masi oka's got milk

Hey look! That's Masi Oka, everybody's favorite time/space-bending supergeek, featured in one of the new Heroes-themed "Got Milk" ads. Look for it in comic books coming soon. (Thanks, Troy.)

big brother is watching... racists

Here's an idea. Let's gather the most ignorant, racist idiots we can find, stick them in a house, and turn on some cameras. We'll put it on television. And thus, we have the most useless show ever, Big Brother. Courtesy of YouTube, the Big Brother 8 USA Racism & Bigotry Sampler:

I've never watched this show, and don't plan on it. This is pretty much all I needed to see. Behold, the decline of human civilization. That's racist!

"you've got a friend" in far east movement

Some summertime music for you... the boys of the Far East Movement recently dropped a new mixtape Flavored Animal Droppings, which sounds rather gross, but is actually pretty damn fun. Stream the whole album and take a listen over at AsianAve. And if you like what you hear, get yourself a copy here. For fans waiting for their sophomore album Animal coming in 2008, this should hold you over until then. Their track "You've Got a Friend" with Lil Rob and Baby Bash is started to get picked up for radio play at random stations, including in Los Angeles and Arizona. Take a listen over at their MySpace page. Good stuff.

chin han in the dark knight

One of the movies I'm really looking forward to next year is The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan and Co.'s follow-up to Batman Begins. I'm a huge superhero movie fan, and that movie was definitely an example of genre done right. I've been valiantly trying to avoid online information about the The Dark Knight, just to enhance my enjoyment of the movie come opening day. It hasn't been easy. Anyway, a few months back I posted some info about a Dark Knight casting call for an "Asian Male (20's-60's) dark hair and/or clean shaven 5'5"-6'3." There's a rumor floating around out there that, according to someone who's read the script, Chin Han plays a character in The Dark Knight named "Lau." Don't know if it's a significant part in the movie. But at this point, I don't want to know any more. I will see who this Lau is on July 18, 2008.

supermodel sayoko yamaguchi dies

Last week, it was reported that Japanese supermodel Sayoko Yamaguchi, who was one of the first Asians to grace the fashion world's top catwalks, died earlier this month from acute pneumonia. She was 57: Japanese supermodel Yamaguchi dies at 57. In 1977, she was named by Newsweek as one of the top six models in the world. In later years, she appeared in film and television roles, most recently in Seijun Suzuki's crazy Pistol Opera.

boston progress radio

I've meaning to write about Boston Progress Radio for a while now, because it kicks some serious ass. Formerly "Yellow Powered Radio," BPR is a community-based community-based online radio station affiliated with the Boston Progress Arts Collective, with the goal of providing an Internet stream dedicated to featuring the music of Asian American artists. Lots of great stuff there, with a radio stream featuring a constantly-expanding range of Asian American artists, a blog, and audio/video podcasts. I've been listening for a few weeks now, and I'm really digging it. Check it out, everybody. Listen here.

which words are offensive?

Warning: this post will contain offensive language, for the purposes of conveying the results of a recent survey. This is really fascinating... Last month, the Harris Poll conducted a survey that confirmed that large majorities of the U.S. adult public find the use of certain terms offensive, while other less so, particularly in response to recent events that have made the news: Which Words Are Offensive?

The survey revolved around specific incidents and slurs: Don Imus' reference to the Rutgers female basketball players as 'nappy-headed hos' on the radio; Mel Gibson's use of Jewish slurs after being pulled over for drunk driving in 2006 audio-tape; Isaiah Washington's usage of the word 'faggot' toward another co-star of the television series Grey's Anatomy in 2007 reported in the media; Rush Limbaugh's reference to Senator Barack Obama as 'Obama Osama' on the radio; George Allen's use of the term 'Maccaca' in 2006 videotape at a political rally. These were highly publicized incidents in the media over the last year or so. Interesting... but what's missing? A lot.

