Monthly Archives: August, 2009
Ang Lee’s take on Woodstock doesn’t compare to the original movie on DVD. Bummer, man.
I’m a big fan of Ang Lee, the Taiwan-born director of such terrific films as “The Wedding Banquet,” “Eat Drink Man Woman,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “The Ice Storm,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain.” He glides effortlessly between cultures, putting Chinese values to celluloid in one movie and reflecting America in the next. He […]
Why it’s important for me to be part of AAJA and in the company of Asian American journalists
Tak Toyoshima, creator of “Secret Asian Man,” and Jeff Yang, one of the editors of the recently-published book “Secret Identities,” sign copies at the 2009 AAJA Convention in Boston. “Where are you from?†“So, where are YOU from?†“Hi, where’re you from?†I was in Boston a couple of weeks ago, at a convention where […]
Paramount offers apology for racism in “The Goods”
Sometimes, protesting works. It took about a week of buzz on the blogosphere to get the attention of Paramount Studios for the obnoxious racism disguised as satire in the trailer for the comedy starring Jeremy Piven, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.” The scene shows car salesmen worked up by the thought of Pearl Harbor […]
Karmic returns: McDonald’s in Japan launches ad campaign with nerd American
Turnabout is fair play, right? It’s karma. In Japanese, it’s a bachi coming back — basically, you reap what you sow. McDonald’s in Japan has started using a laughable nerd who doesn’t have a clue in its ads, mangling Japanese, looking all uptight in glasses and ill-fitting khakis. You’d think it’s how an Asian would […]
Laura Ling, Euna Lee & Kim Jong Il through the eyes of Tak Toyoshima, Secret Asian Man
I had to post this, although I haven’t had time to blog about the Asian American Journalists Association convention last week in Boston. This illustration was in the organization’s silent auction and I had to have it. Cartoonist Tak Toyoshima, who draws the syndicated comic “Secret Asian Man,” drew this the day before the start […]
