vincent who spring screening tour

This week, the award-winning documentary Vincent Who? kicks off its spring tour, with over 40 screenings at schools around the country. The film is a look at the legacy of the Vincent Chin hate crime murder case, and its impact on the API community over twenty-five years later.

Writer/producer Curtis Chin will be showing the film then conducting a post-screening Q&A about the Vincent Chin case, AAPI political empowerment, and coalition building. Here's the current tour schedule, which is still being updated:

Vincent Who Spring Schedule w/ Writer/Producer Curtis Chin

Jan 25 - Colorado State University
Jan 26 - University of Colorado at Boulder
Jan 27 - University of Denver
Feb 4 - DeAnza
Feb 6 - UN-Reno
Feb 10 - Asian American Writers Workshop (NYC)
Feb 11 - Stonybrook
Feb 12 - Rutgers
Feb 18 - UCLA
Feb 19 - University of Texas at Austin, Brecha Conference
Feb 20 - Pitt
Feb 23 - Grand Valley State
Feb 24 - University of Kansas
Feb 25 - Wichita State
Feb 26 - Depaul
Feb 28 - Northbrook Public Library
March 1 - UW - Green Bay
March 2 - Marquette University
March 3 - UW - Madison
March 4 - UW - Milwaukee
March 5/6 - UPenn (ECAASU)
March 9 - University of Alabama - Birmingham
March 12 - APANO (Oregon)
March 13 - APANO workshops
March 17 - Vanderbilt
March 18 - Austin Peay
March 26 - Augsburg College, MN
April 6 - William and Jefferson
April 7 - Lehigh
April 12: The University of Dayton
April 13: Wittenberg University
April 14: Wright State University
April 14: California State University at Northridge
April 15: Kent State University
April 22 - University of New Hampshire

If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend seeking it out and attending one of the screenings. It's a nice follow-up to Who Killed Vincent Chin?, and if you're unfamiliar with the murder case, it's practically required viewing.

For more information about screenings, visit the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress website here. And if you're interested in bringing Vincent Who to your school or community, email curtis at apaforprogress dot org.

man dies from watching avatar

Over the weekend, director James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar, with an international total of $1.288 billion, surpassed Titanic's 13-year overseas box office record. It's easily on pace to soon topple both the domestic and worldwide box office records. For those keeping score, here's the official count (thus far):

Domestic Box Office: $552,797,000
Worldwide Box Office: $1.8361 billion
Golden Globe Awards: 2
Critics Choice Awards: 6
BAFTA Award Nominations: 8
Deceased Moviegoers: 1

Just how amazing are Avatar's visual effects? In Taiwan, a 42-year-old man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke likely triggered by watching Avatar in 3-D: Man died after watching Avatar - doctor.

It's true -- the movie is visually stunning... but stroke-inducing? The man, Mr. Kuo, reportedly started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month and was taken to the hospital, where a scan showed that his brain was hemorrhaging.

According to the doctor, it's likely that over-excitement triggered his symptoms. It was actually that exciting. He died 11 days later from the brain hemmorhage. This is the first reported death linked to watching Avatar. So be careful out there.

balloon boy's mom admits it was hoax... on tape!

As previously reported, newly released video interviews show Mayumi Heene, mother of the so-called "Balloon Boy," acknowledging to authorities the runaway balloon fiasco was all a hoax -- contrary to her husband's repeated public denials just before reporting to jail: Balloon boy mom's interviews contradict husband.

The video interviews obtained by the Fort Collins Coloradoan show Mayumi Heene telling sheriff's officials that last October's balloon launch, which captivated the entire country and led authorities on a crazy aerial chase, was all a hoax that she and her husband orchestrated to gain notoriety and land a reality TV show.

Their son Falcon, of course, was hiding at home during the balloon's five-hour ride, safe and sound. You'll remember that not too long afterwards, the youngster would utter six words -- on national television -- that would pretty much unravel the whole scheme: "... we did this for the show."

Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to filing a false report and her husband, Richard Heene, pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant. He began serving a 30-day jail sentence January 11. His wife will serve a 20-day sentence after him. Fifteen minutes of fame, plus 20-30 days in prison. Was it worth it?

the game "supports" korean pop group

This is the situation, as I understand it. For the past couple of days, fans of the Korean pop group 2PM were tweeting "#RT기 다릴게 박재범 기다릴게 2PM" (never mind what it means) to show love the group's ousted Korean American leader Jaebum, who had been kicked out by his company for anti-Korean comments he made on his MySpace page a while back (which is a whole different drama, and not really relevant for this story).