If you look at the numbers, George Allen's 'macaca' remarks scored the lowest on scale of perceived offensiveness. I guess this isn't surprising, as most people have never even heard the word 'macaca' and probably thought it was made up, if anything. The question also makes no note that Allen was referring to a person of South Asian descent. But what really gets me is that the survey didn't even bother to ask anyone of Asian descent to participate. Nor did they bother to ask about any other incidents significant to the APA community—and we've certainly had our share over the last year and beyond. It's certainly reflective of why we have such a hard time finding allies to be sympathetic to our causes... we get so little coverage or regard, we're not important enough to make it on this survey. I guess it's true: people don't find Asian jokes offensive. And this makes it seem like not only do we have very little to be offended about, we simply don't care. What's up with that? This is an interested poll that is seriously flawed, and just could've been a hell of a lot better... (Thanks, Steven.)

what inspires you?

Just wanted to throw another plug out there for next weekend's INSPIRE/07 conference, a gathering of APA leaders from all sectors of our community. It looks like it's going to be a really weekend of workshops, panels and opportunities to build networks and relationships. Come meet and hear from folks like Yul Kwon, James Kyson Lee, Justin Lin, Sung Kang, Tamlyn Tomita, Norman Mineta, Elaine Kim, Eddy Zheng... the list goes on and on. It all goes down next weekend, August 31 - September 2 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. To learn more about the conference, go here, and view the conference schedule here. And check out some really cool promo videos ("I Love the Asians") for the conference here.

If you're thinking about going to the conference, and haven't registered yet, let me offer you a little something something... When you register, enter the coupon code ANGRY to get $50 off. But wait, if you're a student or work for a nonprofit organization, enter the coupon code VERY ANGRY to get $100 off. That makes things a little easier, right? It's going to be a really awesome conference, so register now... and I'll see you there!

lots of random stories

Last week in Edison, NJ, a ceremony marking India's independence anniversary led to protests by local veterans advocates after they learned the POW/MIA flag would be removed from a pole outside Town Hall so the Indian tricolor could fly below the American flag: Tempers flare over flag move in Edison. Here's the quote that gets me: "It's no longer Edison, it's little India," said Rosemary Wilson, a 30-year Edison resident... No, dear Rosemarie. It's America.

Interesting story in TIME on the large number of South Asian-owned hotels that have popped up along America's historic Route 66: No-Tell Motels. Members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association now own 37% of the U.S. hotel industry. Unfortunately, the trend has prompted a xenophobic, racist response from competitors, with AMERICAN OWNED signs popping up outside motels around the country. Let me translate that for you... what they mean to say is, "NOT IMMIGRANT OWNED" ... or dare I say it, "WHITE OWNED."

Speaking of Asian-dominated businesses... here's a New York Times article on the ugly, not-so-glamorous side of the nail salon industry—often filled with cutthroat price wars, long hours, low wages and hazardous chemicals: At Nail Salons, Beauty Treatments Can Have a Distinctly Unglamorous Side. Your beautiful nails can come at a high price...

Christopher Pak is trying to change the cityscape of Los Angeles. Think taller, denser living and building: A taller L.A.? He's making it happen. I'm trying to envision this, but all I can think about is traffic.

Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim, the Justice Department's top civil rights enforcer, resigned this week following more than a year of criticism that his office was hiring conservative GOP loyalists over experienced attorneys with civil rights experience: Top Civil Rights Prosecutor Resigns. He was the first immigrant and first Korean-American to head the department's civil rights division.

John Seo and John Rhee, hotel owners in Joliet, IL, have filed a federal lawsuit which alleges an informant worked with Will County Sheriff's Detective Dennis Carey and Sgt. Edward Hayes to manufacture false identity theft charges against hotel owners and employees, "the majority of whom were of Asian descent": Hotel owners sue Will sheriff. Not only were the charges false, the hotel owners say their arrests almost destroyed their business.

An update on that slavery case from last month... the federal government has dismisssed the slavery charges against three men accused of detaining a troupe of Chinese acrobats and forcing it to perform: Slavery Charges Are Dismissed. It appears that the government wasn't able to develop evidence sufficient enough to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the China Star Acrobats carry on.

