next stop, american idol

we've got a basketball sensation, how about an asian american american idol for 2012, huh?

my family and i have watched american idol fanatically for as long as i can remember. we scoff at other singing shows, and yes, we even remained loyal during the shuffling of the judges. oh, simon cowell, how we miss your pissy face and tight v-necks.

this year brings a talented bunch, but there's only one soulful, bespectacled, korean american standout in the group, and that's 22 year old heejun han from flushing in queens, ny.

be still my heart because homeboy can sing. he left the judges with stunned faces and eyebrows raised (shall we bring up the low expectations conversation again? nah. we've had enough of that these past few weeks, haven't we?) in his pittsburgh audition with michael bolton's how am i supposed to live without you? and wowed them again with broken strings during the grueling and always comical group week in the hollywood round.

but there's something in addition to heejun's buttery, warm voice worth noting: he's funny as hell.

before crooning a single note, he had the judges smiling and laughing with his nervous and endearing arm wiggle, reminiscent of those flailing armed air dolls you see outside car dealerships and other businesses. outside the audition room, he told ryan seacrest his head was much smaller in person than it looked on television. he also tells ryan not to stand by him because the side-by-side comparison would be too much.

has he won you over yet? how about when he yells "hollywoooooooooooooooood" for 13 straight seconds the way "goooalllll" is yelled in soccer games, ending it with a big smile and a quick, "i'm coming!" need a little more? what about last night's final judgement episode announcing the top 24 who would go through to the live voting rounds; ryan asks heejun, "so you said you're sweating, heejun. what are you sweating?"

his answer? "mostly water". he made it through to the top 24.

it takes a lot to take the attention away from the frosted-tips, radiant smile, and tanned skin that is ryan seacrest, and heejun han does it every time he's on camera.

live voting shows start next wednesday, february 29th, 7 pm CT on fox. tune in to the talent and hilarity that is heejun han and make sure you vote. i'm sure jeremy lin wouldn't mind a little break from the limelight (or at least all the academic and social analysis articles). heejun han, let's give them something to talk about.

for more heejun hilarity:

and also check out jessica sanchez, another asian american ai season 11 powerhouse with a breathtaking version of celine dion's the prayer:

-melissa

so valentine's day is coming up

...must resist posting about jeremy lin (or whitney houston. yes, sad.)...

so instead, i'll write about the next big thing looming around the corner: february 14. the ladies over at disgrasian posted a vlog with romantic gift-giving tips that i thought i'd share here. though it's from 2009, i think the sentiments are still pertinent:

 

i've never been big on gifts on holidays; though i enjoy both giving and receiving gifts, i always find it an awkward dance given the implications behind gifts. if you are given something expensive, then you feel obligated to match it despite how you may really feel about the giver. if you are given something cheap, then you begin to doubt your relationship. and worst of all, if you are given something lame, you are forced to put a grin on your face and list lies as to why you have been in such a need for bedazzled oven mitts, for a $20 giftcard to walgreens, or for an iDog robot pet that neither shits or cuddles with you.

let's not lie, i want all three. but i'd rather avoid the confusion and awkwardness that comes with giving gifts and usually agree to just sharing a good meal and if i'm not too full, some extreme snuggling.

homemade gifts are always nice but if we're being completely honest here, i get really weirded out when people put too much effort into it, like once a guy handed me a box that was wrapped in white paper. on the paper were illustrations of our phone conversation from the night before and inside was a small painting of a peacock crying tears of blood.

it's a mighty fine line between homemade picture frame and bleeding peacock art, so proceed with caution.

have an awesome gift you know is going to get you some lovin' this week? leave it in the comments section so we can all crib your ideas and get laid. or even better---received a gift that trumps the crying peacock? let me know, i need a good laugh because someone didn't get me an iDog and now i have no one but myself to fake-lick my toes.

-melissa

let's talk about linsanity

so if you've been on facebook, twitter, espn, the ny times, colorlines, or just tuned into the last few knicks games, you've heard of new starting point guard and harvard graduate, #17 jeremy lin. you know he scored 25 points with 7 assists against the nj nets, and you know he racked up 28 points and 8 assists against the utah jazz. of course you do, my bad. 

but now that the initial buzz about this newcomer with his sick drives to the basket and shot-clock beating 3s has quieted a bit, the discussions have turned to linsanity off the court.

as a prominent asian american athlete, it is inevitable that race is going to be part of the story. a lot of people have asked: why does race always have to be brought up? 

well, for starters, there aren't many visible asian american nba players. colorlines says that lin is the first in over a decade. so give us this one, ok? let us celebrate our asian american brother. let us drink beer and cheer every time he adds points to the board, regardless if we live in new york or not. we're a tight-knit community and like phil yu from angry asian man tweeted: When I see @JLin7 play his ass off, I feel like a proud brother cheering from the bleachers 

that's how we feel when a fellow asian american does something awesome, like we're watching a family member go forth and wreck shop. 

because there hasn't been much precedent, we've jumped full force on the storm that is jeremy lin. a few people have asked why other asian nba players haven't received as much attention: yao ming (though i argue that we all love yao and i remember all the cutesy commercials back in the day), wang zhizhi, and yi jianlian, for example. there's a huge divide between asian (born in asia) and asian american (born in america). asian americans are forever trying to prove that we are american. we're american born, american raised, thus true americans despite what we may look like to others. so this is, i think, a big reason why the asian american community has fallen so hard for mr. lin: he's american like us and he plays ball real well. 

let us not forget the most glaring obvious reason as to why linsanity has come about other than his skills on the court---jeremy lin defies stereotypes placed upon the asian american body. how long have our men been seen as weak, emasculated, unathletic, playthings for women who just want their homework done? how many hollywood movies show asian american men as nerdy, awkward, sexless objects whose only real value is for comedic relief?

now, i don't know the guy, but i'm going to guess that after 53 points and 15 assists in the 80 combined minutes of his last two games, the man is getting some. 

so when all these negative portrayals or a previous absence of asian americans is obliterated by a 6'3 taiwanese american with a mean crossover, hell yeah we're going to talk about him and you betcha his race  will be part of it. we're proud and we want people to know that new kid? yeah, he's fucking asian american. that's right, asian american, so stop bowing at him and calling him an avenger of nerds, and no more underestimating how hard we asian americans can ball, okay?

this fight's personal

-melissa

The Importance of Black History Month

So today, as I was just starting off work and I login to Twitter, the first trending topic I see is #blackhistoryhoodfact. All I can think of is "Really??" I don't want to start off my morning punching somebody in the throat.

However, today marks the very first day of Black History Month!

Now, obviously I'm not black - well, I like to think that I am and many of my friends are convinced I am - but this month excites and energizes me. This is a month of celebration for the black community and an opportunity to bring awareness to the contributions and innovations this community has given to the world.

Now, some of you must be thinking, "Why the hell are you celebrating Black History Month?" As a woman of color, I think it's imperative to support other communities of color. Many of the civil rights movements that formed in the past were results of how the community wanted to take change into their own hands and bring to light the struggles they were facing. These movements were powerful because various communities of color came together and fought together. It didn't matter if you were black, Latino, Asian, these groups intersected because of a greater common cause. Without these fights, protests, marches, etc. we would not be living in a society that we are fortunate to be a part of now. Now, this isn't to say that everything is perfect - it is far from. Progress still needs to be made and fights still need to be fought. But we wouldn't have what we have today without the contributions, dedication, and fierceness of these activists.

So today, for the rest of this month, and hoping it continues, learn more about this history as well as your own community's history and take pride in the fact that you are who you are. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Happy Black History Month!

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

-Diane