Hacienda-La Puente, California School Board Member Jay Chen this week announced his run for California’s 39th Congressional District. His announcement is posted on his campaign site and blog as well as his background:

Jay Chen, a Democrat, was raised and educated in Hacienda Heights. A first-generation American, Jay’s parents came to the United States from Taiwan to seek a better future and taught him the value of hard work, the importance of a good education and the responsibility to serve the community. A product of the public school system, Jay earned a scholarship to Harvard University.

After graduating with honors he worked in the business world as a strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Today, Jay is a successful small businessman and serves our country as an intelligence officer in the United States Naval Reserve.  He was elected to the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District Board of Education in 2007 and after four years of academic success and innovation in the district, he was re-elected with the top vote in 2011.

If his name sounds familiar, it’s because I covered Chen when he interviewed for The Daily Show regarding the “controversy” of his school district’s ““Confucius Classroom” – Chinese language programs partially funded by Chinese government. Chen’s background sounds pretty solid, if not a little too perfect – almost like California State Senator Ted Lieu.

Chen will be going up against an incumbent Republican Congressman, Representative Ed Royce, who has been in Washington for over twenty years and already has $3 million for his re-election campaign. Another challenge that Chen faces is that his Congressional district is about 40 percent Republican and 32 percent Democrat. The district is close to 30% Asian, so Chen may pique the interest of some who may not have considered a Democrat. But no doubt about it, Chen has a huge challenge ahead of him.

[Photo courtesy of Jay Chen for Congress website]

I had blogged about this terrible accident in San Diego, California back in December of 2008, when an U.S. Marine F/A-18D Hornet crashed into a home and killed Korean immigrant Young Mi Yoon, her two daughters, and her mother; Young Mi Yoon’s husband, Dong Yoon, was at work when the crash occurred.

Three years to the month, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller, awarded the following damages:

“Don Yoon, whose wife, Youngmi; daughters, Rachel and Grace; and mother-in-law, Seokim Lee, perished in the crash, should receive $9.6 million in compensation. Miller ruled Sanhyum Lee, Seokim’s husband, should receive $3.7 million. Youngmi’s three siblings received $1.5 million each for the loss of their mother and sister.”

Before the trial, the U.S. government conceded it was at fault for the crash and the trial was a 2.5 day non-jury trial. The family had originally sued for $56 million in damages, but the government pushed back. To be honest, I wouldn’t even know how one can put a price on such a loss. And I can’t even imagine how one would emotionally recover from such a loss. Amazingly, Yoon reiterated what he said three years ago – “I still harbor no ill will against the U.S. Marine Corps pilot involved in this crash, who did everything he could to prevent this tragedy.”

By John “Johnny C” Chuidian

One of the things anybody in New Media will say about this modern day entertainment industry equivalent of the Wild West–completely new, full of opportunities, and barely tapped to its complete potential–is that the people who define it best are its fans. For that very reason, on Friday, December 16th in Monterey Park’s AMC Atlantic Times Square 14 theater was where Wong Fu Productions held a special year end screening of their 2011 shorts.

From their collaborations with David Choi and Freddie Wong to their work with Harry Shum Jr. and Wang Lee Hom, it was a great evening to see them on the silver screen with their fans and friends in the two evening screenings, completely packed. Besides the usual Wesley, Ted, and Phillip, people in attendance included Dan Matthews of the band After School Special, composer and frequent Wong Fu collaborator George Shaw, and Sung Kang of the Fast and Furious series.

In addition to an opportunity to watch them in the comfort of a movie theater and chance for fans to meet and greet while getting free posters autographed, everyone was treated to an early preview of their upcoming Christmas short before its official online release. As much as a pleasure for the audience to enjoy Wong Fu live in a movie theater, it was a pleasure for them to not only be welcomed by Monterey Park’s Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell Ing, but to be presented each a copy of the key to the city, which in his words would “open the door to opportunities”. In Ing’s own words, they are “ambassadors for a culture and youth”.

