killed six white hunters and injured two while trespassing in a private tree stand. Could this be some kind of retaliation? Whatever the case, this community has some major mounting racial tensions to deal with...

worthless

Could someone tell me what exactly is so funny about this guy: Pablo Francisco - Chinatown. Anybody? Nothing. Idiotic. That's racist!

rodney yee: creepy yoga dude gets married

I usually don't post wedding announcements-type stuff, even when the couple looks so cute and the dress is so pretty and everybody is so happy... but yoga guru Rodney Yee is such a larger-than-life figure (I heard someone recently describe him as "gross") I guess it's worth a mention... So: Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee. Yoga teacher hooks up with student. Scandalous! Gawker's take on it is particularly funny: Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee: Na-nastay.. Yeah. Gross.

news flash: lots and lots of asians at uc berkeley

Okay, I think about fifty people emailed me this story today... I haven't had a chance to read it over carefully, but it's a lengthy piece in the New York Times examining the overwhelmingly large population of Asian students at UC Berkeley: Little Asia on the Hill. I expect they'll get a hell of a lot of reaction from both sides over this one...

welcome to america, you're not american enough

As part of a promotional sweepstakes, toy chain Toys 'R' Us was going to offer a $25,000 United States savings bond to the first American baby born in 2007. Cool, right? Too bad the first baby of the year was Yuki Lin, born in New York to Han Lin and Yan Zhu Liu—who happen to be immigrant parents... and according to the contest's fine print, the Toys 'R' us decided, little Yuki was ruled out because her mother was not a legal resident: First-Baby Sweepstakes Fuels Immigration Debate. Welcome to the world, Yuki. Already, people think you're not American enough. The story got the attention of a Chinese American lawyer, who got the ball rolling with an email campaign alerting other Asian American groups, and it got a lot of people talking. And you how us Asian Americans can cause a fuss these days. Due to the all the negative publicity, Toys 'R' Us announced yesterday that it was reversing its decision: Toys 'R' Us changes baby contest ruling. Too bad, I was hoping to keep the above image. Oh well, I'll keep it up anyway. (Thanks, Poplicks)

jin has words for rosie

It's been a few weeks since it all went down, but rapper Jin has put together his own response to the Rosie O'Donnell "ching chong" incident with a song, "You're Fired" (featuring a few sound clips from O'Donnell's most vocal enemy of the moment, Donald Trump). "Hostile" is the first word that comes to mind. He sure as hell doesn't pull any punches. Listen to it at Jin's Xanga, or download it here.

inventor of ramen dies

Momofuku Ando, the founder-chairman of Nissin Food Products Co. and inventor of instant noodles, died on Friday at the age of 96: Momofuku Ando, Japanese inventor of instant noodles, dies at 96. At the moment, I honestly can't think of a 20th century food invention that has had a greater impact on my life. We salute you, Mr. Momofuku. You may not have invented a very nutrtious meal, but it's easy and delicious. Fix yourself a bowl of ramen today in his honor.

pre-order the motel dvd

As I've already mentioned, Michael Kang's indie feature film The Motel will be released on DVD on January 30th, and is currently available for pre-order here. It's good stuff, so reserve yourself a copy. If you can't wait that long, and you're of the downloading sort, you can actually legally download the movie exclusively at EZTakes from now until January 30th. For real, dude. Get it here.

who is to blame for death of james kim?

Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein called on the Interior Department to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of James Kim—namely, the unlocked gate on an Oregon logging road that the Kim family drove down before getting lost and stranded in the snow for over a week: Senator wants probe into man's death. Basically, who screwed up and left the gate unlocked? These are definitely questions that need to be asked. But in the end, you can lay blame all you want... it won't bring James Kim back.

Here's a special column in the Washington Post by Spencer H. Kim, James' father: The Lessons In My Son's Death. A month later, and reading about this tragedy still breaks my heart.

norm chow interviewing for cardinals head coach

The rumors are true. Norm Chow is among those being considered for the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals: More Coaching Interviews Scheduled. His relationship with Cardinals (and former USC) quarterback Matt Leinart makes him an interesting candidate for the position.

di quon and my life disoriented

Here's a story on actress Di Quon, star and producer of the PBS short film (and hopefully soon-to-be-television series) My Life Disoriented: 'Disoriented' star knows where she wants to go. Did you watch it? Everybody gets PBS, you know.

queens robbery arrest

Three arrests have been made in connection with a string of violent robberies in and around Flushing Meadow Park in Queens: Third Suspect Arrested in Queens Park Attacks. Three teenagers are responsible for the December 25 attack that left 33-year-old Ja Woo Park, who'd been out jogging, in a coma. He's the guy police weren't able to identify a few weeks back. Hopefully now he'll see some justice.

uglydolls in time magazine

TIME recently ran a neat article on David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, the unlikely entrepreneurial creators of the wildly successful Uglydolls: Who Are You Calling Ugly? It's pretty amazing how crazy popular this little suckers have become.