Fans managed to make the 2PM tweet a pretty popular trending topic, which got a lot of people curious about what the hell the Korean phrase meant. Others, like rapper The Game, simply saw something foreign and "Oriental" and decided to mock it with an ignorant-ass tweet like this:

"#RT기 다릴게 박재범 기다릴게 2PM dont kno what dis trendin topic is or means but I like shrimp fried rice alot & smokin makes my eyes tight so I RT'd it"

For some people, the sight of a weird Asian language will always simply equal Chinese takeout and chinky eyes. Thanks for showing the love, Game -- for both shrimp fried rice and 2PM. Your blind idiot re-tweet just supported a South Korean pop group in a time of great distress for their fans. That's real gangsta, and they thank you. (Thanks, Jisun.)

ramey ko is austin's first asian american judge

Some cool news... Last week, the Austin City Council appointed our friend Ramey Ko (named one of the 30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30) to a Substitute Judge position in the Austin Municipal Court.

He'll be serving part-time as a judge in Class C misdemeanor cases (e.g., traffic offenses, minor assault, public intoxication, etc.), certain juvenile cases, and environmental violations. Municipal judges also approve search or arrest warrants and act as magistrates for anyone arrested for a crime in Travis County, setting the amounts of bonds and any conditions of release.

Good news, but it gets better. According to the city, there is no record of any other Asian American serving as judge in Austin or Travis County, which makes Ramey the first Asian American judge in Austin.

Ramey's judicial investiture ceremony will take place on Friday, February 5, at noon at Austin City Hall. The ceremony is open to the public. Congratulations, Ramey!

mirai nagasu headed to vancouver olympics

Props to 16-year-old figure skater Mirai Nagasu, who kicked some ass on the ice at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, coming in second and earning herself a trip to the Vancouver Olympics: Rachel Flatt, Mirai Nagasu are headed to Olympics after 1-2 finish at U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Few actually Nagasu to nab a medal in Vancouver. Let's not count her out. But at least she can look forward to lots of perks and free Olympic schwag: Free-spirit figure skater Mirai Nagasu fired up for Olympics free stuff.

This isn't exactly a secret... but guess what? Figure skating is latest sport in which in Asians are dominating. Including Nagasu, eight of the 23 women who competed this weekend in the long program at the United States Figure Skating Championships were Asian Americans.

Internationally, the reigning women's Olympic champion, Shizuka Arakawa, is Japanese. Asian women have won seven of the nine medals at the last three world championships. And Kim Yu-na of South Korea is heavily favored to win the women's gold medal next month at the Vancouver Games.

How did they do it? A steady diet of rice, fish and vegetables? Extreme Asian Discipline? This New York Times article attempts to explain why skaters of Asian descent have risen to prominence in large numbers both national and internationally: Figure Skaters of Asian Descent Have Risen to Prominence.

baseball's first female general manager... someday

Another article on Los Angeles Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng, who is not only one of the few women holding it down in a male-dominated industry, but is arguably one of the most respected executives in professional baseball: Executive decisions. So after nearly two decades of working in Major League Baseball, why hasn't she been promoted to General Manager yet? That is the question.

law student charged in philadelphia shooting

Some news out of Philadelphia... not involving South Philadelphia High School. Last week, Gerald Ung, a 28-year-old Temple University law student was charged with attempted murder, assault, and violation of the Uniform Firearms Act for shooting Edward DiDonato after a late-night altercation on the street: Temple Law student charged in shooting of Villanova grad.

Ung is accused of shooting DiDonato in his hand, chest and abdomen six times, though he told authorities he acted in self-defense. According to police sources, the trouble may have started when someone bumped into DiDonato. Cameras outside a local Fox studio caught the incident on tape: Video: Man Shot In Front of Fox 29.

jeff & erin's epic wedding trailer

Goodness. Some people mail postcards. Others just send an email. To announce their wedding, Jeff and Erin created an EPIC save-the-date trailer. It's ridiculously awesome, but you will not forget their wedding date.

But with a wedding trailer this crazy... will their actual wedding be equally epic? We should expect nothing less than actual pyrotechnics. I want to see smoke machines and laser rays, set to "Final Countdown," when Erin walks down the aisle...

this week angriest posts

Not really the angriest, just the most viewed.