Last week, activist Yang Jianli returned home to the United States after spending five years in a Chinese prison: 'I respect even my guards'. Yang, the co-founder of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, a pro-democracy group based in Boston, was imprisoned in China in 2002 after he used a friend's passport to enter the country illegally so he could report on unfolding labor unrest. It's been a long road back to freedom...

film festival roundup

This is for you, Dallas. The 2007 Asian Film Festival of Dallas kicks off tonight with the Opening Night presentation of (surprise, surprise) Justin Lin's Finishing the Game (yes, that's Dustin Nguyen and MC Hammer in the photo above), and runs throught August 30th at Landmark's Magnolia Theatre. It looks like they've put together a really solid schedule showcasing some of the best of Asian and Asian American cinema, including Sang-Il Lee's Hula Girls, Stephane Gauger's The Owl and the Sparrow and Joy Dietrich's Tie a Yellow Ribbon. The festivities close out next week with the South Korean gambling drama Tazza. So head on out to the festival, and join in on the fun. It's going to be a good-ass time. For more information, head here.

Speaking of film festivals, the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival recently announced its slate of official selections, and it looks pretty damn good. I'm really digging it. The festival opens with Finishing the Game (right around the movie's theatrical release), closes out with Michael Kang's gangster drama West 32nd, and includes some of the best features from this year's festival circuit. Not only do they throw one of the funnest film festivals around, they've put together one hell of a film program—one of the best I've seen all year. The festival runs October 11-18.

Also, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival is currently accepting submmissions for the 2008 Festival. Presented by the Center for Asian American Media, it's one of the nation's biggest festivals of its kind. They're accepting films and videos of all lengths and genres, made by and/or about Asian Americans and Asians of any nationality. Maybe you've got something that needs an audience. SFIAAFF is there for you. The early deadline is September 7, and late deadline October 5. For more information on how to submit your film, go here. The festival is scheduled for March 13-23, 2008.

And finally, for our neighbors to the north... mark your calendars for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, running November 1-4, and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, running November 14-18. Canada cares about Asian cinema too.

the international gesture for "chink"

What the hell is happening in this photo? That's Peru's Carlos Bazalar celebrating his game-winning goal over South Korea at the FIFA U-17 World Cup game this past Saturday. Check out the video. Yes, the chinky eyes. That's maturity and good sportsmanship. He just mocked Asians worldwide on international television with a simple, tired gesture. Unfortunately, almost any Asian kid in schoolyards across the United States is familiar with this racist taunt. How many kids around the world saw this and instantly learned the international gesture for "chink," thanks to this jerk? You'd think he would've gotten in some kind of trouble for this... but nope. Nothing. That's racist!

lees unite!

Last weekend, hundreds of people from around the country who share the Chinese surname "Lee" gathered in Los Angeles' Chinatown to celebrate the 19th national convention of the Lee Family Assn: Lee? Your party is here Formed nearly a century and a half ago in San Francisco, the group provided members a place of refuge and aid in Chinatowns across the United States, like many other Chinese family and village associations of its kind. The convention, which happens every three years, is meant to represent the 100,000 Lees living in the United States, and is apparently rivaled in size by the Wong group. Are we going to have a fight on our hands? Wongs vs. Lees? Bring it.

alive not dead

Check out Alive Not Dead, launched not too long ago... It's an online artistic community for artists and fans to share their artistic creations (film, lit, music, etc.) and get to know each better. I guess it's kind of like Friendster or MySpace, but for Asian/Asian American artists and fans who want to connect. If you're wondering about the name, AliveNotDead.com originally started as the official website for the fictitious Hong Kong boy band Alive, stars of the Spinal Tap-like mockumentary The Heavenly Kings. The site has since evolved into an online artists' space. Some pretty good information there, so check it out. Right now they're running a contest, where one winner will get a round trip to the Hawaii International Film Festival to catch screenings of Finishing the Game and The Heavenly Kings and hang with the movies' casts and crews, as well as some other cool prizes. More info here.

yet another stupid t-shirt design

Racism and t-shirts. They're just a classic combination. From Abercrombie & Fitch, to tired jokes like this one, we've seen them all. And yet stupid, offensive designs continue to replenish and populate the marketplace... case in point, this "Flied Rice" design, seen over at Threadless. First saw this a couple of weeks ago over at Racialicious. Hey, have you heard the one about the dirty Chinese restaurant? Ha ha. So original. The fly is a nice touch. "Flied rice"? Wow, haven't heard that one since fifth grade. That's racist!

EDIT: It should be noted that the t-shirt isn't actually for sale... yet. The way Threadless works, people can submit their designs and users score them. High-scoring designs can win prizes, and get printed and sold on the site. Thankfully, the way things are going now, tamphan98's "Flied Rice" is scoring pretty poorly.

defamation, my ass

Remember last year, when Power 105 radio host Troi Torain, aka "DJ Star," was fired and arrested? He asked listeners on the air for information about rival DJ Raashaun Casey's 4-year-old daughter, made sexually charged remarks about her, and used racial slurs when talking about Casey's wife. He was charged with child endangerment, though prosecutors eventually dropped the accusations. Amidst all this, City Councilman John Liu spoke out against Torain, calling him a "sick, racist pedophile," and saying he should be "terminated from the face of the earth." Harsh words, but you can't say the guy didn't deserve it.

So what does Troi do? He sues Councilman Liu with a $55 million for damaging his reputation. Idiot. Dude, the only person damaging your reputation is you. Defamation, my ass. Last week, a federal judge cleared Liu of the charges, ruling that most people wouldn't take his comments at face value: Councilman Cleared Of Defamation Charges. More here: COURT SOCKS SHOCK-JOCK SUIT VS. POL. Liu stands by what he said:

"This aside, there is no question that the broadcasts in May 2006 endangered the welfare of children. Although the vile and revolting words were said by Torain, ultimately the accountability rests upon the Clear Channel Corporation. This is a company that sought to hire Torain--in fact, paid him an extended contract worth an astronomical $17 million--to push the envelope and pump up profits at the community's expense, and they must take responsibility for profiting from this hate media. The least the corporation can do is to spend some money supporting organizations dedicated to fighting child predators."

Props to Council Liu, for continually standing up and speaking out where others have stayed quiet. As for Torain, he can eat it. $55 million? Who do you think you are—Roy Pearson? Thank you for your time. Now please kindly shut the hell up. Forever.

early review of 21

For a couple of years now, I've been following along with the progress of 21, the movie based on Ben Mezrich's Bringing Down the House, about real-life MIT students who took Vegas for millions by counting cards in blackjack. Very interesting story, particularly because most of the guys involved were Asian American. However, the story we've been hearing about the movie version is that most of the characters would be magically Hollywoodized into white people, with maybe one or two Asians speckled into the mix. Well, an early (poorly written) review of the movie was recently posted to Ain't It Cool News, and it's apparently what we feared:

... all the characters were interesting and had a reason of being in each scene to tell the story that they were telling . every character except the two asian actors that is ... they seem to be there simple for comic relief and it worked but mostly because the other actors just treated them like they we're just retarded.

Granted, if you read through the entire review, it's really poorly written. But the reviewer makes it a point to specifically highlight the two Asian characters, who are used for comic relief... That's not very encouraging. I'm assuming he's talking about characters played by Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira. Too bad. Can't say you didn't see it coming. For those who care, the movie is scheduled to be released next March.

asian american phds, help out oiyan

All right, friends. My pal Oiyan is asking for your help. She is currently writing a chapter for an upcoming book on graduate students of color, and is looking for Asian American Ph.D students to take her online survey. Here are the details, in her own words:

Dear Angry Asian Man Reader:

Please help me out with my research project. I'm writing a chapter for an upcoming book on the experiences of current Asian American doctoral students and former Ph.D. students. It will be in a book on Graduate Students of Color, and it's the "token" chapter on Asian Americans. So, please help me represent! Folks who complete the survey will be eligible to win a gift certificate for the iTunes online store.

To be eligible to participate, you must meet the following criteria:

1. Identify as Asian American - a person with ethnic/ancestral roots in South Asia (Indian sub-continent), the Philippines, Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.; or ethnically Hmong, Mien, Chaam, etc.), or East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.)
2. Be a U.S. citizen or resident (not on an international student visa)
3. Be at least 18 years old
4. Meet one of the following criteria of Ph.D. status:
a) Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program
b) Discontinued progress toward a Ph.D. within the last 3 years
c) Completed your Ph.D. at an accredited, degree-granting university in the U.S. within the last 3 years

If you do not meet all 4 of the eligibility requirements listed, please feel free to send this invitation to others who might meet these criteria.