nichi bei times profiles masi oka

Here's another profile on our favorite hero Masi Oka, from the Nichi Bei Times: A Hiro's Welcome: Masi Oka on Asian Stereotypes, Ad-libbing and His Role on NBC's Hit Show 'Heroes'

hollywood remaking lau's confession of pain

Looks like the Hong Kong film Confession of Pain will be the latest film to get the Hollywood remake treatment: American Remake of "Confession of Pain" On Board. American film companies are negotiating the rights to remake the film, directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, after the success of the US version of their film Infernal Affairs ...a little blockbuster we here know as The Departed. With the film looking like a strong Oscar contender, it's no wonder someone out there wants to cash in on some repeat success. (If you haven't seen the original Infernal Affairs, put that sucker in your Netflix queue right now.) The article also notes that Andrew Lau has plans to direct a Hollywood action flick with an English language script and American cast in June.

justin chon on nickelodeon's just jordan

Thanks to the photos accompanying this article, I found out that Justin Chon is in the cast of the new Nickelodeon show Just Jordan as Tony Lee, "a good-looking basketball player." We last mentioned young Mr. Chon when he was guest star on The O.C. as the Korean pop star who takes Summer to the prom. That was weird.

naoko mori, star of torchwood

Here's an interview with actress Naoko Mori, star of the British sci-fi series Torchwood: Interview with Torchwood star Naoko Mori. I just read it over, and I think a lot of it really only makes sense if you've actually seen the show (which I haven't).

the changing face of silicon valley high schools

Another article on the rapidly changing face of Silicon Valley high schools... namely, over fifty percent of students at schools like Mission San Jose, Monta Vista and Lynbrook are Asian: The Changing Face of Silicon Valley High Schools. So where are all the white kids going?

the tao of racism

The above image is an advertisement spotted up around Las Vegas for TAO, an Asian bistro and nightclub. The folks at NAPAWF who brought this to my attention find it particularly racist and sexist, and I'm inclined to agree. Now, Vegas is a city built on selling sex, and showing a woman's bare backside may seem like no big deal, but I'd look a little closer at the racialization of sex that's happening here. The image conjures up the usual sexual stereotypes of Asian women as exotic, submissive sexual objects, right down to the "happy ending" line. What do you think? Please send any comments you might have to Robert Goldstein, President of The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino (where Tao is located), at comments@venetian.com.

tribute to james shigeta

Check out this really nice tribute to pioneer actor James Shigeta that showed at the 2006 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, now uploaded onto YouTube by the good folks at SFIAAFF: James Shigeta Tribute. There's a lot of great Hollywood footage that most folks have probably never seen. Read the blog entry about the video over at SFIAAFF's MySpace: One sexy Asian American man. (Thanks, Taro)

journey from the fall in theaters march 23

Good news, Asian American film fans... Ham Tran's acclaimed indie first feature, Journey From The Fall will be released in theaters this spring from ImaginAsian Pictures. It opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 23rd, and nationwide on March 30th. Starring Kieu Chinh and Long Nguyen, it tells the epic story of what happened in Vietnam after American forces withdrew. The cast and crew are largely made up of Vietnamese Americans who were either refugees or boat people or who survived Vietnam's brutal re-education camps. It's an amazing, ambitious work that tells a truly American story. Mark your calendars, and bookmark the film's website, and get yourself to the movie theater in March. I highly recommend Journey From The Fall.

asian pop's year-in-review

Jeff Yang's latest "Asian Pop" column is part two of his year-in-review, focusing on the worst of the best of the worst in Asian American pop culture in 2006: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. He manages to touch on a little bit of everything, from WWE's "Asian Redneck" Jimmy Wang Yang, to Rosie O'Donnell, to Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls. It's a pretty nice roundup of the year's highs and lows.

masi gives justin a d--- in a box

Masi Oka was on The Tonight Show this week.... he came out onstage with a special "**** in a box" for Justin Timberlake (SNL fans know what I'm talking about). I missed it, but luckily we have the miracle gift of YouTube to keep us warm at night: Masi Oka Interview. The segment includes a clip from an upcoming episode of Heroes. Oooh. By the way, Jay Leno is an idiot.

gene luen yang on asian pacific forum

I was listening to the latest edition of Asia Pacific Forum... can't say the show is always super thrilling, but it definitely always raises interesting, relevant issues. I really dug the January 2 show, which featured Jeff Yang talking about Asian Americans in comic books, and a great interview with Gene Luen Yang, the creator of the amazing, acclaimed graphic novel American Born Chinese. Listen to the show here.

stand by your white man, even if he whores you out for money

Heard about this whack video for "Blackened Blue Eyes" by The Charlatans UK, featuring an Asian woman. And oh yeah, she's a prostitute. Oh yes. You know that just got the Asiaphiles' attention. This entry over at Racialicious breaks it down pretty thoroughly: Video from The Charlatans UK: Asian woman sells body to support white boyfriend. "The moral of the story: Stand by your white man, even if he whores you out for money."

