MOST TO GAIN:

Gianna Jun – The list starts off with Ji-Hyun Jeon or Gianna Jun as she likes to be known who is the star of the Blood: The Last Vampire, which is at #3 on the list. Whether or not she actually speaks in this role or she is just regulated to slicing up vampires is yet to be known. (Here is a Japanese Shampoo commercial she was in where she speaks in English; hopefully her English has improved a bit more in the two years since) Nor am I confident in the artistic integrity of this movie; but more times than not these kind of movies that have a cult following tend to be at the very least, decent, so I’ll reserve judgment on that.

Many people will find her character extremely one dimensional and shallow. True. And although slaying vampires is not far removed from high-kicks and karate-chops, Gianna Jun is extremely talented and beautiful, and beautiful in the “Asian standards of beauty” sense, and not the Western idea of big tits and ass sense, so anytime an Asian women like that can star in a movie its a positive in my book.

Daniel Henney – The second person I am putting as “most to gain” would be Korean-American actor Daniel Henney. His new movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a sure-fire blockbuster hit, not only having the target reach of geeks but the average moviegoer as well. Henney in the official Movie trailer has significant face time, although he only says one line (watch trailer below). With the “guaranteed-hit” nature of this film combined with the fact he is actually fluent in English being raised in America and his God given good looks, Daniel Henney may be the next big thing depending on the significance of his role in the movie. Again, the self-proclaimed Asian-American activists will complain that Daniel Henney is in fact only half Asian and he cannot even speak Korean fluently AND the the fact that his very western facial features that make him attractive to Hollywood. Although those facts are true, don’t mistake Henney for being white-washed; he started his acting career in Korea, starred in Korean dramas and movies and is very aware, respectful, and knowledgeable about Korean culture — a positive in my book. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

MOST TO LOSE:

Kristin Kreuk — Ill keep it short and sweet: video game adaptations to movies SUCK ASS 9 out of 10 times. And Kristen Kreuk will be the lead in the film Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. What are some notable video game to movie adaptations?

Street Fighter: SUCKED
Mortal Combat: SUCKED, although this did relatively well at the box-office
BloodRayne: did not see, but im guessing it SUCKED
DOA: Dead or Alive: NO COMMENT
Super Mario Bros: *BARFS*
Double Dragon: …you get the point.

Keep Kreuk’s future career in your prayers.

NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

John Cho – Lower down on the list at #7 is Star Trek XI, which stars (should I use that term loosely?) John Cho. Not to say this role is not significant but Cho is already an established actor in Hollywood, but important to note that he is playing Hikaru Sulu, a role that George Takei made famous. Being that Takei was the first major Asian American to have a role in a non-stereotypical role in Hollywood its seems also fitting that John Cho, who is somewhat of a Hollywood stereotype-breaker himself, plays the exact same character. I’m just relieved they didn’t decide last minute to change Sulu’s ethnicity to a white guy, not that stuff like that ever happens in good old Hollywood.

On a lighter note: as a Star Wars geek, I want to have prejudice against this movie, but the fact the J.J. Abrams produced this film I shall reserve judgment once again.

Byung-Hun Lee – the Korean James Dean, Byung-Hun Lee will be playing Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Now that you know that fact, lets play a game: it’s called, “Find-The-Korean-In-The-Movie-Poster:”

Can’t find him? He’s the white guy in the poster. No seriously, he’s the white guy. I mean the REALLY white guy. The guy with the white mask and ninja swords. Yup.

I think this poster may be a metaphor for his role in the movie, unfortunately.

WAIT, YOU WERE IN THAT MOVIE?

Joon-hyung Park – Joon Park will play Yamcha in Dragonball Evolution Apparently, it’s a pretty significant role but I do not see much potential in it. If you dont know who Joon Park, is you probably saw him in Speed Racer as a Yakuza Driver; You had to have watched it very carefully cause he was only in it for about 15 seconds. Oh wait, you didn’t watch Speed Racer? Oh. Sorry.

All in all, I think all the movies in this list have their faults, but I will be rooting for all of them. Even though CNN lists these movies as most anticipated by “geeks”, we all know the famous Genghis Khan quote: “First you conquer the geeks, then the WORLD!” (Actually, I think it was Napoleon who said that; or was it Pinky from Pinky and the Brain?)

