“Ching chong is an ethnic slur used to mock people of Chinese ancestry or other Asians who may look Chinese, and an onomatopoeia used to represent Chinese language speech patterns by those unfamiliar with them. Many public commentators on the recent usage of the term have deemed it derogatory, and referred to its derogatory usage in history.”

One of the couple slurs used for Chinese people…apparently it’s not considered one to quite a few people. One of the most notable events of the use of CC happened a while back with Rosie O’Donnell when she used it to emphasis how worldwide the View was…she didn’t know it was a racial slur and apologized afterwards, yet it was somewhat insincere:

“To say ‘ching chong’ to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it’s as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, ‘Really? I didn’t know that.’ I’m sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground. But I’m also gonna give you a fair warning that there’s a good chance I’ll do something like that again, probably in the next week, not on purpose. Only ’cause it’s how my brain works.”

Seriously, wtf. Jin responded back to this with a rap….okay, so it’s not really constructive to the cause or justified, but it’s damn hilarious!

A couple of other incidents:

-Shaq on Fox Sports Radio used CC when joking about Yao (he used in jest with no malice or prejudice and apologized).

-Dave Dameshek did a comedy parody of the Asian American Excellence Awards for the Adam Corolla Show and used CC to mimic the awards show (Adam Corolla also apologized later on).

…All these incidents seem to stem from the ignorance of the term, which I can only reply to with “Wow, really?”

I can somehow understand why people wouldn’t know the significance of CC though. I mean, it’s like how people mimic British accents, Carribean accents, ghetto talk, etc., but not really. People, if you don’t want to excite Chinese/Asian people the wrong way, don’t try to mimic the language with “Ching Chong”…you won’t be funny, you’ll look stupid, people will be turned off, and your sneakers/jackets/etc. will magically fall apart.

So how do you get started? Simply register an account, fill it out, and start searching! Searching is easy, type a topic or interest and then a zip code. What this will do is meetup.com will look for groups around the zip code you provided with similar topics/interests that you filled out. When you find a group(s) that you like join. When the group decides to hold an event, go to it and start making friends! I haven’t been to a meet yet, but I will definitely check one out in the near future. Sounds fun and is a great way to meet new people…especially if you just moved to a new area and want to socialize. What a great concept, finding groups with similar interests ONLINE and then meeting the group OFFLINE, lol. You should check out meetup.com if you are intriqued!

Maybe I will write up a review of my meetup outing when I goto one!

It’s definitely a nice way to kill some time!

Check out Pink Tentacle here.

After the first “quick glance”, I delved into the site and came across his biography:

“My name is William. I’m an Asian American man.

I’ve lived in New York City my entire life, and, up until the age of 30, I had absolutely no A-game. I wandered through life endlessly clinging pathetically to any woman that would give me the time of day. I had a few girlfriends during my first 29 years on the planet (4 to be exact), and about 20 or fewer dates. That’s less than 2 dates per year, over the course of my life. When I was about to turn 30, I had started asking my cousins back in Taiwan to introduce me to women with the intent of finding a wife there. I looked for jobs and apartments in Asia, and I was intent on moving there and spending the rest of my life there. I thought that Asian American women in the US didn’t want me because they all wanted to be with white guys, and I thought that all non-Asian American women didn’t want me because the only thing they know about Asian American men is that they’re nerdy, socially awkward, and sexual eunuchs, just as they’re always portrayed on TV, in movies and in all other forms of mainstream media…….”

I can’t help but feel for this guy. I’m Asian-American myself, and I know all the stereotypes that come with being of Asian descent on a first-hand account. It’s quite refreshing to see somebody breaking these barriers that have been so ingrained within our society. After fully reading his bio and listening to one of his podcast, I come to realize that BetterAsianMan.com is not about giving Asian men sleazy tactics to pick up girls. On the contrary, it’s about respecting and understanding them.

When you think about it, it’s much like the advice column in the newspaper, but more specialized for Asian-American males. It’s classy too…giving advice on improving Asian men culturally and improving their lifestyle (The podcast can be quite comedic as well). I think this site is doing something good despite what most will think. The author seems to be really into helping his fellow Asian brothers and doesn’t come off too egotistical. Kudos William!

Check out William’s site here.

Wu Ying is in her 70s and is the founder of the group. What made her want to start hip-hop dancing? According to Wu, she was influenced after watching a dance competition and was captivated by the looks and moves. Something she never seen before, she thought it would be great exercise and many agree with her…one of her crew members saying “It brings energy out of the elderly!”

And for those saying they’re a novelty…think again! These hip ladies have made many appearances on TV and even entered and won a couple competitions! They’ve got a huge following as well, drawing at least 1,000 women wishing to join the crew. All this is no surprise though, I mean comon, 50-70 year old women busting some moves…how cool is that!

Check out MSNBC video report on the Hip-Hop Grannies!

(All images by Adrienne Mong / NBC News)

Wang Chen has grew up with the sport. Hand picked by the government at the early age of 7 for one of the country’s sports developmental schools (six hours every day for the first three years, and practicing table tennis from seven to ten each night!), she went pro at age 11 and climbed up to rank 4 in the world of table tennis. She retired back in 1998 and emirated to the U.S. in 2000…but apparently, ping pong never really left her.

