May 30, 2011

What a great way to end a terrible month. Here it was, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and I spent most of May with a cold, a bout of laryngitis and general misery.

But I saved up energy for a couple of events, including a birthday bash for my pal Sherry Hu, the veteran reporter at KPIX-TV (“CBS 5”) who just retired after 34 years there. She and husband Karl Nichols chose to celebrate with about 60 friends at the Silver Dragon restaurant in Oakland.

And at our table, there were Art and Mary Fong. Sherry’s cousin, Bob Wong (a classmate of mine in junior high school) is married to Sheryl Fong, daughter of Art and Mary. Got it?

Across the table, Art waved at me, so I went over and learned that he’d seen me on various broadcasts of the Chinese New Year Parade and at community events. Now, finally, we were able to say hello.

Fong, who is 91, encouraged me to Google him. “Art Fong, HP,” he said. HP—as in Hewlett Packard. Long before it became known for its printers and computers, this company, beginning in the late Thirties, specialized in electronic test equipment. Art Fong would become one of the most valued engineers at what became one of the most inventive tech companies in war time. And, as he told me, “Back prior to 1940, it could not have been done.  It took WWII for them to let us do these things.”

What “things?” I did as I was told. I Googled Art. Talk about your Asian Pacific Heritage.

In 1946, Fong, a native of...

Feeling Stressed, and Wanting More Time? By Marilyn Tam 

“How did it get so late so soon?” - Dr. Seuss “It’s November already, where did the year go?”

“The holidays are coming, and I’m still caught up in projects that I started months ago.” “Get all my work done? If I had 48 hours in a day I may get caught up in another year. Do you relate? Occasionally or more often, everyone has felt that time was rushing by, carrying with it our chances to finish what we began, say sorry, or redo something that we wish we hadn’t done.

When the days are so packed with demands, both assigned and self-imposed, we have a tendency to live in a constant mad rush. Many of us multi-task and juggle urgent projects daily, careening through life with little time to ask why and what are we really doing. Later, sometimes too late, we realize that in our scramble through life, we have neglected what was truly meaningful to us.

I’ve been there and more than a few times; living like that is an unsustainable and unhappy way to live. If you are feeling too stressed with what seems like an endless to do list, slow down. Take a deep breath, and then take another one, and then say, “What would happen if I didn’t do this task at this very moment?  What is really most important?  What is the truth here for me? Pull yourself back enough to get distance and perspective. Listen to the voice of your inner wisdom. The right answer to what you...

by Angi Ma Wong

FenSShui Lady ® Predictions for the

Year of the Water Snake 4711  

Currently Angi is scheduled to appear at an event called "The Chinese in America Interactive" with storytelling, displays, music and a surprise at the end!

Wednesday May 29, 2013
4:40pm
Live Oak Library
4153 E. Live Oak Avenue
Arcadia, California

You can order her feng shui books and kits at www.AngiMaWong.com                                              

GENERAL FORECAST

            During the Year of the Water Snake, the element of water sits on top of the fire element so they are in conflict. The Snake represents the month of May, a time of vigorous plant growth and signaling the oncoming zenith of summer, the hottest time of the year, possibly sparking revolution, change, violence and conflict. In recent times, the attack on Pearl Harbor fall of the Berlin Wall as well the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square and 9/11 all occurred during Snake years. It is likely that there will be accidents and disasters involving air and sea, trains and ships, tornadoes and hurricanes, explosions and fires.  Children continue to be at risk.

                  In contrast to last year’s Dragon, the most yang of the twelve...

January 22, 2013

Washington D.C.

by AC Team staff

If you are as talented as designer Jason Wu, lightning can indeed strike twice to your career. First Lady Michelle Obama arrived to the Commander-in-Chief inaugural ball last night wearing his stunning ruby red gown, marking the second inaugural she chose to wear one of his creations. From the homepage click here to view Jason Wu's full length inaugural gown.

In 2009, at the first inaugural she surprised fashinistas by wearing a gown he designed, a flowing cream-colored shoulder-baring confection. Jason, then a 26 year old rising-star designer had submitted his dress he had created for her consideration, just as other designers have customarily done. In 2009, the moment First Lady Michelle Obama appeared in Wu's ball gown, was the moment his already fast-rising career launched into hyperspace.

Designers were glued to the television watching the inaugural events to see what Mrs. Obama was wearing hoping it would be from their designs. Wu, 30, was watching the inaugural events on television with his staff in New York City. 

Mrs. Obama appeared in Wu's flowing, belted chiffon and velvet red gown as she joined her husband onstage for their first inauguration dance at the Commander-in-Chief Ball. Wu told the New York Times, "I'm still floating." "It is a big surprise. The White House kept us pretty clueless until five minutes ago."

Wu was born in Taiwan, moved to Canada when he was 9 years old, and graduated from...

Little Tokyo - Los Angeles

March 23, 2013

More than 200 people attended a summit yesterday in Los Angeles, provocatively titled "Beyond the Bad and the Ugly." The meeting was appropriately named as it took aim at the continued use of offensive images, ethnic slurs and stereotypical caricatures of Asian Americans in American media, and its impact on just about every aspect of American culture, politics, education and society.

AsianConnections.com applauds Jeff Yang, Wall Street Journal Online writer of the "Tao Jones" column for organizing this first summit devoted to the problem, and enlisting public dialogue and empowerment. Yang brought together activisits, bloggers and others to examine the issues and encouraged people to take action against the negative stereotypes and portrayals of Asian Americans in the media. 

Stereotypical images of Asian Americans in the media have negatively impacted the lives of Asian Americans for more than a century.

Yang told LA Times writer Anh Do the event is "the culmination of a dream, seeing people not only talking about these issues - but doing something about it," "The point is to empower everyone, telling them, "Change is happening, and it's happening inside - with us." 

The March 23, 2013 summit officially kicks off Jeff Yang's new book he co-edited with Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma, Shattered: the Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities). SHATTERED’s 2013 tour, will take Yang and his...