Angry Asian Man

6.20.2011

remember vincent chin vigil, june 23

This week marks the 29th anniversary of the hate crime murder of Vincent Chin. If you're in New York, join activists and community members this Thursday for a vigil commemorating his death and its lasting legacy in the Asian American civil rights movement. It's happening June 23, 6:30pm at Columbus Park in Manhattan. Here are some more details:

Here's an opportunity for my people in Canada... The Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter is seeking submissions for their essay/video contest, Who's "Asian?" Reflections on Race and Identity in the Media. I think some of you readers might have a thing or two to say on this topic.

The contest was inspired by CCNCTO's campaign against Maclean's controversial "Too Asian?" article published last November, which sparked a great deal of discussion and debate. The purpose of this contest is to keep that discussion going. Here are some more details about the contest:

Bay Area, represent! The current issue of San Francisco magazine has a pretty cool article on the early life and career of the twentysomething, not-yet-a-worldwide-icon Bruce Lee, who -- unbeknownst to many fans -- has humble beginnings in the Bay Area: The lost history of Bruce Lee.

volunteer opportunity: indonesian-english interpreter, aaldef

Volunteers needed! Just passing along this brief call for help from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York...

AALDEF is seeking a volunteer Indonesian-English interpreter to assist with an in-person client intake. The purpose of this intake is to assess the facts of the case to determine whether there is a legal remedy with which AALDEF can assist them. Previous interpretation experience is preferred but not required.

Please contact:
Ivy O. Suriyopas
Staff Attorney
isuriyopas@aaldef.org
212.966.5932 x235

stuck: after-hours airport shenanigans

I've been seeing this video all over the place... So your flight's been canceled. You and your buddies find yourselves stuck overnight in a deserted airport terminal. You're bored out of your mind. And you happen to be traveling with a ton of camera equipment. What do you do? These guys made a short little movie, Stuck, and it's rather amusing. Take a look:

suspect arrested in assault on asian student at cornell university

Last week at Cornell University, police arrested and charged 19-year-old Viktor Nikulin for the brutal beating of an Asian American student earlier this month. Authorities are still determining whether or not the assault was racially motivated: Police Arrest Teenager for Alleged West Campus Assault.

read these blogs

Vincent Chin? Remembering Ronald Ebens-the guy who got away with murder: Twenty-nine years after the brutal hate crime murder of Vincent Chin, blogger/journalist Emil Guillermo locates Ronald Ebens, the former Chrysler autoworker who got away with killing him... and calls him up.

Crime Without Punishment: Why the Death of Vincent Chin Resonates Today: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang explains why, with the recession and rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, the Vincent Chin murder case is even more relevant than ever.

A Father's Day tribute: If I could tell my father I love him: A moving Father's Day essay by Tina Case, who remembers the ways her late Chinese dad loved her, and what he taught her, even if he was never much for outward affection.

this week's angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

vancouver knows hot to riot!

warren furutani is not taking your s#*t: skirmish breaks out on california state assembly floor

japanese american internment: the video game

british vogue can't tell asian models apart

a big fat roundup of asians in commercials

video: dawen x jane lui x gerald ko - "I want it that way"

casting call: indie feature film white frog

music video: "shoot for the moon" by jin

the duke edinburgh is still cool with his "slitty-eyed" remark

the supply: kevjumba's 21st birthday campaign

Have a great Father's Day weekend. Stay Angry.

6.17.2011

3rd national asian american theater conference and festival, june 16-26

Time to get your theater on. And it's going to be pretty epic. The Asian American theater world converges next week in Los Angeles for the 3rd National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival, presented by the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists and hosted by East West Players and TeAda Productions, June 16-26.

The Festival will showcase ten works from around the world -- and four partner productions from local companies -- that feature Asian Americans performers and stories, and an eclectic array of multidisciplinary arts that include traditional theatre, dance, multimedia, storytelling, aerial arts and spoken word. The core participating performers of the festival are:

This weekend marks the 29th anniversary of the death of Vincent Chin, the hate crime victim whose murder gave birth to an Asian American activist movement. To honor the occasion, Asian Pacific Americans for Progress and the producers of the documentary Vincent Who? are making the film available for viewing online. Here's part one:

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has picked up the worldwide distribution rights to director Joseph Kahn's "apocalyptic, body-swapping, time-traveling teen romantic comedy" Detention: Sony Unit Acquires Josh Hutcherson-Dane Cook Film 'Detention.'

