the dark knight and laundry warrior casting

Kind of random, but this recently posted casting call for The Dark Knight, the upcoming sequel to Batman Begins, calls for a an "Asian Male (20's-60's) dark hair and/or clean shaven 5'5"-6'3"." That's a pretty wide age range. It looks like their looking for stand-ins for the main characters of the film. So who exactly is this Asian Male main character they're trying to find a stand-in for? I doubt we'll be seeing the return of Ken Watanabe as fake "Ra's Al Ghul."

Also, Garrett sends me this detailed, lengthy casting call for an upcoming movie starring Zhang Ziyi and South Korean actor Jang Dong-gun called Laundry Warrior, which looks a lot like it could be that Hollywood remake of Seven Samurai the Weinsteins were talking about a little while ago, judging from the cast and story description. It's pretty interesting, and reveals quite a bit:

LAUNDRY WARRIOR
Feature Film
SAG

Producers: Barrie Osborne / Jooick Lee / Michael Peyser
Co-Producer: Steven Nam
Associate Producer: Stacy Ruppel
Director: Sngmoo Lee
Location: New Mexico
Start Date: 5/14/2007

YANG: CAST (JANG DONG-KUN)
LIN: CAST (ZHANG ZIYI)

[THE COLONEL / LEADER] 45 to 65 years old, the leader of the Hell Riders, an imposing man in a white opera mask, The Colonel is a vicious, depraved sadist who leads his gang of 100 horsemen from town to town, spreading death and destruction. The leader of the Wild West equivalent of a biker gang, he's also the man who killed Lin's parents -- and in return, his face was horribly scarred by her. Back in Lode to lay the town waste, he is wrongly convinced that his men are a match for a pack of carnival freaks, and a lone Chinese warrior...LEAD (53) WILL ALSO BE SEEN IN FLASHBACK

[RON] 50 to 70, the town drunk in Lode, Ron is a belligerent, falling down, gutter drunk who appears to be harmless. But in fact, Ron is a legendary gunfighter, Thomas Dalton, famous for being able to kill from a great distance. When the Hell Riders descend upon Lode, Ron turns out to be the town's secret weapon: decked out once again in his gunfighter's togs, he takes up a position atop the Ferris wheel, and snipes at the invaders, picking them off with deadly accuracy. In the end, he is also revealed to be the Narrator of the movie, re-telling the legend of Yang, the greatest warrior on Earth...LEAD (9)

[8-BALL] An African-American Little Person, dapperly dressed in a torn-up suit and a battered silk top hat, 8-Ball is the unofficial leader of the carnival performers who have been stranded in Lode. Amiable, charming and well-spoken, he befriends Yang when he arrives in town, and tells him about the town's once-glorious history. Convinced that the glory days of Lode will come again, 8-Ball has a nasty trick of grabbing his enemies by their balls and refusing to let go -- and when enemies descend upon Lode in the form of the Hell Riders, 8-Ball proves to be as brave as any man alive...LEAD

[SLUG, PUG & RUG] A trio of boys in their late teens, they appear to be orphans, living in Lode, all of them obsessed with pulp fiction of the era, living on stories about gunfighters and warriors. Initially inclined to mock Yang, because he is far from their traditional image of a hero, they soon realize that he is an Eastern warrior come among them. When the Hell Riders attack the town, the three boys are given important jobs on the sidelines, keeping them far from danger...LEAD

[ASSASSIN LEADER] In his early 50s, Asian, a warrior with an icy, lethal gaze, wearing a ring carved into a scorpion, he is the leader of the Sad Flute order of assassins. The head of Yang's clan, he is outraged when Yang betrays his trust by saving an infant he was ordered to kill, and the Assassin Leader follows Yang from China to New Mexico, accompanied by his followers, intent on seeing the light die in Yang's treacherous eyes. After being caught in a three-way war against both Yang and the Hell Riders, he finally faces off against Yang in a one-on-one duel to the death...LEAD

[BAPTISTE] A GIANT, a man with massive hands and a bad stutter, Baptiste is one of the carnival performers stranded in Lode. Like the others, Baptiste is convinced that the carnival's luck is destined to turn -- but until it does, he is stuck and helpless. When the Hell Riders attack, Baptiste fights alongside the others, using a huge sledgehammer as his weapon of choice...3 speeches & 19 lines, at least 11 scenes SUPPORTING LEAD

[BILLY] Another carnival performer, Billy is a circus clown, a man with a profound hunger for an audience. Dressed in clown makeup, he is regularly seen with the other carnival performers, and is singled out for special humiliation by The Colonel. He later warns the others when the Hell Riders return to destroy every soul in town...7 lines, at least 11 scenes SUPPORTING LEAD

[CRAIG] A handsome fireworks expert, Craig is a flirtatious Lothario who is with the carnival troupe. Expert at cooking with black powder, Craig uses his pyrotechnical skills to help decorate the sky at Christmastime, and later fights against the Hell Riders alongside the other carnival performers.. SUPPORTING LEAD

[JAQUES] The acrobat / juggler with the carnival troupe, Jaques is another performer who's desperate for attention after long years of being stranded in the boonies. Frantic to charm the infant April, Jaques is also imperilled when the Hell Riders attack...SUPPORTING LEAD

[GEYSER] Another carnival performer, Geyser is a fire-eater, expert at spraying flame from his mouth. He too is regularly seen interacting with the other members of the troupe.. SUPPORTING LEAD

[IVAR] The local gold trader in Lode, he has turned real sour since the gold disappeared all those years ago. Now the unofficial mayor of a near-ghost town with only 50 people in it (and most of them carnival freaks), Ivar is a bitterly distrustful man who is slow to realize that "the skinny little laundry man" is in fact the world's greatest warrior -- and later hopes to buy his way out of trouble by giving Baby April to The Colonel..SUPPORTING LEAD

[ESMERELDA] Hispanic, the bearded lady in the carnival troupe, she too is regularly seen interacting with the other performers...SUPPORTING

[DEPUTY] He is The colonel's second in command, a bullying sadist who likes to conquer and destroy. Carrying an ornate sword, he leads a cavalry charge against the town, ordering everyone in town killed -- but he winds up sliced to death by Yang...

[GIRL / APRIL] A lovely Asian girl, about 6 years old, she is April seen five years after the defeat of the Hell Riders, listening to the heroic tale of Yang's battle against impossible odds...

-----------------------------------------------------

STORY LINE: Yang, the World's Greatest Swordsman, leaves his clan and flees Asia with baby April, the last of the enemy bloodline. Hoping to make a new life for himself as a humble laundryman in America's Wild West, he comes to know and care about the people of Lode, a small, forgotten town filled with carnival players. While there, Yang finds a pupil/lover in Lin, (a beautiful Asian girl), but also makes new enemies with the Hell Riders, a marauding gang of vicious thugs. Reluctant to stand forward and defend the town, because it will mean revealing his identity, Yang is soon forced to pick up his sword and lead the "carnies" and townsfolk in to an incredible battle against the loathsome Hell Riders. At the pitched height of that battle, Yang's past, the Asian sword clan he left behind, ("The Sad Flutes"), attack raising the battle to an epic crescendo...

This movie sounds insane. If it is indeed a remake of Seven Samurai, it's going to be one crazy, epic tricked-out remake. Here's a brief article on Jang Dong-gun's involvement: Actor Jang Dong-gun to Star in Hollywood Film. The movie is scheduled to start filming next month. (Thanks, Garrett)

"ancient chinese secrets, huh?"

MultiCultClassics, a blog about multiculturalism in the advertising industry, points us to this video clip of the classic Calgon television ad from the 1970s that came up with the infamous "Ancient Chinese Secret" line: Ancient Chinese Secret. Mrs. Lee, why you gotta reveal the ancient Chinese secrets to the nosy white lady? Mr. Lee was about to fool her into paying extra. I know this commercial is like thirty years old, but I could totally see it airing today, featuring the same old, maybe even worse stereotypes.

stop the new asian exclusion act

According to Asian American community leaders, a newly leaked White House immigration reform draft could be as devastating as the Chinese Exclusion Act... they're calling the document's principles "inhumane" and "un-American" because it calls taking away the right of legal immigrants to sponsor their relatives to join them and breaking up families as a result: Asian American Activists Call White House Immigration Paper 'Anti-Family'. It was drafted by key Republican Congressional representatives and circulated in Washington last week. The plan creates temporary visas for undocumented immigrants and new workers, but it also puts more limits on American citizens' ability to bring their parents, children over age 21 and siblings to the United States.

