woman survives brutal stabbing attack

News of a violent, appalling assault out of Texas... In Houston, a woman was stabbed more than 10 times in the face and eyes after her ex-boyfriend attacked her, leaving her blind in one eye: Woman Stabbed In Face, Eyes, Survives. She will completely lose her right eye after her ex allegedly dug his fingers into it and tried to dig it out. What kind of man would do this?

The victim, 42-year-old Yufan Zhang, said she was visiting a friend on June 1, in the middle of the afternoon, when Shun Ping Lin attacked her from behind. Zhang tried to fight back, but he wouldn't stop. slashing her all over her body, face and eyes.

Police are now looking for Lin, who is an undocumented immigrant from China. They believe he's still in the Houston area or could be hiding with family in Florida or in New York If you have any information on Shun Lin's whereabouts, call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

fox news calls michelle obama "baby mama"

Good Lord, what are we going to do with Michelle Malkin? DailyKos picks up on some nastiness over at Fox News that the Queen Disgrasian has gotten herself mixed up in...

This evening, Fox ran a segment to remind its viewers why they should hate Michelle Obama. But instead of relying on their usual tactics—you know, lying—they decided to go a little further, using a blatantly racist and sexist slur on the wife of the Democratic nominee. As Michelle Malkin and Fox anchor Megyn Kelley cordially ranted, a graphic was displayed on the bottom of the screen referring to Senator Obama's wife as his "Baby Mama."

Now, I know this term has sort of entered the popular vernacular in comical ways, most prominently in a recent Tina Fey movie with this very term as the title. But its origins lay in urban slang, as a term meaning the mother of a man's illegitimate child.

Fox News' use of this term to specifically refer to Michelle Obama clearly has racist and sexist implications. Let the slander begin. Frankly, who's really surprised? It is Fox News, after all. As for Malkin, her inability to contribute anything valuable to humanity shall continue to disgust me. More about this here (including a link to video): Fox Smears Michelle Obama with Sexist/Racist Slur.

apia spoken word & poetry summit presents: volume control 2

Heads up. The 2009 APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit is happening next year in the Bay Area, and the planning committee has been organizing shows to promote and fundraise for it. The next one is this weekend, on Sunday, June 15 at the Eastside Cultural Center in Oakland. Here are the details:

Sunday, June 15, 2008
The APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit Presents:

VOLUME CONTROL 2
A Fundraiser for the 2009 Summit in the Bay Area

Featuring performances from:
Proletariat Bronze
Aimee Suzara
Broken Halos
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Malaya Arevelo
Nate Krooks
Rodrael Guadalupe
and Youth Slam Champions Bryant Phan & Christsna Sot
with DJ shredONE
and hosts Adriel & Ruby from iLL-Literacy

6pm Doors, 7pm Show
$10-$20 sliding scale donation
All proceeds go to the 2009 APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit

Co-sponsored by Apex Express 94.1FM KPFA & Youth Speaks

It's gonna be hot. The APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit is a bi-annual gathering of progressive artists involved in the Asian Pacific Islander American community. Their mission is "to challenge the often peripheral and passive roles the artist is branded within the APIA community and the arts community at-large and to acknowledge the arts as a critical, elemental component in building, empowering and transforming our community and our selves." For more information, contact volumecntrl@gmail.com, or visit apiasummit.com.

sikh student attacked in queens

Last week, 18-year-old Jagmohan Singh Premi, a Sikh student at Richmond Hill High School in Queens, was attacked by a classmate in what's being investigated as a hate crime. Authorities say another student tried to remove his turban before punching him in the face with a set of keys: Sikh student attacked in Queens. That's racist!

According to the story, Richmond Hill has a problem. Critics from the Sikh Coalition say Sikh students at the school are routinely harassed and that the Department of Education isn't doing enough to address it. What happened last week is only the latest incident.

Premi says it went on for months, from taunting to harassment at the hands of a fellow student. He says he was punched in the eye after the student tried to remove his turban. It apparently happened at his ESL class, where he had been trying to learn English.

The Department of Education needs to step up, acknowledge that this is going on, and take action against biased harassment and bullying. As it happens, Chancellor Joel Klein personally apologized Friday to Premi: Punched Sikh student gets apology from Joel Klein. More here: Hate attack against Sikh student in NYC.

shady refs targeted yao ming in 2005

Last August, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to charges of betting on NBA games that he officiated. Today, his lawyers filed documents in federal court alleging that other officials altered the outcomes of playoff series in 2002 and 2005: Donaghy docs allege refs altered games, broke league rules.

The documents outline a plan among officials to target Yao Ming in the Houston Rockets' 2005 first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. It also alleges that referees helped alter the outcome of the controversial 2002 Game 6 playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

Donaghy's legal team is trying to demonstrate his cooperation with a federal government investigation before he is sentenced on July 14 on felony charges of taking cash payoffs from gamblers and betting on games himself.

Back during the 2005 Rockets/Mavericks playoff series, after his team eventually lost that series in seven games, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy accused referees of unfairly targeting Yao Ming. Van Gundy ultimately received a $100,000 fine, the largest in NBA history, before retracting his comments. Turns out, he might have been right after all.

priscilla ahn's a good day in stores today

Priscilla Ahn is one of those singer/songwriters who's gained an immense, loyal following on the indie music scene, thanks in large part to the internet, and a getting her songs featured on a few soundtracks here and there. Thankfully, for fans, the wait is over. Her debut album A Good Day is out in stores today from Blue Note Records. She's got a nice sound, if you like that Rachael Yamagata/ Amos Lee/Joshua Radin-type vibe.

You can catch Priscilla performing tomorrow night The Tonight Show. Daaaaamn, she's hit the big time. I'm told she's also rocking the cover of this month's KoreAm Journal. To learn more about Priscilla Ahn, visit her website here, and listen to some sample tracks from A Good Day at her MySpace page here. The album is available everywhere now in stores, iTunes, and the usual online retailers.

new report attacks model minority student myths

The model minority myth. We as Asian Americans know it well. Some hate it, some actually embrace it. But ultimately, it hurts us a whole. And in the case of Asian American and Pacific Islander college students, the overarching, homogeneous model minority myth obscures important differences and needs within our diverse population—educational needs that often go neglected.

A new report released yesterday, by NYU, the College Board and a commission of Asian American educators and community leaders, basically attacks the model minority myth and pokes holes in all sorts of dangerous assumptions the myth perpetuates about APA college students: Report Takes Aim at 'Model Minority' Stereotype of Asian-American Students.

According to the report, the concentration of Asian American students in a relatively small number of elite universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, has raised fears of a "takeover" of the upper tiers of higher education in the U.S. In reality, more than half of Asian American students attend community colleges or minimally selective four-year colleges. Asian Americans' academic success misleading, report says.

It's true—many Asian Americans do excel in higher education. As of 2000, 44.1% of Asian Americans had obtained college degrees. The average in the United States is 24.4%. But many APA groups in the U.S. fell far short of those achievement levels. For example, almost 60% of Hmong that same year had less than a high school education, and only 15% of Native Hawaiians had college degrees. Lumping us all into one group and assuming we have no needs is extremely problematic... and just plain wrong.

A lot of what this report covers is stuff many of us were already aware of. But it's a still an important, helpful effort to directly attack these common myths and bring awareness about these misrepresentations to the educational community and general public at large. It's amazing how strongly the model minority myth continues to persist.

the dee-jade pi'ilani chock foundation

Dee-Jade Pi'ilani Chock died on March 28, 2008 after a difficult 12-year battle with kidney cancer. She was 29. Through her ordeal, one of her wishes was to establish a scholarship fund to help to young college students living with cancer and other diseases to pay for and complete their higher education while enduring the fight. She sounds like she was an amazing woman.

In honor of her memory, carrying out her aspirations, her friends and family have created the Dee-Jade Pi'ilani Chock Foundation. Any donations made to the family will be placed into a fund to be used as see money to carry out Dee's wishes.

Donations can be made in the name of the "Dee-Jade Pi'ilani Chock Memorial Fund" at any Wells Fargo Bank. Please ask a teller to notify a supervisor to facilitate the transaction under "donation fund" accounts. For more information, visit the Foundation website here. To learn more about Dee's life, go here.

stories from around the community

Koreatown, Western Ave: The Los Angeles Times is running a weekly series of portraits spotlighting the vast and various neighborhoods of Los Angeles. This week, they provide a stunning glimpse at the sights and sounds of Koreatown.

