Goofy Asians

Ok, so instead of criticizing China about putting Lin Miaoke on the stage to lip sync, I want to showcase some information I found around the web about the real voice behind the opening ceremony, Yang Peiyi:

- 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.”

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Right now it’s the hottest time of the year for Japan and a favorite past time is eating eels which many Japanese believe boost stamina during hot weather…..now people are drinking it! Now although I could eat some eel, I can’t really imagine drinking it…

(AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
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William Lee has written a great article on AARP discussing about the Chinese tradition of the extended family model and how Chinese Americans are following the nuclear model like most Americans. William believes the reason is that:

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.
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An article written by akrypti on 8asians.com sparked my interest on writing about a somewhat related topic which I’ve always been meaning to get to…Do you ever feel a bit embarrassed not knowing how to speak the language of your parents/grandparents/ancestors/etc.?

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”.
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Economic growth is slowing down (due to “low-cost” China and “high-tech” Japan…as well as the global credit crunch), but South Korea is placing its hope on Songdo to reinvigorate it.

Songdo is strategically located in the Incheon Free Enterprise Zone…so there will great financial incentives for businesses from overseas to relocate. Songdo could potential transform South Korea into a regional business hub for north-east Asia.
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Vietnamese food, in my opinion, is quite simple…yet, it’s one of my favorite types of cuisine. A great dish that I’ve had the pleasure to come across is the Vietnamese sandwich, otherwise called banh mi.
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The 4th of July is upon us once again and to highlights the day, no not a dazzling display of pyrotechnics, but a display of gastrointestinal fortitude.  That’s right, it almost went without a nod but the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is today at Coney Island.  You’ll be able to see it on ESPN at 12 noon (that’s eastern time) or maybe Sunfire will be there instead of the film festival ;).  What’s the big deal you say?  Well besides the ridiculous numbers of hot dogs eaten, last years winner ate 66 buns and dogs, there is heated rivalry this year.  For years a young Japanese man, Takeru Kobayashi, had the pleasure of being the undisputed champion.  At 128lbs., he is renowned around the world for his eating talents.  However, last year he was dethroned by a Californian who was able to put away just 3 more dogs.

This year event organizers have changed the time limit on the eating contest from 12 to 10 minutes, citing a pamphlet found from a 1916 contest.  Apparently this will keep the event more true to its origins.  Of course, this may not prove to be much of a factor as competitive eaters eat more in the first half of the contest than the last half.  We may still see a new record today.  At the very least, both competitors are feeling very good and when they sit down today you know it will be "On!"

Video highlights click here

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This years lineup of movies at the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) looks great, and has a hip vibe. Another way to describe the films at the NYAFF are they are under-appreciated. An article about the NYAFF on about.com had this to say about the festival:

“NYAFF tends to seek out films that on some level just don’t get the respect that they deserve. Many of the films showcased never get picked up by an American distributor (all the more reason to seek this festival out and take in as many films as you can). That’s because some of these films represent the extremes of Asian Extreme Cinema or they are a little rough around the edges or they simply lack marketable names. The failure of these films to get wider distribution is more a reflection of the lack of imagination on the part of American distributors than anything else. But all the NYAFF films share one very rare quality – bold innovation. You won’t find anything here that smacks of mere formula.”

As said in the paragraph above, a lot of these films go unnoticed by American distributors, giving you more reason if you are in the area to check the NYAFF out. Last year they presented 29 films, but this year it’s gotten even more bigger with 43! Some personal choices that I want to see are Sweet Rain (aka. Accuracy of Death) and L: Change the World…just because I liked Death Note, lol (To read more about the NYAFF and the brief description of some of the films, click here).

The festival last from June 20th to July 6th….good thing I’m going up to NYC (I’m on the bust right), maybe I can convince my friends to check this out.

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Some people really amaze me. Here’s the quick story…Ocean County Librarian Carly Shilling spotted a “ninja” from the library and reported it to the police. After a couple of minutes of the report, public schools were locked down. The police later found the elusive ninja:

Officers eventually located Christopher Begley, 18, of Jon Drive, at Russell O. Brackman Middle School wearing a black karate gi with a black belt and sneakers. He was standing with other costumed camp counselors, including a pirate and three-headed man. Begley said he was surprised to hear his outfit had created a commotion.

[...]

The man clad in all black moving stealthily along the wood line was merely a camp counselor on his way to a costume-theme orientation at a nearby school. But Shilling did not know that when she dialed the township Police Department to report a man running around with a sword.

Although I could understand where the lady who called in was coming from, I can’t help but to say…..really?

Besides, if it were a real ninja…locking down schools would be utterly worthless….we all know that, lol.

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Researcher Jodi Mindell of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia has conducted interesting researching regarding sleeping patterns among infants and toddlers from different countries in the world. According to the U.S. News and World Report article, questionnaires were filled out by “the parents of 28,287 infants and toddlers in the United States (4,505), the United Kingdom (800), Australia (1,073), New Zealand (1,081), Canada (501), Hong Kong (1,049), Korea (1,036), Taiwan (896), Thailand (988), Indonesia (967), Japan (872), China (7,505), India (3,892), Malaysia (997), the Philippines (1,034), and Singapore (1,001).”

What was found in the research was a significant difference between Asian countries and non-Asian countries.

“Mindell found significant variability in bedtimes, total sleep time and in other areas. For example, 15.1 percent of children in Canada shared a room, compared to 94.5 percent in Thailand. The percentage of parents who believed their child had a minor or severe sleep problem ranged from 11 percent in Thailand to 76 percent in China.”

Although the sample size is relatively small, it is still quite interesting however. This is one of the first studies to take a look at sleeping patterns in infants and toddlers across different cultures. The study also brings up some great questions, such as the impact it has, if any, of this huge different between the Asian and non-Asian countries.

Link to U.S. News and World Report article here.

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