AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Jeremy Lin, First Chinese American In The NBA
Name: Jeremy Lin
Age: 21
Occupation: Point/2-guard for the Golden State Warriors
Known for: Proving that Ivy Leaguers can ball and Asian men can jump; going undrafted but then impressing NBA teams with his performance for the Dallas Mavs’ summer league team; almost giving Jen and Diana a collective heart attack last week when he was rumored to be signing with the Fakers Lakers; signing with his hometown Golden State Warriors instead; becoming the first Chinese American player to join the NBA.
(The first Asian American player in NBA, as Lin was initially reported to be, was Wat Misaka, back when the NBA was known as the Basketball Association of America. Other Asian Americans who played in the NBA were Filipino American Raymond Townsend and Japanese American Rex Walters.)
[ESPN: Harvard's Lin signs with Warriors]
Thanks, Sam!
Filed under:
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Allen Lim, Team Radioshack’s Scientific Experiment
Name: Allen Lim, PhD
Age: 37
Hails from: Boulder, CO (via Los Angeles)
Occupation: Sports Physiologist, Team Radioshack’s Director of Sports Science
Known for: Living science. Though his boss and opus, Lance Armstrong, has been dealt more crashes than a test dummy in this Tour De France and is no longer a contender for an 8th yellow jersey, Team Radioshack Sports Director Allen Lim and his funky, futuristic scientific approach to cycling continue to become more high-profile (and, dare we say it, chic?) with each passing stage.
He is as well decorated with academic achievement as any Hardass Asian Parent could possibly ask for–a doctor, of course, with graduate and postgraduate degrees, and a penchant for buzzworthy leaps in sports technology. But Lim is no science robot; he does his thing with style and a smile. Known as a good-vibes, calming force, it’s no wonder that he was heavily pressed to leave Team Garmin last year and take his dream job with newly-formed Team Radioshack, quickly entered Armstrong’s inner circle, and somehow managed to look like a DJ when photographed with all of his nutty sports equipment (see above photo, from his official site). It’s been a long time since applied science has seemed so fun and necessary. And COOL.
Plus, Dr. Lim somehow makes energy food sound good. Don’t sushi rice cakes sound delicious, even without a speedsuit on?
Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Allen Lim, Team Radioshack’s Scientific Experiment
Filed under: Allen Lim PhD, Cool Dudes, Cycling, Doctors, Dr. Allen Lim, Dream Jobs, Good Vibes, Hardass Aisan Parents, Lance Armstrong, Legends, LiveStrong, PowerTap, Science Is Chic, Science is Fun, Science is Sexy, Sports Physiologists, Sports Science, Stage Win, Sushi Rice Cakes, TDF, Team Radioshack, Team Win, Tour De France, Yellow Jersey
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Olivia Munn Is The Internet’s Helen Of Troy
Theory: Olivia Munn is the internet’s Helen of Troy.
Like Helen, who was part-god, part-mortal, Olivia is mixed race!
Like Helen, Olivia’s beauty is renowned!
Like Helen, Olivia starts wars! (Of the blogging variety, which is maybe not as sexy as the hairy, sweaty, leather-clad, gladiator-besandaled and totally homoerotic variety, but still.)
Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Olivia Munn Is The Internet’s Helen Of Troy
Filed under: Attack of the Show, Blog Wars, Feminism, G4, Helen of Troy, Jon Stewart, Olivia Munn, Olivia Munn Jezebel, Olivia Munn Playboy, Olivia Munn The Daily Show, Sexism, The Daily Show's Woman Problem, The Dearth of Women in Comedy, Woman Problems, Women In Comedy
AMAZIANS OF THE WEEK! Tibetans The Fastest Evolved Humans EVAR
Okay, first the good news: Tibetans are superhuman!
Tibetan pilgrims–or hipsters?
About 3,000 years ago, when Tibetans split off from the Han Chinese, they developed a unique ability to survive in altitudes above 13,000 feet, where oxygen levels are 40% lower, a genetic change a recent study cites as the fastest ever observed in humans.
Now, for the bad: “For such a very strong change, a lot of people would have had to die simply due to the fact that they had the wrong version of a gene,” said Rasmus Nielsen, a professor of integrative biology at Berkeley who led the statistical analysis.
This may not come as a surprise to anyone nominally aware of Tibetan history, which has been marked by struggle and loss. On that note, today marks the 75th birthday of the Dalai Lama.
Happy birthday, Your Holiness!
[CNN: Tibetan DNA study reveals human evolution]
Filed under: Amazians, China, Dalai Lama 75th Birthday, Genetic Changes, Genetic Mutations, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Human Rights, Scientific Studies, The Dalai Lama, Tibet, Tibetans, Tibetans Fastest Evolved Humans
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Freddie Wong
Name: Freddie Wong
Age: 24
Hails from: LA (via Seattle)
Occupation: YouTube star, budding filmmaker, video enthusiast, Guitar Hero pro
Known for: Well, he actually says it best…
“Most people know me from my brief stint as a professional Guitar Hero/Rock Band player.
When I am not rocking faces with plastic, I am a filmmaker and musician in Los Angeles.”