For Wong Fu, it’s a great way to end the year and a sign of another great one to come, but for Wong Fu fans, it’s an indicator that they not only deserve to be on the big screen, but absolutely must make their way there. With the way things are currently going from fan support, critical acclaim, and their endless potential, it is only a matter of time before we inevitably see a major theatrical release with Wong Fu.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John “Johnny C” Chuidian is a graduate student at UCSD’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and a freelance writer. His writings have appeared in Denizen Magazine, 8Asians.com, Taiwan543.net, and Prospect Journal. You can find some of his work and more about him on his sites johnnycrockstheplanet.wordpress.com and heyitsjohnnyc.wordpress.com

Finally! After months of being teased by the words “artisan noodle” and luscious HD photos of bowls of ramen in the window, Tsujita opened for lunchtime ramen service at the end of October. The first U.S. shop to open from the Nidaime Tsujita chain in Tokyo serves two choices of ramen: tonkotsu – thin and straight style hakata noodles in pork broth, or tsukemen – the thicker and slightly curly dry noodles, which you dip into a separate cup of broth. I work a few blocks away from “the Little Tokyo of the Westside” Sawtelle Boulevard and have tried all of the ramen shops on the street, so when my Co-worker raved about Tsujita and declared that he could taste the “soul of a pig” in their broth, I had high expectations.

I am all for food being a work of art, especially one of my all time favorites – ramen, and the noodles themselves at Tsujita deliver this. You can taste the freshness and perfect al dente-ness of both styles of the noodles in every bite. In this sense, they truly are “artisan” noodles. Here are my first and second impressions of the Tsujita’s two ramen offerings:

Tonkotsu Ramen: Contrasting the just-made taste of the noodles is the richness of the Tonkotsu broth, which the menu states was made from slow simmering of pork bones for 60 hours, and you can taste it. In fact, while drinking the soup, I could see the tiny bits of grit from the pork bones through the thick brown broth when I lifted up my white spoon. The ramen comes in a small bowl that seems less than 1/2 the size of most ramen places, but this is a wise choice considering the broth is extremely rich. I’m told this is how the broth is supposed to be as it is at Tsujita’s counterparts in Japan, but it is a little too much for me. I recommend using the condiments available, pickled ginger and takana (mustard greens) to cut up the fat and saltiness of the broth. Just remember to try the takana before packing it in, because it is quite spicy. I also like adding a few drops of vinegar to the broth to make it lighter and brighter. The few slices of chashu pork that come with the bowl are just right, not too salty, but still flavorful. And I definitely recommend ordering an egg for your ramen, which is cooked perfectly here – slightly runny in the fresh orange-tinted middle, but still holding its hard boiled egg consistency overall.

Tsukemen: Even though these dipping noodles are very in vogue now and what Tsujita is more known for, I like the Tonkotsu soup ramen better. It seems like a lot of work and not enough pay-off to be dipping the thicker noodles into lukewarm broth and trying to catch the flavors and textures of both broth and noodle, while dripping everywhere and not quite getting the right temperature or saturation. I would love to taste those thicker Tsukemen noodles in a fried noodle (some sort of yaki or chow mein) incarnation though, since they are so fresh and chewy. After finishing the dipping noodles, the waitress will offer to add hot water to the broth so you can drink it like soup. The noodles come with a large slice of lime to add to the soup in the end, giving it a good tiny kick.

Due to the deep richness of the Tonkotsu broth at Tsujita, I think you have to be in the mood for their ramen. For other choices on Sawtelle Boulevard and close-by that are less heavy but perhaps not as authentic, I recommend Chabuya for their similar but not-as-fresh tasting thin noodles and wide choice of broth flavors and toppings, Asahi ramen for their mapo tofu and ground pork curlier ramen and free pickled cucumbers, and Ramen-ya for their great hangover cure ramen – tan tan noodles consisting of a thick spicy egg drop and ground pork soup.

ABOUT JANICE: Janice Luo is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Antioch University. Despite her occasional road rage, she is happy to live in the ramen capital of the USA – Los Angeles.

This review was originally posted on Blogging Los Angeles and has been republished here with permission.

By Chris

I should begin with the caveat that I have never reviewed a play before.

And while I enjoy going to the theater from time to time, I would hardly consider myself an informed critic.

And now that I’ve gotten my excuses out of the way, I’m happy to say that I really enjoyed the opening night performance of The Language Archive, which took place Wednesday night at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo.

The play is an exploration of how love, language, meaning, and relationships intersect, all portrayed through a mix of humor, philosophical meanderings, and emotional gravity. The East West Players did a very nice job hitting these various notes through most of the play, with my personal favorites being Ryun Yu as George and Jennifer Chang as Emma.

The play centers on an incredibly intelligent linguist whose marriage is falling apart because he doesn’t know how to express his feelings to her. And yet, she also seems to be unable to tell him what it is that she wants from him. Full disclosure: I have an MA in English and my first (and only) wife left due in large part to strained communications. So, you know, I’ve gotta back George a little bit on this one. His wife, Mary (Kimiko Gelman), plays games like leaving notes hinting at her unhappiness, but refuses to admit she’s left the notes or discuss her expectations openly with him.

