In today’s New York Times (yes, I love The New York Times…), there is an article on Justin Lin (of “Better Luck Tomorrow” fame) profiling what Lin is doing these days – which is getting ready to promote his “new” film that will be released in October (the film premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival earlier this year), in the article, “A Recipe for Success“:
“With a movie that grossed $158 million under his belt [The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift], Mr. Lin is using the windfall to take an 18-month break from the Hollywood swirl, mainly to work on his quirky low-budget film “Finishing the Game,” which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January and is opening in New York on Friday. Made for $500,000 (as much as “Tokyo Drift” could cost before lunch on a single day, Mr. Lin pointed out), “Finishing the Game” is a retro-mockumentary that chronicles the search to find Bruce Lee’s body double after the superstar died in the middle of shooting a film…The Tuesday-night dinner was part of a nine-month cross-country tour by Mr. Lin and two stars of “Finishing the Game” — Roger Fan (a Brown University graduate who switched from finance to acting) and Sung Kang (who has a stand-up comedian’s wit and a gangster’s demeanor). The three have put their mainstream careers on hiatus to discuss Asian-Americans and film with anyone who will join them.”
I have not seen “Finishing the Game” yet. Mark your calendar – the film opens in New York this coming Friday, October 5th and opens in San Francisco on Friday, October 19th.
Subscribe to our mailing list
Get the day's stories from 8Asians.com, delivered to your inbox every evening at 6:00pm PST.
As most of you already know, if not from my profile, I am a Taiwanese-American, and hope that Taiwan gets the international recognition that it deserves. In the New York Times article, “Taiwan Plans Missiles Able to Hit China,” the newspaper reports:
“Faced with a threatening military buildup by China, an increasingly outgunned Taiwan is quietly pushing ahead with plans to develop missiles that could strike the mainland, defense and security experts say. Taiwan successfully tested its first cruise missile with that kind of range this year, one
that could send a nearly 900-pound warhead more than 600 miles, to targets as distant as Shanghai, military analysts said. Some Taiwanese military specialists have argued for decades that Taiwan should develop offensive weapons, including missiles, as a deterrent to the mainland, which has threatened to attack the self-governing island if it moves toward formal independence. The Pentagon estimates that China has deployed 900 missiles across from Taiwan. Senior military officials and lawmakers in the governing Democratic Progressive Party of President Chen Shui-bian have confirmed that the cruise missiles were under development. They said these missiles were essential to Taiwan’s defense because of China’s soaring spending on weapons.”
Not that I want war or anything, but Taiwan needs a military deterrent to assure that China will not invade Taiwan, something that China has repeatedly stated every single time the issue of Taiwan “independence” is brought up. Plus, it’s only fair that Taiwan has missiles aimed at China if China has 900 aimed at Taiwan! China will hopefully think twice before attacking Taiwan!
Shopping With GASP!
just read this NYT article, “the new affirmative action,” written by David Leonhardt, about how UCLA is dealing with fallout of prop 209. for context, it starts out with describing the situation UCLA found itself in after prop 209 passed:
The changes on U.C.L.A.’s campus were hard to miss. In 1997, the freshman class included 221 black students; last fall it had only 100. In the region with easily the largest black population west of the Mississippi River, the top public university had a freshman class in which barely 1 in 50 students was black.
and goes on to pursue a very interesting discussion & exploration of how UCLA (and other schools, potentially, if bans on affirmative action persist) is getting around fucked up laws. also nice to see such an in-depth story when it sometimes feels like people are sick of hearing about affirmative action or think we’ve somehow moved beyond the need for affirmative action. country still needs it, but now it seems we’ve got to rely on outsourcing to non-government entities to enact some equal opportunity goodness.
In one of the blogs I follow, Real Pop, had a YouTube link to a video of this Japanese video game:
This video game is just too funny. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think! The way the girls giggle while shooting just cracks me up.
Today’s San Francisco Chronicle reports that “[San Francisco] Supervisor Ed Jew Suspended from office.” If you have not been following this story, no, Ed Jew is not Jewish – he is a Chinese-American, the only Asian-American city supervisor where a third of the city residents are ethnic Chinese. As I may have written earlier, but is recapped in this story:![Ed jew [San Francisco] Supervisor Ed Jew suspended from office](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/d/d1/Ed_jew.jpg "http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/d/d1/Ed_jew.jpg")
“Jew is facing several legal problems, including a federal accusation of mail fraud for allegedly shaking down tapioca-drink business owners who were having permit problems. He also faces criminal charges filed by San Francisco prosecutors of lying about his residency when he ran for supervisor. Authorities believe Jew actually lived in Burlingame and did not move to establish residency in District 4 until the media raised questions about his true home earlier this year.”