• awesome photo: third grader "barry" obama


• john park: the next american idol?


• ...and harrison ford as dr. chen


• conan vs. jay fight


• harold hongju koh: "why diversity matters to me"


• "bruce lee" nikes available on february 6


• awesome photo: shaolin, the original b-boy


• don't stop believing: japanese glee promo


• bizarre taiwanese news: conan vs. jay


• the racist camera explained

Big thanks to everyone who voted for the Center for the Pacific Asian Family this week. CPAF didn't win (it placed 19th out of 100), but there's no doubt the campaign raised awareness about community issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. The work continues.

crazy hot virtual jam session

This video is crazy hot. First saw it here. Call it a virtual jam session, with participants brought together by the power of the internets.

MCs: Dumbfoundead & Herbal T
Vocalist: Esna Yoon
Drums: CAV3
Guitar: Tio
Turntables: DJ Zo
Piano: Lukas (YoungPianoTV)
Bass: Chris Hong
Mixed Down by: Tio
Directed & Produced by: Kevin Lee and Brian Lee.

Coordinated by Brian Lee at Cain Mosni, it features rhymes from Dumbfoundead and Herbal T, vocals from Esna Yoon, with backing from several talented musicians... and apparently none of these people were even in the same room together. Pretty damn brilliant. (Thanks, Chris.)

vancouver police officers beat innocent man

This is a ridiculous story out of Vancouver, about a man who was dragged out of his house in the middle of the night and beaten by police officers in a case of mistaken identity: Innocent man beaten by officers did not resist: Vancouver police.

Officers were called to a home in southeast Vancouver afer woman called 911 to report that her drunken husband had struck her in the back of the head and she was concerned for her baby's safety. Unfortunately, the cops knocked on the wrong door -- the door of 44-year-old Yaowei Wu.

The officers apparently didn't realize there were two suites in the home and the complainant was actually Wu's tenant, who lives in a ground-floor suite. According to Wu, before he could ask who the officers at his door were, he was dragged outside and beaten.

On Thursday, Vancouver Police claimed that Wu had "resisted by striking out at the police and trying to slam the door, but the officers persisted in the belief that there may be a woman and child inside who could be in danger."

However, at a news conference on Friday, police said in a statement that Wu did not resist the officers -- it was indeed just a case of mistaken identity... and some really idiot police officers. Big fat oops.

Wu was taken to Vancouver General Hospital as a precautionary measure, where he was treated for bruises to his head, waist and knees and fractured bones around his left eye. He returned to hospital today to make sure his eye wasn't damaged.

The Vancouver Police Department's Professional Standards Section will be conducting an investigation and the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has been notified. Somebody's getting in troubblllle. More here: Vancouver police retract statement about beaten man.

...and harrison ford as dr. chen

Extradorinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, opens in theaters today. It's a medical drama about a desperate father who finances a cure for the rare Pompe disease that is killing his children. It doesn't look very good, but it's noteworthy as yet another movie that should've starred Asians. Or at least one Asian actor.

The movie is based on the true story chronicled in the book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million and Bucked the Medical Establishment in a Quest to Save His Children by Geeta Anands. There is a real John Crowley who really did start a biomedical company to develop a cure for Pompe disease.

But the real guy who developed the cure was not a Dr. Robert Stonehill, nor looks anything like Indiana Jones. The real guy is a fellow named Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen, who developed the treatment with colleagues at the Duke University Medical Center. I learned this from, of all places, Roger Ebert's movie review:

Dr. Robert Stonehill doesn't exist in real life. The Pompe cure was developed by Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen and his colleagues while he was at Duke University. He is now director of the Institute of Biomedical Science in Taiwan. Harrison Ford, as this film's executive producer, perhaps saw Stonehill as a plum role for himself; a rewrite was necessary because he couldn't very well play Dr. Chen. The real Chen, a Taiwan University graduate, worked his way up at Duke from a residency to professor and chief of medical genetics at the Duke University Medical Center. He has been mentioned as a Nobel candidate.

Ebert also speculates that Dr. Chen might have been inspired a more interesting character than Dr. Stonehill. But I suppose Harrison Ford, who also serves as the film's executive producer, isn't the first guy that comes to mind for the role of "Taiwanese Scientist." Thus, the rewrite. Ah, what could've been.