Little Saigon fallout left mark, San Jose candidates say: After much division and debate, a stretch of Story Road in San Jose was finally named "Little Saigon" earlier this year. However, the controversy has left many wondering if the issue had an adverse impact on the electability of Vietnamese-American candidates.

1st Lt. Watada's Future Still a Mystery: Seven months ago, a federal judge prevented the U.S. Army from conducting a second court-marial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for refusing to deploy to Iraq. Since then, the Army hasn't filed any new paperwork, basically leaving Watada in a state of limbo.

Dreams and Desperation on Forsyth Street: This is a very interesting, informative New York Times story on the crazy Chinatown bus phenomenon, and the "vibrant, competitive and largely self-contained economy"—as well as the many problems—that have materialized around the bah-see zhan.

Chinese illegal immigrants discovered in Texas border town: On Saturday, police in La Joya, Texas discovered fifteen undocumented immigrants from China in the back of a SUV—apparently a rare sight for this small border town, which is mostly used to seeing immigrants crossing over from Mexico.

Sumo stars live large in L.A.: Over the weekend, for the first time in 27 years, Grand Sumo—the All-Star Game of the ancient sport—came to Los Angeles for a two-day tournament. And with it, 40 or so of Japan's biggest sumo celebrities... who toured Hollywood, Universal Studios, and took in a Dodger game.

cool stuff in hyphen and asia pacific arts

Quick plug... the new issue of Hyphen recently hit the streets, and I'm told that I'm in it, sort of. It's the "Spaces" issue, which includes interviews with the likes of John Cho and Eric Byler, and takes a look at who might one day be the first Asian American president.

There's also an article on Asian Americans and Star Trek, and being the big Trek geek that I am, I offered a quote or two for the piece. The article isn't available online, but you can subscribe here and get the issue.

While I'm at it, let me also throw out a quick plug for the latest edition of Asia Pacific Arts, which includes great interviews with Lost actor Ken Leung (nice, O-Dub), Up the Yangtze director Yung Chang, and rapper Lyrics Born, among others. Lots good stuff there, as usual.

optimus prime is a threat to airport security

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Airport security... keeping you safe from deadly Transformers. Last week in London, a security guard apparently threatened to arrest an airline passenger because he was wearing a t-shirt showing a cartoon robot with a gun: Man threatened with arrest at Heathrow for wearing Transformers T-shirt. More here: Transformers shirt gets jet ban.

30-year-old Brad Jayakody said he was stopped from passing through security at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after his Transformers t-shirt was deemed "offensive." Here's Jayakody's account of the incident, from his blog: No t-shirt, no flight.

As you can see, it's basically an illustration of Optimus Prime from last year's Transformers movie. And yes, he's holding a rather large gun. Madness. It's a cartoon robot, you fools. Besides, come on! It's Optimus frickin' Prime, leader of the Autobots. Anybody who knows anything should know that he's here to protect us. A Megatron shirt, however, would be another thing entirely.

character breakdowns for clint eastwood's gran torino

UPDATE: There's a whole bunch of Gran Torino casting information available here. This might interest some you, as I've heard from several people who were interested in auditioning for this movie. Crazy colors aside, it appears to be some legit casting updates about open call auditions for the movie, from Hmong American actress Sandy'Ci Moua, who is serving as a casting assistant and consultant for Gran Torino.

...

Here's some news that surfaced early last month about Gran Torino, the new movie from Clint Eastwood... Based on character breakdowns, it's apparently a coming-of-age drama about the unlikely friendship that forms between an old, disgruntled Korean War vet (Eastwood, presumably), who cherishes his titular muscle car, and the troubled young Hmong teen who tries to steal the car to impress a street gang. Here are detailed descriptions of the characters:

GRAN TORINO
Feature Film
Warner Brothers
SAG

Producer: Clint Eastwood, Rob Lorenz, Bill Gerber
Director: Clint Eastwood
[TAO VANG LOR] A 15-19 year old Hmong (Southeast Asian) boy, Tao is slight, with long hair and long lashes, but he is very good looking, like an Asian Johnny Depp. His father is dead, and he lives in the house next door to Walt, a house full of women who disrespect him because he has no inner strength and resilience. A boy who would rather be a bookworm and be left alone, he's pressured to join his cousin's street gang, and he's brutally humiliated when he tries to steal Walt's Gran Torino. Intent on making amends to Walt, who has been befriended by his sister Sue, Tao works for Walt around the house for two weeks - and in the process, earns a smidgen of respect from Walt for his stoicism. Very protective of his family, and desperately in need of a male role model, Tao is pleasantly surprised when his odd friend pays him back for his labor - by helping Tao get both a job and a girlfriend. When Sue is raped by a pack of Hmong punks, Tao wants to get revenge - but Walt decides to carry that burden himself alone. HMONG LANGUAGE SKILLS A PLUS... LEAD (6)

[SUE] Tao's younger sister, 15 - 19, Sue is smarter than her brother when it comes to social skills and emotional IQ. A charmer, expert at using her communication skills to build bridges, Sue is contemptuous of local gang recruiters, Spider and Smokie - but she views Walt with wary interest. All too aware that her brother could use a masculine influence in his life to teach him the basics, Sue gently nudges Walt and Tao together, hoping for the best, and quite pleased when Tao acquires both a father figure and a few much-needed callouses. But when the local gang decides to punish Walt for his aggressive insolence by kidnapping Sue and raping her, she fears that the two strong men in her life will die avenging her honor. HMONG LANGUAGE SKILLS A PLUS... LEAD (16)

[F Ashley and Josh. Treated with contempt by his father, who regards Mitch and his family as yuppie scum, Mitch returns the favor and then some, ducking his dad's rare calls and not realizing that when Walt asserts that everything at home is "fine," that he's a bald-faced liar. He shuts Walt out of his life completely after Walt refuses to go into a home...LEAD (1)

[PHONG] The grandmother of Tao and Sue, Phong speaks only in her native language of Hmong. Utterly contemptuous of Tao because he's bullied by the women in the house, Phong has an active, blistering hatred for Walt, the “stupid, hairy white man” who lives next door. A woman who chews betel juice and spits at Walt whenever he comes into view, Phong is outraged when Sue invites him to the house. Protective of her grandchildren in spite of her caustic manner (which precisely mirrors Walt's), she knows something is drastically wrong when Walt asks her to care for his ancient dog. MUST SPEAK HMONG...LEAD (9)

[SMOKIE] The 18 - 20 year old leader of a local gang of Hmong teenagers, Smokie intervenes when he sees Tao being bullied by some black kids, and tries to talk Tao into joining the gang. But Tao's initiation (stealing Walt's Gran Torino) is a botched disaster, and he's furious when Tao backs out of the gang. Believing he's being disrespected, Smokie is intent on punishing both Walt and Tao, and he begins a war of nerves that quickly escalates. When he opts to strafe Tao's home and rape his sister Sue, it's a declaration of war that Walt intends to answer alone...LEAD (14)

[VU] The mother of Tao and Sue, this 40s - 50s Asian woman speaks only in her native language of Hmong. She is profoundly grateful to Walt from intervening when her son is threatened by Smokie. MUST SPEAK HMONG... several scenes (27)

[KOR SHUE] This old Hmong man is a shaman, who only speaks in his native language of Hmong, and who asks to give a reading of Walt's character. His reading is painfully close to the bone. MUST SPEAK HMONG...1 speech & 1 line, 1 scene (49)

STORY LINE: Walt Kowalski is a widower, a grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. Drawn against his will into the lives of the Hmong family that lives next door to him, Walt grows increasingly fond of TAO and his sister SUE, and takes steps to protect them from the gangs that foul his neighborhood with their strutting presence...

Sounds pretty interesting, though it's obviously not Dirty Harry part 6. I'm generally a fan of Eastwood's work, but I am definitely a little wary about the "white man saves the Asians" situation that could occur here. What I am kind of excited about is the opportunity to see complex, full-fleshed Hmong American characters in a major Hollywood movie—when's the last time you saw that? Like, never. The film's still in pre-production, so keep an eye on this one... (Thanks, Lee.)

amy winehouse's racist home video

I almost feel bad writing this. Almost. A crazy home video of Amy Winehouse has gone public... and man, it ain't pretty: Racist song, sex acts, drugs captured on new Amy Winehouse video. It's like watching an awful train wreck... involving a Grammy-winning singer and lots of crack cocaine.