The play takes its name from George’s work, the language archive, which involves cataloging and recording samples of dying languages. I particularly enjoyed Cho’s juxtaposition of dying languages and strained relationships, especially as it is illustrated through the relationship of Resten and Alta (Nelson Mashita and Jeanne Sakata), whose native language Elloway will die with them. Alta explains that the death of a language is simply the final breath of a dying culture: “Our world is already gone. No amount of talk talk talk will ever bring it back.” This observation not only evokes the idea of an ever-increasing level of homogeneity among world cultures—an enduring concern for Asian American communities, among many others—but it also reflects back on the failing marriage between George and Mary, whose inability to communicate may have more to do with their lack of a common culture than with their difficulties speaking to one another in a common language. George’s culture is that of a devoted linguist, and Mary is, as we come to learn later, unsure of what the hell she wants to do with herself.

There were a few things about the play that, while humorous, didn’t seem entirely necessary. In the opening lines of the play, for example, George is addressing the audience directly, and then Mary stops him and explains, “I’m right here. I can hear you.” While this unexpected break in form was certainly a good laugh, it didn’t seem to add anything substantial to the play, and didn’t return at any point beyond that first instance. Little moments such as this didn’t necessarily detract from the play, but they did have a cumulative effect of making the play feel as though it may be trying too hard to be cute and funny.

At other moments, the play felt as though it was about to cross the line from sentiment into sentimentality, or from pensive to overly philosophical. These moments seemed to be concentrated in the soliloquys delivered by Mary and Emma, speeches that seem almost to spell out motivations and conclusions for the audience that the writer might have feared wouldn’t fully be captured by the audience. Still, as close as Cho seems to come to crossing the line in these moments, for the most part the writing manages to stop just short of committing these types of literary sins. And when Ryun, Kimiko, and Jennifer delivered some of their more emotionally evocative lines of soliloquy, I thought they hit the mark quite well.

I imagine if we studied this play in one of the literary theory courses I took, we would probably spend at least a little bit of time talking about how feminist theory might view this play. The play opens with Mary performing the duties of the “traditional housewife,” and her escape to true happiness involves cooking—becoming a baker, taking on responsibility for Mr. Baker’s “seed” dough. Alta’s sense of security in her marriage to Resten is tied up inextricably with his appreciation for her cooking: “She would strap an oven to her back if she could.” Emma’s love of George is all tied up in her role as his lab assistant, her devotion to ensuring that everything in the lab is always set up just how he needs it to be. But my literary theory class is long over with, so I suppose I don’t have to linger on that point too long.

The set was very interesting and elaborate, but not to the point of being over the top or a distraction from the play itself. The music and sound effects were quite effective and seemed only to add to the play’s strengths. This was my first time visiting the David Henry Hwang Theater, and I found it to be a comfortable and relaxing environment for the play. All in all, I really enjoyed this play. Here are details from the press release:

All performances of THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE will be staged at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE opens Wednesday, November 9, 2011 and closes on Sunday, December 4, 2011. Opening night will be accompanied by a pre-performance cocktail reception and a post-show reception with the cast and creative team. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Previews are Thursday–Saturday November 3–5, at 8pm and Sunday, November 6 at 2pm. The Pay-What-You-Can Performance will be held Wednesday, November 23 at 8 pm with a suggested $5 minimum donation.

General Admission Tickets range from $3 I – $41. Preview tickets are $20 for all seats. Please call theatre for opening night ticket availability and special event pricing. For ticket purchases or more information, please call East West Players at (213) 625-7000 or visit www.eastwestplayers.org. Senior, student and group discounts are available. Dates, prices, and details are subject to change.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chris Corning is a writer living in Los Angeles. He earned his MA at California State University, Northridge, and he works for a nonprofit agency that publishes literature for recovering drug addicts. He also blogs for blogging.la.

All photos are courtesy of East West Players and Michael Lamont.

By Johnny C

[EDITORS NOTE: This is a review for the Queers on the Verge Shorts Program at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.]

The presence and portrayal of any group in cinema is called into question when they are marginalized by ignorance or bigotry—and often times, it’s both. Whether it’s negative portrayals based off of offensive stereotypes or an utter lack of representation, the question remains: how do people tell their story if those talking about them don’t really know what the story is?

