vote for thankster on facebook

Readers Henry Tsai and David Li, both students at Stanford University, have a created a Facebook application called Thankster, which helps users show their appreciation for the people around them. Users send awards to recognize their friends and colleagues, and these awards are displayed and passed on to others. It's described as "Hallmark meets Twitter."

They recently won a seed grant from Facebook's fbFund competition, in which 25 winners were selected from a field of more than 600: Facebook announces the latest apps to win fbFund support . Each winner received a $25,000 grant and mentorship from Facebook employees and investors.

The 25 winners also moved on to the next stage of the competition. Facebook users can vote on their favorite apps from among these 25, and the top five—as selected by both users and the fbFund advisory committee—will get $225,000 each.

Thankster sounds like a pretty cool and useful application, but they need some help. Henry tells me that out of the current 25 finalists, he and David are the only ones who are still in school. They're apparently up against incorporated companies, many with full-time employees and people who actually do this for a living. What are two college kids to do?

Help them out by casting your votes (and I know there are a ton of you on Facebook). To vote, go here. You'll have to add the voting app to your profile first. You can vote once a day until noon PST on November 30.

yunjin kim and daniel dae kim among entertainment weekly's entertainers of the year

Check it out! Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim have been named, as a duo, one of Entertainment Weekly's 25 Entertainers of the Year for their work this past season as Sun and Jin Kwon, the Korean island castaways on Lost. Pretty impressive, considering they're amongst the likes of Tina Fey, Robert Downey Jr. and Coldplay. I'd say they had a pretty good year.

You know I've been really into Sun and Jin's story since season one, but things just went to a whole other level in season 4, when we began to see the stakes, and their saga spun into the greater mythology of the island. As we approach the end, you can bet we're going to see how significant these characters are to the overall story of the show.

Man, I can't way for Lost to come back. When we last saw Jin, he was stuck on an exploding boat. But we know for sure that DDK will be back. And Sun, in a flash-forward, had turned into something of a badass (how freaking awesome was she last season?). What will the new season bring? I can't wait.

In the meantime, watch a video interview with Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim here, where they spill a few beans about the upcoming season. There will apparently be a lot of action, and a lot of different timelines going on. Season 5 begins on January 21.

the fight against philadelphia's chinatown casino plans

The fight to prevent a casino from being built in Philadelphia's Chinatown rages on: Philadelphia's Chinatown seeks to keep out casino. This week, the Philadelphia City Council approved two pieces of legislation that could help Foxwoods build a slots parlor at the Gallery, the city's downtown shopping mall—right at the entrance of Chinatown: City Council approves casino zoning change legislation.

The vote came just one day after Chinatown leaders and anti-casino activists presented Mayor Michael Nutter with a stack of over 23,000 petitions signed by people opposed to putting a casino in their neighborhood. And earlier in the month, between 600 to 1,000 people marched to City Hall for a five-hour public hearing, making it the largest anti-casino rally in the state.

Philadelphia's leaders have utterly ignored Chinatown's voices every step of the way. I don't understand how the city can proceed with the casino and turn a deaf ear to so many crying out in opposition. Don't people have a say in something that directly affects their community?

This is a good commentary by Andrew Leong in The Philadelphia Inquirer on the negative impact a casino would have on Asian Americans and the Chinatown community, on multiple levels: Casino: Creating another injustice. He basically calls out the casino plans for what it really is: environmental racism. That's racist!

Foxwoods still needs to submit a plan of development to City Hall and get approval from the state Gaming Board. The fight continues. For more information on the issue, visit the Asian Americans United website here. Also visit Casino-Free Philadelphia. And the Facebook group Students Against the Gallery Casino.

UPDATE: What can you do? Helen Gym of Asian Americans United recommends that if you're concerned about this issue, call Mayor Michael Nutter's office to ask him to veto the legislation: 215-686-2181. He is expected to sign the legislation imminently.

an increase in hate crimes during election season

SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) has been keeping track of an increase in xenophobic violence and rhetoric against South Asians in the weeks and months leading up to the 2008 elections, including assaults targeting immigrants who either supported or were perceived to support President-Elect Obama. Here are a few examples of recent violence against South Asians and other communities of color:

Hardwick, New Jersey -- On November 6, 2008, an incident occurred in which Alina and Gary Grewal found a cross burned on their front lawn. The cross was wrapped in a congratulatory banner the family had made which read "President Obama, Victory '08".