If you or any of your family members have immigrated to the United States (I've had my share of relatives come through my house), you know that family sponsorship is fairly common immigration practice. And according to the Office of Immigration Statistics, the Asian American community is the second largest group of immigrants who enter the United States through family sponsorship or by being immediate relatives of American citizens. China, Vietnam and India are among the top ten countries whose immigrants arrive through family sponsorship. Because so many Asians enter the United States through family quotas, the result of this White House proposal being made into law could be devastating to Asian families. Representatives at the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Asian American Justice Center are likening it to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Here's the AAJC's press release: Asian American Leaders Announce Overwhelming Opposition to Anti-Family Immigration Proposal. They're organizing an action alert for everyone to tell the White House that they oppose this immigration plan: National Asian American Call-In Week. Next week, April 9-13, contact the White House by calling 1-202-456-1111. Tell the White House you oppose their unworkable and unfair immigration plan. The AAJC also has letter you can compose and send to President George W. Fill out the form here. Join your fellow concerned citizens and be heard!

bring journey from the fall to los angeles

Ham Tran's Journey From The Fall rolls into more theaters today... According to the website, it opens this weekend in San Diego, Long Beach, Arlington VA, and Plano TX. Here's a great story on the film I heard this week on PRI's The World. Last week the movie kicked some serious ass at the box office once again, grossing $16,513 per screen, surpassing its huge first weekend numbers, and earning a total of $99,080. In just ten days across multiple, the film has grossed $217,724. That's awesome, but it's not enough. At the moment, Journey From The Fall has no foreseeable theatrical run scheduled in Los Angeles, the movie capital of the world. What's up with that? It's apparently because the L.A. theaters don't believe there is interest in the film, and don't think it'll do well. No way, say the people behind Journey. So, they're launching a campaign, OPERATION JOURNEY LA:

So we propose and ask your help with a PHONE TREE CAMPAIGN (phone/email info below) - CALL the theater and ask them to play JOURNEY FROM THE FALL. Then ask others to call, and ask them to tell others too! Some would ask "why" or if this is "worthwhile". From what we're told from our distributor and some others - the theaters DO take note of phone requests for a specific film and have to report it to corporate. If they get enough, I'm sure with our distributors efforts and yours, we can do this.

TARGET - ARCLIGHT CINEMAS
PHONE # - 323-464-1478, then press "6"
EMAIL - https://www.i-sight01.com/i-sight/Pacific.nsf/CaptureAnon?OpenForm

Why the ARCLIGHT? Not only because it's swank, but it was THE theater that exploded when BETTER LUCK TOMORROW opened. So this should not be foreign to them, and not any different for JOURNEY we hope. The ultimate goal is to book it here, but our secondary one is to get Pacific Theaters (the chain that owns the ARCLIGHT) to take notice and possibly place us somewhere else if the ARCLIGHT is booked.

...you can call and help us get it into the ARCLIGHT so you can see the film for yourself!!! Please support it because it's a quality film and you might like it yourself! SO LET'S DO IT!!!

I know a lot of you reading this live in and around Los Angeles, couldn't make it out to Orange County, and have been waiting a long time to see this film. Wouldn't it be awesome to see Journey From The Fall at the Arclight—bar none, of the best movie theaters in the country? Make those calls, write those emails, and let them know what you want. At very least, somebody out there will know that this extremely important film exists, and there is indeed a lot of interest in it. Let's hope that everyone out there gets the chance to see it on the big screen, rather than eventually on video.

sanjaya all the way, and other reality tv nonsense

Another week passes, and Sanjaya Malakar, the American Idol contestant everyone loves to hate to love, manages to avoid the chopping block and moves on in the competition. America keeps voting him through! He's like an unsolved mystery, a full-fledged unexplainable phenomenon. And you can't turn on the radio or television without someone making a joke or reference to the kid. You know things have gotten out of hand when Charles Gibson is reporting news about S-Boy's success on ABC's World News Tonight like he's talking about Iraq or Darfur. It's madness: Sanjaya's charms outweigh his singing chops. But you know the show's producer are eating up the publicity, whatever way they can get it.

People have numerous theories about how he's made it so far, the most outlandish one suggesting that an army of India's call center workers are tipping the vote. This is ridiculous, considering that in reality no one in India actually gives a crap about the kid: Sanjaya's 'Idol' run not India's fault. Meanwhile, the under-talented Sanjaya continues to steamroll his way through the competition, much to the consternation of die-hard Idol fans. Remember that woman who said that she was going on a hunger strike until Sanjaya was out of the competition? Defeated. Overcome by Sanjaya's totally radical awesomeness, she gave up her hunger strike: Amateur! I scorn your weakness. Something about health reasons or something foolish like that. You dare to stand in his way? Sanjaya will crush you!

By the way, I'm tickled by the fact that this website is the first result listed when you do a Google search for "man hires people to vote for sanjaya." Yes, everyone. I am the man secretly hiring people to vote for Sanjaya. And it's working. But dude, what if the kid goes all the way? Could Sanjaya actually be the next American Idol? There are those who dare to think the unthinkable: ifsanjayawins.com

In other reality TV news... I completely missed this show, but Krishtine De Leon, the Filipina representing for the Bay Area, was named the winner on MTV's I'm From Rolling Stone, earning herself a coveted position as a staff writer for Rolling Stone. Seems like her victory happened without much fanfare... I guess the show wasn't quite as successful as they hoped. Here's a recap of her win: Krishtine wins I'm from Rolling Stone. and in case you're curious, here's Krishtine's blog.

The latest season of ABC's Dancing With The Stars is well underway, and two-time winner Cheryl Burke is back and teamed up with Steve Sanders from Beverly Hills 90210. Also in the mix is short track speed skating Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno, who is bad need of a shave. My money's on Cheryl and Steve to win.

On The Apprentice, internet entrepreneur James has made it pretty far as one of the final few candidates left, surviving several boardroom scrapes... Could he be on his way to becoming Donald Trump's next new right-hand man?

While I was totally invested in the previous season of Survivor, I've completely avoided the current season, despite a number of Asian American folks among the castaways. Is anyone really interested in this season? It feels like it kind of fell off the map, after all the hype last season. Anyway, a quick check of the Survivor: Fiji website reveals that there are still four Asian brothers and sisters remaining on the island: Michelle, Mookie, Stacy, Yau Man. That's pretty good. I might just have to go back and catch up on this season to follow along...

Finally, I'm told that on Spike TV's Ultimate Fighter 5, a show I had never seen or heard of until yesterday, there's a badass-looking fighter named Andy Wang. He's one of 16 up-and-coming lightweights competing for a UFC contract. I don't have Spike TV, so someone please keep me informed about this guy's progress.

matsuzaka says hello, strikes out ten

It seems the hype was worth it—the guy can throw a baseball. In his major league debut Thursday, Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out ten batters in seven innings, leading the Boston Red Sox to victory over the Kansas City Royals: Boston 4, Kansas City 1. With millions of Japanese fans getting up early to watch the televised game on the other side of the world. He did allow six hits, including a homer in the sixth inning, but I'd say ten strikeouts ain't too shabby. Looks like he plans to live up to his $103 million price tag. More here: Dice-KKKKKKKKKK. It seems the Boston fans have figured out an easy way to approximate the pronunciation of Daisuke's name: "Dice-K". Whatever works, I guess.

another random link roundup

So many stories, so little time... I sort of like this short-and-sweet blurb format to cover a bunch of links at once, so it'll probably become a regular thing:

In New York, twelve tourists shopping for counterfeit merchandise were stuck for more than two hours in the basement of a Chinatown building during a police raid, forbidden to leave by the peddlers: KNOCKOFF SHOCK FOR TOURISTS

Last week, Chinese American community members in Boston celebrated the conclusion of 20 years' creating the Chinese Immigrant Memorial at the city's Mount Hope Cemetery: That their ancestors may be satisfied. It was part of a lengthy project launched in 1988 to restore and honor the cemetary's Chinese sections.

Here's a column in the OC Register about Janet Nguyen's squeaky three-vote win over Trung Nguyen in February's county supervisor's election: Janet Nguyen and the "silent majority". Who new Orange County politics could be so dramatic?

The New York Times has an interesting story on Yoshiaki Yoshimi, a historian who dug up proof of the Japanese military's practice of forced sexual slavery during World War II—including documents that carried the personal seals of high-ranking Imperial Army officers: In Japan, a Historian Stands by Proof of Wartime Sex Slavery. That was 15 years ago. Somehow in the face of this proof, we still have these denials.

In recent years, many scholars and activists have drawn parallels and contrasts between the internment of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the treatment of hundreds of Muslim noncitizens who were taken into custody in the weeks after the 2001 terror attacks, then detained for months before they were cleared of links to terrorism and deported: Relatives of Interned Japanese-Americans Side With Muslims

For decades, the "diversity permit" program at Beverly Hills High School has intended to bring in a deliberate mix of black, Latino and Asian students from outside the city limits, but today it seems that the vast majority of students enrolled at the school through this program are high-performing Asian students: Diversity program mostly benefits Asians

And here's a story on martial arts movie asskicker Tony Jaa, the Thai star still poised to become the next big thing: Thai action hero Jaa kicks up storm at box office. I've said it before plenty of times, but if you haven't seen Ong-Bak yet, put that movie in your Netflix queue right now. His next film is Ong-Bak 2, which is not a sequel, despite the title. Tricky.