another gong li article

Another article on the gorgeous Gong Li: Gong Li 'Golden' in sumptuous period drama. Next up for her is the Hannibal Lecter prequel movie, Hannibal Rising. Can't say I'm looking forward to that one...

dragon boys on cbc

Just a reminder for all you Canadians out there, the mini-series Dragon Boys premieres this weekend, January 7 and 8 on CBC. It's cop/gangster drama starring an all-Asian cast, featuring Byron Mann, Steph Song, Tzi Ma, Lawrence Chou and Eric Tsang. I'm not entirely sold on it, but based on the trailer, I'm pretty intrigued. So I hope all you Canadian Asians check Dragon Boys, it becomes a smash success, and it eventually makes its way down to the States...

official altra launch party

Heads up, my people in Southern California. The new Asian American lifestyle magazine ALTRA is hosting its official launch party on Sunday, January 14th at the Geisha House (ugh!) in West Hollywood. According to my sources, they're planning a pretty swank event. I just took a look at the press release, and I guess the event is by invitation only, but the website says you get a free ticket when you sign up for a subscription. So maybe you can hang at the fancy party too!

car accidents

Last week, San Francisco school board President Norman Yee was crossing the street when he was struck by a car in the intersection: Police report: Yee struck in crosswalk by SoCal driver. But he's okay. Notice that the story and headline pays particular attention to the fact that driver is from Southern California. Best drivers in the world.

On a much sadder note, I just heard about this horrific auto accident that injured three San Francisco teenagers and killed both their parents on New Year's Eve: Mother, father die in minivan crash. Chandra Liem, 50, and Antoinetta Liem, 50, were pronounced dead at the scene. Terrible tragedy.

james kim benefit

Saw this over on Rice Daddies... There is currently a fundraising auction underway to benefit the family of James Kim, the guy who died last month trying to get help for his family when they got lost in the Oregon wilderness: Kim Family Benefit Art & Craft Auction. 100% of the auction proceeds will go to the The James Kim Memorial Fund.

raymond k. wong: one of pittsburgh's most beautiful

Go Pittsburgh! Writer Raymond K. Wong has been named one of Pittsburgh's 25 Most Beautiful People and is featured in the January issue of Pittsburgh Magazine, currently on news stands. How does it feel to be one of Pittsburgh's most beautiful people?

discrimination at the new jersey motor vehicle commission

Three women in Hunterdon County say their bosses at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission discriminated against them because of their race, and are each suing the commission and two of their supervisors for humiliation and physical distress due to the hostile and verbally abusive work environment. One of the women, Kajal Sehgal, is from India, and alleges that she was called a "smelly Indian" and was often told she and her food stunk: Women allege harassment at motor vehicle agency. That's racist! Someone is going down...

sulu keeps on trekkin'

George Takei is a busy man... in addition to his upcoming role on Heroes as Hiro's father, he's going to guest-star on the Disney Channel's upcoming series Cory in the House, a spinoff of the network's hit comedy That's So Raven: George Takei a "House" guest on Disney Channel. Takei will play Ronald, the snooty head steward on Air Force One. Man, that Sulu is everywhere!

school shooting in tacoma, wa

17-year old Samnang Kok was shot and killed yesterday morning at Foss High School in Tacoma, WA. Police reported capturing a suspect, 18-year-old Douglas Chanthabouly, about two hours later: Student dies in shooting at Foss High School; suspect captured. More here: Student arrested in fatal school shooting. The motive for the shooting is still unclear.

badass samurai mofo

Afro Samurai premires on Spike TV tonight. It's an animated series about a Black samurai (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) who "goes on a mission to avenge the wrongful death of his father in a futuristic feudal Japan." I don't really know what to say... except that it looks absolutely insane.

ehren watada interview

Yahoo has an interesting interview with First Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused deployment orders on the grounds that the war in Iraq is illegal, and now faces up to six years in prison: Conscientious Rejector?. For news and updates on this case, visit ThankYouLt.org.

UPDATE: Here's a story in the Washington Post on Carolyn Ho, Ehren Watada's mother: A Mother Fights for a Soldier Who Said No to War

zhang yimou makes big movies

Here's another story on acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou, director of Curse of the Golden Flower: Director with a Midas touch. When the film opened last month in China, it did some crazy box office numbers: Curse of the Golden Flower breaks Chinese box office record. For some really good Golden Flower stuff, also check out the latest edition of Asian Pacific Arts, which includes interviews with Gong Li and Zhang Yimou, red carpet coverage and a review of the film.

norm chow interviewing with the arizona cardinals

Looks like Norm Chow, offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, is a candidate to be the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals: Titans grant Cardinals permission to speak with Chow. The Titans confirmed this week that they had been in contact with the Cardinals and granted them permission to speak with Chow. If not mistaken, if the Cardinals hired him, Norm Chow would be the first Asian American head coach in the NFL...

azn tv: still hanging in there

I guess rumors of AZN's death were greatly exaggerated. The all-Asian American network continues to chug along, despite seismic shifts in staff and programming since its launch a few years back: AZN network faces challenge. It appears though that they fallen back largely on recycled programs from Asia. I guess you'll know where to go to get your fix of My Lovely Sam-Soon.

neighborhood indian cinema

The New York Times has a cool story on Columbia Park Cinema 12 in North Bergen, NJ, where half the screens are permanently reserved for Indian films: For Some Moviegoers, It’s 'Hooray for Bollywood'

UPDATE: Here's a story on the same theater that ran in the Record a few weeks back: Curtain may soon come down on oasis of Bollywood in N.J.

asian people on tv

Oh wow! Two more Asian guys on a reality show! What is this—Survivor? Talk about representation! That's great... oh wait. It's the third season of Beauty and the Geek. Yeah, that makes sense. It's the show that pairs up "eight gorgeous but academically impaired women and eight brilliant but socially challenged men." Thus, beauties and geeks. And of course, two of the eight geeks just happen to be Asian American. Well, Piao ("Only Kissed One Girl") and Sanjay ("Virgin")... make us proud, I guess. Or at the very least, try not to embarrass yourself too much. The show premieres tonight on CW.

EDIT: Make that three Asian guys. I forgot about Niels ("Had A Perfect S.A.T. Score"). According to his bio, he's currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley, but "paying the bills with a new job as a professional dating coach with Art of Attraction." The guys is a dating coach? He's actually got a blog here.

In other reality TV news, MTV has teamed up with magazine Rolling Stone to create I'm From Rolling Stone, a show that follows six young writers vying for a full-time contributing editor slot at the magazine. According to TV Squad, the six contestants were chosen from a pool of several thousand applicants. They spent this past summer fielding writing assignments from Rolling Stone's editors—including artist profiles, political coverage and event reviews. Among the contestants is 23-year-old Krishtine. Originally from the Philippines, she's all hip hop, and reppin' for the Bay Area. The show premieres on Sunday, January 7th.

And I'm pretty sure I already mentioned this, but we've also got some Asian dudes on the upcoming season of The Apprentice... James ("The Webhead") and Surya ("The Hair"). Both guys look like interesting competitors... too bad I can't stand The Apprentice. Anyway, the show also premiers on Sunday night.

masi oka in 21

Hey, it looks like there will be Asian guys in 21 after all... Golden Globe-nominated Masi Oka is in talks to play a supporting role: "Heroes" star all in for "21" thriller. If you recall, the movie is based on Ben Mezrich's bestseler Bringing Down the House, about the true story of a group of M.I.T. students who learned the art of card counting and took Vegas for millions. In real life, they were a group of Asian guys... in Hollywood-life, none of them were Asian guys. Now I guess there's one (but that's probably all we'll get).

the 5 most fascinating asian male tv characters right now (part 1)

Carmen at Racialicious lists off the The 5 most fascinating Asian male TV characters right now (Part 1 of 2). Very interesting. I guess there weren't quite enough Asians males on TV to round out a list of ten. But it's a good list, so check it out: Part One, Part Two

year of the asian american mayor

According to this story in the San Jose Mercury News, a historic one-third of Santa Clara County cities—Cupertino, Milpitas, Palo Alto, Saratoga and Sunnyvale—will be led by Asian American mayors in the new year: Asian-Americans leapfrog into politics. The five mayors are all immigrants born in Asian countries who climbed up the political ladder.

harry lee, sheriff

Here's an NPR story on Harry Lee, the outspoken Chinese American sheriff of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish, who has been known for controversy over the course of his 26 year career: Larger-Than-Life Sheriff Rules Louisiana Parish

kumar is busy

Kal Penn, coming off quite a year, kicks off the new year with an upcoming guest appearance on Law and Order: SVU: Law & Order: SVU's January Guest Star Lineup. Here are the details:

On Jan.16, the series welcomes two up-and-coming film stars; Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers) and guest star Kal Penn ("Van Wilder") in the episode "Outsider." In this episode, Det. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T) is asked by his son, a resident adviser at college, to look into a rape case of a coed at his school. As the case deepens, Fin is joined by an SVU detective from Brooklyn named Chester Lake (guest star Adam Beach) who is working a similar case and believes there is a connection. The trail leads to a women's clinic where Dets. Fin and Lake find the common link between their victims. After further investigation, a game of cat and mouse develops with the doctor's son, Henry (Penn) that takes a twist.

The episode airs on January 16th. He'll also have a recurring role on the upcoming sixth season of 24... as well as a starring role in Mira Nair's The Namesake, and a role in Epic Movie (which looks like crap). Busy man, Mr. Modi.

big in korea

Looking for the next big Korean star... in America: Called to star in Asia. Can't make it as an entertainer in the United States? Maybe you can sing/dance/act/model your way to stardom in South Korea!

eric byler and my life disoriented

The Washington Post profiles filmmaker Eric Byler and My Life Disoriented, which premiered on PBS last week: 'Disoriented' Filmmaker Delves Inside The Outsider. Did you see it? There's a good chance you might've missed it—a lot of the air times were past midnight, around two or three in the morning. I guess that's what TiVo is for... Anyway, learn more about the "pilot" here, and check back for updates...

nanking documentary

Here's the website for the documentary Nanking, which tells the story of the Nanking massacre of 1937. The film focuses on a group of westerners who heroically saved the lives of approximately 250,000 Chinese from the massacre. The movie, which is produced by rich guy Ted Leonsis, should not be confused with the announced Rape of Nanking narrative film being directed by Simon West. Nanking premieres later this month at the Sundance Film Festival.

slow news day

New Jersey's commissioner of transportation, Kris Kolluri, filled in as governor while Gov. Jon S. Corzine was on vacation last week: Willing to Be Governor, if Only for a Day or Two. Whoo. Party time while the governor's away.

