don't be a sucka. register to vote.

We're less than a month away from Election Day. Are you registered to vote?

Registration deadlines are closing in fast -- some have already passed -- and for over half the states in the country, today, Tuesday, October 9, is the last day to register. Check out this list of state voter registration deadlines, then get registered. Heck, you can just click on that handy widget on the right there.

Already registered? Join the pledge to vote. For further information, and more resources on voting, be sure to poke around the 18 Million Rising website and Facebook page.

east west players presents evoke, october 11-14

Hey, Los Angeles. East West Players is here for you again. EVOKE: A Festival of LGBT Asian Pacific American Voices comes your way from October 11-14. Directed by Alison De La Cruz, the EVOKE festival features new performances and works, focusing particularly on the vivid reality and imaginations of LGBT APA artists. Here's more info:

job opportunity: aaja/nlgja special project researcher

The Asian American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association are partnering to research coverage of our communities in the heartland, and are looking for an individual with research, analytic, and statistical experience to assist in a special media project.

This is a paid contract position, from October 2012 to January 2013, with the potential to develop into a full-time position in 2013. Here are some more details about duties, requirements and qualifications for the position:

new music: la boheme ep by adam warrock

Fans know and love Eugene Ahn, aka Adam WarRock, for his hip hop mix tapes about Parks & Recreation, Firefly, Downton Abbey, comic books and other pop culture geekness. But here's something kind of different...

Adam WarRock just dropped the La Boheme EP, produced by Mikal kHill and presented by Opera Memphis. It's a retelling of Puccini's classic La Boheme opera, in hip hop form, to celebrate Opera Memphis' production of the seminal operatic work this fall/winter.

Told you it was something different. Download the free four-song EP here. For more information on Adam WarRock and his music, check out his official website here and follow updates on his Facebook page.

suspect sought in possible austin hate crime

In Austin, police have released surveillance video of a possible hate crime that occurred a couple of weeks ago in the hopes of finding the attacker -- "an Asian male in his late 20s or early 30s" who brutally assaulted another man at a pizza trailer: Surveillance video shows violent downtown attack.

jeremy lin's volvo commercial: "the unexpected ones"

Meet Volvo's newest Brand Ambassador, basketball superstar Jeremy Lin. Here's the official version of Jeremy's first television commercial for Volvo, "The Unexpected Ones" (we got an early bootleg glimpse of it last month). Jeremy's looking sharp in a suit, behind the wheel of a Volvo XC60:

three days left to fund awesome asian bad guys

All right, I'm just going to keep posting these updates until we reach our goal. National Film Society's action/comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys is in a mad hustle to raise some cash on Kickstarter, and they need your help.

I wouldn't be doing my job as executive producer if I didn't inform you that we only have three days left to raise $50,000. If made some great progress, but if we don't reach our goal by Friday, October 12, 12:00am EDT, we get nothing. Make your pledge here and I will love you forever.

Oh, by the way. Tune in Tuesday night, when I'll be appearing on National Film Society's latest telethon in support of our fundraising efforts. For more information on that, subscribe to National Film Society on Facebook or follow their updates on Twitter.

help bring susie ko's killer to justice

The family members are of Northern California murder victim are asking for the public's help... Police in Hercules, CA are investigating the death of Susie Ko, wife and mother of four children, who was found dead in her home Friday night: Police investigate death of Hercules woman as homicide.

Her homicide is still unsolved, and police are looking for any kind of new leads. The family car was stolen from Susie Ko's home around 10:00pm that evening and has not been located. Her loved ones are asking for help finding the car, a sky blue 2011 Subaru Outback with an Idaho license plate.

Here are some more details:

jose antonio vargas arrested in minnesota... but he's okay

Over the weekend writer and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas was arrested in Minnesota for driving without a valid driver's license. He was taken into custody at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday morning and released the same day: Report: Immigrant Activist Jose Antonio Vargas Arrested In Minnesota.

Vargas was in Minnesota for a speaking engagement. Fortunately, it looks like federal immigration authorities did not detain him or take any other action. He was charged with a misdemeanor and is scheduled to appeared in Hennepin County court on October 18: ICE decides not to detain Jose Antonio Vargas.

read these blogs

5 Questions with... The National Film Society, aka AWESOME ASIAN BAD GUYS: Our friends Stephen and Patrick on super strengths (research and booze), their Kickstarter campaign for Awesome Asian Bad Guys, and playing more attractive versions of themselves.

National Film Society Interview: The Bad Guys Club: Seriously, you should fund the National Film Society's five-episode series, Awesome Asian Bad Guys. Here's some good reasons why you should.

Real Interviews: Stephen Dypiango: And meet Stephen, who makes one half of the National Film Society, and who's one awesome Asian bad guy.

Crowdfunding 201: Asian Bad Guys: This is a good piece that uses Awesome Asian Bad Guys as a case study to break down down the anatomy of a successful (hopefully?) crowdfunding campaign.

this week's angriest posts

Not necessarily the angriest, just the most viewed.

• randall park is the asian jim on the office


• who won the great food truck race finale?


• we are all daniel cui


• daniel henney and ian anthony dale to play brothers on hawaii five-0


• students of color "bleach bombed" at university of texas


• wtf: wagner does the chink-eye


• girl offers piggy bank reward for return of stolen puppy


• verizon commercial starring tuba kid and asian family


• red dawn clip: the evil asians are coming to get ya


• u.s. speed skater admits to sabotaging canadian's skates

You know what would be awesome? If you would donate some cash to the Awesome Asian Bad Guys Kickstarter campaign. Every little bit helps.

kcon 2012: all things hallyu, october 13

Yo, K-pop fans, have made your plans for KCON? Mnet presents the first-ever large scale convention dedicated to entertainment coming out of Korea -- K-pop, K-drama an Korean movies -- with panels, vendors, all autograph sessions, all capped off with a star studded concert. It's happening Saturday, October 13 at the Irvine Amphitheater. Here's the event trailer:

internship opportunity: smithsonian asian pacific american program spring 2013

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program in Washington DC is looking for qualified folks to serve as interns for Spring 2013.

Smithsonian internships are designed to increase the education and professional skills of undergraduate and graduate students, and other individuals contemplating careers, in the professions, academic disciplines, and administrative functions represented at the Smithsonian.

Here's some more information about the internship:

shanghai restoration project & neochaedge: sum of all things nini

First, watch this video profile of Shanghai-based artist Nini Sum, produced by Momcamomo and NeochaEDGE. Then watch this fun video remix by our friend Dave Liang of the Shanghai Restoration Project, created from live recorded sounds of Nini Sum working in her studio: Sum of All Things Nini.

court rules on patient's right to die

Really sad story out of New York... A state appeals court ruled that a terminally ill woman who has been locked in a legal battle with her parents, has the right to die: Court rules that Grace Sung Eun Lee's wish to die will been granted.

28-year-old Grace Sung Eun Lee, who is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, expressed the desire to be taken off life support rather than live with the pain and suffering of her condition, unable to eat or breathe on her own.

But her devoutly religious parents viewed the decision as suicide attempted to block her request to die. The court, however, ruled that Lee is capable of making her own end-of-life decisions:

angry reader of the week: milton liu

Hello, my friends. 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 Milton Liu.

daniel henney and ian anthony dale to play brothers on hawaii five-0

Stop the muthaeffin' presses, y'all. Just heard that Daniel Henney, Handsome Actor, will guest star on an upcoming episode of the CBS action/cop drama Hawaii Five-0: Hawaii Five-0 Brings on Alex O'Loughlin's Old CBS Co-Star.

Henney will play the criminal bad boy brother of smooth Yakuza dude Adam Noshimuri, played by Ian Anthony Dale, also handsome, who's been showing up regularly lately as Kono's beau.

Let me say that again: Daniel Henney and Ian Anthony Dale are going to play brothers. That's some damn perfect casting. I know some fans who will not be able to handle the hotness:

shirtless chozen toguchi, awesome asian bad guy

"You keep for your collection. I know you like it."

Just for the hell of it, a shirtless tribute to Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi, the bad bad bad guy from The Karate Kid Pt. II. Being awesome.

You can see Yuji being awesome in National Film Society's upcoming action/comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys... but only if we can raise the cash to make it awesome! That's where you come in.

Only six days to go on our Kickstarter campaign -- your generous pledge will go a long way towards helping us make this thing. Thank you!

UPDATE: All these years later, Yuji Okumoto is still being awesome. Check him out in this video, asking for your support:

u.s. speed skater admits to sabotaging canadian's skates

Asians behaving badly... speed skating sabotage edition! U.S. Olympic speed skater Simon Cho admitted to tampering with the skates of a Canadian rival at the 2011 World Team Championship in Warsaw, taking them out of the competition: U.S. speed skater admits to sabotage of rival's skates.