Anywho, let us all hope they are successful this year.

At the United Nations Association 50th anniversary gala last week the United Nation’s Secretary general Ban Ki Moon showed off his rapping skills, probably out of inspiration from one of the guests of honor, Jay-Z, who was there to be honored for his work with Water for Life.
It is pretty impressive knowing that English is not the Secretary’s native language and he manage to pull this lame trick off without embarrassing himself. Even though politicians and delegates tend to NOT mix well with rapping, I think the Secretary General is somewhere in the middle ground if by absolute disaster is personified Karl “MC” Rove and actually being enjoyable to listen to would be Philadelphia’s mayor Michael “The Rapper’s Delight” Nutter.

Dont Quit your day job Ban Ki Moon…

But contrary to that headline, Perez Hilton, the hardest working person in gossip business, recently posted about “How The Koreans Do it”, the “Koreans” referencing the girl-group Wonder Girls and their newest video called “Nobody But You”. (Side note: the comment section of this particular Perez Hilton post has some interesting views, if you know what I mean…)

(The song starts around the 2:00 mark.)

In the far far away land that is Korea, the Wonder Girls are probably the most popular music act in the country. They were responsible for the “Tell Me Craze” in which they took the whole southern peninsula of Korea by storm. The whole country was doing the “Tell me Dance” — think of it as the Soulja Boy dance, except in Korea EVERYBODY was doing it: police officers, teachers, flight attendants, students, body builders, infants.

Now this is where I was going digress into the plethora of Korean artists that are trying to enter the American music market, including the recent announcement of BoA’s decision to adventure into the USA, and dissect and analyze each artists’ chances… but since no one in the United States care, including me, I wont do that. Instead, this post is just an excuse to post pics of Yoobin from the Wonder Girls. Who by the way is smoking hot.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Asia over the past decade, as an expat and a traveler. From where I stand, the place is a geopolitical mess. Hogtied by nationalism and narrow self-interest, the countries of the East won’t be banding together to replace the West as the seat of global power — at least not anytime soon.

Wow, a whole decade in that country called Asia! He must know everything to know about Asia! Narrow self interest? You mean like Russia invading Georgia? Like America invading Iraq? Come on Mr. Kurlantzick, you cant deal in generalities here, I’m not as smart as you! Give me specifics!

Specific Evidence 1:

Of course, an Asian version of the European Union isn’t out of reach, as many Asian leaders know. But today, the continent battles a kind of split personality. On the one hand, many cultural, economic and political trends suggest that Asian nations are becoming more integrated than ever before. But on the other, a virulent nationalism is spreading in the region, one that feeds on reinterpreted — or even imaginary — history to gin up hatred and push small-minded agendas.

Reinterpreted or even imaginary history to gin up hatred and push small-minded agendas?
Yup, America would never pass nationalistic legislation based on imaginary thoughts to hinder foreigners. Europe would never do anything like that either. Only Asian countries do that.

Specific Evidence 2:

Elites in Asia clearly understand the benefits of integration, and businesses and officials together are promoting the trend … With the expansion of satellite television, Asian airlines and regional hiring by Asian conglomerates, businesspeople watch the same news, cool their heels together in a slew of space-age international airports and mingle at cocktail parties and pan-Asian business summits … At summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), I’ve seen packs of diplomats gathered at bars swapping stories in fluent English about their hijinks during graduate school at Johns Hopkins University.

“Elites?” So according to the author to be considered an Asian “Elite” you must:

a) Speak fluent English
b) Posses a western education
c) Attend cocktail parties at pan-Asian business summits.

…take notes, all you non-Asian elites.

Specific Evidence 3:

… most of the region’s multilateral institutions do little more than meet for the sake of meeting. In Cambodia and Laos, local officials and fishermen despair that dams built by China on the upper portion of the Mekong River are blocking water flow — and ravaging fishing in the southern stretch of that river that snakes through their countries. “But when we … try to bring this up at ASEAN meetings,” Sokhem Pech, a leading Cambodian Mekong expert, told me, “no one even wants to talk about it.” The committee officially monitoring the Mekong, which doesn’t include China, is so feeble that it rarely speaks out on the issue.

