The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
Here are some more links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents:
The following is a description of a unique project relating to immigrants in America that I hope you will find close to your heart both personally and professionally. This project offers a special opportunity for immigrants in the United States – New and old – to tell their story.
Our concept is to disseminate this information to as many immigrants as possible in search of the best material. Please help us convey this information to the Asian community living in the US and beyond: writers, educators, seniors, students, professors, colleagues and friends, community leaders and organizers as well as to community groups and organizations and to anyone who you believe can contribute to this project.
Yours sincerely,
Ricky Friesem (An award winning writer, screenwriter and filmmaker)
Lia Friesem (Journalist, writer, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker)
The Choosing America Project
America is a nation of immigrants. Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Greta Garbo, Martina Navratilova, Hans Bethe, Madeleine Albright, Gloria Estefan, Michael J. Fox ,Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carlos Santana, Sammy Sosa, Hakeem Olajuwon.
None of them was born in America. All chose America. Like you.
Whether you came from Germany, England, Italy or the Czech Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, or Cuba, whether you immigrated to America as a child, a young adult, or with your own children, whether it was your decision or your parents’, whether you immigrated in the 20’s, 50s’ the 80s’ or just yesterday, you must have one special story to tell. And we want to hear it!
We are looking for authentic dramatic anecdotes, short stories (1500-4000 words) that epitomize your experience as immigrants who CHOSE to live in America.
Think of something that has happened to you as an immigrant – We are looking for those special moments, encounters, surprises, experiences, disappointments, which vividly convey what it’s like to be an immigrant in America. The good, the bad, the sad, the miraculous, the joyful— every anecdote is welcome as long as it’s authentic and well told.
The goal of our project is to turn some of these stories into short films that will be shown in the movies and broadcast on TV. Send your story to: stories@choosingamerica.com
Casting Call for Multi-Racial, Blended Family For Reality/Documentary Television Show
Left/Right TV is a New York City-based production company currently seeking a blended family for a new reality television show. We are looking to find a ‘Brady Bunch’ style group; meaning kids from separate, previous marriages, now living in together as a whole new family but without the ‘Brady Bunch’ attitude!
We are particularly interested in racially diverse unions. African-American father with African-American children married to White mother with white children, or any combination of different races in one household). But this is not all that we are looking for: we are truly looking for real families dealing with real issues: step-sibling adjustments, financial stresses brought on from the current economy, distribution of labor and any other issues that come up in a modern American home.
We are looking for articulate, intelligent parents and children who live in suburban environments and live middle-to-upper-middle-class lives anywhere in the United States of America. We also would like to ideally find a family that has only lived this new and blended life for a year or less.
If you and your family are interested in being a part of this timely project – please get in touch by sending a letter describing your family as well as a recent photo of everyone to: castingfamiliesnyc@gmail.com. And please feel free to send this notice to anyone you think may be interested in being a part of this opportunity.
Please call Michael Sutton 212-695-1625 ext. 340 if you have any questions or advice on how to find a great family.
Pioneering Graphic Novel Collection Brings Together Top Comics Creators, Authors and Filmmakers to Tell Thrilling, Hilarious and Provocative Original Tales of Asian American Caped Crusaders and Masked Marvels
Imagine, if you will, a young man — quiet, unassuming, with black hair and thick glasses. He’s doing his best to fit in, in a world far away from the land of his birth. He knows he’s different, and that his differences make him alien, an outsider—but they also make him special. Yet he finds himself unable to reveal his true self, his hidden self, to the world…
For many Asian Americans, this chronicle is a familiar one, because many of us have lived it. But it also happens to be the tale of a mild-mannered reporter named Clark Kent — better known to the world as Superman. And the parallels between those stories help explain why Asian Americans have become such a driving force in the contemporary comics renaissance, as artists, writers — and fans.
But there’s one place where Asians are still underrepresented in comics: Between the four-color covers themselves. That’s why, in Secret Identities, Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma have brought together 66 top Asian American writers, artists and comics professionals to create 26 original stories centered around Asian American superheroes—stories set in a shadow history of our country, from the opening of the West to the election of the first minority president, and exploring ordinary Asian American life from a decidedly extraordinary perspective.
The anthology, from leading independent publisher The New Press, will be available in bookstores and comic book specialty retailers everywhere beginning April 15. A regularly updated website (secretidentities.org) and blog (secretidentitiesbook.blogspot.com) feature weekly video teasers and exclusive behind-the-scenes news, interviews and character art from the book.
“We wanted to use the conventions of the superhero comic book to expose the real face of the Asian American experience, usually hidden behind the mask of misperception and stereotype,” says Parry Shen, managing editor of the anthology.
“Our hope was to use this unique lens as a way to examine issues that all too often go overlooked or unspoken — things like the challenges faced by new immigrants, gender roles and race relations, and parental and peer pressure,” says Keith Chow, education and outreach editor, who is also developing a teacher’s guide to be used as a companion to the book.
“We also saw it as an opportunity to showcase some of the amazing talent present in our community, and unleash that talent to create the kinds of heroes we always wanted to be when we were kids,” says the book’s art director, Jerry Ma.
The book’s editors and contributors will be going on a nationwide tour in support of the anthology, currently planned to include stops in New York, NY; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Durham, NC; Austin, TX; Tacoma and Seattle, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Baltimore, MD; and San Diego, CA. Updated tour dates and details can be found on the Secret Identities website. Watch the official trailer:
Suggested reference: Le, C.N. . "Miscellaneous Links #8" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. <https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2009/03/miscellaneous-links-8/> ().
Short URL: https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/?p=1071