Cho says he was acting under pressure from his coach, Jae Su Chun, who also faces accusations that he physically and verbally abused skaters in his role as a U.S. Speedskating national team coach. Cho came clean this week, apologizing for his "poor judgment and bad sportsmanship":

kollaboration seattle 3, october 12

Hey, Seattle! Kollaboration is back. The third annual Kollaboration Seattle talent competition is back, showcasing a diverse range of Asian American performers, from classical Asian instrumentals to dance, acoustic, contemporary hip-hop and musical theater. It's all going down Friday, October 12 at the STG Moore Theatre. Here's the music video promo for this year's show:

volunteer opportunity: aaldef seeks tamil interpreter

Do you speak Tamil? Know someone who does? Passing along this volunteer opportunity...

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is seeking a volunteer interpreter who is fluent in Tamil to conduct a one-hour phone call. The consultation may take place by telephone in the evening later this week or early next week.

Interested volunteers should contact Shirley Lin at slin@aaldef.org regarding their availability.

new music: ...one rife per family by bambu

Los Angeles emcee Bambu just dropped his latest album ...one rifle per family from Beatrock Music. I've streaming the whole thing on Bandcamp, and it's another seriously badass record (to match that badass album art). Here's the new music video for "Rent Money" featuring Rocky Rivera:

students of color "bleach bombed" at university of texas

At the University of Texas in Austin, police are investigating multiple reports that black and Asian students have been targeted and hit with "bleach bombs": Bleach Balloons Launched at Students of Color at University of Texas.

Four people -- all students of color -- filed reports with the UT police department saying they had been attacked by bleach-filled balloons dropped toward them from high-rise buildings near West Campus. The incidents occurred from June through September, and have set off protests from the campus community:

Randall Park is Asian Jim on The Office

Awwww yeah. Our buddy Randall Park takes a break from appearing in every other commercial to show up on the latest episode of NBC's The Office, taking a seat at the desk as... Jim? Yes. Randall Park is the Asian Jim Halpert. Here's the scene from tonight's show: Dwight Meets Asian Jim

fund this: raskal love documentary

This is a last-minute fundraising plea for Raskal Love, a documentary that tells the incredible life story of Vanna Fut, aka "Lazy," directed by Byron Q. The majority of the project has been filmed, but now they need funds to finish post-production. Here's the video with the pitch:

the saddest political attack ad ever

Taking it to the streets. Someone in Fullerton, California -- presumably not a fan of our friend Jay Chen -- posted this adorable hand-made sign calling the congressional candidate a "commie." Dirty tactics, yo.

Best guess, this is in reference to Jay's support of Mandarin language classes for students in his district. Extremists said it was some kind of covert attempt to brainwash American students with Communist doctrine -- controversy that even landed Jay a spot in this hilarious Daily Show segment.

Mild applause for your sad sign (the red balloon is a nice touch). Nice try. Meanwhile, if you'd like to learn more about what Jay Chen really stands for, visit his campaign website here.

girl offers piggy bank reward for return of stolen puppy

[UPDATE: Meeko has been found! See below.]

Aw man. Some awful people out there. In San Jose, a family is pleading for the safe return of the family dog after burglars broke into their home and stole their puppy: Little girl pleads for puppy's safe return.

The Mabanag family's house has been burglarized twice in the last year. This time, the heartless bastard thieves not only broke in and made off with thousands of dollars in electronics, they took a member of the family -- a 6-month-old Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix puppy named Meeko.

The most heartbreaking part? 10-year-old Marissa Mabanag is offering the contents of her own piggy bank for Meeko's safe return.

4c the power workshops, october 20

The 4C The Power Program provides standards-based trainings and arts workshops that connect professional artists with youth to promote a greater connection to education, their school and community.

This month, 4C The Power presents the latest round of workshops, free for high school students, featuring Dumbfoundead, Travis Graham, Brian Joo, David So, Aimee Lee Lucas, DPD and Bryan Alano. It's happening Saturday, October 20 at the Asian Youth Center in San Gabriel, California.

Here are some more details:

volunteer opportunity: apalc phone bank and/or poll monitor

If you live in the Los Angeles area, here's a great opportunity for you to get involved with the elections this year...

