Asian-American cultural tidbits

Just in time for the end of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Secret Asian Man by Tak Toyoshima is a nationally syndicated comic strip (one of the few, if not only, by an Asian-American), that often deals with racial issues in the U.S. I first saw it in the Mercury News. One book on my …

Cheap books

Recently I scored great deals on a few books. At Moe’s Books in Berkeley I bought: Symbols by Sandra Forty. $9.98 $6.00 Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture by Rosemary Gong. $14.95 $4.00 The Chinese in America: A Narrative History by Iris Chang. $29.95 $6.00 And then at Compass Books (owned by …

Beijing or Bust

On KCSM, I caught the last half hour of a fascinating documentary called Beijing or Bust. It follows six Chinese-Americans who move to Beijing to live and work, as they discuss their reactions to a rapidly changing China and their dual identities as Chinese and American. (I later found out that the filmmaker, Hao Wu, …

Craving hyphenated Chinese

At a new generation of Chinese restaurants in New York, you don’t have to worry about the food being Americanized. That’s because the Chinese food is via other countries, including Korea, India, Madagascar, Cuba, and Peru. One Chinese-Peruvian dish called lomo saltado — a stir fry of beef, onions and tomatoes seasoned with soy sauce …

Chinese Restaurants of the South

Ever since I read a New York Times article on Chinese-Americans in the Mississippi Delta, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of the Chinese-American experience away from the urban coasts. Looks like I’m not the only one: Berkeley artist Indigo Som has an ongoing project called the Chinese Restaurant Project. The latest exhibition is called …

9-year old African-American boy sings Chinese opera

Tyler Thompson doesn’t speak the language, but he sings it very well. Oakland: Boy, 9, a rising star in Chinese opera • San Francisco Chronicle Boy who sings in Chinese draws oohs, ahs • Oakland Tribune (link good until Feb. 20, 2005) (Chronicle link added on Febrary 16, 2006)