who is the iphone girl?

A Chinese factory worker has become an internet sensation after a photo posing for an iPhone camera shot was left on the device. The iPhone eventually ended up in the hands of a British customer who posted the photo up on an Apple message board. Since then, the photo has gone around the world, with legions of curious people trying to identifying the mystery worker: Mystery 'iPhone Girl' generates Internet intrigue.

The photo features a young Asian woman working on what appears to be an iPhone assembly line. Dressed in a pink striped outfit and hat and wearing white gloves with yellow fingertips, the "iPhone Girl" is shown smiling and flashing the peace sign. (It's genetic. The two fingers automatically fly up whenever an Asian person is in the presence of a camera.)

An internet superstar is born! Taiwan-based Foxconn, which makes the iPhone for Apple, has confirmed that the girl in the photo has been identified, but says her job is not at risk and has called the incident a "beautiful mistake"—whatever that means. So, reportedly, she's not fired (I'm a little skeptical about this): iPhone Factory Worker Girl Still Has Her Job.

Meanwhile, the unnamed employee is apparently a bit disturbed and freaked out by all the media attention: 'iPhone Girl' Finds Fame And Fear On The Production Line. Accept it, young lady. Embrace it. You are the iPhone Girl.

fund established for brutally beaten restaurant owner

In High Point, North Carolina, the community is coming together to help the family of a restaurant owner who was severly beaten last month while making a late-night food delivery, putting him in a coma. Police and residents canvassed neighborhoods and eventually arrested the two men responsible: 2 charged in beating of restaurant employee.

Thankfully, Xing awoke from the coma, but he remains in serious condition. Now, with Xing's restaurnt closed since the attack, his wife and three young daughters need help handling the medical expenses: Money raised for brutally beaten restaurant owner.

The Lend-a-Hand for Wang Xing Fund, established by the High Point Chamber of Commerce, is seeking donations to help Xing's family to get back on its feet. Donations can be made by cash or check. Checks should be made payable to the Lend-a-Hand for Wang Xing Fund, c/o Southern Community Bank, 2451 Eastchester Drive, High Point, NC 27265.

more stupidity on the today show

What the hell? What is up with this ridiculous clip from the Today show, as pointed this week by The Soup. The segment involves Al Roker and Hoda Kotb visiting a Beijing shop to apparently buy a gift for Kathie Lee Gifford. Hilarity ensues. The two hosts manage to achieve a gold medal in Joel McHale calls "The Condescending American" event. Just watch.

same old summer movies

Here's another great piece by John Ridley for NPR, on the pathetic state of minority representation in Hollywood, particularly in this summer's big movies: Minorities Get Little Respect On The Big Screen. He brings up the small role Asians had in the voices of Kung Fu Panda, Mike Meyers doing the Hindu/Indian stereotype thing, and Jennifer Hudson fetching Carrie's coffee on Sex and the City. And of course, there's this great part about The Incredible Hulk:

Yes, there was Will Smith as a superhero. An alcoholic, abusive, foul-mouthed superhero. And, yes, there was redemption at the end of Hancock, but the path was so coarse as to be unsuitable for my kids to watch. So, the only hero of color they saw this summer was The Incredible Hulk. Which, by the way, why does a movie with nary a minority in it have to end with the Hulk destroying Harlem?

Honestly, this summer's offerings couldn't have been any more offensive if they released the director's cut of Birth of a Nation. On Blu-ray.

Out of 36 films put into wide release between May 2 and Aug. 22, only four had any minorities in leading roles.

Four minorities in leading roles. Okay, this isn't telling us anything new. We're lucky if we see four wide releases with Asians in leading roles in the course of an entire year. Even then, it's usually some combination of Jackie Chan, Jet Li and/or Chow Yun Fat. But it's a good commentary, so check it out.

follow-up on the death of hiu lui ng

More on the case of 34-year-old Hiu Lui Ng, the computer engineer who died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month, of complications of cancer and a fractured spine: Aftermath of an Immigrant’s Death in Detention. He was repeatedly denied medical attention, despite his complaints of extreme back pain and a progressive inability to walk. That's absolutely outrageous.

