8 Asians

Here’s a SuperBowl commercial that annoyed me, courtesy of Doritos. In this ad, some guys in a gym take Doritos from samurai– and suffer the consequences!!!111!!1 OMGLOLWTFBBQ! This ad was popular enough that it ranked in the Top 20 of the USA Today Super Bowl Ads Meter. (This was one of 4 consumer-created ads which aired during the big game.)

I don’t care that the Doritos Samurai is a white guy– in fact, I think it might be kind of racist if it was an Asian guy. This ad annoyed me because it used various martial arts in combination with each other– mixing up of the martial arts– not to be confused with intentionally featuring “mixed martial arts” (MMA).

Maybe I’ve just seen too many depictions of various martial arts being confused for each other– I’m talking about you Karate Kid 2010 and The Foot Fist Way– that my first reaction to the commercial was “Why is the Doritos Samurai throwing Doritos shurikens and swinging a Doritos nunchaku?” I mean, would it be so hard to make the guy swing a Doritos katana? Maybe shoot the guy with a Doritos yumi?

Then again, we are talking about a guy wearing a samurai outfit made out of Doritos, so who cares about accuracy?

On a side note, his outfit does look quite cheesy, crunchy, and delicious. Too bad it probably chafes. (Ow.)

Harvard senior and basketball phenom Jeremy Lin has just be named one of the top 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award from an original list of 73 – an award given to “the top collegiate male basketball point guard annually spanning across all divisions.” Congratulations to Jeremy!

You can help Jeremy win this award by voting for him at www.cousyaward.com – The player that receives the most fan votes will receive one vote toward the final committee vote. Fan voting will run one month – beginning February 5 and will conclude March 5. Jeremy has got some stiff competition, including nominees from such storied programs as Duke, Michigan State, Villanova and Kentucky.

Jeremy has gotten quite a bit of press lately: This past week, Jeremy was interviewed on NPR. And last week, Sports Illustrated did a story on him and the Harvard men’s basketball team.

This recent interesting polling data from Gallup finds Asian Americans more liberal or leans Democratic — after initially identifying as independents — than other racial/ethnic groups:

“Overall, 41% of Asians identify politically as Democrats, 41% as independents, and 16% as Republicans. As a result, Asians are above the national average in terms of the percentage of political independents (37% nationwide) and Democrats (34%), and below average in terms of the percentage of Republicans (27%).”

At first, I was kind of surprised by this given my experience growing up in the Northeast, where I found my parents and their peers tended to be at least fairly socially and fiscally conservative. But having now lived in California for over 10+ years, where a majority of Asian Americans do live, you kind of sort of expect those kind of results.

Additionally, Asian Americans tend to be highly educated compared to all other ethnic groups, showing a correlation with higher education and liberalism. But mostly, I have found in my experience is that Asian Americans tend to be fairly apathetic and not terribly involved in civic life and politics — ironically, they also vote to a lesser degree than most and thus a large percentage of Asian Americans are independent and not very ideological and more practical. The few Asian American Republicans I know tend to be small business owners, where Republicans tend to do well with.

If I asked you, Mister/Ms. Asian American, to name an Asian American magazine — any Asian American magazine — you could probably come up with a list of a couple: Hyphen, KoreAm, and a couple of now-defunct print magazines as well: Jade, Yolk and A Magazines come to mind. Giant Robot seems to be forgotten on a lot of people’s lists, but is a damn shame; what started as a humble zine has turned into a solid magazine devoted to Asians and Asian Americans in the art, film and pop culture worlds, with retail outlets in California and New York. My friend Schlomo puts it best: “Giant Robot has done more to bolster/unite/hype Asian American arts culture than anyone else I have ever seen. As a curated outlet, this is indispensable.” And let’s be honest: you know that statement is true if a guy named Schlomo is saying it.

But now — as with a lot of print based publications out there and like a couple of AA magazines — Giant Robot is in financial trouble, and is asking for financial support from fans. The idea of donating has gotten a fair amount of criticism from readers, of which co-editor Martin writes about in the GR blog:

… [W]e’re not looking for a free ride. Other changes are in the works to get help, evolve GR, and secure its place. We have support of our printer, large advertisers, and other plans that are kicking in. But this is something to provide stability while they take effect. It’s not easy to ask for assistance — and we’re not saying that we expect it or necessarily deserve it — but if you can offer help, we can use it.

To which I say this: Giant Robot is one of the most successful Asian American-based brands to successfully crossover to mainstream pop culture. As someone who has visited the New York store and has met one of their managers, it would be a shame to see all of that go away. If you have the money and want to see a brand you believe in stick around, donate to the cause. But if you don’t believe in the way their doing it, hey, buy a magazine or a subscription.

I’m no fashionisto — as many people can tell by the way I dress — but I’ve dropped by the store a few times to say “hello.” The Hayes Valley boutique is inviting and showcases a wide selection of clothing and accessories and even gets glowing Yelp reviews! I’m always amazed and impressed by entrepreneurs like Cathy, because I can imagine that it can be particularly challenging to jump-start, maintain, and grow a retail business.

In 2006, Cathy and her business partner, Corina launched Tobi.com, a “1-to-1 shopping” experience with personal stylists you can call, chat, and email with about any questions you may have. Most recently in 2009, to further build upon their fun and personal online shopping experience, Cathy and Corina launched a web video series, aptly branded, Tobi TV.

Make sure to tune in — and check out all the episodes — as Cathy and Corina visit designer showrooms, speak candidly about buying for the season, and what trends they love to share with their customers. Also, a bit of insider information, follow Tobi on Facebook and Twitter to access exclusive giveaways, stylist tips, and more on fashion.

Back when Hines Ward was a rookie, I knew about his career. Not because I followed him, but because my friends would be sure to keep me updated. I have to admit, I do pay closer attention to Korean news makers so I can keep up with the people I’m lumped with by ethnicity, and I guess I swell with pride when “my people” do good and feel shame when they act like buffoons.  I feel the same way about any Asian American news makers.

Hines Ward has been a bleep on my radar ever since my friends told me about his NFL career way back when. Since I don’t really follow any football unless it’s about the Colts, I hadn’t kept up with Ward religiously. But I recently (and by recently, I mean November of 2009) read something about Ward that made me smile: Hines Ward is doing his part in trying to help other Korean biracial youths.

I have a biracial cousin I don’t see as often as I would like, but I remember how hard it was for her to be the only biracial kid in our family. She wasn’t loved any less, but there seemed to be a certain divide; while I have no firsthand experience on how challenging it can be to live as a biracial Korean, I’ve witnessed enough hurdles here and there to appreciate what Ward is doing.

Even as a non-biracial Korean, and Korean being my first language, I lived with certain prejudices from my fellow countrymen back when I lived in South Korea. I still feel it when I venture into Korea Town and felt a smidge when I visited Korea in 2008, so it’s no surprise that the plight of biracial kids in South Korea was mostly ignored until 2006, when Ward became MVP of Superbowl XL. And while the plight still continues, Ward is doing what he can to help and I appreciate his efforts. I’m thankful that he is being vocal about it so that it leaves less room for South Koreans to try and ignore a glaring problem.