"Ching Chang Chong": Piers Morgan Mocks Chinese on Live TV

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Piers Morgan's response to royal's Chinese ad sparks outcry
Hey look! It's Piers Morgan being a racist asshole on live TV! The Good Morning Britain host was talking about Peter Phillips (I just learned that this is Queen Elizabeth's grandson) starring in a Chinese commercial for Jersey Fresh Milk, when he mocked the ad's Mandarin voiceover, saying -- you guessed it! -- "ching chong chang," or something to that effect. Just couldn't help himself with that shit. I'm just surprised he didn't pull his eyes back.

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Green Lantern: Legacy
The new graphic novel Green Lantern: Legacy, written by Minh Le and illustrated by Andie Tong, offers a new twist on the emerald ring-wielding DC Comics superhero. When 13-year-old Tai Pham inherits his grandmother's jade ring, he soon finds out it's more than just a piece of jewelry. Suddenly he's inducted into a group of space cops known as the Green Lanterns. He is about to learn that being a superhero takes more than just a ring. Does Tai have the willpower and the imagination to uphold his ba's legacy?

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Apple Books


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"I'm plus-sized and Asian..." A Comic by Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee
"I'm so grateful to be living during the body-positive movement. I follow a ton of plus-sized women on social media. Any time I want a pick-me-up, I can look to them for inspiration. Some days, I look at myself in the mirror and wink at myself and say, 'Dang, you look good."=' There are times when people tell me: 'You're perfect sized!' 'You don't look fat!' 'Stop worrying!' This is sometimes hard to accept, having grown up in an Asian community."


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Missing: 16-year-old Yuping Guo, last seen in Hesperia
In Southern California, authorities are asking for the public's help locating a 16-year-old student visiting from China who has been missing since last week. Yuping Guo, who was traveling with a group for a four-day trip to the United States, was last seen leaving a host family's home in Hesperia on January 17. Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding Guo’s whereabouts to contact Detective J. LaDuke or Deputy J. Garay at (760)947-1526 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at (760)956-5001.


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'Kung Fu' Movie Remake Set At Universal
Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to the 1972 TV series Kung Fu for a contemporary-set action movie that will be directed by David Leitch, the co-director of John Wick and director of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde. The original Kung Fu infamously starred David Carradine, who is not Asian, as a Chinese martial arts master. Legend has it, the show was conceived by Bruce Lee, who didn't get the role because the network believed America wasn't quite ready to see an Oriental man star in his own TV show. Here's my question: is anybody really clamoring for a Kung Fu remake?

Could 'Parasite' win Best Picture at the Oscars?

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



'Parasite' Makes History With Best Cast Win at SAG Awards
Parasite won the SAG Award for best performance by a cast in a motion picture on Sunday night, making history as the first foreign-language film to win in the category. Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Choi Woo-shik, Lee Jung-eun and Song Kang-ho were among the castmembers that took the stage to accept the award. The honor furthers the possibility of Parasite -- which earned South Korea its first-ever Academy Award nomination -- making a very serious run at becoming the first non-English-language film to ever win the best picture Oscar.

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ICE deported 25 Cambodian immigrants, most of whom arrived in the U.S. as refugees
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly deported an estimated 25 Cambodian immigrants last week. The group largely consisted of individuals who arrived in the country legally as refugees after the Vietnam War but have been convicted of crimes. While this was the first round of repatriations this year, it's just the latest in an increased wave of deportations in the Southeast Asian community under the Trump administration.

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Body Found in Alhambra Identified as Missing San Gabriel Woman With Dementia
Coroner's officials on Saturday identified a woman whose body was discovered in a drainage ditch near an Alhambra golf course Friday afternoon as a 71-year-old woman with "severe dementia" and other medical problems who went missing from her San Gabriel home earlier this week.

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Train Like An Astronaut: Kelly Marie Tran and Naomi Ackie
Kelly Marie Tran and Naomi Ackie recently spent the day at NASA's Johnson Space Center training like astronauts and learning about NASA's plans to explore the Moon with the new Artemis program, which includes landing the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024. See Tran and Ackie training with NASA astronauts Meghan McArthur and Jessica Watkins on a gravity offload system, in the Orion crew capsule, an exploration rover and more. Literally more action than they saw in The Rise of Skywalker.

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16th Annual Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience in Park City
If you're headed to the film festivities in Park City, Utah this week, join the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience -- now in its 16th year -- in celebration of the wide range of films and creative projects by Asian Pacific filmmakers at the 2020 Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. There will be multiple events to attend from Friday, January 24th to Sunday, January 26th. Learn more here.