My email has been acting funny lately.

optic nerve #11, and real optic nerves

The latest issue of Adrian Tomine's indie comic book Optic Nerve is finally out. Issue number 11 is the long-awaited third and final part of his latest story arc, about an Asian American guy named Ben Tanaka, and apparently it's pretty awesome: Long-Awaited Adrian Tomine Comic is Bitter and Brilliant. If you haven't read Adrian Tomine's other work, you're missing out, because it is indeed brilliant and keeps getting better. I actually haven't read the latest storyline, but definitely plan on picking up the collected graphic novel, Shortcomings. It's being released in September from Drawn & Quarterly.

Speaking of optic nerves (how's that for a segue?)... According to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, young and middle-aged Americans of Chinese descent are prone to a new eye syndrome that ophthalmologists are often mistaking for blinding glaucoma: New Eye Condition Striking Young Chinese Americans. The tracked 16 people for seven years and observed more than 100 others, and concluded that there's a new eye syndrome occurring in the young Chinese population in the United States. Hear that, my friends? Watch that optic nerve damage. Get your eyes checked.

seriously, the reality series

Los Angeles-based indie label Chaos Theory Music, home to musical asskicker Woody Pak, is launching a new online reality series, "The Making of Seriously," chronicling the rise of four Asian American rock stars in the making, the band Seriously. They won the grand prize in last November's annual Kollaboration talent show, and were subsequently offered a record deal from Chaos Theory. So now, a camera has been following them around to get a behind-the-scenes look at the ups and downs of the process, from winning the competition, to signing the deal, to the release of their upcoming EP album next month. Intriguing. The first episode premieres next week on Tuesday, April 10th, with two new episodes per week. Learn more about the band and series here and here.

nanjing the movie... four of them

Yet another story on all the movies about the Nanjing massacre currently in production: China directors rush to make Japan atrocity films. No fewer than four Chinese films about the Japanese military's wartime atrocities are planned for this year, the 70th anniversary of Japan's capture of the city. The latest film, Nanjing! Nanjing! has been approved by China's censors and is scheduled to start shooting this month.

actors, get schooled wtih aatc

Something for you actors, aspiring or otherwise, in the Bay Area... Our friends at the Asian American Theater Company are kicking off their 2007 classes with "Scene Preparation: (Intro to the Biz)," a workshop for actors. It's this weekend, Saturday morning, April 7th at the Asian American Theater Conference Room in San Francisco. The class will teach actors how to prepare for scenes and auditions, and show examples of quick script analysis. It should be a pretty informative session for folks who are just getting started in the industry. The class will be led by working actors Esperanza Catubig and Ogie Zulueta. For more information, go here. And to get tickets ($10), go here.

the dark side of academia

The New York Times has a fascinating article on the shocking real-life tragedy that inspired the film Dark Matter: A Tale of Power and Intrigue in the Lab, Based on Real Life. On November 1, 1991, outraged that his doctoral thesis had been passed over for an academic prize, a young physicist at the University of Iowa named Gang Lu opened fire at a physics department meeting. He killed five people and paralyzed another before taking his own life. The shootings devasted Iowa City and exposed a dark side of academia—the extreme pressure, oppressive expectation and marginalization often faced by graduate students, particularly international students. The movie version is partly autobiographical, but doesn't attempt to be an exact retelling of the incident:

The movie, directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, written by Billy Shebar and starring Meryl Streep and Aidan Quinn, follows the adventures of a graduate student from Beijing, Liu Xing, who arrives at a fictional Valley State University to study under a famous cosmologist, Jacob Reiser (played by Mr. Quinn). Ms. Streep plays a philanthropist and patron of the university, who is an aficionado of Chinese culture who befriends Chinese students.

The professor is first impressed with Liu's brilliance and diligence but turns against him when he begins to pursue a project that goes against his mentor’s favorite theory. He pulls the rug out from Liu's doctoral thesis, meaning that the student will have to leave school and seek a job without his degree. Instead Liu, played by Ye Liu, gets a gun.

This part of the article is especially interesting because it sounds like it probably reflects the experiences of a lot of international graduate students in the United States:

The story resonated with Mr. Chen's own experiences and that of friends who came to the United States with huge expectations and found themselves lost or on the wrong end of a power struggle with their mentors, and who either went back home or, in the case of one good friend, simply disappeared.

He said: "A lot of people came in late '80s. They never found a balance between the idea of America and the America they experienced."

Here's the film's official website, where you can view the trailer. I missed this one at SFIAAFF, and I'm not sure if/when the film will get a theatrical release, but I'm definitely intrigued.

rosie o'donnell's earlier ching chong moment

Here's another reminder that Rosie O'Donnell is ignorant idiot... this video clip from The View was recently posted to YouTube, but is actually several months old (from November 2006, I think), pre-dating her now-infamous "ching chong" remarks that caused a ruckus back in December: Rosie O'Donnell and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (The View). It happens early on in the clip, at about nine seconds in. Some more random ching-chongery thrown out there, spontaneously to cover a verbal flub. And it's completely unnecessary. "For the feed in China." Basically, she equates Chinese with nonsensical gibberish. That's racist! I guess this video provides a nice snapshot and preview of things to come, just a month later... (Thanks, Allen)

fast cars and hot babes

I've been seeing ads for this movie Redline plastered all over MySpace. It sort of came out of nowhere, and stars no one you really care about (Eddie Griffin?) but it's apparently opening in wide release next week. The website doesn't give much indication of what it's about, other than that it clearly involves a lot of hot babes and fast cars, but it has something to do with drivers participating in an illegal drag race between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Yay. So why do I bring this up here? The movie is directed by a cat named Andy Cheng, who appears to have made a living in the industry as a stunt coordinator/fight choreographer for the last ten years or so. He's got one other directorial credit to his name, a movie called End Game. Anyway, Redline looks pretty brainless, and the fact that its marketing has been largely focused on MySpace should tell you something... so you know there's probably an audience out there for it. Incidentally, "Redline" happened to be one of the original working titles for another cars-and-babes movie—The Fast and the Furious.

your chinese food sucks

A "Chinese" takeout and delivery restaurant in Tuscon, Eggrolls Etc. has reportedly drawn controversy from the local Asian American community for its recent advertising. The restaurant apparently distributed fliers that read, "Every order is delivered via rickshaw by first generation Chinese immigrants... We really should charge more for delivery, old Chinamen are getting expensive these days." Oh hell no. It's offensive, insensitive and plainly in poor taste: Chinese Restaurant Controversy. Now, it's bad enough that you're cooking up and selling this awful Americanized excuse for Chinese food. But to go the extra mile and provide this ridiculously racist text in a pathetic attempt to authenticate your crappy food... it's unbelievably insulting, and completely unnecessary. Of course the owner, Mike Reynolds, sees no offense in the ad, going along with the good old "can't you take a joke?" excuse. I can take a joke, but where exactly is the joke? That's racist!

UPDATE: Kevin points out that the Eggrolls Etc. website has the offending text, as well as similarly idiotic jokes and quips all over the restaurants menu. Chop Suey: "Like rock soup, but Chinese. No I'm not going to tell you what's in it. HaHaha." Fried Rice: "Don't Say Flied Lice, It's not funny... there's no "R" sound in Chinese... that's just cruel really... I know your saying it... Stop It Stop It Stop It!! That's it. NO RICE FOR YOU!!!!" Pretty much the most obnoxious menu I've ever seen. The worst part is, the footnote at the bottom clearly indicates that the inflammatory "humor" is unabashedly intended to generate more publicity for the restaurant (probably because the food sucks ass, and they have nothing else to go on). And unfortunately, I think it's working. (Thanks, Kevin)

all justin, all live, all day, all night

I first heard about this guy Justin Kan over at Jeff Yang's "Asian Pop" column: Man With a Cam. The 23-year-old Bay Area entrepreneur recently launched Justin.TV, an around-the-clock, real-time, all-access broadcast of his life. Like The Truman Show. Or EdTV. Basically, Justin wears a camera 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ("Even in the bathroom. Even on a date."), and you get to watch it all. Whether or not you want to watch it all is another question entirely, but so far it's proven to be a very interesting experiment. Interesting in theory—the prospect of mobile personal video streaming for everyone—though not necessarily in execution, because Justin's day-to-day life is actually pretty damn boring. For instance, as I write this, Justin's broadcast has been live for 15 days, 23 hours and 28 minutes. It's 11:29 PM PST and Justin is sleeping. And he'll probably be like this for the next 7-8 hours. Not exactly riveting, but what do you expect? This ain't 24. But people are watching: IT'S JUSTIN, LIVE! ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT! Justin is a bonafide sensation. The website's traffic has apparently exploded and given way to a huge following of fans. The guy is getting noticed on the street, asked out on dates, and treated to dinner by complete strangers. Corporate sponsors are starting to line up to get in on the product placement. Heck, Justin could meet you on the street and make you famous. It seems that a star has been born—yet another Asian American personality gains notoriety through the internet. The major drawback is, of course, if he acts like an ass, everyone sees it. Let's hope he doesn't become known to everyone as "that Asian guy who acts like an ass" ...and broadcasts it all over the internet.