The video, shot sometime last year, features the singer all cracked-out and enthusiastically singing, "Blacks, Pakis, Gooks and Nips, Gooks and Nips!"—a racist parody sung to the tune of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." It's just ugly. She repeats the first line over again, going so far as pulling her eyes back for emphasis. As if we didn't get the joke. That's racist!

You can see the video, and all of Amy Winehouse's nasty madness, at the link here: RACIST VIDEO THAT SHAMES ADDICT AMY. She's obviously high as a kite—not that it's any excuse. I'd give her more hell than this, but she's already kind of done it to herself, don't you think? It's not worth it. There was a time when I actually kind of dug her music. No more.

seriously competing in star 98.7 fm's "lamn jams"

Check it. Orange County indie band Seriously will be competing on Monday night in Round 1 of the Los Angeles Music Network Rock Music Contest "LAMN Jams," sponsored by Star 98.7 FM. The winner will be featured on 98.7 FM's "OzoLocal Lounge," which airs on the station each week.

It's a great opportunity for these guys, since they'll be performing in front of a panel of industry experts who might be able to make things happen for them, including executives from 98.7 FM, Universal Music Publishing, Electornic Arts Worldwide Music, Trans World Entertainment, MySpace Records, and others.

As you probably know, I really like these guys. They'll be competing against five other bands, so they could use your support. If you're around Southern California, come on out and show some love for the boys of Seriously. Monday, June 9, 8:00pm at Skinny's Lounge in North Hollywood. To learn more about the band, go here.

people stories

Shyamalan's Hollywood Horror Story, With Twist: Right after The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan was being called Hollywood's Chosen One. But somewhere along the way, he became simply known as "the guy who makes the scary movies with a twist," and he's been trying to shake that label ever since.

In Louisiana, Inklings of a New (True) Champion of the Right: Here's a recent story on Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who many are calling the future of the Republican party. With many speculating that he could be John McCain's choice to balance his ticket, this guy could be your next Vice President.

Once a Pride of the Yankees, Irabu Slipped Out of Sight: Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu was once the Yankees' most promising player, touted as the next big thing in 1997 when he deliverd nine strikeouts in six and two-thirds inning for New York in his debut game against the Detroit Tigers. So what happened?

Nas Reveals 'N*gger' Video, Album Cover: Rapper Nas recently revealed the video for "Be a N*gger Too," the lead single from his upcoming untitled album. The video, apparently inspired by Spike Lee, is directed by Rik Cordero, and features cameos from the likes of actor John Cho and James Kyson Lee.

Outside Ethnicity: The New York Times reviews Nam Le's recently published collection of short stories, The Boat, which includes a story about a fictional Vietnamese American writer also named Nam Le who is struggling with writers' block but neurotically trying to avoid exploiting "the Vietnamese thing."

'Godfather' of Silicon Valley's Asian-American political community steps into spotlight: Paul Fong, who has long been a behind-the-scenes power broker in Silicon Valley's Asian American political scene, just won the Democratic primary battle for California's 22nd Assembly District seat.

'Kung Fu' actor rallies for diversity: Here's an interesting article on veteran actor James Hong, who has been in the business for 55 years and has probably appeared in every other movie or TV show requiring some sort of variation on the "old Asian master" role. You've seen him in pretty much everything.

The Humble Comic: This article is several weeks old, but it's a great profile of Gene Yang, author of the acclaimed graphic novel American Born Chinese—the first graphic novel to be nominated for the National Book Award. And as I have said many times before, I love this book.

Nationwide Targets South Asians With 'Idol' Contestant Sanjaya: Sanjaya Malakar, not quite yet ready to sink away into the post-American Idol obscurity, is appearing in a commercial for Nationwide insurance. His presence is apparently intended to help the company target South Asian Americans.

19 year-old Erika David has just won the MySpace Colgate MaxFresh Karaoke Contest, beating out tens of thousands of entries and getting the opportunity to record a demo with award-winning producer and songwriter Brian-Michael Cox. To see/hear her singing, check out her YouTube channel here. Congratulations.

in theaters this weekend

Opening in theaters everywhere this weekend, the animated fuzzy animal martial arts extravaganza, Kung Fu Panda. Featuring the voice talents of folks like Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan and Randall Duk Kim, it's one of things you hear about Hollywood doing, and just roll your eyes. Surprisingly though, it's been getting some glowing reviews, with an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sigh. Not only will it make truckloads of money this weekend, it will no doubt inspire countless kids across the country to kung fu kick each other. Parents, expect some Kung Fu Panda-inspired injuries this summer.


Briefly spotted Alec Mapa in the trailer for You Don't Mess With the Zohan, also opening this weekend. It looks pretty awful. Nothing against Mr. Mapa, I don't think any amount persuasion will get me to this movie. Did I mention that Rob Schneider is in it? Yeah.


In limited release, the Academy Award-nominated Genghis Khan epic Mongol. Starring Tadanobu Asano, it was Kazakhstan's Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language film, and tells the story of the early life of the slave-turned-conqueror. I haven't seen it, but it does look pretty cool.

And don't forget, Sean Baker and Shih-Chin Tsou's indie film Take Out opens in New York this weekend. It doesn't yet have the full spread of reviews, but it currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

they're famous on the internet

In his latest "Asian Pop" column, Jeff Yang talks to some of the top Asian American "stars" on YouTube about whether the next generation of ASian Americans will dominate the next generation of media: 'Tube Stakes.

In a crazy way, these personalities are all pioneers—Christine Gambito, Kevin Wu, David Choi. You know and love them online as HappySlip, KevJumba, and um, David Choi. Yeah, don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about.

Together, these three are responsible for some of the most viewed and subscribed videos on YouTube. Asian Americans may be sorely absent from the mainstream media, but on YouTube, they're stars... and the lines between mainstream and internet seem to be blurring more and more every day. They've gone from zeros to heroes in a relatively short time, all thanks thanks to the power of YouTube.

Check the numbers: HappySlip's videos have been watched over 36 million times. The one-woman video squad is the sweetheart of internet geeks everywhere (I'll admit, I've got a bit of a crush).

And 1.9 million viewers have seen David's "YouTube (A Love Song)," which is awesome. Those are built-in fans he can leverage into his burgeoning music career, and he doesn't even have a record out... yet.

Heck, 17-year-old KevJumba's infamous Stare is a runaway sensation. You know you've hit the big time when you've got people like Baron Davis and Jessica Alba callin' you out. The internet is a crazy place. Too bad none of them ended up on Weezer's "Pork and Beans" video.

hate crime against sikh family in new mexico

Last week, a Sikh American family in Alberquerque, New Mexico discovered that their car had been defaced in an act of racist vandalism. According to the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Singh, who wish to remain anonymous, awoke in the morning to find their car vandalized with a picture of male genitalia and the statement, "F--k Alah." There's a photo of the offending grafitti here.

In addition, the family feels they have been victim to at least two previous bias crimes. Both of the previous incidents involved a single white male between the age of 20 and 30 shouting at the couple, and in one case involved an alleged physical attack with the man throwing stones at Mr. Singh. That's racist!

A formal complaint has been filed with the Albuquerque Police Department; however, the investigation is still ongoing. SALDEF's got the information here: HATE CRIME ALERT: New Mexico Family Become Victims of Bias Crime.

SALDEF urges the Sikh American community to report incidents of bias, regardless of how minor the situation may be perceived by local authorities, by calling 911 and contacting SALDEF at info@saldef.org or 877-917-4547.

janet nguyen wins re-election

Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, once thought vulnerable to losing her seat because of political enemies and first-term troubles, won re-election Tuesday night, defeating two Vietnamese American candidates, Dina Nguyen and Hoa Van Tran: Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen wins reelection.

On Tuesday, Nguyen easily won a full term on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, turning aside Tran's efforts to derail her campaign and defeating two Vietnamese American candidates.

But the redbaiting and mudslinging between two of the community's leading politicians, Tran and Nguyen, has become a sign of discord in America's largest Vietnamese community. The two Republicans -- she the youngest supervisor in county history, he the highest-ranking Vietnamese American officeholder in the nation -- have drawn Vietnamese voters into two camps.

"Before, when there was only one Vietnamese on the ballot, it was an easy thing to decide who to vote for," said Khoi Ta, a former staffer for Rep. Loretta Sanchez who follows Little Saigon politics. "Being Vietnamese was the tie that [bound] everyone together, but now voters have a choice."

