A few weeks ago, the longest serving Senator in American history, Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia, passed away at the age 92. He was the Senate President pro-tempore. In his place, Senator Dan Inouye (D) of Hawaii took his place. The Senate President pro-tempore is elected by the Senate and is customarily the most senior senator in the majority party – and is the third inline in presidential succession behind the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. Because of that, Senator Inouye has a security detail that he is getting used to:
“When Inouye conducted a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee at the Hawaii State Capitol Wednesday, a contingent of eight Capitol Police from Washington, D.C., lined the hall and the hearing room. They were backed up by three state sheriffs. The security officers surrounded Inouye as he left the Hawaii capitol escorting him to a convoy of four vehicles. Inouye said he was unprepared for the increased security when he took on his new position… Inouye said, “If you must know, 16 people are assigned to me. They go in shifts around the clock seven days a week.”"
I guess that kind of security does get some getting used to! Maybe Inouye should ask for a demotion. And, if he were to ascend the position of President of the United States, we’d certainly be in very troubled times. However, I wonder if I’ll ever see an Asian American president, or even one played on TV?
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Inception is one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer, opening Friday, July 16, but 10 lucky 8Asians readers in the Los Angeles area will win a pair of tickets to see the film on Wednesday, July 14. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe as two of the main characters of an international cast, this is one film I’ve been looking forward to all year.
We’re almost out of prizes for our 8Asians Inception Prize Package Giveaway, but you can still try for these freebies. If you need help answering some of our trivia questions, I recommend that you “Like” InceptionSaito on Facebook– some of our questions come right off this page!
Want to check out Inception early, L.A. folks?
What you could win from Warner Bros. and 8Asians:
A pair of tickets for a free preview screening of Inception on (7/14/2010 @ 7:30pm) in West Los Angeles (recommended arrival time 6:45)!How do you enter?
All you have to do is to leave a comment with why you want to see the film and whether or not you’re a Facebook fan of InceptionSaito (Did you “Like” him or not?) and TEN lucky winners will be selected to go!Hurry, the deadline to enter is: Monday, July 12 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
TEN lucky winners will be selected and contacted; winners must respond by noon on Tuesday, 7/13 to confirm their prize.Rules for entering:
1) Please be serious about using the tickets– unused free tix suck!
2) Contributors to 8Asians and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.Prizes courtesy of: Warner Bros and 8Asians.
Shopping With GASP!
- The Smithsonian Folklife Festival features APAs in Washington DC.
- A Chinese-US Born geologist has been convicted for stealing and selling Chinese Secrets.
- D2 is a fashion community that was created to unify Korean-Americans and give them a place to network and grow in the industry.
- The local Indian community in Austin, Texas is looking for a statue of Ghandi.
- PBS is producing a Korean Food series called “Stop and Bap.”
When I think of Lexington, Massachusetts, I think of Paul Revere’s famous Revolutionary War warning, “The British are coming! The British are coming.” Well, the Asians are coming now. Having grown up in Western Massachusetts – 90 miles west of Boston – in a suburb of Springfield, I read with great interest these interesting statistics:
In 1990, 6 percent of the town’s residents were Asian. Now, town officials estimate that 20 percent of those who live in Lexington are Asian. In the public schools, the numbers are even higher: One-fourth of all students are Asian, and officials have expanded programs that teach English.
In high school, out of a graduating class of 273 students, there were maybe 5 Asian Americans. I had 2 cousins, an aunt and an uncle in the greater Boston area, so I knew there were more Asians there. But to think of any town in Massachusetts where 25% of the students are Asian is just mind boggling to me. I’ve blogged about California Asian American culture shock – but if I moved to Lexington, I think I’d be shocked to find so many Asians in a Massachusetts city. I wonder if there will be any backlash in the near future, like a “new white flight” and complaints about high school competitiveness.
What I found really fascinating was that Lexington was looking to get the Asian community more involved in local government to help better represent and serve the needs of its constituents. The town was even looking to West Coast cities for guidance:
Town officials plan to talk to communities on the West Coast with high Asian populations for suggestions on ways to better incorporate Asians into town government and boards… The Lexington task force has recommended creating a separate task force to increase the participation of Asian American residents in local government. Asian Americans have served as Town Meeting members and on the School Committee, and one ran unsuccessfully for selectman this year. Still, the number of Asians involved in local government doesn’t reflect the percentage of Asians in town.
I have complained and blogged often about how uninvolved Asian Americans have been politically, though there is progress being made, especially in California in the local and state elected officials, as well as in Congress. Still, relative to the population, Asian Americans are still not as active as they should be. The Boston Globe article does indicate, at least those who immigrated from mainland China, that there is not a history or tradition of public elections and being involved in local government. What I think would be an interesting study would be to see if there are different Asian American involvement in government based on different ethnicities and countries of origin.
