Asian American

NPR interviews Justin Lin. He does address Asian American issues. Fast and Furious 6 opens tomorrow. Listen to it here. He also talks about some of his previous work.

It was fun shooting Edwin Ushiro who is equally entertaining. His interview reveals that his recent work is about small regrets from his past. From Elementary, middle and high school in Hawaii. He makes it perfect in his art. The interview took place at his home studio in Culver City.

Thanks to Thrash Lab for this fourth video of the six. Thanks to Goh Nakamura for the music, Anthony Batt for the vision, Ashton Kutcher for the channel and tripod, Thrash Lab staff for the Post, Tony Sugano for the extra hand and Edwin for the interview.

The most watched player by Asian Americans is still Jeremy Lin. The season is long and sometimes we forget about the guy, yet he’s trucking along and played well against his old team. He was a hero last year, this year, he’s quickly becoming status quo which is a great. Why not an Asian American playing well in the NBA? 22pts 8 assists.

Youtubelink

It’s a list. 54 in all. Of course it’s a starting point missing plenty including ex football players, Onch, visual artists, writers, and more? This list is littered with fashion, glam, and more. Are these really the most influential as the title suggests? We’re calling it a good effort list. (Huffpo – LGBT Asians)

That’s the Captain!

Let’s hope some of these will have a positive effect on our lives.

Graphic from the (LA Times)

Not quite all true since it’s at 43% which is double the national average of 21%. Both of the numbers are low! Pew Research says all of this. It’s not exactly new, since it’s controversial research from June. (Statenews – 43%)

We’re not sure if this is all of the Asian American winners at the London Olympics, but in the end it’s a smaller list than what one would expect. (Asianfortunenews – Asian American Medalists)

Nathan Adrian in swimming. Did you ever heard of this guy? 2 Golds and a Silver in swimming.

Straight from the President’s sister. It’s mellow, direct, and suggests getting involved.

Many talking heads. 1 is 2 Many.

The coolest trends or should we say fads are often are born, if not, then bred by Asians or Asian Americans. Streetwear, sneakers, fixies, the boutique shop and food are just some of them. In a the day when a new generation matures, somewhat away from the internet boom of the early 2000s, it’s a look back into craft and working with your hands. Yet, all of a sudden, food has stepped up as being some kind of important thing to line up for. Really? Is it? Can the kids of today hybrid food enough to make it something that you need to line for? Is it better than our own parents or is it just derivative of it? Is it just heavy sauces and cheap fat or bacon that’s making everyone happy? Although article after article will make stars out of new young chefs, we’ll see how soon it passes once every possible hybrid gets made. The market will continue to flood and we’re already seeing less food trucks. Like all things, a few strong will continue to innovate and many will fall. After people realize that although the experience was great at the time, it all just ends up in a toilet. Sneakers? They get worn down. Fixies need brakes. Boutique shops battle the internet. It’s a cycle. (Time - Food)

Michelle Kwan has been figuring out her new life which isn’t about skating. Her career was long and although the gold medal eluded her, she was a champion. It’s as if she won gold medals. This is a video interview. We’ll be seeing her again in a different arena. (ESPN – Michelle Kwan)

Asian Americans and mental illness. This is important and lesser known. Yes, it’s a post that is Debbie Downer on a nice saturday, etc, but in the end, you can’t just hide these facts and situations. It’s happening to someone you know, you just don’t know it.

“This plays into a surprising statistic among Asian American women. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Asian American women aged 15 to 24 have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any ethnic or gender group. The CDC reports that young Asian American women have the second highest suicide rate among their age group – the same goes for Asian American women over 65.”

Great work (KALW – Depression)

Jon Moritsugu’s latest happenings. It’s a film contest. While the world cleans up and makes sharp videos. Jon won’t hesitate to go dirty. Click a “like” if you like it. It’s 45 seconds and it’s about a film production nightmare. If you don’t know him, Jon Moritsugu is the underground film king. He makes films to his own liking, literally, and he’s one of the best in his genre. I’ve known Jon for ages, and he’s almost always left out of any Asian American cinema conversation.

You don’t need to see too much more, but for some reason, many of us will end up watching this. It’s like Jackass meets Asian Americans but not on purpose.

The first Chinese American in the NFL is Ed Wang and he’s now a Raider. He’s an offensive lineman at 6’5″ 321 pounds. He was a fifth round draft choice who was injured last season and hopefully will get some playing time. His parents are from China! (Yahoo – Ed Wang)

An amazing photo. The background of the guys on the roof says a lot. Here’s a thoughful essay by Elaine Woo about her own article two decades ago. If you lived in LA, you can sympathize and understand.

“Other non-Korean Asian Americans I spoke to back then felt the same confusion. Solidarity? Not when people who looked like us were getting shot or doing the shooting, we thought, with more than a little shame. “Asian American — who generated this term?” a Japanese American friend mused the other day. “We have nothing in common but appearance.”" (LA Times – Elaine Woo)

Yes, Yul Kwon is back. We received an email from him directly about this all and yes, he’s a cool guy. Kwon won Survivor by taking his shirt off and showing a side of Asian American males that are seldom seen. Yes, we can be dudes too – and no it’s not because of his shirt being off, but that did resonate everywhere. He did win a million dollars. He’s on a new show called America Revealed on PBS. There is an interview with him in the OC Register. (OCRegister – Yul Kwon)

Greetings from Chicago

Tim Hugh, one man bandleader of the Chicago Asian American Film Festival

This is Tim Hugh and his dog Helga in his kitchen in Chicago. Tim has run the only Asian American Indie Film Fest (i.e. no “imports”) for 12 of the 17 years that it’s been in existence. In this picture, he’s a one man bandleader- running it solo, something I can relate to as a solo musician. I’m in town to promote my film “Daylight Savings” which premiered at SXSW this year, and will be the opening night film this year. Joining me at the screening will be Michael Aki who plays my cousin in the film. I met Mike at this very festival in 2010 when he was showing his films Sunsets that he directed with Eric Nakamura, and his Film Noir tribute “Strangers”

I asked Tim a bunch of questions:

Goh: Why is this festival important?

Tim: It’s one of the only festivals that shows only Asian American films; produced, directed and/or about the Asian American experience. In the midwest more so than the coastal states, you’re constantly asked that stupid question “Where are you from?”… so it’s important to help define what being Asian and American is.

I’m a fourth generation Chinese American. In the midwest, it’s usually under the assumption that you’re just “Asian”… and not “Asian American.” When I see Causasian people I don’t ask them “are you from Poland? are you European?” I just see them for who they are, not what they look like.

Goh: How did you get involved in the festival?

Tim: I was just a fan of the band Seam, and Sooyoung Park, Ben Kim and Billy Shin started the festival in 1995 after they released the Ear of the Dragon CD, which was the first Asian American Rock Compliation. I’d always go and watch everything I could. I’d never seen films like this before; Asian American characters that spoke like me; the actors weren’t forced to speak with a bad accent. I could relate to these images and characters that I was seeing at this festival.

I became obsessed and would watch everything I could, whether it be a feature, documentary, or shorts program. I just wanted to see as much as I could, because I knew I’d never get a chance to see these movies again. Plus, being able to meet the directors and hear them speak about their films was one of the coolest things for me. I remember hanging out with Justin Lin, back when he was just a shorts director.

They noticed me being there year after year, and began to recognize me. Eventually, they would ask me to do little things like hand out program booklets, take tickets, watch the table, and take pictures during the Q&A’s. Basically, I became a volunteer. I remember standing there back in the day giving out Giant Robot magazines!

(more…)

Update on school shooting.

According to ibitimes:

3. The school is geared toward Korean Americans: Though Oikos is an equal-opportunity institution of higher learning, students there are predominantly of Korean descent. The Korean American community has a strong vein of Christianity running through it, and Oikos is one of the proud outgrowths of the large Korean American Christian base in the Bay Area.

Yes it’s about to start on Thursday. Congrats on getting to 30! This is still the premier Asian American anything in the country. It’s a film festival, but it’s more than that. The films are what it’s based around, but it ends up being a huge social gathering with numerous events of all sorts. Here’s the program.