To other political observers, the competition and the political factions in the Vietnamese community are a sign of maturity that has followed other ethnic groups as they have gained political strength.

It was a hard-fought battle, and the campaign apparently got pretty ugly, with all sorts of mudslinging and accusations of Communist symphathizing coming from all sides. But it appears that Janet Nguyen has come out on top: Mudslinging in Orange County's Vietnamese political community leaves mark.

overcoming "impossible"

As you've probably heard by now, Barack Obama has become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, with results from this week's final primaries in Montana and South Dakota pushing him over the threshold of winning the 2,118 delegates needed for the nomination: Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket. It looks like Senator Hillar Rodham Clinton has finally decided to throw in the towel: Clinton Ready to End Bid and Endorse Obama. I'm pretty happy about this.

In the spirit of hope, progress, and "change we can believe in," here's a nicely-written opinion piece by Edward Y. Lee in The Harvard Crimson: Overcoming "Impossible". Heck, I like it so much, I'll just reprint it here:

Overcoming "Impossible"
Published On Wednesday, June 04, 2008 12:48 AM
By EDWARD Y. LEE

Before our swim meets, my high school swim coach would often say, “Close your eyes and just imagine.” Imagine crouching low on the starting blocks as you wait for the starting gun. Imagine standing on the winners' platform with your medal draped around your neck. If it's possible now in your mind, he'd tell us, it's possible in the pool.

It is our ability to dream that puts the impossible within our reach. Our hopes, our aspirations, our own narratives—they weave like strands into the very fabric of our life stories and our outlook on the future. For me, it is the power of these life stories that drew me to politics. My mother's selfless sacrifice to provide her two sons with endless opportunities inspired me to service. Recently, Senator Barack Obama's mission to change the way politics is run encouraged me to become involved in politics for the first time. Moreover, my own experience working on Senator Obama's campaign showed me that our politics have the potential to inspire and empower rather than divide and discourage.

My story begins with my mother's improbably quest to achieve the American Dream. In 1985, my mother immigrated to the United States from South Korea. She knew very little English and had little money. The accomplishments, the status, the connections that she had back home meant nothing here. The college degree for which she labored so hard in Korea was useless. So, my mother started all over as she held on to a simple conviction—that with determination, she would be able to provide her two sons the opportunities these new shores had to offer. At the age of 29, she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Washington and worked the evening shift at a retail jewelry store. She came home from school and work every day to take care of her family and to work on her own problem sets and papers.

As she juggled her many responsibilities, she never failed to read my brother and me stories before she tucked us into bed. These weren't simply fairy tales—they weren't just Dr. Seuss, Disney, or Humpty Dumpty. She also read us biographies—stories about JFK's hope for a better America, Abraham Lincoln's vision for a unified nation, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s fight for a nation healed and restored. And each night as I fell asleep listening to the dream of Dr. King, his dream became my own. His vision for the future seeped into my own understanding about what was possible. Just as my mother would go on to receive her Ph.D. and become a professor, she invoked these stories to teach me that with faith and determination, anything is possible.

My mother's example showed me that we must not become complacent with the world as it is, but rather we must envision the world as it should be. During the summer and fall of 2007, I took a leave of absence from college to work for the Obama campaign on the New Hampshire New Media team. As I blogged and edited videos of his daily events, I watched him draw people of all backgrounds. It was their stories that strengthened my faith in Obama's ability to transform this nation. It was the wife of a war veteran who held signs at rallies so that no other solder would share her husband's fate. It was the cancer patient who made phone calls to make sure that all Americans had affordable health care. It was the senior citizen who canvassed for hours in the pouring rain to ensure that his grandchildren would have a better future. Through them, I found that the things that bind us are greater than what divides us.

Senator Obama is a leader who unifies this country around its common values. He is a visionary who will lead and reshape the nation rather than simply mend it. His candidacy is our chance to restore this simple dream for generations to come and imagine a better tomorrow. We imagine a future where our bold young men and women are no longer shipped overseas to fight a war that should never have been waged. We imagine a future in which senior citizens no longer have to cut pills and forgo medicine in order to afford their healthcare. We imagine a future in which we can save our planet and end our dependence on foreign oil. We imagine a future in which we can reclaim the American Dream for all people, of all religions, of all economic status, of all sexual orientations and all racial identities. Ultimately, Obama inspires us to realize that these desirable ends can only be accomplished if we come together as one nation.

As graduates walk across the stage this week to commemorate their time at Harvard, they turn the page of their own life stories. They imagine the endless opportunities to change the world and write the next great chapter of American history. Society is sure to meet these hopes with cynicism. Pundits are sure to embrace a politics of “No you can't.” They will surely posit that such dreams are naïve and irrational.

But that's what hope is for. The same hope that led my mother to cross an ocean to start all over. The same hope that millions of Americans continue to believe in as they imagine a brighter future. The same hope that Senator Obama has to offer all Americans. This is the hope that we as graduates must hold strong to. It is the ingredient that has brought us this far. And it is the fuel that moves us closer to the impossible.

Close your eyes and just imagine; because if it is possible now in your minds, it is possible out there.

Pretty inspiring—reminds me a bit of Obama, actually. Can we expect to see a future for Edward in politics? In any case, it looks like he and I both know who we'll be voting for come November. Yes we can.

take out opens friday in new york

For those of you in New York, here's a film opening up this weekend that may interest you... Take Out, directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, follows a day in the life of an illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out place in New York City. Ming Ding is behind in paying back the smugglers who brought him to the U.S., and must earn the money—more than double his average daily income—through tips, by the end of the day.

At last! The deliveryman is finally the starring role. I remember coming across this film several years back on the film festival circuit, but only had the chance to check it out recently. It's an engaging, deeply-affecting film that puts a human face on the lives of illegal immigrants—particularly New York City's deliverymen—who are ubiquitous, yet largely invisible. I really enjoyed it. Here's an article: Film Spotlights City Life Often Overlooked.

Take Out is an impressive accomplishment, largely thanks to the convincing performance of lead actor Charles Jang, and its gritty, unapologetically low-budget, verite style. The film was apparently made on a minuscule $3000 budget, and it shows. But in this case, a little goes a long way. It's extremely resourceful filmmaking. The film employs an ensemble case of both professional and nonprofessional actors, and was filmed in a real take-out restaurant during operating hours. My favorite character is Big Sister, who takes the orders at the restaurant. Apparently, she's the woman who actually worked in the restaurant they filmed at, answering phones.

It's a feature narrative, following Ming on his deliveries throughout the city, but will have you fooled at moments into thinking you're watching a documentary. In fact, I read that at one screening, an audience member asked the filmmakers where the film's main character was now, and whether he was doing all right. The guy is indeed doing all right. Jang currently works in the marketing division at Google in New York and is getting his MBA part-time: This Chinese Deliveryman Works at Google.

Take Out opens this Friday, June 6 at the Quad Cinema in New York. There will be Q&A's with filmmakers Sean Baker and Shih-ching Tsou, and lead actor Charles Jang, after select screenings over the weekend. To learn more about the film, visit the Take Out website here. View the trailer here.

project michelle: bone marrow donors still needed

Project Michelle, a nationwide grassroots initiative dedicated to increasing the deficient number of minority bone marrow donor registrants in the national registry, announced today the results of its first two weeks of donor registration drives. In 81 drives across 10 cities, Project Michelle volunteers have registered over 4,000 potential donors and received online requests for over 1,500 home registration kits. They've gone a long way toward achieving the initiative's near-term goal of 15,000 new registrants in 5 weeks.

Project Michelle was formed in support of Michelle Maykin, a 26-year old acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient facing a life-threatening, time-sensitive search for a bone marrow donor match. Hopefully, you remember Michelle from this post a couple of weeks ago. Since the initiative's launch just two weeks ago, Project Michelle has received a great deal of public support, with volunteer teams established in the San Francisco-Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Boston, and Seattle.

This weekend, Hyphen and Chinese for Affirmative Action are collaborating with Project Michelle and the Asian American Donor Program to bring a bone marrow drive to San Francisco's Chinatown: In-N-Out: The Drive to Increase Asian American Registered Bone Marrow Donors. Here are the details:

WHAT: In-n-Out: The Drive to Increase Asian American Registered Bone Marrow Donors

WHEN: Saturday | June 14, 2008 | 10 am - 3 pm

WHERE: Chinese for Affirmative Action, Community Room
The Kuo Building
17 Walter U. Lum Place
San Francisco, CA 94108

COST: Free for all partial and full ethnic minorities (Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, Hispanic/Chicano, and African American) and $25 registration fee for all non-minorities.

