May 11, 2008
NY Times Highlights Hmong American Rapper
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It's so cool to see a subtle increase in stories about Asian Americans this month. This NY Times video on Minnesota Hmong American poet/rapper Tou Saiko Lee is pretty dope. I was especially interested in the end when he talks about performing with his grandmother: She busts a flow in ancient Hmong poetry and then he starts rapping with her. Have people seen any other subtle Asian Pacific American Heritage Month coverage that they're into?

Posted by neela at 2:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 29, 2008
Philip Lim for GAP
I was on my way to East West Players' 42 Visionary Awards last night (post to follow) when I crossed a major intersection in Hollywood and saw this:

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Please excuse the sepia tone. I wasn't trying to be artistic. My kid sister changed it while she was playing with my camera and I was not bad ass enough to change it back, take the picture, and continue driving like a good citizen without running any tourists over.

Anyway, do you see what I see?

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Posted by lisalee at 3:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

April 24, 2008
Turner Classic Movies to Air Series on Asian Images in Film
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Turner Classic Movies is going to show a month-long series of movies examining images of Asians in June. It's a extension of the network's look at African American images and gay images it has aired during the past two years.

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Posted by harry at 10:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

April 14, 2008
Chow Down at AAJA East West Eats
Some of the Bay Area's top chefs will be cooking up culinary delights at the Asian American Journalists Association San Francisco Chapter's East West Eats fundraiser on May 8.

I've been an AAJA member since 1990, when I was awarded scholarship by the Sacramento Chapter. The money raised at East West Eats will go to scholarships that will help student journalists pursue their careers and further AAJA's mission of enhancing diversity in the news media and promoting fair and accurate coverage of Asian Americans.

I went East West Eats when it was last held two years ago, and the food was great, Han vodka was flowing and the setting in San Francisco's Ferry Building was great.

Buy tickets online by April 25 and they'll be $85 each for AAJA members and $100 for nonmembers. After April 25, the price rises to $100 for AAJA members and $115 for nonmembers

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Posted by harry at 8:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 12, 2008
India Craze
Flying somewhere is a great excuse to do impulse buying. Impulse trashy magazine buying that is (although there was once I spent $2 something buying a tiny piece of dark chocolate). Usually when i am waiting at the airport for my 1 hour and 15 minutes flight down to Los Angeles, I'll grab a copy of Allure. I admit, it's not the best selection out there. A whole magazine dedicated to makeup and hairstyle is not intellectually stimulating, but it does make that flight, and often times delayed, go by that much faster.

Oh, and in my personal opinion, I think it's better than Cosmopolitan. I'd rather learn about a new bronzer than recycled sex tips please.


However, I have never felt compelled enough to subscribe to it, even when they offered the $1 a issue deal. I'm not sure why, but something about the magazine was just, blah.

As I was flipping through my March copy of Allure today, I discovered why.


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Posted by lisalee at 7:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

April 11, 2008
Before It's Too Late

Until a couple of days ago, I didn't pay that much attention to what was going on in San Francisco with the Olympic torch situation.

But seeing how big the demonstrations were, and how much media attention they've garnered, and how huge the Beijing Olympics are going to be, I realized that I have to say something.

I've read the various media accounts of the protests, most of which were framed as "anti-China," "pro-China, "pro-Tibet," or some other form of "anti/pro" dichotomy.

The fact of the matter is, it's much more blurry and complicated, at least for me. I think many more Chinese Americans feel torn or conflicted rather than "pro-China" about the Olympics and about the Tibet issue. There is no monolithic Chinese American community, or voice.

There are in fact many ties between the Chinese and Tibetan communities. Though many prominent Chinese Americans like torchbearer/activist/writer Helen Zia, scholar Ling-chi Wang, and actor/director Joan Chen have voiced their perspectives, I would like to add mine to the milieu of growing voices out there.

Probably like the folks mentioned above, I have a sense of ethnic and national pride in being Chinese. I also detest the hateful and unnecessary Chinese/China-bashing that has been around, since, oh, Chinese people first landed here in America.

But I also sympathize with the struggles of Tibetan and Burmese, and ethnic minorities from Burma like the Karen people.

Continue reading "Before It's Too Late"

Posted by momo at 5:28 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

April 10, 2008
The True Story of My Googleganger

The New York Times had a front page story today on a book project by Angela Shelton -- where she went around finding her googlegangers and then wrote about it. I found this interesting because I happen to have a famous googleganger who actually writes for the New York Times -- the other Neela Banerjee.

Continue reading "The True Story of My Googleganger"

Posted by neela at 12:25 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

Move Over Maria, Here Comes Leela
leela.jpgSesame Street has a new neighbor running the laundromat: Leela, or Indian American actor Nitya Vidyasagar.

I remember feeling really warm seeing the Puerto Rican Rodriguez family -- Maria and Luis -- because they kinda looked like me. How cool that, from August 2008 -- Sesame Street's 39th (!!) season -- Indian kids will grow up with someone who REALLY looks like them.

The best part of this story is that the producers claim that they weren't looking for another ethnic character:

"When the producers of Sesame Street were looking for a new actor to run the local laundromat, they were not looking for an Indian or any particular ethnicity -- they just wanted someone who was charming and not patronizing to a young audience. According to the newspaper India-West, the fact that this character is a Hindu and Indian American is purely coincidental. In fact, the character was recreated for this actress since they were smitten by her theatrical abilities."

Momo recently blogged about the bi-lingual Madarin animated show Ni Hao, Kai-lan that Nickelodeon is showing. What other live or animated Asian American characters are there out there for children's programming?

Posted by neela at 10:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 4, 2008
More from the Restaurant "Chinese Laundry"

It looks like there has been some exciting updates from our favorite Chow Fun Food Group. Remember the post by Alvin about the new Chinese Laundry restaurant and the oh-so-original, not-racist ad that was put out back in March?

After much consideration (I'm sure), that ad was pulled and this ad appeared as its replacement.

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Posted by lisalee at 5:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

March 24, 2008
Ichiro On Cover of ESPN The Magazine's 10th Anniversary Issue

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This month's issue of ESPN The Magazine is its Special 10th Anniversary Issue, and it features Ichiro on the cover with the text: “For Making Singles Sexy and Taking Baseball Global, Ichiro is a Perfect 10”. Here is a link to a previous 8-page ESPN special feature on Ichiro. He is one of only a few people in all of sports who uses his first name on the back of his uniform, and why not? The man is simply amazing, a baseball living legend in Japan and in the United States. Here is a breakdown of some of his greatest feats since entering the league.

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Posted by Alvin at 7:15 PM | Comments (2)

February 15, 2008
CNN blasted for report on Asian American voters

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CNN is taking some heat for its very superficial Feb. 8 report on "Anderson Cooper 360" about why Asian American Democratic voters are favoring Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama.

Continue reading "CNN blasted for report on Asian American voters"

Posted by harry at 8:25 PM | Comments (9)

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