time's 100 most influential

TIME recently published the The Time 100, its annual list of the most influential people in the world—leaders, artists, athletes, scientists, revolutionaries who are shaping and changing the world we live in. Asian folks who made the list include:

• Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia
  
• Chien-Ming Wang, pitcher for the New York Yankees
  
• Liu Qi, Beijing Communist Party Secretary, and head of the city's Olympic Organizing Committee
  
• Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
  
• Zeng Jinyan, Chinese blogger and activist
  
• Pony Ma, co-founder of Chinese internet service Tencent
  
• Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube
  
• Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company
  
• Katsuaki Watanabe, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation
• Shigeru Miyamoto, head of the Nintendo Wii design team
  
• Ho Ching, CEO of Temasek Holdings
  
• Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo

I should also mention that Rosie O'Donnell made the list of influential people, which is scary. (Thanks, Troy.)

It's also worth noting TIME's online readers' poll of the most influential people of the year. Korean pop star Rain topped the list 470,174 votes, followed by Stephen Colbert and Sanjaya Malakar. Come on, people. Rain? Most inluential person? In the world? I wouldn't take these results too seriously, as they are probably the result of ballot stuffing by Rain's worlwide legion of fans. Stephen Colbert, however, not content with being number two, issued a challenge to Rain with his very own Korean music video: He's Singin' in Korean. It's simultaneously hilarious and painful.

remember the pants

Despite becoming a laughingstock for his $65 million lawsuit against a dry cleaners over a pair of pants, Roy Pearson still has a job with the D.C. government. Although his term has a judge expired last week, and his bio was taken down from the city's website, he's still on the D.C. payroll "doing administrative work," and there's still a chance that he could be re-appointed: Judge in $65 Million Suit Might Keep Seat on Bench. I really, really hope the commission thinks long and hard about reappointing a guy who would file a $65 million lawsuit over a freaking pair of pants. How can this guy be a judge? How can this guy be a judge of anything? He sucks.

Support the Chungs by contributing to the Custom Cleaners Defense Fund.

yau-man is the man

So I watched last night's finale of Survivor: Fiji, and dammit, I'm really sad that Yau-Man got kicked off, narrowly missing a spot on the final three and a chance at the million dollar prize. The 54-year-old computer engineer from Martinez, CA was easily this season's fan favorite contestant, exceeding all expectations and making it way farther in the game than anyone ever thought. All the while playing a solid, fair game. He easily could've been winner, if it hadn't been for this season's biggest cheating, lying, double-crossing sucka, a fellow named Dreamz. The guy who pretty much screwed everyone on the island. For those who didn't watch and don't care, I won't bore you with details. But let's just say in the end, Yau-Man's integrity and faith in his fellow castaway's character came back to bite him in the ass. Gaaah what could've been. It would've been so sweet—we were this close to having Asian Americans winning two seasons of Survivor in a row! You suck, Dreamz.

I gotta say, after initially coming down pretty hard on Survivor's race war premise last season, after that dissolved, I'm pretty impressed with how diverse the show has become. See, CBS? People of color can make interesting television, and America will watch. Let's hope this trend continues, though I'm a little scared for next season, when the show goes to China. (The last line of this article is the kind of thing that worries me.)

jv and elvis get the boot

It is done. After much pressure and outcry from the Asian American community, CBS Radio has fired radio hosts Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, aka "The Dog House with JV and Elvis," from their show on 92.3 FreeFM in New York: Asian slurs end shock jocks' show on CBS. Last month, the pair aired a racist, sexist prank call to a Chinese restaurant, rebroadcast just days after CBS fired Imus for his on-air racial remarks.

Asian slurs end shock jocks' show on CBS

NEW YORK - One month after CBS Radio fired radio host Don Imus, it has permanently pulled the plug on a pair of suspended New York shock jocks for a prank phone call rife with offensive Asian stereotypes.

"The Dog House with JV and Elvis," hosted by Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, "will no longer be broadcast," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said Saturday.

The cancellation of the show on WFNY-FM, nearly three weeks after the hosts were suspended, was another indication of the increased scrutiny on radio hosts and the heightened management sensitivity to complaints in the wake of the Imus firing.

CBS Radio dismissed Imus in April for his racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Vandergrift and Lay broadcast a call to a Chinese restaurant in which the caller, in an exaggerated accent, placed an order for "shrimp flied lice," claimed he was a student of kung fu, and compared menu items to employees' body parts.