“…most of the region’s multilateral institutions do little more than meet for the sake of meeting.” For a second there, I thought the author was going to talk about the United Nations. Sorry, because everyone knows only Asian multilateral institutions have no power; no one would ever defy the United Nations, never.

Specific Evidence 4:

This sort of nationalism isn’t the stuff of a few firebrands. Across the continent, populist politicians have scrubbed school textbooks, whether to minimize Japan’s atrocities in South Korea and China during World War II or to erase the memory of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia — perhaps because Prime Minister Hun Sen was an officer in the genocidal regime before he turned against it.

GASP! Scrubbed school textbooks! In America there is no such thing! We learn about how our country committed genocide against Native Americans, murdered hundreds upon thousand of Filipinos during the Spanish-American war, and the fact the Thomas Jefferson plagiarized John Locke and only changed “the right to own property” to the “pursuit of happiness” because Americans couldn’t have slaves thinking that it is their right as humans to own property. Us Americans learn all the bad stuff our country has done in all of our textbooks.

Specific Evidence 5:

Traveling to Cambodia, I meet teenagers who know practically nothing about what happened in their country in the 1970s. China, too, has whitewashed the memory of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 4, 1989. When a “Frontline” documentary crew went to Beijing University a few years ago and showed students the iconic 1989 photograph of the man who stopped a tank in its tracks, no one recognized it.

Stupid, ignorant Asians. Ask any teenager in America, they know everything to know about the extensive activism that happened in the 1970s in our country. And every student would know exactly what is going on in this picture:

I mean come on, every American student knows this iconic photograph on the Kent State shootings.

Specific Evidence 6:

Politicians aren’t the only ones embracing nationalism. In 2002, when Thailand was still recovering from its financial meltdown, government-backed filmmakers produced “The Legend of Suriyothai” to restore their country’s wounded pride. One of the most expensive pictures in Thai history, it told the story of an ancient Thai queen who died fighting Burmese invaders — and compounded Thais’ hostility toward Burma, their neighbor to the west

Propaganda through film? Somebody needs to tell Hollywood about that great idea!

Specific Evidence 6:

The Internet has further empowered Asian nationalists, allowing them to air their vitriol unchecked.

I don’t know about Asia, but in America, the blogosphere is a place of articulate conversation and insightful dialog where there are no name calling, cursing, or inappropriate content that steers toward hateful exchanges.

Specific Evidence 7:

Whenever I visit Asia, I meet young people who detest neighbors they barely know. “The Thais, all they care about is money. Nothing else,” one Burmese acquaintance told me in Rangoon, despite the fact that he’d never actually been to Thailand. In one study taken last year by a leading Japanese nongovernmental organization, two-thirds of the Chinese polled said they had either a “very bad” or “relatively bad” impression of Japan.

We would never stereotype anyone without getting to know them first; Blacks & whites, Latino and Asians, Muslims and Christian all get to know each other personally before coming to any sort of conclusions here.

I have come to the conclusion that this guy that wrote this is a complete buffoon.

Asia has problems that they share with the rest of the world — racism, elitism and ignorance exist in Asia too, surprise surprise. People in Asia have trouble getting along with each other, but that is not a quality specific to Asians but of ALL HUMANITY. All this article does is add to the stereotype of elitist WASP views of Asian peoples.

On a side note: I have never, EVER read a article by a supposed “expat” of an Asian country that had any insight free of stereotypes and cultural judgment. People who call themselves “Expats” are just laying down the foundation to excuse their racist and ignorant views.

Metaphors are wonderful for the fact that it attempts to explain the deepest and most profound theories & ideas in a few simple words. The fact that a rose has thorns, its beautiful fragrance and aesthetic prowess, or the chance that it may shrivel and die; all the aspects of a rose hold a connection to love that can explain the intricacies of that hormonal state we call love. Love is truly a red red rose.