Carteret, New Jersey -- On October 30, 2008, an incident occurred in which an elderly Sikh gentleman, Ajit Singh Chima, was punched and kicked repeatedly in the face, suffering fractures in his jaw and near his eyes. This occurred soon after a 10-year-old Sikh boy, Gagandeep Singh, was attacked on October 8, 2008, by an individual who pushed him to the ground and forcibly cut his hair.

Staten Island, New York -- In early November, an incident occurred in which four white men beat a Liberian-American Muslim teenager, Ali Kamara, near his home. The attackers jumped out of a car and assaulted him with a baseball bat after shouting "Obama."

Providence, Rhode Island -- In September 2008, an incident occurred in which a Sikh-American man was accosted by an individual who said, "I have a gun in my car and since you are a hajii no one will care if I kill you. You know why the police won't do anything? Because I got blond hair and blue eyes." As the assailant left, he screamed, "F*** Arabs and F*** Obama."

In light of these incidents, SAALT is re-circulating a basic factsheet on hate crimes with answers to frequently asked questions and resources for those in need. To learn more about the work SAALT is doing, and its services and resources for hate crime victims, visit the SAALT website here.

beauty queen turned fbi agent turned restaurateur

NPR recently ran an interesting profile on Meyung Robson, a former beauty queen (the real Miss Saigon) who came to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee in 1975, carved out a successful career in law enforcement as the FBI's first Vietnamese-American special agent, and now runs a restaurant in Bangkok: Ex-Beauty Queen Becomes FBI Agent, Chef.

coming soon: owl and the sparrow

The critically-acclaimed, festival-favorite film Owl and the Sparrow will be opening in film sometime in mid-January. More details to come. In the meantime, director Stephane Gauger and crew are producing a bunch of short viral videos to help get the word out about the upcoming release.

The first one features Dat Phan, Kristine Sa and Katherine Vo. The movie is so good, it made Dat Phan cry. Funny. I suppose the little girl with the roses makes more sense if you've actually seen the movie too. Anyway, to learn more about the film, go to the website here.

revisionist nanking film now playing

I meant to write about this a while ago, but it's been a crazy couple of weeks, and it kind of got buried during all the commotion over the election. The Truth of Nanking is another film about the Rape of Nanking, the brutal campaign of war atrocities committed by the Japanese military during the occupation of Nanjing in 1937.

But what sets this film apart from all the other Nanking films that have popped up in recent years is that it's a completely different interpretation of those events by revisionist Japanese filmmakers, basically questioning history's account that the massacre actually happened. I'm not kidding.

We first heard about a revisionist Nanking movie in the works early last year. We even got some details when they put out a casting call. This is that movie. I was always sort of in disbelief that someone was actually making this film, but it happened.

The film, directed by Satoru Mizushima, revolves the ultranationalist view that the massacre at Nanking never happened—at least not as history has told it—and is basically the result of an international conspiracy and the perpetuation of anti-Japanese propaganda. Never mind the rape, torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Truth of Nanking is actually finishing up a week-long theatrical run today at the Laemmle Grande 4-Plex in Los Angeles. I highly doubt that Laemmle would ever screen a movie denying that the Holocaust ever happened, so why did they let this piece of lying trash in the theater?

I really don't want to give it any more publicity than it deserves, but I think it's important that people are aware this film is out there. Thanks to a well-placed source, I recently acquired a draft copy of The Truth of Nanking's script, and it's pretty awful. I have no problem with getting it out there for all to see. If you'd like a copy, email me, and I'll see what I can do. It's actually kind of laughable until you realize that these people are serious.

where in the world is kim jong-il?

So get this. Yesterday's New York edition of the Metro printed a silly little feature on Worth1000.com's recent Where is Kim Jong-il Photoshop contest. Funny, since the North Korean dictator hasn't been seen in quite some time, leading many to speculate on his whereabouts, the state of his health, and whether or not he's even alive.

