8 Asians

Watch out world, the center of Asian America is the 626, which for those of you who don’t know is the area code for the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County. Okay, maybe there’s a little bit of hyperbole (or a lot) there but do you blame me taking some pride in my neighborhood? Having been born, raised, and still living in the 626, I remember back in the 90s when no one outside [...] Continue »

It’s Hip to be Asian in the US by Elizabeth Lee of Voice of America, argues that there is a new coolness in being Asian. I have noticed it too. Asian America isn’t as much on the fringes (of popular culture) as it was when I was younger. It has become much more part of society in general. One great example of this is boba tea. In the early 90s, I had to go to [...] Continue »

Ever since I had a baby, I’m way more emotional than I have ever been. Put it this way, it’s not uncommon to find me tearing up during television sitcoms and romantic comedies. That’s why the first time I heard about Nina and what she is going through, I felt like crying and wanted to do everything I could to help her. Here is a little bit more about Nina: An extraordinary woman, mother, and [...] Continue »

As a filmmaker, I am a big believer in the importance of API film festivals. I believe they are the incubator of API talent and help get our stories on the big screen. One of the first people to believe in me and my writing were the good folks at Visual Communications, who put on the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival every year. Through their Armed with a Camera (AWC) fellowship, they helped me [...] Continue »

In my lifetime, I’ve been called a “Chink” more than a “Jap.” Of course this doesn’t stop people on YouTube from calling me a “Jap.” To be fair, this was in response to my movie “Chink” and I did want to touch a nerve with people. Based on this person’s reaction, I guess it worked. I remember the first time I was called a “Chink.” My first reaction was that I wasn’t Chinese/Chinese American. The [...] Continue »

Because May is Asian Pacific Heritage month, I wanted to write about all the people I assumed or rather wanted to believe were Asian/Pacific Islander. Some of these are more benign than others but they all stem from the simple fact that as a child (and as an adult) I wanted there to be more people that resembled me in politics and entertainment. Snake Eyes (from G.I. Joe). I’ve written about this before but as [...] Continue »

My wife and I have been discussing whether we should give our 1-year-old son a bowl haircut. Okay, discuss is not really what happened. I asked her if we should give him a bowl haircut, and she said, “No.” I tried to explain to her that a bowl haircut is a rite of passage for Asian Americans. I had one (see the above picture). All of my Asian American friends had one. So shouldn’t my [...] Continue »

I consider myself a professional Asian American, which means that I work in the “community.” There are positives and negatives that come with being a professional Asian American. The biggest negative is that people tend to rant at me about the state of Asian America and the worst part is they want me to agree with them. Well, I’m sick of being ranted at. It’s my turn to rant. This is my rant on Asian [...] Continue »

We do. And according to this New York Times article, “East Asian Physical Traits Linked to 35,000-Year-Old Mutation” by Nicholas Wade, East Asians also have: thicker hair shafts more sweat glands characteristically identified teeth smaller breasts The article references a study trying to figure out the gene(s) that causes the variations between people on different continents. This particular study looked at the EDAR gene. According to the article, “Africans and Europeans carry the standard version [...] Continue »

My toddler son LOVES the cha siu bao from Trader Joes. It’s his favorite thing to eat in the world. If we go to dim sum, he’ll eat the fresh bao but he doesn’t eat it with the  same gusto he eats the frozen ones from TJs. I admit it. It makes me sad. I want him to prefer the authentic stuff. This is not to say that the Trader Joe’s bao isn’t good – [...] Continue »

Today, February 19, marks the 71st anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which is responsible for sending approximately 120,000 Japaneses Americans to remote camps throughout the United States — two-thirds of whom were American citizens. To commemorate this infamous event, I wanted to post the text from the actual executive order for people to read and reflect: Executive Order No. 9066 The President Executive Order Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas Whereas [...] Continue »

On January 22, the Guardian ran an article about how Taro Aso, Japan’s new finance minister, said: “Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government,” he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. “The problem won’t be solved unless you let them hurry up and die.” [...] Continue »