The initial airing of the call went unnoticed, but a rebroadcast after Imus's firing prompted an outcry from Asian-American groups. Vandergrift and Lay were initially suspended without pay, but Asian-Americans quickly demanded the same penalty applied to the much higher-profile Imus.

"This is a victory not only for the Asian-American community, but for all communities who find themselves constant targets of racist and sexist programming," said Jeanette Wang, an executive with the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Mateo would not comment on the status of the DJs' contracts or whether they were still on the CBS payroll.

Imus plans a $120 million breach of contract suit against CBS Radio.

This is good news, since it sends the message that the culture of radio shock jocks do not have a green light to make fun of Asians without repercussions. Let's face it—it happens all the time, and nobody gives a crap. I hold no illusions that this is going to drastically change things... but damn, it feels good.

yul kwon on cnn's uncovering america

Next week, in observation of APA Heritage Month, CNN's Uncovering America programming initiative will focus on Asian Pacific Americans—what it means to be an Asian American today and how challenges have evolved for first-generation Asian immigrants versus younger Asian Americans. Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor will serve as a special correspondent for the network, reporting on topics such as the changing portrayals of Asian American men in film and television (May 14), the glass ceiling for Asian Americans in corporate America (May 15), and affirmative action in education (May 16). Also, CNN's Richard Lui, Dan Simon , Alina Cho, Veronica De La Cruz, Dan Lothian, and Betty Nguyen will all be reporting on Asian American topics starting today and throughout the week. A special edition of House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta will examine race and health, including the latest information regarding Asian Americans and cancer. Other coverage, according to the press release, includes:

• On Saturday, May 12, CNN Newsroom anchor Betty Nguyen reports on the identity challenges faced by biracial and multi-racial Asian Americans. University of California-Santa Barbara professor Kip Fulbeck, creator of the "Hapa Project," joins the program with expert analysis. "Hapa" is the Hawaiian term for people of mixed race.
  
  
• Correspondents Dan Lothian and Dan Simon on special assignment for Anderson Cooper 360° through Friday, May 18, will explore a range of issues faced by Asian-American students, including the burden to adopt certain professions (e.g., medicine and engineering fields), the possibility of unofficial admission restrictions capping Asian-American college applicants and expectations for Asian-American students in regards to test scores. Anderson Cooper 360° airs each weekday from 10 p.m. to midnight;
  
  
• Gupta will report on Asians and intelligence and nature vs. nurture for Anderson Cooper 360° and Paula Zahn Now;
  
  
• For American Morning, Alina Cho will report on Asians and plastic surgery intended to reduce the ethnicity of Asian appearances known as blepharoplasty. American Morning airs each weekday morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.;
  
  
• CNN Pipeline anchor Veronica De La Cruz will report on human trafficking and mail-order brides affecting Asian-American communities for CNN Pipeline and the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, airing on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to noon on Saturdays;
  
  
• Also for CNN Pipeline, Richard Lui will file "Paper Sons," a report on citizenship discrimination for early Chinese immigrants, for Friday, May 18. Many Chinese immigrant families in the early 20th century, including Lui's, had their family names changed to avoid deportation.

Check out the website: Uncovering America: The Asian American Journey. Big props, once again, to Yul. As promised, the guy has been using the celebrity status gained from his win on Survivor to bring attention to the issues and causes he cares about. And that is cool.

support american pastime

One of the best films I saw this year at VC Filmfest was Desmond Nakano's American Pastime, a wonderfully-crafted drama about the World War II Japanese American experience, telling the story of one family's struggle to rise above the dishonor and injustice of internment... through their passion for baseball. It's an inspiring movie, with a solid story, impressive production values, and great performances from the likes of Aaron Yoo and Leonardo Nam (who play brothers, and could seriously pass for real-life brothers), along with Masatoshi Nakamura, Judy Ongg, and Gary Cole, among others. It's a historical family drama mixed with a good old-fashioned sports movie, and I can't recommend it enough.

I first saw this film back in March at SFIAAFF, and was so impressed I vowed to get as many people as I could to go see it. If you're in Los Angeles, and you missed it at VC Filmfest, you have a chance to see it playing right now for one week downtown at Laemmle's GRANDE 4-PLEX. For everyone else, you just have to wait a few weeks until the movie comes out on DVD from Warner Bros. on May 22nd. Pre-order it here. See it, buy it, rent it, whatever. Please consider supporting this film. And to learn more about baseball and the internment camp experience, go here.

silk screen: asian american film festival

Hey Pittsburgh! Your film festival is here! The Silk Screen: Asian American Film Festival stars today and runs through May 20th, screening films like Chris Chan Lee's Undoing, Kern Konwiser and David Ren's Shanghai Kiss, Lou Ye's Summer Palace, Wisit Sasanatieng's Tears of the Black Tiger, and much more. Lots of good stuff there, so check it out, good people of Pittsburgh. For more information about the festival, go here.

2007 azn asian excellence awards nominees

At a press conference yesterday in Los Angeles, the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards announced the nominees for this year's awards presentation, honoring outstanding achievements of Asians and Asian Americans in media, entertainment and culture. Aaaand the nominees are...

Outstanding Film
Babel
Curse of the Golden Flower
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Namesake

Outstanding Actor - Film
Jet Li / Fearless
Kal Penn / The Namesake
Ken Watanabe / Letters From Iwo Jima

Outstanding Actress - Film
Maggie Cheung / Clean
Gong Li / Curse of the Golden Flower
Rinko Kikuchi / Babel
Tabu / The Namesake

Outstanding Actor - Television
Naveen Andrews / Lost
Daniel Dae Kim / Lost
Masi Oka / Heroes
B.D. Wong / Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Outstanding Actress - Television
Kelly Hu / In Case of Emergency
Yunjin Kim / Lost
Parminder Nagra / ER
Sandra Oh / Grey's Anatomy

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Film
Cindy Cheung / Lady in the Water
Sharon Leal / Dreamgirls
Maggie Q / Mission: Impossible 3
Betty Sun / Fearless

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Film
Roger Fan / Annapolis
Sung Kang / The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Dustin Nguyen / Little Fish
Koji Yakusho / Babel

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Television
James Kyson Lee / Heroes
Rex Lee / Entourage
Will Yun Lee / Thief
Sendhil Ramamurthy / Heroes

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Television
Keiko Agena - Gilmore Girls
Michaela Conlin - Bones
Mindy Kaling - The Office
Grace Park - Battlestar Galactica
Lauren Tom - Men In Trees

Outstanding Comedy Performance
Margaret Cho
Dat Phan
Russell Peters

There you go. Kind of a weird list, isn't it? Still a big improvement from last year's nominees (at least Zack Morris isn't on the list this time), but I find the whole thing a little odd. For one thing, it's all really mainstream. Looks like they've taken cues from the Oscars, nominating only studio stuff like Babel and Letters From Iwo Jima in the film category, and relegating independent films to the Viewers Choice category. And it looks they had to try really hard to fill up these categories—some awards have four nominees, some three, some five. What's up with that? I don't get it. But hey, I'm not complaining—the fact there are enough Asian Americans in film and television these days to have a decent pool to choose from, at least you can call that progress. I like all the television category nominees... but some of the film ones need a little work. (Betty Sun for Fearless? She's in the movie for like ten minutes.)

Anyway, as mentioned previously, honorary awards will also be presented to restauranteur Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa, actor Chow Yun Fat, and fashion designer Vivienne Tam. And you, the viewers, can choose your Favorite Reality Star and Outstanding Asian Independent Film. Vote online here. The awards will be taped next week, May 16th at UCLA's Royce Hall, and will be hosted by Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim. It'll air later this month, May 28th on AZN Television, preceded by a one-hour red carpet special May 24th on E! Entertainment Television.

vc filmfest 2007: closing night

Well, we made it. The week has flown by, and it's been a blast. Tonight, VC Filmfest 2007 goes out with a bang with its Closing Night presentation of Charlie Nguyen's action thriller The Rebel, starring Johnny Tri Nguyen, Ngo Thanh Van, and Dustin Nguyen, screening at the Aratani/Japan American Theatre in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo:

Action, adventure, romance, and just a touch of black magic are mixed in with a healthy dose of nationalism in this period piece set in 1920s Saigon as a government agent (Johnny Tri Nguyen) and the daughter of a rebel peasant (Ngo Thanh Van, SAIGON LOVE STORY) flee the clutches of a malevolent turncoat (Dustin Nguyen) thirsty for power.

I'll admit I know next to nothing about this film. In fact, I had never heard of it before they announced it last month as the festival's Closing Night film. But I'm told by those in the know that it's pretty frickin' awesome. I hear tickets are sold out, but there's always a rush line for those who dedicated enough to wait it out (you have a decent chance). The evening's festivities also includes VC's awards presentations, including Grand Jury Awards for Best Feature-Length Narrative and Documentary Film, the Audience Award, and the Golden Reel Awards and the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award—presented to outstanding achievement in short films. It's going to be another fun night... until next year.

the dog house situation

No, we haven't forgotten about the Dog House (catch up here, here and here). The Pacific Citizen reports on recent gatherings of APA activists and leaders outside of CBS headquarters to protest JV and Elvis of 92.3 FreeFM and their racist Asian-themed radio segments: After Don Imus, Hate Radio Lives On. The article includes this video of the protest, courtesy of FalloutCentral.com. Of course, there are already some of the usual "Go back to China" commenters accompanying the video on YouTube. So what is the word from CBS? Have they indeed decided to embrace the double standard of taking action against Don Imus for his remarks, while passively allowing the intentional on-air denigration of Asians on a regular basis? That's racist! Meanwhile, sponsors have been dropping like flies. As I've cautioned before, and will keep saying: do not let this issue just go quiet and fade away. Keep the pressure on, and demand action.

UPDATE: I'm told that JV and Elvis have been suspended indefinitely. But will they be fired? Last week, New York area chapters of OCA led a coalition of organizations to meet with representatives from CBS Radio and WFNY 92.3 FM regarding the situation: OCA Meets With CBS Radio and WFNY to Express Outrage Over Offensive Programming. They've also got an online petition you can sign demanding the dismissal of JV and Elvis: WE DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY. Also, Fallout Central has been doing an amazing job chronicling this controversy, particularly noting each and every sponsor that has pulled advertising from the show. Keep up the good work, my friends.

see ya, sucker

A few days ago I mentioned that radio host Barb Stanton on Talk 960 in Victorville, CA made some racist, disparaging anti-Asian on-air remarks last month, falsely declaring the president of East West Bank to be a "foreigner," along with other xenophobic nonsense. Her statements reportedly got her suspended indefinitely. Well, she was fired this week by Clear Channle Victorville: Barb Stanton fired from radio talk show. Good riddance.

jessica biel as chun li in street fighter?

I've been bombarded with emails from game/movie fangeeks about a rumor floating around out there that Jessica Biel is up for the role of Chun Li in 20th Century Fox's forthcoming Street Fighter movie, based on the megahit classic video game: Biel a Street Fighter? For those unfamiliar with the game, Chun Li is the high-flying combatant from China, known for her spinning helicopter kick (yes, I gave my fair share of quarters to Street Fighter in the nineties). She's Chinese. And as far as I know, Jessica Biel is not. She is not one of our long lost Asian sisters... not that such issues matter to Hollywood, as history has shown. Will they go the yellowface route? Will they simply revise Chun Li's backstory? I think I echo most of the fan reaction I've seen: as attractive as Jessica Biel is, if she plays Chun Li it's going to be ridiculous.

Of course, to me, the definitive Street Fighter movie will be the 1994 disaster starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia. Possibly one of the worst movies ever made. Ming-Na played Chun Li in that one—a highlight of her career, no doubt.

i make fusion out of you

Teach it, son! Beau Sia drops some knowledge with this spoken word PSA for AZN, in honor of APA Heritage Month, featuring the faces of your mother, your father, your sister, your brother:

"It may be Asian Pacific Heritage Month, but if you open your eyes, you'll find our heritage in every day of the year."

kims of comedy show at the wiltern, may 12th

All right, it's time for some funny. Like Voltron, comedians Steve Byrne, Dr. Ken Jeong, Kevin Shea and Bobby Lee have combined to forces to form The Kims of Comedy, performing a big ass show this weekend, Saturday, May 12th at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. That's right, the Kims are coming to K-Town, baby. It's gonna be a laugh-your-ass-off kinda time, so buy your tickets here. For more information about the Kims, including comedy clips, go here.

asian pacific american book festival

This weekend in Los Angeles, Asian Pacific American Legal Center presents the inaugural Asian Pacific American Book Festival, featuring multiple panels, readings, performances, workshops, signings and vendors, all celebrating and exploring this year's theme of "family." It all happens this Saturday, May 12th at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, 11:00am-4:00pm. The APALC website says, "Come to this all-day celebration of stories which will transform your life!" That's a bold claim. But hey, come to the festival, and maybe your life will be transformed.

I'll be participating in the panel "Angry Families and Giant Robots: New Generations Redefine American Pop Culture," along with Lela Lee of Angry Little Girls and Martin Wong and Eric Nakamura of Giant Robot, and moderated by Alison De La Cruz. Should be a pretty fun time. That's happening at 2:30pm at the Democracy Forum. See you there!

jeff yang and "angry asian men"

Jeff Yang's latest "Asian Pop" column is all about Angry Asian Men. No, not about me. It's a great piece pulling together all of the different elements in news and pop culture that have come to attention in the weeks since the Virginia Tech shooting massacre. Jeff interviews actor Ken Leung, who played the violent, mentally unbalanced Asian American youth who appeared on The Sopranos just days after shooting. He also talks to Parry Shen, who played a straight-A student-turned-violent youth in Better Luck Tomorrow, and Michael Kang, whose Korean American gangster flick West 32nd just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. He writes "How long will it be before critics can watch a film about young Korean American men with guns and not invoke the specter of Virginia Tech? What kind of a chill might this cast over Asian American creativity, if this kind of fear and anxiety continue to dominate the critical dialogue?" It's a really interesting discussion about the impact of knee-jerk reactions to the shootings, and wanting to lay blame, all having nothing and everything to do with the fact that Seung Hui Cho was Asian American. Great work, Jeff.

k-town's emcees

Here's a cool Associated Press article on some of the emcees making an impact in Los Angeles' Koreatown's thriving hip hop scene: Korean rappers build bridges with blacks. It mentions emcees like DumbFounDead, and guys like Kublai Kwon, who founded the annual Asian Hip Hop Summit five years back. I heard about the Summit a while ago, when I somehow landed on their mailing list. They do good work, and it's nice to see this community getting some attention.

too "oriental" for italy

The local government in Treviso, Italy has ordered the city's Chinese restaurants to remove red lanterns from their windows because they look too "oriental": Forget it, Jake... It's Chinatown. All this fuss over lanterns? They're just freaking lanterns! But then again, this really isn't about lanterns, is it? Treviso, just outside Venice, is run by the populist, anti-immigrant Northern League. And last month, you'll remember that police in Milan clashed with the local Chinese community over a traffic dispute... Things don't seem to be going well for Chinese folks in Italy. You know, it sort of reminds me of those people who don't want a 99 Ranch Market built in Chino Hills...

vc filmfest 2007: tuesday

The past weekend at VC Filmfest was a crazy fun blast of Asian American cinema and community. Thanks to everyone who made it out to Saturday's Hard Boiled screening. We're in the final stretch leading up to Thursday's Closing Night presentation of Charlie Nguyen's The Rebel. Tonight's highlights include Leste Chen's Eternal Summer (queer cinema with a coming-of-age-twist? Or a coming-of-age film with the twist of queer cinema?); Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Invisible Waves; VC's Digital Histories program, presenting the stories of senior citizen media artists; Love In Translation, the festival's youth showcase; Lou Ye's controversial Summer Palace, which earned the director a 5-year ban from making films in China; and the provocative shorts program Taking Charge/Letting Go.

I particularly wanted to urge everyone to check out New Climate, a program of three distinct, dynamic and moving documentary short films that highlight history and provoke dialogue. There's Alex Ko's Pok Dong, a personal story about this family's trial by fire during the LA riots; Dai Sil Kim-Gibson's Motherland (Cuba Korea USA), a transnational journey in search of a Korean diaspora in Cuba; and Tad Nakamura's Pilgrimage, about the legacy and community activism that grew from the first pilgrimage to Manzanar. Three very interesting, provocative documentaries screening tonight, 7:30pm at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.

the return of amadeus cho

Hey comic book fans... Grek Pak tells me that Amadeus Cho, aka Mastermind Excello, the character he created for Marvel Comics a little while back, returns with a vengeance in Incredible Hulk #106, which lays the groundwork for the big "World War Hulk" summer event. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's okay. All you have to know is that Greg has created an awesome Asian American character who could turn into a big breakout star in the coming months. Learn more about the appearance over at Greg's site: Amadeus Cho returns in "Incredible Hulk" #106