Archived Posts - December 2006

rambo returns to asia

LatinoReview.com posted a fairly detailed script review of Rambo 4: Pearl of the Cobra. That's right, baby. Stallone ain't satisfied with returning to just one of his iconic roles (what's next—Cobra?)... he's doing a new Rambo movie too, and it brings the character back to Asia:

The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by a group of Christian human rights missionaries to protect them against pirates, during a humanitarian aid deliver to the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After some of the missionaries are taken prisoner by sadistic Burmese soldiers, Rambo gets a second impossible job: to assemble a team of mercenaries to rescue the surviving relief workers.

Rambo must face off against the movie's main guy Pa Tee Tint, the evil, sadistic Burmese major. Ah yes, another villainous Asian military figure. I'd raise a bigger stink about the stereotype, but unfortunately, the character is probably a close approximation of some of the real-life figures from the region. Also in the movie, according to the casting call, is a guy named "En Joo," one of the mercenaries on Rambo's team. Neither his description, nor his fate in the story (spoilers!), is very encouraging:

En-joo: The fifth member of the quintet of mercenaries. En-joo is a barrel-chested former South Korean trooper, an expert in explosives who barely speaks during the mission to rescue the missionaries. Expert at assassination by garotte, En-Joo flees the compound after Lewis and Reese wrongly declare the missionaries to be dead, and winds up dying in battle when the three mercenaries are cornered and shot to pieces. Lead;

No word yet on who will play either character. Keep an eye on this one... How many faceless, machine-gun toting Asians will Rambo The One-Man Army kill in this movie? Can't wait to find out. You know, it just occurred to me that I was way too young to be watching Rambo II when I saw it with my friend, back circa 1985. Edward, what were your parents thinking?

naveen andrews in grindhouse

That's Naveen Andrews, looking rather badass (and still sporting the Sayid hair) in this scene from "Planet Terror," part of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's double feature collaboration Grindhouse. Judging from the trailer, one can probably expect the usual kind of madness from the minds of these filmmakers.

Speaking of Naveen Andrews, here's a brief story from the Honolulu Advertiser a few weeks back on the Lost actor: 'Lost' actor notes lack of screen time.

He talks about his sorely noticeable lack of screen time in the first part of this season. If you've noticed, the first six episodes focused primarily on Jack, Sawyer and Kate, leaving you to wonder what's going on with everyone else over on the beach. I hope they're not planning on writing off Sayid this season...

the return of haiku jones

Who is Haiku Jones? One short I remember and really enjoyed from the film festival circuit a few years back was Kevin Inouye's unlikely audience favorite The Tale of Haiku Jones. Very low-tech, and unabashedly low-budget, but surprisingly charming and funny.

I wasn't a big fan of Inouye's follow-up film, Wake, but it looks like he's revisiting the character of the titular master poet with a sequel, Epic. The 50-minute short film will premiere at a free screening, along with Haiku Jones and Wake this Saturday, December 30th, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. More information on the screening over at the Hawaii Film Blog: Whatever Happened to Haiku Jones?

controversy continues over north's "chinaman" remark

Didn't know that this incident was still making headlines... You may remember back in the spring when Chicago sports radio personality Mike North asked on his show "Who was the 'Chinaman' on the mound the other day?" referring to South Korean-born Cubs pitcher Jae Kuk Ryu. The incident caused a bit of a stir, which resulted in North giving an on-air apology.

It turns out that a local high school had plans to dedicate its refurbished baseball and softball field to North, but has since decided to revisit its decision after Asian American activists raised concerns about the WSCR incident: Score's North could lose honor over racial quip.

Local school council members hope to discuss the matter and reach a decision at a meeting on January 10th. North is an ass for his "Chinaman" remark, and ever more so for his prolonged refusal to admit any wrongdoing on his part after the fact... but all this fuss over naming a freaking high school baseball field? Frankly, I don't really care...

the next canadian astronaut

The Toronto Star has a profile on Captain Terry Wong, a armed forces helicopter pilot who is slated to be the next Canadian astronaut: Not your typical astronaut. Cool for him, though the guy says he regards the movie Top Gun as "kinda crap." Blasphemy.

asian american films added to national film registry

Among the twenty-five films selected this year for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry are The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17), the earliest known Chinese-American feature; and Daughter of Shanghai (1937), starring Asian American movie star Anna May Wong. A place on the annual list—always made up of 25 films—guarantees the film will be preserved under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act: 'Fargo,' 'Rocky' make film history

the amazing life of peter chang sr.

