Slant Eye For The Round Eye

I'm Keeping A List: On The Firefighters In Kansas

2009-07-09T20:11:00.008-05:00

I do actually plan to write something longer on this (at least I think so...) but not really talking about the case itself I do have this to say:

With this decision bringing out all the White Pride - as in the comments Deepak Chopra is getting in SFGate - I don't want to hear squat anymore about how Asian Americans are filling up schools and there's just too many of us taking over the universities (especially since we're such a *small percentage* of the population).

Know what I mean?

Pork Filled Players: The Gary Locke Story

2009-07-09T19:33:00.002-05:00

The Art's At The Intersection Of KSW And The Writers Lab Anthology.

2009-07-09T19:12:00.003-05:00

Definitely sounds like a good place to get your summer reading on:

Kearny Street Workshop and Intersection for the Arts, two of San Francisco’s oldest multidisciplinary arts organizations, today announced the release of the 2009 Intergenerational Writers Lab Online Anthology. Comprised of poetry, short stories and other prose written by the diverse group of students and instructors who participated in the sixth annual Interdisciplinary/Intergenerational Writers Lab (IWL), this special collection is now available for public viewing online at http://kearnystreet.org/iwl/.

Contributors include: IWL students Starbright Elizabeth Bilyck, Drea Brown, Richard Kevin Cartwright, Mai Doan, Victoria Gannon, Betty Johnson, Carolyn Kameya, Kenji Liu, Carrie Leilam Love, Karim Scarlata and Vidhu Singh; and instructors Jewelle Gomez and Truong Tran.

The Interdisciplinary/Intergenerational Writers Lab is a unique program that challenges writers to thoroughly explore and develop their writing skills and styles in multiple genres.

The IWL 2009 program took place April 11 – June 6, 2009 and was led by two acclaimed artists: author and playwright Jewelle Gomez and poet and visual artist Truong Tran.

The goals of the IWL program are to provide local emerging writers/artists with the opportunity to challenge, develop, and expand their practice by working with established writers and artists in a variety of genres; to contribute to the development of new literary forms and language that incorporate multiple forms of creative expression; to provide emerging artists with the opportunity to connect with each other and with established writers in the literary world; to provide the community with an opportunity to engage with new work and new explorations of form and language; and to publish an online anthology that highlights work by exciting new writers committed to exploring new forms and voices.

About the Collaborating Organizations

Kearny Street Workshop is the nation’s oldest Asian American multidisciplinary arts organization. The mission of Kearny Street Workshop is to produce, present and promote art that empowers Asian Pacific American artists and communities. We envision a more just society that fully incorporates Asian Pacific American voices informed by our cultural values, historical roots, and contemporary issues. For more information please visit http://www.kearnystreet.org/.

Intersection for the Arts is San Francisco's oldest alternative art space (est. 1965) and has a long history of presenting new and experimental work in the fields of literature, theater, music, dance and the visual arts, and also in nurturing and supporting the Bay Area's cultural community through service, technical support, and mentorship programs. Intersection provides a place where provocative ideas, diverse art forms, artists, and audiences can intersect one another. For more information please visit http://www.theintersection.org/.

Cool.

visualizAsian And Kip Fulbeck

2009-07-09T19:07:00.004-05:00

Just a word that next up on visualizAsian is Kip Fulbeck:

Because of the importance of the mixed-race AAPI community, Erin and I are proud to announce our next interview for visualizAsian.com: Kip Fulbeck, an artist, author, performer, slam poet and….uh, professor! Kip’s ethnic background is Cantonese, English, Irish, and Welsh, and he’s nationally known for his exploration of mixed-race identity. Our conversation with Kip Fulbeck will be on Tuesday, July 21 at 6 pm PT (9 pm ET).

Start Over - Date Number One Story 1

2009-07-08T08:17:00.002-05:00

Start Over - Date Number One Story 1 from Sujewa Ekanayake

A former couple attempt to have a first date in Start Over. Start Over is Story 1 of 4 in the feature length comedy Date Number One (2006, 2008). Start Over was directed, produced, written, videotaped & edited by Sujewa Ekanayake. Boom mic work by Fritz Flad. Film features Steve Lee & Kelly Ryan.

Race Roundup

2009-07-08T05:43:00.006-05:00

Racist White Canadians attack a black Canadian on video

One man has been arrested and more arrests are expected, RCMP say, following a vicious assault in Courtenay, B.C., that police believe was racially motivated. Jay Phillips was attacked Friday in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant by three young men. A video of the incident posted on YouTube shows Phillips, 38, fighting back as he’s surrounded by the trio. It’s not known who shot the video or posted it on the website. Phillips, who is black, said the attack was unprovoked. He said a truckload of men drove by and started shouting racial epithets. “We’re going to kill you, we’re going to lynch you — really vile stuff.”

Perez Hilton Possibly Racist? Gasp! What a Shock!

In an interview with The Advocate, Perez Hilton explains that he wanted to call Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas a "n*gger*, during an altercation he had with the singer. "But Perez tells me that, in the heat of the moment that night, he almost chose to use a different word. “I thought about calling him the n word,” he says over the phone a week after the incident, “but I thought the f word was even worse. I was so filled with hate at that moment because I was hated on so much, and I reacted in the worst way possible. Then I went on to make a bunch of other mistakes. I shouldn’t have made the video. I shouldn’t have released so many statements."

Listeners Say Local DJs Went Too Far With Racist Comments

Allen said she was listening to the program with her family when she says she heard a slew of racist remarks. In a letter to NewsChannel5, she said the host said African-Americans have a "distinct musky smell," and that they are jealous of whites. "The one host made the comment that African-Americans are jealous of the scent of white people's smell of success," said Allen. NewsChannel5's Maurielle Lue went to the WMMS station to talk to the program manager, but no one from the show wanted to talk, and some said they shouldn't have to.

Fire officials investigate racist graffiti at station

City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones, who has called for zero tolerance in cases of racial infractions, today suggested the U.S. Justice Department might be better equipped to investigate the graffiti incident. “I think there is more than graffiti,” she said. “I absolutely have good reason to believe there may be retaliation for something.” Jones, who earlier applauded the allocation of money for fire department sensitivity training and urged that it be extended to other city departments, declined to comment further. Fire Capt. Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association, however, said that one of the women who made today’s discovery recently had filed a complaint regarding vandalism in Station 54’s women’s quarters. Jordan said the complaint concerned the disconnection of cold water in the women’s shower. Jordan also reported that someone had urinated in the sinks and against the walls of the women’s restroom.

Muslims welcome withdrawal of offensive fireworks, ‘Run Hadji Run’

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today welcomed the decision of a fireworks retailer in Wisconsin, Fireworks City, to withdraw a product called “Run Hadji Run,’ which was deemed offensive by local Muslims. The fireworks display a picture of Arabs/Muslims riding camels, with a fighter plane overhead. On another side there is what appears to be Uncle Sam yanking the long beard of a man in traditional Muslim attire.

And In Random Koda Kumi Pop News

2009-07-08T05:01:00.005-05:00

Just in case you were wondering, the triple A sided "3 Splash" get's the official release today.

My World Is Beautiful Because Of The PLANiTb Accoustica Mix

2009-07-08T04:53:00.001-05:00

Chosan Nguyen The Shoplifter

2009-07-08T04:09:00.005-05:00

Because we all have nothing better to do than read Page 6 gossip (at least me) I couldn't help but post up this snippet about how pianist Chosan Nguyen - who's been dating film guy Brian Grazer for a year is getting flanked in P6 because *get ready for it* apparently she got caught shoplifting in St. Louis four years ago.

I didn't look up what she got caught shoplifting (because I'm not that interested) but I figure it can't be that bad if she's not still in jail and really - who hasn't five finger discounted at least one pair of underwear and some underwear accessories during their puberty years?

Since, it's not like you're stealing a Lexus - you can only get out of the store with so much shit.

Sam Yoon + Podcast = Goodness

2009-07-08T03:46:00.005-05:00

Got word sent out that Byron down at the big WOWO has a new podcast with Boston candidate Sam Yoon (who you should already know by now especially if you're reading this blog) and while I haven't gotten a chance to check it out yet myself - just got the link a bit ago - I'll definitely be listening on in soon, and if you want to hear more from the Boston candidate himself - you will too.

Read the post. Check the podcast.

Get Your Steve Nguyen FlipHD On (And See Michael Kang Too)

2009-07-08T03:36:00.005-05:00

I happened to stumble upon Steve Nguyen's YouTube channel, and for the last month he's been interviewing some cool people with his FlipHD camera (at least that's what I'm assuming from the channel name). Check out his channel here and see the video with Michael Kang below.

Vincent Lee: Helping Unlock The World One iPhone 3GS At A Time

2009-07-07T21:15:00.004-05:00

Leave it up to us to help in the fight for technology goodness - specifically in the form of unlocking your shiny new iPhone 3GS. Vincent Lee - the world thanks you as you walk us through getting those iBEC and iBSS files so we can unlock our phones and install non-approved Apple applications (if we so desire)*.

SEFTRE doesn not approve of anything your grandma wouldn't do. But if you're grandma sells you weed than this is probably O.K.

Twitter Censors The Tila #Fart?

2009-07-07T08:12:00.004-05:00

This could be of interest - or maybe not - for some reason I thought I'd post it on up anyway.

Four hours ago, MySpace queen Tila Tequila encouraged her Twitter followers to make the hashtag #FARTS a trending topic. They succeeded, putting #FARTS just below Michael Jackson in the number three spot. Apparently, Twitter doesn’t like that sort of thing. They just pulled #FARTS from the trending topics. Twitter normally pulls trending topics they suspect to be spam — but does an honest show of fandom, however quirky, count as spamming? More to the point, how could they possibly brand Tila, a Verified Account holder, as a spammer?

And just in case you were wondering, the TT page is in fact protected now.

The mysteries of a Tuesday...

Fantastic Glass, Conflict Resolution, The Edge of Heaven, And Not In My Backyard

2009-07-07T08:06:00.004-05:00

Saw this article on four MFA students who got some honors at the CUNY Asian American/Asian Research Institute during the 6th Annual Asian American Film Festival and thought I'd post it on up:

Yong-Hyun (Brad) Cho, Pyeunghun Baik, Juoak (Jade) Kim and Munjong (Arckii) Kim each received trophies for short films they created.

All four honored films will be honored again starting at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, when they are screened during the 32nd Asian American International Film Festival at the Museum of Chinese in America, 70 Mulberry St., in New York City. AAIFF is the longest-running film festival of its kind, showcasing the work of independent Asian and Asian American filmmakers.

That's it.

Kal Penn Makes It To The White House

2009-07-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

Just in case you were wondering if Kal Penn ever made it to the White House - yes he did:

On Monday, he became an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison, with a focus on connecting Obama with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as arts groups. Penn, who backed Obama during the campaign, says the new job has nothing to do with his life as an actor and he expects to be treated the same as any other White House staffer. When asked about the differences between the new job and his work in Hollywood, Penn quipped that he now wears a suit.

Glad to see they finally found a desk for him.

Monday Morning Kreva

2009-07-06T07:27:00.001-05:00

Getting To Know Your Kelly Choi

2009-07-05T23:51:00.004-05:00

Quick video of Kelly Choi who's hosting out the new show Top Chef Masters on Bravo. You can also read an interview with her down at Asiance Magazine.

Look At That Asian Kid In The 1984 Michael Jackson Action Figure Commercial

2009-07-05T23:41:00.001-05:00

Best Picture Ever: Pho Challenge!

2009-07-05T22:52:00.004-05:00

I caught the above photo down at BicoastalBitchin and I just had to re-post it up here 'cause it's classic. Check out the post Pho Challenge! Huzzah! for more.

Maybe I Survived A Japanese Game Show Isn't Too Bad?

2009-07-05T22:14:00.004-05:00

I only happened to catch one episode of Season two last week by accident (and I never saw Season One), but I gott a be honest - there's something mildly alluring about seeing the tables turned where you have a mostly White contestant pool (at least now) doing crazy things for the enjoyment of an all Asian studio audience where they're basically judged and juried by Asian people - behind the scenes, in front of the camera, by Rome Kanda and Judge Bob, in the punishments - they even make people read subtitles on this show (and there's even some AA representation in S2 with contestant Cathy Grosam).

Sure, I did happen to catch the Brent Alexander Karate Kid moment (but that's just on him), and in some ways you can make arguments against the show in terms of what people might actually be laughing at - but when you look at it from a perspective where on most game shows we watch we see mostly white people controlling the strings (at least on camera) - like I said before - it's mildly alluring to see Asians behind the scenes and as a host on this type of program (and I also thought it was interesting to see them show Rome Kanda both as his host personality and in regular street clothes).

So who knows - maybe I'll be catching a few more episodes of this MF.

Last API Standing: Kupono Awea

2009-07-05T21:44:00.004-05:00

With Asuka Kondoh and Karla Garcia getting the ax in the last week, it's all up to Kupono Awea to take the So You Think You Can Dance crown.

Good luck and may the Tayeh be with you.

Random Dawen Wang

2009-07-03T19:09:00.003-05:00

Look for the album "American Me" coming out next month.

I Liked It: Departures

2009-07-03T18:38:00.005-05:00

I'll freely admit that sometimes I see movies because they won an award, and say what you will, but occasionally I want to know if something was really that good and at the same time let's all give it up for something called Cultural Relevancy.

If you're looking for something long and in-depth -- look further -- because as we all know, I'm a hack - but I will tell you this - you really should see it because it's not just funny (a lot more than I thought it would be), but it just lets you follow along in a story that doesn't do too much but still makes this impact on you because you can't help but wonder what's going to happen next - because it makes you invested in the characters and the small town they live in and I think like all good movies in this genre makes you think a little bit about your own life.

Don't worry though - I'm not trading in blogging anytime soon to prepare dead bodies - or become an actor in a "How To" video - but I may open up my own Slanty Bathhouse because then I get to be naked 24/7 and still get paid.

Nice.

Weekend DVD: Baby

2009-07-03T18:30:00.004-05:00

I didn't see this in the theaters but I did happen to pick up the DVD (which came out this year) and I'm thinking if I like movies about guns, the underworld, and more guns - which I do - I'm gonna like it.

Here's a trailer

I'm Just Glad Disney And Pixar Didn't Actually Use The Me So Horny Chink Eye Breakfast At Tiffany's Face For Russell In The Final "Up!" Picture

2009-07-03T17:56:00.010-05:00

I caught this article down at Gizmodo and seeing how Up! is outselling all other movies I was definitely interested in seeing some of the color images which led me to the Lou Romano site which led me to this image which was obviously not used in how Russell actually looked in the final.

Yeah...glad someone stopped this from coming out and isn't it how funny how no one from Gizmodo and NY Mag even mentioned this?

Just a word of advice - I probably wouldn't put this out in book form, or as a poster either...just saying.