Hyphen Blog

Where are We? California Redistricting Sorely Lacking AsAms

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:16:27 -0800

Always we carp about not being represented. Where are all the Asian Americans on primetime TV? Why so few in the higher corporate executive tiers? Where are all the positions for us in government?

Well? The lines are being drawn. Where are we?

California voters passed a proposition a few years ago demanding a say in how voting districts are drawn, because the demographic and party distribution across districts can make it possible for minority voters to make an impact on statewide elections -- or dilute their ballots into statistical insignificance.

Now the commission we created is looking for members, and Asian Americans are offering our civic energies at an anemic 6% of the applicant pool. We are 15% of the state population. We are under-representing ourselves.

Please Welcome the Asian American Literary Review

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:55:15 -0800

Exciting news everyone: A new literary journal dedicated to Asian American writing -- the Asian American Literary Review (AALR) -- is mere months away from hitting the stands. As a writer, I think that the pulse of American writing is found in its literary journals. Sure, they may not be as sexy as The New Yorker, or even get top billing at bookstores, as Stephen King wrote about a few years ago, but it's the place where you find the real writing, both from established writers and emerging ones. Even in this hyper-connected world, journals continue to be a place where literary arts can be both showcased and discussed with abandon. My very first creative publication was in the pages of the Asian Pacific American Journal, the literary journal of the Asian American Writers' Workshop, back in 1998. I remember how exciting it was to have my poem be a part of this collection of writings from Asian Americans all over the country. Now, the AALR hopes to create these kind of creative connections for a whole new era of Asian American literature.

Jeremy Lin a Finalist for Bob Cousy Award

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:08:31 -0800

Jeremy Lin has been named one of eleven finalists for the Bob Cousy Award (named after the Boston Celtics legend), given to the best college basketball point guard. The selection criteria emphasizes "leadership, team work, success, and fundamentals," which I believe describes Jeremy Lin to a T, with his old-school style play leading Harvard to one of its best seasons in history.

There is actually a fan voting component, where the top vote-getter will receive one vote by the Hall of Fame selection committee. You can vote here. Voting begins now until March 5th. The winner will be presented with the award during Final Four weekend of the upcoming March Madness tournament. Given his relative obscurity playing in the Ivy League, it would be nice if Lin got a little more national attention from college fans, and consideration from pro teams.

Trend (TV) Setters: Indian-American Sitcoms Join Major Network Lineup

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:57:36 -0800

One year after feel-good Bollywood-esque flick Slumdog Millionaire took the cinematic stage, sweeping the American awards circuit with eight Oscar wins, the Mumbai momentum keeps on rolling. From Bollywood big screen to situation sitcom small screen (that's a mouthful) -- TV's latest additions to what one historian refers to as the "ethnic comedy mix" features Asian American leads. Two new comedies -- Fox's Nevermind Nirvana and NBC's Outsourced -- represent the latest in culturally inclusive primetime: both are ensemble shows centered around Indians and Indian Americans.

Small Press: Lantern Review

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:56:10 -0800

Hello all, long time no blog!

I wanted to put this out there as part of my ongoing interest in Asian Americans involved with small presses. The new online Asian American poetry journal, Lantern Review, is now accepting submissions to its inaugural issue.

Some Movie-Related News: 'Extraordinary Measures,' 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan'

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:45:24 -0800

Some news to pass along...

1. Another whitewashing case over in Hollywood. The movie Extraordinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford as a brilliant scientist, is based on real-life Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen and his research while at Duke University. Dr. Chen has been mentioned as a possible future Nobel Prize winner for his research, and now heads a research institute in Taiwan. Roger Ebert called out the movie's whitewashing in his recent review. Add this to the list of recent Hollywood movies that have whitewashed characters: from 21, to Avatar: Last Airbender, to remakes (more like near-copies) like The Departed.

2. Hugh Jackman is set to star in Hollywood's next White Knight-genre film. According to one movie site, "Set in 19th century remote China, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan revolves around the lifelong friendship of Lily and Snow Flower and their imprisonment by rigid cultural codes of conduct for women." The film will be directed by Wayne Wang, a veteran of the White Knight genre after his pandering work The Joy Luck Club. The film is co-produced by Wendi Murdoch, who also acts in the film.

Based on the author's own description of the book, it depicts illiterate women, whose feet were bound, isolated in single-window rooms. It also features physically abusive husbands. I'm not surprised to see the author's page list what the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about her book: "With Snow Flower, See has written a novel that ranks with the best fiction of Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston, the modern luminaries of Chinese storytelling." Entertainment Weekly wrote, "You can relish See's extraordinary fourth novel as a meticulously researched account of women's lives in 19th-century China, where it is 'better to have a dog than a daughter.' (And where the girls' feet are bound in a stomach-turning ritual that See describes with admirable precision and coolness)." Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston rave about the book as well on the author's page -- no surprise there.

The Hyphenite's Social Calendar: GO!Style, Beware of Cupid

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:45:04 -0800

Thursday February 4th -- San Jose

South Bay First Thursdays: Rebuilding Trust Between Community and SJPD

Have you ever wanted to make a complaint about the police, but didn't know where to turn? South Bay First Thursdays presents an interactive community forum highlighting the role and responsibility of the Independent Police Auditor. With panelists Anne Im of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), Daniel Katz, Assistant Chief of Police -- City of San Jose, Richard Konda of Asian Law Alliance, and Shivaun Nurre, IPA Deputy Director of San Jose.

6:30 to 9 pm
AACI
2400 Moorpark Ave, Suite 210, San Jose

Asianspotting: Hiroyuki Sanada Joins the Cast of 'Lost'

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0800

Throughout five seasons of Lost, Asian and Asian American characters abound: Korean couple Sun and Jin Kwon (played by Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim -- who probably boasts the sexiest male build on the Island), psychic ghost-whisperer Miles Straume (Ken Leung), Dr. Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle/Edgar Halliwax (Francois Chau), and several other minor characters.

If you caught last night's Season 6 premiere, you know Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada has joined the cast on the island, playing what appears to be the leader of a group of the Others.

Sanada is a major Japanese actor, who is perhaps best known for his role in the postmodern classic Twilight Samurai. He has recently crossed over into several major western films, including Danny Boyle's Sunshine, The Last Samurai, and Speed Racer.

While Sanada's character raises more questions in the Lost series (namely, who is he?), we know one thing already: he's a martial arts Asian! Every desert isle's gotta have one of those, eventually.

Master of the Brush Strokes: Velina Hasu Houston's 'Calligraphy'

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:56:04 -0800

In Zen calligraphy, the zenith is becoming one with the characters. The artist must free herself from outside disturbances. Otherwise discord will be revealed in the fluidity of the brush strokes.

The dualities of Zen principles are hard to grasp. How can one be expressionistic and yet not? How can one be masterful in creating when confined to a standardized set of procedures?

The characters in Velina Hasu Houston's new play, Calligraphy, are confined. Their cultural expectations, their cities, and their family history constrain them. The effects of aging also take its toll on two sisters. Their daughters are ingrained with the notion of filial piety, bound to take care of their mothers.

Oscar Nods are Out, Russell from 'Up' Our Only Hope

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:53:31 -0800

In the wee hours of the morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards using their bizarre 10 Best Picture nominee structure.

Australia's War on Small Breasts

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:30:53 -0800

As if we small-breasted ladies didn't have it hard enough. We persevered through adolescences marred by a devastating lack of top-growth, endured comings-of-age minimized by the diminutive jabs of our bustier peers, and, as adults, find ourselves woefully relegated to Victoria's Secret's ~~young teen~~ "Pink" section, from where we covetously eye the perfectly impractical lacy/strappy/barely-there/disgustingly-provocative underthings so accessibly-sized for plumper patrons. Since childhood, men, magazines, and our mothers have ridiculed our relative lack of endowment, so maybe it was only a matter of time before whole governments made our bitty busts their business.

The first to do so: Australia, whose government censors are banning adult publications and films that feature women with small breasts, in an effort to -- get this -- curb pedophilia. Now, I'm no porn apologist, but I rather dislike having my body categorically likened to a child's, even more than I vehemently dislike censorship. [As I always say: It ain't much, but it sure ain't nothin'!] And it seems obvious to me that an industry founded on fake tits, fake orgasms, and the general fictionalizing of women's sexuality is only made worse by censors that further restrict it from realistically depicting women's bodies -- however flat-chested those bodies may be.

'Visual Crunch' Premieres on MYX Channel

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:26:11 -0800

Back in '07, Harry blogged about MYX stepping up to bat as the next Asian American channel to try to sustain itself and not go the way of its brethren AZN and IATV. (The latter is still available in select regions but seems to focus more on Asian pop culture than Asian American programming.)

The Hyphenite's Social Calendar: ComedyZEN, Refugee Nation

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:42:50 -0800

Wednesday January 27th -- NYC

So The Arrow Flies Performance

International award-winning actor/writer Esther Chae will perform her solo play So the Arrow Flies for one night only. Based on real events about a North Korean Actor and double agent who is is exiled to South Korea, the show touches on themes of political ideology, national identities, allegiance, and love for one's family. Proceeds will go towards the Asian Women Giving Circle, to fund Asian American arts and activism projects in New York City.

6:30 doors & cocktails, 7:30 show
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce Street, NYC
$ 100+, tickets here

Idealize This! | Photo Relief

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:51:05 -0800

In the aftermath of the earthquake that decimated Port-au-Prince weeks ago, journalists have worked 'round the clock to keep the flickering screens and hungry eyes of their eager public perpetually engaged. And we, in turn, have consumed, without pause, photo essay upon photo essay of devastated Haitians climbing bloody out from under piles of debris, desperate Haitians knocking over little boys, and homeless Haitians sleeping without shelter, among many other startling images captured by news photographers with Pulitzer-sized dreams (after all, Haiti's last disaster earned this guy one!).

And we are so moved by these terrible, suspended fragments of another's life that it may not occur to us that the bloody woman we saw rising from beneath blocks of concrete probably saw a photographer's lens before she saw the faces of her rescuers. Nor do we wonder whether she'll get a dime if her photo wins him any awards.

But that's nothing new. Photojournalism has always been an ethically shady enterprise. Whether Steve McCurry's portrait of the reluctantly compliant "Afghan Girl" or Kevin Carter's voyeuristic photo of a starving Sudanese baby, the trade has long borne a paradoxical reputation; while widely regarded as a public service, it nevertheless entails a level of detachment that is antithetical to most conventional conceptions of "service." It's a topic I've written about before, and one that I continually revisit, particularly as I get to know more photographers and especially as I strive to critique the ethical implications of my own journalistic projects.

Asianspotting: Apolo Ohno's DayQuil & NyQuil Commercial

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:36:32 -0800

It's Apolo Anton Ohno!

Seriously. What an awesome name. If I were to name my kid Apolo, he better live up to it, like this Apolo.

The end of the commercial is a little gross, but that's where DayQuil and NyQuil come in I suppose.

It looks like he'll be competing in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics short-track speed skating competition at Pacific Coliseum. The events will be held between February 13th and 26th, 2010. Break a leg, Apolo, and bring home the gold!