Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

For Detective Tran, truth is subjective. By the end of Derek Nguyen's play, "Monster," we will understand what he means all too well.

J-Gators, a collaboration of students at the University of Florida, is raising funds for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan with 100 percent of profits from t-shirt sales going to the Hope for Japan Relief Fund. Their goal is to raise at least $5000 within a flexible deadline (the next 2-3 weeks).

 

Wondrous science fiction cityscapes? Alien creatures? Magical realms? These are just part of a day's work for concept artist Eve Skylar. Eve will be doing a live art demonstration at the Issue #22 Release Party, going down Friday, March 18 at 6 pm. She spoke to me over the phone about her work.

 

UPDATED: Videos are up and check the sweet freestyle the guys kicked while shooting.

Maybe you don't know, but Far East Movement is kind of a big deal. Here's a quick peek behind yesterday's shoot in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC. The guys are the nicest bunch in the world, and we're excited to have them. Scroll down for special messages from Kevnish and Prohgress.

 

Photos by Ryan Michael Louie

Intwined is a fresh accessories company that "seeks to combine two elements that fundamentally clash, but when paired together, are a match made in heaven." Designer Jenn Liu chatted with us over the phone about her inspirations, her company, and the future of nerd chic.

Main Stacks is UC Berkeley's first competitive hip-hop team. Main Stacks will be hosting Prelude Norcal on November 14th at Chabot College in Hayward. Hyphen got a chance to chat with Co-Executive Directors Denise Chan & Ramsey Magana about the team and the life of a dancing college student.

Tell me about Main Stacks.

 

Illest Villains is a b-boy crew based in the San Francisco Bay Area. They will be performing at Hyphen's #21 release party this Friday, September 17th, at the Mighty in San Francisco. Hyphen talked to one of the members, Ryan Michael Louie AKA Casanova Fresh, about the crew, his experiences as a dancer, and making stuff up as he goes.

So there's that new George Clooney movie out, Up In The Air. The trailer has been out for awhile and in it they try to set the idea of Clooney as the Drifting Corporate Guy with No Emotional Attachments and his attempts to connect with blah blah blah oh here is another Oscar, Mr. Clooney.

So there's that new George Clooney movie out, Up In The Air. The trailer has been out for awhile and in it they try to set the idea of Clooney as the Drifting Corporate Guy with No Emotional Attachments and his attempts to connect with blah blah blah oh here is another Oscar, Mr. Clooney.

 

Bryan Wong over at big WOWO recently commented on our Mr. Hyphen contest. Read it first.

I feel ya, players. I really do. This is the Great Question amongst Asian American men. A question so profound that sometimes you feel like only another Asian male feels it. We feel it when we're outside the club. We feel it at work. We feel it at the gym. It's that feeling that we're always trying to measure up to someone's standard, and nothing an Asian man does can ever do that, that instead we're constantly being emasculated in one way or the other.

Western culture, especially in America, places a lot on looks, and on wealth, and on being "manly." That is to say, we are constantly being told what being masculine is, in ads, movies (damn you, 300), even our friends. A real man supposedly has a lot of money, has a lot of cars, beds a lot of women, is handsome but doesn't try to be, likes to pick on people different than himself, and is emotionally distant.