Little Tokyo - Los Angeles

March 23, 2013

More than 200 people attended a summit yesterday in Los Angeles, provocatively titled "Beyond the Bad and the Ugly." The meeting was appropriately named as it took aim at the continued use of offensive images, ethnic slurs and stereotypical caricatures of Asian Americans in American media, and its impact on just about every aspect of American culture, politics, education and society.

AsianConnections.com applauds Jeff Yang, Wall Street Journal Online writer of the "Tao Jones" column for organizing this first summit devoted to the problem, and enlisting public dialogue and empowerment. Yang brought together activisits, bloggers and others to examine the issues and encouraged people to take action against the negative stereotypes and portrayals of Asian Americans in the media. 

Stereotypical images of Asian Americans in the media have negatively impacted the lives of Asian Americans for more than a century.

Yang told LA Times writer Anh Do the event is "the culmination of a dream, seeing people not only talking about these issues - but doing something about it," "The point is to empower everyone, telling them, "Change is happening, and it's happening inside - with us." 

The March 23, 2013 summit officially kicks off Jeff Yang's new book he co-edited with Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma, Shattered: the Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities). SHATTERED’s 2013 tour

Update: Memorial services are being held on Wednesday January 10, 2018 to celebrate Honorable March Fong Eu's life at 10AM (PST) at Chapel of the Chimes, at 4488 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, California.

March 29, 2013

Happy Birthday to March Fong Eu, a truly great lady. Today, March 29, the former U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia and Secretary of State of California turns 91. 

Happy Birthday March! (LtoR) Suyin Fong Stein, March Fong Eu, Suzanne Joe Kai Photo by May Hsu March 23, 2013   

Last Saturday, her daughter Suyin and I celebrated her birthday early. Dr. Eu is in good heatlh, and maintains her natural sense of humor. (Click on the blue headline above to the full story)

As a successful Asian American in the public eye for decades as well as being a female in the male dominated world of politics, Dr. Eu has been one of the most popular political figures in California history.

She has inspired generations of people from all walks of life and backgrounds. She has always had a strong connection to serve the 'common man.' For decades, her official government office staff whisked her from event to event by limousine and plane, yet she's equally comfortable just getting on a public bus. 

Senator Edward Kennedy with Honorable March Fong EuDr. Eu was elected Secretary of State of California in 1974, becoming the first Asian American woman ever elected to a state constitutional office in the United States. 

Roger Ebert 1942-2013 Photo: RogerEbert.comRoger Ebert lost his battle with cancer today. He will be greatly missed. Most famous for his film criticism, he was the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

Since 1967, and up to just two days ago he wrote a column for the Chicago Sun-Times.

He authored twenty books, and co-hosted several long-running syndicated television shows including Siskel and Ebert at the Movies. 

I will remember Roger Ebert not only for his reviews and commentary, but also for his advocacy of Asian American cinema.

I thank Roger Ebert for his outspoken support and standing up (literally) for a film called Better Luck Tomorrow.

When Ebert stood on his theater seat and yelled back at an audience member who was chastising the film's director Justin Lin and his cast on stage for making an "empty and amoral" film, it was a watershed moment in Asian American cinema.

Mind you, this was at the third screening of Lin's film Better Luck Tomorrow at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival where alot is at stake. Filmmakers are hoping that distribution deals are made. 

A video posted on Youtube captured the moment. (click here for the full story with the Youtube video). The audience member said, "You know how to make a movie. But why with the talent up there and yourself make a film as so empty and amoral for Asian Americans and Americans?"

April 6, 2013

Last night's television show Rock Center with Brian Williams aired a story about the 'super album' The Masked Marauders. 

The story included a clip from the movie Almost Famous of actor Terry Chen playing Ben Fong-Torres, former senior editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and author, Emmy award-winning broadcaster, and long-time columnist here.

News anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams has had a curiousity since childhood about a 1969 music album he bought called the The Masked Marauders - a record album touting that it was an album of music recorded in secret by a super group with the likes of John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan.

Now, after more than four decades of the album's original release, the television network news anchor with his own show got the chance to look under the mask of the infamous album.

He talked with The Masked Marauder's prankster

UPDATE:

We received alot of positive feedback to our posting of Guy Kawasaki's Spring, 2013 talk at the UC Berkeley Startup Competition (Bplan).

The former chief evangelist of Apple and co-founder of Garage Technology Ventures is such a good speaker that you wanted to hear more of him.  He was the keynote speaker at the first Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond in 2005, and its timeless. 

You can click on the top blue headline to the full story and his video or