Asian American civil rights pioneer Fred Korematsu, who challenged the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II, died Wednesday of respiratory failure.
Korematsu's conviction for violating the presidential order that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans is a landmark case in constitutional law and Asian American history.
Posted by harry at 9:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
There was a story about a college student who writes fortune cookie fortunes in USA Today.
Not the most notable story -except that I think the reporters are geniuses. GENIUSES! Why? Because I once spent two days trying to track down fortune cookie writers and came up with NADA.
Continue reading "What's Your Fortune, Cookie?"
Posted by jennifer at 5:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ever wanted to be a superhero? Me too. ...
Short of that (and aren't we all?) there are small things we can do to save people's lives and change the world. Really small things, like writing letters and making phone calls to our representatives. There's an opportunity in the next few weeks to save a few people who might otherwise--because of cynical government policies--be sent back to imprisonment, torture and death as political prisoners in their home countries, or to save a few of our law-abiding neighbors from being deported, or keeping undocumented immigrants on our legal radar--where they have a chance to become law-abiding neighbors.
Continue reading "Save an Undocumented Immigrant!"
Posted by jacqueline.huang at 11:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Chinese pop singer Coco Lee is releasing a new English-language album on March 25 in hopes of making it big in the United States. From the looks of the album's cover, she's trying the "show lots of skin" Britney-Spears-Christina-Aguilera model for success.
Lee is actually Asian American, having grown up in San Francisco, but she made a name for herself in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where she's a big star.
I last caught a glimpse of Lee in the documentary, "The Year of the Yao," shown at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (try saying that three times fast). Lee was shown singing the national anthem before one of NBA star Yao Ming's games, one of the many hokey "Chinese" or "Asian American" days that seem to happen in basketball arenas when Yao is a visiting player.
I'm not a fan of Lee's music genre, but it'd be nice to see her do well.
Posted by harry at 9:47 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
As you know, the Senate recently passed a budget that include provisions for drilling to start in the Alaskan National Wilderness Refuge (ANWR). Though the recent vote doesn't mean drilling will start --the budget still hasn't been approved by the House and the president --it is a significant step toward opening up this pristine habitat.
And who cast the swing votes? Among them, Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka from Hawaii. Democrats. With a vote of 51 to 49, their positions were crucial. Why did they turn their backs on their party and the pleas of environmentalists everywhere?
Continue reading "Do What I Say, I Know Better Than You. And Other Roads to Utopia."
Posted by jennifer at 4:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Is it just me or is there a new magazine born everyday for Asian Amerian women? Three or four years ago there seemed to be just a handful. In the last two years though, there's been an explosion.
In Issue 5 of Hyphen, we reviewed 5 of them in our story "Going Glossy." But we spoke to soon. Our story could have been twice as long because there's a hell of a lot more mags than I originally thought. Honestly, I'm having a hard time telling them all apart. Is the market so vast and demanding that we need to have 10 different magazines? I guess we would if they all catered to different niches, but a lot of them seem to follow the same hetero women's magazine format a la Glamour. Some fashion spreads, some beauty product reviews, an enterprising "How to Turn Your Guy On" list, a "How to Get Ahead in Your Career" story and of course, a relationship columnist. In short, a bunch of fluff.
Continue reading "How to Please Your Man, Again (really, is it that hard to figure out?)"
Posted by melissa at 3:43 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
I'm disturbed by the controversy around "Capture an Illegal Immigrant Day". Organized in January by the University of North Texas chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT), the game was intended as a protest against laissez faire attitudes around illegal immigration, and a demand for more stringent measures. The game involved a few, white, "illegal immigrants", distinguished by their orange t-shirts reading "illegal immigrant" on the front and "catch me if u can" on the back. Passersby were encouraged -- by bullhorn -- to step up and "capture" an illegal, in game-of-tag style, for a candy bar reward. Rumor had it that the YCT chapter in Austin was planning a similar demonstration for Texas Independence Day in early March, but cancelled the event under pressure from other student groups. Despite the demonstration being cancelled, hundreds of students gathered around the YCT's non-game-playing table that day to protest and harrass the YCT members manning the table.