To RSVP and to show your support, please visit our Facebook Event and/or our Evite.

One of Project Michelle's main goals is to bring attention to the serious shortage of minority bone marrow donors. On any given day, there are over 6,000 patients who are in need of a transplant but don't have bone marrow donor matches. As a whole, only 3% of the U.S. population is registered as bone marrow donors.

Joining the national donor registry is easy and painless. The process involves only a cotton swab sample of the inside of the cheeks in addition to the completion of a form. This can be done at local registration drives or conveniently at home by requesting a free kit through AADP. Donor registrations, in person or online, are free to all minorities. Please consider registering today.

ruby chow, pioneer figure in seattle's chinatown, dies at 87

Ruby Chow, a highly influential, pivotal figure in Seattle's Chinese American community, died this morning: Ruby Chow dead at 87. Mrs. Chow had congestive heart failure and suffered a major stroke four years ago. More here: Ruby Chow, 1920-2008: City loses political, cultural trailblazer.

In every respect, Mrs. Wong was a trailblazer. She was the first Asian American to serve on the Metropolitan King County Council and was the first woman ever elected president of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association, an international organization that advocates for Chinese immigrants. She's described as a champion of justice:

Former Gov. Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American governor on the U.S. mainland, called her "a trailblazer" who helped thousands.

"If she was on your side, watch out. It was going to get done," said Locke, who once made yard signs for Chow's campaign. "She was like a grandmother, a very proud grandmother to thousands."

Many considered the family matriarch, who was known for fairness, finishing what she started and beehive hairdos, a legend because of her decades of service to Chinatown and other civic work.

"She said that if she ever had an opportunity to help others, she would. She knew that was all the difference in the world for her mother," said her daughter, Cheryl Chow, president of the Seattle School Board and a former city councilwoman.

Reading her obituary, I found out a couple of other interesting tidbits about her... Her husband, Ping, was a famous Cantonese opera star, she helped Seattle's first Asian American city councilman get elected and—coolest of all, to me—Bruce Lee once lived above her family restaurant, back when he used to work there. His father in Hong Kong apparently asked Mrs. Chow for help with his son, so she hooked him up with a job! Yes, count on me to fixate on her connection to Bruce Lee.

this thursday: asian art museum's matcha

This is for my Bay Area readers... This Thursday, grab some friends and head on over to the Asian Art Museum for MATCHA. The museum's popular evening mixer series is back for its third season, happening the first Thursday of every month through November. Things kick off tomorrow night with the theme of Healing Arts. Here are the details:

MATCHA: Healing Arts
Thursday, June 5, 5:00-9:00 pm
$5 Admission
Asian Art Museum

Our popular evening mixer series is back for its third season! The perfect way to get your monthly arts fix, you can watch performances, stroll the galleries, create art, mingle over cocktails, and enjoy music.

MATCHA will kick off this Thursday with multi-sensorial offerings of Asian healing arts. Detoxify with shiatsu, acupuncture, cupping, Thai foot massage, and other mini-treatments, sip tea, channel your "vital energy" in a qi gong session, have your pulse checked, drop in on a gallery tour, and unwind with live Chinese music. Be there for the first MATCHA of the year. Co-organized with the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College, Berkeley.

Art, music, cocktails, friends... not a bad way to spend an evening in San Francisco. To learn more about the Asian Art Museum's MATCHA, and the full season schedule of events, go here. Want to win free tickets? Go here. This website is a proud community partner of MATCHA.

q & a with up the yangtze director yung chang

I've already expressed quite a bit how much I love Yung Chang's documentary Up the Yangtze. It's a powerful, beautiful, provocative look at China's Three Gorges Dam project—a contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle—and its impact on the lives of those of live along the river's edge. I can't recommend it enough.

The film has been screening in limited theaters in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and will continue its theatrical run in select U.S. cities throughout the summer. To see when it'll be playing near you, visit the Zeitgeist Films website here.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to sit down with director Yung Chang and talk about the character in his film, the impact of hydroelectric mega-dam projects, and the complicated process of making Up the Yangtze. Read on:

How's it going? It seems like you've been all over the place lately.

It's been a long road, kind of tour, with the movie. I'm kind of like a roadie for the film, I've been kind of following it around... or a slave or ambassador, whatever. So I've been traveling the world. I just got in from Poland. We're releasing the film in Poland and they're going to have a premiere on a boat. So I've been traveling with the film a lot. It's interesting to see the difference audience reactions in every country. It's always a slightly different response but generally I'd say Westerners have the same sort of connection to the film. So that's been kind of interesting, that no matter where I go people have the same sort of impressions about China. It's such a mysterious place for people... it's so weird how its so exoticized that way. My film has kind of shattered some preconceptions that people have.

I read that the idea for your film actually came to when you went on a farewell cruise with your family as a tourist.

Yeah, yeah, I have to thank my parents for a lot of inspiration for the films that I've made. I made a previous shorter documentary and it was my mother who introduced me to the subject so I owe her a lot and I'm waiting for them to introduce me to my next subject. They took me as a guest to visit China on one of these luxury cruise ships with my grandfather and my parents and it was a really... I mean, I was kind of a jaded tourist. I knew what I was getting into so I brought a camera with me and I was actually looking for filming something about the culture of tourism and the tourism of culture, but it became much bigger than that. The whole idea of this boat became a metaphor for China for me, like Jia Zhang Ke made The World and that was his metaphor for the world, and this cruise ship was representative of a similar sort of approach. So much could be said about contemporary China and the question of progress through this cruise ship on this Yangtze River. For me, overwhelming layered and metaphorical.

Is there any particular moment while on the cruise ship that made you think, this is ridiculous—it has to be a movie?

There were two moments, and these were, I think, exemplary of the kind of contrast that I was witnessing. One of them was the marching band, and that marching band playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in this city of Chongqing, which is like a scene of out a fiction film, like Blade Runner. So imagine that backdrop of this arcade-lit sky and then this marching band playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and on this river that was lit up like an electric current and then this sort of roly poly cruise ship. That was an inspiring moment for me. That elevated the idea to something cinematic for me.

And then, on the ship, I got to know a bartender on the boat, his name was Willy and actually he told me a lot of stuff—and this was in 2002. He told me that his grandmother would rather be drowned by the rising waters than have to leave her ancestral home. And that for me, those two extreme moments, were the inspiration to make the film.

How did you initially go about finding your subjects? Where did they come from?

The subjects, I found through the recruitment process. I found them through the cruise company. They go to look for new employees in all the local river towns. And I was able to join them. And for me, it was kind of a natural casting process where I could kind of be witness to all these kids signing up for interviews. Yu Shui and Jerry and a whole handful of other subjects signed up for an interview and at that time I met my subjects and began to follow them. That was in the winter when they were hired, and they didn't have to get on the boat until the summer. So I had this natural sort of timeline to do the film, to be able to film this process.

In watching this film, I was amazed at the level of access to the ship, and the level of intimacy you had with your subjects. How were you able to achieve that?

Well, it wasn't easy. It took a lot of patience, especially spending a lot of time with the family without the camera. After I gained their trust, they could open up and be comfortable around me. I mean, for me, it's important to have a relationship that's not sort of like filmmaker and subject. For me it's much more interrelated—it's much more like a family, and that's how you have to gain their trust. I think that the relationship extends beyond the day when you see the final cut. It's not the end of the day for me. I'm still in touch with the family. I think that was really important, so that they could see in me a big brother. And Yu Shui even calls me "Big Brother" to this day. And I think the family also felt that I would be a mentor for Yu Shui when she left to work on the cruise ship, that I would be there to make sure she was okay. So for the family, especially, there was a real period of building that trust, building that long relationship so that you're not exploiting your subject. And for the other subjects it was a similiar process. But the most important was with the Yu family.

There's one moment that sticks out for me, and a lot of people I've talked to. It's when you're interviewing that shopkeeper, and he breaks down and gets very emotional and upset. I think at that moment, there's an interesting tension going on. I feel like he really wants to say that he supports what is good for the country, but...

