8Asians.com

Chinese New Year Lanterns

Guest Writer — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:41:00 +0000

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and it is always great to decorate your home with nice little lanterns. Oriental Furniture offers a set of Chinese New Year Lanterns ($18.00 for a set of 12) that can be easily hung or strung up anywhere. The bold and bright colors of the lantern will constantly remind you of the holiday spirit and festivities. Cheers to a new Chinese year!

Check out this product on our shopping blog, GASP!

Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet

jozjozjoz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:15:33 +0000

The rumored death of Kim Jong Un is taking China’s biggest microblogging service Weibo– and now Twitter– by storm. With headlines and captions asking questions like “Did Twitter Assassinate Kim Jong-Un?” by Gawker, everyone wants to know if there is any truth behind the purported North Korean Leader’s Assassination.

Unfortunately, North Korea is not known for being forthcoming with news. So, just two months after becoming the country’s supreme leader after the death of his father, the rumor mill is on overload about Kim Jong Un’s reported demise at 28. Between speculation that he was assassinated in Beijing or that he’s on the run (but not dead), most of the claims imply that some sort of coup is taking place. Reports about the rumors are being picked up by various mainstream news sources such as Forbes, Gawker, National Post, and more. Everyone is trying to figure out if anything actually happened or if this is the biggest social media death hoax since Jon Bon Jovi’s.

If you live in China, Gawker is asking for help to confirm this story. And if you can confirm if Kim Jong Un is dead, let us know, too.

Photo credit: Gawker screenshot

Help Fight Stereoptypes With Asian Crew Clothing

Guest Writer — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

By Matthew

I’m a member of Asian Crew Clothing, along with Hao-Kai Wu, Ryan Kwan, Kevin Han and Kevin Foo. I started this company because being Asian is cool.

In history classes, Asian Pacific American history is overlooked, and hardly even discussed. Our ancestors who moved here from their homeland faced hatred and were subject to hurtful stereotypes. Somehow, they managed to work hard, earning minimal wage to make their children’s lives better. They instilled in us a work ethic and discipline that has cultivated success. Yet some how, many Asian stereotypes still exist today and are exemplified in the media.

The stereotypes are not true and undermine hard work. For example, in high school, I took BC calculus and it was the hardest class I had ever taken. I struggled, and failed some exams throughout the year, but I worked hard and put the time and effort into learn everything I didn’t understand. By the end of the year I understood a majority of the material and received a 5 on the AP exam. There are people in the world who would think to themselves, “he got a 5 on BC calculus exam because he’s Asian”. For some reason, people think that Asians are born knowing how integrate and take derivatives. But the truth is, I worked just as hard as the rest of my peers, but few people would believe me.

So, we thought making cool shirts that inform people about Asian Pacific American culture as well as combat common stereotypes used against Asian Pacific Americans would be the best way to approach the problem. We all realized that Asian American themed shirts were limited to certain themes and stereotypical shirts. So at Asian Crew Inc, there are no “Got Rice?” jokes, Bruce Lee pictures, or over-used gimmicks here. We’re dedicated to making Asian American themed shirts with style and originality. We want to give you unique and kick-ass gear that makes you proud to rep Asian culture.

We need your help. We need to raise money to order our newest batch of designs so if you agree that being Asian is cool, donate to our Kickstarter project. We need all the help we can get, so tell your mom, your dad, your uncle(s), your second cousin(s), and even your friend you haven’t talked to in a long time, about our project. Help us spread the word. If you have any comments, critiques, ideas, or even experiences you’d like to share with us, send us an email at asiancrewinc[at]gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I’m a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts and partner of Asian Crew Inc.

Deftones’ Chi Cheng Wakes Up From His 3-Year Coma

Ernie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:30:43 +0000

Via Radio 104.5: “After spending the past 3+ years in a coma due to a tragic car accident, Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng has finally awaken and is showing promising signs of recovery. From responding to doctors to moving his feet up and down, Cheng is on his long road to recovery, according to fansite OneLoveForChi.com.” (Hat tip: Jasmine)

SXSW 2012 Has a Nice Handful of Asian Movies

Dino-Ray — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:00:43 +0000

This year, SXSW (a.k.a. South by Southwest) film festival has a very hearty helping of Asian-ness — and I’LL BE THERE! YAY!

Sure, the music and interactive portions of the popular festival are big draws, but when it comes to the film festival, I am totally all over it.

This year they will be featuring big time movies like the Jonah Hill/Channing Tatum comedy romp 21 Jump Street and Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods — but the selection of Asian-centric films are in abundance. From Indonesian forest-based thrillers to Olivia Munn trying to get preggers, here’s a list of them in no particular order.

The Babymakers (World Premiere): Olivia Munn and Paul Schneider star as a couple who can’t get pregnant so they rob a sperm back — but things go awry and hilarity ensues. Director: Jay Chandrasekhar, Screenwriters: Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow. Cast: Paul Schneider, Olivia Munn, Kevin Heffernan, Wood Harris, Nat Faxon.

Seeking Asian Female (World Premiere): This is just your standard documentary of a man with “yellow fever” and his attempt to make a marriage work with a Chinese woman half his age that he meets online. Director: Debbie Lum. Check out the film’s website.

Modus Anomali (World Premiere): The Indonesian-based thriller about a man who loses his family during a vacation and his bloody quest to save them. Director/Screenwriter: Joko Anwar. Cast: Rio Dewanto, Hannah Al Rashid, Izziati Amara Isman, Aridh Tritama, Surya Saputra, Marsha Timothy, Sadha Triyudha, Jose Gamo. Watch the trailer here.

Eden (World Premiere): Jamie Chung stars alongside Beau Bridges in this film about a Korean-American girl who is forced into human trafficking. Sounds fun, right?! Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim. Cast: Jamie Chung, Matt O’Leary, Beau Bridges, Jeanine Monterroza, Scott Mechlowicz

The Taiwan Oyster (World Premiere): Two Americans travel through Taiwanese countryside to bury a fellow countryman. It doesn’t exactly sound happy, but it sounds good, right? Director: Mark Jarrett. Screenwriters: Mark Jarrett, Jordan Heimer, Mitchell Jarrett. Cast: Billy Harvey, Jeff Palmiotti, Leonora Lim.

The Raid: This movie has been making it’s festival rounds and if you don’t know about it already, you should be ashamed of yourself. Director/Screenwriter: Gareth Huw Evans. Cast: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Doni Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno. Click here to read more at the director’s blog.

Girl Model (U.S. Premiere): A documentary about a group of young Russian girls who join a modeling agency to seek work in Japan, but get introduced into another side of the fashion industry. I wonder if we can expect a lot of smizing. Directors: A. Sabin, David Redmon. Check out the website.

Wildness: This documentary directed by Wu Tsang paints a “magical-realist portrait” of the Silver Platter, a historic Latin/LGBT bar in Los Angeles. Check out the trailer here.

Daylight Savings (World Premiere): Musician Goh Nakamura has a breakup and then goes on the road with his irresponsible cousin to pursue a promising rebound with fellow musician Yea-Ming Chen. YAY! A road trip movie! Director: Dave Boyle. Screenwriters: Dave Boyle, Michael Lerman, Joel Clark, Goh Nakamura. Cast: Goh Nakamura, Michael Aki, Yea-Ming Chen, Lynn Chen, Ayako Fujitani.

Bijuka (North American Premiere): The Indian movie (which translates into “Scarecrow), is inspired by true events and tells the story about a woman escaping an abusive arranged marriage. When I Googled the title, one of the results read, “Bijuka – Bollywood’s Longest Rape Scene”. Perhanps it’s the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo of India. Director: Ashtar Sayed. Screenwriter: Dr. Mahendra Purohit.

Last Call at the Oasis: Jessica Yu’s documentary about the global water crisis. The title alone makes me thirsty. Read more about it here.

John Dies At The End: The movie about a street drug called “soy sauce” — so that’s cool. And it is based on the book by David Wong — a pseudonym used by Jason Pargin. Director & Screenwriter: Don Coscarelli. Cast: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman. Watch the trailer here.

Read the entire SXSW 2012 film lineup by clicking here.

Woman In China Gives Birth To 15 Lb Baby

Moye — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:30:45 +0000

From the AP: “A mother in central China has given birth to a 15.52 pound (7.04 kilogram) baby, possibly the largest newborn on record since the country’s founding in 1949.” The baby was born via c-section and nothing out of the ordinary was reported about the pregnancy. Aside from the fact that the baby was 15 pounds. In other news, Asian babies rule!

Naruto & Dragonball Now Available On Barnes & Noble Nook

Tina — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:43 +0000

It’s happened. I’m totally hooked on eBooks. I’m one of those book lovers that loves to sniff a new book before I read it, sighs at the sound of a page turning, and adores the solid and personal feel of a book in my hand.

With the advent of eBooks, I tried to resist, fancying myself like Yomiko Readman from the anime Read or Die, living in an abandoned office building filled to the brim with books, books, and more books. But the convenience of eBooks is too amazing to deny, having my entire library in the palm of my hand to access anytime, anywhere. And now that Viz Media has announced that they are publishing their major manga series on the Barnes & Noble Nook, I feel that my eBook experience has gotten another step closer to nirvana.

Out of the list of manga to be released, I’m especially excited about Naruto, Dragonball, and Rurouni Kenshin.

Of course, there have been a plethora of websites that have provided fan-translated unofficial versions of these manga, but there are a lot reasons why I’ve never liked using them and would prefer to have the Nook version instead. First, I can enjoy my manga reading without questionable looking ads to bother me. Second, I can have smooth page turning without having to wait for images to load. Third, I’m able to read without needing an internet connection. Fourth, the official translations will actually make sense and I will actually understand the stories I am reading. And finally, I don’t have to see those annoying fan added nicknacks and get confused what is the original material and what is just annoying. So thank you, Viz and Nook. Keep ‘em coming.

Kisai Rogue KR2 LED Watch

Guest Writer — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:41:00 +0000

When we were kids, we’d imagine how the future would be like. Sadly in 2012, flying cars and hoverboots haven’t happened yet, but we have the technology of LEDs. The future is now with this Kisai Rogue KR2 LED Watch ($128.00). Made by the folks at Tokyo Flash, it features sleek black stainless steel and a futuristic looking LED face. Its unique-looking layout may take some time to get use to but it’s a great style choice and a reminder of the awesome times we live in.

Check out this product on our shopping blog, GASP!