If you ask me, there just aren't enough apocalyptic, body-swapping, time-traveling teen romantic comedies playing at the cineplex these days. It's seriously under-appreciated as a genre. But all that will soon change. From the director that brought you Torque:

Actor Ryan Reynolds, who was recently named People's Sexiest Man Alive, is known for having a pretty good physique. But he apparently didn't always look like a studly white dude. But does he look Vietnamese to you?

During a recent appearance on Conan, the Green Lantern star claimed that during his awkward teenage years, he looked like "a Vietnamese girl." Uh, what? Ryan Reynolds Talks Awkward High School Days.

woman calls 911 to complain about wrong chinese food order

Lady, you're a friggin' idiot. In Georgia, a woman apparently called 911 to report that her local Chinese restaurant had delivered the wrong order: Georgia woman calls 911 to report delivery of a wrong order from Chinese food restaurant.

The Savannah-Chatham Metro Police apparently released an audio recording of the call as an example of the type of "emergency" calls people should not be making. On the list of the reasons to call 911, this ranks at #you're-a-dumbass:

Just a quick note to the online shoppers... This Father's Day weekend, in honor of all the dads out there, you can get 15% off everything in the Official Bruce Lee Store. Just use the coupon code FATHERSDAYBRUCE, this weekend only. And get free shipping on all orders when you spend $100 or more. Hey, Bruce Lee was a dad too! Follow his daughter Shannon Lee's Twitter feed here.

michelle le's family organizing large-scale search this weekend

An update on the search for missing nursing student Michelle Le, who has been missing since May 27... Sadly, Hayward authorities have classified the case as a homicide investigation. But her family is not giving up hope, and is asking for the public's help: Michelle Le's family asks for volunteers to search.

It's been three weeks since Michelle disappeared, but her family is still hoping she's alive, and won't stop until she's found. They're organizing a large-scale three-day search across areas of the East Bay this weekend, and are encouraging people to volunteer:

Hey internets. Join me in welcoming the next Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is actor Greg Watanabe, who is currently appearing in the Geffen Playhouse's production of Extraordinary Chambers.

Who are you?
Greg Watanabe

What are you?
Son, brother, partner, co-worker, community member...

songs for souls benefit concert, june 18

For folks in Southern California, check out the Songs for Souls Benefit Concert happening this weekend on behalf of Simply Savant, a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity. Featuring some of my favorite artists and personalities, it's happening Saturday, June 18 at Arcadia Presbyterian Church in Arcadia. Here are some more details:

Attention filmmakers of all shapes and sizes. Mark your calendars for the 2011 72 Hour Film Shootout, happening July 16-18. Filmmaking teams from around the country will have just 72 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film based on a pre-determined theme announced at the start of the Shootout. Here's a promo video that tells you what's up:

Saw this over at io9 a couple of weeks ago, been meaning to share... Check out this awesome Akira poster created by Tyler Stout for the Alamo Drafthouse Mystery Movie. It's basically all the scenes and characters from the movie condensed into one insane poster. View the big version -- you really need to see it to get all the detail -- here.

Speaking of Akira, I forgot to mention this recent development regarding the troubled live-action adaptation that Warner Brothers has been trying to get off the ground. After a long list of stars passing on the project, and just general fan disdain over the whitewashed script, now the movie needs a new director.

The Asian Pacific Community Fund, a network of community organizations focused on enhancing the lives of Asian Pacific Islanders throughout Los Angeles County, is working to raise $25,000 through the recently launched Double the Money, Double Your Impact campaign.

An anonymous donor has offered to match up to $25,000, dollar-for-dollar, any gift made to the Asian Pacific Community Fund in honor of the organization's 20th Anniversary -- Celebrating 20 Years of Community Impact. Read on for more details:

Warren Furutani is not taking your s#*t

Skirmish breaks out on California State Assembly floor.

Even without any kind of context, this is an awesome photo. Assemblyman Warren Furutani being restrained on the California State Assembly floor? Badass. Seriously, he looks like he wants to kick somebody's ass. And indeed, there was reportedly some kind of skirmish that went down yesterday: Skirmish breaks out on Assembly floor during budget debate.

It apparently started when Assemblyman Don Wagner of Irvine likened a portion of the Democrats' budget plan, a plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies, to a "Tony Soprano" insurance scheme -- a remark that did not go over well with Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, who happens to be Italian American. Here's video of the exchange (at the 2:45 mark):

If you were digging The Blue Note, the debut album from Trebles and Blues that dropped earlier this year, you ought to know that he regularly posts new singles on his Soundcloud page. His latest track, "Summer Love," is a prelude to the next project he'll be dropping a few months. Take a listen:

Asians behaving badly... Vancouver riot edition! Specifially, this dude, who looks like the kind of guy who's probably fairly well-adjusted on any given day -- except when the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final. Then all hell breaks loose, and hockey rage takes over.

Four students from Philadelphia -- Wei Chen, Bach Tong, Duong Nghe Le and Xu Lin -- are among 15 awardees of the Public Interest Project's Freedom From Fear Award for their work on the campaign to stop violence against Asian students at South Philadelphia High School.

The Freedom from Fear Awards honor "ordinary people who have committed extraordinary acts of courage on behalf of immigrants and refugees - individuals who have taken a risk, set an example, and inspired others to awareness or action." Here's a little more about what went down at South Philly High:

opening in limited release: late autumn

Hey film fans. If you've had your fill of summer blockbusters (seriously, Green Lantern does not look very good), and you're looking for something a little different, consider checking out the Korean romantic drama Late Autumn, directed by Tae-Yong Kim and starring Tang Wei and Hyun Bin. It opens in limited release starting this Friday, June 17 from CJ Entertainment. Here's a short trailer:

Heads up. The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program in Washington D.C. is offering internship opportunities for Fall 2011. This is a great opportunity to develop hands-on skills and experience working on the APA Program's valuable exhibitions, collections, education programs and other inititatives within the Smithosonian Institution. Here are some more details about the internship:

Spotted a lot of Asian faces in TV commercials lately, selling everything from smartphones to Staples, Snapple, HBO, tequila and McDonald's. Here are a few:

Asians behaving badly... fraudulent pastor edition! Visa fraud, to be specific. In Orange County, a pastor has been sentenced to a year in prison for visa fraud and money laundering: Pastor gets 1 year in prison for student visa fraud.

66-year-old Samuel Chai Cho Oh was apparently running a fake religious university in Fullerton, helping foreign students -- mostly from South Korea -- obtain visas. The scheme even involved staging a phony graduation ceremony, collecting $40,000 to $50,000 a month from "students" at the so-called California Union University:

Our friend, graphic novelist Gene Yang tells me about this funny online comic series he recently did with artist Thien Pham for Tor.com called Legends of the Joystick, in which the greatest video game stars of yesteryear look back on their heyday. If you've ever wondered what happened to your favorite 1980s video game character. And sometimes, it isn't pretty... My favorite is the Centipede strip:

This article is a couple of weeks old, and the remarks in question are way older, but I wanted to share it because it highlights how old school racism still persists among folks who refuse to let go of outdated attitudes: Duke of Edinburgh defends 'slitty-eyed' gaffe 25 years on.

In 1986, on an official visit to China, Prince Philip notoriously told a group of British exchange students, "If you stay here much longer you'll be slitty-eyed" -- a remark the Duke of Ediburgh remains unapologetic for, nearly twenty-five years later:

The June issue of British Vogue includes a piece on the rise of Asian supermodels in luxury and high-end fashion. Yay. But whoever wrote the captions seems to have had a hard time differentiating between Asians faces, erroneously indentifying Liu Wen as fellow Chinese supermodel Du Juan: British Vogue Article on Asian Models Can't Tell Them Apart.

This week, Tammy Duckworth resigned from her position as the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, amid speculation from political insiders that she'll return to her home in the Chicago suburbs to run for Congress next fall: Tammy Duckworth resigns from VA, may run for Congress.

Duckworth, a war veteran who lost both her legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq, previously ran for the House in the 6th Congressional District, losing to Rep. Peter Roskam in a close race. This time, she'd be running with a beefed-up resume and the district drawn in her favor:

myx tv's k-pop takeover, june 18-19

It's K-Pop TaKeover! This weekend in Los Angeles, MYX TV, "the premier Asian American television network," is bringing dance to the people with the first ever K-Pop dance convention in the United States, featuring workshops and a showcase with the choreographers of Movement Lifestyle and America's Best Dance Crew season 5 winners Poreotics. It's happening June 18-19 at the Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood. Here are some more details:

Huge belated congratulations to all the riders who participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle 10 and completed the 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, June 5-11, to raise money and awareness for the HIV and AIDS services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

(Special shout out to my pals Clayton and Sam, who made it all the way).