Read These Blogs

New census ads speak to Filipino, Vietnamese, other undercounted Asian American groups
The Census Bureau has begun rolling out ads in multiple languages -- including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese -- to encourage people in hard-to-reach communities to participate in the congressionally mandated headcount.

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Why Is Vietnamese Food in America Frozen in the 1970s?
Forty years after the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese restaurants in America are still a tribute to a time and a place that no longer exists: 1970s Saigon.


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Inside the Massive, Elaborate Care Packages Filipinos Send Home
An extensive shipping network allows millions to stay connected to the friends and relatives they rarely see.

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Why Doesn't the Academy Nominate Asians for Best Actor?
Even when predominantly Asian movies earn Academy Award nominations -- from The Last Emperor to Crouching Tiger to Parasite -- the actors in them don't receive nods for their acting.

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‘Parasite' was one of the best-acted movies of 2019. Why didn't the Oscars recognize that?
Despite the critical acclaim for Parasite, the Oscars still snubbed the film's actors for nominations, highlighting an ongoing issue of Hollywood seeing Asians as indistinguishable and interchangeable.

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How the Movie 'Parasite' Confronts Native Stereotypes
One major symbol that director Bong Joon Ho prominently places in Parasite to illustrate the absolute ignorance of the upper class is the young Park boy's obsession with what the film calls the "American Indian."

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Class as Smell: The Universality of Parasite
Margaret Rhee on stench and Parasite: "Out of all the senses, smell means a proximity even more intimate than touch, because it is the embodiment of a person." (Contains spoilers.)

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A Tale of Two Awkwafinas
Rapper, comedian, and actor Nora Lum, aka Awkwafina, on her two identities: "This is the one that's performing, and this is the one that's at home having a panic attack."

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Author Meng Jin On 'Little Gods'
Meng Jin's debut novel Little Gods is about a 17-year-old whose journey to China reveals the life of her mother, a former physicist who died in America.

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Migration and the Remains of US Empire
"The way we talk about history matters. And this is especially true in the case of the Philippines, which, in many ways, served as a laboratory for America’s imperial ambitions."

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How Mako Helped Pave Way for Asian American Actors in 1965 With L.A. Theater Group
Makoto Iwamatsu, also known as Mako, was nominated for an Oscar in 1966 for Sand Pebbles. He also co-founded East-West Players, an Asian American theater group in Los Angeles.

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Lana Condor Invites Us Home
To All The Boys I've Loved Before star Lana Condor shares that a casting person once asked her "to be more like Hello Kitty," whatever the hell that means.

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Kumail Nanjiani Thinks Immigrant Stories Can Still Be Hopeful
Comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani discusses Little America, his new anthology series on Apple TV Plus, and why "despite all the issues, I personally do feel optimistic about this country."

* * *Artist-in-Residence Jerry Ma: A Comic Book Odyssey
In A Chinatown Odyssey, graphic novel artist Jerry Ma retells the classic Chinese tale of the Monkey King in a modern, urban setting, and takes us on a journey through the 1980s Chinatown of his childhood.

"Stop the Asian Invasion"? Yeah, we're coming to get you.

Racist car decal spotted on the streets of Alhambra, California.



Well, I suppose it's convenient when racists identify themselves. Especially while driving. This decal, urging no one in particular to "STOP THE ASIAN INVASION!" was spotted on a truck last week on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra, California. That also appears to be a racist caricature of an "Asian" ace in a coolie hat.

A sharp-eyed driver named Steve Kuo spotted the decal and snapped a photo and posted it on the Monterey Park Life Facebook group, imploring the internet to "find this person and contact his boss."

'Little America' is a Love Letter to Immigrants

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Little America
Inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine, and produced by the likes of Kumail Nanjiani and Alan Yang, Little America is a new anthology scripted series that tells funny, romantic, heartfelt and surprising stories about immigrants who come to the United States from all over the world. It's a marvelous series that premieres today on Apple TV+. I particularly enjoyed "The Grand Prize Expo Winners," written and directed by Tze Chun, and "The Manager," directed by Deepa Mehta and written by Rajiv Joseph.

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Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN
Evelyn Yang, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, revealed for the first time she was sexually assaulted by her gynecologist when she was pregnant with her first child in 2012. In an interview with CNN, Yang said she kept the assault a secret, and only told her husband many months after their son was born. She said she decided to go public now after being moved by stories from voters she met on the campaign trail.

