career

It’s highly likely that you’ve heard of Jay Chou before—he’s the Taiwanese singer-songwriter behind hits such as “Cute Girl (Ke Ai Nu Ren),” “Simple Love (Jian Dan Ai),” and “Silence (An Jing).” If you haven’t heard the original songs, you may have seen YouTube covers by Mandarin and non-Mandarin speakers alike (our favorite: sisters Riney and Bam, who used Chou’s music to learn Chinese), or heard his catchy melodies while singing karaoke.

If you’re a fan (or if you grew up in Asia), you may have even caught him on the big screen. He’s acted in movies such as “Initial D” and “Curse of the Green Flower,” and even directed a movie called “Secret” in 2007, with a sequel planned for next year.

But if you haven’t heard of Jay Chou before, get ready to get introduced to him in January, with his first foray into Hollywood as Kato in “The Green Hornet.”

Wikipedia describes the Russian word “pogrom” as a form of “violent riot, a mob attack, either approved or condoned by government or military authorities, directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious, or other”. Education Week reports “The courage of Asian students to describe the harassment and violence they experienced at South Philadelphia High School led members of the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission to act on their behalf, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.”

Both Los Angeles-Based Attorneys Honored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (Cyndie Chang on left, Michelle Sugihara on right)

LOS ANGELES, CA – Last Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) recognized 20 of the nation’s most talented and accomplished Asian Pacific American lawyers under the age of 40. Los Angeles-based attorneys and local bar association leaders Cyndie M. Chang (an associate at Duane Morris LLP) and Michelle K. Sugihara (a senior associate at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP) were among the honorees to make NAPABA’s 2010 “Best Lawyers Under 40” list. Ms. Chang is Vice-President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA) and a board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) and Ms. Sugihara is Secretary of APABA and a board member of the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA).

There has been some recent discussion surrounding a racist piece of media that had recently surfaced on the Maclean's website about the increasing number of Asian students in their academic institutions (racist...ahem).

Not only has this article unnecessarily making an issue of race but also implying that Universities and colleges are "too Asian" for their liking, a very racist emitting but also at the same time hideous at a glance.

Although the original article has been edited the original version can be found here "Too Asian" (Thanks to Angry Asian Man's post).

So you might ask should Chinese Canadians be concerned? of course not, because we are not the ones complaining. Obviously all those who are enrolled in higher education is obviously there to study and nothing else.

 
Last month was exciting in terms of entertainment news. Musicians made Asian American history, San Diego hosted its annual Asian Film Festival, Jon M. Chu’s career took off, Yao Ming returned to the basketball court, and Brenda Song received an award. Let’s get started!
Making beautiful music — for the mainstream!

For the week of Oct. 30, members of Far East Movement became the first Asian Americans to hit the top of the Billboard charts. Even more exciting was the fact that the number two spot was held by singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, who is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent.
Far East Movement is made up of Kevin Nishimura “Kev Nish,” James Roh “Prohgress,” Jae Choung “J-Splif,” and Virman Coquia “DJ Virman.”
In a New York Daily News story, Oliver Wang, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University-Long Beach, said, “Far East Movement and Bruno Mars didn’t come just out of nowhere. There’s been a slow push to make it happen through social media. It’s finally hit that tipping point.”

San Diego’s Asian Film Festival: action-packed!

Far East Movement, the Los Angeles electro/rap group, reached a notable milestone recently. Not only did its third album, "Free Wired," debut at #24 on the Billboard charts, one of the highest charting debuts by any all-Asian American group, but its latest single, “Like a G6,” is the #1 single in the country (having already crowned digital charts for weeks).

By coincidence, on Oct. 12, 2010, the day "Free Wired" dropped, TV’s "Glee" featured Asian American actors Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) and Harry Shum Jr. (Mike) joyfully singing and dancing their way through “Sing!” from "A Chorus Line." Three nights earlier, "Glee" star Jane Lynch hosted "Saturday Night Live" with musical guest Bruno Mars, the Filipino-Puerto Rican crooner whose iTunes-topping “Just the Way You Are” was just pushed aside by "Like a G6.”

This confluence seemed to be a long time coming. Prior to FM, the last group of Asian Pacific Islander descent to run the dance floor might have been the Jets, the Tongan-German, Minneapolis-based family band that had a string of dance/R&B hits, including “Curiosity” and “Crush on You.” That was back in 1985.

Great news from our Asian American sensation Jeremy Lin as he signs on with the Golden State Warriors.

We did not see wrong when we saw the potential of this new gunner and that's not in any reference to any kind of school massacres that the Media rubs in our faces.

Asian Americans look on with high confidence when they see Jeremy Lin simply put, doing what he does best.

We aren't unfairly biased when it comes to supporting any Asian Americans in sports, I mean sure we should be supporting Asian Americans in all areas of the professional world but Jeremy Lin actually has a little bit more and we can not help but be proud of him. Not only is he being recognized by Asian Americans but in fact to have the basketball world talking him only shows that he has gained early recognition.

9500 LIBERTY
Dir. Eric Byler & Annabel Park
USA | 80min

Mavericks of Asian Pacific Islander Descent and Award Winning Actress/Director Elizabeth Sung and Producer Ken Choy Present Access Acting

A 6 week intensive Film acting course facilitating Access to artistic and business essentials Class limited to 10 max.

Korean singer Park Jae-beom, former leader of popular boy band 2PM, has signed with U.S. online media company Digital Media Wire (DMW) to manage his career.

DMW announced on its official website (www.dmwmedia.com) Friday (U.S. time) that its CEO and entertainment lawyer Ned Sherman will be "representing artist Jay Park with respect to his global entertainment career."

"We are thrilled to be working with Jay," said Mr. Sherman in the post. "He is incredibly talented and has the work ethic, talent, charisma and fan support to have a big career on a global level."

He went onto say that it is "rare that you come across an artist like Jay. He really loves and cares about his fans and it shows. We are working on a number of big projects which we will be announcing soon.”

By Jeff Yang, Special to SF Gate
Thursday, February 25, 2010

The notion that Asians and Jews are two shoots from the same cultural rootstock is an old but evergreen meme.

You see it in fringe theories about the Lost Tribes of Israel -- there's an entire body of cryptoarchaeological canon that uses similarities between customs, language and naming convention to "prove" that the ancient vanished Jewish clans ended up in China, India or Japan. (Japan's 50,000-member Makuya sect, which has as its central dogma that the Japanese are descendants of a lost Jewish tribe, keep kosher, speak Hebrew and use the seven-armed menorah as their symbol.)

 Software sales executive Joe Wang and his wife Heidi have been married for 11 years. Heidi thinks the race "exemplifies empowerment" and she wants her kids to see that she is "not just a mum". 

Joe Wang

Age: 42

Hometown: El Segundo, Calif.

Connection to your Teammate: Married

Current Occupation: Software Sales Executive

Favorite Hobbies: Coaching youth sports, poker and golf

Achievements: My biggest achievement is my family.

Lifelong to do List: Travel around the world.

If I could switch places with someone: My son Jameson who has unlimited potential.

Role Model/Hero: My parents. They immigrated here to USA to provide a better life for me. 

What are you passionate about? Raising my kids to be the best they can be.

What would you do if you won the million dollars? Pay for my kids' college education.

People would be surprised to learn:  I was born in Taiwan and speak fluent Mandarin Chinese 

Favorite place you have ever visited: Fiji

Certain truths are tied to March Madness, that time of year when the NCAA men's basketball tournament turns every cubicle-dweller into a college hoops junkie. That batty lady who picks the winners based on the cuteness of the mascots will crush you in your office pool. Duke will have a guy that gets under your skin. And the Harvard basketball players will be locked in the library instead pulling off the Cinderella upset.

It’s Raining, y’all! With the advent of his first starring role in a major Hollywood feature, the Korean pop god known simply as Rain sat with us exclusively to talk up his martial arts manifesto, Ninja Assassin. We chatted about the film’s surprising violence, his future as a singer, his fans and his mom. Never let it be said that LMD was ever smart enough to come in out of the Rain.

Dig it.

The Lady Miz Diva: Ninja Assassin is a really violent, bloody film. Were you concerned that so much of your fan base, which consists of younger kids and people who might not usually go to this type of movie, wouldn’t be able to see your big Hollywood film?

Rain: Yeah, I know, but it’s gonna be huge. I believe they will like my movie. I am a little bit worried, but it’s something different from what I’ve done, so it’s interesting that way. And I believe more male fans will be interested in this movie.

We all know her story. She was a beautiful, bright 24-year-old graduate student in Yale's pharmacology department who went missing just four days shy of her wedding. Her body was found on what was to be her wedding day hidden behind a wall in her laboratory, a Yale building at 10 Amistad Road in New Haven. A few days later, a 24-year-old animal technician who also worked at her laboratory was arrested for her murder.

I first read about her in The New York Times in my apartment in Manhattan. Across the globe, my brother read about her on Bloomberg News in his office in Hong Kong. We felt the pain and horror of her death and of the tragedy facing her family.

Annie Le was also Asian-American. As her story appeared all over the Internet and on 24-hour news updates, blogs, commentaries, Facebook and Twitter posts, the fact that she was an Asian-American female was to become an important part of her narrative, speaking to uniquely American anxieties about sex, violence, gender and race.

BOOK BIOGRAPHY (not Movie)

Li was born into utter poverty in Mao’s communist China, at the age of 11 he was selected to train in Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy. And so began Li's journey. The 7 years of harsh training regime at the Beijing Dance Academy taught him discipline, resilience, determination and perseverance. Li’s astounding drive and relentless hard work made him one of the best dancers China has produced.

When he was 18, Li was awarded one of the first cultural scholarships to go to America, and subsequently been offered a soloist contract with the Houston Ballet. Two years later, Li defected to the West in a dramatic media storm, which involved the then Vice President, Mr George Bush Snr. He then went on to become one of the best dancers in the world, won two silver and a bronze medal at three International Ballet Competitions. In 1995, Li and his family moved to Australia where Li danced his last three and half years as a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet.

Schema Magazine is proud to present Jennifer Thym, visionary Writer and Director of LUMINA, an original nine-part web series "characterized as a dark, densely woven fantasy set against the sparkling backdrop of Hong Kong" (stars JuJu Chan, Michael Chan and Vince Matthew Chung).

Wednesday November 4, 2009 | 6:15 - 7:30 PM.
Victoria Learning Theatre | The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre | University of British Columbia

(directions and address below)
Free Event. RSVP required as seating is limited. Please visit NAAAP Vancouver to reserve a seat.

FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES SENIOR STAFF IN INTERNATIONAL AND CONSUMER AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS BUREAUS

Washington, DC – Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the appointment of Mindel De La Torre as Chief of the International Bureau and Yul Kwon as Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

“The FCC has an important role to play in empowering and protecting consumers and ensuring that they have access to world-leading communications networks and technologies,” said Chairman Genachowski. “These talented individuals have vast public and private sector experience in communications policy and I am delighted to have their expertise at the agency.”

Kelly Hu, who previously appeared in The Scorpion King and X-Men 2, has signed on to star in indie romantic comedy Almost Perfect. Hu will play a 30-something career woman who has to juggle her high-maintenance family just when she finds the perfect boyfriend. Writer/director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan said in a statement: “I am so excited to work with Kelly, who not only kicks butt as an action hero, but is also an incredibly thoughtful and nuanced actor, with a killer sense of humor.” The film will start shooting this month in New York City.

Edison Chen will appear in his first movie since his career was derailed by a sex photo scandal more than a year ago.

The 28-year-old Chinese-Canadian actor-singer will feature in the English-language comedy, “Almost Perfect,” which stars Kelly Hu, according to the Web site of New York-based production company Slew Pictures.

Tomita was born in Okinawa, the daughter of Shiro and Asako Tomita. She is of one quarter-Filipino descent (her mother is half Filipina, half Japanese). Before becoming an actress, she won the title of Queen at the Nisei Week Pageant in Los Angeles in 1984, and Miss Nikkei International in 1985.

Check out her filmogrpah here at IMDB Website

To read more visit Visualization, Tamlyn Tomita will be appearing live on Visualization Tuesday Octber 6th don't miss it, you can also submit your questions to her as well.

October 6 at 6 pm Pacific Time (7 pm MT, 8 pm CT and 9 pm ET).
Click here to Register

Tamlyn Tomita, whose inspirational career as an actor spans movies, television and the stage, and whose leadership and activism spans the Japanese American and Asian American Pacific Islander communities.

Lumina's leading actor, Michael Chan speaks to Orientelle about his experiences on the set of Lumina, his preferences in women and his advice to beautiful, career-oriented women still looking for Mr. Right out there. Check it out-

1. Tell us about your background. What projects did you do in the past and how did you get here (both in Hong Kong and on Lumina)?

I was born and raised in the province of Quebec, in Canada. Spoke French in everyday life and Cantonese at home with my family and grand parents. Since my childhood, I’ve always been the only Chinese/Asian kid in school and everyone asked me if I knew kung fu! I guess I kind of felt ashamed to answer no, so I secretly started to practice all kind of martial arts in my back yard.

USAsianwire - More Than 6,000 Attendees Expected Gala Awards Dinner Will Recognize Top Companies, Business Leaders and High-Profile Individuals For Their Achievements and Contributions to the Asian Community Lead Academic Sponsor is Columbia Business School;  Lead media sponsor is The New York Times; Participating Career Expo Employers Include Booz Allen Hamilton, BP, Monsanto, Federal Reserve, McDonalds, New York Life, Dell, Raytheon, Volkswagon, Moody's Investors Service, Pepsico, State Farm, United Health Group, Among Others

San Francisco  - SF Ballet Company’s Yuan Yuan Tan, the company’s first Asian American principal soloist will tour with the company, when they make their debut in China this October.

San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in America, has been invited on a three-city tour to Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou, China this fall as part of the official celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations between the USA and the People’s Republic of China.

ChosunNews - It was a memorable day for a Korean New Zealander Melissa Lee. In the general election that day, Lee became the first Korean immigrant to get into parliament on the ruling National Party list.

"I had never been as happy as that day except when I gave birth to my baby," Lee, in Seoul to attend the 2009 Future Leaders Conference hosted by the Overseas Koreans Foundation, recalled Monday. "It was the day when my old dream came true. In elementary school in Korea, I always wrote down 'president' when we had to fill in surveys asking what our future dreams are."

She moved to Malaysia with her family when as a fifth grader, and to Australia when in her first year of high school for better prospects for university. After she graduated from university in 1988, she relocated to New Zealand with her family.

Nichibeutimes - Senator Moua from Minnesota was the first Hmong American elected to public office in the United States. She was recently interviewed through an Asian American empowerment forum VisualizAsian.com with Gil Asakawa and Erin Yoshimura and had a few thoughts on Clint Eastwood’s film “Gran Torino.”

It’s the first Hollywood movie to really feature the Hmong people. Clint Eastwood plays an embittered Vietnam vet Walt Kowalski who is dealing with his own demons and a changing neighborhood. The film’s name comes from a scene where Thao Vang, a young neighbor is forced by Hmong gang members to try and steal Kowalski’s prized 1972 Gran Torino. His relationship to this teen and his Hmong family is at the heart of the film.

TIME.COM -The arc of Corazon Aquino's life lent itself to maxims, but two hard-nosed ones seem particularly worth pointing out. First, political sainthood is a gift from heaven with a Cinderella deadline — once past midnight, you are a pumpkin.

Second, personal virtues are never a guarantee of effective or successful governance. What was truly shocking about Aquino's tumultuous six-year term as President of the Philippines was that those maxims proved untrue. Midnight always threatened Aquino but never struck; and she was a good woman whose goodness alone, at the very end, was what proved enough, if only by an iota, to save her country.

The exact opposite was foretold by the husband whose murder she vowed to avenge and whose political legacy she promised to preserve. Anyone who succeeded Ferdinand Marcos, Benigno Aquino declared, would smell like horse manure six months after taking power. The residual effects of the dictatorship of Marcos and his wife Imelda, he said, could guarantee no success — only disaster, despair and failure.

FATE SCORES, a film by Chinese-Canadian director and actor Albert M. Chan, will have its New York premiere on Sunday July 26th, 2009, at 2:15pm at the Museum of Chinese in America (215 Centre St. New York, NY) as part of the 32nd Annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF).

The film has also screened this year at the Boston International Film Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival, On Location: Memphis International Film Festival, and the Southeast New England Film, Music & Arts Festival.

FATE SCORES explores themes of isolation, connection, and chance, and is a thoughtful look at the seemingly random interactions between ten strangers on a city park bench, eventually culminating into something extraordinary.

Houston Chronicle - Rockets center Yao Ming underwent surgery Tuesday morning to repair the hairline fracture in his left foot and another to realign the bones in the foot. The realignment procedure was done to prevent the reoccurrence of the injury that has ended his past two NBA seasons.
Rockets team physician Dr. Tom Clanton, assisted by Dr. Bill McGarvey at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, used a bone graft in the tarsal navicular bone to help repair the fracture. The realignment of the bones in the foot flattened Yao’s arch to reduce the stress on the repaired bone.
“Everything went according to plan and we were able achieve not only fixation of the broken bone, but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot,” Clanton said. “Yao is doing well and resting comfortably after these procedures. We expect him to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least six to eight weeks.”

LA Times - Judy Chu can trace the beginnings of her career as a San Gabriel Valley activist and political leader back to the early 1970s and her freshman year in college.

As the young math major, intent on a career in computer science, was crossing the UC Santa Barbara quad one day, someone thrust into her hand a flier about a new Asian American studies course. She decided to give it a try.

"It was like a light went off in my head," Chu recalled. She learned about the history of Asian immigrants and their children, the discrimination and stereotypes they endured and their contributions to American life and culture.

One of the guest speakers was Pat Sumi, a third-generation Japanese American whose activism included registering blacks to vote in Mississippi and Georgia and organizing protests against the Vietnam War.