Our friends at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center's Your Vote Matters! 2012 campaign are looking for phone bank volunteers who will help get the word out to voters about their polling place locations and educatgethem to vote yes on Prop 30. Here's some more information on what you'll be asked to do:

music video: "you & the nite" by leo37

This is a really awesome new music video for "You & The Nite" by Toronto-bred emcee LEO37, featuring vocals by Lillian Chan. The song, from his EP Fanfare, is a cool tune with some surprising, kickass illustrated visuals. Check it out:

restaurant shut down after roadkill found in kitchen

Oh, come on. Come on! This week in Kentucky, a Chinese restaurant was shut down after roadkill -- a dead deer -- was reportedly found in the kitchen: Kentucky restaurant shut down after roadkill found in kitchen.

Customers at the Red Flower Chinese Restaurant in Williamsburg apparently saw employees wheeling a trashcan stuffed with a dead deer parts into the back kitchen. Grossed out, a customer contacted the health department, who shut down the restaurant:

verizon commercial starring tuba kid and asian family

Hey, check out this commercial featuring an Asian kid playing the tuba, with his entire family cheering him on -- some even remotely -- through the power of a Verizon mobile hotspot. That's Alexandra Bokyun Chun and our good pal Randall Park (on the tablet) as his parents:

youtube stars face off in dance showdown

D-trix Presents Dance Showdown is a dance reality competition show that puts twelve of YouTube's biggest stars in the hands of the world's most talented choreographers and professional dancers, then pits them against each other in front of celebrity judges and a global voting audience for a cash prize of up to $100,000. Take a look at the Season 2 trailer:

we are all daniel cui

Yes, this video is an advertisement for Facebook. But I dare you to watch it and not feel all warm and stuff inside... Freshman goalie Daniel Cui became the scapegoat for his soccer team's losing season, thanks to some cruel internet pranksters. This is the story of how his high school rallied around him using the power of Facebook:

trial begins in murder of nursing student michelle le

The trial of 28-year-old Giselle Esteban, accused of stalking and killing nursing student Michelle Le, began in Oakland this week: Michelle Le slaying defendant on trial.

Le was last seen during a class break at her nursing school in Hayward. Her disappearance set off a massive search before her skeletal remains were found ten days later off a rural path in Sunol Canyon.

According to prosecutors, Esteban murdered Le, her former high school friend, because she believed Le was having a romantic relationship with the father of her child. Prosecutors presented a particularly damning series of text message that illustrated Esteban was enraged and obsessed:

aapis seeking biblical values & social justice conference, october 12-13

Hey, Los Angeles. Join the AAPI Christians for Social Justice Conference on October 12-13 to explore the intersections of API Christian values and social justice. The conference is taking place at the Union Church in downtown Los Angeles. Here's more info:

erasing the distance theatre company seeks stories about mental health from asian americans

Erasing the Distance, a theatre company dedicated to shedding light on mental health issues, is seeking true stories. For its next Story Sharing Day, they're specifically looking for stories from the Asian American community.

If you're in Chicago, and have a story to tell about how mental health issues have affect your life, they want to hear from you. Stories will be collected on Sunday, October 14 at DePaul University by students from UIC's Asian American Studies Program. Here are some more details:

music video: "korean jesus" by dumbfoundead

Oh whaaaat. That dude Dumbfoundead, aka Los Angeles emcee Jonathan Park, just dropped this latest music video for "Korean Jesus," the second single from his upcoming album Take the Stares. Black and white and extra cool. Check it out:

new demographic report: a community of contrasts: asian americans, native hawaiians and pacific islanders in the midwest, 2012

Last week, the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice announced the release of its newest demographic report, A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Midwest, 2012, one of the most comprehensive looks at the Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community int the Midwest.

The report shows a rapidly-growing community that faces different socio-economic challenges across ethnic groups and provides concrete policy recommendations addressing the specific needs of this diverse and complex community. Download a PDF of the full report here.

jeremy lin at houston rockets media day

Are you pumped for new NBA season? Getting excited about seeing Jeremy Lin back in action? What happened happened. Now we look to the future. Here's video of Jeremy's recent press conference with Houston Media, talking about what's in store for him and the Rockets this season. Take a look:

b-boys battle in ds2dio's the arena

Oh hell yeah. DS2DIO's new dance battle competition series The Arena, hosted by Ivan "Flipz" Velez and Angela Sun, highlights the culture, artistry and athleticism of breaking. Each week, some of the world's best B-Boys will go head-to-head in intense battles judged by breaking legends Crazy Legs, Asia One and Abstrak. Take a look at the trailer:

red dawn clip: the evil asians are coming to get ya

Oh, hey look. It's the first clip from the upcoming us-against-them action flick Red Dawn, in which North Korean troops launch an invasion of the good ol' United States. In this scene, everybody freaks out when uninvited paratroopers and jet planes start dropping in on the neighborhood:

middle school teacher accused of lewd acts found dead

This week in Albany, California, a middle school teacher who had been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a former student was found of an apparent suicide: East Bay teacher accused of lewd act with former student found dead of possible suicide.

