David Brown stabbed psychology professor Bosco Tjan after a "personal dispute."
Damn. In Los Angeles, a doctoral student at the University of Southern California was taken into custody after stabbing and killing a psychology professor in a campus building on Friday afternoon.
28-year-old David Jonathan Brown, PhD student in brain and cognitive science, is accused of fatally stabbing Bosco Tjan, a co-director of USC's Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center.
Police received a 911 call from USC's University Park campus about a victim with multiple stab wounds. Emergency responders found Tjan's body in a science building. He had been stabbed in the chest.
What it's like to be an Asian-American actor: I'm the background of other people's stories: "As an Asian-American actor in New York City, 95 percent of my gigs place me in Chinatown. I'm the "set dressing" that helps create an exotic backdrop for lead performers. In the past five years, the majority of my trips to Chinatown have been specific to a scene, even as my real life rarely puts me there."
Riz Ahmed: 'We have to be vocal. We're living in scary times': Actor Riz Ahmed, who stars in the HBO drama The Night Of and the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, says he still gets stopped and interrogated while going through airport security -- even when he was on the cover of the in-flight magazine.
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How Being an Undocumented Kid Helped Atsuko Okatsuka Find the Humor in Life When comedian Atsuko Okatsuka and her family came to the United States when she was 10, she didn't realize they planned on staying. Okatsuka talks about the years her family spent in the green card lottery and the importance of comedy in her life.
Ted Chiang, the science fiction genius behind Arrival: Award-winning science fiction writer Ted Chiang's complex, thoughtful and futuristic short stories should prove fertile ground for filmmakers now that Hollywood has discovered him.
"I'm about learning and improving myself a little everyday."
Hello, good readers. You know what time it is. It's 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 Omi Vaidya.
Short story imagines what it would be like if young Bruce Lee crashed at your place for a few months.
This week marks Bruce Lee's birthday. He would have been 76. Before he became an action movie superstar, an international icon and arguably the most influential martial artist of all time, he was a hungry artist with some wild ideas and big dreams. Ever wonder what it would be like to hang out with the young Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee Is Your Roommate, written by Patrick Miller and illustrated by Irene Koh, is a short story that explores Bruce Lee's off-screen life through his own words. Told in the second person, the tale imagines what it would be like if the young Bruce Lee -- not quite yet a superstar -- crashed at your place for a few months.
House passes the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S.1555, the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, recognizing Filipino veterans who fought for the United States during World War II with a Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor.
S.1555, sponsored by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), honors more than 260,000 Filipino and Filipino American soldiers who fought under U.s. command during the second world war. The Senate passed this bill unanimously over the summer, and it will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.
Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, applauded the passage of the bill and called the recognition of Filipino veterans "long overdue."
"During World War II, more than 200,000 Filipino soldiers served bravely alongside American forces and played a critical role in ultimately helping the United States to achieve victory in the Pacific," Chu said. "We in CAPAC have made it a top priority to ensure that these Filipino World War II veterans receive the benefits and recognition that they deserve, and the passage of today's bill is a tremendous victory for our veterans and the broader Filipino American community."
New Netflix comedy series is a satirical look at the everyday hustle of Indians in New York City.
Because hey, Aziz Ansari doesn't have to be the only Indian dude on Netflix. The new comedy Brown Nation is a satirical slice-of-life look at the everyday hustle of Indian immigrants and other brown-skinned communities in New York City. The 10-episode season debuted on the streaming service on November 15.
The series, created and written by Matt Grubb, George Kanatt and Abi Varghese, centers on Hasmukh, an immigrant from Gujarat who runs a small foundering IT company in Queens. While holding his dysfunctional office together, Hasmukh must navigate various personal relationships, including his struggling artist wife, his live-in father-in-law (who has been visiting from India for more than nine months) and a dog he despises.
YOMYOMF's 10 Hollywood Films Where Asian Characters were 'Whitewashed'
With recent movies like Marvel's Doctor Strange and the upcoming live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell catching criticism (and ridicule) for casting white actors as Asian characters, it's brought a renewed spotlight on the racist, time-honored Hollywood tradition of whitewashing.
Over at YOMYOMF, Phil Chung has compiled an interesting list of 10 Hollywood Films Where Asian Characters were 'Whitewashed' -- characters that were originally intended to be Asian, but whose identities and backgrounds were scrubbed to be played by non-Asian actors.
In addition to helpfully clarifying the difference between "yellowface" and "whitewashing," the list includes recent glaring examples that people usually cite when railing against whitewashing, like Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Goku in Dragonball: Evolution, where the characters are Asian in the source material.
But the list also highlights real-life Asians who were magically changed into white people for the movies, like Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen, the brilliant Taiwanese research doctor who developed the cure for Pompe Disease. In 2010's Extreme Measures, the character became Dr. Robert Stonewall, played by Harrison Ford. What?
"While it sucks that the film denied giving credit to the real man who created the real cure for a real disease," Phil notes, "at least Dr. Chen didn't have to see his name associated with a shitty movie if that's any consolation." Well, there's that.
Chao, who was the first Asian American woman to sit on a presidential Cabinet, previously served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Director of the Peace Corps under President George H.W. Bush.
Chao's tenure as Labor Secretary was marked by her decidedly pro-business stance, leaving her frequently at odds with labour unions and workers' rights groups. The Government Accountability Office reported in 2008 that the Labor Department inadequately investigated tens of thousands of complaints filed by workers alleging labour violations. In addition, the Department of Labor under Chao was repeatedly criticized for failing to conduct proper safety inspections to protect worker health, while redirecting resources towards stricter scrutiny of labour unions' financial records. Nonetheless, Chao has remained a powerful player within the national Republican party even after leaving the position of Secretary of Labor, particularly as a close strategist and advisor to her husband of over twenty years, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
She'll play a captain on CBS' 'Star Trek' series, but she won't be playing THE captain.
It has been officially confirmed that Michelle Yeoh has joined the cast as a recurring character in Star Trek: Discovery. She will be playing a captain on the new series, but she will not be playing the captain.
Yeoh will play Captain Georgiou, the Starfleet captain commanding the U.S.S. Shenzhou -- not the captain of the eponymous starship Discovery, as many had speculated, and not the show's main character. According to Deadline, her ship "is set to play a big role in Discovery's first season."
Honolulu native wrote, directed and produced the 2013 indie film 'The Haumana.'
Photo Credit: Olivier Koning
Actor Keo Woolford, who wrote, directed and produced the award-winning 2013 independent film The Haumana, died Monday afternoon in Hawaii after suffering a severe stroke last week. He was 49.
A native of Honolulu, Woolford had a recurring role as Detective James Chang on CBS' Hawaii Five-0, as well as small roles in films like Happy Texas (1999), Act of Valor (2012) and Godzilla (2014). He also starred in more than 300 performances as the King of Siam in The King & I at the London Palladium.
Hawaii Five-0 star Daniel Dae Kim shared his remembrance of Woolford on Twitter:
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in the United States -- now 20 million strong and expected to more than double to over 50 million by 2060. How do we get there? How do we mobilize and move forward right now during this important time?
Next week in Washington DC, there will be a day-long public pop-up exhibit and event called Fast Forward 2060: Highlighting Legacy and Action in the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Under President Obama and Beyond. Fast Forward 2060 will celebrate AAPI progress under the Obama Administration and beyond and also provide a platform for the AAPI community at large to mobilize going forward.
It's happening Wednesday, December 7 at Impact Hub DC. Here are some more details:
Episode 306: "WWJD: What Would Jessica Do" airs Tuesday, November 29, 9:00 pm on ABC
ABC's hit Asian American family sitcom Fresh Off The Boat airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm. The comedy, inspired by the memoir of chef Eddie Huang, tells the story of the Huang family, a Taiwanese American family getting their immigrant hustle on in 1990s suburban Orlando, in pursuit of the American dream. Previous episodes are available for viewing on the ABC website
Fresh Off The Boat stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery, Ian Chen as Evan, Chelsey Crisp as Honey and Lucille Soong as Grandma Huang. This week, Jessica is thrown for a loop when Evan chooses church over Costco.
Here's a preview of episode 306, "WWJD: What Would Jessica Do":
From the Makers of
Hotties with Haikus now comes
Hotties ON Haikus.
Look, it's very simple. Hot Asian men. Poetry. Every month. People, it's the Haikus On Hotties 2017 Calendar, now available for purchase! The full-color calendar features thirteen months of attractive Asian men in various states of dress or undress, sharing a little bit of poetry with you. It makes the perfect holiday gift for your friends who need just a little more Asian American male hotness in their lives. Order now!
Created by Ada Tseng, Professor of Hotness, the non-award-winning photo and poetry series Haikus with Hotties was first launched in 2013 for Audrey Magazine, featuring attractive men answering ridiculous questions while counting syllables. Last year, the series inspired the crowd-funded 2016 Haikus With Hotties Calendar. And now, the project has morphed and returned with a twist: Haikus On Hotties.
