The long and the short is that the Mandarin is part of a long tradition of 'yellow peril' characters in popular culture, including Fu Manchu, Shiwan Khan, Ming the Merciless and numerous other Asian/Eurasian despots of the pulp fiction era.

Oh boy. I'm already dreading this film.

Continue reading "Yellow Peril & Other News"

Posted by melissa at 10:10 AM | Comments (3)

Bruce Lee's family is producing a movie about the martial arts icon based on a biography his brother has written.

Continue reading "Bruce Lee's Family Producing Biopic"

Posted by harry at 12:01 AM | Comments (21)

Mako, a pioneer for Asian American actors in Hollywood has died at the age of 72 from esophageal cancer.

In 1965 co-founded East West Players, the nation's first Asian American theater company. He was also nominated in 1966 for an Academy Award for his compelling turn as the Chinese character Po-han in the film, The Sand Pebbles.

"What many people say is, 'If it wasn't for Mako there wouldn't have been Asian-American theater,'" artistic director of East West Players, Tim Dang, told the LA Times. "He is revered as sort of the godfather of Asian American theater."

Posted by melissa at 10:22 AM | Comments (2)

Continue reading "[API Events: July 24-30]"

Posted by momo at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)

Editor in Chief with the birthday cake. Photo by Khang Tran.

Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday to celebrate our 3rd birthday. We gave away lots of door prizes, Mr. Hyphen cut some birthday cake, and one of y’all stole a copy of the newly released Issue 9. (Hey, we’re flattered, but please don’t steal from independent mags.) We hope you had a great time — we know we did. Double thanks to those of you who bought a subscription at the door. Subscriptions are what keep Hyphen alive. Keep buying those subs so that we may celebrate another birthday with you again next year!

Continue reading "Birthday Party Photos"

Posted by melissa at 11:18 AM | Comments (4)

Farmers in South Korea are resisting U.S. militarization that threatens to evict them from their ancestral homes.

Continue reading "[API events: July 17-23]"

Posted by momo at 1:00 PM | Comments (1)

Hey everyone! Hope you'll be able to join us tomorrow for Hyphen's birthday party. We're turning 3. No small feat for an independent, volunteer-run magazine with little in the way of resources. I can't say we've grown as much as we've liked in these last 3 years. We still don't have an office. We still can't afford to pay anyone. We're still all working day jobs. What we do have is a lot of passion. And somehow that's taken us this far. It's really amazing (or maybe just stubborness) that we've survived as long as we have when most magazines (with millions of dollars in start-up capital) fail within their first year.

Continue reading "Hyphen Party Tomorrow Night"

Posted by melissa at 12:09 PM | Comments (1)

It could be the white-sand beaches. It could be the blue sea that calls you to jump in. It could be the warm tropical weather and the palm trees waving in the breeze. It could be a laid-back lifestyle.

It’s all of these things that make Hawaii unique and make me feel so comfortable when I visit. What really sets Hawaii apart, though, is its population. About 60 percent of the state’s residents are Asian Pacific Islanders.

Continue reading "Hawaii's Unique State"

Posted by harry at 11:45 AM | Comments (23)

Feel left out the of the immigration debate?

Continue reading "[API Events: July 10-16]"

Posted by momo at 1:41 PM | Comments (3)

Hyphen advisory board member and blogger Sonny Le alerted us to this video of Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, a presidential candidate, talking to Indan American supporters and making reference to 7-Eleven and Dunkin Donuts. Doh!

Continue reading "Biden has 7-Eleven Gaffe About Indian Americans"

Posted by harry at 8:21 AM | Comments (4)

In true patriotic fashion, I spent a brief part of my long holiday weekend at the mall. What is more American than consumerism?

While walking by Victoria's Secret, I noticed they had an Asian-looking mannequin. In fact, they seemed to be making an effort at having diversity in their window displays, because there was also what looked to be a Latina mannequin.

Continue reading "The Plastic Women of the Victoria's Secret Window Display"

Posted by melissa at 1:27 PM | Comments (15)

The Aurora Picture Show, microcinema extraordinaire!

OK, so this is way belated. But I just wanted to thank the folks at the Aurora Picture Show for hosting Slant, the little film fest that I put together in Houston, my hometown. It took place in early June. This is my sixth year working on the festival and the venue just celebrated its 10th birthday, so I feel we've grown old together.

Continue reading "Art & Money"

Posted by melissa at 1:13 PM | Comments (0)