The ride is over, but I wanted to share this cool campaign our artist friend Martin Hsu put together to raise money for AIDS/LifeCycle: Pangolin Rider. In case you're wondering, that's a little kid in a wolf suit, wearing his Pangolin buddy as a helmet to stay safe.

Cool, right? Martin will be donating all proceeds from sales of the shirt to SF AIDS Foundation at the end of the month. The design is available in both men's and women's sizes, at just $20 each. And for more information about the shirt, go to Martin's website here.

research study on gay asian american males

I recently heard from Karin Garber, who is conducting a study with Dr. Michael Y. Lau at New York at Teachers College, Columbia University on the identity of gay Asian/Asian American males. They're currently looking for people to participate in their research, and could really use your help. Here's some more information about the study:

Hot off his monstrously popular Mandarin cover of Rebecca Black's "Friday," my man Dawen is back with another Chinese version of a guilty pleasure pop song, Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," and this time he's enlisted the help of the super-awesome Jane Lui and Gerald Ko... who are probably wondering what the heck they got themselves into. Take a look:

Talk about bouncing back... Just three weeks after he was abruptly dismissed as general manager of the Portland Trailblazers, it was announced late yesterday that Rich Cho's got himself a new GM job -- with the Charlotte Bobcats: Bobcats brass believes Cho provides missing link.

Cho has the distinction of being the NBA's first Asian American general manager, but was fired after less than a year with the Blazers. See, this is why it's a good idea to keep your resume updated. Now Michael Jordan is his new boss. He replaces Rod Higgins, who was promoted president of basketball operations:

And finally, Blue Scholars fans, if you're in Seattle, they'll be celebrating the release of Cinemetropolis with not one, but two album release shows this weekend, June 17 and 18 at Neumos, with a bunch of special guests. Here are some more details about the shows:

Gonna be heavy on Blue Scholars today, because dammit, I am a believer in quality music. Here's the new music video they just dropped for "Fou Lee," one of my favorite tracks off of Cinemetropolis. Actually, I don't think I have any favorite tracks -- I pretty much dig the whole album. Anyway, just watch the video. It's home-grown good stuff:

Everybody! You need to listen to this. Cinemetropolis, the long-awaited new full-length album from Blue Scholars, Seattle's finest hip hop group -- and one of my favorite music acts, period -- is now available for the world to purchase, download and enjoy. And I think you're going to like it.

grand hallway with goh nakamura at gr2, june 17

If you're in Los Angeles and want to check out some good music, Giant Robot presents the latest edition of the Rock Quietly Sessions, featuring Seattle-based chamber pop ensemble Grand Hallway with Goh Nakamura. It's happening Friday, June 17 at Giant Robot 2. Here are some more details about the show:

Got this passed along to me from the AAJC... The Asian American Justice Center Youth Advisory Council is currently collecting the narratives of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans who have advocated for justice: "Spark: Asian Pacific Americans Stand Up!" Activist Narrative Submissions.

The Council is looking specifically for stories about what sparked the author’s passion for justice. The author may be an advocate in a diverse range of efforts including racial, economic, and environmental justice issues. Submissions can be about moments, events, or individuals that inspired them to work towards change:

Check out this awesome piece, MEMORY SUCKS written by my poet hero Beau Sia, and committed to video with the help of director Eyad Zahra and music by Dawen. It's a stunning little poem about someone who just really really wants to forget. Take a look:

Hey, Chicago theater fans. Looks like you've got a lot of Asian American stories going on in your city, courtesy of David Henry Hwang. Here's a Chicago Sun-Times article on the acclaimed playwright and the three plays he has in production this summer: David Henry Hwang makes a triple-play for Chicago.

The Goodman Theatre presents the world premiere of Hwang's newest work Chinglish, starting June 18; Silk Road Theatre Project presents his 2007 play Yellow Face; and the Halcyon Theatre's presents one of his earlier works, Family Devotions. Here's a rundown of the whats and whens:

Happy birthday, KevJumba. Kevin Wu, aka YouTube star KevJumba, is turning 21. That's right. And to celebrate his 21st birthday, he's partnering up with The Supply Education Group to do something a little different.

