Karin Anna Cheung, @JozJozJoz of @8Asians, & Quentin Lee @ the LA Theatrical Opening Q&A for ‘The People I’ve Slept With’

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I had the honor– and fun– of introducing the film, director & star
on Opening Night of the Los Angeles theatrical opening of ‘The People
I’ve Slept With’ at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theatre in West Hollywood.

I watched the film for a third time (still not sick of it!) — the
first time was at the Asia premiere at the Taipei Golden Horse Film
Festival in November 2009, the next at the sold out Centerpiece
presentation of the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in
May.

And after the film, on behalf of 8Asians.com, I hosted a Q&A with
Quentin Lee, director and Karin Anna Cheung, the star of the film.
The audience really enjoyed the film and loved hearing Quentin’s
infectious laugh.

Earlier in the evening, we had also been joined by writer/producer
Koji Steven Sakai (a contributor to 8Asians) & his lovely wife, as
well as by Producer Stanley Yung.

Special thanks to @MykalBurns, the photographer and my date for the evening.

‘The People I’ve Slept With’ L.A. Theatrical Premiere
Sunset Laemmle 5
West Hollywood, CA
8/27/2010. (Or maybe a smidge past midnight on 8/28)
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature:  (-_-)  Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

‘The People I’ve Slept With’ Opens in L.A. this Friday Night; Q&A with Filmmakers & Cast Hosted by @jozjozjoz & @8Asians

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We’ve been unabashed fans of the sex-comedy The People I’ve Slept With even before Koji joined our ranks, so it’s with great pleasure that we share the news that the film will be opening in Los Angeles this weekend (starting Friday, August 27th) at the Laemmle Sunset 5. (And if you’re not in L.A., Bay Area folks, it’s coming to you next!)

Yours truly, on behalf of 8Asians.com, will be hosting a special Q&A with the filmmakers and cast, following the 10pm show on Friday, August 27. The People I’ve Slept With is fun, funny, and features many, many crushworthy folks. If you missed the sold-out screening at the 2010 L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival, then this is your chance to see it in the theatre and to meet some of the cast & filmmakers.


People Pictures is proud to announce the Los Angeles theatrical release of The People I’ve Slept With, directed by Quentin Lee (Ethan Mao, Shopping with Fangs) and written by Koji Steven Sakai. The film is self-distributed by People Pictures and will open exclusively August 27, 2010 at Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres in Los Angeles.

“I am thrilled to be opening The People I’ve Slept With in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Cinemas. It’s an indie filmmaker’s dream come true,” says director Quentin Lee. “With the film playing at both LA’s Fusion and the LA Asian Pacific Film Festivals this year, I feel Angelenos will enjoy and support the adventures of the film’s heroine.”

The People I’ve Slept With is a sexy, romantic story about Angela (Karin Anna Cheung of Better Luck Tomorrow), a young woman with a zealously active sex life, who after every sexual conquest, makes keepsake “baseball cards” of each of her male conquests. One day, Angela finds out she is pregnant and begins a quest to find the identity of her baby’s daddy. Together with her gay, best friend and co-worker Gabriel (Wilson Cruz of He’s Just Not That Into You, My So-Called Life), the two go on a comical and raunchy hunt through her past hook-ups and dates. But as Angela peels back the layers of her frisky past, she begins to realize that the answers she is looking for, reveal themselves in surprising ways.

Featuring a sparkling and daring performance by Karin Anna Cheung, The People I’ve Slept With co-stars Archie Kao (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Lynn Chen (Lakeview Terrace, Saving Face) and screen legend James Shigeta (Flower Drum Song, The Crimson Kimono). The film has found strong support with sold out festival screenings including San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, along with being selected as the official Closing Night Presentation of the 2010 New York Asian American Film Festival. The film is set to open theatrically in Los Angeles at Laemmle Sunset 5, August 27, San Francisco at the VIZ CINEMAS, September 3, and in New York at Clearview Cinemas on August 13, 2010

You can buy your tickets online: Laemmle Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, 90046. 323-848-3500). See you there and come say hi!

