Our friend Gene Luen Yang's new graphic novel Level Up
, with Thien Pham, hits shelves next week. It's a great little magical-realist coming-of-age tale that blends video games, med school, stifling parental pressure and a little bit of fantasy -- all the stuff good Asian American stories are made of.It's another great yarn from Gene, who is no doubt channeling some of his own anxieties into the narrative. Thien Pham's art is deceptively simple, but the story practically demands it; it's hard not to get drawn into the subdued watercolor journey of our troubled hero Dennis Ouyang. It's a great book.
And come on, you gotta love a book cover that models itself after a Nintendo Game Boy. To celebrate the launch of Level Up, they've got a bunch of events planned -- readings, signings, presentations, parties. Even an "epic draw-off." Gene is calling it Level Up Awareness Month. Here's the schedule of events:
In Riverside, California, the city's historic Chinatown has been selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a finalist in the 
Here's a follow-up New York Times blog post on that incident last month at Columbus Park in Chinatown, where 
Damn, not another Chinatown bus crash. Yesterday, a commercial tour bus traveling North Carolina to New York's Chinatown went off Interstate 95 in Virginia and flipped on its roof, killing four people and injuring many more: 
This is for my people in Los Angeles... do you find yourself frequently patronizing the shops, restaurants and bars in Koreatown? Then here is a website that could save you some money. 
Asians behaving badly... serial flasher edition! Last week's police finally arrested a man who's been wanted for multiple incidents of indecent exposure in Penn State dorms and nearby apartments over the past two years. Caught in the act, sucka. Meet 33-year-old serial flasher Ryan Ho: 
API Equality-LA, which advocates in the Greater Los Angeles Asian and Pacific Islander communities for fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and marriage equality, is looking for qualified applicants to serve as 
. Thought you might enjoy this little blast from the past:
Check it. OCA recently announced the development of its first-ever National Civil Rights Fellowship Program, a two-year fellowship that will provide hands-on training for young leaders on issues like immigration, hate crimes and hate speech, education, and glass ceilings. Beginning this June, OCA will recruit and select one new Fellow each year. 
, illustrated by Thien Pham. It's a great story about video games, immigrant families and parent expectations. As you might guess, it draws heavily from Gene's own life and experiences.
Today in Washington D.C., U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA), Judy Biggert (R-IL), and Mike Coffman (R-CO), along with Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Brown (R-MA) announced the introduction of a resolution calling on Congress to formally acknowledge and express regret for the passage of several laws between 1882 and 1904 that violated the fundamental civil rights of Chinese American settlers. Yeah, the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Some disturbing news out of Georgia... This week in Henry County, five college students were charged in the brutal beating of a man in the parking lot of a sports bar, where the victim and his girlfriend went to celebrate his birthday: 
Well, this seriously sucks. Judicial nominee Goodwin Liu, who was appointed by President Obama to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has withdrawn his nomination: 
This is a bit short notice, since the deadline is this week, but here's a job opportunity that needs a qualified candidate to kick some ass... The Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) in Washington D.C. is looking for an 
Last week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the prison sentence for convicted killer Omer Ninham, who at age 14 was sentenced to life-without-parole after he chased down, beat and then tossed a teenager to his death off a hospital parking ramp: 
Bad news for all you dudes who like your coffee, tea and smoothies served up with a little bit nudity, gambling and prostitution... In Orange County cities, authorities are cracking down on the many Vietnamese cafes where waitresses dressed in sexy lingerie -- and sometimes less -- are the norm: 