But the problem with this metaphor, as well as with all metaphors, is that while they apply generally to all people, once you get to specific examples and conflicts of love it ceases to hold any relevance. Does the red red rose metaphor describe the a situation where you are married to a women, but since she was married before you have to see her ex-husband all the time? Or when you love someone but their whole family objects to it? The bottom line is that metaphors fail when you attempt to use them in situations that are individual-specific conflicts.

The right side of your brain uses feeling, is “big picture” oriented, where imagination rules, uses symbols and images, looks at present and future, consideres philosophy & religion, it believes, appreciates, has spatial perception, knows object function, is fantasy based, presents possibilities, is impetuous, and is risk taking.

In short the right side of the brain is what causes you to think in metaphorical terms.

The left side of your brain you ask? It uses uses logic, is detail oriented, facts rule, thinks in words and language, connects present and past, math and science, can comprehend, acknowledges, knows order/pattern perception, knows object name, is reality based, forms strategies, and is practical & safe

The reason for stating all this is to throw two more metaphors at you:

Now the question I pose, is should politicians deal in metaphors? Should politics in general emphasize metaphors? Am I wrong to reason that politics and government should deal in left-brain activities not the metaphoric nature of the right-side of the brain?

But politics and government are slowly becoming a huge, boring metaphor. Barack Obama is a prime example of that. His policies are thrown to the back burner while metaphorical ideas and his “All-American story” is spun every which way to cater to peoples of different backgrounds who are supposed to relate. Hell, you can even purchase his “All-American” Story.
Barack Obama is very much a right-side of the brain thinker as his eloquent speeches have shown. Obama is an individual that embraces the metaphor and a major faction of the American people, as well as the world, have embraced the metaphor that is Barack Obama. Obama’s metaphor has been interpreted through song and through art. Obama’s metaphor, for all intensive purposes, has swept the nation.

And while I will cast my vote for this metaphorical man (btw is voting a left-side brain activity or right-side brain activity) I refuse to believe or get caught up in any metaphor. Nor will I care about or indulge myself in the Democrat Nation Convention either. My life and its conflicts are NOT metaphors. And while metaphorical men have changed the nation and the world, a metaphorical man in modern day politics never has and never will. And also, while I pride myself in being a well informed citizen of the United States of America I don’t deal or care about politics. And to let everyone in on a secret: Barack Obama is a politician. He’s not Jesus.

So all this was just a foreword to say whats really on my mind:
Fuck Politics.
Metaphorically speaking of course.

“Obviously there are a lot of folk from Asian ancestry in Hawaii, generally the teams aren’t as tall…”
– Barack Obama

The quote begins at the 3:00 mark

Personally I don’t find this quote offensive at all. Despite the fact that he answered Kimmel’s question of “Can you dunk” with the response that Asians “aren’t as tall” — then saying thats why he “posted up,” thereby laying the groundwork that, in fact, he can’t dunk — I do find it disappointing. Duly noted, this is the Jimmy Kimmel Show, not Meet the Press but nevertheless, disappointing. Disappointing because he grew up around Asians as the Obama campaign has fully emphasized. His half sister is Asian and his brother-in-law even stated that Mr. Obama has been influenced by Asian culture, from views on family and faith to education and social welfare. But to me the most disappointing factor is that Barack Obama is a Black man and of all people he should know and understand the usage of sweeping generalizations when it comes to describing other cultures and ethnicities.

Note that this in no way should affect your vote, as it will have no affect on mine. I’m proud to say that the first vote for president I will cast ever as a legal-of-age citizen in the United States will be cast for Barack Obama, for the idea of HOPE and CHANGE that he has instilled inside my soul — not only with his words but with his overall demeanor, actions, and promises. For the 5% of the population of the U.S. who “aren’t as tall,” it’s hard to imagine a society where Asian jokes in the media and Hollywood are not taken so lightly; when we’re not being laughed at, but laughed with. It’s hard to imagine hope and change when it comes to that. But because of Barack Obama, I DO have hope that one day this will change, and that’s why his lighthearted joke to me was disappointing.