Isn't it true? There's a conflict going on in everybody—even in me—and I think it comes out in the film. On the one hand, I see the benefits of what the people want in terms of progress. Who can deny that, you know? On the other hand, as westerners, we can step back and see the other perspective. We look at this progress and see a catastrophe happening. So when you zoom in and focus on the antique dealer and he's selling the castaway items of relocatees, in fact, I found that very ironic. And that was my initial interest in interviewing him. And as we were talking to him, it turns out that he was a migrant, his farm was flooded, and he used to have a very fertile land that disappeared. He got very, very emotional and I think that sort of conflict is representative of a lot of people in the Yangtze Basin. The ultimate question—how do you put a monetary value on your ancestral homeland?—is met with a lot of controversy. And that's what I was witnessing, that people were expressing their unhappiness or pent up sort of feelings would come out. The camera is an amazing thing in a way that it was able to open up and be a mirror into somebody's soul and have these sort of... it's amazing how it works when you're working with an intimate film crew. Things just happen sometimes, and it's unbelievable.

What's your personal opinion on the Three Gorges project?

I think that my opinion about mega-dam projects, and not just the Three Gorges, but around the world, is that they're an antiquated way of creating energy. In fact, they cause more negative effects than benefits. And for me to be on the ground in the Three Gorges region and make this movie, was a very first-hand experience of the negative effects. And even now that the Chinese government has admitted in 2007, in September, they admitted there could be a potential catastrophe in the region, that as a result of environmental, ecological problems they may have to relocate another 2 million people. That's crazy. So I think that in and of itself is an admittance of the sort of fallacy of the hydroelectric projects of this scale. And you're seeing that in case studies with dams around the world. In South America, in Africa, and even Australia, dams have ultimately caused major problems that are overlooked. There's a very good book I would recommend, it's called Deep Water by Jacques Leslie. It's a very fascinating look at different perspectives on dam building around the world. It's a good book.

You spoke a little bit about audience reactions to the film. I think this film will mean different things to different people. What are some of the reactions that you've encountered, depending on the audience or location?

I think that's a really interesting question. In one way, I think, for me it's a very personal experience. Any film-going experience is a subjective experience. And I find that interesting because I found that also true with tourists in China. That Western or even Chinese tourists, they go to see something and they're going to leave that place with their own opinions and own perspectives on what they experienced. So I think that kind of translated into the theater-going audience after they had seen my movie. I mean, it's almost divisive. Some people feel that it's not critical enough of China. These are usually westerners. There are people that feel that it's a balanced sort of look, an indemnification of progress in China.

On the other hand, I've had a split opinion in Chinese audiences where—and these I'd say are overseas Chinese or the diaspora, usually recent immigrants—some people feel that it's very emotional and very moving, and a kind of realistic portrayal of the Chinese experience. Others feel—and I think these are the sort of nationalists, patriotic sort of people, that it's an anti-China film. So it's really interesting. I think I made a movie that's meant to provoke questions and not to be heavy-handed with an answer. I really wanted to make a movie that lets you decide, and I think that's the power of what cinema can do. Movies are not essays. They're meant to provoke and I hope that's what this movie can do. And I like that people connected with opinions on this film.

Were there particular ideas or narrative threads that you wanted to explore going into this? What were some things that emerged while filming that you didn't anticipate?

Well, I went in as a traveler, so I wanted to be really open in this sort of Herzog-ian way, to be very open to what I could come upon. And so you have these tangential moments, where I find an old woman praying, or where I find the antique dealer, and these things sort of happened spontaneously as I traveled along the river. I wanted to include that in the film as a sort of meandering storytelling technique. But what would be the thread to keep it together would be the one story of the girl, Yu Shui. Because it's documentary, you can't predict the endings of things. You don't know where it's going, although I had this sort of built-in structure where I knew it was a river journey, that we would begin and end at the dam, and there would be a flooding moment. But everywhere in between, I didn't know where the storylines were going. So, in fact, it was surprising to me what happened to Jerry, and what happened to Yu Shui. I didn't know that was going to be the end result.

And because it's a documentary, I followed other subjects as well. A handful, maybe five or six other subjects that didn't make it into the film. I followed a family, a village protesting the land development of their ancestral graves, because the local government wanted to build the new relocated homes on top of their graves. They protested and managed to get money out of it, actually—they blocked the road and prevented the construction crew from digging up the land. I filmed that, but it didn't make it into the movie. I also filmed the storyline of another girl on the boat, who was an orphan, whose uncle paid for her English education, but she was on the boat working to pay back her debt.

There were a lot of good stories I was following, but it really came down to fitting something in a 90-minute structure and telling the strongest story possible. And having filmed 200 hours of footage, I think this was the best of everything. I even filmed an angle where... there was an idea at the beginning of a kind of personal reflection. I'm so glad that I didn't pursue it in the film. One of the mandates in allowing me to shoot on the cruise ship was that I had to make a promotional video for this cruise company. So I filmed that process of me making the promotional video. It was a thread that we threw away in the editing process.

What were some of the challenges you encountered in getting the film made?

Oh boy. It took four years to make it. As a first-time feature filmmaker, people were hesitant to give me money. Early on, I had the support of the National Film Board of Canada because I had made a film with them before, and they were very nice. But to get the other chunk of money was not easy. We appealed to broadcasters, and it took four years to finally get the money. Research development trips, shooting additional footage, and creating a demo that was able to convince people of the storyline of the movie.

The other challenge was being a huáyì—an overseas Chinese—living in China, working with a Chinese film crew, and working out those conflicts that I had. And it permeates into the film, so I'm glad I wasn't obstinate about the process of shooting it. So I would debate with my crew, and initially they felt that I was making an anti-China movie, something negative about peasants that nobody cares about apparently in China. But then over the course of the movie eventually they came back to me and said that they could really see the value of this movie. They felt that it was an important story to tell. So that was important for me, the kind of language and cultural debate that I would have while shooting the film in China.

Did it help that you are ethnically Chinese, as opposed to a white American or European filmmaker?

Oh yeah, totally. I don't think a white person could have made the same movie. It would've been a totally different story, and they wouldn't have had the access that I had. I was sort of melted into the environment, and shot like a Chinese would shoot. In fact, we would arrive in villages and towns and I would pull out my camera, and people would come up to us because they thought we were from the local TV station. And something interesting to me is that it's not illegal to talk about the Three Gorges Dam, or criticize corrupt officials, or talk about environmental problems. It's okay to do that in China. A lot of people think it's just this really totalitarian state, when in fact it's in some ways not unlike shooting in the U.S. or Canada—there's just as much restriction. You try to pull out a camera in a hotel or shopping mall or school, you're going to have problems. We would encounter the same sort of issues. So shooting without permission was not a big deal for us.

Can we talk a little bit about the look of the film? It's amazing. What was your general approach going into the way the film should look? What were some of your aesthetic influences?

Well, I instructed my crew that I wanted to make cinema, not documentary. That was the first thing that I made very clear. With my cinematographer, who's from Beijing and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy—they're filmmakers in their own right, all of the people I worked with—we established this sort of common thread, that I like films by Jia Zhang Ke, and that I like Taiwanese New Wave—Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang.

The kind of elements that I think they couldn't understand were the western influences, the kind of ironies and contrasts that I wanted to get, and that was up to me to find. The kind of boot camp humor that I think they couldn't understand, and the humor in the tourists that I think was very difficult for them to see as well. So that sort of Gosford Park/Upstairs, Downstairs thing was not immediately relevant to my crew's experience. But for me it was.

An inspiration is Robert Altman, John Cassavetes, and these Chinese films. And a great Chinese documentary called This Happy Life, which was made a few years ago, I think in the '90s, maybe. It's an amazing portrait of these two railway workers and their families, and it's like a fiction film, but it's documentary. I loved it. And there's a movie called Blind Shaft by Li Yang, and that is an amazing film too. Using non-professional actors, it was a fiction film... but the way he shot it and the way he used the camera, that was an inspiration.

So I really wanted to... I mean, to break it down, it was like... there's so much beauty in the cinematography, and I think that almost complements the tourists' perspective, or the glazed, glistening perspective of the beauty of the region. And then in contrast, the human story of the peasant, and the antique dealer, and the real human story behind that veneer of beauty. So in some ways it was like a postcard approach I wanted to capture, and then to peel that back and explore what was happening underneath.

You mentioned that you've been following up with your subjects. I read that you set up a fund to help the Yu family.

Yeah, that's right. You know, tomorrow the father's going to have the eye operation on his second eye. He needs a cataract operation. Last week he had his left eye operated on, and this week it's his right eye. And this is money we've raised from audiences seeing the movie, being moved, and being engaged. I think that's a great way... the power of a documentary, that we can give back. So yeah, the website has a link to the fund, and we helped pay Yu Shui's high school tuition—she decided to leave the boat and go back to high school. So all these things have sort of come together now after finishing the movie. It's a nice kind of Cinderella story.