Ng's relatives have established a temporary fund for donations for his widow and children. Donors could make checks payable to the Ng Family Fund, Account No. 825-31181, and mail them to:

Hiu Lui Ng Family Fund
c/o Litao Mai
Merrill Lynch
100 Campus Drive, Third Floor
Florham Park, N.J. 07932

For other inquiries, including information about wiring money, the family can be reached by e-mail: hiuluingfamily@gmail.com.

wayne wang films getting theatrical and online release

This is an interesting article detailing the upcoming release strategy for Wayne Wang's latest two features, The Princess of Nebraska and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers: Magnolia, Landmark, and Cinetic Planning Parallel Theatrical & Digital Releases for Upcoming Wayne Wang Films.

The veteran filmmaker made the two films sort of as companion films, then sold both of the films to Magnolia Pictures shortly after their premiere last year at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. Due to the close thematic relationship between the films (both are based on short stories by Yiyun Li), Wang was initially adamant about releasing the two films together.

Now, Wang has decided to make Princess available online, for free, shortly after A Thousand Years hits theaters next month. The details are still being worked out, but it should be a pretty interesting viewing experience. Watch the trailer for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers here. It opens in limited release on September 19. I'm guessing you'll be able to catch Princess of Nebraska online soon after.

profile on queens assemblywoman ellen young

The New York Times City Room blog has a profile on first term Assemblywoman Ellen Young, who is in the only contested Democratic primary for an Assembly seat in Queens. She sustained a number of injuries as a result of being hit by a taxi while riding a bicycle last month: Accident Won't Deter Queens Assemblywoman.

In ways, the race represents a coming of age of Asian American politics in New York City. With Young facing off against fellow Asian American canddiate Grace Meng, daughter of former assemblyman Jimmy K. Meng, the race should be a very interesting one to watch.

america's best dance crew: battle for the vmas

Determined to milk the America's Best Dance Crew phenomenon for all it's worth, MTV aired a post-season special today, Battle For The VMAs. I actually got to attend the show taping earlier this week. Without any "real" stakes on the line, it wasn't quite as exciting as a regular season show. But it was fun.

The show opened with a performance by the two season champions, JabbaWockeeZ and Super Cr3w, joining forces for a badass performance. Then, five crews from the past two seasons—Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, SoReal Cru, BreakSk8 and Status Quo—competed for a chance to appear live on the MTV Video Music Awards.

Can I just say, it was awesome to see Kaba Modern in action again? They were easily my favorite crew from season one, and they've still got it.

In the end, three crews were chosen as finalists: Kaba Modern, SoReal Cru and Fanny Pak. Which is great, because I seriously can't stand Status Quo and BreakSk8. See ya, suckas.

From the remaining crews, the top two, determined by online vote will battle it out on the VMA red carpet pre-show. The winning crew will get to present at the VMA, with $25,000 going to their favorite charity. You can watch video clips and vote here.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the Philippine All Stars, fresh from their win at the 2008 World Hip-Hop Championship earlier this month in Las Vegas, were in the house as special guests at the taping. After all was said and done, they were invited up onto the stage to perform live for the crowd. They were pretty awesome. View some shaky video footage of their performance here.

vigilante ninjas arrested

I found this news rather amusing. Someone has been watching too many Sho Kosugi movies. Last week in Clifton, New Jersey, police busted a couple of "ninja warriors" hell bent on delivering justice to evildoers... ninja style: N.J. Cops Collar 'Shinobi Warrior' Drug Vigilantes.

Looks like 19-year-old Jesse Trojaniak and and buddy 20-year-old Tadeusz Tertkiewicz have had a bit of an unhealthy fascination ninjas. Police said they found the two in a car dressed in "black ninja garb and SWAT-type vests, armed with an assortment of knives, swords, nunchuks... and a cross bow."

They were apparently on their way to delivering warning letters to drug dealers and drug users urging them to stop their "impure" activities. Those who persisted would be stopped with "justified yet, merciful force" at the hands of two modern day "Shinobi warriors."

