Have you ever noticed that many East Asians and Southeast Asians hold up a peace sign when posing for casual photos? My first exposure to this was when I studied abroad in Hong Kong. Almost without fail, whenever my local peers posed for a photo, up went their fingers in a V-shape. I grew up…
So I’ve been following the Kogi taco truck around for the past few weeks. On Twitter. Kogi is the brainchild of Mark Manguera, whose fusion of Korean BBQ and the ubiquitous taco truck has created a Los Angeles food sensation. People keep talking about it – in class, at work, in my apartment, in the…
Diversity on television shows has been scarce for decades. Although many leading networks have been pressured to diversify, leading characters on scripted prime time shows still predominately consist of white, young and prosperous actors. Now, reality television programs are including a wider range of not only race and class, but of age and sexual orientation…
In the latest issue of Pacific Ties (pages 16-17), I wrote an article entitled “Balancing Culture and Conviction,” exploring the experiences of Asian American vegetarians and vegans. Because of space limitations in the print issue, I wasn’t able to include veg-friendly recipe and restaurant links. So, here in the limitless amount of space online, I…
I love the comics section of the LA Times, except for one thing: the dearth of cartoon heroes of color. I appreciate the inclusion of Jump Start, Frazz, and La Cucaracha, which acknowledge the presence of African Americans and Latino Americans in our society. However, the majority of human comic strip characters are white. And…
Being Asian has nothing to do with it. That’s the message that Kollaboration 9, a talent show that celebrates Asian American empowerment through the arts, wants to leave us. “I just want to be as good a musician I can possibly be, whether it’s an Asian American person watching me or any other person watching,”…