Cool X-Men 3 Clip - Sentinels!!!

Check out this clip from Hugh Jackman's appearance on the Jay Leno show. It's got a couple of cool things in it, if you're a fan of the comics. First, Wolvie and Colossus team up for the "Fastball Special" and then.....Sentinels!!!! Awesome!

Click on the "Leno Film Clip!"

Funny Easter Egg in Apocalypto Trailer

Apocalypto is the latest film to be directed by Mel Gibson, who also directed Braveheart and The Passion of Christ. I don't know much about this film, but I did hear that all the spoken language will be done in Mayan.

But there is a hilarious Easter Egg in the trailer that I just wanted to share. Now, I saw this trailer on the big screen in the movie theater but did not catch it. In fact, I think it's impossible to catch with the naked eye. You have to frame by frame it. About 3/4 of the way through the trailer, right after they show pregnant woman and when it starts to show a bunch of scenes in quick edits, try to freeze frame by frame and you'll see a hilarious 1 frame Easter Egg.

Apocalypto Trailer

New Lake House Movie Poster

I like it!

TV Update

The SopranosEpisode 72 - "Luxury Lounge"

This show gets better week to week. The hired thugs from Italy whack Rusty and return home with nice parting gifts. Chris falls off the wagon and returns to his coke and ho days while trying to schmooze Sir Ben Kingsley into starring in his horror-gangster movie. And there's usually one Artie central episode each season and this one was it. His restaurant is not doing well. People are tired of his chats, his menu is tired, and a hot new Italian place just opened up to rave reviews. It was good to see him and Benny go at it. First Benny gets a beating at his own house and then after promising Tony that he won't kill Artie, just shoves Artie's arm into a boiling sauce pot instead.

And the best scene of them all? Chris and Murmur punching out Lauren Bacall just to get her gift bag. Classic!

Best line of the night:

Chris - "He's from TV. Nash Bridges, Hooperman, Law & Order - The SUV"

The Amazing RaceAw, Fran and Barry are out! But they did really well and I give them a lot of credit. No bickering, no backstabbing, etc. Just strong teamwork and ability. And the hippies pick up a hitchhiker on the way to the Oman airport, despite being in last place. That's so them.

I really have no idea why MoJo hates the Hippies so much. It's like that thing where so called "normal" people dislike anything different from them. High school all over again! The "cool" crowd alienating the other folks who don't fit their mold just because. I hope the Hippies get the Yield first and Yield MoJo. But gotta say, Mo is looking pretty good! But what is up with those short speedos they make the guys wear?

Canadian School Punishes for Eating like a Filipino

This is just so stupid. A young Filipino boy in Montreal was punished at school for eating in the customary Filipino style of pushing one's food with a fork onto a spoon and then using the spoon to put the food in the mouth.

The lunch monitor who punished him told his mother "If your son is eats like a pig he has to go to another table because this is the way we do it" and the principal of the school even told the mother "Madame, you are in Canada. Here in Canada you should eat the way Canadians eat."

Geez, it's not like he was using his hands or anything. He's actually using utensils! WTF!

Ignorance. Gotta hate it.

Read about ignorant Canadiens here

UH Men's Volleyball still alive?

I heard from a pretty reliable source that the UH Men's Volleyball team will get the at-large invite to the Final Four as long as there are no surprises and UC-Irvine wins the MPSF Tournament. If any other team besides Irvine wins, then of course Irvine is in as the at-large bid.

I still find this hard to believe as the Bows didn't even reach the semis, so we'll see if this comes true or not.

Kim Yun Jin for Red Cross

Actress Kim Yun Jin from Lost is the model for a new Red Cross print ad. I think it's great for an Asian American actress to get such national attention and recognition and hopefully this will lead to more mainstream acceptance and racially neutral character parts in the future. I guess Lucy Liu would be the prototype in this type of situation? She's been the only Asian American actress that I can think of who's played parts that had nothing to do with her race.

But I'll be a 100 times happier when an Asian American male makes it as big. We've been bogged down too long under the legacy of Charlie Chan, Long Duk Dong, Short Round, and Data. Don't get me wrong, despite the stereotyping I thought Long Duk Dong, Short Round, and Data were great characters. But it's time for Asian American men to branch out and not play nerds or martial artists. My choice to lead the pack? Sung Kang from A Better Tomorrow, The Motel, and the upcoming Fast and the Furious 3. The man's got charisma. Okay, enough of the man love for today.

NFL Updates

Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams has been suspended yet again, this time for the entire 2006 NFL season due to his 4th violation of the league substance abuse policy. Jeez, what a loser. And such a waste too. He was a budding superstar coming out of college and he had the rare combination of power, speed, and good hands. Even as recent as late last year, he was pulling out 100 yard games! Too bad he can't lay off the ganja!

And Green Bay QB Brett Favre has decided to come back for one more tortuous year. Why? I was never a big fan of Fav-ray, but always respected his passion for the game and will to win. But I always felt that he got a free pass from the media and commentators. They would always try to make excuses for the terrible passes he's been making of late. "Only Brett Favre would even attempt to make that pass!" Really? Uh, maybe because it's a stupid pass? Anyway, after going 4-12 last year and not making any improvements to their team, it's a wonder why he would come back with no realistic chance to make the playoffs.

Waipahu Plantation Village Korea House Clean Up

KAC-Hawaii had a clean up project of the Korea House at the Waipahu Plantation Village this past weekend. Luckily, the tree in the backyard that dropped tons of leaves last year was bare this time so the lawn didn't require much work. We just did some basic yard cleanup, trimmed the trees of their dead branches, and weeded the garden boxes. The garden boxes are also bare so our next project will be to plant some vegetables in them. Perhaps stuff like chili peppers, herbs, etc.KAC-Hawaii's next community service event will be assisting in the Korean War Memorial Service on June 25th at Punchbowl Cemetary. Contact me if you're interested in helping out!

The Lake House

The Lake House is a romantic movie that reunites Speed co-stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. But the reason why I'm excited to see this film is because it's a remake of a popular Korean movie called Il Mare starring Jeon Ji Hyeon and Lee Jeong Jae. There are a number of Korean films being remade by Hollywood but this is the first to come out and with the A-list cast and summer release date (6/15/06), it's coming with some pretty high expectations.

The premise of the film is that a man and woman live in the same house on the lake, but two years apart. Of course, I haven't seen the American version but in the original, the man is an architect who built the house and then moves out. A woman lives in the house two years later but as she moves out, she leaves a note for the next resident in the mailbox. But it's the man who finds the note, even thought he's two years in her past. They realize that they are living in the same reality, just 2 years apart and are able to communicate through that special mailbox. Eventually, they find a connection and fall in love.

It may sound a bit weird, but it's a really sweet story. I wonder what changes they're going to make in the Hollywood version. I've already heard that they changed the occupations of the two leads. Oh well, we'll wait and see.

But I gotta say that the Lake House trailer looks a bit cheesy and Sandra Bullock doesn't sound to enthusiastic in her voice over. Hopefully the film ends up being okay.

See the Lake House trailer here

Short Miniskirts in Korea!

According to this Chosun Ilbo article, miniskirts are getting shorter in Korea. There's even some speculation that it's related to the economy. "As the economy slips deeper into recession, miniskirts become increasingly popular, some say", the article states. Well I say that miniskirts have always been popular! ^_^

Actually, the last two times I went to Korea I did notice that young girls were wearing a lot of miniskirts, even when it was like 40 degrees out! Especially in the trendy areas of Apgujeong and Cheongdam. Hey, I'm not complaining!

Miniskirts!

More Asians than Whites at UC Schools

Wow, this is surprising and at the same time, it was just a matter of time. The article below states that this will be the first year where Asians outnumber all the other races, including whites in the incoming class.

I think when I was going to school at UC-Berkeley, there were about 35% whites and about 30% Asians. Well, a lot of the Asians were white on the inside, but that's another story.

If you think about it, this is pretty amazing considering Asians make up about only 12% of California's population.

Asians in UC Schools

Michelle Wie to make $5 million on Korea trip?

According to this Chosun Ilbo article, Michelle Wie is scheduled to earn about $5 million during her 10 day trip to Korea. She will earn $700,000 just for appearing in a tournament and the rest will come from endorsement contracts. Wow!

Michelle Wile Big Bucks Article

TV Show Update

The Sopranos
Episode 71 - "Live Free or Die"

The cat's out of the bag now and everyone has quickly found out that Vito is gay. Tony's compassionate side prevents him from automatically ordering Vito's whacking because Vito's one of his best earners plus he feels that men shouldn't be judged based on their sexuality. As Tony says, "They got pillow biters in the Special Forces". But once Sil advises that the men may revolt and Tony may not be getting his proper kick ups, Tony will have to reconsider. In the meantime, Vito is on the run and ends up in a quaint New Hampshire town after his car breaks down. It appears that this town is full of people playing on Vito's team.

Meanwhile, Carmela is upset at Tony for not pressuring the Building Inspector to okay her spec house and she discovers that all of the materials for the house have disappeared. It doesn't help that she sees Angie Bumpiensero (Big Pussy's widow) doing very well in her body shop business and that she may also be involved in the shady side of the biz. Carmela has always been one to find things to do with her time and it makes her jealous to see Angie so busy and successful.

As always, the writing for this show is excellent and there were a few lines which I thought were outright hilarious:

Christopher, explaining to Tony why he doesn't think his friend Mohammed is a terrorist: "Mohammed and his girlfriend have a dog...a springer spaniel or something"

Christopher and guy talking about Vito's gayness:

Guy - "Maybe it's a mid life crisis?"
Christopher - "Sucking a c--k?"

Tony talking about Vito: "Vito was always a come from behind guy"

Can't wait till next ep.

The Amazing Race
The 5 remaining teams departed from Greece and headed for Oman. Eric and Jeremy have finished first several times now and are started to get arrogant. They also completed the Fast Forward last leg, but it was all for nothing as the 5 groups got bunched up several times this leg. That's kind of stupid. The Fast Forward should really reward you.

Once they get to Oman, the Detour is surprisingly two very easy tasks. Either lift a camel onto a truck or look for a message box in a watchtower. All 5 teams complete the Detour very easily. But it's the Roadblock that is the killer. For the hippies anyway. BJ and Tyler are the first to arrive at the Roadblock where you have to dig up sand dunes to find an undergroung oven with cooked lamb underneath. But every other team past them at this point and they were the last to arrive. Luckily, it was a non-elimination pit stop and they are still in the race. But they were stripped of all their money and possessions.

I usually don't like the "old" couple in the Amazing Race but Fran and Barry are just incredible. They never fight with each other and are gung ho about all the challenges. For a team that age to finish first at this stage in the race is pretty damn impressive. Next stop: Austraila!

Korean Singer Bi (Rain) in Time Magazine Top 100 Most Influential?

Time Magazine is taking a poll of the Top 100 Influential People of 2006 and Korean pop singer and actor Bi (aka Rain) is in the running!

More specifically, they are taking a poll in 5 different categories with 10 choices in each:

Heroes and Icons
Leaders and Revolutionaries
Builders and Titans
Artists and Entertainers
Scientists and Thinkers

Bi is obviously in the Artists and Entertainers category. The other finalists are Ang Lee, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Zhang Ziyi, Kanye West, Daddy Yankee, Jon Stewart, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and JK Rowling.

As of today, Bi was in 3rd with 14%. Ang Lee had 42%, and Clint Eastwood had 22%. After that, there is a big dropoff to Daddy Yankee at 6%.

Amazing that Bi is even on this list, if you ask me. But then again, I'm not a 14 year old girl.

P.S. I can't believe that I'm actually posting a pic of this guy on my blog but I've always thought that visuals help a story. I at least tried to pick the picture with the most taste. About 80% of his pictures are apparently with his shirt off and sweaty.

Time Magazine Top 100 Poll

Titanic 2?

Check out this funny (well, it's funny if you're bored at work but otherwise not really) trailer for Titanic 2: The Surface. It's about Jack Dawson and him being frozen in a block like Han Solo in Empire and then being resurfaced in present world.

The trailer incorporates footage from Romeo and Juliet, Catch Me If You Can, Basketball Diaries, Con Air, Shawshank Redemption, Hulk, and a few others I think.

I like the ending part with the "dance" version of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On playing.

Titanic 2 Trailer

I am getting old!

After taking taekwondo for a few years when I was a kid, I got interested in taking martial arts again so I decided to start taking hapkido 2 months ago. Hapkido gives me a good workout but I wanted to extend myself so I started to take taekwondo as well. I go to hapkido 3 times a week for 1 hour each class and the taekwondo class is also for an hour right before the hapkido class.

So yesterday was my first go at taekwondo and I was doing pretty well when about 3/4 of the way through the class, we were doing pushing axe kicks and I felt a pop in my left hamstring. Not good. It's weird because by that time, I should have been fairly loose, limber, warmed up, etc. and a hamstring pull shouldn't have happened. But I guess I just tried to push my leg up too far and too fast and injured my hammie. I've actually pulled my left hamstring twice before so it's a recurring thing with that leg. Once I did just while stretching out before a gym workout. I was doing split stretches and just felt it "pop".

This injury will most likely keep me out of action at least for a few weeks and that totally bites. I hate missing class, not to mention that it hurts even when I walk right now. I even feel pain in my hip, which is weird. Such a bummer.

Oh well. Just goes to show that I'm getting old and what my spirit is willing to do, the body cannot follow.

HD DVD Player available

Best Buy has an HD DVD Player available for $500. Personally, I'll wait this one out because with both HD DVD and Bluray fighting to become the dominant HD provider, we're looking at another VHS v. Betamax challenge.
Toshiba HD DVD Player

And why are people buying this HD DVD player when there's only like 6 movies you can play on it so far?
HD DVD Movies

Dispute over Dokdo Island continues

Japan reignited fires concerning the dispute over ownership of Dokdo Island yesterday when they announced plans to dispatch a research ship to the island to conduct a hydrographical survey.

Chosun Ilbo Article

Dokdo Island (Takeshima in Japanese) has been always been a hot territorial issue between Japan and Korea for the last century. Dokdo consists of two tiny rock islets about 90km east of Korea's Ullung Islands and 157km northwest of Japan's Oki Island.

Dispute over Dokdo Island started when a Japanese fisherman named Yozaburo Nakai asked the Japanese government for permission to fish and hunt sea lions off the shores of Dokdo Island. This led to Dokdo's incorporation into Japanese territory which became official when Japan's annexation of Korea occurred in 1910.

However, with Japan's defeat in World War II, they were forced to return all conquered territory to Korea and in 1951, they signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty which spelled out what lands were to be returned to Korea. Dokdo was not specifically listed in that Treaty, but nearby Ullung Island was. Dokdo has always been understood to fall under the same territory of Ullung so its inclusion was implied. Also, the San Franciso Treaty only named the 3 major islands to be returned to Korea, and did not name the 3,000 other small islands to be included, due to the high number. Dokdo was understood to be a part of that deal.

Others claim that the reason why Dokdo was not specifically included in that Treaty is because the US knew what a hotly disputed land Dokdo was and didn't want the dispute over it to hold up signing of the Treaty.

However, maps dating all the way back to 512 AD in the Shilla Dynasty of Korea show Dokdo as Korean territory and even many Japanese maps show this to be true as well. All historical documents show Dokdo as Korean land and in 1697, Japan even issued a letter banning Japanese fisherman from going to Dokdo and acknowledged Dokdo as Korean.

Now, this dispute has been more or less dormant for the last 40 years with Korea running the island with little trouble until Japanese Ambassador Toshiyuki Takano reignited the feud in 2005 when he announced Dokdo as Japanese and even proclaimed February 22 as "Takeshima Day". Tensions have been heightened ever since as the Japanese governmnet included Dokdo in their textbooks and Koreans protested radically, even chopping off their fingers as a symbol of their patriotism.

With Japan's action yesterday regarding the research vessel, it seems that they are intent on pushing this event to the forefront again and most likely are seeking to take this issue to the International Court of Justice.

It should be a very interesting time from today forward. Japan and Korea have always had a touchy relationship and now with Korea's patriotism at an all time high due to their interaction with Japan at the World Baseball Classic (Ichiro Suzuki's comments, playing each other 3 times in 2 weeks), the upcoming World Cup, and now this, one would hope that things will play out peacefully and diplomatically.

Dokdo neun uli ddang!

The Shows I Watch

I only watch 3 shows on American TV nowadays. The Sopranos, Lost, and The Amazing Race.

The Sopranos
The big ole strong Tony is finally back after all of those Kevin Finnerty episodes while he was in a coma. And it looks like he's gonna want to crack a few skulls. The way he took out his new driver totally reminded me of that Friends episode where Monica hired Joey as a waiter just so that she could fire him and flex her power. And I wonder what's gonna become of Vito? They sure have spent a lot of time on him this year and really exploring his gay side. My feeling is he's gonna get whacked but it'll be early and another main character will be the "main character whack" for this season later on.

And I thought that whole Johnny Sack wedding thing was done well. We'll see if his crying leads to any consequences down the road. Even his main man Phil Leotardo seemed to lose all respect for him. Will Johnny Sack be the big time whack this season?

LOST
I've given up hoping for answers to the island's mysteries. But that's not saying that I've given up on the show. LOST is still a great character drama and I shall from now on watch it as such. If they happen to throw in a golden nugget here and there about the island, it'll be gravy.

This past episode, we learn of how Rose and Bernard meet and also discover that the island has somehow healed Rose of her cancer. The island seems to have the ability to make people's wishes come true. Locke being able to walk, Sun getting pregnant, Charlie finding his guitar, etc. No wonder Rose didn't want to leave the island.

And Michael's back! I was wondering when they were gonna bring him back. It looks like that he's gonna convince everyone that The Others are not to be feared and initiate an attack on them. Why do I think that this will be a bad idea?

The Amazing Race
Finally caught up to this show after missing the last 3 weeks. Unfortunately, I learned that cutie Desiree has been eliminated along with her mom.

I'm continually amazed by Fran and Barry. It's not too often that the "old couple" lasts this long, but they're doing great. Fran even did that bungee jump with little hesitation. Awesome!

But I'm rooting for either Ray and Yolanda (they seem tough and work together well) or the Hippies, just because they're just about having a good time.

And Lake and Michelle are gone! But I'll miss their bickering. It made for good TV. And they weren't nearly as bad as Jonathan and Victoria a few seasons back. That was just painful to watch. Lake and Michelle were like Jon and Victoria "lite" and were tolerable.

I wonder which countries in Asia they hit this season? Previews for next ep show India. I wonder if they go to the Far East as well?

Comic Book Movie Updates

With the success of comic book character films recently, there are a lot of future comic book films in development. This summer, we can expect to see X-Men 3 (aka X-Men: The Last Stand) and Superman Returns.

I'm really anxious for X3 despite the departure of director Bryan Singer just because it was my favorite comic book growing up and thought the first 2 films were so well made. Check out these photos!


That's a shot of Magneto, Mystique, Pyro, and Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man! And man, does Rebecca Romijn's butt float or what?


Here's a shot of Beast (Kelsey Grammar) doing his thing. Great pic.

If you haven't already seen it, here's the trailer (Film opens 5/26/06): X3 Trailer


Also, there's Superman Returns coming out on 6/30/06. My hopes for this one are quite a bit lower because I never was a big DC Comics guy and the cast for this film is questionable. Newcomer Brandon Routh plays the Man of Steel and Kate Bosworth (bleah) plays Lois Lane. Kevin Spacey plays Lex Luthor but I have a feeling he's gonna ham this one up. But director Bryan Singer did make 2 fantastic X-Men films, so there's some hope there. Plus, it's got Kumar in it!

Superman Returns Teaser

Finally, I don't think this trailer for Ghost Rider has been officially released by the studio yet, but you can see it here on youtube. The trailer doesn't look that great and a lot of that can be due to the fact that the CGI stuff isn't done yet so they can't show the stuff with Ghost Rider in action, but the film does have a decent cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Eliot, Peter Fonda. Not too shabby. It's scheduled for a February 2007 release.

Ghost Rider Trailer

Michelle Wie Japanese commercial

Check out this Japanese commercial with Michelle Wie and Aya Ueto. Who's Aya Ueto? I have no idea, but I think she's an actress or singer. Looks like Michelle's already busy collecing the endorsement money!

Michelle Wie Japanese Commercial

What Korean girls look for

Korean women are apparently becoming more superficial nowadays, according to the attached article from the Chosun Ilbo. Looks like I better start hitting the gym harder before I go to Korea in the fall!

Chosun Ilbo article

Spring in Korea

Found this picture of blossoming cherry blossoms on Youido Road in Korea and thought it looked cool (man-talk for I thought it was pretty). Too bad we don't have seasonal changes here.

Thinnest Cell Phone

Samsung is gonna release this phone (pic on the left) in the US in May. It's the thinnest cell phone ever, about a 1/3" thick. Looks cool, but I still like my slider Samsung model (the silver one on the right).

"Lost" is so frustrating!

"Dude, that episode was, like, totally pointless"

I love watching "Lost" as much as the next guy, but when are they ever going to proceed with the plot? It seems like all they do is introduce new questions without ever closing up any storylines from the past eps. Viewers like me are getting frustrated and the writers better start giving us something to stay tuned.

Like this week's ep. Nothing happened! It seemed like the whole point of the ep was to establish a previous connection between Hurley and Libby. Big freakin' deal. What happened to Mike and Walt? What's the story behind Adam and Eve? What happened to Desmond and who's Kelvin? Why didn't Kate tell anyone about the make up the "Others" wear? Too many questions!

The one redeeming thing from the ep was Sawyer and his cutdowns. Had me rolling.

"I got me enough food here to open up a chain of mini-marts. You think Sayid needs a job?"

And then there's all of the stuff he called Hurley.

"Deep dish"
"Babar"
"Jabba"

That's the one thing I look forward to each week - Sawyer's smart ass remarks.

Real Life "Infernal Affairs"!

One of the most famous movies to come out of Hong Kong recently is "Infernal Affairs", the story of a cop going undercover as a gangster and a gangster infiltrating the police force while the 2 try to smoke the other out. Excellent film that was followed by both a prequel and a sequel. This movie is now being remade by Hollywood and being called "The Departed" starring Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Anyway.....apparently there was a real life "Infernal Affairs" going on in New York City. 2 retired NYPD were arrested yesterday for commiting 8 murders while being on the Mafia's payroll. Insane!

Mafia Cops Article

Competitive Short Track Racers!

Wow, who knew the Korean short track racers were so competitive? I guess since they're so much better than the rest of the world, they now have to worry about competition amongst themselves! A father of one of the athletes even slapped the coach and accused the coach of conspiring against his son! Nuts!

Short Track Article

A United Korea in the Olympics?

The 2 Koreas (South and North) are talking about possibly uniting their teams in future Olympics. I'm not sure about this. I'm not a Korean citizen so I don't have the same point of view on reunification as they might but personally, I would have to say that I am presently against this.

As an American, I see the North as a Communist dictatorship that does all it can to use nuclear scare tactics on the rest of the world while gladly accepting and sometimes demanding monetary and food donations. And where do all of those donations go? To the army? From what I read and hear, the general population is still living in poverty while the military is treated very well.

Maybe I am being ignorant here. Maybe someone more familiar with the issue can educate me on the South-North relations and what they are really like. I will more than welcome any education on the topic.

Until then, I would like to see the South field its own Olympic teams. Marching together during the ceremonies is tolerable though, I guess. And it's not even about the South having way better athletes (how many medals has the North won recently?). It's more of a political stance than anything.

Joongang Article

"Crash" Oscar Winner answers to Asians

Everyone knows that Crash won the Academy Award for Best Picture and I've told anyone who's asked my opinion (and even those who didn't) that I thought the film really didn't do the Asian characters any justice, thus lowering my opinion of the film. All the characters except for the Asians are presented as complex and have depth, with most achieving some form of redemption at the end.

But not the Asians. The Asian woman is portrayed as a bad driver (shocker!) with a heavy accent. Her husband is a human slave trader. Basically, they are there to provide comic relief and to perpetuate stereotypes.

But now, the Chosun Ilbo (a Korean newspaper) asked writer/director Paul Haggis why he portrayed Asians that way. Here is his answer:

- A question for Korean audiences. In the movie, (even though it is very short scene) a Korean is depicted as a “slave trader” while the main characters are portrayed as complex people with both good and bad sides. Korean audiences may be a little saddened by that.

Yes, I was aware of that, and would have liked to have been more even-handed with my characters. But I did not set out to do something fair, I set out to tell a story about characters and then just followed them. Actually, in the director's cut of the film, which is coming out in April on DVD, there is a longer scene in the hospital between the two Korean characters where you see them more as a lovely, loving couple -- but yes, he still turns out to be selling slaves.

While that may seem harsh, what I truly wanted to do was condemn what many white (and black and Hispanic) Americans often think of Asians -- and so I referred to the Koreans (and the Cambodians and Thai refugees) as Chinese all the way through the film. In fact, the only person who corrects anyone is the Russian criminal who wants to sell the refugees. So I was using the Korean characters as symbols of American (and white and black) ignorance of Asian cultures -- and talking about the fact that, to Americans, only America exists. And that we have too little curiosity about those who are different from us -- everyone to the west of us becomes "Chinese".

I think this is actually true in most dominant cultures. I have never been to China , but I bet they do not always distinguish between Canadians, English, Australians or Americans. But in America, we have this disturbing lack of curiosity down to an art.

Okay....I can kind of buy what he's saying. Kind of. So he wants to "condemn what many white Americans often think of Asians". Fine. So where's the part where the Koreans get to speak up and fight back? Where's the redemption for the Korean characters? Didja happen to run out of ink on your typewriter when it came to that part, Paul Haggis?

While I'm not satisfied with his answer, I'm just glad someone asked the question.

And yeah....Crash is way overrated.

Here's a link to the entire interview: Chosun Ilbo Interview of Paul Haggis

Heroic Grace

The Honolulu Academy of Arts will host a Shaw Brothers retrospective titled "Heroic Grace: The Chinese Martial Arts Film II" from April 6 to April 16. They will be showing 10 classic Shaw Brothers films. Those of you who grew up watching Black Belt Theater on Friday nights like me will want to see these films on a big screen. I will definitely check some of these out, even though I own some on DVD. Awesome!

Heroic Grace

Korean American Coalition

I'm currently serving as Vice President of the Korean American Coalition - Hawaii Chapter. KAC is a community service organization whose purpose is to aid Korean Americans in getting involved in community affairs.

KAC-Hawaii

We are planning a social get together tentatively for Thursday, 4/13/06. Location TBD.

Our next community service event is cleanup of the Korean House at the Waipahu Plantation Village on Saturday, 4/22/06, at 8:00 AM.

If you are interested in participating, please feel free to contact me.

Auto Show

The First Hawaiian Bank Auto Show will be held from Thursday, 4/6/06, through Sunday, 4/9/06 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Auto Show

Cars are not really my thing so I probably won't be checking it out. But if you're into that kind of thing, check it out!

Hawaii International Film Festival - Spring Showcase

The HIFF Spring Showcase started on Friday, 3/31/06 and runs until Thursday, 4/6/06. The Spring Festival is a smaller showcase than the one in the Fall and only has 26 films.

Hawaii International Film Festival

The lineup this Spring isn't too impressive and I think I'm only going to watch the French action film District 13. It's produced by Luc Besson, who directed The Professional. Looks pretty cool. So far, the most popular films have been Tsotsi (Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film), Lady Vengeance (by the director of Old Boy), and Shopaholics (HK comedy).

I've also been volunteering at HIFF and met some pretty interesting people and had some interesting conversations covering all sorts of topics including K-dramas, the culture of Guyana, library microfiche, amongst other things.

My First Blog!

Yay! My first blog! I'm so excited............for now!

Knowing me, I'll be all enthusiastic about this and post a lot early on but eventually will get lazy and lose interest. Just like a 5 year old. Yep, that's me.....the forever man-child.

Well, let's have fun as long as it lasts!

Join me in the madness!