L.A. Chung has a nice piece in the San Jose Mercury News about Peter Chang Sr., who sounds like he led an amazing life. He died last month at the incredible, wise age of 103-years-old: Chung: Victories mark veteran's life.

the weird, random stuff on youtube

So many, many treasures found on the wonderful world of YouTube... like this BLEEPin' weird-ass commercial for Virgin Mobile, featuring an Asian family wrestling a pig in their living room, officiated by a midget referee. I know—what? It makes very little sense... I'd be offended, but I'm not even sure what to make of it. What the hell am I watching here?

Then there's the music video for 30 Seconds To Mars' "From Yesterday." Again, this one isn't quite as weird as the Virgin Mobile commercial, but it still pretty freaky, and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. All I know is, someone watched a few too many Zhang Yimou movies. Maybe Jared Leto. There's a whole lotta random swords and fighting and armor and stuff. Weird.

And here's something completely different... While poking around YouTube (don't ask me what I was looking for), I randomly came across Gene Rhee's short film The Quest For Length, which made the festival rounds (including Sundance) about five years ago. It stars Roger Fan as a guy exploring the fascinating world of penis enlargement. Yeah, you read that right. I believe this is a shortened version of the film, but it's pretty entertaining.

mugging victim in critical condition

An unidentified man was brutally assaulted and robbed earlier this week in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, part of a violent string of at least eight other similar attacks: Police: Queens Park Mugging May Be Part Of Pattern.

The victim, who is in critical condition, could not be identified by police due to the severity of his injuries, but he appears to be Asian and about 30-years-old. More info here: Latest Victim Of Queens Muggers Beat Into Coma.

new programming for azn, imaginasian

Some news about our favorite Asian American television networks... okay, so they're not exactly our favorites, but they're trying.

For all you anime fans out there, you'll be pleased to know that ImaginAsian has announced that it's launching a new two-hour prime time anime block called "Anime EnerG," featuring popular anime series from animation distribution company Geneon Entertainment: ImaginAsian TV Launches New Anime Block.

As for AZN, it's still hanging in there with a few new programs on its schedule for the new year: AZN Adds To Slate for 2007. That said, it's still a terrible name for a network.

8-year-old needs a bone marrow donor

Over the weekend I saw a news item about this kid, 8-year-old Dale Inouye of Torrance, CA, who has leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor: 8-Year-Old Dale Inouye in Urgent Need of a Bone Marrow Donor.

I did a Google search and also came across this blog with more details: Please help Dale. For folks in Southern California, they're setting up bone marrow drives to find donors. Learn more about Dale and others who are in need of bone marrow at A3M: Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches.

sikh teen lied about hair attack

Here's a follow-up on last month's news out of the UK, about an alleged hate crime against a Sikh schoolboy who said racist thugs assaulted him and chopped off his hair... Turns out, the boy made the whole thing up: Sikh boy admits his attack lie.

The kid cut off his own hair, punched himself in the face and concocted the story. The kid definitely has some problems, including cultural identity issues. More here: Sikh teen lied about hair attack

asians on your tube

Asians on TV! Couple of really random TV appearance here and there...

Remember, My Life Disoriented makes its national premiere tonight on PBS' Independent Lens. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.

Greg Watanabe (last seen sporting leopard-spotted bikini briefs in TeleMongol) tells me he can be seen as a recurring character on the MyNetworkTV primetime soap Watch Over Me. Though he plays a hitman, he says he doesn't come off too bad (since half the people on the show are evil anyway). He's in 24 of the 66 episodes. Good for you, Greg... but I'm sorry, nothing could compel me to watch this show...

Micah Karns and Eunice Cho both appear in the Cartoon Network original movie Re-Animated, which combines live-action with animation. It apparently premiered earlier this month as the top-rated original movie in the network's history.

And it looks like ABC has canceled the drama Day Break (with Moon Bloodgood and Ian Anthony Dale) and the comedy Help Me Help You (with Suzy Nakamura). Bye bye, Asians on TV.

a culturally confused christmas

Nitya Venkataraman has a nice (but rather culturally confused) piece in the Washington Post about her Indian American childhood, wanting so badly to take part in Christmas festivities, despite growing up in a Hindu home: Longing to Join in Christmas.

seattle times profiles pastor eugene cho

The Seattle Times has a brief but interesting profile on Eugene Cho, Korean American pastor of progressive, multi-cultural church in the area: Eugene Cho / Found faith, and wisdom, in 'the least of thy brethren'.

disparities in apa healthcare

Here's a good perspective piece that was recently published in the Journal of Minority Medical Students, about disparities in healthcare facing API populations, and the misconception that we're a homogeneous model minority: Over-Underserved: Asian American As An Invisible Minority. (Thanks, Steven.)

the turtles are back

That's Karai, leader of the evil Foot Ninja, in the upcoming CGI-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Yeah, they're back: Slow to return, teen Turtles are back! Carrying on the legacy of the Shredder... please tell me she won't be a dragon lady stereotype, even in animated form. If this was a live action movie, she'd probably be played by Lucy Liu or Kelly Hu.... or Zhang Ziyi, who provides the voice for the character.

the curse of the golden flower is a crazy big mess

What's up, gangstas? Here's an interview with Zhang Yimou, director of the super-sized historic martial arts epic Curse of the Golden Flower: Zhang Yimou Wraps-Up His Kung Fu Trilogy. And here's an interview with star Gong Li: Gong Li on Curse of the Golden Flower.