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Andrew Yang Explains Why the Democratic Debate Was So White
Andrew Yang didn't hit the required thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee to participate in Tuesday night’s presidential debate, which left only white candidates onstage in Iowa. On Wednesday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Yang offered his explanation for the whiteness of the debate: "What I said at the debate before this one [is that] fewer than 5% of Americans donate to political campaigns. You need disposable income to contribute to campaigns, and you need some form of security in order to run for office. So what happened on the stage last night reflects the inequities and realities in our economy."

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Apu Will No Longer Be Voiced By Hank Azaria
Hari Kondabolu's documentary The Problem with Apu examined the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and the character's impact on stereotypes of South Asians. Hank Azaria, who has performed the voice for over 30 years, says he will no longer be doing the voice of the Kwik-E Mart proprietor. "All we know there is I won't be doing the voice anymore, unless there's someway to transition it or something," Azaria tells Slash Film. Here's hoping the show doesn't get rid of Apu altogether. This is an opportunity to re-cast the voice, revamp Apu and do something interesting with the character.

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WTF Episode 1089: Randall Park
Randall Park is on the latest episode of WTF with Marc Maron, talking about his Hollywood career, the approval of his Korean immigrant parents, his friendship with Ali Wong, and the magic of a root canal.

Angry Reader of the Week: Paul Bae

"With my binoculars I can see Harry and Meghan mowing their lawn."



Hey, everybody! You know what's up. It's 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 Paul Bae.

The Greatest Revolutionary Kids Web Series is Back

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Radical Cram School Season 2
The greatest revolutionary kids web series is back for a second season. Radical Cram School, featuring performance artist and comedian Kristina Wong, is an award winning digital series where Asian American kids ages 6-12 explore the power of their identities, revolution, and social justice through puppets, community storytelling, and comedy. All six episode of season 2 are available on YouTube now.

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Are Asian Americans White? Or People of Color?
"Borrowing from W. E. B. Du Bois' color-line metaphor, some racial justice activists have asked whether Asian Americans are “left or right of the color line.” How we answer these questions bears important implications for movements for racial justice and equity. These are also questions that we have both confronted as womxn who are a second-generation queer Punjabi American and a second-generation Hong Konger American."

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The Lovebirds
Behold, the trailer for The Lovebirds! This looks like my kind of romcom. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star as Leilani and Jibran, who experience a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a bizarre crime. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night. In theaters April 3.

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Queens native Awkwafina to be the voice of the No. 7 subway train for a week
Awkwafina, who recently got robbed of an Oscar nomination for her performance in The Farewell, will soon have a starring role as the voice of the No. 7 subway train to Flushing. Riders will hear the rapper/actor, who is a Queens native, handling conductor announcements on the No. 7 train over the next week, in promotion of her new Comedy Central show Nora From Queens.

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A Chinatown Odyssey by Jerry Ma
In New York, Pearl River Mart presents its latest art exhibition, A Chinatown Odyssey, opening Saturday, January 18. Through striking illustrations, graphic novel artist Jerry Ma retells the classic Chinese tale of the Monkey King in a modern, urban setting, and takes us on a journey through the Chinatown of his childhood.

Watch the Oscar-nominated short doc 'In the Absence'

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



In the Absence
The documentary short In the Absence, directed by Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam, documents the sinking of the South Korean passenger ferry MV Sewol in 2014. As a result of the ineptitude of the first response to the emerging situation, over three hundred people lost their lives -- most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims' families and survivors are still demanding justice from national authorities. The 29-minute film has nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject. Watch it here.

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Brooklyn school board member suspended for referring to Asian students as "yellow children"
In Brooklyn, a school board member is set to face suspension over racially insensitive remarks directed at Asians in a group email exchange. Community Education Council 22 Jackie Cody has been under fire for referring to Asian parents and students as "yellow folks" and "yellow children" in an online forum for school leaders in September. Last week, the school board approved a resolution to ask the schools chancellor to suspend Cody for two months.

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Fried For The Night
Los Angeles producer/DJ TOKiMONSTA, just dropped her latest song "Fried For The Night," featuring Atlanta duo EarthGang, from her upcoming album Oasis Nocturno. "Everyone has a moment where they feel fried and burnt, but what about those moments you feel fried and turnt?" TOKiMONSTA says. "EarthGang brought their special magic to the studio and we made something other worldly. This song is dedicated to those psychedelic moments where our reality opens up a new point of view."

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Jessica Henwick on 'Underwater' and Her 6-Month 'Star Wars' Audition
Perhaps everybody's a little tired of Star Wars takes by now, but am I the only one a little blown away by the revelation that Jessica Henwick had been in the running to play Rey in The Force Awakens? In this interview with Variety, she reveals that the Star Wars audition lasted "fucking six months." She obviously didn't get the role, but was ultimately cast as X-Wing pilot Jess Pava in Episode VII. But damn, it makes you wonder.

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APAICS Congressional Fellowship and Internship
The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies is seeking young AAPI professionals and students who are looking to increase their experience in public policy and service. Apply to the APAICS Congressional Fellowship (deadline: January 24) for young professionals and the APAICS Congressional Internship (deadline: February 27) for undergraduate aged students -- paid programs providing opportunities to build leadership skills, encourages political engagement, and fosters interest in public service careers.

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 87: They Call Us Oscar Nominations

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

Happy New Year! On this episode, we get back into it, just in time to debrief this year's Academy Award nominations. We talk about The Good, The Bad and The WTF: all the love for Parasite, the disappointing lack of love for The Farewell, and why the hell our faaaaaavorite actress Scarlett Johansson got nominated twice.

Ajummas Are Part of a Rhythm Nation Too

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Ajumma Bring Rhythm Nation to the Grocery Store
Grab your visor and get that perm tight. In celebration of Korean American Day -- an actual thing, my friends, commemorating the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the U.S. in 1903 -- the ladies of Ajumma EXP blessed unsuspecting shoppers at Zion Market in San Diego with a dope dance routine set to Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation." Go for the groceries, stay for the flash mob. Watch it here.

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Sikh center in Orangevale defaced with white power and swastika markings
A recently opened Sikh spiritual center in the Sacramento area was defaced with racist graffiti. The sign in front of the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Center in Orangevale had a swastika and the words "white power" sprayed onto it sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning.

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Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani do romantic comedy with a twist in The Lovebirds exclusive first look
Ladies and gentleman, meet your newest rom-com crushes. EW's got the first look at The Lovebirds, the upcoming romantic comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae. The film follows Jibran and Leilani, a couple on the brink of a breakup who find themselves wrapped up in a murder mystery in New Orleans.

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Awkwafina Returns to Queens, and Nora Lum
The New York Times interviews Nora Lum, aka Awkwafina, about her rapid ascent. She recently became the first Asian American to win best actress at the Golden Globes for her lead role in The Farewell, and her semi-autobiographical TV show Awkwafina is Nora From Queens premieres January 22 on Comedy Central.

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Why the Parasite cast deserves Oscars — and didn’t get nominated
While Bong Joon Ho's masterpiece Parasite racked up six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, the film's cast was conspicuously (and predictably) shut out. News flash: the Oscars don't have a particularly good track record of awarding actors in foreign-language films.

Oh yeah, heads up: Parasite is now available for purchase on digital platforms.
Amazon | iTunes | Vudu | Google Play

This is How You Celebrate an Oscar Nomination

'Walk, Run, Cha-Cha' nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.



The short documentary Walk, Run, Cha-Cha, directed by Laura Nix, tells the story of Chipaul and Millie Cao, who reunited in 1980s Los Angeles after being separated by the Vietnam War. Forty years later, they become ballroom dancers to reconnect again and make up for lost time. The 20-minute documentary, which premiered on New York Times' Op-Docs, was just nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Like many Oscar hopefuls, the team behind Walk, Run, Cha-Cha were gathered early on Monday morning -- presumably in what looks like the Caos' living room -- to see if their film was among this year's nominees. Here's the video of their joyous reaction when they heard the announcement.

Check it out:

Oscars Still Pretty Damn White

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Oscars: Full List of Nominations
Nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this morning, and considering some of the amazing work of the past year, the overall lack of diversity among the nominees is pretty appalling... but more or less business as usual. I'm particularly bummed that The Farewell was completely shut out without a single nomination. On the other hand, Bong Joon Ho's Parasite made history as South Korea's first Oscar nominee, receiving six nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

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Andrew Yang won the internet, but can he win a 2020 primary?
"After months of running on unconventional campaign strategies, cool branding and novel ideas, Yang has arrived at a pivotal, new point in the 2020 campaign — one governed by the conventional rules of election and where the idea that matters most is your strategy for winning. The candidate powered by the online buzz is now trying to make it on the real, and often uncool, campaign trail through Iowa and New Hampshire."

