I had the great opportunity and fortune to meet a truly historic Asian American recently – former Ambassador to China, Secretary of Commerce and Governor of Washington state Gary Locke. I had attended a fundraiser in Silicon Valley for Congressman Mike Honda, who is running for re-election (for California’s 17th Congressional District). Locke was the guest of honor in support of Honda, along with former Secretary of Defense William Perry.
Former IBA and WBO Superbantamweight Boxing Champion Ana Julaton has started fighting MMA professionally this year. Not only is she a boxer, but she has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and kenpo Karate. She follows well known boxer Holly Holm to do MMA.
After signing with Asian MMA promotion OneFC, she won her debut match in Manila on May 2,2014, defeating Egyption kickboxer Aya-Saeid Saber. She lost by split decision on August 29, 2014 to Malaysian Ann Osman. From what I could see of that match, Julaton’s striking was neutralized by Osman’s clinch and ground game, so those are areas where Julaton needs to improve.
(photo credit: Mark J. Sebastian)
http://youtu.be/SNBIVUeMrvU
We already know that Jeremy Lin has a good sense of humor (see Jeremy Lin reads mean tweets on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jeremy Lin dunking on his Mom, and wishing her “happy birthday”).
We also know Madame Tussauds SF has immortalized him with a wax figure.
So Jeremy pretended to be a statue and hilarity ensued.
Back in 2011, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu did the same prank.
via Bleacher Report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCea94LRtPY
This one is a movie remake of an old Anime series. The story is pretty interesting, set in a time when humanity has colonized most of the galaxy, but with resources drained, the species is in decline. Many look back to Earth, wanting to re-inhabit it, but the small planet could not possible sustain the whole species at its vast size. A new species wide order has been formed, but a pirate named Harlock rebels against it. They story follows a young man named Logan who tries to join Harlock’s pirates, and there are many twists and turns in the plot along the way.
Although the premise is interesting, the overall story, didn’t quite come together that well, and the characters, though tragic and conflicted, fall just short of being believable and worthy of sympathy. Despite this, the graphics in this movie are pretty amazing. Apparently it cost $30 million USD to make, and you can see it in the quality of the CG animation. If nothing else, this film is worth watching just for that, and the plot, though not spectacularly executed, does hold together enough for you to tag along and enjoy the $30mil eye-candy.
“Karate Clerk” Mayura Dissanayake recently showed his skills in the MMA ring by knocking out Jaime Garcia in 18 seconds. A video of the match is below. When I watched it, I felt sorry for Garcia. This was an amateur match, but Dissanayake has 3 pro fights of experience. Dissanayake has been given an offer to join well known MMA gym Black House.
Season 3, Episode 10 (originally aired August 19): “Monkey Plate”
Microsynopsis: Steve and Susan secretly invite Jenny (Margaret Cho), the daughter of Ok Cha’s estranged sister, to a surprise birthday party for Ok Cha in the hopes of reuniting the family. Jenny arrives bearing gifts and good wishes, but Ok Cha is sure she’s only there to retrieve a family heirloom Ok Cha stole from her dead grandmother. Roy comes into possession of two field passes to a Steelers game, but since he can take only one friend, Owen and Ahmed compete to be the plus-one.
Good: It’s always good to see Margaret Cho, and it’s especially true here, since Jodi Long (Ok Cha) played Cho’s mother in All-American Girl. The moment where Jenny mimics her mother’s Korean accent (the best part of Cho’s stand-up act) while Susan mimics her own mother’s Korean accent is pretty cute. There’s a lot of Steve-Susan interaction, the kind I wish this show gave us more of. Some of the plot gags involving the Monkey Plate are pretty funny.
Bad: The Roy-Ahmed-Owen business feels like a variation on an uninteresting recurring theme.
Hapa moments: There are two good moment this episode. In the first, Jenny points out that Susan and Steve are only half Korean, saying their lighter skin and half-Caucasian eyes make them look “like white people lining up a putt.” Later, when Jenny goes kind of psycho, Steve tries to calm her down, saying, “Jenny, I thought we wanted the same thing here!” Jenny’s response is, “Shut up, white boy! I came here for the plate!”
Overall: It seems to have taken the better part of three seasons, but some of the other actors (besides Steve Byrne and Dan Lauira) are finding their characters’ grooves, if these last two episodes are any indication. It used to be that only Steve’s interactions with his father and with Melanie felt natural and unforced, but some of that easiness is creeping into other characters’ scenes as well. This episode itself is slightly off the wall, but not especially so for a half-hour sitcom. Mostly, it’s pleasant and enjoyable.
Final grade, this episode: B.
I know some travelers don’t really care what their accommodations are since they feel like they’re going to be exploring the area, not staying in their hotel room, and I’m happy to do that when I’m on a budget, but when I can, it’s great to stay at a place which is a destination in and of itself. Since I was traveling with a group, we were able to split the cost of a beautiful Executive Suite in the already enchanting Alishan House hotel. The regular rooms look nice already with gorgeous views and really nice decor and furnishings, but our Japanese style suite was AMAZING.
The hotel is split into two parts, the Modern House and the Historical House. Apparently it is one of the oldest hotels in Alishan, if not the oldest, hence the Historical House, and our suite was in the Modern House side.
Before I get into the details of the totally sweet Japanese style suite, let’s start with the hotel itself. The above image is of the walkway to the rooms past the main restaurant in the hotel with the manmade waterfall view outside. Below is the lobby area.
Actor and writer Joy Regullano takes the “Asian fetish” dialogue that usually is directed at Asian/Asian American females and turns directs it at a white man for “White Fetish.”
It’s nice to see someone do a funny take on “yellow fever” in the dating scene and it kind of reminds me of the super popular “If Asians Said The Stuff White People Say” video that came out a little while back.
But don’t forget: everyone wants to date Asian women. Even the creepy, racist ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsWKVXed0zg
So my favorite ring-girl-turned-cage-fighter Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson is up to battle Yasuko Tamada from Japan in all women’s pro-MMA promotion Invicta FC 8 tonight, Saturday Sept 6 at Kansas City.
Waterson is 5′ 3″ with a pro MMA record of 11 wins and 3 losses. Tamada is 5′ with a pro MMA record of 15 wins and 8 losses. Waterson was originally a striker, coming from a karate and muay thai background, but she wins many of her bouts submitting her opponent on the ground. Tamada comes off as a well-rounded fighter as well, having a grappling background but demonstrating a lot of stand up in this fight on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d80BQyO76WU
Waterson has the advantage in height and weight, but Tamada does look like she has a decent reach and is the more experienced fighter of the two, so everyone who tunes in the UFC Fight Pass tonight will likely be treated to a great fight as Tamada tries to snag the Atomweight Championship from Waterson.
Another fight on the card featuring a female Asian American MMA fighter is Jodie Esquibel against Jinh Yu Frey. Esquibel has got a pro record of 3 wins and 1 loss, while Frey’s record is 2 wins and 0 losses, though Frey is well known for her viral knock-out video in which she breaks her hand putting her opponent to sleep in the cage.
With all these female fighters of Asian descent making noise in the MMA world, I hope we’re making a significant dent in the “helpless Asian girl” stereotype. Nothing helpless about a girl willing to test her metal in the cage.
We already know that Hello Kitty is not a cat, that Hello Kitty is also for men, that you can get pretty much anything you want emblazoned with Hello Kitty on it, and that if you need to get away that the only way to travel is on a Hello Kitty jet… but did you know that superheroes love Hello Kitty, too?
Well, maybe that’s not totally true, but these photoshopped pictures make a really great case for it. I guess it’s not limited to superheroes, because one of my favorites is Hello Kitty Gandalf (he’s a wizard, not superhero!):
More at RocketNews24 via ZhaizhaiNews
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is asking for assistance in locating a Nisei who lived in Monrovia, California, in 1965, who was injured in violent demonstrations in Montgomery, Alabama. JACL will participate in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights that will take place in Selma, Alabama, in March 2015. JACL would like to include the Nisei Californian in 50th anniversary activities.
In the Spring of 1965, Todd Endo, a student member of JACL, traveled to Selma, Alabama to support the African American struggle for human rights. Endo wrote articles for the Pacific Citizen about his experiences and views on what was happening in Selma after the death of his friend, Rev. Jim Reeb. One article provided information on other Asian Americans who participated in the demonstrations.
Endo wrote that a Nisei student had been injured in a civil rights demonstration in Montgomery. No other identification was provided for the student who came from Monrovia, California. A television news broadcast in Selma spotlighted the Nisei’s involvement in their coverage of the event. At the time, an African American leader commenting on the incident referred to the student as a civil rights support who had come from Japan. The Nisei student clarified he was an American born in California.
The Spokesman Review, a Spokane, Washington, newspaper wrote in their March 17, 1965 issue in an article titled, “Demonstrators Routed by Montgomery Police”, that 8 were hurt by mounted sheriff deputies as a result of a “mixup in police orders”. Under the subtitle, “Five Horses Injured”, the article noted the injured included a Japanese-American college student who was treated at St. Margaret’s Hospital.
JACL would like to recognize the heroism of the unknown Nisei. White spectators were heard to comment, “Look, even the Japs are here.”
Among other Asian Americans in Selma during the demonstrations was Rev. Andrew Otani, an Issei Episcopalian priest from Minneapolis. His Issei congregation supported and financed his participation in the Selma crisis. There were also three Chinese American students in Selma.
Anyone with information about the unknown Nisei should contact Priscilla Ouchida, Executive Director of JACL, at 202-223-1240 or [email protected].
Season 3, Episode 9 (originally aired August 12): “Owenbrau”
Microsynopsis: Owen brews his own beer, and to the astonishment of everyone in Sullivan & Son, it tastes really good. Dubbing his brew Owenbrau, he goes into business with Roy and Ahmed, while Steve, following the advice of his father, declines to mix friendship with business, telling Owen that his bar won’t sell the beer. This temporarily causes a tiny rift in the friendships, but Steve tries to make amends by connecting his friends to his beer distributor. In a second plot, Carole, Ok Cha, Melanie, and Susan plan a girls’ night out and exchange secrets while relaxing in a sauna.
Good: In the main plot, the theme seems to be good beer. While Owen and his friends deal with the Owebrau situation, Hank and Jack reminisce about a favorite, long-discontinued beer from their past. It’s a simple topic, but moving beer from mere prop to topic of conversation is a great move. People who sit around drinking beer like to talk about beer, too, and for some reason that’s seldom represented on television. And for a change, there aren’t too many stupid jokes, ‘though the laughtrack is still too loud. Also, as strong as the A-plot is, the B-plot is possibly better. The bonding in the sauna is surprisingly convincing, and there’s some carryover when the ladies return to the bar and discuss plans to spend more time together.
Bad: I’m going to be a little nit-picky because there’s not much to hate in this episode. There’s an early moment where Melanie is insulted by Hank, and she kind of obviously removes herself from the conversation to sulk at a nearby table. It’s just a little hammy, ‘though I admit I can’t put my finger on why it feels that way. And when she’s joined by Carole and Susan, the dynamic feels forced. Not until they’ve retreated to the sauna does the connection feel believable, which I also will admit may be intentional.
Hapa moment: It’s Susan who comes up with the idea of sharing secrets in the sauna. Melanie immediately gets excited and says that’s what they should do. Ok Cha says to them both, “You white people always want to put your s*** on the street!”
Overall: This is quite possibly the best episode of Sullivan & Son so far. I’m all about a thirty-minute sitcom installment where the plot is thin but the character development is solid, and that’s what we get in both plots. The jokes are well-told and (mostly) neither idiotic nor obvious, and the interaction between characters is very well done.
Final grade, this episode: A minus.
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Asian Guys and that One Long Pinky Fingernail
Was Jesus Asian?
Filipino Kinship Terms and their Confusing Translation into English
‘Fresh off the Boat’ Episode Review: “Clean Slate”
Review of Netflix Japan’s “Our Secret Diary”
Hizashi no Naka no Rairu
