From the Philadelphia Weekly comes this article about how Asian high schoolers — specifically recent immigrant kids from China and South and Southeast Asia, are not just bullied, but outright assaulted at South Philadelphia and Fels High Schools in Philadelphia. As someone who went to Portola Junior High School in Richmond, CA — a low-income, mostly Black school, I had some scary moments of my own in 1989 — this was a terrifying moment in my life, where kids were willing to bully or kick the shit out of anyone who wasn’t like them, and beating up on the tiny kid always looking down was the perfect target. Like all alternative weeklys, don’t look for any helpful solutions in the article. And don’t read the comments, lest you feel like giving up on all of humanity. (hat tip: yvespaul)
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8Asians is not a place to post purely personal stuff, but sometimes when we’re writing about the stuff that interests us, our personal lives & info do get mixed in. So it’s not surprising that even though we’re busy talking about the size of John Cho’s head, or interracial dating, or Hollywood’s sucky choices in casting (hello, Avatar!), or — you get the picture — sometimes we all talk about more “personal” subjects, too. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t still room to get to know us better, though.
Most of us have personal blogs elsewhere, but believe it or not, we don’t all know each other personally and follow each other online. So in a series that may end here*, I would like to do a shout-out regarding one of our writers, Brian. Here’s his current 8Asians bio:
I’m an unapologetic hack satirist specializing in inane, obscene, and rudimentary humor. Low brow is too high brow for me. I listen to Howard Stern. I love that you just rolled your eyes. I couldn’t care less. I absolutely HATE hypocrisy. Of any kind. I read Supreme Court opinions. I devour the Sunday New York Times. I’m on the internet way too much. I listen to artists, not genres. I think the first step of being an Asian American is not having to apologize for it. I always tell the truth. I lie incessantly in bios. Read me at mobilebrian.blogspot.com.
I’ve actually had the pleasure of hanging out with Brian a couple of times… up in SF for an 8Asians get together in 2008 and once earlier this year when I visited NYC and get to visit with 8Asians Lily and Katherine. (Funny that I never met up with him while he was living in LA.)
Speaking of funny, I’d definitely use that word to describe him. By day, Brian is a superhero; by night, he’s a stand-up comedian. He was also tapped by Diana at Disgrasian for their Babewatch feature, making him a bonafide babe — deemed totally crush-worthy by a lady who has really high standards. Before Daniel came on the scene, I can honestly say that I received the most inquiries about Brian from people asking if he was “available.” (I don’t know the answer to that, so don’t ask!)
But I do know the answer to the second most asked question about Brian — YES, that really IS his deep, smooth, velvety voice.
It’s not nice to play games like this with your friends, but hell, I’ve come this far already. If I had to play Friend, Fuck or Marry (no one kills anyone in our games) with Brian, I’d have to answer yes, yes and hellz yes! (Good thing that I’m just playing games here because Brian is WAY out of my league.)
Nonetheless, it’s always fun to daydream. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s real easy on the eyes. And just watching him in the video above with his doggies makes me crush on him all the more.
Wow, this is going downhill fast and I’d better just stop writing before I embarrass myself any further.
*Brian didn’t know I was going to write this. I’m hoping that this makes him blush. I know I am.
Shopping With GASP!
There has been a lot of talk — some of it crazy — about health care reform in the United States. Personally, I am for health care reform with universal coverage and a public option. I take pride that my parents’ native country Taiwan — a VERY capitalist and market oriented society, hardly socialist — decided to reform their health care system in the mid-90s, reviewing health care systems around the world and picking the best practices from each country, tailoring it to Taiwan’s needs.
Taiwan went from a completely private insurance system where only 50% of the population had healthcare, to a single payer program covering nearly 100% of the citizens, improving health benefits and outcomes with the lowest administrative costs in the world at 2% (versus 20% in the United States) and costing only 6% of GDP (versus 16% in the United States.) Last year, PBS’s Frontline did an excellent profile on Taiwan’s healthcare system.
But here in the United States, healthcare is a mess. As an American, Asian American and Californian, I was happy to hear the Tell Me More program on National Public Radio the other day with Congressman Mike Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and very recently elected Congresswoman Judy Chu to discuss the significance of the health care debate for Asian Americans. Dr. Chu (who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology) highlighted some of the specific health issues in the Asian American community:
“Yes, with regard to the API population, the Asian Pacific Islander population, there is greater risk for certain diseases, like for instance for hepatitis B, where one out of 10 Asian Pacific islanders have the disease, putting them at a one-in-four risk from liver failure or liver cancer, and more than half the estimated 1.5 million carriers in the United States are Asian Pacific Islanders. So here you have a population with a high risk for a particular disease that would constitute a preexisting condition… And they would be denied health care insurance in our system, as it is now. In addition, many APIs don’t even know that they’re carriers, but there’s no preventive screening for them. And with health care reform, they would be able to access that.”
And the current legislation in Congress also seeks better coverage for mental health care. 8Asians has discussed hepatitis a few times. We’ve also blogged about recent suicides at Caltech as well depression amongst Asian American teens. The United States has been trying to get health care reform since the days of Harry Truman; given how partisan the politics of healthcare has been recently, today’s Republicans wouldn’t even approve what Nixon’s proposed reforms today.
(Flickr photo credit: progressohio)
Last week, I had the pleasure to meet up with Disgrasian gals for a late lunch. Even though we’re all in L.A., this is the first time we’ve had a chance to meet, sit and talk. While admittedly a lot of the conversation did indeed revolve around my cousin Daniel, the rest of the conversation was typical “getting to know each other” kind of chatter.
