By Assunta Ng
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
A few days of news, without President Trump in much of the headlines, are a good thing. The late Sen. John McCain stole the show. That must irk the hell out of Trump. There was other good news, too.
Sue Bird (Photo from Seattle Storm’s Instagram)
1. Yay, Seattle Storm!
It doesn’t matter that Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird had a broken nose. She scored 22 points in the semi-final. With a full house, the WNBA Storm beat Phoenix in a 94-84 victory, and advances to the final. They will play against the Washington Mystics in Virginia on Sept. 7, 9, 12, and 14. What? Seattle playing Washington?! Well, the better Washington, of course.
If you missed the game on Sept. 4, no sweat. Just go to YouTube and you will see the highlights.
2. Crazy Rich Asians wins three weeks consecutively
For three weeks in a row, Crazy Rich Asians was No. 1 at the box office in America. The movie, adapted from Kevin Kwan’s novel, has grossed $117 million.
Some naysayers criticized that they couldn’t relate to the movie because the characters are rich Singaporeans. Excuse me, do you go to see Mission Impossible with the expectation of relating to actor Tom Cruise?
I vote favorably for a picture if it entertains, period. Does it make me laugh or cry, angry or joyful, thrilled or shivered, surprised or engaged? I don’t need a movie to lecture or educate me. The last thing I wish for is a boring story. If your criteria for good movies are based on facts and accuracy, teachable themes, relatable identities, please go watch a documentary.
3. Why Crazy Rich Asians won
I guess Asian Americans finally came together. Initially, I wasn’t planning to watch the all Asian-cast film. I thought about waiting for its DVD release, so I can check it out from the public library. My son was relentless, though, just like he convinced me to start watching the television sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.” “Mom, you need to support Asian America motion pictures,” he said. I guess I support the film by giving it coverage. The Asian Weekly wrote seven stories (quite a lot for a small Asian publication), including an editorial, preview, reviews, updates, and stories like my blog.
Still, it’s unacceptable to my son that I didn’t buy a ticket. That’s real support when you spend money on it, he would say. I second that. Being a publisher of the Asian Weekly, I need to set an example, show action rather than lip service.
To my surprise, I enjoyed the movie a lot when I went with my family. Some Asian fans went to the show as many as six times. Now, that’s truly “Crazy Asians.” (My son went twice.)
The astonishing thing is, a couple of white guys even shared with me that they cried at the cinema. I couldn’t believe it.
4. Crazy Rich Asians opened doors for us
For years, Asian Americans have preached to their kids, “Don’t jump into entertainment industries, you won’t make it and won’t make money. Why not try engineering and computer science?” Secondly, there aren’t too many opportunities for Asians unless you don’t mind the stereotypical roles. Thirdly, no one wants to see Asian Americans in lead roles, it’s still a white America. Wrong on all assumptions!
With many Asian American pioneer actors paving the way, America is receptive to diversity in film-making, including Asian American actors, directors, producers, screen writers, film editors, cinematographers, and more. As Asian Americans, we just have to keep pushing to remove hurdles, no matter how tough the struggles are, and never give up.
5. Colin Kaepernick’s new deal with Nike
Remember football star Colin Kaepernick, who protested against police violence against Blacks by kneeling during the national anthem? Other players followed suit. President Trump accused them of disrespecting the flag. He said those protestors should be fired.
Kaepernick’s career plummeted since then. Many thought his career was over.
Nike thinks otherwise. It picked Kaepernick for its “Just Do It” 30th anniversary campaign.
The Nike ads feature Kaepernick’s photo with the slogan, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” To the world, Kaepernick is an inspiration, it has created a movement, according to Nike. Bravo Nike, for standing up for principles.
6. John McCain’s death overshadows Trump and more
For the past week, John McCain’s funeral news overshadowed Trump’s usual headlines. Often, on a daily basis, Trump has dominated the news, as well as front pages nationwide and across the globe.
Many have complained that they shun news for a while because they are so sick and tired of Trump’s disgusting politics and unjustified policies, which often stirs distressful emotions.
For the past few days, it’s been a breath of fresh air — we could read news with ease and peace. We watched Americans pay tribute to McCain, a senator, two-time presidential candidate, and an American hero, with the absence of Trump.
Another person not present at the funeral was former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Those who gave tributes to McCain never mentioned her name. The media also chose to ignore her. She must be pretty fumed. I like it that way.
7. Don’t use the blame game
An illegal Mexican immigrant is a suspect in the murder of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Trump used the murder to blast illegal immigrants at rallies. But Tibbetts’ father, Rob, pleaded with the public not to exploit her death to foster racism. Even in grief and tragedy, he rose above bias and prejudice, was able to think straight, and urge others to do the right thing.
8. Clean air and nice weather
Photo by Han Bui
My sinus allergy has stopped the last few days due to better air quality in Seattle. Yay, I can see the blue sky with wavering clouds. Let’s pray that we keep the clean air.
Also, our weather is pleasant — not too hot or too cold. Seattle is lucky compared to other parts of the country. Thank you for the blessings.
9. Housing prices cool
Good news for home buyers. According to data released last month by Zillow, it’s now becoming more common for Seattle-area home listings to cut their asking prices.
The percentage of Seattle proper listings cutting their prices has more than doubled, jumping from 4.3 percent to 10.7 percent from June 2017 to June 2018. Inventory has also only gone up, giving buyers more homes to choose from.
Real estate experts think one of the factors driving the cool-down is that rents have stabilized — putting less pressure on first-time buyers to get out of their apartments.
Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.