The only the problem with the Metro piece is, they refer to Kim as "the South Korean leader"—not once, but twice. Ouch. There is a difference. A huge difference. I suppose it would be asking too much to hire some editors who know a thing or two about world affairs. View the blunder here. And check out all the entries from the Photoshop contest here. (Thanks, Eugene.)

comprehensive new report on chinese americans

Yesterday, the University of Maryland's Asian American Studies Program, with support from OCA, released a major new study on Chinese Americans in the United States. Based on extensive U.S. Census data and independent interviews, A Portrait of Chinese Americans offers the most comprehensive and current portrait of the country's diverse Chinese American population: Major Study of Chinese Americans Debunks 'Model Minority' Myth.

According to the study, Chinese Americans, one of the most highly educated groups in the nation, are confronted by a "glass ceiling," unable to realize full occupational stature and success to match their efforts. The returns on Chinese Americans' investment in education and "sweat equity" are "generally lower than those in the general and non-Hispanic White population."

The study also found that the Chinese American community is characterized by extreme diversity. It's split nearly 50-50 between poorly educated recent immigrants from China and a more settled, acculturated, educated and prosperous group of older immigrants and second generation Americans. These earlier arrivals came mainly from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Among the study's other significant findings about Chinese Americans:

Fastest Growing Immigrant Group: Chinese Americans represent the fastest growing immigrant group in the nation (up 30 percent between 2000 and 2006, the most recent figures).

Largest Asian Ethnic Group: Chinese Americans represent the largest ethnic group among Asian Americans (about 25 percent).

Higher Education Clustering: Chinese Americans cluster in a small number of colleges and universities (about 85 percent of Chinese Americans who go to college cluster at only three percent of all higher education institutions).

High Levels of Higher Education: Twice as many Chinese American adults have college degrees than the general population.

Lacking High School Education: Conversely, recently arrived Chinese Americans represent the largest number of U.S. adults without the equivalent of a high school education.

Occupations: Chinese Americans are more heavily represented in professional and managerial occupations than the general population (53 percent vs. 34 percent).

Industries: Chinese Americans cluster in industries associated with health care, food services, manufacturing and professional/scientific fields.

Pay Equity: Chinese American men earn less in salaries than majority Whites for the same level of education.

Geographic Clustering: 60 percent of all Chinese Americans live in a handful of cities, beginning with New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, as well as the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the Boston metro area and the Dallas metro area.

Suburban Migration: In the past 20 years, Chinese Americans have settled increasingly away from traditional ethnic enclaves characterized as Chinatowns. Many of the more affluent Chinese Americans now reside in suburban communities commonly known as "ethnoburbs" or mixed "Asiatowns."

Citizenship: Three out of four Chinese Americans are U.S. citizens and exhibit very high rates of naturalization. However, this is less true among the recent immigrants who have been slower to seek citizenship.

Multiethnic/Multiracial: One in ten Chinese Americans are multiethnic and/or multiracial.

Divorce: Once they marry, Chinese Americans tend to stay married - with a divorce rate less than half that of the general population (4.4 percent vs. 10 percent).

The full text of A Portrait of Chinese Americans (including a brief executive summary and conclusions) is available as a downloadable PDF here.

By the way, the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland is one of six universities to receive the Asian American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) grant that was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education for $2.5 million dollars for two years. That's a pretty huge deal: UM Becomes U.S. 'Minority-Serving Institution' for Asian Americans.

madtv gets canceled

Alas, we get the news that after fourteen seasons, Fox's sketch comedy show MADtv is getting canceled. And the end of this season, it's done: 'MADtv' Canceled. This might not come as much of a surprise to some. More than a few folks will probably be surprised to learn that the show was still running.

The show never got much respect. At best, it was always a third-rate cousin to Saturday Night Live—even during SNL's weakest seasons. But it had one thing going for it: a dude named Bobby Lee.

Love him or hate him, Bobby's been holding it down as one of the few Asian American men on television for a long time. Always somewhat a divisive figure, after joining the cast in season 7, he quickly became one of MADtv's breakout stars. You've got to give him credit for that.