Group Photo Time! East West Players Board Retreat with Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center; @EWPlayers @KenCen

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The Board of Directors of East West Players is up bright and early on
a Saturday morning for a Board Leadership Development Session with
Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center.

www.EastWestPlayers.org
www.Kennedy-Center.org/
www.artsincrisis.org

Kyoto Grand Hotel
Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles, CA
8/21/2010.
-Jocelyn "Joz" Wang
Board of Directors
www.EastWestPlayers.org

LA’s Greatest Landmarks: Walt Disney Concert Hall (from a series on Blogging.LA)

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Walt Disney Concert HallOriginally posted at Blogging.LA

For the uninitiated, the name Walt Disney Concert Hall (WDCH) conjures up images of– well– Disneyland. But even though Lillian Disney made the initial gift of $50 million to the Music Center in dedication to her late husband with additional funding coming from the Disney family, this building is really not Disneyesque at all. Though it bears the name of Disney, many other individual and corporate donors, as well as The County of Los Angeles (which agreed to provide the land and significant additional funding to finance the concert hall’s six-level subterranean parking garage) are credited to bringing LA’s newest landmark (on this particular series, anyway) to life in 2003.

Designed by Los Angeles-based architect Frank Gehry, WDCH is the newest addition to the Music Center and home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theatre (REDCAT), which features experimental dance, theater, music, film and visual arts exhibitions, is also located in this complex.

Walt Disney Concert Hall at night

There’s no doubt that one of the most controversial parts of the building is the architecture itself. The shiny, metallic curves of the building jut out of the downtown landscape– unmistakably taking a spot as an L.A. landmark since it opened. I admit it– I hated this thing as I watched it being built in the late 1990s. I thought it was horrifically garish and I thought it was hilarious when the reflective qualities of the surface (plus some of the concave sections of the building) turned out to act like a parabolic mirror– causing a “heat ray effect” to the condos nearby and creating hot spots on adjacent sidewalks of as much as 140 degrees (F). In 2005, the bright glare of WDCH was literally dimmed when the metal panels were sanded down to a more “matte” finish.

Maybe I just needed some time for my eyes to adjust to the glare, but admit I no longer see this building as an eyesore. And I’ve even gotten to know it and love it– outside and in.

Acoustically speaking, WDHC is amazing. One of the things that won me over was how the architectural elements of the new hall affect its acoustics. First and foremost, this building is a concert hall and the work of the architect, as well as acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, reflect this.

By the Numbers:
• The Hall contains 12,500 pieces of primary steel, which weigh over 11,000 tons
• Over 30,000 architectural drawings were produced to build the Concert Hall
• A 750,000-lb. crane was needed to erect the steel support structure
• 300 tons of bolts and welds were used
• 18,000 cubic yards of concrete were poured, including two roof slabs 15 inches thick
• Eight skylights were designed with glass three inches thick to keep the interior naturally bright

Walt Disney Concert Hall interior & organThe design of the hall includes a large concert organ, which was completed in 2004 and despite some of our positive and negative experiences with it, there’s no doubt that there’s no other organ which looks like this in the world. The organ is so complex that it took a full year to tune.

But my personal favorite thing about WDCH is that even if you don’t have the time or the money to attend the concert, you can still go and do free things there. Aside from taking pictures of the stunning building (ok, so you need a camera for that), you can take a free audio tour of Walt Disney Concert Hall and garden along with the Library of Congress/Ira Gershwin Gallery, the only permanent Library of Congress exhibition outside of Washington DC. According to Frommers, “the 45-minute self-guided tour is narrated by actor John Lithgow and includes interviews with Frank Gehry, Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel, and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, among others. One big caveat is that you see just about everything except the auditorium: There’s almost always a rehearsal in progress and the acoustics are so good that there’s no discreet way to sneak a peek. The audio tours are available on most non-matinee days from 10am to 2pm (be sure to check their website for the monthly tour schedule).”

The debate of whether or not the Walt Disney Concert Hall “fits” the downtown landscape still rages on– but in my mind, there is no doubt that it is a landmark which will come to define Los Angeles– and its arts– for decades to come.

Check out the other posts in our L.A.’s Great Landmarks series.

Photo credits: Walt Disney Concert Hall: Mash Down Babylon/Devon Hollahan; WDCH at night: lightmatter/Aaron Logan; WDCH interior & organ by Will Campbell

Joz meets Connie Chung at the #AAJA Convention Opening Reception. (I didn’t faint!)

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Living in L.A., seeing famous people is fairly commonplace, so I really
don’t get "starstruck" very often. But Connie Chung isn’t just a
"celebrity," she’s a journalist who inspired me and countless other Asian
American women to become journalists. While my career path diverged from
journalism after college, blogging has provided me an outlet back in– so it
was great to be included in the mix at this year’s Asian American
Journalists Association (AAJA) National Convention.

I don’t know when I first got the idea that I wanted to get into journalism
or broadcasting, but I remember watching Connie Chung on the evening news
with my Dad. I specifically remember that my cousin Nina had an autographed
8×10 of Connie Chung’s headshot under the glass surface of her desk and I
remember how envious I was that she had that. (Back then, I didn’t know you
could just write in for a SASE and get an autographed picture.)

This year’s AAJA National Convention was held in Los Angeles and themed
"Back to the Future," a nod to the fact that AAJA was founded in L.A.. The
Opening Reception brought many of Asian American pioneer journalists
on-stage and although there were some people I’d never heard of until that
night, there was no doubt that everyone there knew who Connie Chung was!

If Connie Chung ever needs an ego boost, all she has to do is go to an AAJA
Convention and she’ll find herself surrounded by young Asian American women
who were inspired by her. To be more accurate, she will find herself
surrounded by a mob of women who will push, shove, and in some cases, kick
their way through a crowd to get a photo with her. If I ever doubted the
tenacity and persistence of a female Asian American journalist (not that I
ever did), then I was reminded that night when I got caught in the
photograph melee with @GilAsakawa.

I wasn’t prepared to get a photo when I saw her after I had wandered into
the VIP room prior to the program. When I first saw Connie Chung, I did
indeed get a little starstruck and thought I was going to faint. But I
managed to hold it together and after the program was over, I was next to
her when a mob started crowding her for photos near the stage– many of
these people didn’t make it into the VIP room afterwards.

This photo is a total coup for me. Not only do I have a picture of myself
with Connie Chung– an icon and inspiration– but I also escaped getting a
black eye or scratch marks to mar the photo.

2010 AAJA National Convention Opening Reception
VIP Room @ The Highlands
Hollywood, CA
8/4/2010.
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature: (-_-) Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

Belated but not forgotten Ba-Ba Day (2010)

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Originally written 8/8/07 and accidentally posted to 8Asians:

8/8 (Eight-Eight in Mandarin is pronounced “ba-ba.” Father in Mandarin is also pronounced “ba-ba”) is Father’s Day in Taiwan. Even though we refer to him as “Dad” in English, 95% of the time, we called him “Ba-Ba.” Usually, my Dad would be in Taiwan at this time of year, so I would have to remember to call him on 8/7 so I could wish him a happy Ba-Ba Day on the right day.

Happy Ba-Ba Day, Dad.

We miss you.

Dad & Joz - 10-04-2007

I originally couldn’t remember where this picture was taken. I knew that it was taken on October 7, 2004, and thanks to my blog, I was able to go back figure out the context of this photo. I think this was taken in Rowland Heights, just before my Dad was going to get on to a shuttle bus that would have taken him to LAX to board a flight back to Taiwan.

Joz at the #AAJA / @NPR Audio Storytelling Training at NPR West

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I’m stealing away a few minutes to make a quick post w/ a photo of me
from the training session I was honored to attend led by two of the
trainers from NPR (they’d flown out from DC). In support of the Asian
American Journalists Association (AAJA) National Convention, a small
group (only 6) of us were selected from a nationwide pool of
applicants to receive this daylong training from National Public
Radio.

Here’s me at the end of the table. Notice how everyone else is
focused an working on our practice story assignments and I’m just
sitting there, taking a picture of myself. Those damn bloggers are so
self-involved. Oh wait, that’s me. Doh.

NPR West
Culver City, CA
8/4/2010.
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature:  (-_-)  Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

DUDE WTF ASIA: Japanese People Laugh at Scaredy Bear

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A bunch of people sent this video to me saying that I’d find it funny, but I just watched this in horror. Basically this video is of a cute little bear cub being scared out of its wits by a baby lion, monkey and monkey’s shadow. Ok, so maybe that shadow thing was kind of funny. But overall, I thought it was pretty cruel what they were doing to the bear. Adding in the facial reactions of the Japanese variety show folks and the soundtrack of the audiences saying “Kawaii!!!” didn’t change that, but maybe I need to see the full version of this, which evidently shows the bear cub exacting its revenge on its (previous) terrorizers. What do you think?

[Originally posted at 8Asians]

Joz in the Taiwan Daily News (Sunday, 7/25/2010 Edition)

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This past weekend I was an invited speaker at Rosemead City Hall for a TACL
(Taiwanese American Citizen’s League)/TUF (Taiwanese United Fund) writing
salon called "Voices of Taiwanese America." I was honored to sit alongside
George T. Wu, author of "The Formosa Furies" as well as Chi-Hung (Luke)
Hsieh (謝奇宏), who published his autobiography "Unicorn, You Taught Me How to
Fly" at the age of 25, on the panel.

Here is the article in Sunday’s Taiwan Daily News. I sent this off to my
Aunties & Uncles who read Chinese. (My Mom is mad at me because I didn’t go
get a stack of paper copies of this.) If you’re curious about the article,
basically it reported that I was one of 3 speakers + it listed the names of
all the high school kids who got scholarships from the TACL.

I was asked about future writing projects and I told the audience that I
am currently researching a book about my (maternal) grandmother Huang
Yu-Jiau (黃玉嬌). A lot of the people (1st generation) there told me
afterwards that they remembered either Grandma or my father, or both.

Text article (no image):
www.taiwandaily.net/gp2.aspx?_p=kSF1c9zU9HS0gywQgs7CiWf6I…

Image at: news.taiwandaily.net/JPG/7/A08.jpg (link expires in a week)

TACL獎學金頒獎典禮

(記者林蓮華/羅斯密市報導) TACL台美公民協會於7月24日(週六)在羅斯密市政府舉辦「2010年台美人社區獎學金頒獎典禮」，今年共有21 名應屆高中畢業生榮獲每名500元獎學金，及獎牌一面。當天並邀請三位台美人作家George Wu、Jocelyn Wang、謝奇宏以「台美人之聲」為題，主講他們從事寫作的心路歷程及提供寫作的訣竅。當天市議員勞朱嘉儀及洛僑主任簡許邦皆主席頒獎。

三位台美人作家，前總統府資政吳澧涪之子George Wu著作「The Formosa Furies Fight for Freedom」以童話故事，描寫台美人如何為台灣自由與民主的信念奮戰不懈的艱辛之路；Jocelyn Wang是一位台美最知名的網路作家，她以「8Asians」道盡亞裔在美國生存的酸甜苦辣；謝奇宏身為特殊殘障人士，以其「不向命運低頭」的努力寫下「獨角獸你教我怎麼飛」。他們親身演講，在場學子紛紛表示收獲良多，並對台美人士更深切了解。

TACL理事長賴慧娜表示，頒發獎學金已邁入第11年，由於不限族裔，在經過審慎的評選後，今年從70多位申請者中，遴選出21位，每位學生都是品學兼優，最重要是這筆獎學金將有助於他們減輕進入大學的負擔。

獎學金得獎名單分別為阿罕布拉高中Michelle Ruan、Rayond Yang、Stephanie Wang、Zerena Diaz；亞凱迪亞高中Lily Yin；鑽石吧高中Frederick Peng、Pu Fang Hung 藝術高中(HS of Art)Sharon Jan；Los Altos 高中Amy Lee；馬凱勃高中Benjanmin Lee、Patricia Song；聖蓋博高中Charles Le、Carrie Ho；聖瑪利諾高中Jonathan Lin；南方高中Nicole Lee；南丘高中Alan Chen、Michelle Kung；天普高中Kimberly Luu、Veronia Lin；喜瑞都高中Christopher Lai；南艾爾地高中Daphne Chien。

What was Joz doing on Sunday? (You get 1 clue & 1 guess)

Published
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on July 26, 2010
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Whose bright idea was it to paint the ceiling, anyway? Oh right, it was
mine. (Yoshi did try to talk me out of it.)