I wonder if Taiwanese Americans are more actively politically involved because of Taiwan’s thriving democracy since the mid-1990′s – with Taiwanese Americans such as John Chiang, State Controller of California and California State Assembly member and former Attorney General candidate Ted Lieu. Indian Americans such as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and South Carolina Republican candidate for Governor Nikki Haley are making HUGE strides. I think there is definitely a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism that as more Asian Americans run for public office or get involved, more will run for public office and more will become involved. A true democracy can only work when a government of the people is represented by the people, including the people of the very community in which they live in of all race, color, creed, gender, religion, national origin and more.
If you see any paparazzi lurking around the site, it’s because 8Asians creator and editor-in-chief Efren Ernie has been featured on AArisings’ A-Profiler, which is where all the Asian Americans that you should know about go to hang out, drink Cristal and look down at the rest of our lowly selves. It’s true. Ernie told me. He also told me to never look at him directly again and to get back to work.
Here’s a snippet of his interview with Cynthia, where he talked about the origins of this humble blog, which gives a sneak peek to behind the scenes of 8Asians:
Are there ever any conflicts among writers, since there’s such diversity in interests and opinions within the group?
Every so often, but not as often as you think. My MO is kind of “you do not like each other, but you have to respect each other.” There’s been one case where a blogger quit because of that, but what can you do? You move on. What management skills come into play since you’re the creator/manager? Editing. Web Development. Community management and content management. Conflict management, to a lesser degree. A good sense of humor helps.Where does the ad money go? Have you ever refused to let a group advertise because what they’re selling contradicts with the values of your site?
Ha, great question. When I first turned on Google Adsense, I got nothing but ads like “Looking for a wife in Thailand? Click here!” Which I guess makes sense if you’re on a search engine and typing in the phrase “asian american girls,” not so much for regular 8Asians readers. I have to remove those sites out by hand. There was also a period when we were served “Yes on Prop 8″ banner ads, which has nothing to do with being Asian, but as a gay man – and as editor-in-chief – that’s totally not going to fly on my website.
For what it’s worth, Ernie is totally lying. I cannot even begin to describe the fist fights that happen on our internal mailing lists. Let’s just say that he completely debunks any myth about meek, Asian males. And that if we don’t post once a week, we’re not allowed to see our families.
Of course, this isn’t Ernie’s first time on AArisings. He was first profiled nine years ago for his award-winning blog, little.yellow.different. Not only is this an awesome blast from the past, but their interview included this special gem:
What songs would you most likely be caught singing alone to?
Bootylicious, by Destiny’s Child. Yeah, shut up.
We’re never going to shut up. Are you ready for this jelly? Congrats, Ernie!! Here’s to another A-Profile in 2019!
California State Controller John Chiang is taking on Governor Schwarzenegger again, as the governor had ordered the state office to cut the pay of nearly 200,000 state employees to the federal minimum, which is currently $7.25 per hour as the State of California goes through another budget battle.
Chiang is now counter-suing Arnold. Chiang’s suit complains that he is being forced to choose between violating Schwarzenegger’s order or violating various federal and state laws.
First of all, why is Schwarzenegger cutting pay to the federal minimum? Shouldn’t that be to the California state minimum wage? Another argument that Chiang makes is that the current state payroll system (which is currently upgraded and will be completed in a few years), is incapable of making such changes. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is not possible in a computer system – I mean, how do you temporarily make a change from a salaried person to an hourly job? I am sure we will be hearing more and more about Chiang and Schwarzenegger
By the way, this isn’t the first time Chiang has taken on the Governator, but it may be the last, as Schwarzenegger is in the last months of his second term and is term-limited.
Our internal e-mail lists have us discussing all kinds of stuff: Asian American identity, representation in the media, the experiences of activism in an academia setting and its progression as we transition to the working, adult world. And sometimes, we talk about why The Last Airbender still made millions of dollars, even though everyone on the planet pretty much thought the movie sucked.
Jeff: From the Washington Post: If Airbender is the year’s worst film, why are fans turning out?
“If current box-office trending continues, M. Night Shyamalan — criticized for being so wrong in matters of casting and story and dialogue — will be so right about the profits. And in Hollywood, if you can bend the bottom line, then so much else falls on deaf ears.”Moye: Right, but how much was the budget? $150 mil? That’s still a considerable loss, right?
Edward: The film budget was $150 million and the marketing was $130 million but $70 million for its first week is very impressive. Not to mention that you have merchandise sales from toys, McDonald’s, and then the eventual DVD releases which will produce even more revenue. While it’s not absolutely astounding and upcoming films like Predators, Despicable Me, and Inception will definitely take the tops spots, The Last Airbender can hardly be called a financial disaster.
Koji: People are sheep.
Moye: More like children. I’m not surprised at the numbers. I mean, it’s not Avatar or even Eclipse, but there are probably tons of kids who didn’t know about the whole casting issue or are old enough to read reviews who still went to see the film.