The movie opens in New York and Los Angeles this week. I recently had the chance to check it out, and I gotta say... it's kind of a mess. I'd characterize it as excessive. It has all the stuff audiences seem to really like about these big-ass martial arts spectacles—colors, costumes, swords, fighting—and lots of it. And lots of people walking up and down hallways.

Oh, there's also one crazy huge battle scene. Remember Lord of the Rings? Think Helm's Deep, but with kung fu and swords and spears and wire work and all that. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the peculiarly abundant amount of cleavage that is displayed in the film. Yes, as in breasts. (Gong Li looks pretty freaking gorgeous throughout.)

Put it all together, and you get crazy Chinese madness—Crouching Tiger, Hero, Flying Daggers, all rolled up and taken to eleven. In the end, what's it all for? The display just seems really excessive. But hey, maybe you'll like this kind of thing. Me, I'm putting my foot down. I've grown impatient with this genre...

my life... disoriented premiering on pbs

Just another reminder... the new Asian American family drama, My Life... Disoriented, premieres on PBS with national broadcasts starting December 26th. Go here to find out when the show airs in your area.

It's about a Chinese American family whose lives get turned upside down when they move from San Francisco to Bakersfield. The pilot is directed by Eric Byler, and the cast includes Karin Anna Cheung, Tamlyn Tomita, Dennis Dun, Autumn Reeser, and Di Quon.

The show's producers are asking people across the country to e-mail PBS or your local affiliate to request more air dates (with better air times—some PBS stations are showing it at 3 AM!) and to express interest in seeing the show become a series. View clips from the show here and here. Learn more about My Life...Disoriented here. And tune in or set your TiVos on December 26th.

grant program to preserve internment camps

This week, the President signed into law a $38 million grant program to be administered by the National Park Service to preserve, restore and pay for research at the sites of ten internment camps where Japanese Americans were kept behind barbed wire during World War II: Bush signs bill to preserve WWII camps.

The law is intended to help preserve the camps as reminders of how the United States turned on some of its citizens in a time of fear. I hope the current administration would similarly heed this advice.

rosie vs. trump

I've sort of decided to basically not care about all things Rosie O'Donnell-related from here on out, but the loudmouthed, chingchonging host of The View is unavoidable these days. She seems to have opened her mouth and rolled from once controversy to another—her latest, a feud with Donald Trump. Details here on their war of words. Trump pulls no punches, calling O'Donnell "a loser." And that is the last I will speak of this nonsense.

call for entries: disorient asian american film festival

Attention filmmakers! The DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon is returning for a second year, and they've put out their Call for Entries seeking works from Asian American artists. The early submission deadline is January 19th, and the late deadline is February 2nd. So get your stuff together and enter. Learn more about the festival here. The festival will run next spring, April 27th - 29th.

shady landlord get criminal charges

This week, the Los Angeles city attorney's office filed 34 criminal charges against a landlord, Joon Lee, who allegedly removed pipes, tore out windows and cut off power to his building as part of an illegal campaign to drive tenants out of the building to replace them with higher-paying residents in a gentrifying area: Charges are filed against landlord. Lee, however, says that he's the victim in all this. Yeaaaah.

"macaca" tops politically incorrect word list

Check it out... Global Language Monitor has a compiled a list of the "Top Politically inCorrect Words for 2006." Topping the list at number one is... wait for it... "Macaca," the word quite possibly responsible for changing the political balance of the U.S. Senate.

Funny, also making the list is "Oriental." It seems that some folks have not yet received the memo (somebody actually called me this last week). When I attempted to correct them, they responded with, "I can call you anything I want." Ah, you gotta love this great country we live in.

new ocean's thirteen trailer

I guess Soderbergh, Clooney and Co. couldn't resist... Here's the trailer for Ocean's 13. Maybe they wanted to make amends for the disappointment of Ocean's 12 (personally, I didn't think it was as bad as everyone said). Whatever the case, the gang returns next summer.

The trailer makes it clear that everyone is back, including to Amazing Yen himself, Shaobo Qin (who looks like he'll be out of a job when they stop making Ocean's... movies). Hopefully he'll have a little more to do than just sit around this time... View the trailer here.

asian pop's year-in-review

Jeff Yang's latest "Asian Pop" column for SF Gate is the first part of his annual year-in-review, highlighting some of the reasons why 2006 was worth celebrating—from Heroes' Masi Oka to Survivor's Yul Kwon: Holiday Cheers

idiots with racist disguises get drivers licenses

All right, prepare yourself for some racist video. I heard about this last week, but I just didn't feel like posting something that would give these punk-ass dudes any more attention than they deserved—because that's exactly what they wanted. But I guess it's unavoidable: Va. Men Get Licenses Wearing Outlandish Disguises.

Basically, these two guys in Virginia dressed up in racist caricature (one guy in a spray-on hair and fake buck teeth) and went to the DMV to get their license photos retaken... and came out with new licenses, complete with their disguises. Freaking idiots. The video in question can be seen here: DMV Drivers License Prank. That's racist!

the office celebrates "a benihana christmas"

Anybody catch The Office last week? I was embroiled in the whole Rosie thing, so I neglected to mention it. Normally, I really enjoy The Office. Great show, but this episode had me cringing. In "A Benihana Christmas," Michael and Co. go to Benihana's, pick up a few Asian ladies, and bring them back to the office party.

Red flags! Red flags all around. But wait. On the surface, it looks like the episode goes for the cheap laugh, playing up the "all Asians look alike" stereotype. However, it's actually supposed to show how ignorant and shallow (and drunk) Michael is. Indeed, he can't tell the ladies apart, and doesn't know which one is "his," going so far as marking one of the girls with a magic marker.

But here's the kicker... these Asian girls aren't even the same Asian girls they met in the previous scene! I wonder how many people watching the show actually noticed. The joke's on us!

authorities identify body of missing woman

Authorities have identified the body of Jane M. Park, 24, found in a Boston-area park. She had been missing since May: Officials identify body found in Hingham park. No details on the cause of death, but police have said that they don't suspect foul play. It's pretty tragic. She was a Wellesley College graduate and Fulbright scholar, with a good a future ahead of her. My heart goes out to her family.

china restricts foreign adoption standards

I know adopting kids from foriegn countries is, like, totally cool these days, but adopting from China just got a little harder... The country plans to bar people who are single, obese, older than 50 or who fail to meet certain standards in financial, physical or psychological health from adopting Chinese children: China Tightens Adoption Rules for Foreigners.

Another recent trend... teaching your kids Chinese! Here's another article on an elementary school adopting Mandararin-language learning into its curriculum: Kindergartners tune in to Chinese. That's right, baby. Kolter Elementary School in Houston is teaching Mandarin to kindergartners. These kids are the future asskickers of the world.

first japanese-born player suits up for nhl

Last week, professional hockey saw the first Japanese-born player to dress for an NHL game, when the Los Angeles Kings recalled goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League: Kings Recall Yutaka Fukufuji From Manchester.

It was history in the making... sort of. The Kings played the Dallas Stars, but alas, Fukufuji didn't see any playing time. He has gone back to the Monarchs: Fukufuji Returns To Manchester

Archived Posts - November 2006

masi oka's humble beginnings

Sexy Jeff Yang's latest sexy "Asian Pop" column should be of particular sexy interest to all you sexy readers out there: Do you think we're sexy?.

It's all about sexy Asian men, in honor of People's annual "Sexiest Men Alive" issue (which includes profiles of guys like Survivor's Yul Kwon, Harold and Kumar' John Cho, Lost's Daniel Dae Kim, Hong Kong pop idol Edison Chen and Heroes' Masi Oka). Sexy.

Masi? Sexy? Sure. But everyone has their humble beginnings... Here's TIME's infamous "Asian American Whiz Kids" cover from 1987, with none other than young Masi Oka (on the left, in the blue shirt):

You've come a long way, baby. My question is, who are the other kids, and where are they now, almost twenty years later? Anybody know? (Thanks, Dave)

UPDATE: Here's a link to the original cover story, dated August 31, 1987: The New Whiz Kids. This passage immediately leaps out, if only because it dates the article so wonderfully:

No matter what their route, young Asian Americans, largely those with Chinese, Korean and Indochinese backgrounds, are setting the educational pace for the rest of America and cutting a dazzling figure at the country's finest schools. Consider some of this fall's freshman classes: at Brown it will be 9% Asian American, at Harvard nearly 14%, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 20%, the California Institute of Technology 21% and the University of California, Berkeley an astonishing 25%.

My, how far we've come. Actually, what's truly astonishing is reading the article and realizing how little things have actually changed. The numbers may be different, but the issues, stereotypes and struggles still remain. Hell, twenty years later, they're still writing stories on this same topic, only they're not calling us "Whiz Kids," anymore—we're just a plain old academic threat. Blast from the past, bay. Again, I'm curious to know where/how all these cover kids ended up. Whiz Kids, please step forward!

yes, his name is fujita

Here's an interesting ESPN Page 2 story on New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, a white guy who was pretty much raised Japanese American (adopted by a Japanese American father and a white mother): A linebacker with a conscience.

There's quite a bit about Fujita's family history, and how he has embraced his family's struggle—his grandparents were among the Japanese Americans interned during World War II. His grandfather served in the 442nd. His father was born in an internment camp. Probably not your typical linebacker's story...