Aug

14

2008

(31) Comments

China Dominates in Gymnastics

03:44PM by lan

The gymnastic events are coming to an end and China has come out on top. Although there was a lot of controversy over the ages of the women gymnasts from China, the rumors haven’t fazed them one bit.

Before the Olympics had started, the US had raised questions of the age of China’s gymnastics team members He and Jiang Yuyuan, an all around Olympic medal contender. The New York Times claimed they were younger than 16 (the minimum age to be eligible. In response, the Chinese Gymnastics Association provided documents of the gymnast’s ID cards and passports, showing that they were old enough. Regardless, the two gymnasts were still able to compete and did extremely well; however, US had a few hiccups which cost them.

Aug

13

2008

(28) Comments

Opening Ceremony

04:07PM by mingminhui

Hi, my name is Ming and I am a guest blogger for Ningin.

I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve been spending the last few days glued to NBC. Religiously watching the Olympic is a tradition for my family (my parents have never missed a single one since 1984), but this one is extra special for us because my parents are from China and just as psyched as all 1.3 billion of them back in the motherland.

For that reason there I could feel how enormous the pressure was that China pull off the best opening ceremony ever. The Chinese care about “face” like nothing else and there would never again be an opportunity quite like this to show face to the rest of the world. All questionable facelift means aside (pun intended), there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they pulled it off.

Aug

9

2008

(18) Comments

Photo Recap: Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

02:33AM by lan

Since Elena has already described parts of the opening ceremony, I thought it would be nice to have some visual aid. I fell asleep during parts of the ceremony, but good thing it was only when the countries came out to walk (by the time I woke up they still weren’t done). Well anyways like Elena said, the opening ceremony was amazing. It was something I’ve never seen before both artistically and technically. I love LCD screen so when I saw HUGE movable LCD screen, I was astound. China has really set the bar for the Olympics and I can only imagine how the next two and half weeks will be like.

Best of luck to all the athletes.

Jul

27

2008

(6) Comments

Kyle Busch Wins Again

09:42AM by Alvin Lin

Here is an article about Kyle Busch, who just broke a record by winning his 15th Nascar race.

The kicker is that he drives a TOYOTA, who recently has become a powerhouse in the sport since joining Nascar 2 years ago, and Busch is obviously pissing off a lot of rednecks and people in red states.  Kyle Busch is often booed when he gets out of his car, and there is definitely resentment that he is driving, and winning, with a Toyota instead of with a Ford or a Chevy, which is what he used to drive.

Here is a recent Wall Street Journal article that hints about the borderline racism/xenophobia over Nascar fans hating on Toyota.  In the article, one person even says he’d rather drive a crappy Chevy than a good Toyota.  Um, OK buddy.
Here is another link if you can’t read the WS Journal article.

Jul

17

2008

(9) Comments

Asian American Athletes

01:47PM by Alvin Lin

There is some recent news about some Asian American athletes… Michael Chang was Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the LA Times recently had a feature on golf phenom Anthony Kim. 

Michael Chang was pretty much the only Asian American athlete in American media while I was growing up, and based on the other images of Asians across all realms of Western society, was a really positive and rare image for AA youth.  For those young’ins, Chang is still the youngest ever champion of the French Open.  Who knows maybe he was a reason why I ended up getting into tennis for my HS team.  Michael Chang was an all around great and classy person, a fierce competitor, and I loved how his coach was his older brother, forming a cool family tandem.

Anthony Kim is a rising superstar in the golf world, who was 11 years old when Tiger Woods first started making an impact in golf.  What is striking is Kim’s quote about how Woods inspired him, and how as a kid he pictured himself in Woods’ shoes. 

I think a lot can be said for having Asian or Asian American images and role models in mass media.  What is damaging is when Asians or AA’s have a dearth of positive AA images to look up to, and end up idolizing White or Black icons to the point where these AA youth start internalizing certain things or behaviors that can be damaging or self hating. We already have too many Whitewashed Asians or those who try to “act Black” (whatever that means).  Having a few more Michael Chang’s, Anthony Kim’s, John Cho’s, Justin Lin’s, even more Yao Ming’s, Ichiro’s, and Yi Jian Lian’s, etc is a nice change from what it was like when I was growing up where it was basically Michael Chang and Yo-Yo Ma, amidst a bunch of Long Duck Dongs and evil or negative stereotypes.

May

31

2008

(13) Comments

All Star Asian Athletes

04:36PM by Hoc

Those that know me personally know that I’m a pretty big sports fan, with baseball being my favorite sport. I used to hate baseball up until a few years ago before I learned the nuisances of it. You can say that for just about any sport or anything for that matter, but I really like how, over the course of a 162-game season, you can quantifiablely tell where you stack up relative to your peers. Within those 162 games there will be ups and downs but they always seem to balance out by years end. So from year to year, with very little exception, your performance and your results will be the same. I find that to be a pretty good metaphor for life in general.

Perhaps another reason why I enjoy baseball is because per capita, it has more Asian athletes than any other sports. In general, there’s not a lot of talk about Asian athletes, well because, and let’s face it, there’s not a lot of superstar Asian athletes with national U.S. recognition. One can make the argument that because there aren’t many Asian athlete role models, there aren’t many kids who aspire to be athletes.