Maybe it was a good thing our paint sprayer was broken and we had to go old
school and use a roller and paint brush. By the way, popcorn ceilings are
pure evil.

Special thanks to the Bro for coming out to do the hard stuff. Sad to
believe but we’re still not done. Doh.

Home.
7/25/2010.
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature: (-_-) Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

Why @ProfessorEric is a true friend.

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A true friend will lend you a hand whenever you need one.

(The post-it above was inspired by this chat from today)

11:26 AM me: Hi baby
Are we ever going to see each other?
12:03 PM Prof: really soon i hope.
or i will cut off my arm and mail it to you.
which won’t help at all… but you know, it is the thought that counts.
12:11 PM me: That’s a very disturbing thought, but thanks for the offer.
12:12 PM Prof: welcome
12:18 PM Prof: i just sent you a photo on your phone.
12:21 PM me: I think I see it downloading
(Joz looks at the photo)
12:30 PM That is disgusting, but thank you.
Prof: welcome.

Post-It/Photo sent via MMS
+ gChat IMs
7/23/2010.
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature: (-_-) Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

8Questions with Ken Watanabe: Actor who plays Saito, “The Tourist” in ‘Inception’

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My interview with Ken Watanabe, originally published at 8Asians

I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Inception at the Arclight in Hollywood on Wednesday night. Like Dino-Ray, I enjoyed how thought-provoking the film was, and truth be told—two days later, I’m still reeling at how mind-blown I was by this film.

You really have to see the film for yourself to appreciate the brilliance of Christopher Nolan’s writing and direction, but without strong characters and actors to take the audience through the emotional journey, I think the story driving Inception might have easily lost in the amazing visuals as well as the overwhelming amount of chasing, shooting, fighting, and other action and suspense sequences. So for me, it was the strength of Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance, balanced with those of all the supporting characters– in particular the characters played by Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, and of course, Ken Watanabe that made the film so compelling.

Last Friday, Ken Watanabe was good enough to spare a few minutes on the phone with me for a quick chat about Inception, his own reaction after seeing the film, his thoughts about different audiences worldwide, and what he’ll be doing next.

Joz: You’ve had a long and notable career in Japan prior to your exposure to American audiences in ‘The Last Samurai’ and other English-language films. What are the main differences and similarities you find when you’re doing a film for an American (and international) audience, versus that of a Japanese audience?
Ken Watanabe: I couldn’t find [any] different perspective. To make a film just, I need to connect one audience, not [different] people. All people have the same feeling and same mind — a little bit different custom and culture and background and language, but same feelings, I think. I’m [an] Asian and Japanese actor so I want to try always [to balance]. [Like a] Japanese brush painting is [just] black and white [watercolor] — not oil — but still really sensitive [and shades in between]. Not yes or no, but just between good or bad, happy or sad… sensitive… between-gray area.

Asian Americans often criticize the lack of roles in Hollywood productions for Asian or Asian American actors that aren’t straight forward martial arts roles. Tell us a bit about the role of Saito and what it was like to do such a prominent and rich dramatic role.
It is my first experience in Hollywood in a really contemporary role. Also, it’s the same director that I worked with before, and it was a little bit of a different kind of window opened for me in Hollywood, because I always think about I try contemporary role with contemporary English, thinking, maybe I could do it. It’s really interesting, and in the future I can do it [more].

You and director Christopher Nolan both said that you wanted to work together more after your earlier work together in ‘Batman Begins.’ What was it like to have work with him in the role of Saito?
He told me, “I wrote a role for you.” It’s so incredible. I was really proud and honored and really glad to join this project. He has great ideas and imagination. I always want to cut open his head and see the inside! (laughs)

’Inception’ is about dreams, but hinges on the idea that someone’s dreams can be shared or even “implanted” with new ideas. What do you think about this?
NEVER. I never want to do that. It’s so scary. Please no one get in my dream! Anybody!

