Embedded in this week’s news on a new study on Chinese children who need glasses (it’s estimated as much as 60% of rural Chinese children need glasses, but many don’t get them), was this quote from an Oxford researcher:
“People of Chinese origin have been shown to have some of the highest rates of shortsightedness in the world,” Abhishek Sharma, of Oxford University in the UK
That news wasn’t a large surprise to me, but that’s because I’ve been nearsighted almost my entire life. And similar to the rural Chinese children described in the story, I too needed glasses when I was in elementary school, but never got them. The difference was that not wearing glasses in my case had nothing to do with superstition, or wrongly held beliefs (the rural Chinese believed there were medicines that could correct nearsightedness, and that wearing glasses could make vision worse). In my case, no one ever figured out I needed glasses, not until I reached 6th grade, and my sixth grade teach thought I was squinting a little too much and sent me to the school nurse; who then sent me to an eye doctor.
It turned out I was probably nearsighted for my entire elementary school career, but no one ever noticed since I did pretty well in school. My first pair of glasses were over -6.00 diopters in strength (20/700 to 20/800 on the snellen vision chart – note: corrected vision at 20/200 or worse is considered legally blind).
I’m not sure how I succeeded all those years without being able to see, but I suspect a lot of it had to do with memorization and working a lot harder than I probably needed to. My own daughter is about to enter school this fall. She’s more likely than most to need glasses, since both her biological parents are near-sighted. So, we’ve been careful to get her vision (and hearing) checked, so the same thing doesn’t happen to her that happened to me as a child. Lucky for her, for now her vision is pretty good. If you or your child is of Chinese origin, you may want to go in for that routine eye exam, sooner rather than later.
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In the midst of all this Rain vs. Stephen Colbert buzz, I thought it would be nice to share a cool dance/interview with all of you that I shot with Kaba Modern’s very own Mike Song.
Many of you might remember Mike and his group from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew: Season 1 after making a huge run up to the semifinals while going up against the likes of the JabbaWockeeZ and Status Quo. The support for Kaba Modern continued to grow even after their ABDC shortcomings, and to this day, they are still going at it stronger than ever. As an individual performer, Mike has traveled internationally to countries like Guam, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Hawaii, and South Africa in order to teach his craft and inspire people around the world who are trying to follow their dancing dreams.
I’m a huge supporter of Mike’s work, and after watching his amazing Nintendo Wii tutting routine go viral, I knew that he was definitely someone I wanted to work with down the line.
In this video, we talk about a bit about his past as he mentions what his first experience in front of a major audience. He also took me through the thought process of how he mentally preps himself for a routine and ends it with his personal take on how to be successful in competitive dancing. It also helps that there’s some cool Sharam Jey dance music to accompany Mike’s insane tutting skills, so enjoy!
A funny story: Mike and I actually went to high schools in neighboring cities — he was a Spartan (South Torrance) and I was a Panther (Palos Verdes Peninsula), and we were both jocks, so there was a bit of friendly cross town rivalry there. We joke about it quite a bit, but all in all, we got nothing but respect for each other. To see what Mike is currently up to, I encourage you to check out his blog and show him the support that he deserves.
Shopping With GASP!
Every four years, I turn from a ballet and classical music fanatic to a crazed soccer fan. This year brings the same, with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Just recently started: shockers such as Spain’s loss to the Swiss yesterday (yikes!), the U.S./U.K. tie thanks to the butterfingers of the British goalie, host South Africa’s devastating loss to Uruguay.
The Asian countries have rocked the cup so far: Japan wins their first World Cup game ever away from home against Cameroon, North Korea slipping past Brazil to score a goal, surprising even their fake fans in the bleachers (Chinese actors hired to support the North Korean team), and South Korea scored two graceful amazing goals against bumbling Greece, winning 2-0.
Asia–fighting! Onto the next formidable foe. For hilarity, check out Gawker’s convincing argument on why you should root for North Korea.
[NOTE: This post was written prior to the South Korea's loss against Argentina.]
Last month, Bread for the World offered a PDF press release that highlights poverty and social indicators among Asian-Pacific Americans, and “examines the latest data on hunger, poverty, and immigration in this growing ethnic community.”
In general, “Asian-Pacific Americans fare better than the general U.S. population in many poverty and social indicators,” according to analysis released by the Bread for the World Institute. In 2008, the poverty rate was at 11.8 percent compared with 13.2 percent in the United States overall. Yet, extreme poverty was at 5.5 percent compared with 5.7 percent in the US. In terms of the median insurance and education, APAs were above the median for both categories, but the percentage of uninsured APAs was higher than the median (possibly because of higher rates of self-employment and employment in small firms).
Issues of poverty and hunger are close to my heart, and connected to my faith. I find that one of the simplest, and most important acts of faith I can do is to donate canned goods, serve in local soup kitchens, or volunteer at a food pantry — and encourage others, too. So, it was compelling to see how this issue impacts the APA community; though statistics are helpful, I am curious about that percentage who experience poverty and extreme poverty on a regular basis, especially the faces and stories of that particular demographic.
(Flickr photo credit: James Fischer)
It’s been awhile since Magnetic North put out a new album — 2006, to be exact — but have since released a new album entitled Home:Word. Learn more about Magnetic North and their new album in this exclusive channelAPA.com interview. The duo tells us how they formed the group, collaborations with fellow Asian American artists, and more. Look for upcoming music videos off “Home:Word” this summer.
Congress has been holding hearings this past week about the consequences of BP’s deep water drilling disaster and the oil industries lack of preparation for such disasters. Joseph Cao – the first Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress – and his constituents in Louisiana’s 2nd District (which includes most of New Orleans) have a direct vested interest in the oil spill, so it comes to no surprise his anger over the BP matter.
So much so that Representative Cao goes so far as to suggest to BP America CEO Lamar McKay to commit hari-kari — ritual suicide – like in the days of the samurai.
To be honest, I’ve always been amazed and even impressed at the level of personal responsibilities that Japanese corporate CEO’s have taken in accepting responsibility for their company’s failures – to the level of some who actually have committed suicide in the past. Contrast that to the too often case where American CEO’s and senior executives shrug responsibility for their own criminal actions. Just take a look at Jon Stewart’s commentary on the oil executive blame game.
Locus @ KSW presents Mix Tape:
A Night of Music with Locus Favorite and Emerging Artists
Friday, June 18, 2010
8pm, Doors open 7:30
1246 Folsom St., SF
Donation: $10 @ the door
Locus @ KSW is making you a mixtape, featuring some of our favorite bands and emerging artists of all time! All proceeds benefit Kearny Street Workshop in the mission to produce, present and promote art that empowers Asian American artists and communities. Come visit us at our new space and check out performances by:
Denizen Kane- http://www.myspace.com/denizenkane
Keep-http://www.facebook.com/keeptones
Bryan Jason-http://www.myspace.com/bryanjason
Lumaya-http://www.facebook.com/lumayamusic
It’s been blogged before, but worth mentioning again: This past weekend, Ken Jeong won the “Best WTF Moment” MTV Movie Award for his role in The Hangover for him jumping out of a car naked. Towards the end of thanking everyone, Ken makes a truly heart felt thanks to the director Todd Phillips and co-star Bradley Cooper for helping to support him when his wife, Tran, was getting treated for breast cancer (she’s been cancer free for two years.) Ken of course, thanked his wife, and learned from her to make each and every day count and to take chances; chances like taking ridiculous roles played in The Hangover.
- Lia Bulaong interviews Toronto and New York based Susur Lee, the runner up in Top Chef Masters. (Eater)
- What may be the antithesis of Susur Lee: The Food Buddha, the host of a new show on the TLC network of the same name where he walks into a restaurant and orders, literally, one of everything. (hat tip: ChannelAPA)
[EDITORS NOTE: As we here at 8Asians are always down to try new things, we're experimenting with a regular video column. Today, our very own "velvety voiced" contributor Brian answers on video the question other bloggers on this site have been asked before: Where are you from?]
First achieving fame in the 1990s as a lead singer with the retro-chic band Pizzicato Five, Maki Nomiya has since become an icon of contemporary Japanese culture. Acclaimed for her solo albums Miss Maki Nomiya Sings, Lady Miss Warp, Dress Code, and Party People, she is also a model, a fashion designer, and the author of several books.
Also performing are the cross-cultural foursome the The Moist Towelettes: two Canadian men and two Japanese women whose diverse backgrounds and shared sense of fun combine in their own brand of irresistibly catchy pop – the kind of unabashed get-up-and-dance music that’s perfect for a hot summer night in Yonge-Dundas Square.
From the "Mean Girls 2" Casting Call Press Release
Yes folks, the sequel that you have been waiting for, Mean Girls 2, has put out a casting call that is looking for “background talent” and Hispanics and Asian-Americans specifically. Who says that Hollywood doesn’t want Asian-Americans? This is a call for not just bit roles, but for “featured” bit roles. Make that “very featured” bit roles. For those of you still interested, here are the logistics:
Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 9 AM to 12 PM
Sunday, June 27, 2010 from 11 AM to 2 PM
The Ernst and Young Building
Lower Level Vacancy
55 Allan Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30308
I shudder to think what a “very featured” role for an Asian-American or a Hispanic would be in a movie about mean high school kids. Another Sixteen Candles type role? The Daughter thinks it will be for a nerd or for someone playing the piano. Anyone else care to speculate?
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