This short online questionnaire will ask you to answer questions about your experiences in your Ph.D. program and as a Ph.D. student/candidate in general. Specifically, there will be questions about university resources, your program curricula and pedagogy, student networks, professionalization opportunities, personal and professional responsibilities.

If you choose to complete the questionnaire you will be entered into a random drawing to win one of two $10 gift certificates to the iTunes online store.

Since this is a web-based survey, you may access it from any computer with Internet access. Please click on this link to begin the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=T1W2wIj9fZ7Dtw6EhEC1sw_3d_3d

If you have any trouble with the link, try cutting and pasting it into your web browser.

If you have any questions about the survey, or further difficulties with the survey web link, please feel free to contact Oiyan Poon (oiyan.poon@gmail.com) or Dr. Shirley Hune (shirleyhune@gmail.com).

Thank you,
Oiyan

P.S. Please send this invitation to anyone you think would meet the criteria for this study.

Asian American PhDs, I know you're out there. Help a sister out. Oiyan an awesome woman who's helped me out quite a bit in the past, so help me sends some love back. Take the survey!

asians dudes, of course, on the pickup artist

A bunch of folks wrote in to tell me about the Asian guy on VH1's new reality show The Pickup Artist, in which a group of "loveable losers" get schooled in the secret to wooing women, and compete for the title of "Master Pick-Up Artist." So of course they had to throw a couple of Asians guys in to the mix, like Pradeep, the 22-year-old researcher/mathematician who is afraid of girls, and Stephen Poon ("Spoon"), the 27-year-old graphic designer with a Star Wars scooter helmet and some serious video game bragging rights ("80,000 honor kills"). Real winners. Unfortunately, Stephen dropped out of the competition in the second episode before I had a chance to check the show out, apparently because he couldn't handle the pressure. It's just as well, I guess. Going on the show is embarrassing enough. Who knows what kind of fool he would've made of himself down the line?

controversy over mlk monument

Another article on the controversy over the planned Martin Luther King Jr. monument in Washington DC... the statue of King, to be unveiled on the Mall in 2009, has been the subject of a great deal of criticism ever since master sculptor Lei Yixin of China was selected as the lead sculptor for the project.

Critics are basically equating the choice as "outsourcing," and argue that an African American—or any American—should have been picked to sculpt King. Not a Chinese guy: A King Statue 'Made in China'?

I can see how people would feel very strongly about this, and in some ways they bring up legitimate questions—is Martin Luther King an American hero (they are, after all, placing the statue in DC, among the other great American monuments) and thus should be sculpted by an American artist? Or is King a hero to the world? The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation says they chose Lei for one reason only: artistic ability.

It's an interesting debate, but what really irritates me is the rhetoric of Lei's detractors. It's certainly fashionable these days to use all sorts of anti-Chinese language... and here, they've jumped all over it. From the "outsourcing" comment to the "Made in China" reference. It's obvious they're trying to capitalize on this sentiment, calling Lei Yixin's involvement "obscene."

Ridiculous. This issue has somehow been lumped in with contaminated food, defective toys, and China's looming economic power. Wow, it really has become popular to disparage all things Chinese.

ken leung joins lost

Awww yeah. Some Lost casting news... Heard some rumors about this last week from well-placed sources, but I guess the news is officially out there, according to TV Guide... Ken Leung, last seen delivering a killer performance in The Sopranos, has been cast in a recurring role in ABC's Lost: Sopranos Scene-Stealer Gets Lost!. It's believed he'll be playing Russell, "a brilliant mathematician who is capable of great insights and has a tremendous knowledge across various scientific fields." Dude, how many Asians are now on Lost? Ah, but of course, Ken plays a math guy. Seriously though, he's a talented actor who deserves a lot more exposure in a series like Lost. Can't wait until the show returns. It's been a long summer.