(Flickr photo credit: 
Even though my parents came to the US from Taiwan in the 70s, I’m not a fan of Taiwanese pop music; maybe it’s because so much of it seem to come from Boy Bands from mainland China or consist of numbingly slow love ballads with videos of forlorn looking couples looking sad at each other in some random-ass wheat field. (Seriously, why are there so many Taiwanese ballad music videos of someone standing in a field? They have buildings, right?)
But this music video by Taiwanese indie-pop band WonFu — not to be confused with Asian American product company Wong Fu Productions — I can get behind, mostly because it takes all of that bubble-gum cheeriness that Taiwanese people love so much and puts it behind a bassline; imagine the catchy hooks of Puffy AmiYumi put through the wringer of a Taiwanese variety show, goofy sound effects and all. If you think they’re good enough to catch live, they’ll be touring cities and venues up and down the West Coast, including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and schools like Cal Berkeley and UCLA.
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Pediatrician Dr. Wolffe Nadoolman was puzzled by the symptoms shown by a 18 month old toddler of Asian descent. The whites of the boy’s eyes were pink, yet there was no crusting or discharge that is typical of conjunctivitus (pink-eye). He ran a low grade fever for five days. What could the problem be? As this New York Times article later reveals, the toddler had Kawasaki Disease.
Kawasaki disease is an inflammation of the middle size arteries that occurs in children. This inflammation can affect many areas, but the most serious and lasting problems happen in the heart’s arteries, where aneurysms can lead to heart attacks, even in young children. Common symptoms are a prolonged fever with pink eyes or pink lips, such as shown by this baby. It most commonly occurs in children of Japanese descent. Most children completely recover from the disease, which is treated with aspirin and Gamma Globulin. Long lasting complications, when they occur, are typically heart problems caused by damage to coronary arteries.
Oddly enough, while Kawasaki disease happens more often to those of Asian ancestry, Americans of all ethnic groups are getting it. It tends to happen more in groups with higher socio-economic status. John Travolta’s son Jett, who died earlier this year, had the disease when he was 15 months old. There is some speculation that environment factors, such as carpet cleaners, are responsible for this increase, and there is also some theories that an infectious agent is responsible, as the disease often occurs in outbreaks and tends to be seasonal during late winter and early spring.
Hat tip to Tim
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10th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival – The San Diego Asian Film Festival is an annual event of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the diverse Pan Asian experience through the media arts. We’ve been around since 2000, premiering films from around the world. Our emphasis is on Asian American cinema, but we also showcase international films, along with shorts, animation, experimental films and music videos. Along with films, patrons will be able to meet and speak with filmmakers and actors, enjoy meaningful discussions, and enjoy nightly parties. (October 15, 2009 to October 29, 2009, San Diego)
We’ve previously blogged about Joe Wong ‘s nationally televised debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. Earlier this week, I got a chance to see him perform live in San Francisco, and he was HILARIOUS, and unlike his Letterman appearance, not hesitant or nervous at all. He did have some “ethnic humor” during his act, but didn’t depend or use it as a crutch. Joe is originally from China and came to the United States for graduate school, and uses his background for comedic purposes, but is not totally dependent on it.
He did joke about about Six Flag’s ad and then subsequently try to reproduce the ridiculous ad. He joked about how his love of karaoke was ruined when William Hung appeared on American Idol, and whenever he got on a karaoke stage, people would yell, “Sing” and wondered how people knew his middle name. But one of his funniest joke was towards the very end of his set, referring to his first sexual experience, with a play on words and a reference to Darth Vader; he describes his humor as a “play on logic,” and I would definitely agree with that. Joe’s jokes can be subtle, but as he progressed through the set, he definitely had some down right hilarious jokes. (The alcohol didn’t hurt either.)
Good things are happening for Joe Wong — he mentioned he had a part in the recently released movie, The Invention of Lying (as Man #2…) and next year, he’ll be performing at The White House Radio & Television Correspondents dinner. If you want to keep up with what Joe Wong is up to, definitely check out his website and sign up for his email list. I thought that the opening acts of Edwin Li and Hari Kondabolu were pretty good too. I thought Hari was very talent and definitely liked his pacing and edgy humor.
It’s common in most metropolitan areas for one culture’s food to be crossed into another, and when it’s for a good cause, all the better. The Fulton street location of popular burrito chain Papalote will be serving Mexipino — that’s Mexican-Filipino — goodness for TONIGHT ONLY, combining Chicken Adobo with Garlic Fried Rice, topping it off with tomato slices and wrapping it in a tortilla. Restaurant owner Miguel Escobedo — Mr. E amongst his DJ circle of friends — will donate 30 percent of all sales to help support the victims of Tropical Storm Ketsana (aka Ondoy) in the Philippines. It’s handheld comfort food, and it’s also going towards a good cause. I was fortunate enough to partake in the taste testing this past Tuesday evening and was floored by how good this burrito was; it tastes the way my mom makes it.
