8 Asians

The term “Asian American” talks about the interaction of two sets of ideas, customs, and traditions, Asian and American.   To me, one of the most fascinating instances of this are when two ordinarily distinct notions of Asian and American get mashed up together into something unique, like spam musubi or Korean Taco trucks.  Food isn’t the only area where happens – KQED published this story about how an Indian American musician blends Chicago style Blues […] Continue »

A survey conducted by New America Media shows that people of color do care about the preservation of public lands.   This is confirmed by the fact that Fremont’s Mission Peak is a favorite place for Asian Americans to hike, and its popularity is causing problems.  The city of Fremont has decided to place restrictions on parking, leaving certain areas of the neighborhood near the Stanford Avenue trail head available for parking only by residents on […] Continue »

Conflict with a child can be painful to deal with for any parent – for an Asian American parent, when the conflict stems around one’s ethnic Asian background, it can be extra painful.  If that child’s life is cut short by a drunk driver before that conflict is resolved, the pain must be unimaginable.  Paul Li was put into that situation.  But instead of retreating from the world, he did two things to try to […] Continue »

With all kinds of grim videos out there from police shootings to cringe inducing videos about “Neenjas” and Xenophobic videos about Chinese buying American farms, this NigaHiga/Jeremy Lin collaboration really made my day.  It pulls in some popular Anime characters and even has a quick jab at Pokemon Go!  Note that Space Jam 2, the actual sequel to Space Jam, starring LeBron James, is said to be under production, with Justin Lin possibly directing.

The image of Maui in Disney’s upcoming movie “Moana” has triggered some anger.  Some say the body of Maui, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is obese, an insulting stereotype of Polynesian men.  This picture, from Samoan Rugby player Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, is one expression of this anger.  Sapolu adds, in another picture, “Maui looking like after he fished up the Islands, he deep fried em and and ate em”.  Other people, such as New Zealander […] Continue »

The New York Post is disgusted that Linsanity has been left off of Madison Square Garden Network’s list of Top 21st Century Knicks Moments.  Lin’s career high 38 points should at least be as good as Iman Shumpert’s career-high 27 points in 2014! Ironically, Linsanity began with a game against the Knicks’ crosstown rivals, and he is leaving Charlotte to play for the Nets in Brooklyn. (h/t:  John)

Alyssa Wong, A Filipina Chinese American writer, has won the 2015 Nebula Award for her short story, “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers.”  The Nebula Awards are given annually by the Science Fiction Writers Association.  In the story, Wong mixes in an Asian American flavor that enhances but does not dominate the story line. Another work of hers that I have read is “Santos de Sampaguitas.”  This short story is set in the Philippines and includes […] Continue »

Despite getting flack from fans of the original movie, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reportedly still intends to remake the cult classic “Big Trouble in Little China.”  I really love that movie (no matter how politically incorrect), but I still can’t see the point of remaking it, or how Johnson could play the inept everyman role of Jack Burton played by Kurt Russell.  When asked about the remake, Kurt Russell also wondered why the remake and […] Continue »

The National Science Foundation has decided to fund an extensive research survey on Asian Americans.  The survey project, lead by Political Science Professor Karthick Ramakrishnan of UC Riverside, Law Professor Taeku Lee of UC Berkeley (shown here), Sociology Professor Jennifer Lee of UC Irvine, and American Studies Professor Janelle Wong of the University of Maryland, will expand on the National Asian American Survey.  This study aims to differentiate its data from other surveys by getting […] Continue »

Since beginning the year, my family has been dealing with a number of medical issues, from emergency operations to life style changes stemming from chronic conditions.  When I saw that The Center for Disease Control has released a study looking at the Health of Asian Americans that declares that Asian Americans are more likely to be healthier than the average American, it really got my attention.  To its credit, the report disaggregates the data between […] Continue »

While Memorial Day in the US usually brings up thoughts of summer and barbecue, dead Asian American and Pacific Islander veterans usually don’t come to mind. This StoryCorp animation of a father’s remembrance of his dead son reminded me of what the holiday is supposed to commemorate. Allen Hoe, a Vietnam War veteran himself, tells the story of his trip to Washington to honor his son’s memory and the surprise encounter he made while there. […] Continue »

The only Chinatown I remember growing up was Oakland Chinatown.  When my family first came to the Bay Area, we lived in the East Bay, and Oakland Chinatown was the nearest place my parents could get Filipino vegetables and other Asian groceries.  For a long time, the nearest dim sum restaurant was in Oakland Chinatown, and when I was a grad student at Berkeley, I did volunteer work there – just a quick BART ride […] Continue »