“The Warlords” Movie Review

Posted on July 5, 2013 by tinabot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOr8Dj1PxJg

The first word that comes to mind when thinking about this movie is “dirty”. And not the dirty as in the profane kind or the lewd kind. Just dirty. As in the back alley grime of a city. As in a long day of hiking and coming home with dirt glued to your face with sweat. As in body odor. Dirty, plain and simple. It’s so grimy that you can almost smell the stench of the characters. Strangely enough, this actually gives the film a pleasingly earthy feel, a realism that is usually missing in fantasy wuxia stories like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The Warlords story can be summed up plot-wise by a single word as well–“sacrifice”. Star studded with Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, this is a tale of three sworn blood brothers who try to rise up and make a change in the lives of their people, of the commoners, but the price they pay is a steep one. With Jet Li at the helm, there’s some pretty decent fight scenes, and the epic battle action overall is pretty crazy good, especially thanks to the fact that all of the awesomeness is well grounded with the dirt and mud and muck found everywhere in the textures of this movie. Maybe it’s to drive home the concept that it’s hard to keep your hands clean when it comes to war. Recommended for people who love dramatic Chinese historical war stories, epic battles, and warrior angst.

Posted in Entertainment, Movies | Leave a comment

Asian American Commercial Watch: Suburu’s Nature Painting

Posted on July 5, 2013 by John

http://youtu.be/6KlEY1J-tiI

I caught this Suburu television commercial last week and found it fairly entertaining. I’m not sure buying an easel and having a Suburu SUV is going to make any nature loving painting enthusiast go out of their way to paint more though…

In the 60 second version of the commercial, you get a better idea of the Asian American woman as a loving, supportive and at times, concerned, spouse for her husband’s passion for nature-inspired painting.

Of course, this is another Familiar Pairing Of White Men And Asian American Women in a television commercial.

http://youtu.be/Ag3pw01s92M

Posted in Entertainment, Observations, TV | 1 Comment

“Heathen Chinee” and other Anti-Chinese Old West Songs

Posted on July 4, 2013 by tinabot


It’s a personal tradition of mine to spend July 4th studying American history. For research on the Old American West for my Cowboy Ninja series, I went on a road trip to the site of the Donner Party tragedy, Donner Lake, where, in its quaint little dusty gift shop, I found a wonderful historical music book called “Moving West Songbook” by Keith & Rusty McNeil.

At first, I was just excited to find the book full of Old West songs coupled with historical tidbits for each. What better way to tap into the soul of an era than through music? What thrilled me, though, was when I found songs in it about Chinese Americans of the time. Talk about a gold mine for my story about a Chinese American in the Old West!

As you might expect, the songs aren’t exactly flattering, since they are songs that White Americans sang about the “heathen celestials” from the Far East.
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Posted in Discrimination, Entertainment, History, Music | Leave a comment

Product Review: HTC 8X

Posted on July 4, 2013 by John

HTC_8X_VZWAs part of my day job, I worked for a telecommunications equipment  & cell phone OEM manufacturer. So it was my pleasure to have the opportunity to try out and review, courtesy of Verzion Wireless, a Windows Phone 8 device, namely the HTC 8X. Prior to getting my HTC 8X to review, I had read the reviews of Windows Phone 8, and had read that the HTC 8X was essentially the best (which is bad news for Nokia …)

I’ve always been a fan of HTC since they were the first to take a bet on Android were the first to launch an Android-based smartphone with the T-Mobile G1. Personally, I use my company’s own Android smartphone on the Sprint network (where there is still spotty 4G LTE coverage in Silicon Valley). I’ve played a little bit with Windows Phone 7, but this was my first chance to really try a Windows Phone 8 device.

Since I work in the industry, I had a friend who uses the HTC 8X as his primary phone (or one of his that he rotates). The HTC 8X has a nice thin feel to it, quite solid and nice build quality, though if you’re into removable batteries (a friend of mine swears on them – me, not so much), you’re out of luck with the 8X. The exterior is covered with a rubberized feel to it, which felt fine to me, unlike the hard plastic I am used to with most smartphones I’ve tried out.

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Joseph Eichler: Asian American Activist

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Tim

Eichler_Homes

If you live in California, you’re probably familiar with the flat top homes known as Eichlers. They are homes built by developer Joseph Eichler in the 1950s and 1960s. What you may not know, is that these homes were also built during one of the most racially charged times in U.S. history. Until the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed, it was common for developers in the U.S. to segregate their housing offerings and incorporate the rules for segregation into their CC&Rs (Codes, Covenants, & Restrictions), that purchasers of their new homes would have to sign upon purchasing the home. The typical language in a CC&R would have “race restrictions”, that would state “…no person of African, Japanese, Chinese, or Mongolian descent, shall use or occupy any such property, or any part thereof, unless such persons are employed as servants by a Caucasian occupant of some portion of such property.”[1] These restrictions were of course, invalidated by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but the language remains in the CC&Rs of many homes in California today. During the 1950s when this discriminatory language was in popular use in California, Eichler emerged as one of the few, and possibly only home builder in the SF Bay Area and LA area that did not include discriminatory language in his CC&Rs, and was the one builder who stood up for the rights of minorities, at least in the arena of fair housing practices.