Folks at Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) are reporting that a bunch of APA activists are upset at the Oakland Planning Commission for approving a permit for a new bar in Chinatown to be titled “Geisha”, stating that the name invokes violent and derogatory stereotypes against Asian women. The campaign is headed by Diana Pei Wu, Jenn Pae, Angelica Jongco, Xiaojing Wang, and Jen Mei Wu.
No, I’m not kidding you. Aside from the heavy cultural significance of the word, the leaders of this protest also cite that giving the bar with such a name would help support sexual harassment, mental illness, and a negative economic impact with its indirect support for the sex trade and/or pornography. Oh yeah, and don’t forget that rapist in the area who was targeting Asian women. Wait, what? These are all related?
I hate to be the one to say this, but I can’t help think these folks are overreacting in this situation, and wrongly defining the history of Japanese geisha. They were dancing and musical entertainers, and nowhere did violence and overt sexuality come to play in their formal occupation. No, geishas aren’t prostitutes. Maybe some of them were but hey, it’s the oldest job in the world. If anything, they should be focusing their outrage on two Asian American businessmen with a tired and unoriginal idea for a new bar, or at least ask why someone would want to go to a Geisha bar in the heart of Chinatown. Wrong culture, people.
Also, what does the NorCal rapist have to do with this? Did he have a geisha fetish or something and this bar is his one chance to finally hang out in the open? I don’t see the connection.
It’s good to see politically active Asian Americans keeping an eye out for their community but I’m finding it hard to support a group who base their protests on a narrow, sensational definition of a single word, especially when it directly affects two men bringing more business to Chinatown.
PS. And I will say that I used to live down the street from the Geisha House in Hollywood; while I disliked the name, never once did I experience a down turn in the civic quality of life. All of that was caused by the Hummer driving douchebags who would congregate in the neighborhood.
(h/t: spamfriedrice)
If you’ve been following the latest advertising campaigns for the iPhone, “There’s 75,000 apps for just about anything. Only on the iPhone.” And if you want to see up a Japanese woman’s skirt and see her underwear, yeah, there’s an app for that too. TechCrunch profiles a newly approved iPhone app, Puff!, where you can blow into the microphone of your iPhone and have the skirt of a Japanese woman go up and see her underwear with your very breath. Or even more freaky, you can also lift a skirt up with the multi-touch iPhone screen. Stay classy, iPhone store.
What is it with the Japanese (okay, and a lot of men around the world) obsession with womens underwear? And as TechCrunch comments, how the hell does the application get approved by Apple? Next thing we’ll know, you’ll have iPhone Apps on How to Date Asian Women.
The early bird may not get the worm, but it most definitely got an autographed Mike Shinoda “Glorious Excess” art book! Kimle N., the first commenter, is the winner of the Glorious Excess Artbook Giveaway, autographed by Linkin Park’s half-Asian frontman himself. Thanks to everyone who entered. (And thanks also to all the 8Asians contributors for not quitting the blog because of that whole “bloggers are not eligible to win” thing.)
All hail the king! It has been done — Jay Sean, an Asian- American British (is that what they are called?) has finally climbed the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has become the highest ranking Asian recording artist in [recorded] history. News has been confirmed by Billboard.com that Jay Sean’s hit single ‘Down’ will be replacing The Black Eyed Peas rein over the #1 spot, which has been held for 26 weeks consecutive weeks for the singles “Boom Boom Pow” (12 weeks) and “I Gotta Feeling” (14 weeks).
Jay Sean has also earned the title of being Cash Money Records first recording artist to secure the #1 spot in the charts, according to NewsWire’s account of a Universal Republic release. Stay tuned for more information and story as the Billboard Charts officially become available tomorrow.
It’s Wednesday night, which means it’s Glee night! In honor of my favorite new show of the season, I’d like to give a shout-out to Harry Shum, Jr.
We haven’t seen him– or rather his character Mike Chang– too much yet, but according to IMDB he is appearing in at least 9 episodes this season. I’m hoping they’ll do a little more character development on some of the newer members of the McKinley HS Glee Club soon, but until then, I’m glad to see this talented guy singing and dancing in the background.