"He's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews."
Dispatches from Trump America... In California, a hate letter threatening genocide against Muslims was sent to three mosques, warning that Donald Trump would "do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews."
The same handwritten, photocopied letter, addressed to "the children of Satan," was sent last week to the Islamic Center of Long Beach, the Islamic Center of Claremont and the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose. The author promises, among other things, that Trump will "cleanse America and make it shine again."
Trump's America: A Hostile Place For Huddled Masses: "Donald Trump has given people permission to be racist." With Trump's election last week, that permission becomes encouragement. If you spew vitriol against minorities, you can rise to the highest office in the land. How could that be anything but a green light for hatred?
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We Must Prevent Trump's "Muslim Registry" Before It Starts: "As we move forward in trying to retain a sense of normalcy during the reeling aftermath of this election, we must ultimately remember that this is not normal. We cannot let this be our normal. But we also must remember, that for the most part, we've been here before."
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Sikh Leader Writes A Letter To President-elect Trump: In the wake of numerous reports of hate crimes since the election results, Sabreeth Singh writes a letter to President-elect Trump and the important role that interfaith communities can play in healing the political and racial divide in the country.
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Here's What I'm Telling My Brown Son About Trump's America: "But listen, love, because I need to remind you of something and I need you to remember it extra well over the next four years: This is our street. It is our street. So when you feel that rumbling pushing up through your palms, I want you to press them flat against it, and do not be afraid to hear everything."
Sooner or later, every South Asian actor gets mistaken for Kal Penn.
Wall Street Journal film critic Joe Morgenstern made an embarrassing error in a review for the movie Lion in Friday's newspaper, when he confused Dev Patel with Kal Penn.
Both actors are of Indian descent, but their careers have been very different. Patel, 26, who plays Saroo Brierley in Lion, is British, while Penn, 39, was born in New Jersey.
In his review, Morgenstern says that Lion is Patel's "richest performance" since 2006's The Namesake. But Patel, the star of Slumdog Millionaire, wasn't in that film directed by Mira Nair. The part was played by Penn, whose other credits include the Harold and Kumar movies, House and How I Met Your Mother.
"A poet and community builder. Although that may be redundant."
What's up, internet friends? It is time, once again, 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 Bryan Thao Worra.
Sidney Chan is accused of kicking Stephen Kent in the face after Kent called him a racial slur.
All right. As a matter of principle, I'm going to emphasize that I can't condone violence. But I'm also not going to be terribly disappointed by the news that a guy got kicked in the face after calling someone a "chink."
In London, 20-year-old Sidney Chan is accused of kicking Stephen Kent in the face -- twice -- during a fight that broke out after Kent called him a "chink" while they were leaving a student bar at Imperial College.
Prosecutors say the altercation was set off when Chan "provoked" Kent by making a comment about his "1980s-style mullet haircut." (I am absolutely dead serious.) But Chan denies making fun of the mullet. He says Kent was the real aggressor, calling him a "chink" before charging at him and throwing punches.
"I never said anything about his hair," Chan said at trial. "He started throwing punches at me after he fell to the ground after I had pushed him. He quickly got back up and he charged at my group and started throwing punches at me."
...conveniently summed up in this mannequin challenge video.
It's been a hell of a year with a lot of frustrating and heartbreaking moments. This clever Asian American take on the Mannequin Challenge, entitled "A-Woke," attempts to sum it up with some perspective. Produced by Michael Tow and Teja Arboleda, it plays kind of like a "greatest hits" of some of the high profile issues and pop culture flare-ups that have recently gripped the Asian American community.
It's by no means comprehensive -- it's almost entirely East Asian-focused -- but it manages to jam in references to the Academy Awards, Doctor Strange, "Watters World," Ghost in the Shell and more in less than a minute and a half. It's like a weird wax museum of some of your favorite racist bullshit from 2016.
The hell? In New York, police say a man attacked a 63-year-old Asian man while riding a Midtown train, punching him in the face and asking him, "Why don't you go back to your own country?"
Won Yi was on a Manhattan-bound F subway train on Tuesday morning when the assailant got on at the Jay Street station in Brooklyn Heights and sat next to him. At one point, the man turned to Yi and said, "Why don't you go back to your country?"
Well, shit. Nothing good ever happens after someone says that.