"were you born in chinese?"

More Asian American music for you... CompilAsian is a recently released compilation (get it?) album featuring 12 Asian American artists, including Johnny Hi-Fi, Big Phony, The Ides, Koo Chung, Cynthia Lin, Blip Blip Bleep and several others. It's the first album released by a new Asian American-focused record label Born In Chinese. "Born in Chinese?" What the hell the does that mean? The phrase actually stems for a real-life encounter with ignorance, as experienced by the label's founder Eugene Song. I haven't heard the album, but I'm familiar with most of the artists on there and generally like their music. Personally, I'm not crazy about the album title, or anything that incorporates "Asian" in lieu of "-ation" (i.e. ImaginAsian) for that matter... but hey, at least he didn't call it "CompilAZN." That would've been a major red flag. Learn more about the label's story, the album, and how to purchase it here.

download titofelix's all good things... for free

I heard about titofelix, a Filipino/Asian alternative band from Atlanta, a few years ago when I came across their rock out cover of Usher's "Nice and Slow." Good stuff. The band recently released their third full-length album, All Good Things... and have been offering it to the general public as a free download. Got that? FREE. All eleven tracks. Get the whole damn thing off their website. I've been listening to it over the last few days, and it's pretty catchy pop punk stuff. Worth a listen, if that's your style. To download the album and learn more about the band, go here.

sneaky spies among us

Those sneaky Chinese spies! Stealing our secrets and being all sneaky and inscrutable. At least, you know that's what people are probably saying... Last week in Santa Ana, Chi Mak, 67, went on trial for allegedly spying: Man accused of spying for China on trial. He has been charged with 15 counts of conspiring to violate export laws, exporting or attempting to export defense information to China, acting as an agent of the Chinese government and lying to the FBI. Prosecutors allege that Mak illegally transferred sensitive technical information about military projects to Chinese intelligence officials for more than 20 years. His defense denies that he did anything wrong and accuses the government of building its case against him by overstating the evidence and portraying him as a spy when no classified information was given to China. Also charged are his wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu; his brother, Tai Mak, and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, and their son, Yui "Billy" Mak. All are awaiting trial.

Cases like this are never a good thing for regular Joe Asian America. Regardless of the outcome, people will probably use this as yet another excuse to pounce on the usual yellow peril adjectives... sneaky, devious, underhanded and calculating—a whole family of Asians willing to sell out their adopted country. The prosecution is certainly eager to characterize Mak this way. And unfortunately, when the general American public believes one shifty Asian is capable of spying, for some reason it's a whole lot easier to jump to the conclusion that the rest of us are shifty Asian spies too...

UPDATE: Apparently, the way this article tells it, the U.S. is crawling all over with Chinese spies: China's Spying Overwhelms U.S. Counterintelligence

oldest head tax survivor dies

Ralph Lung Kee Lee, who I mentioned here as the oldest living person to pay Canada's racist head tax, died last month—five days after celebrating his 107th birthday: Chinese immigrant, 107, was oldest to pay head tax. He was born March 10, 1900 in China's Guangdong province, and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12. He spent five years working as a dishwasher in order to pay off the $500 head tax he was forced to pay upon entering Canada. Last June, he was one of several surviving head-taxpayers present when Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized for the head tax. It took over ninety years, but at least he lived to finally hear that apology.

win the shanghai restoration project: special edition cd

Hey, how about another giveaway? I've been talking about Dave Liang's Shanghai Restoration Project here and there for over a year now. The album blends traditional Chinese instruments with hip hop and electronic beats. Since debuting early last year, it's been a top-selling electronic album at MSN Music, iTunes and elsewhere. So... you want it? I've got five copies of The Shanghai Restoration Project: Special Edition CD to give away to you, my good readers. The CD contains the top selling tracks from the original Shanghai Restoration Project, in addition the select favorites from Reinterpretations and Instrumentals. Listen to sample tracks here. To enter the giveaway, just email me with your name, mailing address, and "SHANGHAI CD" clearly written in the subject line. It's that simple. (As always, entries that don't follow these directions will be thrown out, along with any and all duplicate entries.) I'll accept entries until the end of Monday, April 9th, then pick five random winners. Easy. So get those entries in. And if you want the CD, but aren't really interested in trying your luck with the drawing, you can buy yourself a copy at Amazon.com and iTunes.

UPDATE: By the way, the first track on the CD, "Introduction," is featured in a worldwide Flower by Kenzo television ad that debuted today. The spot features Taiwanese actress Shu Qi.

UPDATE: The contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered. Winners will be announced shortly.

jessica yu filming ping pong playa

For those of you in Southern California looking for something to do this Wednesday and Thursday, here's something that sounds kind of fun... Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu is shooting her first narrative feature film, Ping Pong Playa, an Asian American sports comedy, and needs extras to fill out an important crowd scene:

Academy Award winning filmmaker Jessica Yu is inviting you to participate in her first feature film.

On Wednesday April 4 and Thursday April 5, Jessica will be filming crucial scenes for her first feature picture, an Asian-American comedy, currently titled, "Ping Pong Playa." We need people to sit as audience spectators at a sports tournament. Everyone is welcome.

Food, entertainment, and gifts will be provided. This is a great opportunity to meet and be directed by the critically acclaimed director, whose film credits include documentaries, "Breathing Lessons," "The Living Museum," and "In The Realms of the Unreal." Her TV credits include episodes of "The West Wing," and the popular "Grey's Anatomy."

The film is being produced by Cherry Sky Films, the producer of Justin Lin's breakout film, "Better Luck Tomorrow," and his upcoming "Finishing the Game."

Come watch Jessica make movie magic and later see yourself on the big screen!

For information regarding time and place, please respond with your name, phone number, and email address to the following:

extraplayas@gmail.com

You must be over 18 years old to participate.

It sounds like it could be a lot of fun, and a chance for you to see a talented, acclaimed filmmaker at work on the set. I always wondered when Jessica Yu might make her foray into narrative films. This isn't the narrative project I expected from the person who made In the Realms of the Unreal, but I guess that's what makes it sounds so great. I did some poking around the web, and came up with movie's storyline:

CHRISTOPHER "C-DUB" WANG" is a young Chinese-American man who presents himself with a streetwise, ghetto swagger and dreams of a career as a basketball star -- but he finds his real gift as a ping-pong player and coach, leading an odd squad of students to a local championship.

An Asian American underdog sports story? I love it already. Here's also an interesting casting notice posted back in January with a rundown of the movie's characters. And this bit in Variety says that Smith Cho is playing one of the leads. Keep an eye on this one. And if anyone ends up going to the set as an extra this week, let me know how it goes.

census bureau gave up japanese american names

According to government documents released by two scholars last week, the Census Bureau turned over confidential information, including names and addresses, to help the U.S. government identify individual Japanese Americans during World War II: In 1943, Census released Japanese Americans' data. The documents validate long-held suspicions among Japanese Americans that information about them collected under confidentiality pledges was released to the government. In 2000, the Census Bureau acknowledged and apologized for its role in sharing aggregate data with the U.S. military to help relocate Japanese Americans from the West Coast to inland internments camps after attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. But this most recent disclosure represents the first confirmation that the bureau also shared information about individuals—in this case, the names and addresses of Japanese Americans in the Washington, DC area. A list of 79 names was handed over to aid a Secret Service investigation into possible threats to the president. These disclosures were apparently legal under wartime legislation, but arguably highly unethical. Isn't it possible that similar disclosures could happen today as the government engages is the current war on terror? Isn't is possible that it's already happened?

tammy chu's resilience

Recently heard from several people about this film Resilience, a documentary by Tammy Chu on the thousands of children from developing countries who were adopted into the West. There have been documentaries on this subject before, but this film specifically focuses on the stories of the mothers whose children were sent away—the profound loss, broken family ties, and the painful decision that has impacted them for the rest of their lives. It's a side of adoption that's rarely examined. It looks like the project is trying to raise the necessary funds to finish the film. To find out more information, go here.

seven.11 convenience theatre

The Seven.11 Convenience Theatre play festival in NYC, presented by Desipina, celebrates its fifth year! It's a series of seven, eleven-minute plays all set in a convenience store. Thus, 7-11. Get it? It sounds like a lot of fun. The show is currently playing at the Abrons Arts Center through April 14th. For all the relevent ticket/schedule/transportation information, go here.