Continue reading "Capture a Raging Liberal Day"
Posted by jacqueline.huang at 9:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Saw Michael Kang's The Motel last night at SFIAAFF's closing night. A coming of age tale about a chubby 13-year-old boy who helps run his family's seedy motel. And he hates it.
Also enjoyed this one a lot. As an audience member pointed out during the Q&A, there are a lot of stereotypes in this film -- dorky Asian boy who can't get the Asian girl, stern Chinese mom, hard-drinking Korean man -- but none of the characters came across as stereotypical.
Continue reading "A Chubby 13-Year-Old Boy"
Posted by melissa at 3:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Everyone's a critic this week! My turn to weigh in on films I saw this weekend.
On Thursday, I Saw Saving Face which was really enjoyable, though perhaps a little too cute. Her hotness, Joan Chen, plays a widowed and pregnant middle-aged mom who refuses to name the father of her baby. She moves in with her surgeon daughter, who is hiding a secret of her own – she hasn’t come out to her family. Mom is ostracized from the Chinese community and her own family and sits in her daughter’s apartment watching Chinese soaps while she’s off at work. It had some really funny moment, some good lines: "One billion Chinese people. Two degrees of separation." And it's quite an accomplishment for being Alice Wu's first feature film. The movie was billed as the first Asian American lesbian feature-length film. Is this true? I can't believe there hasn't been another one. Maybe it's the first lesbian romantic comedy starring Asian Americans.
Continue reading "Gangsters, War Stories, and Women Named Grace Lee"
Posted by melissa at 1:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
In my six years of going to the San Francisco Asian American film fest, I've developed some bad habits. The first is not buying tickets until the day before the fest starts, even though I'm always a member and get discounts and preorder opportunities. Every year I promise myself that this will be the year that I'll actually get tickets to opening and closing night, and every year I have to hang my head in shame as the box office staffer looks at me incredulously and says, "It sold out weeks ago!"
Continue reading "How to Get the Most Out of Your Asian American Movie Madness"
Posted by jacqueline.huang at 6:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Little did I know that I am actually Korean and Japanese. Yes: according to Face Analyzer, which “analyzes” a photo of you to ever-so-scientifically determine your real race, I am a mind-boggling 90 percent Korean/Japanese, news I am sure will stun my Chinese Filipino parents.
In addition to the weirdo race calculations, the Analyzer has deemed me Average Intelligence (oh well), Average Ambition, Average Politeness, and Very Low Gay Factor, among other things. The white collar versus blue collar stereotypes are super lame (and what does Gay Factor really mean?), but I’m determined to upload more pictures until I can finesse that hidden and magical combination of races that will explain my true origins.
Perhaps more enjoyable is the wonderful Face Transformer, a java tool which allows you to transform your face into you as a child, as an elderly person, as a manga cartoon, as a chimp (SCARY), as a member of a different race or gender. My “masculine” doppelganger might hypothetically resemble the long-lost cross-dressing sibling I never had, while my African American self was kinda cute.
Click here to see me as a white girl with swirly skin. Eek!
Posted by Lisa at 2:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Earlier this week we had our cover shoot for issue 6. In a tattoo shop. I'm not going to tell you what it is yet, but I think it will be one of our best covers yet.
Tonight the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival kicks off. Several Hyphen staffers will be seeing the opening night film, Saving Face (pictured above) and attending the gala where Dan The Automator will be entertaining.
Continue reading "Film Festival Fever!"
Posted by melissa at 3:09 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Hey Everybody! Asian Americans now have their own Lorena Bobbitt! (read article 1, below)
Initially, my first read of the story immediately raised some questions:
How did they find the penis in the sewer? That takes some dedication from the municipal utilities workers. (And hey, how do they know they found the right one?)
And how is the appendage doing now that it's reattached? I mean, how healthy is that? not to mention, would it still be, you know, alive?
But then, upon further research (read article 2) I have even more questions.
What on earth is this woman thinking, having an affair with her uncle? Is she just plain old crazy?
And, is it really true that there have been Kim Trans before who've cut off their man's member?
