Sorry for the lack of updates - I was on holiday, but I'm back now!
Unfortunately, I'm going to rant.

1) Forbidden Kingdom: So this movie about the Monkey King, based on the story of Journey to the West, is seriously going ahead. I've posted about it before, but I'm just going to mention once again that it's a bit annoying for them to have to cast a non-Asian lead character in order to sell a legendary Chinese story... Why? Why must Hollywood take, exploit and mutilate everything good that Asia has to offer?

2) Dragonball: That's right, I am talking about the insanely huge manga/anime/franchise of Dragonball and now they're turning it into a movie. Now we all know it's Japanese, and that Goku is Japanese - but guess who they're getting to star in this movie? Justin Chatwin - from War of the Worlds. What were they thinking? You have no idea how annoyed I am. And I'm not the only one who's disconcerted, many forums have expressed a similar disdain or at best an irked feeling. I've been following this from the start, and the casting was clearly racially biased. They felt it was necessary to cast a non-Asian guy for the lead role, but they also felt it was necessary to cast an Asian girl for Goku's love interest, Chi-Chi (yes, I actually checked the casting call and they expressly stated Chi-Chi needed to be an Asian girl, but not Goku... I'm so tempted to call this racist). And now they have, so she will be played by Jamie Chung. I'm so disappointed in the director (James Wong) and the producer (Stephen Chow). I really looked up to these two, but the fact that they buckled under the pressure of Twentieth Century Fox and did not stick to their guns - it's just disappointing. Once again, I ask, "Why must Hollywood take, exploit and mutilate everything good that Asia has to offer?"

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I once wrote an essay on a term I coined, called "Sacism" (pronounce say-sizm). Sacism is a concept that derives its name from sexism and racism. In short, the notion of sacism represents factors that are both sexist and racist at the same time. We do not live in a world that is purely black and white. Sexism and racism are not mutually exclusive. People, ideas and concepts can be sexist and racist to a particular sex of a particular race - and that is exactly what Sacism is. Examples of sacism in media include the ignoring or asexualisation of Asian men, or the exoticising and sexual objectification of Asian women (that if done to a non-Asian woman would be considered sexist). But this concept is not limited to the representation of Asians. The angry Black woman is another example.

The reason why I bring up this term is that I need a new word to explain the problem with media representation. It is sacist towards Asian men. Master Roshi is going to be played by Chow Yun Fat. Hollywood suggests it's okay for an Asian male to play the old stereotyped kung fu master, but it's not okay for him to play a lead role, even though the role was designed for an Asian male. This is not acceptable.

My question is, "What can we do to change things and make a difference?"

This article was sent to me a while ago, but I didn't get a chance to post it. I'll post it now since it relates to my previous post.

He beat Kevin Rudd: who is Albert Tse?

I must admit... I Googled him too... =P

Who else watched the big election?! I know I did (as sad as that sounds) - as I watched Kevin Rudd defeat former Prime Minister John Howard for leadership of our country. But that's old news - who else noticed that Kevin Rudd's son-in-law is Brisbane banker Albert Tse? I have to admit, he's a handsome 28 year old Asian man (even though it's ridiculously hard to find a picture of him online). Rudd's only daughter, Jessica has impeccable taste in men. Does anyone remember my other post on Al Gore's daughter marrying Bill Lee? Well, what can I say? Asian men are intelligent, educated, gentlemanly and hot - and apparently in demand by politician's daughters. Hell yeah!

In other news - my man Anh Do is in the finals for Dancing with the Stars! Woohoo! Get on your phones and vote for Anh! I know I will! Represent!

Being featured on Youtube:

Every time People Magazine comes out with its issue of Sexiest Men Alive, I become like a magnet. I'm drawn towards it with one hope in mind - that they didn't neglect the sexiness that is Asian masculinity. And this year, Will Yun Lee makes it into the top 15 list (ahead of Justin Timberlake, hell yeah)! You can check it out at the People website. Unfortunately, I really don't know very much about Will Yun Lee. I know he's in the new series, "Bionic Woman" and he's apparently very good at Taekwon-do.

Some other Asians got mentions, though I didn't go through it all. There's only so much man-candy I can handle before I have the urge to pull my hair out. In any case, check out this clip of my man, Masi Oka! He makes geeks cool!

Sexy Asian guys represent!

Is it just me, or do you guys notice Asians being well-represented in commercials for shipping/delivery companies?

Both of these commercials have been shown in Australia.

Fedex:

DHL:

More breakdance news (I'm behind as always):
Winner of 2007's Battle of the Year International goes to Korea's Extreme Crew and the winner of the Best Show goes to Japan's Turn Phrase Crew. The Battle of the Year is often referred to as the "World Cup" of breaking.
Check out the finals between Korea and Japan here:
Part 1
Part 2

This means that Korea has won the BOTY 4 times in the last 6 years. (And Japan's won Best Show 3 times in the last 5 years). CRAZY! Why are Asians so good at b-boying?

While we're on the topic of b-boying, Asian American Ronnie also won this year's Red Bull BC One. (After so many attempts, he finally got it!)

Just found this sweet animation being featured on the front page of YouTube. It's subtle and beautiful so check it out! Here is Living in the Dark by Thomas Leung.

Just a quick post about some Asian representation on television.

-The latest Mitsubishi Lancer commercial features a cool Asian guy lounging and thinking.
-ANZ has a commercial with an Asian guy and his wife. (I'm cheering for some rare good ol' normal representation!)
-Anh Do is still representing in Dancing With the Stars!
-Asian guy on the show Cold Case. (Didn't really pay attention, since I was watching House. A good show, but where are the Asians? Why are there so many medical dramas without Asian guys? It doesn't make sense!)

Also found this funny commercial on one of my favourite blogs.

Smooth with the ladies. Represent!

So John Woo is a legendary film director, critically-acclaimed for his gun-slinging heroic bloodshed films, which has arguably influenced almost every single gun fight in cinema today.
Chow Yun Fat is an on-screen icon, internationally popular with his action films. Though his latest Hollywood films haven't been so great, he is an amazing actor in his own right. Sure, they way he was portrayed in Pirates of the Caribbean was less than flattering, but he was certainly a scene stealer.

The cult classic, Hard Boiled was the last film they worked on together... and now they've come together again, to create the sequel - but the sequel is a video game?

That's right, it's not a film - it's a game called Stranglehold. They utilise the bullet-time effect popularised by John Woo films (and copied by oh so many other film-makers afterwards) and even have Chow Yun Fat's dubbing.

All I can say is, computer graphics sure have gotten good these days, that guy looks a lot like Chow Yun Fat.