I Have Seen the Future, and its Name is JetLev

Posted on August 5, 2009 by John

Ever since I saw the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics with a man flying on a jetpack, I’ve always wondered when I could have one of my own. Behold, Canadian-based JetLev, founded by Chinese Canadian Raymond Li. JetLev’s “jetpack” is actually a water-powered jet pack that can launch users 30 feet into the air by pumping water through a tethered 30-foot cable powered by a jet ski motor, and will only set you back a mere $130,000. Now I know what I want after I buy my Segway.

Posted in Sports, Technology, WTF | Leave a comment

Racist 1960s Jello Commercial Shows How the Chinese Were Introduced to Spoons

Posted on August 4, 2009 by jozjozjoz

I know, this ad was from the 1960s, so let’s put it all in context: No need to be boycotting Jell-o over this; instead, what we have here is an interesting view back in time as to what was generally considered acceptable in a mainstream American television commercial.

That said, what do you think is most racist about this commercial?

Wow. That’s a lot to choose from. Maybe I should have asked what’s NOT racist about this commercial? Aren’t you glad there are no racist TV commercials on today? (And while we’re at it, does anyone know what 十様蔗露 means?)

(h/t: ProfessorEric)

Posted in Entertainment, Food & Drink, WTF | 15 Comments

Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee pardoned and released by North Korea

Posted on August 4, 2009 by jozjozjoz

According to North Korean state-run news agency KCNA, Kim Jong-Il has pardoned Laura Ling and Euna Lee. News of the pardons came hours after former President Bill Clinton met with the North Korean leader to discuss the case of the two reporters who had been indicted, tried, imprisoned, and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor by North Korea for supposedly “illegally entering” the country. According to @LiberateLaura, “Bill Clinton reportedly flew to NK from Anchorage, Alaska. Presumably, that is the way he will return w/Ling-Lee.” Hey Bill Clinton, you’re kinda alright in our book!

Posted in (simple), Current Events | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Japanese Dolphin-Hunting Exposed in New Documentary

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Linda

I can’t wait to see the new documentary The Cove, about dolphin hunting in Taijii, Japan. Here is the description from Sundance Film Festival: “…the town has a dark, horrifying secret that it doesn’t want the rest of the world to know. There are guards patrolling the cove, where the dolphin capturing takes place, who prevent any photography. The only way to stop the evil acts of this company and the town that protects it is to expose them…” The activists in the documentary sneak into the cove and put cameras in fake rocks to expose the hunters. It’s brave, it’s exciting, and it has the feel of a heart-thumping espionage thriller. Watch the trailer here: (WARNING: The trailer starts playing automatically.)

The cries of the dolphins at the end of the trailer just about broke my heart. Who would want to kill these beautiful, intelligent creatures?

Posted in Entertainment, Environment, Lifestyles, Movies | 9 Comments

Kevin Wong: Professional Volleyball Player

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Jeff

I was flipping through channels when I saw an AVP beach volleyball tournament.  Having played and coached volleyball for many years, I settled on that channel.  The score display said:

Gibb/Rosenthal 4, Wong/Olson 4

Guess which Asian is the professional Volleyball Player!(Flickr photo credit: [sara b and Andy Jou])

Guess which Asian is the professional Volleyball Player!

Wong?  One doesn’t see many names like that on the beach volleyball circuit.  Kevin Wong is a 6-7 professional beach volleyball player (who says that Asians aren’t tall and aren’t athletic?), as is his brother Scott.  Kevin went to Hawaii sports powerhouse Punahou High (like Barack Obama), and played at UCLA where he was a three time All-American and his team won 2 NCAA volleyball championships.  He partnered with legend Karch Kiraly in 2007 during Karch’s last year of volleyball.  Not being one dimensional, he scored a perfect 800 on his math SAT, got a degree in economics, was selected by People Magazine as one of the most beautiful Olympic athletes in 2000, and was honored by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California which was celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports.

Wong and Olson ended up losing that game, taking second in the Manhattan Beach Open, but Kevin Wong has inspired me to play volleyball again (took a break to let my knees recover, as I find that playing volleyball on sand is much harder on my knees than running).  I hope to see more Asian Americans on the beach circuit, especially if they are as well-rounded, goodlooking, and successful as he is.

Posted in Sports | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jeff gets Interviewed on Fil-Am Ako

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Ernie

One of the nice things about being editor is that I can pretty much write about anything without any fear of reprimand, which means I get to blog about this nice interview about follow blogger Jeff on Fil-Am Ako, a Chicago based weblog catering the Filipino American community. Jeff writes about how he got to blogging for us, the Filipino traditions he keeps in his home and inspirations for past and future blog posts.

Posted in (simple), Meta | Leave a comment

Michelle Kwan Won’t Compete in Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Persues Diplomacy

Posted on August 3, 2009 by John

red-cares-michelle-kwan-400a120706The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are around the corner, but two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan will not compete and will end her career without a gold model. In her lifetime, Michelle was a nine-time U.S. champion, five-time world champion and silver and bronze Olympic medalist, as reported in the Los Angeles Times:

“In a statement released by U.S. Figure Skating, Kwan said she will attend graduate school full-time at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and pursue a master’s degree in international affairs. Kwan, 29, graduated from the University of Denver last November… Her plan to skate in a show in South Korea later this month with world champion Kim Yu-na had sparked speculation that she might return to competition, but Kwan said she would instead continue her education and a public diplomacy career she began in 2006…  “Representing the United States as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy the past three years has been very rewarding, and I want to do more. Furthering my education will bring me closer to that goal, and I don’t want to wait any longer to continue the journey.”

Michelle is one of the most accomplished women’s figure skaters in the United States and the world — I had the great fortune of being able to see Michelle Kwan skate in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in the short program in women’s figure skating in which she lead the competition before she lost and came in third after completing the long program. I have always admired her skill & grace on the ice and she’s a terrific athletic role model, having traveled to China to dinner with President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao as part of being a non-paid diplomatic envoy representing the United States. I wonder if this means that Michelle will have a chance at all to work with Kal Penn.

Posted in Current Events, Sports | 9 Comments

Gay Asian-Americans Face More Stress

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Tim

20587276_350x350_FrontIn what’s probably not a surprise to any Asian-American gay youth, Hyeouk Chris Hahm of the Boston University School of Social Work published a new study indicating this group often faces extended family and cultural social stresses that affect their ethnic and sexual identities. The study was published in the Journal of LGBT Youth, and indicated that both young men and women mask homosexual behaviors to avoid alienating their family and parents’ communities. In their relationships with others, they often have to decide which identity will take precedence — their ethnic or sexual identity.

“In the Western gay and lesbian community, ‘coming out,’ is final revelation that you are homosexual while for Asian and Pacific Islanders in America of Korean descent, there is ‘coming home,’ where you want to integrate culturally and be both an American and Korean,” Hahm said in a statement. “This is not staying closeted but rather alluding to your sexuality to a family member, who may not challenge it, as long as the status quo within the family is maintained.”

For many in the Asian American gay community there’s the notion of balancing two lives, and the life you have with your family, where you are closeted, and the life you live based on your sexual identity. I straddled both worlds for much of my life, having the face I showed at family gatherings and events, and even bringing my “friend” along for many of these events. It wasn’t until I turned 30 that my two worlds collided. While I know some Asians who considered, and even married someone of the opposite sex to keep their cover with their family, that was something I knew I would never be able to do.

I’m not sure what it is about turning 30, but that seems to be the magical age in Chinese culture when you’re supposed to be married, and if you’re not, all hope seems to be lost. That’s the age my parents decided it was time for a sit down confrontation, and asked me point blank when I was getting married. At that moment, I came out to my parents and although they had problems accepting my sexual identity, things got better with time. But to the rest of the extended family, my husband was still just my “friend”, and that’s pretty much the way things stand today. My husband gets invited to all the family events, and everyone understands he’s also our daughter’s other parent, but no one mentions the word gay or homosexual; everything is just understood or implied. We even had a wedding reception, and family came, but the family doesn’t talk about it. It’s the two world culture that Hahm writes about in her study, and one I’m sure you’re all too familiar with if you’re Asian-American and gay.

Posted in Family, LGBT, Lifestyles | 5 Comments

The 8Asians Writers Talk About: Health Concerns of Asian Americans

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Guest Writer

asian-doctor-patientOur internal e-mail lists have us discussing all kinds of stuff: Asian American identity, representation in the media, the experiences of activism in an academia setting and its progression as we transition to the working, adult world. And sometimes, we talk about Hep B.

John: [via the New York Times: This article on the specific health concerns of Asians and Asian-Americans, and how the cultural issues of both doctor and patient can effect that.]

Yan: Oh my god. My maternal grandfather died from liver cancer. My family is from Fujian. ::runs to doctor::

Efren: My former doctor (a gay white man) had insisted that I get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B when I first started seeing him, since men who have sex with men are also one of the groups highly affected by hepatitis A and  and I’m really glad I did, especially after I had read about the rates of infection of hepatitis among Asian Americans AND gay men.  Hepatitis is a bigger issue among queer Asian men because of these compounding factors than HIV actually.

I know that there are programs being done here in the Bay Area to get East Asian Americans to become more aware of hepatitis vaccination though I’m not sure how affective they’ve been.

Jeff: My doctor (a Vietnamese guy) had me, The Wife, and the Daughter vaccinated for these when he found out we were going to Asia on a trip.  This is a good reminder to check if my sons have been vaccinated since they were born after we took our last trip to Asia … it appears that kids are now vaccinated against hep A and hep B as standard procedure.

Bo: The Korean church I attended growing up periodically ran Hep A and B vaccination drives.  I’m luckily vaccinated because of this – as is my entire family. I’m aware of a few other illnesses that Asian-Americans are particularly prone to – osteopososis and a form of anemia.  All the women in my family are anemic.  Asians also have higher rates of stomach cancer but that tends to dissipate when you look at 3rd and 4th generation Asian-Americans.  Researchers think the higher rates of stomach cancer are linked to our diet which includes massive quantities of highly preserved foods.

Jeff: Is the Osteoporosis from related to lactose intolerance – hard to get calcium?  Also got any specifics on the type of anemia?

Bo: I don’t think anyones made the link between lactose intolerance and osteoporosis.  That would also mean that blacks were more prone to osteoporosis, which isn’t the case.  White and asian women are at the greatest risk. I believe the anemia is called beta-Thalassaemia but don’t quote me on this one.  I believe people of middle eastern, southeast asian, and east asian origin are most prone to this form.  You may also be aware that people of African heritage are more prone to sickle-cell anemia and people believe this is related to the malaria resistance it provides its carriers.  I don’t know that anyone has shown any tangential benefits for asians to be anemic.  One could theorize that iron-deficant anemia is a result of diet (traditional asian diets being largely plant based) but then you’d see far lower rates of anemia in asian-americans, which isn’t the case.

Jee: I’ll add myself to the statistics: I have chronic anemia (and I refuse to take iron pills because side affects – constipation- is not worth it). I recently had Hepatitis vaccinations because my antibodies were too low. And yeah, osteoporosis in my family is due to the lactose intolerance (I am taking calcium pills for that).

Yan: So, I told this all to my mom, who just kind of rolled her eyes and said that she already knew. Apparently Hep vaccines are commonplace in the hospitals in our region.

Moye: Don’t you love it when moms do that?

Posted in Health, TalkAbout | 3 Comments

Health Care Reform Week on Asian Pacific Americans for Progress’ blog

Posted on July 31, 2009 by jozjozjoz

Health care is the hot topic in Washington right now, so here are some great APA perspectives on various aspects of the issue. Thanks to Curtis Chin at APAP for sharing the following links:

Five Years to Life – How Congress is failing to meet the needs of APIs in Health Reform by Sara Sadhwani
Each day we hear about the need to reform our health care system, and often the conversation focuses on those trying to derail the process. We often hear about the skyrocketing costs leading to bankruptcy for many families, the insurance company profit margins and the economic costs and benefits reform could potentially bring. What we don’t hear about are the large swaths of the American population that will be left out entirely. Among them: Immigrants.

The Price of Beauty: Nail Products Contain Harmful Chemicals by nchung
The demand for “mani/pedis” and other beauty salon services has grown steadily over the past few decades. Nail salon and other cosmetology workers handle solvents, chemical solutions, glues, and cosmetic products that contain chemicals known to be carcinogenic and suspected to cause reproductive harm on a daily basis. Of the more than 380,000 nail technicians nationwide, a staggering 42% are of Asian descent. With occupational exposures, history of immigration, barriers to health awareness, and limited access to health care, this immigrant population has a complex health risk profile.

My Experience With Health Care in America by pat ma
On Saturday, I wrote a neutral summary of Obama’s Health Care Plan. Tonight, I’m going to write two more-personal stories. First, about my experience with health care in America and second, about my parents’ experience. I have a big fear of visiting doctors. Even with health insurance, insurance companies always find ways to weasel out of paying for your visit and sticking you with the bill. Last time I went for a “routine physical,” it cost me $600.

Samoans are fat? by Val L Jacobo
Yes, Samoans are fat. Does that surprise anyone? According to the State of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health in California Report, (Report), commissioned by the Caifornia Asian Pacific Islander Joint Legislative Caucus, there is an alarming epidemic of overweight children in California. Samoan children have the largest percentage (54%) of all children in the state of California whose body mass index (BMI) is not within the healthy Fitness Zone.

End of Life Decisions and Health Care: Who Gets to Be Right? by Ming Bee
My dad died from “complications associated” with Stage IV lung cancer, which, to me, means that the crap treatment he got from the local county hospital made him sicker than he already was. I flirted with the notion of filing a lawsuit, but concluded it would not be worth the effort — especially since the impetus for our claims would be that the attending pulmonologist lacked manners and tuned out second opinions.

(Flickr photo credit: Curious Expeditions)

Posted in Current Events, Health, Lifestyles, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Finding a Stem Cell Donor for Steven: OneMatch.ca

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Xxxtine

A couple of weekends ago, I was hanging out with a couple of the DJs from the SRADIOCLUB at Toronto’s Night it Up. Because the weather was a tad chilly, we went inside where we were approached by Ashley Nguyen, who was looking for everyone to get tested to see if they were a bone marrow match for her cousin Steve, who is suffering from leukemia, as well as to register more Asian Canadians for OneMatch.ca, a stem cell and marrow network.

She was kind enough to allow us to interview her for SRADIOCLUB.

Posted in Current Events, Health, Lifestyles | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recent NPR Story Focuses on Kids of Chinese Immigrants

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Ernie

From NPR’s All Things Considered comes this story on the balancing acts that the American children of Chinese immigrants go through and the cultural tensions that naturally arise, which is pretty much what 90% of everyone who writes on and reads this weblog goes through has experienced, and one of the reasons why 8Asians.com was created. Seriously, is this such a shock to non-Asian people that someone has to do a story about it?  Next week on NPR’s News of the Obvious: You will die too, someday.

Posted in (simple), Family, Lifestyles | 4 Comments