Linda: I am one of those people who want to see it to see how terrible it is. Haven’t seen it yet, tho. Will probably download it. Not giving my money to Shyamalan.
Ernie: So, I’m going to admit something: I’ve never seen the original series before on Nickelodeon before. Until this week, where I’ve been watching the series on Netflix. Uh, guys, I’m actually surprised how good the TV series is, especially if it’s geared towards seven year olds. (I’m on Book 1 right now.) If I didn’t know any better, I would totally watch to see if the movie was good as the TV series.
Koji: One thing to remember: in the film biz, when you put that much into marketing, you generally will get a big opening weekend. That is expected, even on a bad movie. The real test is how it does on weekend #2, because that’s when word of mouth kicks in.
So for all the protests and Facebook boycotts and criticism about the movie, it boils down to this: has any difference been made?
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – The White Stuff | ||||
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Stephen Colbert provides his take on Chinese companies renting white guys as fake businessmen, while conceding that he has lost the rights to his The Colbert Report to the Chinese two years ago due to a sub-prime investment loss. Apparently, these fake businessmen jobs are also known in China as “white guy in tie events” or “face jobs.”
Of course, this practice in China definitely makes you ask the questionable ethics behind renting fake white businessmen to raise a company’s stature and legitimacy. But what about the people who accept such jobs? Are they not complicit in perpetuating this fraud? This practice reminds me of a 60 Minutes story a mini-Madoff fraudster in the U.S. perpetuating a fake business meeting in another company’s office.
TechCrunch interviews Jeff Ma where he discusses his past experience on the MIT Blackjack team, the book Bringing Down the House and the movie 21, and his startup, Citizen Sports – which was sold to Yahoo! recently. He briefly alludes to him being whitewashed in the movie and pitches his book The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big In Business.
He essentially describes the book as a way to think unconventionally and sums up the premise with this John Maynard Keynes quote, “Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for the reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.” He wants to help people make better decisions, how to avoid group think, and separate good decision making versus outcomes (i.e. you can have a good process about making a decision, yet the outcome could be negative – and vice versa). After watching the interview, Ma clearly comes across as a very bright person and definitely makes me want to buy the book to learn from him.
Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) generates funding and resources for 29 community organizations providing vital services and programs to 250,000 people annually throughout greater Los Angeles. They’re kind of like our community’s version of The United Way. APCF has a shot to win $20,000 from the latest Chase Community Giving campaign, but they need your vote on Facebook.
So what exactly does APCF do?
APCF partners with its Affiliate Agencies to conduct charitable giving campaigns in public, private, and nonprofit organizations throughout Los Angeles County. Since its founding, APCF has raised and distributed over $1.5 million in unrestricted grants to its Affiliates. These grants enable APCF agencies to both launch new initiatives and strengthen current programs and services for diverse Asian Pacific Islander clients, including: disadvantaged children, youth, disabled, seniors, immigrants, refugees, battered women, and low income families.
One of the masterminds behind the previous VoteCPAF campaign (which got CPAF a cool $25,000 for making it past the first round), now puts Dawen, Megan Lee, Connie Lim, Nathan Park, Chris Pham, Sam Geuinjin Kang, Dan aka Dan and Mista Cookie Jar in a music video that’s sure to have you humming while you give your vote to APCF.
Help APCF Win $250,000 with Just 1-Click!
Chase is giving away another $5 million to various charities and needs you to help pick which ones by voting on Facebook!
Vote for APCF on Facebook! One charity will receive $250k.
4 runners-up will receive $100k.
195 others will receive $20k.Please support APCF in reaching the top!
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
1. Click on this link: (You must be a Facebook user to participate.)
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/954257997-asian-pacific-community-fund-of-southern-california2. Click the ‘Like’ button to become a fan of Chase Community Giving.
3. Then cast your vote for the Asian Pacific Community Fund of Southern California!
This round of voting ends July 12th, so vote now!
Wow. That is some mean guitar plucking. Homegirl gotz skillz. (Please denote the use of the Z’s — it gives her street cred.)
I know how to play the guitar. I am currently perfecting my acoustic version of “Baby” by Justin Bieber — complete with the Ludacris. In no way, am I as good as her. I don’t think I will ever be as good as her — but I am skeptical of this video. I am 75 percent convinced that this is just a regular-sized Korean girl and the guitar is just humungo-sized.
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APA Events
Feb 9: (Los Angeles, CA) East West Players presents THREE YEAR SWIM CLUB
Feb 9: (Los Angeles, CA) OR (Orphan Relief): China Care Bruin’s 4th Annual Awareness Night
Feb 10: (Los Angeles, CA) CAUSE: Women in Power Annual Luncheon
Feb 15: (Seattle, WA) Pork Filled Players Enter The Year of the Dragon Spam*O*Rama
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: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
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