Continue reading "You Can Just Flush Your Penis Down the Toilet. Uncle."
Posted by jennifer at 10:15 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (1)
Yay! New California Media has a two part article on Hollywood's top 25 APA blunders. This week's is only the first 15 (or the last 15.) You'll need to tune in next week for more.
Continue reading "Tune In Next Week"
Posted by jacqueline.huang at 12:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
A few quick announcements and random things:
Protest Hot97 Today Hey New Yorkers, there's a rally this afternoon to protest Hot97. Union Square, 3-6 p.m. Slam poet Ishle Park (who read for us at the very first Hyphen fundraiser--she was amazing) will be reading. Click here for details.
Continue reading "Hot 97 Protest Today in NY"
Posted by melissa at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I was out on a First Date last night and I think maybe the guy was somewhat intimidated by me. (I hope not. But I got that feeling anyhow.) At one point in the conversation he commented, "Wow, you know a lot of people," and my response was that it's my job to.
As someone who's been involved in the Asian American community, I have (over the years) become less shy and more comfortable with networking (schmoozing). I still think of myself as being shy and quiet (like when it comes to "boys"), but when I'm in my "element"... Watch out! I'm a handshaking, Crest smiling, business card exchanging, joke making fool. I think of it as making new friends (because I do end up being friends with a lot of the people I meet in the community).
However, sometimes you meet people in the community and you make nice, just to make nice. You exchange business cards and shoot the shit, but you know (in the back of your head) that most likely nothing will come of it. Case in point, a couple weeks ago I met the publisher of a soon-to-be-released Asian American male magazine. Think the APA male version of Maxim. It's called SAM. I'd been hearing rumors about this magazine coming out, because a friend of mine was interviewed for their "pilot" issue. I was under the impression that the acronym stood for Single Asian Male.
Continue reading "(Malicious) Mischief"
Posted by Audrey at 8:51 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
According to a poll of Asian American Californians commissioned by New California Media, 70 percent of those who responded made a contribution to the Southeast Asia tsunami relief effort; 64 percent donated money.
Only 33 percent of adults in the general population contributed to the relief effort, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
I know here in the Bay Area there have been many fund-raising events held by Asian American organizations, so everyone who gave should be commended.
Posted by harry at 3:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The cholesterol drug Crestor can cause muscle damage, and the Food and Drug Administration says Asian Americans are especially susceptible. New warning labels are being required.
Continue reading "Crestor Dangerous for Asian Americans"
Posted by harry at 1:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
It was a pretty good night for people of color at the Academy Awards. Chris Rock got to say the names of lots of black people who didn't even go on stage --Denzel, Oprah-- and Morgan Freeman and Jamie Foxx swept up the little statuettes.
Catalina Sandino Moreno was up for best actress for "Maria Full of Grace" --even though she spoke in Spanish for most of the film and Hollywood tends not to notice subtitled actors.
Plus, the beautiful song Al Otro Lado Del Rio, from Motorcycle Diaries, won. (Antonio Banderas' rendition was awful --listen to the real recording which is so gentle it breaks your heart.) Selma Hayek pointed out it was the first song in Spanish to be nominated, ever.
But my Asian faces, where were they?
Continue reading "Representin At the Oscars"
Posted by jennifer at 11:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
I haven't been happy with the state of hip-hop music lately, Asian American or not. I've been finding solace in my Neil Armstrong mix-CDs, Sweeet, Bittersweeet, and now WarmFuzzy. They are staples in my car and on my iPod.
On Saturday I went with a friend to a hip-hop show. I hadn't been to a show in a while (when you put together parties/shows, ironically you don't have the time to go to others). I saw Black Sheep at the Red Devil Lounge in the city.
Black Sheep was great! I didn't expect to see so many "random" people: Fratboy-looking types and Asians. I felt like an old lady, because I swear the average age in the club was well under 25. I was thinking, How old were these people when "The Choice Is Yours" came out? (At least people knew enough to sing along to the words of "Strobelight Honey.")
Continue reading "This or That: This is Where It's At"
Posted by Audrey at 8:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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