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Posted in Business, Discrimination, History, Local, Real Estate, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California | 1 Comment

An Unconventional Activist: Princess Joules

Posted on July 3, 2013 by akrypti

princessjoules

Julie Van Vu, better known by her YouTube vlogger handle Princess Joules, inspires me. I first stumbled upon her channel when I was searching online for eye makeup tutorials. Hers are amazing. I tried my best to replicate the above-pictured look but just couldn’t come anywhere near her level of skill. I confess I’m an avid subscriber. I love all her YouTube beauty guru showcases–the shopping hauls, the what’s-in-my-bag glimpses, everything, even the sweet and tender moments with her little sister that she captures on camera for us.

JulieVu_PrincessJoules_SourceFB_2Imagine how much that fandom amplified when I watched her more substantive videos. Ms. Vu uses her spotlight to bring attention to feminist, gender equality, sexual equality, and anti-bullying issues in a provocative, engaging, yet convivial manner. There is an essence of feminine beauty that is natural and effortless about her. As a result, she is an inspiration to many, including me. I was prompted to reexamine my own view of my femininity because of Ms. Vu.

To learn more about Princess Joules, watch her video, “19 Months MtF Transition.”

Also check out her “Draw My Life” video. The below are screenshots from the video I’d like to discuss.

drawmylife-screenshots

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Posted in Beauty, Fashion, Health and Beauty, LGBT, Lifestyles | 68 Comments

‘Sullivan & Son’ Episode Review: “Ladies Night”

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Mitchell K. Dwyer

Season 2, Epsiode 3: “Ladies Night”
ladies nightMicrosynopsis: Responding to Yelp reviews calling his bar a place for old people, Steve holds a Ladies Night in hopes of drawing a younger clientele. Among other regulars, Melanie objects, insisting such a move will draw only sleazebag guys. However, when Ladies Night goes down, Melanie finds herself drawn to a nice Indian man (played by Kunal Nayyar) while others in the bar also meet interesting people.

Good: Steve asserts himself further as the owner of this bar, and he continues to develop as a nice guy, even when throwing guys out. This character’s likability could be what holds this show together, so it’s nice to see more. Most of the over-the-top characters actually play a few levels down this time, which is most welcome. Melanie gets a chance to wear something other than that EMT uniform. A super-obvious plot development pairs Hank with a lady who’s not what he thinks, and except for one preachy sentence from Carol, the resolution is handled in a manner slightly less ham-handed than its custom.

Bad: Second episode in a row with no Susan. The show is taking on a personal-growth-lesson-of-the-week tone, something it cannot keep up if it hopes not to become boring. I would like to suggest that every episode need not end on a poignant note, if any of the writers is seeing this. Kunal Nayyar is a welcome guest, but following last week’s Ken Jeong episode, his appearance threatens to turn this show into an Asian-actor-of-the-week thing.

Hapa moment: Nayyar confides to Steve that, “If I approach any girl in Pittsburgh with this accent, they’re gonna ask me about their Verizon account,” to which Steve replies, “I know how you feel. You don’t think it’s weird growing up being Korean and Irish?”

Overall: This isn’t one for the time capsule, and I’m getting a little tired of the “this is what we all learned this week…” vibe. But Melanie and Steve are good, normal characters, and they get to spend a little bit of time giving their relationship a little more depth. Their interactions feel so much more natural than most of the exchanges between the other bar regulars, probably because the dialogue is meant to develop character and not inspire annoyingly loud laughter. Despite its preachy tingle, I’m rating this slightly higher than the other episodes this season because of continued Steve-and-Melanie development.

Final grade, this episode: B-

Posted in Entertainment, Reviews, TV | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Hari Kondabolu Responds As Another South Asian American Winning the National Spelling Bee

Posted on July 2, 2013 by jozjozjoz

http://youtu.be/NZPZ-9qmZkk

Hari Kondabolu responds as Arvind Mahankali joins the long line of Indian American competitors to win the National Spelling Bee. (The winning word was “knaidel.”)

Posted in Comedy, Entertainment | Leave a comment

Using “Chink” in an Asian American Old West Tale

Posted on July 2, 2013 by tinabot

I started a dime novel series called Cowboy Ninja about a Chinese American growing up in the Old American West. Naturally, in a story like this, I inevitably came to the use of unpalatable words like “celestials”, “Chinaboy”, and, of course, “chink”. The uproar over Jeremy Lin’s “Chink in the Armor” fiasco last year reminded me of the time when I came up to the word “chink” in writing this book. I paused for a moment there.

I wanted my book to be historical, but at the same time, it was directed at young adult readers and even kids younger than that may happen upon it. Did I want to teach this horrible word with its long history of hate, murder, and discrimination towards Chinese Americans specifically and Asian Americans in general to a whole new generation of kids?

In the end, I came to the resounding answer of YES, guided by one of my author heroes, Mark Twain. As all of us know from our high school readings, in Huckleberry Finn, Twain made heavy use of the word “nigger”, and he’s not even African American! But clearly, he wrote during a different time period, and of course, the word was in a lot more common use, in a bad way.

This greatest American novel of his was clearly one that reflected a deep belief on his part that slavery and racism was wrong, wrong, and wrong. The free spirited American icon, the orphan boy Huckleberry Finn, came to the choice–turn in the runaway slave Jim, his friend, or go to hell. And Huck’s answer was:

“All right, then, I’ll go to hell.”

There you have it. Huck believes wholeheartedly in the propaganda of his society at the time, that to let a slave runaway free was a sin that deserved the punishment of everlasting damnation in hell, and he makes the very bold and very brave decision to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friend. American literature just can’t get more beautiful than that.

In the controversy a couple years ago over the whitewashing of Twain’s Huck Finn novel, schools were banning the book because of the n-word, and publishers were printing versions of the book where the word “nigger” was replaced with “slave”.

I definitely DO NOT agree with that.

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Posted in Books, Discrimination, Entertainment, History | 8 Comments

8 Questions With 8Asians Writer Tim Chiu

Posted on July 1, 2013 by jozjozjoz

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Tim is not just a long time, veteran writer at 8Asian’s but also its resident handyman, mega-geek, great dad, and all around nice guy. His posts range from personal to economic/political, always informative and educational. Get to know him better here in 8Questions:

Describe who you are.

I’m a middle aged gay Asian American marketing executive, immigrant, and dad. While I grew up in a relatively low income household in America, I’ve had a rather charmed life. I got a job working at a National Laboratory as a teenager, followed by one working as a front end manager at a supermarket, before even graduating high school. During college I worked for a Federal Appeals court judge and civil rights activist and designed and fabbed semiconductors for a neural network, while working for two world renowned professors, one in biology and the other in electrical engineering. My first job out of college was working for one of the biggest banks on Wall Street, and then got offered a job out in Silicon Valley a year later and moved across the country. I’ve been working in high tech ever since and have accumulated over a million miles traveling the globe for various companies. I was accepted to and attended and dropped out of Stanford graduate school, and then I finished a masters degree at another university. I’ve worked for big companies and I’ve worked for start-ups where I joined as employees number 5 and number 13. And, I’ve done a lot of geeky things in my life, enough for all the other writers on 8Asians to agree I’m the geekiest of the 8Asians lot.

But what truly defines me now, is my daughter, who I feel like I had been waiting for all my life. Even with all I’ve done in my life, it still seems like my life started when she entered it.

I started off by saying I had a charmed life. In addition to my experiences, what makes my life charmed? I’ve never been unemployed, and I’ve always had enough to meet my needs, and I’ve always loved someone and/or been loved by someone.

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Posted in 8Questions | Tagged | 1 Comment

About ‘626 Night Market,’ the Largest Asian Night Market in the U.S.

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Koji Steven Sakai

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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 of the San Gabriel Valley knew about the San Gabriel Valley—let alone its area code. I was so desperate for 626 representation and love that I got excited when Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, was named “Experiment 626.”

Now because of people like the comedy hip hop duo, the Fung Brothers, and wonderful events like the 626 Night Market, people are starting to take notice. I had a chance to sit down and talk to Aileen Xu, the content creator, spokesperson, and media relations manager for the 626 Night Market.

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Posted in Family, Food & Drink, Southern California | 2 Comments

Shark Fin Soup Ban Takes Effect Today in California

Posted on July 1, 2013 by John

Shark-Fin-SoupBack in February 2011, I blogged about the introduction of a California bill to ban the sale of shark fin soup in California. In March 2011, I had an exclusive interview with the author of that bill, Assembly Member Paul Fong. In September 2011, both the California State Senate and State Assembly had passed the bill, and in October 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, AB 376, which became law.

The law now goes into effect today and calls for “… restaurants that sell shark fin soup, or markets that sell dried shark fins, will face fines of up to $1,000 per violation in California if they continue to offer them for sale.”

There are two organizations, Asian Americans for Political Advancement, and the San Francisco Chinatown Neighborhood Association, sued last year in federal court in San Francisco to block the law. They claimed it discriminates against Chinese-Americans because it prohibits cultural uses of shark fins. I think at least for the restaurants, they just don’t want to lose an expensive dish as a menu option.

Personally, I find this ridiculous.

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Posted in Current Events, Food & Drink, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California | 4 Comments