There’s plenty of other possible reasons that people have came up with, some base on reason other based on stereotypes that we’re not going to get into (though you can discuss in the comments if you want). Instead, I want to focus on the upcoming baseball All-Star game which I’ll probably be attending since it will be here in NYC at Yankee Stadium this year. New York is arguably the biggest stage for sports and the Yankees is the most successful franchise in all of sports. There’s going to be a great spotlight for potential stars to shine and it would be great if some of those stars were Asian. 

May

29

2008

(2) Comments

Chinese TV to fans: “70,000 dead and you wanna watch Kobe? What’s wrong with you?”

03:34PM by kevinlee

If you are Chinese and a basketball fan, chances are you already know the that CCTV, China’s state-run national television network, as well as many regional television stations, have suspended broadcasts of NBA playoff games. The cessation of broadcasts supposedly falls in line with the suspension of all entertainment-related television programs, excluding those dealing directly with the earthquakes that ravaged China earlier this month, leaving a death count of over 68,000 as of today. 

Except that…

Apr

2

2008

(16) Comments

Kaba Modern, America’s 2nd Best Dance Crew

08:00AM by Alvin Lin

Here is a follow-up to the Jabbawockeez clips from last week, about the nation’s equally beloved Asian American group ‘Kaba Modern’!  Their ridiculously synchronized and coordinated dance movements, and humorous/goofy storylines, were crowd pleasers throughout the season.  This amazing college dance crew originated from the Filipino student organization at UC-Irvine, and is currently made up of Asian Americans from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds.  The students-turned-stars on America’s Best Dance Crew were: Tony Tran, 20; Yuri Tag, 22; Mike Song, 21; Jia Huang, 24; Cindy Minowa, 20; and Lawrence Kao, 22.  In addition to their exposure from this show, they were the Silver Medalists at least year’s Hip Hop Internationals.  Like the ‘Jabbawockeez’, ‘Kaba Modern’s presence on the show was ground-breaking for many Asian Americans, who got to see Asian Americans who can dance, be creative and stylish, and also have warm, funny, and interesting personalities.  I also think Yuri Tag built a nation-wide following from the show!

I felt a little cheated out of not seeing a ‘Kaba Modern’ vs Jabbawockeez finale, which I had been looking to since the beginning of the show, however there is nothing to feel bad about with their 3rd place finish.  One very interesting storyline is how these dancers broke out from their parent’s expectations.  Let’s hope they inspire more AA youth into pursuing their dreams, especially in the arts and entertainment:

[And despite making it onto a big TV show, it hasn’t been easy winning their parents’ approval. Nearly all the members said they come from traditional Asian families with stereotypical hopes for their children to be successful doctors or lawyers.  Tran’s parents want him to be a pharmacist. But they begrudgingly acknowledge that dancing is an important part of his life. Huang said her dad has been trying to keep her grounded. “My dad knows this is what I want to do, he just doesn’t want me to be disillusioned, so he tells me to remember that once the show is over, that’s it,” she said. Added fellow member Lawrence Kao: “My parents want me to pursue something more stable.” For some, the show is actually starting to bridge the parental gap. “Before, my mom said she actually thought hip-hop dancing was for gang members,” said Tag, laughing. “It didn’t help that I’d come home so late afer practice.” But after she watched the live auditions, Tag said her mother was amazed by the energy of the dancers and realized that hip-hop wasn’t a bad thing.]

Mar

28

2008

(33) Comments

Jabbawockeez Are America’s Best Dance Crew!!

12:15PM by Alvin Lin

The finale for MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew was last night, and surprise surprise, the Jabbawockeez took home the top prize, in a decision where a record 38 million people voted for the winner!!  They dominated the entire season with something new and creative every week, on top of their world class talent, style, and technique.  While accepting they were sure to give props to Status Quo, a deserving opponent, who they said they considered as family.  Judge comments for the Jabbawockeez included, ‘You guys are the sickest group I’ve seen in my life’...‘You all set the standard for the next 10 seasons’.  In the final episode, the judges mentioned how the Jabbawockeez have inspired a new culture, a hybrid genre of dance which mixes hip hop and theater.  In fact, here is a Youtube clip of an eight-year old imitating them, even the mask!  Additionally, this victory was even more emotional, considering they overcame the loss of one of their crew members (Gary).

America’s Best Dance Crew was ground-breaking in its representation of Asian Americans, featuring two amazing AA teams (Jabbawockeez and Kaba Modern) who proved, week after week, that Asian Americans not only can dance, but have style and personalities.  Far too often in media, Asian Americans as a group are stereotyped as stiff model minority types (engineers, scientists, geeks), or accented foreigners.  America got to see another side, letting people know Asian Americans are American too, and can have endearing personalities and artistic creativity and talent in dance.  Who knows, maybe this will also influence Asian American youth, into not being afraid of expressing themselves and pursuing dance or other creative pursuits.  Additionally, this show should be commended for showing stories of all the dance crews from different parts of the country, of all kinds of ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.  It showed how the fabric of America is a lot more multicultural than we are used to seeing.

Mar

24

2008

(5) Comments

Ichiro On Cover of ESPN The Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Issue

09:26PM by Alvin Lin

This month’s issue of ESPN The Magazine is its Special 10th Anniversary Issue, and it features Ichiro on the cover with the text: “For Making Singles Sexy and Taking Baseball Global, Ichiro is a Perfect 10”. Here is a link to a previous 8-page ESPN special feature on Ichiro. He is one of only a few people in all of sports who uses his first name on the back of his uniform, and why not? The man is simply amazing, a baseball living legend in Japan and in the United States. Here is a breakdown of some of his greatest feats since entering the league.