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My Child Is An Honors Student at Iltiong-Vera Cruz Middle School
On Friday, Alvarado Middle School in Union City, California was renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, honoring two of history's most important (and too often overlooked) Filipino American leaders in the state's civil rights and labor movements.

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Meet the 13 astronauts who could be the first humans on Mars">
NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday -- the first class to graduate under the Artemis program that will send humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The new graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars.

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'Young Rock': Dwayne Johnson Teams With Nahnatchka Khan For NBC Comedy Series Inspired By Him
NBC has given an 11-episode straight-to-series order to Young Rock, a single-camera comedy inspired by the formative years of Dwayne Johnson, written by part of the Fresh Off The Boat team, creator/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Jeff Chiang. I think we can all agree that this show will only be legit if it is the broadcast television embodiment of the above photo.

Read These Blogs

An American Adaptation Of 'Parasite' Is An Offensive Way To Treat The Brilliant Original
Remaking foreign-language films in English just panders to audiences that are too lazy to do a bit of reading.

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Linsanity, A Botched Headline And An ESPN Editor's Journey To The Priesthood
Remember the ESPN editor who wrote that infamous "Chink in the Armor" headline regarding Jeremy Lin? He lost his job... and eventually changed careers. And found peace.

* * *
Here's how HiFi, or Historic Filipinotown, got its name
At some point, Los Angeles' Historic Filipinotown neighborhood started going by a new name: HiFi.

* * *
From Slavery to Japanese Internment: A Family Embodies What it Means to Love Thy Neighbor
"This is a beautiful story of beautiful hearts. The Albright-Marshalls found a safe space from racism to grow their families. This was a family that had survived slavery; everything else is tempered by those roots. That was the seed. They shared their food, their caring, and their love with others who came into their neighborhood. This is the history of a lineage."

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How a Japanese Family Jumpstarted Rice Farming, Deep in the Heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas, Japanese migrants once brought their ingenuity and effort to boost the American rice crop, but their efforts were eventually stifled by nativism and border anxiety.

* * *
Thousands Fly From SoCal To Taiwan To Vote In High-Stakes Presidential Election
Thousands of Taiwanese in the U.S. flew back to Taiwan to vote in the country's presidential election.

* * *
Why I Had A Hard Time Watching American Factory
Indie film producer Karen Chien on her unease in watching American Factory:"By privileging spectacle over scenes of say labor activism, the film misses an extraordinary opportunity to create a radical solidarity."

* * *
Issue #150: Cathy Park Hong by Ken Chen
An interview with Cathy Park Hong, whose new essay collection Minor Feelings confronts the shame, self-hatred, and overwhelming anxiety of being Asian American.

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When everything changed: Novelist Ocean Vuong reflects on a year of intense highs and lows
By his own account, 2019 was a "roller-coaster" year for poet and fiction writer Ocean Vuong.

Angry Reader of the Week: Jean Yoon

"It's ridiculous how fun this job can be."


Photo: Denise Grant
Greetings, good people of the internet. It is time, once again, 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 Jean Yoon.

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 86: They Call Us Jean Yoon & Andrea Bang

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, we welcome friends from the north: Jean Yoon and Andrea Bang, stars of the hit Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience. They talk about their newfound recognition as TV stars, this Moment that Korea is having, the secrets of kimchi, and The Good, The Bad and The WTF of family.

MISSING: Richard Im, last seen January 2

32-year-old Richard Im was last seen late New Year's Day at his home in San Gabriel.



In Southern California, loved ones are asking for the public's help locating a man who went missing last week.

32-year-old Richard Im was last seen late New Year's Day at his home in San Gabriel. According to his family, he uncharacteristically hugged his family members before going to bed, then abruptly left in the middle of the night without a phone, money, identification, additional clothes or personal belongings.

He is described as Asian, 5'3", 125lbs., with a skinny build, mustache, beard and dark hair in a bun. He was wearing a white t-shirt, white pants, brown sandals, and a long dark grey zip hoodie. He is described as soft spoken, and likes meditation and walking.

Awkwafina wins Golden Globe Award for 'The Farewell'

'The Farewell" star is the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe for lead actress in a comedy.



Nora Lum, better known by her stage name Awkwafina, made history at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for lead role in The Farewell.

The comedic rapper turned actress is the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe in the category.

The Farewell, written and directed by Lulu Wang, marks Awkwafina's dramatic lead debut. She stars as Billi, a Chinese American woman who travels back to China to say goodbye to her terminally grandmother -- whose family has chosen not to tell her that she's sick -- under the guise of a hastily planned wedding.