’Inception’ features themes and concepts that are synonymous with Asian thought and culture (such as reality as an illusion and the significance of dreams). What can you say about the significance of dreams?
Maybe it’s a similar feeling that Western people have. [Many Asians believe dreams] forecast for the future and some signal for the future and yeah so [if you dream something, maybe you] need to think about your style of life or something and change of mind.

I’m not a big dreamer and I always forget what I dream. But then I had a nightmare after the screening of ‘Inception!’ I woke up at 3:30 am and — yeah — I felt I got some great “inception” from Chris Nolan! (laughs) Totally different story!

The cast is truly International and the filming took the team all over the globe. What was the best part of being involved with such an international cast, crew, and production?
I’m Japanese actor, so many international cast: Marion Cotillard (French), Cillian Murphy (Irish), Ellen Page (Canadian) … but Chris Nolan wanted personality as an actor, as much as the character.

And then my character is not typical Japanese, any other “country” could be his character. I tried to some difficult way to make the character because it’s a really unique point of the movie is that the character enters other people’s dream. I tried to emphasize different aspects of my character each layer of the dream. It’s really interesting process to make up the character. In some sequence, I tried to make him more radical and powerful, seem like a villain to give to audiences violent feelings. And then some sequences he’s more sharp and calm, more closer to his real personality. Yeah, it’s really interesting, I enjoyed it as an actor.

What do you hope audiences will get out of seeing ‘Inception?’
Surprised!

Our readers are highly engaged in social media– they read blogs like ours and follow celebrities on Twitter and Facebook. Have you embraced social media and how can our readers follow you online online? What do you think of engaging your fans directly through the internet versus traditional forms of media & publicity.
I don’t have a web page or Twitter or Facebook or blog. My expressive piece is the movie. I want to connect to the piece. Just watch the movie, yeah, please. I don’t want to show them my private life.

What do you think of Americans’ fascination with celebrity?
I’m not a celebrity, just an actor. I try to put everything into the movie.

What projects are you looking forward to beyond ‘Inception?’
Nothing yet, after the promotion I will have a great summer vacation! (laughs)

Thanks so much to Ken for sharing his time and thoughts with us at 8Asians!

Congratulations to all the winners of our 8Asians Inception Prize Package Giveaway as well everyone who got to attend the advanced screening in L.A.! Don’t forget to “Like” his character on Facebook at InceptionSaito! Inception opens tonight in theatres in IMAX.

h/t: @TheOtherYoshi for transcribing the recorded interview for me so I didn’t have to hear my own voice

An oldie from Ernie’s tumblr: Efren overshares

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Efi and I have known each other for a long, long time. He still shares
inappropriately and I still get sucked into his crazy. When will I ever
learn?