chan ho park headed to the minors

The New York Mets have sent pitcher Chan Ho Park to the minors leagues, optioning him to Class AAA New Orleans: Mets Settle Their Roster, Sending Park to the Minors. It seems that he didn't have much time to prove himself as a reliever before they sent him down. Because Park has accrued five years of service, he did have the right to turn down an assignment to the minor leagues. But he said he accepted the option because he was excited at the chance to start for New Orleans and, he hoped, to be the first pitcher recalled in case of an injury.

man faces deportation, execution

The Los Angeles Times has a story on Mohiuddin A.K.M. Ahmed, a translator for a telephone company who has been living in Los Angeles for the last ten years, who has been ordered to return to Bangladesh to face execution for his role in a 1975 military coup: L.A. man fights deportation to Bangladesh. He was tried in absentia in Bangladesh in 1996, convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging for taking part in the coup, which led to the killings of the country's leader and most of his family. He's now fighting an eleventh-hour battle to avoid deportation—and certain death. However, a grandson of the Bangladeshi leader killed in the coup is calling Ahmed a "cold-blooded killer" who also killed a 10-year-old boy during the coup. Ahmed denies involvment in any such violence. So what's going to happen? My guess, he's going back to Bangladesh... and it's going to be ugly.

new look, no joke

You might have noticed things look a little different around here. I figured it was time for a new look and some structural changes with the site. It's actually been quite a long time coming, but I finally got off my ass and made it happen. Nothing too drastic, just a few tweaks that'll hopefully make browsing and linking a little more convenient for everyone. For one thing, each entry now has a title, primarily just to break up the page and make it a little easier on the eyes. Also, because you demanded it, each entry has its own invdividual link. Link away! And yes, we're now syndicated: RSS or Atom. So yeah, changes. However, it's still a work in progress, as I'm working out a lot of the kinks, as well as trying to update all the old archives (a huge project). So bear with me.

Oh, you've probably also noticed the top image has changed. That's Bruce, but it's not Bruce. I was recently given some friendly advice by an acquaintance who works closely with the family of Bruce Lee. As you may know, they've been making an effort to crack down on unauthorized use of his name and likeness. She urged me to take down the Bruce Lee imagery, as it might be cause for some legal trouble down the line. While I idolize Bruce Lee, I figured it was good advice. But what could I replace him with? After quite a bit of brainstorming, I realized if I couldn't use Bruce Lee, I'd have to go with the next best thing: Bruce Li.

So there you go. I was little apprehensive about launching the redesign on April 1, afraid people might think it's an April Fool's joke. Well, it ain't no joke. This is the real deal, and I hope you dig it. Thank you for your support. Stay Angry.

another protest against cw11

There's another protest being planned in New York on Monday against news channel CW11 for their exploitative, false report on the New Food King restaurant (serving "mouse broccoli"). Here's footage of an earlier protest: Feb. 26 protest against cw11 I. Monday's protest is in front of CW11 headquarters at 3:00pm. For more information, go here.

sunita williams is stuck in space

Astronaut Sunita Williams, whose recent wasabi spill mishap on the international space station made international news, is apparently stuck in space—at least temporarily: Astronaut stuck in space. She flew up to the station last December planning to come home in early July after a seven-month stay. But it looks like hail storm damage on the space shuttle Atlantis, which was supposed to give her a lift home, has delayed NASA's flight schedule. So she's stuck. I hope she brought a really long good book to read.

mohinder is sexy

TV Guide recently published their issue of TV's Sexiest Stars, and while there are certainly many stars out there to choose from, it's worth noting that Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder of Heroes) made the sexy list. A quick Google search came up with a scan of the article here. Sexy. (Thank you, and shout out to Vivian.)

"racial artwork" vandalized

Last week at the University of Central Florida, a piece of art in the Student Union that addresses racial stereotypes—a satire of Abercrombie and Fitch's now-infamous "Two Wongs Make It White" t-shirt—was vandalized with hateful messages: Racially charged painting vandalized. The brightly colored, award-winning "racial artwork" by art student Matt Tom was vandalized with the messages, "Mathew is a loser," "Get a life Mathew Tom," and "Matt Thom [sic] is Gay" in blue ball-point pen. Tom says his art is about Asian American issues, how Asian Americans are misrepresented and how it is somehow acceptable for people to make fun of them. People have a right to agree to disagree, especially when it comes to something as subjective as politically and racially-charged art, but why is that when people have something to say, some idiot has to resort to vandalism? It's a cowardly, idiotic act. Hell, they could at least come up with something more creative than "______ is gay." That's true idiocy.

support naisy dolar

On April 17th, Naisy Dolar could become the first Asian American ever elected to Chicago's City Council. Eric Byler, the hardest working filmmaker who gives a damn about politics, recently shot this video in support Dolar's campaign on a recent visit to Chicago: NAISY DOLAR 4 ALDERMAN-April 17 Runoff, Chicago's 50th Ward. She's taking on 34-year incumbent Berny Stone, and she's got a pretty good shot at winning. With your support. It's time for a change! Learn more about Naisy's campaign here.

another remake: johnnie to's exiled

Looks like Johnnie To's kickass film Exiled is the latest Asian film to get sold for the Hollywood remake treatment: 'Exiled' on the road to English remake. According to Variety, it's being produced by Samuel Hadida, who is responsible for such winners like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Oh, I can't wait. With The Departed winning top honors at the Oscars this year, it seems like everybody wants in on the remake game these days... particularly these Asian crime dramas. As for the original Exiled, Magnolia Pictures is supposed to release it sometime this year.

asians and plastic surgery

Another article on the rapidly growing trend of minorities getting plastic surgery in the United States: Are Asians Increasingly Undergoing Plastic Surgery to Look White? This is an old topic that's been discussed at length here, elsewhere and all over in the Asian American community. I wouldn't necessarily directly equate getting plastic surgery with wanting to look more "white." It's not that simple. But getting surgery is a means of achieving a certain standard of beauty—whatever aesthetic ideal you've set for yourself. For the most part, what is generally considered beautiful has been historicallly dictated by a white, western ideal. And most people don't even realize it. Thus, yes, getting eyelid surgery could mean wanting to look more white... and maybe you don't even know it. My Asian sisters, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you are beautiful the way you are. Don't believe the hype.

crime watch

This week in crime...

As police arrested 39-year-old Kham Tu Ly at a department store on suspicion of stuffing nearly $500 worth of merchandise in her clothing, she apparently nodded ("the signal") to her 9-year-old son, who began to cry and scream: Shoplifting suspect used son as aide, police charge. Looks like they'd obviously rehearsed this one before.

Last year, Victor K. Han's wife drove the family minivan off a cliff at Bear Mountain State Park, killing herself and injuring their two children. This week, Han pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, acknowledging the he knew that his wife, Hejin Han, was contemplating suicide when he left her and their children in the car at the cliff: Plea Deal for Man Whose Wife Drove Off Cliff

Lina Sinha, the former principal of a Manhattan private school was convicted of having sex with one of her students in a classroom when he was about 13 and she was about 30: Jury Convicts Ex-Principal of Having Sex With Student. She faces up to seven years in prison on each of the two most serious counts of which she was convicted—sodomy, or oral sex with the student, who is now a 24-year-old police officer, and bribing a witness to induce him not to testify. Is it me, or do we hear about this type of thing happening waaay too often these days?

This week, Florida authorities busted a major prostitution ring being run out of local massage parlors: Prostitution Ring Run Out Of Massage Parlors. The investigation involved ten different locations in Orange and Seminole counties, this time bringing down the alleged ringleader, 42-year-old Li Ping Ding. The story notes that in addition to Ding, authorities said they arrested 15 of her employees for prostitution or practicing massage without a license. At the moment, the license thing looks like the least of their problems.

In Chicago, bail was set at $3 million for Jae Harrell, charged with bludgeoning and strangling his mother, then dumping her body in a car along the Eisenhower Expressway last weekend: $3 million bail in death of woman found on Ike. Harrell is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Ruth Harrell, 59, his widowed mother with whom he lived.

Police say a women and baby found dead in an apartment in Westminster, CA appear to have been stabbed to death: Stabbing probably killed woman, baby. The bodies, which had likely decayed inside the apartment for days or weeks, were badly decomposed and unidentifiable, but the woman appears to be Vietnamese and in her 30s, and the baby, a Vietnamese girl who looked to be only months old.

support journey from the fall

Here's a box office tracking article highlighting how Ham Tran's Journey From The Fall and Mira Nair's The Namesake kicked ass at the box office last weekend. With a total gross of $2.64 million in just three weeks, The Namesake is quickly becoming the first major indie hit of the new year. And Journey From The Fall, distributed by ImaginAsian Pictures, which actually didn't do very well at ImaginAsian's own theater in New York, was a mad crazy hit in San Jose and Orange County...