The cops, however, are not cool with the ninja vigilante action. Both men now face possession of weapons charges, and possibly 18 months in jail. No doubt, Clifton's drug dealing community is breathing a little easier. More here: Ninjas Arrested In New Jersey.

angry asians at the democratic national convention, day 4

It's been a long week in Denver, and yesterday was apparently particularly crazy for our bloggers JL and Spamfriedrice, holding it down at the Democratic National Convention. Here's their wrap-up of the convention's historic final day:


Last night, we felt completely privileged to be at Invesco Field at Mile High to witness history! Shout out to Jaclyn Zimmerman, who is part of the ethnic media outreach team of the DNC, for helping us make sure everything went smoothly for us. We both had goosebumps throughout the night as the stadium celebrated the official nomination of Barack Obama for President and the continuing progress of the Civil Rights movement. It was, after all, the 45th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., and we cannot deny that AAPIs have significantly benefited from the Civil Rights movement.


We were also really excited about the presence of Asian Americans during the event. There was a video shown before Bill Richardson's speech with appearances by Jin the rapper and Hayne Yoon, an Obama volunteer in Los Angeles.


Mike Honda was also part of a group of Vice-Chairs that presented resolutions. Represent!


Did you see those Asian people sitting prominently behind the Obama ladies during Barack's speech? That's Obama's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and brother-in-law Konrad Ng. Yes, if Obama become president there will be Asians in the extended first family. As Maya asked the AAPI Caucus the other day, "Can you imagine the family picture on the White House lawn?" Yes I can.

Here's some contact info on getting involved with AAPI outreach for the Obama-Biden campaign in swing states, from Asian American and Pacific Islander Grassroots Strategy Session on Tuesday:

Iowa: Theresa (tmah@uchicago.edu)
Nevada: Preeti (preetik6@gmail.com)
Texas: Ramey (ramey.ko@gmail.com)
Virginia: Joe (joe@vademocrats.org)
Washington: Mika (mika@wa-democrats.org)

After this week, we're even more excited about the possibilities, and looking forward to November 4th, 2008. With that... we're out! Peace!

year of the fish in theaters today

Opening in limited release today from Gigantic Pictures, David Kaplan's rotoscope-animated fairy tale Year of the Fish. It's been floating around on the festival circuit since its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, though I only recently had the chance to check it out.

Basically, the film is a modern-day take on the Cinderella fairy tale (based on an old Chinese version of the story) set in New York City's Chinatown. An Nguyen plays Ye Xian, a girl who travels to New York to try to make some money for ailing father back home in China. Upon her arrival, she realizes that she's being forced to work in a seedy massage parlor, run by the wicked Mrs. Su (Tsai Chin) to pay off her debt.

But Ye Xian refuses to do the requisite sex work for the clients, so she is made into a menial servant and has to do all the laundry, cleaning, shopping and cooking—a Cinderella. She finds solace in a magical fish (who actually narrates the story) given to her by the strange neighborhood hunchback Auntie Yaga (Randall Duk Kim). Rounding out the cast is Ken Leung as lovelorn local jazz musician.

The most distinct aspect of Year of the Fish is its unique visual style. The entire film is rotoscope animated, like Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, where live actors are "traced" by animators in post-production. For the most part, it works, and makes for a very interesting visual experience. At times, it's totally mesmerizing and enhances the fairy tale, dreamlike quality of the story. However, in other moments, it gets kind of distracting, and takes you out of the movie.

Outside of the animation, to be honest, the movie had this "so what" quality to me. I wasn't all that thrilled by the massage parlor aspect of the story, as educational as it was. At some point, I started to wonder how much I'd have to watch of people being awful to this poor girl, before everyone finally got what they deserved. There were also a lot of actors with really annoying, inauthentic fake Chinese accents—a big movie pet peeve of mine.