Despite the big name stars, the movie looks like a glorified made-for-Lifetime movie... where maybe it could've starred, um, Tzi Ma or somebody as Dr. Chen.

the racist camera explained

Remember our friend Joz and the racist camera? It insisted that Joz was blinking, when in reality she just has small eyes. And that guy with the racist webcam? His blackness appeared to infere with the computer's motion detection ability.

TIME has an article explaining the principles behind this seemingly racially insensitive technology: Face-Detection Cameras: Users' Racism Charges Explained. The algorithm for face detection should be relatively straightforward -- most folks have two eyes, eyebrows, a nose and lips -- but the execution isn't always so smooth.

If the problem really comes down to bad math, and is just a matter of adjusting some code, you have to wonder how these products even made it onto the market with such glaring flaws. Did the engineers behind these defices really forget to take darker skin color or smaller eye shape into consideration? Programming fail.

News flash: there are lots of non-Caucasians who use digital cameras and webcams. And when I say "lots," I mean a bajillion. Somebody better work that glitch out. And really, as Margaret Cho points out, who uses cameras more than Asian people?

reducing the suicide stigma

Conducive Mag has an interesting article on Asian American suicide by Suresh Unni, a clinical social worker, therapist and member of the Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative. He recalls the incidents preceeding his brother's suicide, including the passing of a close friend and his experience as a victim of a racial hate crime in Boston: REDUCING THE SUICIDE STIGMA: Suresh Unni's Story.

angry reader of the week: danny cho

Uh oh. Get yourself ready for another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is comedian Danny Cho.

last day to vote for the center for the pacific asian family

All right. One last video in support of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family. After everything I've posted this week, if you haven't yet voted for CPAF, you must do it today, January 22. You don't have to give any money, you're on Facebook anyway, and it literally takes seconds.

CPAF provides a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter, transitional shelter and counseling services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. If a woman has the courage to call, let's make sure someone is there to listen.

You could help CPAF win funds they seriously need to continue its mission to "Silence the Violence." At the moment, CPAF is waaaay behind in the standings, but hey, it ain't over 'till it's over. At the very least, it sends a message that the community can indeed come together for a worthy cause.

I've got nothing left to say. Vote for CPAF.

nerds of color unite

I really dig Bao Phi's latest blog post for the Star Tribune, where he talks about the pop culture geekiness (emphasis on the geekiness) that is close to his heart. Believe me, I can relate: NOCs (Nerds of Color).

For someone who creates such cool-ass spoken word, you wouldn't guess he has a not-so-secret past as a geek. But the evidence is all there -- consider a few columns back, when Bao wrote with such fervor about Lost. Geeks, unite.

But I totally get it. Being able to retreat in some kind of geeky fandom or pastime... only to have it a little bit ruined by some kind of crappy racist character or storyline -- and finding few fellow fans to stand with you on the issue.

That's part of why I'm so impressed with the way the whole Last Airbender movie resistance has taken off. (Big props to Racebending.) But I like that: Nerds of Color. NOCs. We should form a secret league or something.

don't stop believing: japanese glee promo

I enjoy Glee. It's a fun show, and the music brings a smile to my face. Japan apparently likes Glee too, as evidenced in this crazy ass TV commercial. I'm sure this makes sense to someone, somewhere. "Don't Stop Believing," indeed.

If that doesn't get you to watch the show, I don't know what will. Though, I hope people aren't misled to believe the show is just an hour of sumo dudes singing and dancing. Now if we can just get Fox to find a way to put Akebono on the show...

controversial prop 8 proponent testifies

More on Hak-Shing William Tam, a controversial figure in the Prop 8 movement, who was called to testify yesterday as a hostile witness in the lawsuit against California's same-sex marriage ban: Prop. 8 backer stands by views on pedophilia.

Attorneys for two couples suing to overturn Prop 8 called Tam to testify as a hostile witness to prove that bias toward gays fueled the campaign to pass the measure. Not exactly sure what they were trying to get from him... but I think they got it.

Tam said that he likened same-sex marriage to pedophilia, polygamy and legalizing sex with children, and that California would fall into the "hands of Satan" if gay and lesbian couples could wed.

He also said that the thinks gays are "12 times more likely" to be pedophiles, "based on the different literature [he has] read." Though, when pressed to cite any work he had read to substantiate his views, he said couldn't remember specifics. More court coverage here: Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 8: Power and Prejudice.

Apparently, other Proposition 8 supporters have even tried to distance themselves from Tam. I can't imagine why! Some more here: William Tam: He's like that Cute Ignorant Uncle That Everybody Cringes At. (Thanks, Manish.)