Speaking of Journey From The Fall, someone forwarded me this impassioned email from director Ham Tran, responding to a negative review by critic Scott Foundas:

Hi everyone,

I would like to ask for your help to respond to the movie review written by Scott Foundas at the Village Voice, and syndicated by the OC Weekly. The following is his movie review:

JOURNEY FROM THE FALL
The fall of the title is that of South Vietnam and the journey is the long and arduous trek to America undertaken by one persecuted family--the wife, mother, and son of an unrepentant counter-revolutionary--while their absent patriarch rots in a Communist "re-education" camp. Beautifully made and sincere to a fault, Journey From the Fall comes touted by its writer-director, Ham Tran, as the Vietnamese equivalent of Schindler's List; in reality, the film carries
stronger echoes of The Joy Luck Club, as it juxtaposes grueling torture and heroic escape against the sometimes equally Sisyphean struggles of settling into a new life in a new country. Such intentions can't be faulted, and Tran's film is laudable as one of the few movies to depict Vietnam and its aftermath through the eyes of the Vietnamese. But at a moment when directors as varied as Clint Eastwood, Paul Verhoeven, and Ken Loach are discovering innovative and meaningful ways of dramatizing the great man-made atrocities of the 20th century, Tran's reliance on declamatory political dialogue and movie-of-the-week inspirationalism feels decidedly old-fashioned and, finally, even phony. (Scott Foundas)"

It's not that I mind getting a bad movie review, but to call this film "phony" is exactly the kind of ignorant mentality that we have had to struggle against in the last 30 years. It is the kind of language that has excluded our community's terrible ordeals from historical consciousness. This reviewer needs to know that what the speech in the re-education camp that the communist official lectures to the prisoners is not what he calls "declamatory political dialogue," but they are the actual words lectured by the communists to the re-education camp prisoners. Chu Son, who is the person who plays the communist
lecturer, recited that entire speech by heart because it was what the communist forced him to memorize. This speech is by far not "scripted"; these are the words that he was forced to listen to every night for 3 years, until they are forever burned into his memory.

I need your help to reply directly to the publishers for OC Weekly and the Village Voice. The link below is the review and you can click on "Contact Us about this article" to respond: http://www.ocweekly.com/film/new-reviews/new-reviews/26919/?page=2

Please lend your voice to speak out against such ignorance that has kept our story silent for so many years. We need to demand a public apology from these publishers. We need to this critic know that this film is not just a dreamt up story, but that this film depicts the actual experiences of millions of Vietnamese refugees. His comment on the film is an insult the true hardships that our people have had to endure, and it must not be taken lightly.

Thank you very much, and please continue to get your family and friends to come out and support this film.

Take care,
Ham Tran

Like Ham says, he's not complaining about a bad review... he's just taking issue with the misguided ignorance expressed by Foundas here. I think it's the "phony" part that really stings, especially since this story resonates so deeply with the thousands of Vietnamese Americans who really lived through it.

For those waiting for Journey From The Fall to hit your city... the movie opens today in Houston and Dallas, and next week in San Diego and Arlington, VA. Check the website for the full list of theaters and dates. Let's hope the film has another killer weekend at the box office.

UPDATE: Here's Foundas' contact info: Scott Foundas, Film Editor, LA Weekly, 6715 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90028, sfoundas@laweekly.com.

get "oriental" off the books

In Arizona, there's currently a measure under consideration to replace the use of "Oriental" in the state statute with the more acceptable "Asian." The word appears in the state statute four times: Offensive Asian term in law targeted. The measure, Senate Bill 1295, has cleared the Senate and awaits consideration by the House Rules Committee. Yeah, they need to change it. It's an outdated term that's loaded with a heavy history. Besides, does it really take that much effort to change that one word?

extras for psa with beau sia

For folks in Southern California, if you're not busy this Sunday morning, here's something to do... Got this call for Asian American extras for a public service announcement they're shooting in downtown Los Angeles on April 1st, featuring poet Beau Sia:

Call for Asian American extras of all ethnicities and ages!

We are looking for a diverse range of people for a public service announcement that is going to be filmed on April 1st in Downtown Los Angeles from 8:30am - 12:30pm.

The PSA is written by Beau Sia to be aired on AZN tv in the month of May. We want to show the diversity of Asian America. Extras will not have to speak, just be present behind Beau in the shot.

Please send a photo and RSVP to asianamericanpsa@gmail.com if you are interested.

Meals and parking will be provided, as well as a small stipend.

Here is Beau's most recent work:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VJCkHu3trKc

Sounds like it could be a really fun experience. Beau turned a lot of heads recently with his frank and thoughtful "Open Letter to All the Rosie O'Donnells," so let's hope this is piece for AZN is as interesting and provocative.

12th annual chicago asian american showcase

Chicagooooooo! The 12th Annual Chicago Asian American Showcase kicks off tonight with the Opening Night screening of Justin Lin's Finishing the Game at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Justin Lin, Sung Kang and Co. are in town to present their latest movie misadventure. (The film also screens again on Wednesday, April 4th.) The festival continues through April 12, with a packed schedule of events, panels, and films like festival fave Colma: The Musical, Juwan Chung's L.A. gangster flick Baby, the award-winning documentary New Year Baby, Gene Rhee's romantic comedy The Trouble with Romance and truckload of other good stuff. If you couldn't already tell, it's another great year for Asian American cinema. I might add that the Chicago Asian American Showcase was the very first Asian American film festival I ever attended, way back in the day when there wasn't whole lot going on with "the scene." Look at us now. This is a great festival that reflects all the cool stuff that's happening right now. So buy your tickets and get your ass in the seat, and support quality Asian American films.

she coming to collect you too

The action-packed true story of one woman's global quest to collect the world's children: Angelina Jolie: Womb Raider. And she will not stop until she's collected them all!

three-vote win

You see, every vote counts. This week, a judge ruled that Janet Nguyen won the February election for an Orange County Board of Supervisors seat by a slim three-vote margin, rejecting arguments by her opponent Trung Nguyen that a recount wasn't completed because the paper audit of electronically cast ballots was not counted manually: Janet Nguyen wins O.C. supervisor's seat. She took office this week, but an appeal is likely. Let it go, dude.

japanese prime minister apologizes... sort of

Earlier this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered a very carefully worded, extremely indirect apology to women who were forced to be sex slaves during World War II: Japan's PM apologizes to WWII-era sex slaves. It was an apology of sorts, but not the real apology or acknowledgement victims have been demanding:

"I express my sympathy toward the comfort women and apologize for the situation they found themselves in," Abe told a parliamentary debate, using a euphemism used by Japanese politicians to refer to former sex slaves. "I apologize here and now as prime minister."

It's obviously an attempt to quell the international outcry caused by his denials earlier this month. Still, these remarks fall way short of a clear acknowledgement that the Japanese wartime military was involved in forcing the women into prostitution. And that's unacceptable.

super tall chinese men need love too

See, there's someone out there for everyone... even the tallest man in the world. After searching the world, 7-foot-9 Bao Xishun, 56, has found his bride and married a 29-year-old saleswoman from his hometown, Xia Shujuan (5 feet, 6 inches tall): Home is where the heart is for world's tallest man. Both come from the town of Chifeng in Inner Mongolia. Well, good for them. You gotta wonder—how tall will their kids grow?

hot pockets dojo

I've been getting a ton of email about this new Asian-themed campaign for Hot Pockets. Yes, Hot Pockets. The crappy microwaveable bread thing with gooey food inside. Available in the freezer section of your local supermarket. The commercials feature this accented Asian "dojo master" guy telling people that what they're really hungry for is Hot Pockets. The highly unoriginal campaign draws all sorts of the usual Asian stereotypes. The website takes you into the Hot Pockets Dojo, "deep in the remote mountains of China." Last I checked, "dojo" was a Japanese term. Inside the dojo, you'll find the barking Master with all sort of lame faux Asian imagery. It's idiotic. What any of this idiotic campaign has to do with Hot Pockets, I don't know. That's racist! Thankfully, they've provided this handy contact form to let them know how you feel. You can also call the Nestle Hand-held Foods Group's Consumer Affairs feedback line at 1-800-350-5016. I imagine you might have some words to share.

myx: yet another asian american tv network

Another Asian American television venture joins the fray... I recently heard about MYX, "the first nationally-distributed music channel built specifically for the fast-growing Asian-American market." It's was launched by Filipino television giant ABS-CBN and officially went live February 28 on DirecTV. And hey, all you indpendent artists out there, they want your music video. Remember music videos? It's what MTV used to do, before crap like Laguna Beach and My Super Sweet 16. See here for details on how to submit yours. It looks like they're also trying to develop a significant web programming presence. With the MTV World channels getting their plugs pulled, I suppose it's still anybody's game... Here's an article on the new network's launch (on MYX's website): Scene Change for Asian TV.

of course nic cage is fu manchu

Maybe you've seen an ad or two for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's sexy/horror/action double feature Grindhouse. It's their tribute to the bad bad superbad 1970s exploitation films that used to show in seedy movie houses of a bygone era. The double feature ("Death Proof" and "Planet Terror") will also include an intermission and trailers for fake coming attractions (directed by their filmmaker buddies). I bring all this up because one of the trailers, Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the S.S., features Nicolas Cage as a character named "Fu Manchu." Greaaaaat. Does this mean we can expect to see that crazy fool in yellowface? Because that's something I don't need to see. Actually, given the history of the Sax Rohmer's character—and it stereotypical yellow peril variations—throughout literature and cinema, having a white dude play Fu Manchu would probably be fitting. That said, I will be the first to stand up in the theater and yell out, "HEY! THAT GUY'S NOT ASIAN!"