Do you know if they were affected at all by the earthquake?

They're okay. I've been in touch with them, and my relatives in the area. Everybody's all right. The epicenter's really in the Chengdu area, but it was felt in the Chongqing region.

I was looking on the map, and it's not far.

No, it's not far at all. In fact, I don't think it's being reported, but I think there's bits of damage in the Three Gorges Dam. And I really wonder what effect the dam has on the size and magnitude of the earthquake.

What was your creative and professional background going into this project? This is your first feature...

I studied cinema in Montreal at a university called Concordia. My mentor was this Polish guy named Andre Herman, who just passed away a couple of years ago. He was really inspirational for me in looking at film as art, and being aware of studying film and literature and whatever, just kind of immersing yourself in that. Then I went to study theater in New York at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and studied the Meisner Technique. And that was influential, I think, in how to communicate with people. I mean, it's not like voodoo or anything, but it's really a tool. So I learned a lot from that technique. And then in between that, going to university and the Neighborhood Playhouse, I made a short film, a 45-minute documentary called Earth to Mouth about Chinese farmers living in Ontario, growing Chinese vegetables for the community and working with Mexican migrant workers. I like that movie because it's all in Cantonese and Spanish—not a word in English!

I know the Up the Yangtze is opening up in U.S. cities throughout the summer. What are you working on next?

I'm working on a film about opium—the documentary version of Traffic. I'm also producing a film with a collaborator on my film about the Spring Festival, where for two years he filmed a migrant family as they try to go home for five days during the Chinese New Year, and it's chaos. I'm working another film in China, a documentary about street kid performers whose parents make them perform in the street in southern China. It'll be kind of an intimate film about their story.

What makes you angry?

Oh shit! I should've prepared, because I know you ask this question. Well, since we've been talking about my movie, and documentary and all this stuff... I think what makes me angry is patriotism. Nationalism. Narrow-mindedness, from all sides and perspectives. Can I keep going? Bad airplane food. I've been traveling for a year on airplanes. There can be some really bad airplane rides. The air in airplanes can be so dry. I'll stop there.

tcm's "asian images in hollywood" begins tonight

Just a quick reminder... as I mentioned here a few weeks back, starting tonight throughout the month of June, Turner Classic Movies will presents Asians Images in Film, a look back at Hollywood's portrayal of Asians on the silver screen (for better or for worse). The schedule is packed with films, airing Tuesday and Thursday nights, featuring Asians from the early days of Hollywood to present day. It's a really fascinating lineup, and a great treat for film buffs.

The restrospective will be co-hosted by film scholar Peter X. Feng, providing perspective and context for the films. There's a pretty good interview with him talking about the series here.

In addition to Dr. Feng, a number of notable personalities will take part to provide personal insight into Hollywood's depiction of Asians, including filmmaker Wayne Wang, actress Ming Wen, writer Amy Tan, actress Rosalind Chao, actor George Takei, actress France Nuyen, actress Nancy Kwan, actor James Shigeta, actress Miiko Taka, film scholar Elaine Mae Woo, film producer Janet Yang and actress Lauren Tom.

For the full listing and schedule of this month's films, visit the TCM website here. Things kick off tonight with a broadcast of Jeff Adachi's documentary The Slanted Screen, about Asian American men in Hollywood, then early silents like The Cheat, Broken Blossoms, The Dragon Painter, Mr. Wu and The Bitter Tea of General Yen. If you've got TCM, tune in, or set your Tivos. Should be really interesting stuff.

the 5th annual 72 hour film shootout

UPDATE: The early registration deadline has been extended to June 6!

All right, people. It's that time of year again. The 5th Annual 72 Hour Film Shootout is going down! Presented by the Asian Amerian Film Lab, it's a competition where filmmakers from around the country will have 72 hours to write, shoot, and produce a short film based on a particular theme. It's crazy. It's stressful. It's no way to make a movie. But it's a hell of an experience, and a great opportunity to flex your creative muscles. You'll find some of the best work emerges under extreme pressure and time constraints.

The filmmaking festivities kick off on June 20, 8:00pm (EDT) at the NYC launch party, where the competition theme will be announced (and simultaneously posted online at the Shootout website). The party will be held at White Rabbit Lounge, featuring a special performance from New York hip hop sensation Koba Sounds.

Filmmakers will have the chance to compete for over $5000 in cash and prizes including Final Draft software, an Apple iPhone, and more. The Top 10 Shootout films will screen at the New York Asian American International Film Festival organized by Asian CineVision (July 10-19, 2008), the First Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (October 24-30 2008), and a special screening event organized by NYC-based Aspire Asian Film Circle.

In addition, AAFilmLab has partnered with the Museum of Chinese in America's Chinatown Film Project to add a special award category to this year's Shootout: The Chinatown Award. Films that incorporate a Chinatown as a location or narrative device are entered into the "Chinatown Award" category, where you could win in-kind post-production services totaling $3000 from Deluxe New York.

So start getting your teams together! You don't have to be in New York—you can compete from anywhere. The early registration deadline is Friday, June 6. The regular deadline is June 13, and the late deadline is June 19. To learn more about the 72 Hour Film Shootout, including rules and registration guidelines, visit the website here. See you at the Shootout.

g-u-e-r-d-o-n, suckas

Guerdon, suckaaaaas! Over the weekend, 13-year-old Sameer Mishra of West Lafayette, Indiana destroyed his competition and spelled "guerdon" correctly to win the 81st Scripps National Spelling Bee: Indiana Boy Spells 'Guerdon' to Win National Bee.

Appropriately enough, the word means "something that one has earned or gained." It was Sameer's fourth and last time competing at the bee, and after being a top 20 finisher for the past two years, he came out on top, beating first-time participant Sidharth Chand, 12, of Bloomfield, Michigan. Skills. More on Sameer's badass victory here: Hoosier speller wins national bee.

Another Desi kid wins the spelling bee crown! You gotta love it. How is that South Asians seem to have a lockdown on this competition? Sepia Mutiny doesn't have the answer, but I really enjoyed their coverage all the same: W-I-N-N-E-R! Desi Kid Wins Spelling Bee, Again.

demonstrators getting rowdy in flushing

After years of Falun Gong practitioners quietly assembling in Flushing to promote their views and denounce the Chinese government, the gatherings have recently become kind of rowdy. A few weeks ago, the gatherings became turbulent when counterdemonstrators started confronting the Falung Gong people: Longtime Anti-Beijing Protests Provoke a Sudden and Angry Backlash.

According to the New York Times, heated words have been exchanged, hats knocked from heads, and placards snatched from hands and flung to the ground. Last week, a tug-of-war apparently broke out over a politically-charged banner. It's gotten so bad that the police have gotten involved.

Last week, six counterdemonstrators were arrested after the scuffles in Flushing. Three were charged with assault and three with disorderly conduct. Is it just me, or is it that with all the anti-Chinese sentiment that's been slowly growing recently, some of the more nationalistic folks are starting to push back?

the five asians in sex and the city

List of Asians spotted in the Sex and the City movie, which opened number one at the box office this weekend (yes, I watched it, and I ain't ashamed to admit it):

1. Charlotte's cute adopted daughter from China, Lily, played by Alexandra and Parker Fong (twins). The gals teach her to say "sex." I guess it had to happen sooner or later.

2. Carrie and Mr. Big's realtor. An older lady wearing lots of makeup.

3. Woman having wild sex with Samantha's neighbor. Very, very naked.

4. Man with an extremely impressive resume interviewing for the job of Carrie's assistant... wearing bright pink heels. Goes from overqualified to emasculated in about nine seconds.

5. Dude with a ponytail, serving Samantha a drink. Seen at a distance. No lines.

Okay, I know I'm being nitpicky about a piece of pop culture fluff, but this is what I do. I can't help it. So what does it mean when a movie rakes in $56 million its opening weekend, is considered something of a cultural phenomenon, and a reflection of our society... and this is the best we can in terms of Asian American representation? I know, it's really the same old story.