Mayor Gavin Newson suspended Jew and began proceedings to remove him from office and named another Asian-American in his place, 29-year-old Carmen Chu, a deputy budget director for the city of San Francisco. I’ve often complained about the lack of Asian-American involvement in government/politics, and I guess one should take the good with the bad, but I’d rather read about Asian-American success stories rather than sketchy politicians like Ed Jew or political fundraisers like Norman Hsu. ABC 7 News has a story here on a “Profile Of New Supervisor Carmen Chu.“
I was watching The Tonight Show tonight and Jay Leno was doing some joke on Hooters opening branches in China. I did a quick Google search to see if this was true – and it is! According to the ABC News story “Globalization Gone Wild: Hooters Opens in China – China’s Olympic Preparations Include Western-Style Restaurants for Tourists“:
“And now, with the opening of its 435th branch in Beijing, Hooters is now being touted as a barometer for globalization…With the 2008 Summer Olympic Games just 11 months away, Beijing has set about sprucing itself up for the surge of sports fans, media and tourists — refurbishing its airport, updating security systems and launching foreigner-friendly restaurants…Although Hooters Beijing is the Alabama-based restaurant’s fourth branch in China, this opening is making waves. It was one thing when the first Hooters opened in the more cosmopolitan Shanghai in 2004, but in conservative Beijing, the “Hooters Makes You Happy” mentality feels a little more out of place.”
Well, I definitely agree that Shanghai is a lot more cosmopolitan and modern than Beijing, but I’m not sure Beijing (or China for that matter) needs a Hooters, but I’ll be sure the next time I’m in China (for investigative 8asians.com hard hitting journalism 
)
It seems everyone is getting found on YouTube these days. Years ago it used to be email fwds and chain letters, but with the advent of Web 2.0 almost anyone can be a star. Although I’d have to say that Christine Gambito isn’t just anyone. She’s launched her own creative career via YouTube. She has been on YouTube for over a year and uses her site, happyslip.com, to showcase her creative talents as well as poke fun at typical Filipino stereotypes. Some of her sketches touch upon familiar cultural themes like the auntie who always compares her daughter to yours, the strict cultural rules of having a boyfriend, and the familiar nuances of parents raising second generation children in the United States. She’s a one woman show, cute, funny creative and intelligent.
Well, I caught Survivor when it premiered tonight on CBS. Survivor is in its 15th season now and this time around, taking place in China now. I was a fan of the show when it first came out in the summer of 2000, but lost interest after a few seasons. I started watching Survivor a little bit more last season when CBS had divided the teams into four different racial tribes and when Yul Kwon was getting close to winning the game.
There are two Asian-Americans on Survivor China – “Frosti” who is half Japanese/half Russian, currently a film student at
Columbia College in Chicago (he’s in his junior year – and apparently the youngest Survivor contestant ever) and Peih-Gee (pronounced “P.G.”, as in the movie rating), a Chinese-American born in Hong Kong, who works for her parents’ jewelry business. After Peih-Gee’s team lost the challenge, she was being portrayed as a little bossy as the team needed to finish up building their shelter and she was giving out orders. As the only Chinese-American on the show, it’ll be interesting to see how Peih-Gee is portrayed (on the CBS website, she claims to have scored 780/800 on her English SAT’s, but partied a lot at UCLA, got kicked out, attended junior college and got reinstated at UCLA, and graduated.)
So what’s my verdict?
Dude, I totally know how you can save money on a new Audi S4 — buy a SMA Shanghai Maple from China instead!
Recent reports of certain automakers in China outright copying the look of Western cars have been met by a flurry of lawsuits. Chinese automakers like Shuanghuan Auto are accused of copying cars like the BMW X5, while Hongqi’s limousine bears a striking resemblance to the Lincoln Town Car. In some comparison pictures, you can’t even tell the original from the copy, as in the case of the SMA Shanghai Maple and the Audi S4 Cabrio.