So long, MADtv. You gave us some really awful comedy over the years, and sometimes, a few gems. Where else could we see Bobby Lee starring in spoofs of 24, Heroes, Gwen Stefani... and weirdest of all, John McCain?

high school yearbook from tule lake internment camp

This is fascinating... Over on Boing Boing, they've linked a digital scan of an entire high school yearbook from the Japanese American internment camp at Tule Lake, circa 1944. Take a look it here: "Aquila" 1944/45.

I actually recommend looking through the other collections in the University of California's digital archives. There's some amazing stuff in there, including the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives. Check it out.

couple brutally attacked in their home

This is really awful news out of Pennsylvania... Police in Upper Darby are investigating the brutal murder, rape and burglary of a couple in their home on Monday night: Suspect Sought In Deadly Upper Darby Home Invasion.

The suspect broke through two front windows of the home, went into the couple's bedroom and tortured them for more than an hour. 60-year-old Hoa Pham did not survive the attack. Pham's wife was assaulted, then bound and gagged before being raped and stabbed repeatedly.

Mrs. Pham was able to escape the home and flee to a neighbor's home and contact police. She was rushed to an area hospital in serious, but stable condition with multiple broken bones. More here: Upper Darby Couple Brutally Attacked.

According to his family, Mr. Pham was a former Lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army and came to the United States 17 years ago. He fought for the Americans during the Vietnam War and was held captive for nearly six years before escaping to the States.

No arrests have been made in connection with the violent home invasion. The incident remains under investigation. A $5,000 reward is being offered for the suspect's apprehension.

erin gray's bad asian accent moment

Stupid. This morning on CBS' Early Show, Julie Chen sat down with some 1970s TV superheroes—Erin Gray of Buck Rogers, Lou Ferrigno of The Incredible Hulk and Lynda Carter of Wonder Woman. Before Heroes, we had these heroes.

Yay. So? So about halfway through the segment, when asked about doing tai chi these days, Erin Gray busts out this terrible Chinese accent. Whaaaaat? Ridiculous. Watch it here: 1970s Superheros Unite!

It's brief, but it comes out of nowhere, and it's completely inappropriate—especially considering that Julie Chen (you know, the Chinese American host?) is sitting right there. Looks like Ms. Gray left her good sense in the 1970s. That's racist!

The segment is also worth watching to see an old clip of Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk beating up a gorilla. (Thanks, Laura.)

who's east? who's west?

This cartoon was passed along to me, and I thought it was a rather funny observation. It always kind of bugged me too. (Thanks, Jay.)

the involvement of asian parents

Some folks out there might relate to this... The New York Times has an interesting article on Asian parents and the kind of role they play in their kids' education. Namely, how involved they are outside of just pushing for that 4.0 GPA: School District Tries to Lure Asian Parents.

The story focuses on schools in Jericho, New York, where teachers and administrators began noticing an interesting cultural chasm: many Asian American parents, whose children now make up a third of the district's enrollment, only showed up on campus when their children were in trouble.

Take, for instance, Jericho High School's 90-member orchestra, which had become about 70 percent Asian American (let's face it—pretty typical), but still played for a mostly white audience at concerts with many empty seats. Where are all the Asian parents?

It's not that they don't care... it's just that they don't understand. A lot of Asian parents, having come from a culture where performing well on tests was the only school activity that really mattered, don't see much point in making sports games, back-to-school nights and PTA meetings a priority.

Does this situation sound familiar? Now Jericho is trying to lure Asian parents into the schools with free English classes and a multicultural advisory committee. The PTA has been trying to recruit more minority members and groom them for leadership roles.

That said, I really have to give credit to my mom. Looking back, she was busy as hell, but always tried to squeeze in time to make it to my extracurricular activities and parent-teacher conferences. She didn't always make it on time, but she tried for my sake. Props, Mom.

toronto reel asian film festival starts tonight

All right, Toronto! The 12th Annual Reel Asian International Film Festival begins tonight with the Opening Night presentation of Kenneth Bi's The Drummer. Tonight, 7:00pm at Bloor Cinema in Toronto. The red carpet will be in full effect, and the director will be in attendance. After the screening, the celebration continues at the Opening Night Gala Party at the Century Room.

If you can't make it out to the Opening Night gala, the festival runs through the 16th, and features a full slate of kickass screenings and programs. For more information about the festival, and to view the full schedule, go to the Reel Asian website here.

tim lincecum wins national league cy young award

Nice. In just his second season, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has been named winner of the 2008 National League Cy Young Award, major league pitching's highest honor: Lincecum beats out Webb, is Giants' second Cy Young winner.

The 24-year-old right-hander is the first Giant since Mike McCormick in 1967 to win the award. He received 23 of 32 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, beating out Brandon Webb and Johan Santana, who each had four first-place votes.

Lincecum finished the season 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and a major league-best 265 strikeouts. He also led the National League with a .783 winning percentage, ranked second in ERA and was third with 227 innings. Too bad his success didn't translate to more wins for his team—my team—the Giants.

Oh, by the way, Tim is part-Filipino, on his mother's side. More on his Cy Young Award win here: Giants' Lincecum wins Cy Young Award. And here: Giants' Lincecum just a kid with a big award. He also landed himself on the cover of the upcoming Major League Baseball 2K9 video game: Lincecum nabs MLB 2K9 cover.

more more extras needed for the wedding palace

Once again, some more background extras are need for The Wedding Palace shooting tomorrow, November 12, in Los Angeles. It looks they need people who are 5'6" and over. Here are the details:

The WEDDING PALACE needs background talent for an airport scene 5'6" and over tomorrow for a 7:30AM call time at:

601 S Commonwealth Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90005 (SW corner at 6th)

Wardrobe: Bright, saturated colors, no black or white. No logos. Bring changes and come camera ready. The taller the better, if you have shoes that make you taller, bring 'em!

Also, we have 20 more days of production, so we will need extras throughout (please email me to stay in the loop).

WEDDING PALACE stars Brian Tee ("Crash"), Kang Haejung (Oldboy), Bobby Lee ("MADtv"), Steve Park ("In Living Color"), and Margaret Cho!

If you're interested in being an extra, contact Grace at grace@peachies.net. As it says, there are about twenty more days of shooting left, so there will be plenty of opportunities to be a part of the production.

will smith's son to star in karate kid remake

So I've already mentioned Will Smith's involvement in the Hollywood remake of Oldboy, but it seems the Fresh Prince is attached to another remake. Or rather, his son is. According to Variety, 10-year-old Jaden will appear in a remake of The Karate Kid: Will Smith's Son to Remake Karate Kid.

We first heard rumors about this project almost a year ago. I guess it's really happening. Over twenty years after the original movie, Columbia Pictures is resurrecting the franchise, with Jaden Smith as the Daniel-san character.

As we all know, the original starred Ralph Macchio as the new kid in town who gets his ass beat every day by a gang of bullies, until he strikes up a friendship with quirky old dude who teaches him karate. Somewhere along the way, the kid hooks up with Elisabeth Shue. And then later, Tamlyn Tomita.

This new movie will reportedly be filmed in Beijing. Does that mean that the Cobra Kai-like bullies will be Chinese? Greaaaaat.

I guess the only question left is, who will play the Mr. Miyagi character? It became the role that defined Pat Morita's career. Previous rumors suggested Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow. While I like both of these guys, I can't seem to get too excited about this movie. But of course, studio execs never listen to what I think. Bastards.

jeff chang named 2008 usa ford fellow

This week, scholar/writer/activist Jeff Chang was named a 2008 USA Ford Fellow in Literature by United States Artists, a national arts advocacy organization that invests in America's artists and illuminates the value of artists to society. He was among 51 recipients of United States Artists' prestigious 2008 Fellows program.

Jeff is the author of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation and the editor of Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. He most recently covered the 2008 presidential election for Vibe and Vibe.com.

Other Asian American recipients of United States Artists' 2008 fellows program include filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga, performance artist Tehching Hsieh, writer Le Thi Diem Thuy, musician Wu Man, and architect/designer J. Meejin Yoon.