The Golden Globe marks Awkwafina's first nomination and first win at the annual awards ceremony, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Read These Blogs

Andrew Yang Could Win This Thing
Time for the media to start taking him seriously.

* * *
The Decade in Asian America
We're moving past stereotypes of being apolitical and perpetually foreign, but there's still work to do.

* * *
South Asian Representation Worth Celebrating on TV in 2019
A list of 2019's TV characters that were played by prime South Asian talent.

* * *
No Explanation Can Justify Kelly Marie Tran’s Tiny Role in The Rise of Skywalker
Kelly Marie Tran has one minute and 16 seconds of screen time as Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and no one has yet produced a convincing explanation for why that's the case.

* * *
What Happened When I Read More Asian American Authors in 2019
Stacey Megally looks back on a year of reading more Asian American authors.

* * *
From refugees to ballroom dancers: How immigrants' story became an Oscar contender
Ballroom dancers Millie and Chipaul Cao are featured in Laura Nix's Walk Run Cha Cha, which was recently shortlisted for the Oscar for best documentary short.

* * *
Truck Stop Caters To Growing Number Of Immigrant Drivers
"Eat Spice caters to a unique intersection: where rural America meets an increasingly diverse cadre of truckers looking for a taste of home as they jockey between warehouses and retail outlets."

* * *
The Asian-American Canon Breakers
Proudly embracing their role as outsiders, a group of writer-activists set out to create a cultural identity—and a literature -- of their own.

* * *
Every Moment With My Son Is an Act of Creation
Viet Thanh Nguyen talks about the process of writing a book with his son.

* * *
How This Soft-Spoken Director Conquered Hollywood With Radical Empathy
Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed the upcoming film Just Mercy, which is drawing Oscar buzz, said it was "a long journey that honestly started with a lot of self-doubt."

* * *
The Art Of Representation: Muralist Alex Chiu
A profile of Portland-based muralist Alex Chiu.

* * *
'Joy Luck Club' Producer: Representation Has Improved But "Let's Not Wait Another 25 Years"
As The  Farewell racks up awards buzz, Janet Yang reflects on how far Hollywood has come in telling Asian American stories.

* * *
The 'Linsanity' of Jeremy Lin's hairdos over the years
A minor obsession.

Skeleton identified as lost hiker from Manzanar

Giichi Matsumura died during a fishing trip in 1945 when he got caught in a snowstorm.



A skeleton found by hikers last fall near California's second-highest peak has been identified as a Japanese American artist who had left the incarceration camp at Manzanar to paint in the mountains during the last days of World War II.

Giichi Matsumura was on a hiking trip on July 29, 1945 when he stopped to paint a watercolor, intending to catch up later with his group. He got caught in a freak summer snowstorm and died. His remains were later recovered and buried in the mountains, but the remote gravesite was lost to time.

Last October, hikers stumbled across an intact human skeleton while on their way to the top of Mount Williamson. Authorities used DNA to determine that the skeleton was indeed the remains of Matsumura.

More here: Skeleton found by Sierra hikers is that of Manzanar internee

Angry Reader of the Week: Sherry Cola

"I love the element of surprise. I love proving haters wrong."



Happy New Year, everybody. The hustle does not stop. It's 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 Sherry Cola.

Criterion Collection teases Bruce Lee, Wong Kar-wai box sets

Annual doodle hints at upcoming home video releases for 2020.



Just a little bit of fun news from movie geeks who still like getting DVDs and Blu-rays for the home collection, like me. These days, physical purchases are reserved for special items. So this recent "announcement" from Criterion Collection has given me reason to save up some hard-earned cash.

As is tradition, the home video distributor specializing in "important classic and contemporary cinema" dropped its annual doodle teasing some of the year's upcoming releases, leaving it up to us cinephiles to decipher the maddeningly simple drawings. This year's clues hint at releases that align particularly well with my tastes: Wong Kar-wai and Bruce Lee box sets.

Six arrested in Fresno backyard party shooting

Suspected gang members arrested in the shooting deaths of four men in November.



From The New York Times: Police in California announced Tuesday that they have arrested six suspected gang members in the shooting deaths of four men in November at a backyard gathering of family and friends that they believed was a rival gang's party.

The victims were killed November 17 when gunmen entered the back of a Fresno home through an unlocked gate and used semiautomatic weapons to open fire on people watching a football game in the backyard. Four people were killed, and six people were wounded.

More here: 6 Arrested in Killings of 4 Men at California Backyard Party