Pushed aside in the 1996 Olympics for being too young and then in the 2000 Olympics for being too old, Chen decided to hang up the paddle. She would later move to the U.S., sparking interest in the Chinese-American community and pretty soon several parents would be asking to give their kids private lessons. Her coaching career was creating quite a stir and she would soon be coaching people of all ages including Jerry Wartski, which would be highly influential in her re-emergence in the sport.

Wartski, a Polish jew, is a survivor of the Nazi death camps of World War II. After his camp was liberated, he became displaced to various persons camps and to past the time, guess what he did? He learned to play some ping pong. Later in his life he would live in New York and make a living in real estate where he ended up with a table tennis school on Manhattan’s west side. Wartski hires Chen to manage the school and even puts her name on it. Talk about a story (You couldn’t even make up a story like that lol)!

It would be Wartski that motivated her back into playing the sport. Being likely to join the Olympic team after becoming a citizen, the fire re-ignited within her to pick up the paddle for competitive play. After so many times missing out on the Olympics, I know she couldn’t possibly exist. The thought of playing for the gold in her hometown might have been another motivator as well!

Wang Chen, along with 3 others, will be representing the U.S. in table tennis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The odds are definitely against them as the Chinese women have won 17 of the past 18 world champions, and the men with 16. I wouldn’t cast out Wang Chen however, who’s been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and is hungry, motivated, and determined to do America and her hometown proud.

Wang Chen and Gao Jun made it up to round 2 for the bronze medal losing to South Korea…definitely a great effort, congratulations!

- Currently 7 years old, Peiyi is a first grader at a primary school which is associated with Peking University.

- Peiyi won a competition that allowed her to perform the anthem during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

- Peiyi has responded to this by saying that just having her voice used in the opening ceremony was an honor.

- Peiyi’s tutor describes her saying that “She doesn’t like to show off. She’s easygoing. She is cute and well-behaved, with a love for Peking opera.”

The whole lip syncing fiasco has gotten crazy over the internet with several articles discussing it. Peiyi said it herself however, that she was honored to have her voice in the opening ceremony. If Peiyi gave permission to China to use her voice, I don’t see that much of problem as a lot of people are making it out to be…don’t get me wrong, it’s shameful that China chose to replace a little girl due to her looks (although they say it was also due to stage presence, which is better reason), but it’s not that big of a deal. Peiyi’s talent is recognized and cannot be consealed, not even by China.

Some links about the lip sync controversy:
Yahoo News
BBC News
Chicago Tribune

(AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

Considered the first mass-produced eel drink in Japan (and possibly the world), the yellow colored drink contains extracts of the eel’s head and bones along with vitamins A, B1, B2, D, and E that are found in the fish as well.

Mmmm my preferred way of eel…..eaten! (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Interesting beverage, to say the least. I wonder if it’s carbonated? Although this drink seems kind of weird…I’ve seen some weirder things in Japan. So…don’t have time to chew down some eel? Drink it!

A) It allows more freedom.

B) It allows more individuality.

C) Is how most families are.

By going with the nuclear family model, there is definitely less hassle/”work”/being tied down. Ok, so that kind of sounds mean…your mom,dad,grandma,grandpa,etc. being a hassle. It’s understandable, however, if you think about how hectic things can get these days.

William felt this way as well. It wasn’t until he interviewed his mom and delved deeper into researching for a book he was writing, did he understood where his mom was coming from (his mom being an immigrant and follow Chinese traditions of filial piety). He started to appreciated his mom’s compassionate values in which she had followed when raising him.

So, is filial piety relevant among Chinese Americans? In my opinion, there’s probably a lot of Chinese Americans who take care of their parents…but I believe the majority of families follow the standard nuclear model. Another thing to ponder is, will it continue? As the new generations of Chinese Americans mature and have families, will they follow Chinese family traditions, or will they follow the typical Americans? I don’t want to discuss everything said in the article because it’s a great read, but I do want to say one more thing in the form of a quote from it:

Jackson Wong, an American-born attorney in his 50s who retired after striking it rich during the dot-com boom, bought a larger house so he could take care of his mother during her last years. Toward the end, when even his mother’s doctor advised placing her in an assisted care facility, Jackson, who is about as individualistic a curmudgeon as you will find, simply declared, “I’m Chinese. I’ll never put my mom away.”

…sorry and one more:

Perhaps all of us in America can tap into some of what is best in Chinese social philosophy.

Yes, perhaps we can grab America’s individuality/freedom and China’s respect for parents and elders. Maybe we can meld these two philosophies and form our own version of filial piety; Because if you think about it, is bringing your “parents into your family” the only way to take care of your family…to bring respect?

Check out William Lee’s full article here.

Me, not knowing how to speak Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese), I often find myself out of place whenever I am with relatives, or hanging out with Chinese friends. It’s not so much that I feel embarrassed, but more so that I feel like I’m not part of the “group”.

Growing up, I never went to Chinese school nor spoke Chinese in the house. Even with these reasons, it always felt like an uphill battle as to justifying why I couldn’t speak Chinese. When speaking with non-Chinese people about this, they too are “amazed” that I can’t speak my native language, especially since I don’t have an American name like John or Jason…but then again, to be technical, my native tongue isn’t Mandrin or Cantonese anyway since I was born in D.C. Why is it so weird that I do not know Chinese…isn’t it the same as an African-American not knowing their African language, an Italian-American not knowing Italian, etc.?

I’ll probably always feel this way when hanging out with my older relatives and chinese friends…it’s just the way it is sadly.

How do you all feel about this and does this apply to you?