“Welcome back to school. Be curious. Question everything. Serve your community.” — Kenyon S. Chan Chancellor, UW-Tacoma “It’s how we react to the adversity that matters. I encourage all students to make a goal and plan to reach that goal. When adversity strikes, step back and figure out how to remove the roadblock. When you […]
Asian American talent shines at Bumbershoot
By Laura Ohata Northwest Asian Weekly This was a big year at Bumbershoot. Wu-Tang Clan, Foster the People, Elvis Costello, Lucious Jackson, The Replacements, and Los Lobos are only a few of the performers that took the stage. Alongside these legends, Asian and Asian American musicians and comedians made their mark as rising stars. If […]
“A Letter to Momo”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Hiroyuki Okiura’s anime feature “A Letter to Momo” was seven years in the making, including the story, script, and storyboarding. It’s also the filmmaker’s first turn in the director’s seat since 1999’s “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.” For all the planning, though, the film begins simply enough, with a medium-sized […]
“Patema Inverted”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s “Patema Inverted,” an anime feature originally formatted as an original net animation in four sections, gives us a plaintive young heroine. It also includes a steadfast young hero, a charismatic villain to boo and hiss, and a lot of head-spinning visuals. Beneath all that pizazz, sterner stuff […]
COMMENTARY: The siren song of “Hello Kitty is not a cat”
By Tiffany Ran For Northwest Asian Weekly “Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe),” a cheeky statement made famous by Rene Magritte’s painting The Treachery of Images came to mind recently. But Magritte’s painting is of a pipe. It is very clearly a pipe, despite it saying otherwise. Mais non, argued Magritte, […]
COMMENTARY: Pinnacles of awkwardness and internships
By Daria Kroupoderova For Northwest Asian Weekly When I started interning at the NW Asian Weekly, I knew I would at some point be put in a situation where I felt like an outsider. Being a white female and covering Asian news is really not a big deal, but being a white female who doesn’t […]
VOICES FROM THE YOUTH: Embracing the arts instead of expectations
By Michael Wong SYLP Growing up as an Asian American teenager, the expectations of society are always shadowing me. There are always four major pillars which society expects us Asian American adolescents to follow and pursue rigorously, as if it were a religion. One, get good grades. Two, don’t get in trouble. Three, respect and […]
VOICES FROM THE YOUTH: Empowerment through entertainment
By Clarissa Fe O’Francia SYLP In movies, Asian Americans are portrayed either as the brainiac nerd or the token kung fu- knowing henchman. Is that who we are in real life? Of course not. Ever since Asian Americans started appearing in Hollywood films, there has been a false and cringe-worthy view of Asians engraved into […]
VOICES FROM THE YOUTH: Newbee: The new star of Dota 2
By Jingyu Zhang Northwest Asian Weekly The Chinese-based e-sport team “Newbee” snagged the top prize at the International Dota 2 Championships. This summer, the International Dota 2 Championships was held in Seattle and it was the third consecutive year that the tournament has been hosted here. Newbee defeated their fellow countrymen “VICI Gaming” in the […]
VOICES FROM THE YOUTH: Jason Williams needs to be held accountable
By Cindy Hsu SYLP When the name “Jason Williams” is entered into the Internet search engines, it will present a plethora of websites listing the numerous achievements this reputable retired NBA player had acquired throughout his career. Having been picked in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft and decorated with titles such as […]