Yup. Businesses in China have taken pirating to a whole new level. We ain’t talking Microsoft Vista CDs or Iron Man VCDs here. We’re talking automobiles!
As you might suspect, legal threats and lawsuits are rampant between US and European automakers and their Chinese counterparts. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but these rip-offs are pretty damn blatant. Just check out these photos! Hilarious!
Yes, count ‘em, 15 straight years that the United Nations has rejected the Republic of China, i.e. Taiwan, from entering the United Nations, as reported in the Associated Press today:
“UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A key General Assembly committee rejected Taiwan’s bid to join the United
Nations on Wednesday, … St. Vincent and the Solomon Islands — two of Taiwan’s allies — spoke in favor of putting the item on [Taiwan's entry into the U.N. on] the agenda, while China and Egypt spoke against it, Tisovsky said….On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Taiwan’s application was not accepted for legal reasons, because of the 1971 U.N. resolution that gave China’s seat to the Beijing-based People’s Republic of China…Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian told a videoconference last week that a referendum is the best way to show the world whether the majority of Taiwan’s 23 million people favor the island gaining a U.N. seat.”
It would be very interesting to see what China would do if Taiwan did hold a referendum, regardless of the outcome. Would China attack Taiwan as it has promised in the past, with the 2008 Beijing Olympics occurring just 5 months later? I’m betting that China would not – there would be such a huge backlash. Then again, who would have thought that the Chinese would have sent in troops into Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989?
Qbert is not only a turntablist phenomenon, he’s also best known as a prankster. This video clip turns the tables on a telemarketer calling him to refinance his home. A little long but well worth the time to see a telemarketer get tables turned by a great turntablist.
Sophia Yen MD MPH (Adolescent Medicine at LPCH at Stanford) is doing a study called Tampons Or Pads (TOP study) to study why women choose which product and health issues related to that. It should take only 5-10 minutes of your time and will help women’s health.
This survey is for research purposes and is being done over a secure server and the answers you submit will be STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Here is the link to the survey.
http://med.stanford.edu/survey/top1
Also, if you have any questions/concerns about this survey, please email Dr. Sophia Yen at [email protected]
Dr. Yen’s study on how why women choose tampons versus pads is based on her personal experience as an Asian American, and is specifically looking for Asian-American females. I myself am obviously NOT an expert on, uhm, feminine issues, but I’m more than happy to oblige with helping someone out with their survey. Now if you excuse me, I have to go read a BMX magazine or something.
Custom Search
Recent Posts
- Chinese New Year Lanterns
- Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet
- Help Fight Stereoptypes With Asian Crew Clothing
- Deftones’ Chi Cheng Wakes Up From His 3-Year Coma
- SXSW 2012 Has a Nice Handful of Asian Movies
- Woman In China Gives Birth To 15 Lb Baby
- Naruto & Dragonball Now Available On Barnes & Noble Nook
Recent Comments
- : If jeremy Lin weren't Asian, that is, if he were Black, as almost all NBA players are, then Jeremy would've been drafted quickly with offers... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : I think what you're saying makes sense for daily teaching/learning, and for testing depending on the subject and the expertise level being tested. However it... – How Standardized Tests Stunt the Intellectual Growth of Asian American Students
- : @LH Lawson Did you expect 8A, a blog dedicated to APA issues and current events, to NOT talk about the first American-born NBA player of... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : Can you just let him ball. Damn. Just enjoy this. – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : CUTE! i thought selca was self camera too, but self capture sounds better! please support my page~ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ulzzang-Contest/330329873668042 – Selca: Taking Photos of Yourself, So You Don't Look Like A Fool Taking Someone Elses
APA Events
Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
Feb 16: (New York, NY) Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist
Feb 17: (Los Angeles, CA) All My Sons
Feb 18: (Stanford, CA) Stanford’s 16th Listen to the Silence Conference- Feb 18: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
Feb 25: (Los Angeles, CA) Past Present I Future Imperatives: Queer Space Time
Mar 3: (New York, NY) Vong Pak’s ‘Electric Shaman’ Concert
Apr 30: (Sacramento, CA) California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit 2012: iAdvocate
Staff and Contributors
- Editors
- Ernie Hsiung - Founder, Editor-in-Chief
- Moye Ishimoto - Co-Editor, Editorial
- Joz Wang - Co-Editor, PR & APA Outreach