Overall, I really wanted to like this movie, but I just found it kind of underwhelming. But it is visually interesting, and has a handful of charming moments. And Ken Leung, in the small role that he has here, is great. Like everything else I've seen him in lately. Anyway, the movie opens in theaters today in New York, San Francisco and Berkeley. For more information, visit the website here.

hate crime killer will face death

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death penalty sentence for hate crime killer Gunner Jay Lindberg, who viciously murdered Thien Minh Ly in 1996: OC Hate Crime Killer Headed For Lethal Injection.

In a 69-page ruling, the justices reviewed and dismissed each of Lindberg's numerous claims that the two special-circumstance findings that put him on death row were false. Instead, the justices agreed with the original Orange County jury's determination that Lindberg had indeed attempted to rob Thien Minh Ly before killing him and that the crime had been racially motivated.

The autopsy report showed Ly had been repeatedly punched, kicked in the face and stomped in the head, as well as stabbed 22 times, mostly in the heart. Later, Lindberg wrote a letter to his cousin detailing how he "killed a Jap." Honestly, I don't understand how the hate crime motivation was ever under question. That's racist!

more on lpga's english-only rule

Some follow-up on the LPGA's plans to require all of its member golfers to learn and speak English, or else face suspension, beginning in 2009. This editorial in the New York Times argues that the rule will redefine women's professional golf and re-authorize discrimination in a sport that is still struggling to do away with it: A Bad Idea From the L.P.G.A..

Just wonder what American sports would look like if all the major sports associations—say, the NBA or Major League Baseball—required athletes to prove that they are English-proficient. Yes, they would suck.

This kickass Yahoo! Sports editorial doesn't call the English-only rule a bad idea... it's the Dumbest Rule Ever. Indeed. Consider this: There are apparently 121 players from 26 nations currently playing on the tour. But, reportedly, the rule was specifically explained to one particular group of players—South Koreans, who represent 45 of the foreign-born players. Eh?

Calling the policy national origin discrimination, the Asian American Justice Center is urging LPGA sponsors to withdraw support of the Tour until the English proficiency policy is retracted: LPGA English Policy Is Discriminatory; AAJC Urges Sponsors To Withdraw Support. More here: LPGA could be bringing on a discrimination lawsuit. No, this is not the end of this.

angry asians at the democratic national convention, part 2

Here's the latest word from our trusted correspondents, JL and Spamfriedrice, blogging about what's been going down at the Democratic National Convention in Denver:

tuesday-wednesday roundup: the view from the nosebleed seats

We are writing this entry in our nosebleed seats in the Pepsi Center on Wednesday. We have a great view of Hillary and Chelsea sitting below us and the CNN newscasters. Check out this scene from yesterday.


Yesterday, we got to chat with Yul Kwon, all-around good guy and another Asian American badass, who shared his views on his hopes for young Asian Americans in politics.

"To me this presidential race has been so amazingly exciting because we're seeing such amazing diversity among candidates. It's a watershed moment in American history: We had a strong female candidate, a strong African American candidate and a strong Latino candidate. What I'd love to see one day is a strong Asian American candidate. I think Barack Obama getting elected is a symbolic moment that I think will forever change the way people look at their possibilities, especially for Asian American youth. What I'd love to see is more young people getting involved in politics.

Our parents were first generation immigrants for the most part and came here just to assimilate, just to survive. But now many of us have opportunities that our parents never did. We should capitalize on these opportunities — and I would argue, responsibility — for us to try to become leaders in our own right... and not just think about our own individual careers but think about broadly serving our own community and helping other people. The hope is that one of the people reading this might be the first Asian American president of the United States."

Preach it, Yul.


Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, Asian Americans for Obama and South Asians for Obama held an Asian American and Pacific Islander Grassroots Strategy Session on Tuesday and Maya Soetoro-Ng and Konrad Ng, Barack Obama's half-sister and brother-in-law stopped by to encourage AAPI to get involved. She talked about Obama's connection to the Asian American community.


Also stopping by at the grassroots strategy session was none other than Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin on Lost. A white woman walked up to him and asked, "Where's Naveen?" (The actor who plays Sayid.) Uh, yeah lady, DDK walks around with his buddy in his pocket. Oh yeah, here's an AAM exclusive: Jin will be back next season! We don't know in what capacity but he'll be back. We told DDK we will be tuning in.

Anyway, Daniel had some cool words for us when we asked him why we should vote and get active in this election:

"You know, so many young Asian Americans are media saavy and within that demographic everyone talks about representation. This — getting involved in the political process — is representation at its most basic and literal level. And I think that when we try and serve the cause of Asian Americans we really need to get involved in this process, whether it's you yourself getting out to vote or being an advocate on behalf of a candidate to your family or your friends. I think it's just important to know what's going on in the country at a grassroots level and at a national level. And I think it's better to be the advocate for change than the beneficiary of change."

Wow, very cool.


We also got to see Norman Mineta, former Secretary of Tranportation. Another OG Asian American in politics. Go Norm!


Tuesday night we got to hit up the floor and we ran into two Asian Americans who were New York Delegates — James Wu and Grace Yu. When we introduced ourselves, James said that he's an AAM reader. You rock James!


We also ran into Jeff Chang, author Can't Stop, Won't Stop, interviewing a Hillary fan for Vibe magazine. Wow! He's the guy who did the interview with Barack Obama for Vibe.

Did you catch California State Controller John Chiang or Congressman Mike Honda's DNC speeches on TV Tuesday night? They were one of the 60 or so speakers last night but were not on during prime time. Is that racist? We're not sure.

On Wednesday, Tammy Duckworth, Director for Veterans Affairs in Illinois, spoke at the DNCC and totally represented as a strong Asian American woman! We unintentionally ended up sitting near a bunch of young AAPIs and we all cheered loudly for Tammy when she repped as an AAPI.


We also caught sight of an Asian dude, Baldwin Yen, prominently featured in a video about U.S. war veterans.

We've heard that there have been some sightings of Kelly Hu, Kal Penn, Margaret Cho and Tamilyn Tomita.

We gotta go. Bill Clinton is about to speak.

former muslim army chaplain now a delegate

Here's a profile in the Seattle Times on James Yee, the former Army chaplain who was wrongly accused by the U.S. government of being a spy, and placed in solitary confinement for 76 days: Denver latest stop on Yee's unlikely journey.

This week, he was in Denver serving as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. Good reader Maimounah recently conducted an interview with James Yee, talking about his role as a national delegate, and trying to be an example for other Asian Americans and Muslim Americans to get involved in the political process.. Read the interview here.

naascon2008, october 17-19 at emory university

This is for all my student friends out there. Summer is winding down, which means it's time to head back to school and hit the books again. So here's some knowledge for you. NAASCon2008, the third biennial National Asian American Student Conference, is happening October 17-19 at Emory University in Atlanta.

This year's conference theme is "From Visions to Actions: Let's Get Our Movements Going." Looks like the schedule and roster of speakers are still coming together, but I'm sure it's going to be a worthwhile weekend for creating thoughtful dialogue, engaging the community and inspiring action.

I've attended the last two conferences as a workshop facilitator, and had a really great time. For more information about the upcoming NAASCon, visit the website here. And watch the little promo video above. Early registration is $30, and is open until September 20.

more videos from the dnc

Lots of action at the Democratic National Convention. From what I've heard, our intrepid correspondents have had a busy couple of days, but they've experienced some very cool stuff, and met some very cool people. We should have an update very soon. In the meantime, here are some noteworthy videos from the DNCC Video Experience website.

Remarks - Tammy Duckworth: Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs; Helicopter pilot and wounded Iraq war veteran. When she self-identifies as an Asian American, you can hear some members of the crowd give a whoo! Represent.

Veterans Video: Steven Spielberg's short film dedication to U.S. armed forces veterans, narrated by Tom Hanks. One of veterans prominently profiled in the video is Iraq War veteran Baldwin Yen, who served the U.S. Army, 1998-2006. It's rather powerful.

John Chiang: The Honorable John Chiang, State Controller, California. This is the guy who's been battling Arnold Schwarzenegger over funding the state budget. Yes, John Chiang stood up to the Terminator.