Like 7,166,489 other people, we first encountered Wong when he released a sick video of himself rocking Rush’s “YYZ” on Guitar Hero’s expert level, and watched with nodding approval as he rose quick as crème fraîche to the top of the pro GH ranks.
But Wong’s real gifts, as highlighted by NewTeeVee’s Liz Shannon Miller this week, lie in Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Freddie Wong
Filed under: Angelenos, Bloggers, Film Geeks, Filmmakers, Freddie Wong, Guitar Hero, Musicians, OK Go, Rock Band, Rocking Faces, Rush, Seattle, So Nerdy It's Fantastic, YouTube, YouTube Sensations, YYZ
AMAZIANS OF THE WEEK! Indian Americans In It To Win It
We called 2009 The Year of Living Desi-rously because, everywhere we turned, South Asians seemed to be dominating the headlines, but 2010 is looking just as bright for the desiaspora, particularly in American politics.
Kamala Harris and Nikki Haley
Our pal Jesse Washington, who covers race and ethnicity for the AP, recently reported that 8 Indian Americans–a record number–are currently running for Congress or statewide office. To put this number in perspective, Washington points out that only 2 Indian Americans have been elected to Congress thus far, the first being Dalip Singh Saund in 1956, and the second being Bobby Jindal, who entered Congress in 2004. 2010’s candidasians, 7 of which are Democratic hopefuls–South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley is the exception–are as follows:
- Ami Bera in California’s 3rd district
- Raj Goyle in Kansas’ 4th district
- Nikki Haley for South Carolina governor
- Kamala Harris for California Attorney General
- Ravi Sangisetty in Louisiana’s 3rd district
- Reshma Saujani in New York’s 14th district
- Manan Trivedi in Pennsylvania’s 6th district
- Surya Yalamanchili in Ohio’s 2nd district
Continue reading AMAZIANS OF THE WEEK! Indian Americans In It To Win It
Filed under: Ami Bera, Asian-American Politicians, Bobby Jindal, Desis, Hardass Asian Parents' Wet Dreams, Indian American Politicians, Indian Americans Running for Office, Indian-Americans, Kamala Harris, Manan Trivedi, Nikki Haley, People Who Make Us Look Bad, Politasians, Raj Goyle, Ravi Sangisetty, Reshma Saujani, Surya Yalamanchili
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Konrad Ng
Normally, like most painfully-competitive-to-the-point-of-self-destruction Hardass Asians, we hate it when our friends become successful.
But by golly, we’ve got a soft spot for the fabulous Ng Family (is it because both husband and wife are the hotness?) and a longstanding admirasian for their work in academia, literature and community.
We are happy today to offer congratulasians to Konrad Ng, well-known as an Asian American scholar and professor, who has just been named as Acting Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. It’s an incredible and important honor–and one that we can’t tell our parents about because they’ll wonder why they paid for our education out of pocket just so we could study literature and writing, ultimately not even obtaining any PhDs to afford them the pleasure of telling their friends to refer to us as “Dr. Wang” or “Dr. Nguyen,” and certainly not being tapped by the effing SMITHSONIAN for a highly coveted position benefiting our almond-eyed peeps on a national level. SIGH.
Yeah, Konrad, we’re totally happy for you! Great freaking job!
[Smithsonian APA Program: Dr. Konrad Ng Joins As Acting Director Of APA Program]
Filed under: Asian-American Scholars, Awesome Jobs, Coveted Positions, Dr. Konrad Ng, Good Looks, Higher Learning, Konrad Ng, Professors, Really Smart People, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, The Smithsonian, University of Hawaii At Manoa Center For Chinese Studies
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK: R.I.P. John Delloro
It’s difficult to believe even as we write the words: Our friend John Delloro died suddenly on Saturday from a heart attack. He was 38.
Like our cohort Phil, we met John this year when he invited us to speak to his freshman Asian American Studies students at UCLA (God bless him, he was the first professor ever to cite us on a final exam). We instantly knew that John was a special person, pure soul and our brother from another mother–and we can only imagine the loss felt right now by those that have known and loved him longer. We only wish we’d had the pleasure.
John is certainly overdue for the honor of Amazian of the Week. In addition to his work in academia, he was a community leader, and a longstanding activist for labor unions and immigrant rights: he ran the Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, co-founded the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, sat on boards for the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance and PWC, and organized for the SEIU as well as a number of other union groups. Never without action, he defined the word “activist.” And hell, with all those jobs and achievements, he also defined “Amazian.” No Hardass Asian Parent would disagree with that.
Since he was a reader and supporter of this site, we think that John would have been happy to see himself honored as this week’s Amazian. He would have probably wanted us to write more jokes in the post, but right now we just can’t seem to muster any.
We hold his family and friends in our thoughts, and know that right now he’s smiling that warm smile somewhere up in the sky.