UPDATE: Okay, I totally forgot about the Sikh man driving the cab. Also, there were a handful of scattered Asians roaming around the scene in Chinatown. Of course! Gentrification of the lower east side and all. And that's it. Those are all the Asians in "the City." Just like real life, right?

accused molester caught in taiwan

Ugh. Asian Behaving Badly... drugging, molesting, photo-taking doctor edition. In Pleasanton, California, a doctor was arraigned on charges that he drugged men, secretly took photos and then molested them: Doctor accused of molesting patients. Tony Shiu has been on the run for almost two years, but finally caught by authorities last week in Taipei, where he has been living quietly under the alias Tony Jiang.

He is accused of drugging two men and sexually assaulting one of them in his home back in August 2006. When the two men went to police, investigators searched Shiu's home and found 450 digital photographs of exposed men who appeared to be drugged and unconscious.

Soon after the search of his home, Shiu disappeared. A $1 million warrant was issued for his arrest, which is when he apparently fled to Taiwan to live in hiding for the last 21 months. It seems that he was about to get married to a Taiwanese woman, but when he filled out some of the necessary paperwork, he slipped up and used his real passport. Gotcha, sucka! Caught. You sicko.

bad tv alert: I survived a japanese game show

A bunch of folks wrote in to tell me about ABC's upcoming new reality/game show, I Survived a Japanese Game Show. I saw the promo for the first time last week during Lost... and it pretty much looks like what the title suggests. Ten Americans—many of whom have never traveled outside the United States—are whisked away to Japan to compete in the ultimate Japanese game show. Hilarity ensues.

According to the ABC website, some of the games/challenges that contestants will have to endure include "Why Is This Food So Hard to Eat," "Crazy Crane Finds Fluffy Bear," and "Chicken Butt Scramble." Greeaaaat. Kind of amazing how the network that is home to an inventive, challenging show like Lost can also feed us this garbage. I am deeply saddened on behalf of humanity.

Granted, Japanese television is responsible for some craziest stuff I have ever seen. But this has nothing to do with opening viewers' minds or increasing international understanding. This is nothing but a great opportunity for producers to point fingers and say, wow, looks how wacky and strange the Japanese are! American audiences will eat it up. That's racist! The show premieres on June 24. No thank you.

kristina wong's big industry showcase

Check this out, you sexy people! My pal, performance artist Kristina Wong is celebrating her birthday with a big show tomorrow night in Los Angeles. "HOORAY (WHORING) For Hollywood! Kristina Wong's BIG Industry Showcase" is a cross between a "Best-of" show and an industry-friendly "pander-rama." It's her satirical homage to the Hollywood Industry Showcase (folks in "the biz" know what this is), but more importantly, it's her unabashed attempt to get some friggin' work. Whatever works for you, babe. It's tomorrow night, June 2. Here are some details:

HOORAY (WHORING) For Hollywood!
Kristina Wong’s BIG Industry Showcase

After years of sticking it to the man as a progressive grassroots performance artist, Kristina Wong forfeits the high road for the low-brow glitz of showbiz (and the possibility of health insurance). Pop those residual checks all over me Mr. Casting Director so I can buy a real pearl necklace! Watch Kristina sanitize and compromise her performance repertoire to gratify her entertainment executive tricks. Because what good is integrity when you can sell your family up the river for a development deal? Erected by Nurit Siegel.

Monday, June 2nd, 2008
Show begins at 8:00pm

Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson
6539 Santa Monica Boulevard
cross street Hudson Avenue between Highland and Vine
Absolutely Free
Reservations Required
To RSVP, please call 323.960.5519
Street and Lot Parking Available

Do it, Kristina. And do it well. Oh, the above photo is Kristina kickin' it with her friends in the Miss Chinatown Court. Take a wild guess, which one is Ms. Wong? View some clips from Kristina's prevous show Free? here and here. Be warned—the live show is much better. It's never quite the same thing online. To peer more into the wonderful, mysterious life of Kristina Wong, visit her website here.

yakuza need liver transplants too

The Los Angeles Times reports that UCLA Medical Center and its most accomplished liver surgeon provided a life-saving transplant to one of Japan's most powerful gang bosses: Four Japanese gang figures got liver transplants at UCLA. In addition, the surgeon performed liver transplants at UCLA on three other men who are now barred from entering the United States because of their criminal records or suspected affiliation with Japanese organized crime groups.

According to law enforcement sources, the four surgeries were done between 2000 and 2004, apparently during a time of pronounced organ scarcity. In each of those years, more than 100 patients died awaiting liver transplants in the Greater Los Angeles region.

In each case, the surgeries were performed by world-renown liver surgeon Dr. Ronald W. Busuttil, executive chairman of UCLA's surgery department. There's no evidence that UCLA or Busuttil knew at the time of the transplants that any of the patients had ties to Japanese gangs, but both have said in statements that they don't make moral judgments about patients and treat them based on their medical need. And U.S. transplant rules do not prohibit hospitals from performing transplants on either foreign patients or those with criminal histories.

The story gets shadier though, with news that the gang boss, Tadamasa Goto, donated $100,000 to UCLA Medical Center shortly after the surgery: After livers, cash to UCLA. There's even a plaque at the entryway of the surgery office acknowledging his generous donation.

This news has some in the medical community worried that the revelation will have a negative effect on organ donations. It's hard enough as it is to get a transplant in this country, with organs in such short supply and many patients in need languishing on waiting lists. People don't want to be worried that their donated organs might actually end up saving the lives of shady characters and criminal figures. Definitely not yakuza. Now fear this! Your organs are going to the bodies of the ruthless Goto-gumi gang.

You know, this story could make a very interesting movie...

brian tee cast in new crash tv series

The Crash TV show is coming. Long time readers know that I wasn't a big fan of the movie Crash when it came out back in 2005. I hated it. Simply aggravating. And I was astounded how the film quietly collected so much critical praise and attention, eventually winning the Academy Award for Best Pictures. Ridiculous. We've been over it before, so I won't get into it. But it looks like we're not done with Crash just yet...

Shortly after the film's release, I remember hearing that director Paul Haggis was developing a television drama based on Crash. That was three years ago. Turns out, that project did not die as I had hoped. Starz Entertainment announced earlier this year that Crash, the television series, will debut exclusively on Starz in 2008: Starz Developing Crash Series.

I'm assuming that the show will revolve around a multicultural cast of characters living and struggling in Los Angeles, and talking about race and stuff for 13 episodes. Can we hope for something a little better this time around? And more Asians than just a badly-accented driver and a vanload of illegal immigrants?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, five actors have joined the cast of the series: Starz's 'Crash' adds cast. Among them, we've got Brian Tee, who you may recognize from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He'll play Eddie, "a Korean-American immigrant who became an EMT." Brian's a cool guy, so for his sake, I'm crossing my fingers...

music video: p.i.c.'s "fonzarelli (arthur's theme)"

Check out the new video for P.I.C.'s "Fonzarelli (Arthur's Theme)," from their album El Nova Hustle. It's one of my favorite tracks from the album, with that fun swingin' big band hip hop sound. I like it when the band chimes in with the falsetto echo ("part of the baaaand").

Front man Steven Mallorca is workin' it, playing double duty on the video as band member and on the other side of the camera as director. Henry Winkler, however, is nowhere to be seen. Learn more about P.I.C. at the band's website here.

student with highest gpa won't be valedictorian

Anjali Datta holds the highest grade point average of the 471 students graduating from Grapevine High School in Texas. In fact, school officials believe her GPA of 5.898 may be the highest in Gravevine's history. However, it's still apparently not enough to make her the class valedictorian: Grapevine student with top grades won't be valedictorian.

It seems that although she's the top student in her class—her closest competitor's GPA is 5.64—she is being denied the valedictorian title because he's finishing high school in just three years. That's right... not only does 16-year-old Anjali have an insanely high GPA, she's graduating early. But a school district policy states: "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school." So does four years mean calendar years of school attendance, or does it mean completing the credits it takes most students four years to earn?

If you ask the district's attorneys, they're interpreting the policy literally. So at this year's graduation ceremony, another guy, 18-year-old Tyler Scott Franklin, will be the Grapevine High School valedictorian... and Anjali will be "Valedictorian – Three-Year." That's lame. Give her the recognition she deserves! And it's not just the title—being named valedictorian brings a one-year college scholarship from the state.

So, Tyler will receive the scholarship. Which still doesn't make much sense, because the Texas Education Agency doesn't even mention the word "valedictorian" when defining eligibility for the college scholarship. The state provides Texas high schools with an "Honor Graduate Certificate." The certificate is to be presented to the "highest ranking graduate" in the senior class, according to Texas Education Code. That's not you, Tyler... and I bet you know it. 5.898. Recognize.