Archive for category Asian spotting

Norman Mineta added to National Portrait Gallery

Congratulations to former Congressman and cabinet secretary Norman Mineta, who is now part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.Mineta was a pioneer and part of the first wave of Asian Americans politicians to make an impact on our country.

“It is with great pride that we see Secretary Mineta’s remarkable story of leadership and service honored in the Portrait Gallery,” said Konrad Ng, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, in a press release. “He represents the key roles that Asian Pacific Americans have played in US culture, history and politics.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Jeremy Lin takes shot at NBA

The NBA draft is tonight and Harvard’s Jeremy Lin probably won’t be picked, but could catch on with a team as a free agent.

The NBA draft only has two rounds, and most prognosticators don’t believe Lin will be chosen. He played against inferior competition in the Ivy League, and some scouts say that while he’s a great passer for a point guard, his offensive skills may not be ready for the NBA.

In this video, he discusses his workout with the Warriors, and here are some highlights of his college career.

If he hooks up with a team, Lin would be a rare Asian American pro athlete, which is why he has a lot of fans in the Asian American community. Lin wasn’t offered a scholarship from a big-time college program when he graduated from high school, and stereotypes about Asian Americans not being good athletes may have played a role, which he also discusses in this video. But he’s proven the detractors wrong with a nice career at Harvard and could make it to the pros.

This post is also on Hyphen magazine’s blog.

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7-Foot Bhullar brothers have NBA prospects

Sim and Tanveer Bhullar are 7-foot Indian brothers who are emerging as two of the top high school basketball players in the country.

There are few Asians or Asian Americans playing major college sports and even fewer South Asians at such a high level. And unlike Jeremy Lin, the brothers have recruiters at big-time college basketball programs salivating at the prospect of having one or both siblings on their teams. While Lin certainly has the skills, the Bhullars’ size sets them apart and makes them tantalizing NBA prospects.

Sim, 17, is 7-4 and 285 pounds. Tanveer, 15, is 7-2 and 265 pounds. Both grew up in Canada and now attend The Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, near Pittsburgh. Their parents immigrated to Toronto from India and sent their sons to school in the United States to help them enhance their ball skills.

Wouldn’t it be cool if someday the Bhullar brothers and Lin were in the NBA together?

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Hawaii Five-0 features Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park

Daniel Dae Kim in Hawaii Five-0

Daniel Dae Kim moves from "Lost" to a role in the new "Hawaii Five-0."

The new “Hawaii Five-0,” with Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, will feature two of the most high-profile roles for Asian Americans on TV this fall. Read the rest of this entry »

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Goodwin Liu nomination moves forward

Goodwin Liu’s nomination to be a judge on the US Court Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has moved a step closer to fruition with the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to move it to the full-floor for debate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jake Shimabukuro thanks YouTube

Jake Shimabukuro

Jake Shimabukuro's career took off after a YouTube video of him went viral.

Shimabukuro been called the Hendrix of Ukulele (or for you 80s heavy metal fans, the  Yngwie of Ukulele, as former Hyphen Music Editor Todd Inoue described him). I sawShimabukuro play at Yoshi’s San Francisco on Monday night, and along with his mad ukulele skills, he had an engaging stage presence when telling the little back-stories to each song before performing it. Read the rest of this entry »

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John Cho discusses ‘Harold and Kumar,’ ‘Star Trek’ sequels

Flash Forward star John Cho says that a script for the third Harold and Kumar has been written and that it will be a holiday-themed movie that takes place a few years after the last film. The new Star Trek script is being written, Cho says, but he doesn’t know what the story is about. I can’t wait to see both of them.

This post is also on Hyphen magazine’s blog.

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Deborah Gibson in love scene with Asian guy

Debbie Gibson

Deborah Gibson and Vic Chao make out in 'Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.'

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus“: the title alone should have kept me away, but flipping through the channels to SyFy, my curiosity was piqued when I saw that it starred 80s teen sensation Debbie Gibson (who’s all grown up and goes by Deborah now). I started watching and lo and behold, before I knew it, her character and a fellow scientist played by Vic Chao were making eyes for each other and heading to the closet for some, shall we say, intense research. Read the rest of this entry »

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Edward Chen, Dolly Gee, Jacqueline Nguyen Nominated as Federal Judges

President Obama has nominated two Asian Americans to be federal judges in California. If confirmed, Edward Chen would be the first Asian American federal judge for the Northern District. Dolly Gee and Jacqueline Nguyen would be the first Asian American females judges for the Central District. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jerry Yang resigns as Yahoo CEO

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is resigning, according to the San Jose Mercury News and other sources. Yang has told Yahoo employees that he will stay on until a replacement is found. Read the rest of this entry »

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