Both the Asian Americans and the queer communities have definitely come a long way in the past decade, going from being almost nonexistent in mainstream to a rare appearance and usually negative misrepresentation, it is definitely the right time to bring about the stories of a less visible group: queers in Asian and Asian American film and entertainment.

A series of shorts dealing with a variety of issues—especially perspectives of queers and others with their misunderstanding and biases against them, Queers on the Verge had few stories that were distinctly both queer and Asian, but for the most part, were stories that could easily be retold that were race neutral.

To be fair, that is still a good thing. There may not be many voices that have emerged to describe a distinct Asian American flavor in queer cinema (or perhaps queer flavor in Asian American cinema), but the fact that many of the actors, writers, and directors are predominantly Asian shows a triumph in creativity rather than typecasting or stereotyping.

From the award-winning short Andy by Andrew Ahn about homophobic reactions to ambiguous-yet-innocuous events that may or may not been sexual, to the touching Tsuyako about a Japanese woman’s dilemma between duty and love, and the tear-inducing Viewer Discretion Advised/Tape 96, this screening will stir unfamiliar feelings in familiar ways with each story, which we can all relate to in one way or another.

Even as a straight Asian male, I could share the awkwardness of sitting in a bus in San Francisco and wondering if a girl would reciprocate interest or if I would look silly letting her know—even if Narissa Lee’s The Bus Pass was about a queer girl finding another girl attractive and adding the extra layer of complication and self-doubt: is that pretty girl queer too?

The point is, these are stories that are all distinctly queer, Asian American, queer and Asian American, and at a certain point, universal. We celebrate our diversity through events like SDAFF and this screening of Queers on the Verge, but we walk out of it finding out that we all aren’t that much different from one another: we are all human beings experiencing joy and pain in whatever shape or form it comes to us in.

ABOUT JOHNNY C: John “Johnny C” Chuidian was born in California and grew up in Hong Kong and Manila. He is currently a student at UCSD’s graduate school of International Relations and Pacific Studies, and hopes to use his specialization to raise awareness of global issues and call people to take action, especially in Southeast Asia. He will be going to film his first mini-documentary in Thailand this December on human trafficking and sex slaves, and can be followed on his project blog at johnnycrockstheplanet.wordpress.com

UPDATE 11/9/11: Congrats to our winners Lailanie and Anika!

Outrage, the new film from Japan’s legendary Takeshi Kitano (ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN, BROTHER, VIOLENT COP) opening in Los Angeles and New York on December 2, 2011. It stars Beat Takeshi, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, and Tomokazu Miura.

In a ruthless battle for power, several yakuza clans vie for the favor of their head family in the Japanese underworld. The rival bosses seek to rise through the ranks by scheming and making allegiances sworn over saké.

Long-time yakuza Ôtomo (writer/director Kitano, using his screen name “Beat Takeshi”) has seen his kind go from elaborate body tattoos and severed fingertips to becoming important players on the stock market. Theirs is a never-ending struggle to end up on top, or at least survive, in a corrupt world where there are no heroes but constant betrayal and vengeance…

Running Time: 109 minutes
Language: Japanese (with English subtitles)
Rating: R for violence, language, and brief sexuality

Ok, ok, so you just want to know how you can win some free tickets and DVDs? Read on!

Official Selection:

• Cannes Film Festival 2010
• Palm Springs International Film Festival 2011
• AFI Fest 2010

“Bursts with direct cinematic power. Humor as mean and dry as a straight-up martini.“—Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter

“VISUALLY STUNNING. A beautifully staged marvel that confidently reasserts Kitano’s considerable cinematic gifts. By the final reels, it’s all-out yakuza war.“—Rob Nelson, Variety

“When it comes to the gangster film few have ever done it better than Kitano and with Outrage he is absolutely back in peak form. A truly iconic international crime film.“—Todd Brown, TWITCH

What you could win from 8Asians and Magnet Releasing
Two (2) winners will each receive a pair of tickets to the advanced screening of Outrage + DVDs of the movies Exiled and Dynamite Warrior.

Screening Details:
Outrage Advanced Screening
Wednesday, November 9th @ 7:30 pm.
Music Hall Theater (9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA)

Hurry, this contest closes Tuesday, 11/8/2011 at 11:45pm Pacific Time!
One entry per person, please.

How do you enter?
1) Like the 8Asians Facebook page!

2) Fill out the form below:

Why do I have to fill out this form? We’re just trying to capture all the info needed to fulfill the prizes faster.

Can I enter more than once? No! Why you being so greedy?!

Prizes courtesy of: 8Asians.com and Magnet Releasing