My First Language is American

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Guest Writer

when-order-ing-speak-englishBy Mandy

A previous op-ed article I had written for Asians in America, “The Language of Invisibility” and Tim’s 8asians’ piece “On Talking With or Without an Accent” made me think about how language can essentialize the identity of a person – particularly a person of color – within a nation-state or social community. Over the weekend, I pissed off someone in New York City by simply ignoring him and was immediately told to “go back to where [I] came from” – the assumption perhaps being that my silence signifies that I am foreign/non-American and, with my apparent lack of English skills and social refinement, do not belong in this country. This was definitely not the first time that something like this has happened.

The truth of the matter is that I was born and raised in America, and my language is American English. While throughout my youth people had occasionally asked me if I knew Korean, it was not until I became a singularly English-speaking Asian living in Asia that I began to contemplate my linguistic capabilities and ineptitudes and what this might mean.

Last year, I worked at an international private school in Bangkok where the majority of the students were the children of extremely affluent Asians. Despite growing up in non-English-speaking households and countries but still rapidly advancing towards bilingualism, many of the students could not get over how well I spoke English – the only language I speak fluently. When I told a 16-year-old Korean girl from Seoul that she should not be impressed by my English because I am a native speaker, she earnestly replied, “Yeah, but still… your accent is so good,” as if my being Asian should have belied my ability to learn American English.

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Posted in Discrimination, Observations | 12 Comments

Political Aspirations of Latinos and Asians Clash in Congressional Race

Posted on May 17, 2009 by John

congressionalraceCalifornians may be aware that there is a special election this Tuesday, May 19th with some propositions on the ballot.  There’s also an open race for the 32nd congressional seat in Los Angeles; an area that includes Rosemead, El Monte, Baldwin Park, Covina and most of Monterey Park. The Los Angeles Times insightfully analyzes the racial dynamics of the race with the two leading contenders: Dr. Judy Chu — Chair of the California Board of Equalization — and Latino California State Senator Gil Cedillo:

“Standing in Chu’s way, however, is no small barrier: The inclination of voters to cast ballots along ethnic lines. Latino voters still outnumber Asians by more than 3 to 1 in the district, a blessing for Gil Cedillo, Chu’s chief rival … In Chu’s case, she would need perhaps a third of Latinos to join Asians and whites in voting for her.”

Latinos currently make up 51%  of the electorate in the district. Racial politics aside, Chu does seemed to be the most experienced and qualified candidate, and has lined up an impressive number of key endorsements, including most area city council members. Is the age of racial politics in America over in the age of Obama? I doubt it, but how about in the world of multiracial, minority-majority California?

(Image source: The Los Angeles Times)

Posted in Current Events, Observations, Politics, Southern California | 2 Comments

9 Year Old Japanese Boy Wows Ozzy Osbourne

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Moye

Happy Friday! What better way to kick off the weekend than by lowering your self-esteem as you realize that despite all of your accomplishments at your ripe old age, this nine year old kid from Japan can totally kick your ass on the guitar. And no, I’m not talking about Guitar Hero or some other video game. This is the real deal.

Watch Yuto Miyazawa wow the crowd on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with his rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” Ignore Ellen’s embarrassing interaction with Yuto, where she employs the typical “using a loud and slow voice makes non-English speaking people understand me better” method before cameras. There must be something in the water over in Japan, since Yuto is one of the many Asian child prodigies capturing our attention via YouTube. He needs to partner up with the Super Kid Drummer and these kid DJs to make the most awesome band ever.

Did I mention Yuto is only nine years old? Yeah, what were YOU doing when you were nine? I know I was polishing my rock collection and picking my nose.

Wait, that was yesterday.

Posted in Music | 8 Comments

David Choi – Won’t Even Start – Official Music Video

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Ben

Interestingly enough, I just found out that one of my favorite singers, David Choi has teamed up with Wong Fu Productions (another favorite) and produced an official music video. And it’s on YouTube! Sweeeet.

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Openly Gay Asian Americans Discharged from the Military

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Kevin

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A few weeks ago, I made a post about Lieutenant Dan Choi, an openly gay West Point grad that had served in Iraq. Lt. Choi is the figurehead for a movement opposing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the homophobic policy that prohibits open homosexuals from serving in the military. This was — and still is — a movement that garnered attention from blogs and news networks because it showed just how detrimental the policy was to our national security. But apparently being gay trumps being an honorable and brave serviceman because Lt. Choi and fellow soldier Second Lt. Sandy Tsao are both being discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation. As always, I turn to the Daily Show to get a better perspective.

The problems with this are pretty obvious. To fire one of the 54 Arabic translators serving in the military, in an age when Arabic translators serving in the military are in high demand, is beyond ludicrous. What’s worse is the inaction coming from the White House; I wrote before how November 4th’s was sort of a bittersweet day because of Prop 8 here in California and this doesn’t make it much better. Despite reaffirmations from President Barack Obama, in forms of speeches and hand written letters , that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would be repealed – and apparently it could easily be done so – it still very much stands and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.

I’ve been trying to look at this story from another prospective, or at least to find someone who’s looking at this story from another prospective, but I just haven’t been able to find them. There is just no rational reason for this policy to continue, or for these honorable individuals and heroes to be treated the way they have been treated.

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, LGBT, Politics, WTF | 9 Comments

No, Racist Camera, I Did Not Blink; I’m Just Asian

Posted on May 13, 2009 by jozjozjoz

We got our Mom a new Nikon S630 digital camera for Mother’s Day and I
was playing with it during the Angels game we were at on Sunday.

As I was taking pictures of my family, it kept asking "Did someone
blink?" even though our eyes were always open.

Sheesh! RACIST! 😛

-Joz
www.jozjozjoz.com

UPDATE!
Thanks for the digg:
http://digg.com/arts_culture/Nikon_has_yet_to_develop_a_camera_that_detects_Asian_eyes
and
Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/8kk6p/racist_digital_camera/

Posted in Discrimination, Entertainment, Observations, WTF | 16 Comments

Special Boy With Freakishly Large Brain Wins Spelling Bee

Posted on May 13, 2009 by John


Special Boy With Freakishly Large Brain Wins Spelling Bee
I’m a big fan of The Onion News Network (ONN), the satire video news program version of – you guessed it – The Onion. In one of their latest videos, ONN does a interview with “James Kimura,” the 2009 New Jersey state spelling bee winner. Remember: Asian Americans are not only good in math, but we excel in spelling as well.

Posted in Entertainment, Observations | 6 Comments

POP 88 #32: The Red Chapel

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Xxxtine

the_red_chapel_3jpgHello, All — hope everyone out there is enjoying their May so far!

In this week’s episode: new music from W & Whale, Sandee Chan and Chae Yeon, plus an interview with Mads Brugger, the director of The Red Chapel. And you wrote and I answered your letters and comments.

It’s a long one, so please listen and enjoy.

If you like what you hear, please show your support by supporting the artists and buy their CDs and DVDs using the links provided on this site.

For any requests, comments, suggests, dedications or feedback, feel free to leave a comment at Popcast88.com or send an email to christine [at] popcast88.com.

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Posted in Current Events, Movies, Music, POP 88, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to be a Korean from the South

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Guest Writer

korean-for-dummiesBy Kimberly

When I asked Ernie to be a contributor for 8Asians, I was sure that he was going to email me back saying, “Sorry, you are just not Asian enough.”  I was adopted by white people and shipped from South Korea to America when I was very young, so I really don’t know what it means to be “Asian.”  Our family photos always looked like some sort of poster for Christian Children’s Fund, with my round little dark face amid a sea of pale skin and blue eyes.  Also, I don’t live in California; I live in the DEEP South, otherwise known as the seventh level of Hell.

Where I live in Georgia, you don’t see very many Asian people.  There’s maybe two in each graduating class in the high schools — they’re called the Valedictorian and the editor of the school paper.  When my husband — a Round-Eye — and I owned a seafood restaurant for six years we had a young Chinese American cashier working for us.  I swear, when people walked in and saw the two of us together up front they would do a double take and check the sign again.  Their waitress would later tell me that the customer said they thought the new owners had turned the place into a Chinese Restaurant.  Down here if you’re Asian, you’re either a brilliant physicist, a dentist or straight-off-the-boat running a Chinese buffet.

Recently I have noticed an increase in young Asian children being adopted by white couples here.  I was watching Australia the other day and I was like, That’s us; we’re the lost generation growing up between two worlds.

And then I got distracted by Hugh Jackman’s sexy, oily chest in the campfire scene.

I don’t really have any current Asian events to report on from here — there’s not exactly an Asian Freaknik or anything —  but I hope to share my perspective on what it’s like to try to define your identity as an Asian American in a place where the N word is still thrown around more often than you’d think, and the general consensus is that evolution shouldn’t be taught in schools and gay marriage will bring about the apocalypse.  So you see my predicament; if there is such a thing as How to Be Korean for Dummies, please send me a copy now.

About Kimberly: I am a freelance writer, wife, and mother of two living in Augusta, Georgia.  I was adopted and raised by wolves so my idea of what it means to be Asian is ambiguous at best.  My quest to find my identity began over a bowl of rice in a Korean restaurant.  One bite of bulgogi and kimchi and I was like “My ancestors are calling me home!” (If there’s anything more spiritual than marinated short ribs I’ve yet to encounter it.)

Posted in Observations | 42 Comments

Disney’s “Trail of the Panda” Opened Last Friday

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Tim

82742-trail_of_the_panda_341Disney’s Trail of the Panda opened last Friday, but you wouldn’t know about it if you lived in North America. That’s because this feature film is Disney’s second Chinese-language film and opened in mainland China.

The film almost didn’t make it to the big screen because of the earthquake in Sichuan, China last May. Filming was wrapping up when the earthquake struck, leaving 28 of the film crew stranded for 3 days before they were rescued. The one year anniversary of the quake is generating interest in the film and attracting audiences to the theater.

Success of Panda would likely mean a dubbing into English and release here in North America, similar to the first Chinese language film from Disney, Secret of the Magic Gourd. You probably didn’t hear about this one either since Disney chose not to release it to the theaters in the U.S., but instead it went straight to a DVD release in January of this year. While the dubbing isn’t perfect, this story features a good moral for kids (you need to work hard/nothing is truly free in life).

After hearing about the availability of the DVD earlier this year, I bought my daughter a copy of The Secret of the Magic Gourd, since it featured Asian kids and what seemed like a good compelling story. It’s difficult enough to find positive Asian influences for her in Hollywood’s offerings, and I was grateful for the availability of this movie. We’ve had enough discussions already on why she doesn’t have blond hair, and I wanted her to see not everyone on TV and in the movies is blond. She really enjoyed the movie, even if she didn’t understand all of it, and seemed to identify with the kids in the movie. Now if we could only get Disney to publicize these movies more in the U.S., so other Asian families find them as well.

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, Family, Movies | Tagged | 3 Comments

Tammy & Victor Jih Win The Amazing Race!

Posted on May 11, 2009 by John

Last February, I had blogged about the premiere of the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race with Tammy & Victor being an Asian American older brother & young sister team. Well, Tammy & Victor are the victors, winning one million dollars and the various travel prizes they won coming in first in various legs of the race. Congratulations to them both!

In a come from behind move with Victor beating out Luke (who got first to the final road block task), Victor quickly and correctly identified and ordered eleven surf boards with symbols from each leg of the race, allowing team Tammy & Victor to get to a cab and to the finish line first. The only real team meltdown that Tammy & Victor had was when they were arguing with each other when Tammy thought Victor was leading them the wrong way in Romania, and was being stubborn and finally relented to Tammy’s suggestion of backtracking.

The next-to-the last leg of the race had Tammy & Victor at a slight advantage when they were in Beijing — they had both been to Beijing before and spoke Mandarin Chinese. But there is also a lot of luck involved in The Amazing Race, mostly whether or not a team gets a taxi driver who knows where they are actually going or possibly being on a delayed flight, which happened to Tammy & Victor early on, causing them to be the leading team to a trailing team.

Tammy & Victor were the strongest team overall, as they had come in first in four of the previous legs of the race; the mother and deaf-son team of Margie & Luke had won three of the previous legs of the race, and the former cheerleader team of Jaime & Cara had won none, yet came in second in the final leg to Tammy & Victor.

What cracked me up with Tammy & Victor throughout the race was that both of them would make comments every so often they would make self-deprecating comments about themselves:  Victor saying “that’s Asian engineering” when they completed building a tall wall of logs, or when they were in China and saying that they had to win that leg or they would bring shame to their parents, or in the final episode, when Tammy said she could be more than a “geeky math nerd.”

Tammy & Victor now join an illustrative group of Asian American reality television winners such as Survivor’s Yul Kwon, Last Comic Standing’s Dat Phan, and I am sure others. I hope to see more Asian Americans on reality TV, whether or not they win the show. And I really do hope to be able to meet Tammy & Victor – I’m sure I know someone in the San Francisco Bay Area that is connected to either of them within one degree or two of Facebook.  Hint, hint.

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, Observations | 17 Comments

European Designed “Chopsticks Aids” IKEA Like, or Culturally Insensitive?

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Ernie

tukaaniOh, Europeans! While Americans fumble with chopsticks in Asians restaurants, reminding everyone how smug they are because they are being multi-cultural by using unfamiliar new eating utensils, the Europeans are just straight-up designing different interfaces to eat Asian food entirely. (Or as we Asian-Americans call it, food.)

Take for example the TUKAANI, a “hand made eating device for Asian food consumers in the West,” developed by Ugandan-born Finnish designer Lincoln Kayiwa to be used as an unspoken alternative to chopsticks. The design may be inspired by a toucan’s bill, but it looks more like a pair of salad tongs that curves like a dildo.  (What, you don’t see it? It totally does.) Thankfully, it’s hand-washable, something disposable wooden chopsticks don’t have the luxury of being. Someone should come up with metal chopsticks or something.

But at least the TUKAANI looks sophisticated and classy (well, as sophisticated as curved salad tongs can look); behold, the Chopsticks Aid, where a Polish guy named Jaroslav Kucera designed this spork-like attachment which, combined with a pair of chopsticks, gives anyone the ability to stab peeled edamame and fish balls — so long as you can withstand the looks of judgment from everyone else in the restaurant.

So the question becomes this: what’s more embarssing — watching white people eat sushi or noodles or a bowl of rice with something that looks like it came from the Maker Faire?  Or having them play the drums or doing the walrus face before their meal?

(Hat tip: Jun, via the 8asians tumblr)

Posted in Food & Drink | 26 Comments