On the flip side, damn, Obama was tall as hell back in high school. And, HEY! he’s the ONLY non-asian on the team! (Insert sarcasm when needed)

Today was the unveiling of the music video for “Be a Nigger Too” by legendary Queensbridge MC Nasir Jones; better known by his one syllable moniker, or his pen name if you would, Nas. Nas created a firestorm and has come under intense criticism by naming his 10th studio album “Nigger” and then subsequently changed the title to “Untitled” under pressure from heads of the record label. Most Asian Americans have seen this controversy in the news or a blog site or in a headline somewhere but probably haven’t give it a second thought, unless by chance they were a hip hop fan. But this album and more specifically this song and music video contains important significance to the Asian American Community. Its relevance to the Asian Americans starts with cameos by Korean American actors John Cho and James Kyson Lee. More importantly, Rik Cordero, a music video director of Filipino descent (who’s star is quickly rising not only in the hip hop landscape but in Hollywood as well) directed and produced this landmark video and who Nas heaped a great deal of praise during its initial screening. But this track’s and video’s relevance should not end there. The line Nas says “…my chink niggas, thats right yall my niggas too” invokes an idea of a relationship between Asians and Blacks that simply does NOT exist.

In fact, despite both groups being “minorities” in this country you can find more instances and examples of indifference if not contempt towards each other.

You also have the stereotypes where the Asian grocery owner keeps an eye on the black customer; the idea that Asians tend to approve of white people over other minorities; and the somewhat true idea that Asians invade black neighborhoods and takeover economically. Since I am a blogger and not a historian I cannot provide scholarly documentation of the exact state of Black and Asian relationships but I don’t think I am too far off base in saying that the bridge that connects us is very, very shaky.

Maybe I’m wishing for way too much. Maybe I am still living in memories of my high school days where my black friends would walk into a store cause a scene and I would very easily shoplift ice cream for everyone.

Okay, thats a bad example.

But why can’t there be more people like this? I mean, I’m sure you can easily find many examples of personal friendships between Blacks and Asians but in the macro-socioeconomic view of communities, the specific examples of olive branches are very few and far between. It’s tough when many influential newspapers in Asian American communities are written in their native language and not accessible by all. It’s tough that many Asian American are too busy fighting amongst themselves to give thought to other racial relationships. Did Yuri Kochiyama not heart brokenly weep over a dead Malcolm X? But I digress.

The one relationship that does exist, is the inherent racially charged terms that “chink” and “nigger” represent. “Nigger” was a hateful term that was coined on the absolute and completly asinine idea that Black people were inferior based on the single notion of their darker skin color. Not to mention the racial crimes that the term represents and holds throughout American History. The term “chink”, in my humble Asian opinion, is just as bad but for different reasons. The term “chink” marginalizes a Asian’s individuals race as a unimportant factor. Asians are put into one group by the U.S. Census Bureau, despite the fact that Asians are the most ethnically diverse group in the Unites States with a broad range of cultures and languages. The term “chink” takes away any sort of individuality that a specific Asian may have and tells us that we are all the same based on the silly notion that our eyes are slanted. Not only that, but the term “chink” causes rifts within the Asian American community; as Asians that are not of Chinese descent turn around and use the term “chink” only against Chinese Americans. I can recall many times in my life where I respond to a person calling me a “chink” saying, “NO, I’m not a chink. Chinese people are chinks.” And as embarrassed as I am to have said that, not just once but many times, I am sure that many other Asian Americans have used some sort of form of my response many times as well.

I think we should erase any sort of usage of the term “chink” from society’s vocabulary as well. For some reason it is okay to say “chink” in today’s society without any repercussions. I don’t feel that way. Its not just a word. Much like how “nigger” is not just a word. They both stem from racist ideologies that looks down on different races on pure superficial basis. Let us all stop the hate.

The 1960′s was a precarious decade; communism, Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, Kennedy, Nixon and on and on. With all that said, I made an assumption and fully expected to read a very ignorant and racist comic. But upon further review I was rather surprised at the tone throughout the scenes. Sure, some stereotypes are made when the Green Beret is surprised that an African man speaks in an “educated tone” BUT overall it lacks the blunt racist vibe that I expected. I came to the personal conclusion that America probably needed to believe in a magical green beret to actually think they were going to win the Vietnam war anyway. Agree or disagree, but take it for what its worth.