If you think Harry looks familiar, then maybe it’s because you’ve seen him in any number of other incarnations– as a member and choreographer of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (The LXD), as a recurring guest actor on iCarly, as a dancer in Step Up 2, or any number of iPod commercials. Not only is Harry in the newest iPod nano commercial (he’s silver/grey in the video above), he was one of the original “silhouettes” in the highly successful Apple iPod commercial and print campaign. Harry’s resume is extensive and impressive, and I’m sure we’re only going to see more of him!
About his heritage, Harry tells Asiance Magazine:
I have a unique story. I am full Chinese. My father is from Fujian and my mom was born in Hong Kong. I was actually born in Costa Rica because they moved there to start a business. My sisters were born there as well. I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Chinese and Spanish. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Chinese and English, so it kind of messes with your brain when there are three different languages going on. It can be pretty intense but I got through it. [full story]
I’m glad that I get to have a weekly Wednesday night date with this hottie on Glee! You can follow him @iharryshum and check out his moves from his reel from over a year ago:
Remember when Chuck Taylors were fresh again, years ago? When you were the only person rocking it, and got lots of compliments on them because they were unique and different? And then, do you remember when everyone and their moms started wearing Chucks soon after, and suddenly, that rare kitschy feeling had suddenly become mainstream and cheesy and feeling like people were trying way too hard?
Undoubtedly, fads come and go — I’m currently trying to weather this whole ‘Vampire Thing,’ jeez — and in the fast paced world of media, things become in in a blink of the eye.
This is always seen in the world of film: the late nineties/early 2000’s we saw a huge influx of martial arts movies from China (Crouching Tiger, Hero, House of Daggers), followed by a wave of interest in Americanizing Japanese horror films (The Ring, The Grudge, One Missed Call, etc). But now Hollywood has jumped onto the Bollywood train, and it seems like the train won’t be stopping any time soon, thanks to the success of Slumdog Millionaire.
All my life I have loved Bollywood — being an ABCD (American Born Cultured Desi), I grew up learning to love the magical, musical, and sometimes cheesy world of Bollywood; as I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco, enjoying my favorite Hollywood flicks, I’ve wondered, “why cant we ever be in movies? Why aren’t there ever any Indians on the screen?”
So why am I complaining? Because it’s becoming too much. It’s flattering, really — but the fallout from Slumdog Millionaire has gone in an annoying direction. It seems like every gym in LA has some kind of ‘Bollywood Cardio’ class claiming to help you lose weight while doing the famous ‘Jai Ho’ subway dance; cheesy Indian stereotypes are appearing on TV shows (see Psych: Season 4: “Bollywood Homicide”); and tons of Hollywood directors and actors are pining to pair up with Bollywood heroes for a piece of the action, when for years Bollywood was laughed at. (You know Bollywood is too hot for its own good when resident lady-slayer Gerard Butler tries to get a piece of the action.)
It’s obvious that Slumdog was a huge success — it won eight out of its ten nominated Academy Awards, including Best Picture — won tons of accolades at film festivals around the world, and generated record breaking buzz for a low budget independent film, grossing over $360 million worldwide. However the South Asian Diaspora has many qualms with this film and the subsequent Bollywood fever, and it all feels a little bit too un-comfortable, too cheesy, too… fake.
My biggest question then is, what happens when this Bollywood fever dies out? Will we return to the stereotypes, misnomers, and the Apu’s from The Simpsons? Will the vibrant culture, sounds, and flavors of South Asia be labeled as a ‘fad’ and be pushed aside, shelved until the next big Hollywood whim?
Although I didn’t really care for Slumdog Millionaire as a film — yeah, I said it — I guess for now it’s exciting to see a glistening of our culture out there on the world’s stage. Hopefully this ‘fad’ develops into a richer integration; an integration drawing the masses deeper into the culture, away from the sexy hip gyrating of Bollywood step dance, towards the artful moves and mastery of Kathak or Bharatanatym; away from the fervid beats and bubble gum lyrics of ‘Jai Ho,’ and into the entrancing sounds of the ancient sitar of Ravi Shankar; and just maybe, it might get the Bollywood cardio crowds of West LA to learn some real Bhangra so they can ‘balle balle’ to the beat of a culture that offers the world more pulse, quake, shiver, and swing than we can even imagine. And that’s my final answer.
Last month, Joz showed off a video from a Japanese television show that revealed how one man, with clever maneuvering and skills, could wake up and get ready for work in under 5 minutes. Now there’s a mother and child version which, in my honest but slightly biased because I’m a girl opinion, requires way more talent. Not only does this mom have to wake herself up, but she has to get her child ready for school and put together a quick bento lunch!
Go go bento box go!
[Via Serious Eats]
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