Sad you weren’t there? Thanks to Steve Nguyen, you can get to know Jen & Diana a little better via a fun behind-the-scenes video & interview he produced. (Check out his YouTube Channel for some of the other amazing Asian American folks he’s interviewed, as well!)
Seriously though, Jen and Diana are awesome and I can’t wait to meet up with them again so that maybe some of their coolness will rub off me. (I can hope, can’t I?!)
Lee Jae-suk, a Korean advertisement professional based in NY, has taken it upon himself to create the “Kimchi Mask” for publicizing swine flu prevention. While I am glad to know that Kimchi is effective in guarding against swine flu for those who consume it, I’m just not sure how I feel about sporting this not-so-fashionable mask as a reminder of it. But I do applaud Lee for his creativity — he has more projects up his sleeve — I’m just not sure how easy it would be to coordinate an outfit.
We like Paul Dateh. Really, we do, even though Paul himself may not think so after his kinda-sorta defensive comment to a kinda-sorta critical concert review of an International Secret Agents show in San Francisco this past March. But March was six months ago, and six months is like four years in Internet time, so why don’t we let bygones be bygones and talk about his current projects, shall we? Awesome.
Most of us Asian American netizens know of Paul as the YouTube Hip-Hop Violinist, something we blogged about on 8Asians, oh shit, two years ago to the day. But this video is opposite of hip-hop as Paul plays the violin — and sings! — to “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” with Ken Belcher, the song made famous by Ernie on Sesame Street, and the very first song to ever make me cry. (What? I was six. Fuck you.)
Joz’s cousin Daniel Liu — yes, THAT cousin — who’s been featured quite prominently on our blog and various other Asian Am blogs for being the newest male supermodel, was interviewed by NPR. In this audio interview, he talks about his new career, and the buzz that’s being generated.
And, no, contrary to popular belief, 8Asians.com is NOT the homepage for Joz’s cousin, though we are looking for hunky Asian male vloggers willing to bare their souls (though probably not much more — this ISN’T a porn blog, perverts) for a potential vlog. Hell, if Disgrasian can feature hot Asian chicks, why can’t we do the same for the boys?
While teaching English in Japan from 1998 to 2006, Canadian Larry Rodney created and published the comic strip / character Charisma Man. When I read a recent Los Angeles Times article about the cartoon, Rodney’s motivation for creating it, and how it will be revived with a follow-up book covering 2002 to 2006, website and comic strip in Japan, I just had to laugh:
“… to lampoon what he saw as the absurd hubris of many Western men in Japan. Capitalizing on their novelty status, they prowled for cheap thrills, an easy paycheck and sex — not necessarily in that order. Many were slackers posing as teachers (a job for which they were underqualified) to continue the charade of their low-wattage celebrity… In the presence of Japanese women, Our Hero is a muscular he-man. Readers only see his true loser self when Western Woman shares the frame. Likewise, the Japanese girls in Charisma Man’s arms are all Barbie-like — until someone else shows up. Then they’re often rather plump.”
This reminded me of the rise of Japan in the late 80s & early 90s prior to the “lost decade,” the popularity of learning Japanese, as well as the popularity of teaching English in Japan, especially through the JET program for graduating college seniors in the United States. And now that more Americans are seeking work in China, I’m sure the Charisma Man equivalent will be established there as well; China is the new Japan, after all.
Finally, they speak. Ever since Ling & Lee were captured, indicted, and then pardoned & released by North Korea earlier this year, the world has wondered what really happened in the days leading up to the imprisonment of the two journalists. The joyous news of their homecoming was punctuated with many questions of what they were really doing there and even some backlash against them. I welcome you to read for yourself this statement from the two which starts like this: “WE ARRIVED AT the frozen river separating China and North Korea at 5 o’clock on the morning of March 17. The air was crisp and still, and there was no one else in sight. As the sun appeared over the horizon, our guide stepped onto the ice. We followed him.” [full story] There’s clearly more of the story to come, but this is certainly an eye-opening first look into their ordeal.
When I was a high schooler, asking me to go to Koreatown in LA was like asking me to sit through a root canal without anesthesia. I didn’t like going because it was rustic, too “Korean”, not modern etc, etc. I think I’ve matured some since then. Now, the things I very much detested about Koreatown is what actually draws me there.
Because my love for Korean food has grown over the years, I now make frequent trips to Koreatown. And with each visit, I am all the more comforted by the old town Korea feel. I feel as though I enter through a haven of good food, comfort and ease. The familiarity of the aged buildings and signs adds to the enjoyment of my trips. This is why I had mixed reactions when I read this article about the rise of new buildings with sleek designs in my beloved Koreatown. While I agree that change can be good — and I love new things just as much as the next person — I couldn’t help but to feel that sleek, flashy buildings might rob Koreatown of some of its charm. It also saddens me that this new development means that some small-scale comfort food filled Korean restaurants I have come to love will have to close to make way for new, sleek, and highly profitable ones. The more I think about it, the more I’m apt to say this change may not be the best change for my beloved Koreatown.
(Photo credit: Racked LA)
POP 88 #35 - Part 2 - Non-stop Remixes and Mash-ups [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (565)
*shifting my feet around while looking down*
I know I haven’t been around lately. I’ve just been really really busy with school, work, classes, managing a radio station, classes, work… But I hope to make it up to you with a two-parter of my latest episode:
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If you like what you hear, please show your support by supporting the artists and buy their CDs and DVDs using the links provided on this site.
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