Filed under: AAPI Activists, Activists, Asian-American Studies, Community Leaders, Community Organizers, Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, John Delloro, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, Pilipino Workers Center fo Southern California, Professors, Sadness, SEIU, Students, UCLA, UCLA Professor John Delloro, Unfunny Stuff
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Laura Ling
Name: Laura Ling
Age: 33
Hails from: Los Angeles
Occupation: Journalist
Known for: Speaking up when no one else will. Those of us who weren’t already familiar with Ling’s work on Current TV’s Vanguard documentary series quickly got to know her last year when, while shooting a segment on human trafficking for the show, she (with shooter/producer Euna Lee) was arrested on the Chinese/North Korean border and detained by the North Korean government. Interested parties around the world bit their fingernails as few details emerged about the girls’ situation, while they were sentenced to twelve years in a labor camp and subsequently pardoned after a noisy media campaign helmed by sister Lisa and a visit to Kim Jong Il by envoy President Clinton.
To ensure her release, Ling’s agreement with the North Korean government included no public reports on North Korean human rights abuses. But she’s speaking out about both the issue and her captivity—with a book, through news outlets, and on the largest podium on the planet: Oprah.
She says:
In June, I stood before a North Korean judge and expressed my hope that the United States and North Korea might one day establish closer relations. That desire still exists.
I also promised that if released, I would never report on the issue of defectors or North Korean human rights abuses again. That is an oath I cannot keep as long as the people of North Korea remain silenced.
This chick’s got balls and a voice, and she’s not afraid to use them.
[Wikipedia: Laura Ling]
[CNN: Silence Is An Oath I Can't Keep]
[Amazon: Somewhere Inside - One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home]
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AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! The Asian Pacific American Legal Center And The Asian American Justice Center
Name: The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
Location: Los Angeles and D.C., respectively
Purpose: Civil rights groups
Known for: Joining the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in filing a lawsuit against Arizona’s SB 1070 Monday. The suit contends that the law will lead to racial profiling and is in violation of the 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendments. One of the plaintiffs this coalition is representing is 70 year-old Jim Shee, a U.S.-born citizen of Spanish and Chinese descent, who has already been stopped twice by Arizona law enforcement officials and asked to produce his papers, even before the law’s taken effect.
In light of AZ Governor Brewer accusing President Obama of “(dividing) people along racial lines for his personal political convenience” by opposing SB 1070, it’s telling that the exact opposite is happening. Because this law isn’t just a threat to a certain race, it’s a threat to the Constitution, our civil liberties, and the things that actually hold our society together. ACLU attorney Lucas Guttentag put it best when he described SB 1070 this way:
“This is the most extreme and dangerous of all the state and local laws purporting to deal with immigration issues. This law is shameful, un-American.“
[LA Times: Civil rights groups sue to stop Arizona's immigration law]
[The Asian Pacific American Legal Center]
[The Asian American Justice Center]
Filed under: Anti-Immigration, Arizona, Arizona Immigration Bill SB 1070, Arizona SB 1070, Asian American Justice Center, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Boycott Arizona, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Governor Jan Brewer, Governor Jan Brewer Is a Fucking Idiot, Hispanics, Illegal Immigration, Latinos, Racist Laws, SB 1070, Solidarity
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Diana Keng
Name: Diana Keng
Age: 18
Hails from: Silicon Valley
Occupation: High school senior, CEO
Known for: Doing business. WSJ just profiled Keng, a high school senior that presented her company, MyWeboo.com (a social networking management site that launched in March), to venture capitalists at last week’s Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. Keng shares MyWeboo with her 25-year-old brother, but it’s her third start-up company. Yeah, that’s right muthafuckaz! THIRD START-UP.
Did we forget to mention that Keng started her first company at age 15, but bailed because it wasn’t making enough money? And that despite her busy business schedule, she still does well in school and plays badminton? AND for goodness sake, her name is DIANA? By golly, Keng is my a Hardass Asian Parent’s WET DREAM. Perhaps that’s why her dad gave her $100k in business seed money and my dad still regrets paying for my English degree. *sigh*
[MyWeboo.com]
[via 8 Asians]
[WSJ: Report Card? How About That Annual Report]
Filed under: Amazians, Amazing Teens, Businesswomen, CEOs, Cupertino, Diana is Quite a Name, Diana Keng, English Degrees Are Useless, Hardass Asian Parents' Wet Dreams, High School, My Weboo, San Francisco, Seed Money, Silicon Valley, Social Network Integrasian, Social Networking, Startups, Teen Wonders, Websites, WSJ
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! The Month Of May (Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month)
You may or may not already know that May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. It’s a month meant to celebrate Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, all of us! We at DISGRASIAN like to look at this time as an opportunity to take a collective hating break, and to really take note of the wacky and diverse population of AAPIs in this country–AMAZIANS and DISGRASIANS alike! Love or hate, we’re all brothers and sisters.
And fairy godfathers.
Norman Mineta
Or beautiful family friends that you wish would adopt you away from your Hardass Asian Parents.
Tamlyn Tomita
Or crazy aunts that you wish would stop attending family parties. Continue reading AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! The Month Of May (Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month)
Filed under: Angry Asian Man, Asian Americans, Asian Americans United, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Bai Ling, Kal Penn, May, Norman Mineta, Phil Yu, President Barack Obama, Taking a Hating Break, Tamlyn Tomita, Tila Tequila, We Are Family