UPDATE: Here's the full trailer of Werewolf Women of the S.S., with Nicolas Cage showing up at the end as Fu Manchu: Werewolf Women of the SS - Grindhouse trailer. It looks like they drew on his facial hair with a magic marker.

more news on the jet/jackie project

According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor Michael Angarano is in final negotiations to star alongside Jackie Chan and Jet Li in the long-awaited, untitled "J&J project": Angarano Joins Chan and Li in J&J

Angarano will play a troubled 17-year-old wannabe kung fu warrior who, after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a street gang, is sent back in time to ancient China on an impossible mission to set free the imprisoned Monkey King (Li) and return to him his all-powerful staff.

While the thought of Jackie Chan and Jet Li in a movie together has a certain novelty, I think I lost interest in this a long time ago. And this silly, awful description really doesn't do anything to change that. Sure, I'd like to see a "J & J" movie, but this definitely does not sound like the one I wanted to see

random link roundup

Various links and news stories for you... the short version:

Six people have been charged with pimping and operating ten brothels staffed by women from China in what authorities said was the largest prostitution investigation ever in Orange County: Six charged in Southland prostitution ring

Last week, Harvard senior Julie Chu was the 2007 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the nation's top women's college hockey player: Harvard's Chu nation's finest. She's a two-time U.S. Olympian, a three-time All-America selection, and leaves Harvard as the leading scorer in NCAA history with 284 points.

More troubles for the Fun Wah bus line... last week, a driver on his second day on the job abruptly tried to change lanes and wedged a bus full of passengers on top of a concrete barrier at a Massachusetts Turnpike toll booth: Fung Wah driver wedges bus atop barrier. Please, no Asian driver jokes.

A man awaiting trial for scamming hundreds of Cambodian immigrants out of more than $30 million through a fraudulent investment scheme allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill 11 witnesses and a codefendant: US says suspect hired a hit man

Looks like Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang will begin the season on the disabled list: Yanks put Wang on disabled list with hamstring pull

A large Korean War memorial planned for Kissena Park in Flushing has attracted significant support from veterans and Korean American donors, but has also drawn a criticism from the longtime members of the Kissena Park Civic Association: For a War Rarely Honored, a Disputed Memorial. Something about urine-inducing grass.

Ann Curry is in Sudan—her third visit in twelve months—to report on the suffering in Darfur: Ann Curry's Ambition: To Witness the Suffering. I have a crush on Ann Curry.

everybody hates sanjaya

Apologies. I have not yet written anything about the inexplicable phenomenon known as Sanjaya Malakar, who has defied all logic and somehow managed to survive all the way into the top ten of this season's American Idol. I say this because it's general consensus that the kid is easily the worst of the bunch, and he should've been axed a long time ago, yet somehow people keep voting for him. I've particularly enjoyed these blogs on the matter: Sanjaya Must Be Stopped; Bringing Balance to the Force

Better performers than Sanjaya have already been sent home. I haven't been following the competition very closely this season, but I've seen Sanjaya perform a couple of times, and he's waaaaay out of his league. The love/hate frenzy over Sanjaya is intense! Things got really bizarre on last week's show when they kept showing this crazed, crying girl in the audience during his performance, apparently moved to tears by the S-Boy's rousing rendition of "You Really Got Me." Maybe she's the girl who keeps calling to vote. There's also an extremely vocal anti-Sanjaya movement out there fueled by people who are truly horrified at the prospect of him winning the competition. They believe this is a crisis, and they're out to preserve not only the sanctity of American Idol, but the very notion of American democracy. One American Idol viewer has even gone on a hunger strike: Starvation for Sanjaya. According to her MySpace page, "So until the day that Sanjaya is no longer American Idol, I will be going on a hunger strike. This means I will refuse to eat anything until American Idol voters wise up, and stop voting Sanjaya through each week." That is some crazy kind of dedication.

And Vote For The Worst, a website proudly dedicated to destroying American Idol, has been urging visitors to vote for him. The logic is, what better way to demonstrate the suckiness of Idol than to have everybody vote for the suckiest guy to win? Maybe they're the ones responsible for this. The xenophobic reaction, of course, is to point to all the South Asian voters (millions of them!) who are allegedly keeping Sanjaya in the competition. Maybe they are. Whatever the case, I find this all highly amusing. Heck, I'd love to see the South Asian kid win. And I'd love to see the takedown and ridicule of Idol even more. If Sanjaya wins, I'll be laughing. We'll see if he survives another round this week...

journey from the fall earns highest per-screen average

While TMNT (which, by the way, features the voice talent of Zhang Ziyi and Mako in one of his last roles) earned a crapload of money at the box office over the weekend, Ham Tran's Journey From The Fall, in its opening weekend of theatrical release, earned the highest per-screen average of any film—specialty or mainstream—in the country with $21,861 per screen. Playing in four theaters in New York, Orange County and San Jose, the film grossed $87,442 for the weekend (according to a press release from ImaginAsian). It may not seem like much, but for four theaters, it's actually a huge deal. Daaaaamn. Vietnamese Americans came out to represent! The movie expands to Houston and Dallas this Friday, with more cities in weeks to come. Check here for theater listings.

By the way, the latest issue of Asia Pacific Arts has a great interview with director Ham Tran: Confronting the Past: Ham Tran on the Making of Journey From the Fall. (They've also got a whole bunch of coverage of Mira Nair's The Namesake.) There's also a bunch of great video interviews on Asian Pacific Arts' YouTube channel. It's all really good stuff, so check it out.

kal penn at u. penn

Kumar is going to college. To teach, that is. Kal Penn, star of Harold and Kumar and The Namesake, will be a guest instructor at the University of Pennsylvania during the spring 2008 semester: 'Kumar' Actor Has College Teaching Gig. Mr. Modi will teach two undergraduate courses, tentatively titled, "Images of Asian Americans in the Media" and "Contemporary American Teen Films." Students can enroll in the courses as Asian American studies or cinema studies programs in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences. How cool would it be to sit in on those classes? He should get John Cho to guest lecture...

jersey guys encourage reporting "anyone suspicious"

More racist antics from Craig Carton and Ray Rossi, aka "The Jersey Guys." You might recall back in 2005 when they made racist remarks regarding then-candidate Jun Choi and Edison's mayoral race, mocking Asians and saying that no "foreign group should ever ever dictate the outcome of an American election." Earlier this month, the two started "Operation Rat a Rat/La Cucha Gotcha," a listener-participation game that encourages people to turn in friends, neighbors and "anyone suspicious" to immigration authorities. Obviously, the stunt has stirred up quite a bit of controversy: An Immigrant Segment by Radio's 'Jersey Guys' Draws Fire. Of course, no one is suprised. Hell, contoversy is exactly what they want. The worst part is, they're not simply just acting like idiots on the air—they're encouraging everyone who listens to them to be idiots along with them, raising up an army of racist idiots. And that is truly scary.

mta needs help identifying chinese artifacts

About a year ago, I mentioned excavation during the construction of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights, where the MTA uncovered human skeletal remains and artifacts. Historians believe that the diggers stumbled upon a long-lost Chinese potter's field, just ajacent to Evergreen Cemetery, which historically barred Chinese from its property a century ago. While most of the discoveries couldn't be identified, there were several burial bricks and headstones on which the deceased have been identified. Some were accompanied by human skeletal remains. The MTA is asking for help in identifying possible next-of-kin, and they've posted images of the remains and artifacts hoping to find some people out there with more information. It's all pretty fascinating, so check it out: Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension

aaldef files lawsuit against saigon grill

Last week, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund announced it filed a lawsuit against the restaurant chain Saigon Grill in New York on behalf of 36 former Chinese take-out delivery employees: AALDEF Files Federal Suit against Saigon Grill on Behalf of 36 Delivery Workers for Minimum Wage, Overtime, and Other Labor Violations. According to the suit, Saigon Grill paid the workers less than minimum wage, failed to pay them overtime, required them to buy and maintain their own bikes and scooters, obligated them to reimburse the restaurant for cash taken during a robbery, and forced them to pay "fines" of $20 to $200 from their tips any time they "broke" restaurant rules. In addition to federal and state labor law violations, the suit alleges that restaurant management retaliated against the workers. And now, Saigon Grill is going to pay.

karate kick that tobacco habit

I saw this a while ago, and forgot to post something about it... Thanks to Carmen at Racialicious for reminding me. This totally subtle anti-smoking ad is targeted towards Asians. Yes, that's a guy kicking the cigarette's butt (ha ha), martial arts style. Brilliant. Thank you, California Smokers Hotline. Telling it to us Asians in a way we understand...