Mike Honda: The Honorable Mike Honda, Member of the US House of Representatives, California and DNC Vice Chair. I posted the transcript of this speech earlier today. Silicon Valley, represent!

Benediction - Revs. Jin Ho Kang, Youngsook Kang: Methodist pastors Jin Ho Kang and Youngsook Kang from Aurora, Colorado, giving the benediction to close Tuesday's convention proceedings. I actually thought this was particularly cool.

"there's a piece of paper inside!"

This is pretty amusing. Having read Jennifer 8. Lee's The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, we all know that fortune cookies do not actually originate from China. And yet over the years they've somehow become a staple of the Chinese food dining experience in Ameri

In fact, if you go to China and give a person a fortune cookie, it's likely they won't have any idea what it is or what to do with it. No joke. Behold, this video. These folks don't have a clue. Be sure you don't eat your fortune! Silly Americans. They come up with the weirdest stuff. (Thanks, Bamboo Nation.)

man sentenced to prison for sending threatening letters

Asians Behaving Badly... threatening letter-writing edition! This week in Cleveland, crazy weirdo David Tuason, who wrote hundreds of threatening letters over 20 years to black and mixed-race men, was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison: Ohio man sentenced for writing racial hate letters.

Tuason, who is of Filipino descent, pleaded guilty in May to six counts of mailing threatening communications and two counts of threatening interstate communications. He said he sent the threatening letters because a black man "stole" the girlfriend he planned to marry. Well, that's fantastic.

According to prosecutors, Tuason sent more than 200 hateful letters or e-mails, many to black or mixed-race men—including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. He also sent threatening communications to high school, college and professional athletes, coaches, celebrities, musicians, news anchors, hospitals, police departments and lawyers.

Let me get this straight. If this guy's been sending threatening letters for twenty years... does that mean that some dude "stole" his girlfriend twenty years ago, and he's still mad about that? And thus blaming guys like Derek Jeter? Goodness. Get over it, man.

transcript of mike honda's dnc speech

The following is a transcript of a speech, as prepared for delivery, by The Honorable Mike Honda yesterday at the Democratic National Convention:

My name is Mike Honda. I am a proud Sansei Democrat and a Silicon Valley Congressman. But above all, I'm a teacher.

One of my proudest moments was when I received keys to my first classroom. It was high quality public education that allowed this son of strawberry sharecroppers, raised in the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, to grow up to become a Peace Corps volunteer, a Vice Chair of the DNC, and Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Education is the gateway to the American dream. Barack knows first-hand that immigrant families – Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, African and others – can attain the American dream through a quality, equitable education, and hard work. Barack's story of promise and opportunity proves that education can be the great equalizer. Sadly, over the past eight years, the misguided Bush/McCain priorities have bled our schools' resources dry, shutting down that gateway to success, and hijacking our children's capacity to achieve the American dream.

We are now at a crossroads. We can either continue on a path of failed policies with John McCain, or, for the change we need, we can elect Barack Obama president. America is in dire need of leadership. Barack knows that education leads to innovation, a critical engine of our economy. His ability and his vision will help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to obtain a quality education. Barack will fight for our children's future.

Rather than burning through billions of dollars on failed foreign policies and an open-ended war, Barack knows that the real war to be fought is for the education of our children, the future of America's economic health. He is committed to developing the teachers of tomorrow from among the brightest in our classrooms today and preparing, retaining and rewarding every teacher in America for their service.

In 1965, President Kennedy's call to service led me to build schools in El Salvador. Now, though my hair is gray, I am inspired again. With Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our ticket - yes, there is hope for the change we need!

Thank you, Senator Obama, for unlocking the imagination and idealism of all generations of Americans, including our Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Thank you for inspiring us to be a critical part of your journey to victory this November. And thank you for your commitment to education, for knowing the strength of America's tomorrow lies in the classrooms of today.

The call him "The Godfather." Here's also video (fuzzy audio) of the Congressman speaking at the DNC AAPI Caucus. More convention coverage to come...