Instead of gifts, he's asking all you kind and generous people to each donate $21 to help build the first ever secondary school for the children in Lenana, Kenya. Here's a video explaining it all:

Wow. Researchers at the University of California San Diego have created a video game simulating the experiences of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II: Researchers' Video Game Puts Players in Japanese-American Internment Camps.

Drama in the Delta is a 3D role-playing game that puts players in the shoes of internees from a variety of perspectives. The game, a collaboration between UCSD's theater and dance department and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, explores two Arkansas-based internment camps and their surrounding areas:

Check out the music video for "Shoot for the Moon," the brand new single from Jin. Take a trip through time and space, and look back at the life and career of Mr. Jin Au-yeung, as seen through the screen of a digital time capsule. At least, that's what I think is happening. Whatever the case, the video looks pretty darn awesome. Take a look:

casting call: indie feature film white frog

Got this casting call passed along to me from some helpful people... Brad Gilmore Casting is currently casting Quentin Lee's next indie feature film White Frog, with Joan Chen, BD Wong, Margaret Cho and Harry Shum, Jr. attached to star. Shooting starts July 18 in Los Angeles, and they're looking for actors to fill the following roles:

read these blogs

The CreativeLife: Just wanted to plug this cool new podcast, recently launched by standup comedian (and friend to the blog) Jenny Yang, featuring conversations about the art, business, and soul of living the creative life.

Reformers, please listen to what parents want for schools: Our friend Helen Gym wrote a CNN opinion piece calling for a new standard by which education reformers measure a school's success -- and it's not necessarily something that can be measured numerically.

this week's angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

missing: 18-year-old morna tran, last seen may 31

the korean susan boyle will break your heart

"he's chinese... he's got squinty eyes and yellow skin."

seriously, "how to train your dragon"?

police believe missing nursing student michelle le was murdered

minority kids use way more media than white kids ... and asians use the most!

annie le's killer sentenced to 44 years in prison

world war II translator denied u.s. veteran status

music video: "so what" by far east movement

video: little hipster bboys for american apparel

Have a great weekend, everybody.

6.10.2011

kristina wong in going green the wong way, june 15

All right, sexy people. If you're in Los Angeles, check out our pal Kristina Wong doing her solo performance thing next week in Going Green the Wong Way on the famed Upright Citizens Brigade stage. Yes, this is the show about how she tried to run a car on vegetable oil. It's happening Wednesday, June 15 at the UCB Theatre. Here are some more details:

Spreading the word... Looking for a job?

Our friends at the Center for Asian American Media in San Francisco are looking for a qualified, highly motivated individual to serve as their Development & Membership Manager, coordinating the organization's membership program and interfacing with community, corporate and media partners.

Here's an overview of the position:

Headed to the movies this weekend? Maybe mutants aren't your thing and perhaps Super 8 can wait. If you're looking for something a little different, I point you to the award-winning, critically acclaimed historical drama Empire of Silver, currently playing in limited release. Directed by Christina Yao, the film tells the family saga of a powerful banking empire in 19th century China. Take a look at the trailer:

Once again, it is time to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is musician Jay Legaspi.

Check it out! I've teamed up with talented folks at Chinese culture-inspired apparel company Akufuncture, who came up with this cool Angry Asian Man x Akufuncture collaboration t-shirt design. I think it's pretty fun. That's the front. Here's the back:

For those of you who just couldn't get enough of Han in Fast Five, you'll be pleased to hear that Sung Kang's dreamy self will be showing up in a key supporting role in Sylvester Stallone's upcoming action thriller: 'FAST FIVE' STAR SUNG KANG GETTING STRONGER WITH STALLONE.

The untitled film, directed by Walter Hill and based on the crime noir graphic novel Bullet to the Head, follows a New Orleans hitman and a New York City cop who team up to take down the killers of their respective partners. It says Stallone is starring as the hitman, but there's no indication if Sung is the cop:

6.20.2011

6.19.2011

6.18.2011

6.17.2011

6.16.2011

6.15.2011

6.14.2011

6.13.2011

6.12.2011

6.11.2011

6.10.2011

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