28-year James Izumizaki, a sixth grade teacher at Albany Middle School, was found dead in his car. Police didn't disclose many deatils, but based on the nature of his death and a note that was left, it appears he took his own life.

Last month, Izumizaki was arrested after police began investigating a report that he had an inappropriate relationship with a former student. He was booked on suspicion of performing a lewd act with a child under 14, and released on bail:

13th annual dc apa film festival, october 4-7

DC film fans, it's going down. This week, be sure to check out the 13th Annual DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, running October 4-7. Four days of some of the best films from the landscape of independent APA cinema.

Things kick off this Thursday at the Landmark E Street Cinema with the Opening Night presentation of S. Leo Chiang's documentary Mr. Cao Goes to Washington. Here's a brief rundown of the festival lineup:

volunteer opportunity: aaldef asian american poll monitoring project

Will you help defend Asian American voting rights?

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is putting the call out for folks to help with the Asian American Poll Monitoring Project.

They need Election Day volunteers to monitor poll sites in Asian American neighborhoods in fourteen states -- California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Lousiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington DC -- on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Here are some more details:

what I'm listening to: esc by clara c

Over the weekend, I got to see the kickoff show for David Choi & Clara C's Fall 2012 Tour, and was reminded that Clara's brand new sophomore album, esc, was released last week. You know I'm a huge fan of hers. How could I have forgotten? So I scurried home to download the new album from iTunes. Clara, you've done it again. Here's a preview of esc:

angry poetry corner: "and now, to the dogs - " by kai-ming ko

We're getting poetic up here. It's time for another installment of Angry Poetry Corner, a regular weekly spotlight on the work of API poets -- not necessarily angry -- curated by Cara, our Angry Asian Intern.

Because you could use a little more poetry in your life.

In the corner this week, a poem by Kai-Ming Ko:

awesome asian bad guys. help us make this thing.

Real quick, once again, it is my duty to remind you that Awesome Asian Bad Guys, National Film Society's action/comedy web series, needs your help.

We've got less than ten days to go in our Kickstarter campaign, with over $30,000 left to raise. If we don't raise the full $50,000, we get nothing! And that would really suck. Can you help some brothers out? Every little bit counts.

We're offering some decent perks for folks who pledge, including the very handsome official Awesome Asian Bad Guys t-shirt, available to those who generously pledge $50 or more.

For a pledge of $350, National Film Society has me on the hook to do a Skype chat where we can talk about "Asian American stuff, Star Trek, Jeremy Lin or whatever." This might be a fun one for student groups or classrooms.

Anyway you could help us out to make this thing happen would be greatly appreciated. For further information about the web series, and to make a pledge, head over to the Awesome Asian Bad Guys Kickstarter here.

who won the great food truck race finale?

Last night, Food Network crowned this season's winner of The Great Food Truck Race. After a trial-by-fire, multi-city, 3500+-mile trek across the United States, the competition boiled down to two teams: Nonna's Kitchenette from New Jersey, and Seoul Sausage from Los Angeles.

At long last, after slinging their unique Korean American flavors across the nation, our boys Yong, Chris and Ted made it to the three-city finale. But we already knew that. We had heard they made it to the final leg several months ago, when I put the call out for folks to support Seoul Sausage in Boston.

So how did they do?

wtf: wagner does the chink-eye

What the hell? This is actually from last year, but damn, it's so racist it's worth posting... This is a poster created for the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden opera house in Germany, advertising U.S. conductor Kent Nagano's performance of Richard Wagner's "Parsifal." That is a Photoshop-enhanced Wagner doing the chink-eye. Because, you know, ha ha -- Nagano is Asian: Anti-Racism Groups Slam German Ads.

commemorate the one-year anniversary of private danny chen's death, october 3

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Pvt. Danny Chen's death. To remember his life, and to ensure no forgets the tragic circumstances behind his death, OCA-NY is hosting a vigil in New York City. It's happening Wednesday evening, October 3 at Union Square, South Pavilion.

Here are some more details about the vigil, and even if you can't make it, what you can to do to show your support for Danny Chen: