I want to know this feeling

Saw this on Facebook, had to share... This is a Japanese McDonald's commercial. I don't understand Japanese, but from what I can tell, it appears as though they've sprinkled crack cocaine on the food in those Happy Meals. Just look into these kids' eyes:

disabled girl sues philadelphia parking authority for discrimination

In Philadelphia, a 12-year-old, severely disabled girl is suing the city's Parking Authority for denying her a handicapped parking space in front of her home. Salina Sok can't leave her house when the van that transports her isn't able to park out front: Disabled girl sues PPA after denied a handicapped spot.

The authority apparently rejected Sok's application on grounds that she didn't have consent of one of her next-door neighbors. But according to herfederal civil rights lawsuit, the Parking Authority discriminated against Sok, and that no federal or state law mandates a neighbor's consent to determine who can park on a public street.

angry reader of the week: steven mallorca

Okay, everybody. Time to meet the 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 Steve Mallorca.

penn law apalsa 2011 conference, january 29

The University of Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Law Students Assocation invites you to help them celebrate their 10th anniversary conference, Celebration: Building on a Decade of Asian-American Achievement.

They'll be commemorating the achievement of Asian Americans in the legal field and beyond, while recognizing that there's still progress to be made. It's happening Saturday, January 29 at Levy Conference Center at Penn Law School. Here's a partial list of conference speakers:

online petition: the future of asian/asian american studies at syracuse university

This is in support of the students who are fighting for the future of Asian American Studies at Syracuse University. After a thirteen-year campaign to establish the program, Syracuase finally passed a minor in Asian American studies last spring. However, they're still struggling to hire professors. The latest hurdle in the process:

new york times profiles celeb gossip blogger just jared

This is a really interesting New York Times profile on Jared Eng, the guy behind the immensely popular celebrity gossip blog Just Jared. While I don't follow the site regularly, I'm certainly aware of it -- but I had no idea the guy running it was a 28-year-old Chinese American guy from Queens: Nice-Guy Bloggers Needn't Finish Last.

In a web landscape littered with mean-spirited gossip sites, Just Jared has earned a massive audience and a lot of celebrity cred by building a "snark- and judgment-free" breath of fresh air. And it has paid off. Just Jared regularly beats out some of the biggest sites in traffic -- and is earning seven figures:

job announcement: staff attorney positions at aaldef

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), which protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, advocacy and community education, is seeking to hire two staff attorneys: one in the Educational Equity and Youth Rights Project and one in the Voting Rights Project. Here are the job descriptions:

mao money: china ascendant in sci-fi flick looper

Saw this interesting little bit of movie news on io9... Director Rian Johnson's (Brick, The Brothers Bloom) latest film, Looper, is a sci-fi flick, and appears to have a very interesting vision of a future in which China is the world's leading superpower: First images of Rian Johnson's dystopian future.

Sure, we're all aware of the upcoming Red Dawn remake, in which evil Chinese military forces invade America. But while in the future of Looper, China has become "ascendant over the United States," something tells me it won't be too quick to paint China as the scary aggressive:

vote for michelle chen in glamour's best of you contest

Just wanted to lend a hand to help spread the word about Michelle Chen, who is up for Glamour's "Best of You" Contest, which celebrates inspirational women from around the country. Your online vote could help her win.

The contest donates money to the charity of the winner's choice, and Michelle's charity is Bruin Initiative, an academic program for underserved high school students she founded with her sister during her first year of college. Here's a little blurb about her accomplishments:

ron and christina back for the amazing race: unfinished business

CBS has officially announced the cast for the upcoming 18th season of The Amazing Race, which will bring back eleven teams from past seasons to seek redemption and get another shot at the $1 million prize in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business: 'Amazing Race: Unfinished Business' Meet The Teams!

No, Kevin Wu and his dad Michael are not back. But as previously rumored, it looks like father/daughter team Ron and Christina Hsu from season 12 will be back. They were fan favorites who almost made it to the finish, but got stuck on the final detour. Here are excerpts from their bios:

psa: apis for the trevor project

Pan Asian Community Together (PACT) recently released the third of its 30-second PSA videos, APIs for the Trevor Project. The Trevor Project works to save the lives of young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people, through direct crisis intervention, suicide prevention, education and advocacy efforts. Take a look at their message:

asian pacific americans for progress: top 10 unsung heroes 2010

Asian Pacific Americans for Progress recently announced its Top Unsung Heroes 2010, a list that includes congressional candidates, activists, organizers, attorneys, and other invaluable individuals on the ground and getting things done in our community. Here's the list:

sorry I missed your party

In case you weren't one of the 225 esteemed and glamorous guests invited to attend Wednesday night's state dinner at the White House in honor of Chinese president Hu Jintao, here's a list of who you missed rubbing elbows with, according to the Washington Post: Guest list for the Chinese state dinner.

ecaasu 2011 at umass amherst, february 18-20

Students! This is the big one. The East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU), the largest inter-collegiate Asian American student network in the nation, presents its annual conference, ECAASU 2011 on February 18-20 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

This year's conference theme is B.R.E.A.K.: Bridge, Revitalize, Equality, Action, Knowledge -- with the hope of bridging the past and present by revitalizing the APIA political movement to demonstrate equality for all; actions across color-lines, and sharing knowledge to promote a collective community. Here are some further details:

stereotypical asian caricatures in banksy's simpsons storyboard sketches

Remember that crazy alternate opening credit sequence for The Simpsons, created by notorious graffiti artist Banksy, that raised a bit of a ruckus a little while back? Arrested Motion has posted the artist's preliminary sketches for the sequence: Creative Process: Banksy x Simpsons Intro Animation.

job openings: 2011 los angeles asian pacific film festival

Yet more film festival job opportunties... Visual Communications is looking for some outstanding, motivated individuals for employment in preparation for the 27th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, happening April 28 through May 7 at the Directors Guild of America, Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre, and CGV Cinemas. They've got a whole bunch of openings:

far east movement: still climbing, flyin' high

Here's a recent USA Today profile on our friends, the red-hot electro-dance act Far East Movement, whose hit single "Like a G6" has already conquered the airwaves, and whose current single "Rocketeer" is climbing the charts fast: On the verge: Far East Movement flies 'Like a G6.'

maryland man found dead after shooting mother and sister

Some news out of Maryland about a double shoooting and suicide involving an Asian family last week in Frederick County. According to investigators, 26-year-old John Ming Lee wounded his mother and sister before apparently shooting himself in the head: Police: Man shot mother, sister, then self.

Lee's mother Siach Song and 18-year-old sister Amy Zheng were both shot. His father Jingmin Zheng was hurt when he jumped from a second-floor window. Lee was found dead in a car with the gun after a slow-speed chase.

alternate universe movie posters

Saw this making the rounds on a lot of movie blogs last week, and it is awesome: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE MOVIE POSTERS.

It's a gallery of poster art for imaginary movies. Or rather, re-imagined movies. Same title, different casts, from somewhere different on the space-time continuum. Some of them are really cool ideas, while others are just plain wacky. 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune? Hell yeah. Yo, I'd pay to see that.

nba drawing crowds with ethnic "heritage" events

This is an interesting Wall Street Journal article on the NBA's efforts to attract crowds with "heritage" events, aimed at courting even the smallest ethnic enclaves to watch NBA games -- particularly for losing teams that don't normally draw big crowds: NBA Game Promises to Be a Turkey? Call In the Turks - or the Filipinos.

With 86 foreign-born players in NBA, the easiest way to do this is to build a heritage event around a particular player's ethnicity. The article also mentions Raymond Townsend, the league's first Filipino American player, who has recently been organizing and hosting Filipino heritage events across the NBA: