ed lee's got the power of lee

After seven months on the job, interim San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced that he was officially running for a full term to the cheers of his supporters. Sure he's got some political clout and he's a well-respected public servant, but he's also got a special weapon on his side: the power of Lee.

The Lee Family Association, that is. Ed Lee, being Ed Lee and all, has the backing of the Lee Family Association, the largest and one of the oldest family associations in Chinatown. And in this city, the power of Lee apparently goes a long way: What's in a name? Could be lots of votes for Ed Lee.

1st annual cape celebrity poker tournament, august 19

Do you like poker? Do you like celebrities? The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment invite you to its 1st Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament, a fundraiser featuring prominent Asian American entertainers as celebrity players. All event proceeds will go towards supporting CAPE educational programming. It's happening Friday, August 19 at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Here are some more details:

apply for the youth empowerment fund

The Youth Advisory Council, which is part of the Asian American Justice Center, has a new grant available to youth to support of their campaigns, projects, and events. The Youth Empowerment Fund offers up to $500 and the funds must be devoted to program or initiative with a large focus on APIA youth. Here's a quick video with some more information:

2011 72 hour film shootout winners

Last weekend, the 2011 72 Hour Film Shootout held its annual award ceremony as part of the Asian American International Film Festival in New York, handing out prizes to the entries deemed the best of the best in the Asian American Film Lab's time-tested filmmaking competition, in which teams had 72 hours to write, shoot and edit a five-minute around a prescribed theme.

The Grand Prize Winner: Terra Cotta by Team Floating Heads. Check it out:

couple gunned down in boonton, new jersey

Terrible news out of northern New Jersey, where a Pakistani American woman was shot to death while she was walking with her husband and 3-year-old son on Tuesday night: Parents Gunned Down Walking With Child.

27-year-old Nazish Noorani was shot to death while walking down a quiet street in Boonton. Her husband, Kashif Pervaiz, was shot four times and is in stable condition at a local hospital. The child, thankfully, was not injured.

According to the Morris County prosecutor's office, a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting was not random. However, police say there was no indication the shooting was a bias crime:

portraiture now: asian american portraits of encounter, august 12 - october 14

If you're in the Washington D.C. area, make sure you set aside time to check out Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter, a new exhibition collaboration betwen the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.

Through the work of seven artists from across the country, the exhibition offers provocative artistic responses to the Asian experience in America and the meaning of being Asian American. Here's some more information:

the great big wong gathering of 2011

So I've already mentioned the crazy Canadian Wong family crest, adorned with no less than a panda, a polar bear, a dragon, a phoenix and maple leaves.

Over the weekend they made it official at the Wongs' National Convention in Toronto, where hundreds of people named Wong arrived from across Canada, the United States, and even as far away as Hong Kong: That's a lot of Wongs.

space asians: george takei, john cho and garrett wang

More Star Trek for your azz... Check out this awesome photo taken over the weekend at the gigantic Star Trek Las Vegas Convention. That's George Takei (the original series Sulu), John Cho (the new movie Sulu), and Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager). They called it the "Sulu Summit." According to the official convention recap:

new details emerge in tyler clementi suicide case

An update in the continuing criminal case against former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who is accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man. His roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge: More Complex Picture Emerges in Rutgers Student's Suicide.

Hundreds of pages of court documents filed by Ravi's attorney last week reveal a more complex picture of Ravi and Clementi's awkward relationship, the growing tension between the roommates over Clementi's sexuality, and the events leading up to his death. Some of the new details about the case include:

18 mighty mountain warriors presents asiatico!

For those of you in Southern California, Asian American sketch comedy troupe 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors presents world premiere of its latest show, ¡Asiático! This time, they've teamed up with renowned theater artist Herbert Siguenza to bring a little Latin flavor to their special brand of Asian American comedy. The show is running now through September 4 at The Complex in Hollywood. Here are some more details:

who will be the next mr. hyphen?

Hyphen is looking for a few good men. That's right. Mr. Hyphen, the magazine's signature event, is back in full force for its sixth year, and looking for some fine Asian American dudes to represent. Who is Mr. Hyphen? Maybe it's you!

george takei shows conan how to do the vulcan salute

This is totally random, but it's a cross-section of many geeky things I appreciate, including Star Trek fans, Conan O'Brien and hand gestures. On the latest edition of the Conan segment "Fan Corrections," a Star Trek fan named Al Chan challenged Conan O'Brien's recent display of the Vulcan. Conan had to bring in a true expert to set him straight: Star Trek Legend Saves Conan's Ass.

physician charged in grisly double murder

Chilling, disturbing news out of Seattle... Last week, police responded to emergency call at the apartment of Dr. Louis Chen and his partner Eric Cooper. They arrived to find Chen nude and covered in blood, and both Cooper and their toddler-aged son stabbed to death: Prosecutors: Louis Chen, Doctor Arrested in First Hill Murders, Confessed to Killing At the Crime Scene.

Prosecutors allege that Chen stabbed Eric Cooper "well over" 100 times, while their 2-year-old son Cooper Chen suffered "numerous cuts to his neck." Chen has been charged with two counts of aggravated first-egree murder and ordered held without bail. According to charging documents, he confessed to the stabbings to officers at the crime scene:

lebron james gets dunked on by a taiwanese player

The headline kind of says it all, much to the glee of LeBron haters everywhere...

During a recent Nike tour event in Taipei, LeBron James was supposed to spend an afternoon coaching a basketball game between TSL All-Stars. Not content just sitting on the sidelines, he joined the game... only to get schooled while trying to show off some ball handling skills.

Behold, LeBron James taking a dunk to the face from an Asian kid:

chinatown tenants fight real estate firm's "aggressive tactics"

Check out this New York Times story on Madison Capital, a boutique Manhattan real estate investment firm that has reportedly been using "aggressive tactics" to push rent-stabilized tenants out of their aging Chinatown apartments. It's Gentrification 101: Her Chinatown Home Is 'Underperforming.'

Tenants like 58-year-old Zhi Qin Zheng, a garment worker who has been living in her Delancey Street walk-up for decades, and refuses to give up her home to Madison Capital's old-school hardball tactics:

the ambassador gets his own coffee

Hey look! It's Gary Locke, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to China, carrying his own backpack and ordering his own coffee... just like a regular dude. No big deal, right? It's apparently a big deal in China: Photo of bag-carrying ambassador charms China.

This photo, candidly snapped last week at Seattle Tacoma International Airport and uploaded to a Chinese social media network, has apparently created quite a buzz amongst those impressed by the simple average joe-ness of an official, sans entourage, getting his own coffee:

japanese student swept over niagara falls

Horrible news... On Sunday evening, a woman was swept over Niagara Falls when she lost her footing and fell from a railing she had climbed to take photos. She is presumed dead: Japanese student swept over Niagara Falls presumed dead.

According to authorities, the victim is a 19-year-old Japanese student who was studying and living in the Toronto area. Her name has not been released and her body has not yet been recovered. Police were working with the Japanese consulate to notify her family.

Based on witness accounts and surveillance video, it just sounds like she wasn't being very careful:

11th annual cape new writers awards, august 18

If you're in Los Angeles, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment invites you to the presentation of the 12th annual CAPE New Writers Awards. They'll be handing out the 2011 Film & Television Winners and Finalists, along with a staged reading of the winning scripts from 2010. It's happening Thursday, August 18 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Here are some more details about the evening:

vc workshop: intro to screenwriting with koji steven sakai

This for all you wannabe screenwriters in Los Angeles (and seriously, who in L.A. isnt?)... Our friends at Visual Communications are partnering with Koji Steven Sakai, the writer behind the feature films The People I Slept With and Haunted Highway, to bring you a ten-session introductory course on the craft of screenwriting.

Students will learn proper formatting and structure as well as how to create effective plots, characters, and dialogue -- all the necessary techniques to draft a first screenplay. As a bonus, the final class will be dedicated to the business of screenwriting and making it in the industry. Here's some more information about the course and Koji's credentials:

the jubilee project: letter of hope

The Jubilee Project has released its latest video, Letter of Hope, in support of Red Balloon, a not-for-profit organization that promotes music therapy for sick children. For every view that the video receives until September 15, 2011, sponsors will each donate a penny to Red Balloon.

Written and directed by Eddie Lee, and starring Anna Yang, it's a simple story about a girl who chooses to believe in something greater than herself. I'll admit, I always approach these videos with a cynical heart... but something about them always gets to me. Take a look for yourself: