Too obsessed with Sen. Craig's misbehavin' and the sordid details of airport bathroom sting operations, I entirely missed the news on the release of the Virginia Tech Report. Apparently the University and the state mental health system were roundly criticized. The Roanoke Times generously provides pdfs of the entire report.
As someone who works in university administration, I sort of, well, sympathize. As much as we can prepare for an emergency, when they really hit is a different story--especially the worse case scenario-type emergencies, the ones you've never experienced in your lifetime. Universities are sort of like a continual, bureaucratically-slow birthing of a several thousands-headed beer-guzzling monster. How do you wrangle it when hell breaks loose?
I haven't read the report fully yet, and I'm sure human errors abounded that day. My roommate the conspiracy theorist, of course, thinks they weren't errors at all. I think that must be because he hasn't worked at a university, and doesn't know how much it takes to plan anything.
And though I despise the labyrinthine mental health system we have in place (having dealt with it via my mother), I also know that social workers and other public mental health professionals have a fricking hard job in a seriously underfunded and legally complicated sector. I hope that as a result of all this we see MORE FUNDING.
Posted by rebecca at 7:21 PM | Comments (0)
Jacksonville, Florida's Black Kids aren't all black -- there's really only one whole black person in the group (siblings Reggie and Ali Youngblood are half black, half Filipino). Not many people seem to mind, but one commenter on The Yellow Stereo suggested they change their name since it was "misleading."
Continue reading "Black Kids: Darlings of the Music Blog World"
Posted by christine at 8:06 PM | Comments (9)
Apparently, renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino hasn't got anything better to do with his time than harass unassuming Philippine Airlines' flight attendants. The New York Post reports that the director, who has a reputation for public brawls, caused a scene on a flight from the Philippines to LAX last week. Supposedly, Quentin had an injured back, was sitting in a wheelchair, and was downright cranky. According to the Post, he didn't want to sit in his first class seat but wanted to sit on the floor or in a flight attendant's seat instead. When his demands were rebuffed, he made a poor stewardess cry. A Philippine politician flying business class had to actually get up and tell Quentin to calm himself down. So far the Philippine government hasn't taken any steps to ban Tarantino from ever entering the Philippines like they did to Claire Danes,… but don't expect to any Tarantino flicks to be shown on any Philippine Airlines flights in the near future.
Posted by carmina at 1:13 PM | Comments (3)
Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and the County San Francisco has proclaimed the weekend of August 31 - September 3, 2007 to be the "INSPIRE WEEKEND" (you can see this cool document for yourself on APA | FIVE's official website).
How can Hyphen not jump on that bandwagon? We are so there.
Continue reading "What Inspires YOU?"
Posted by lisalee at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)
The 'Got Milk?' campaign features Masi Oka, of Heroes, special effects, and 'Whiz Kid' fame.
via angry asian man.
Posted by melanie at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
Hyphen correspondent Jesse Zitrin had a chance to catch up with the A’s Hawai’ian-born rookie catcher, Kurt Suzuki, on the field before a game against the Chicago White Sox. Suzuki’s 2-run home run the previous day, with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums in attendance, had been the difference in the A’s victory. Hours later, Suzuki would finish the evening with a tenth-inning, three-run home run to win another game for the A’s.
A month earlier, iron man catcher Jason Kendall was traded to the Chicago Cubs, paving the way for Kurt to become the A’s new starting catcher. Kurt first spoke with Hyphen’s Julia Chang as a member of the Stockton Ports, for Hyphen’s Body issue (no. 7) in 2005.
First off, congratulations. Yesterday’s game was a lot of fun!
KS: Yeah, it was an awesome game – very exciting. Any time you can win the first two games of a series it’s nice. It’s just [about] winning games right now, just win as many as you can, and see where that puts us at the end of the year.
Do you always like to hit your home runs in front of the mayor?
[Laughs.] That was nice, any time you can do that – especially in a big situation. The team gets the win, and you get a good feeling.
Tell me about Sid Fernandez (a Hawaiian pitcher who spent 15 years in the Major Leagues.) Do people still talk about him back on the islands?
I really don’t know any information on that. I mean, I know he’s a great pitcher, but I didn’t really know him at all.
Is there anyone who’s seen as a hometown idol there, other than maybe your self?
Uh, no. I just like watching good baseball. There’s no really idol or anything – we just like watching good baseball.
Continue reading "Talking Baseball with Kurt Suzuki"
Posted by melanie at 3:38 PM | Comments (1)
It’s been almost two years since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. While the major focus has been on the failure of the government to provide support to the majority African American community in the 9th Ward, the resilience of the Vietnamese American population in New Orleans East – a suburban community 15 miles northeast of downtown New Orleans – has been getting a great deal of attention. Both academic research and mainstream media seem to point to the idea of a hard-working community whose been through much worse than Katrina's destruction.
Continue reading "The Success Story of Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans East"
Posted by neela at 2:42 PM | Comments (1)
Hyphen is the subject of Jeff Yang's latest Asian Pop column at SFGate.
Continue reading "Hyphen Featured in Asian Pop Column"
Posted by harry at 9:30 AM | Comments (3)
We could summarize the Asian American presence in the NBA in one word: Yao. The 7'6" center from China established himself as a presence in American pro basketball after being selected 1st overall in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. That's not to say Yao's rise to stardom was immediate; his first two years , he struggled with his stamina and his lower body strength, the key to gaining position inside the basket. He continues to get injured frequently. But when he's healthy, he's a bona fide, physical center with good shooting touch.
This year's draft saw the next highly touted player to come from China, Yi Jianlian, drafted sixth by the Milwaukee Bucks. Yi is tall (7'0") and lanky, somewhat similar to Yao's body type. But to hype Yi as the next Yao would be completely inaccurate. Yi plays a completely different game - he slashes to the basket, he dribbles with flair, he showcases a more complete athleticism.
Continue reading "And Now, Here with an NBA Update..."
Posted by Kevin Lee at 11:39 PM | Comments (7)
I've noticed over the past seven months that The New York Times' stories on Koreans (whether in the U.S. or Korea) tend to fall into these three categories: drinking, Internet phenomenons, and fried chicken/frozen yogurt.
Continue reading "The New York Times Guide To: Koreans"
Posted by lisamac at 8:54 PM | Comments (3)
Last Saturday my culinarily-inclined friend Sherry and I attended the opening gala of Palencia, a new upscale Filipino restaurant in San Francisco's Castro district. Palencia is the first of its kind in the city. You can find Filipino restaurants here and there (Irma's Pampanga restaurant on Van Ness, the new Jollibee on 4th St.), but none are by any means upscale. Palencia is the opposite of what happens to many ethnic restaurants when they turn high end. Their food is not fusion, it's Filipino food straight up -- chicken bbq on skewers and lumpia just like Tita Baby used to make.
When we arrived the place was filled with people from the Castro and the Mission mingling with Filipino lolas. We were immediately served glistening, hot from the fryer lumpias with a ginger-soy dipping sauce. Waitresses came by with white wine and bottles of San Mig Lite. The pancit was flavorful, and served with what I first thought was Tang, but was actually the classic Filipino cantaloupe drink. Even Sherry who is not usually a fan of that melon really enjoyed it. Everyone's definitive favorite though was the grilled marinated chicken on skewers. We and three other friends ate about 25 of them, collectively.
Palencia's dining space is warm and intimate, with huge shell chandeliers and old-style fish traps turned into lampshades overhead. Owner Archie Palencia and head chef Danelle Lucero form a Pinoy powerhouse, and have created a mood that combines the warmth of a Filipino home with fine dining. We were impressed by her culinary expertise and his Gabby Concepcion charm, and will definitely be back after the official opening to find out if their full menu is as delectable as their appetizers.
Photos by Andria Lo
Posted by christine at 3:50 PM | Comments (13)
Elizabeth Cho at PopMatters thinks so. She describes "Hallyu", a wave of cultural cache for Korean culture sweeping first Asia and now the US.
Continue reading "Is Korean the New Black?"
Posted by melanie at 8:20 AM | Comments (9)
Last night, I saw "Avenue Q" at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. It was a great show: whimsical puppets, funny lines, a well-developed plot surrounding believable characters, and catchy music.
One of the best pieces of the show is "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"-- a riotous song that hooks the audience with lines like, "Ethnic jokes might be uncouth, but you laugh because they're based on truth." There's no doubting it's a hilarious song and it tore the audience apart. But, of course, "Avenue Q" also uses the song to establish an environment where racial and other off-color jokes can be made.
Christmas Eve, the Oriental Asian American character, joins in too, when her fiance, Brian accuses her of being racist: "Yes, I know. The Jews have all the money. And the whites have all the power. And I'm always in taxi-cab with driver who no shower!"
Continue reading "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"
Posted by melanie at 5:46 PM | Comments (6)
Harold and Kumar 2 is set to be released in 2008. I can't wait!
UPDATE: The YouTube video has been taken down. Here's the trailer at IMDB.
Posted by harry at 3:55 PM | Comments (3)
So, the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai is poised for the big crossover from Bollywood to Hollywood.
Continue reading "Can Aishwarya Rai crossover?"
Posted by neela at 3:36 PM | Comments (19)
Our friends at the Red Eight Film Circle is doing something exciting this Thursday! Filmmakers, directors and producers seeking investment, marketing, and distribution support for your films, be sure to check out their events.
Red Eight Film Circle is a forum for filmmakers, directors, producers, entertainment industry executives, investors, and anyone interested in supporting independent filmmakers.
DATE: Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
TIME: 6:30 PM
LOCATION: The Williams Club located at 24 East 39th Street, in Manhattan, NY.
COST: Registration is $20 online and $30 at the door
Event will include catered food, refreshments, raffle prizes, and gift
bags. We expect this event to be sold out so we recommend online registration to guarantee admission.
Filmmakers presenting include:
- Risa Morimoto (Producer of Wings of Defeat)
- Pooja Kumar (Producer of 1001 Auditions)
- Francisco Aliwalas (Founder of FranFilms)
- Kimi Takesue (Director of Crawling at Night)
Clips and trailers of their works will be shown, followed by Q&A, and an informal networking session.
For more information, check out their homepage here.
Community partners include AAFilmLab & the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA). Sponsors include Verizon, The Williams Club, Mixr Media, and Mei Image Consulting.
Posted by lisalee at 11:07 AM | Comments (1)
A report was released just today, entitled "Health Care Reform Proposals Hold Promise for Diverse Communities" and conducted by the Having Our Say Coalition, a group that aims to address needs of communities of color in California. The study, funded by the California Endowment, found that under the new health care proposals put forth by the Governor and legislative leaders, we would expect to see an increase of insured residents by 2.5 million people.
Continue reading "Health Insurance Expansion for Communities of Color"
Posted by Amber at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)
A UC Davis psychology study explores the overlooked subject of marital violence among Asian American couples and identifies three new contributing factors.
Professor Nolan Zane and graduate student Manveen Dhindsa concluded that marital violence was more likely to occur when the family lacked closeness or if at least one spouse suffered from high anxiety-- resulting from either an anxiety disorder or stress related to American acculturation, reported a UC Davis press release.
Continue reading "Engaged in Strife"
Posted by melanie at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)
As a bit of a cosmonaut (astronomy dilettante) and tree-hugger, I was interested to discover that the senior NASA scientist responsible for substantially contributing to substantiating the Climate Change hypothesis is a Filipino American, Dr. Josefino C. Comiso. Cosmiso and his team's findings were critical in helping to over-turn one of the primary arguments against to the Climate Change theory.
Continue reading "Debunking Naysayers to Climate Change"
Posted by melanie at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
A recent San Francisco outdoor public screening of the 1984 John Hughes film Sixteen Candles has the Asian American community up in arms. Again.
Continue reading "Sixteen Candles: Offensive or over it?"
Posted by lisamac at 12:16 PM | Comments (7)
Some hotels and motels along the nation's highways are posting signs that say "American owned" in an apparent backlash to rising competition from innkeepers who are South Asian.
Continue reading "On the road, all hotels are American"
Posted by harry at 9:38 AM | Comments (2)
The Transit Issue of Hyphen hit newsstands and mailboxes this week. This is the 12th issue of Hyphen and the last under co-founder and Editor in Chief Melissa Hung. I'm taking over as interim editor in chief with Issue 13.
Continue reading "Hyphen Transit Issue moves out"
Posted by harry at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)
Do you have an Asian American relative who has struggled with their mental health?
Have you yourself been confused or afraid in trying to find them help? Frustrated by the mental health system? Felt alone? Worried about what this means for your own future and that of your family?
My own mother has struggled with schizophrenia for a very long time, and I would love to talk with you and share stories. I am interested in hearing what challenges you faced, both emotionally and in finding care for your relative, and how you are dealing with them.
Please email me at rebecca[at]hyphenmagazine.com.
Best wishes,
Rebecca
Posted by rebecca at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)
Just a thought before the weekend: if I tell you that I — an Asian American woman who lives in San Francisco — have a boyfriend, what ethnicity would you assume he was?
A friend says that if he met an Asian American woman in the Bay Area, and she mentioned she had a boyfriend, he would assume her boyfriend was white. Do you agree? What does this say about dating in our community? Does it make a difference if the woman lives in another place, say Chicago or New York? What assumptions do you make about girlfriends of Asian American men? And what about gay Asian Americans?
Posted by lisamac at 4:53 PM | Comments (192)
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