UPDATE: Actually, the above ad looks a lot like this one of Jackie Chan kicking the crap out of a giant cigarette. It was created by the American Cancer Society in 2001. I guess the California Smokers Hotline didn't have the budget to hire Jackie Chan... so they drew a picture instead. (Thanks, Chi-wang)

save mtv world

It's been over a month since word got out that MTV Networks was dropping their MTV World (Chi, K, Desi) division, basically shutting down yet another avenue for Asian American voices to get heard and seen on television. I'll say that in the short time that they were around, from what I saw, the three channels really were trying to give due exposure to Asian American musicians and artists, particularly the independent ones. MTV Chi was where I first saw Beau Sia's excellent "an open letter to all the rosie o'donnells." Don't tell you're gonna see something like that on regular MTV. But alas, the channels were cut short before they were really able to get off the ground. Well, it seems that a last ditch effort is underway to try and save MTV World from extinction. An email has been recently circulating to get get support behind a petition to Save MTV World. Here's what the senders are asking:

SO WHAT CAN WE DO? 5 WAYS YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

1. SIGN THE PETITION!!!
This is of utmost importance. It takes LESS than a minute. This petition will be sent to everyone at MTV and major media outlets.

GO TO: http://www.petitiononline.com/MTVWORLD/petition.html. Forward this to everyone you know!

2. DRAFT A PASSIONATE-POSITIVE LETTER TO STOP MTV FROM SHUTTING DOWN OUR VOICES!

Please write a letter expressing your disappointment and desire for the re-emergence of the channels. We want to educate MTV on the voice of our community. Letters will make a BIG Difference! Address letters to: Attn: Judy McGrath, CEO, MTV Networks, 1515 Broadway, 28th floor, New York, NY 10036

3. COVER THIS IN THE MEDIA!
If you are a journalist-- write about this. This is a bigger story than simply MTV downsizing, this is about Asian Americans being silenced without a fair chance to succeed. PRESS CONTACT: SaveMTVWorld@gmail.com. A team member will be in touch with you immediately.

4. MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS AND UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE/MYSPACE
Let's get this message out in every way we can. (Beau Sia's post about Rosie O'Donnell 'ching-chong' comment received over 400,000 views--see link below)

5. STUDENTS: MOBILIZE YOUR STUDENT GROUPS! WRITE LETTERS, PETITION, PROTEST, MAKE VIDEOS...Make it happen!

Personally, I think the more voices we have out there representing and making a ruckus, the better. I've always found it a little troubling that regular MTV, vanguard of American youth culture, had to relegate Asian America to their separate ghetto-ized networks, instead of finding a place on regular MTV programming. But I do appreciate the work that Desi, Chi and K have been trying to do. So if you feel strongly about this, sign the petition, get the word out, and help MTV World (and the dedicated people who work there) have a fighting chance.

25th sfiaaff: san jose

Tonight kicks off the San Jose leg of SFIAAFF, if your crew hangs closer to the Silicon Valley side of things, with a screening of David Ren's Shanghai Kiss. I'd been hearing about this film for a couple of years, when it was still in its baby stages... and from what I hear, the wait has been worth it. Word on the street is, it received quite a bit of festival buzz—at least from the people I talked to. The film stars Ken Leung and Kelly Hu, among others... and if you're not in San Jose tonight, hopefully you'll be seeing it soon.

Last night, winners were announced at the festival's Closing Night Awards cerememony... Stephane Gauger's Owl and the Sparrow won Best Narrative Feature, and Eric Byler's Tre took home the Special Jury Award. As for documentaries, Socheata Poeuv's New Year Baby took Best Documentary Feature, with the Special Jury Award going to Tami Yeager's A Dream in Doubt. The Audience Awards for narrative and documentary went to Desmond Nakano's American Pasttime and Lisette Marie Flanary's Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula, respectively. Be on the lookout for these films at a film festival near you...

stop the racist "chinese freestyle"

YouTube is a power that can be for both good and evil. This racist, idiotic rap song, "Chinese Freestyle" by Brandon Dicamillo (of Jackass fame), has been making the rounds. I hadn't actually heard about it until yesterday. Basically, it's a laundry list of racist Asian stereotypes, rapped in the mock accent of a Chinese food deliveryman. I listened to the song on YouTube, and it's pretty vile. (Do a search, and you'll get the original as well as scores of variations.) Read the lyrics here.

What's worse is the legion of fans on YouTube and elsewhere that the song has generated—fans who vehemently defend and praise the song for whatever reason. I know people just want say, hey, can't you take a joke? But it's crap like this that continues to caricature and dehumanize Chinese food deliverymen and other similar laborers who are just trying to make an honest living. It perpetuates the notion that they're somehow less than human. Don't tell me there's no connection with this sentiment and the high rate of crime and violence directed towards Chinese food deliverymen. That's racist!

A blog has been set up specifically to create awareness and action against this song: CKY=KKK: Against the Chinese Freestyle Racist Rap. Learn more and follow the controversy there. (Thanks, Ekachai)

nomad and mongol

Here's the U.S. trailer for Nomad, Kazakhstan's epic movie answer to the ridicule of Borat. It's about a man who is destined to unite the warring tribes of Kazakhstan against Mongol invaders. Starring dudes like Jason Scott Lee, Mark Dacascos, Archie Kao, Ron Yuan and others. I think the movie opened in select theaters last weekend, and according to box office reports it made $14,250. I think Borat wins.

Along similar lines, here's the official site for the upcoming movie Mongol, about the early life of Genghis Khan. Believe it or not, the movie is directed by Sergei Bodrov, the same guy who directed Nomad. And if I'm not mistaken, this is the same project that originally had Khan being played by Channing Tatum (yes, a white guy), who reportedly dropped out due to scheduling conflict. As you can see from the photo (the guy with the sword), Khan is played Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. The movie is scheduled to be released this year from Picturehouse.

jet li is the mummy

The rumors are true. Jet Li is apparently in negotiations to play the villainous title character in The Mummy 3: Jet Li unearths role in "Mummy 3". According to the article, the action will be set in China, with Li's story beginning in ancient times before moving to a post-World War II setting. Oh, it's going to be directed by Rob Cohen. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to suck hard?

japanese billionaire hands out mansions

Billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto, a Japanese real estate mogul, is giving eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families: Billionaire opens mansions to homeless. These aren't just houses—they're mansions. The families will be able to stay in the homes for up to ten years. Though if the guy is indeed one of Japan's richest man, he could probably build a whole bunch of houses for the state's homeless, instead of just handing over eight of his existing mansions. I'm just saying.

25th sfiaaff: closing night

The week has flown by... tonight is Closing Night of the 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, with the screening of Dark Matter, followed by a reception and awards ceremony at the Palace of Fine Arts. Dark Matter the debut film from renowned New York-based Chinese opera director Chen Shi-Zheng, based on the true story of a talented Chinese physics student whose strained psyche begins to unravel in the face of miscommunication and school politics. At least, that's what I think it's about. I missed this one at Sundance, but it's sounds like a doozy. (And oh yeah, it stars Meryl Streep.) I don't think things end well. But hey, it's Closing Night, and that's always fun. For those of you in the South Bay (represent!), the San Jose portion of the festival begins tomorrow...

japanese american relocation digital archives

This is a really great resource... the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives have recently been re-designed and updated. It's an amazing trove of photographs, personal histories and background information on the Japanese American internment experience. There are even teacher-created lesson plans. Visit the site, poke around, a learn a thing or two...

two arrested in racist bus beating

Some follow-up on Marie Martinez, who was beat up last week on a New York bus for looking "Chinese." A 14-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy have been arrested in connection with the beating; GIRL, 14, NABBED IN STUDENT BUS BEATING. Police from the hate crimes task force identified the younger teen after finding her bookbag on the B82 bus on which Martinez was attacked. What about all the others in the pack of kids that punched, kicked and taunted her? And what about the idiot bus driver who witnessed the assault and simply told Martinez (who was wearing her Catholic school uniform) to "go talk to a priest"? This was a hate crime, and that's racist! An online petition is being circulated calling for the MTA and NYPD conduct a full and complete investigation into the incident, as well as disciplinary action to be taken towards the bus driver: Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!