Originally seen here:
ernie.tumblr.com/post/575479273/why-i-love-being-a-part-o…

Facebook & Ernie’s Tumblr
5/5/2010
~~~~~~~~~
Due to popular request, this is my signature: (-_-) Did someone blink?
www.jozjozjoz.com

“Joz can race!” (insert Asian female driver joke here… or is this picture it?!)

Published
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An old friend from college invited me to an amazing event that I
couldn’t say no to.  His company organized "GIRLS CAN RACE: Ladies
Night at K1" and featured professional racers as our coaches in a
night that was centered around fun, learning, and improving (instead
of competing and winning). The guys who came out to support their
girlfriends/wives had their own activity for the evening: an arts and
crafts table where they were given the task of making signs to cheer
us on.

I was in a group that was coached by Craig Stanton– 2005 GRAND-AM
Rolex Series Champion– and pretty much the best is the biz! Craig
and all the professional racers were so nice and helpful in answering
our questions and giving us tips and advice.

Considering that this was my first time racing, I figured I the bar
was set really low. I was happy that I didn’t come in last both times
I got to drive. (So I came in 11th out of 12– beating out a little
girl both times– still not last! Yay I drive better than a little
girl!) Heck, I was just glad that I didn’t hurt myself or run anyone
over. I did crash once but it wasn’t my fault– someone tried to pass
me from the outside as I was making a hairpin turn. KABOOM! She spun
out but I just kept driving myself to second-to-last place!

Thanks to Sean Heckman and The Media Barons, K1 Speed, all the
professional racers & coaches, and all the ladies who came out for
making it such a fun night!

Here is the event description:
GIRLS CAN RACE: Ladies Night at K1

Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: K1 Speed, Torrance
Street: 19038 S. Vermont Ave.
City/Town: Gardena, CA

LADIES NIGHT AT K1: Featuring pro coaches Craig Stanton, Oriol Servia,
Kelly Collins, Duncan Ende, Nathan Swartzbaugh… and possible cameo
by Tommy Kendall!

RSVP IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED!!! Only 30 spots available

Never gone racing? Want to come to the track and beat your man every
time? This is your chance.

Presenting the first ever ladies-only night of racing and coaching,
The Media Barons and K1 Speed present a fun evening of racing,
instruction, and just plain fun. Directed by 2005 GRAND-AM Rolex
Series Champion Craig Stanton, one of the highest-rated private
instructors in the world, our night will feature a number of on and
off track ways to not only improve your race and street driving, but
also have fun in the process.

Featuring some of the top professional drivers in the world, this is
the sort of experience that racing schools would offer for thousands
of dollars, but we just ask for smiles, so get out here!

-FREE INSTRUCTION (both on track and classroom sessions)
-FREE FOOD
-GIVEAWAYS AND PRIZES!

Does your man want to join? Bring him out! There will still be
on-track sessions and opportunities for boys to come out and race
while they wait.

ONLY 30 SPOTS AVAILABLE! RSVP REQUIRED!!!

PRO COACHES:
Craig Stanton- 2005 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Champion
Oriol Servia- IndyCar Driver, Indy Lights Champion
Kelly Collins- 2009 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Champion
Duncan Ende- GRAND-AM Winner
Nathan Swartzbaugh- 2006 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Champion

…And Possible Cameo By…
Tommy Kendall- 4-Time Trans-Am Series Champion

K1 Speed
Gardena, CA
7/6/2010.
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5.4 Quake Hits So Cal

Published
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on July 7, 2010
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2010-07-08 - 00-13-25UTC - 32_34_-118_-116I first suspected an earthquake might have been happening when I felt a tiny shaking while I was sitting at my desk. Then some stronger shaking occurred and I looked at my Twitter stream. All my friends in L.A. were tweeting “EARTHQUAKE.” It was good as confirmed.

Of course, it’s not really confirmed until a seismologist at USGS has reviewed the quake findings:

Magnitude 5.4 – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Date-Time Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 23:53:33 UTC
Wednesday, July 07, 2010 at 04:53:33 PM at epicenter

Location 33.417°N, 116.483°W
Depth 11.7 km (7.3 miles)
Region SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Distances 22 km (13 miles) NNW (332°) from Borrego Springs, CA
23 km (14 miles) SE (131°) from Anza, CA
33 km (20 miles) NE (52°) from Lake Henshaw, CA
41 km (25 miles) SW (215°) from Indio, CA
45 km (28 miles) S (174°) from Palm Springs, CA
94 km (58 miles) NE (41°) from San Diego, CA

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 0.6 km (0.4 miles)
Parameters Nph=122, Dmin=10 km, Rmss=0.26 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=4

Don’t forget to fill out the “Did you feel it?” shake survey and check out the Shake Map!

(Originally posted at: blogging.la. Also, this is my first post made at the newly re-designed blogging.la site since it was re-launched after being known at LA Metblogs for several years.)

Joz & The LXD/GLEE’s Harry Shum Jr at the #LAAPFF Filmmaker’s Welcome Party, May 2010

Published
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on July 6, 2010
in General
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It was such a pleasure to meet the amazing Harry Shum Jr aka Glee’s "Other
Asian" and member of the LXD!

2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Filmmaker’s Welcom Party
Madang Courtyard
Ktown (Koreatown), Los Angeles, CA
5/1/2010

(This is like 2 months old but I just found it in my "Drafts/Unsent Email"
folder. Oops. I wonder what else is in there.)
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Joz gets a small mention in SF Gate’s “Asian Pop” by @originalspin (Jeff Yang)

Published
by
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on July 3, 2010
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"Hot summer fights" is the title of this installment of Asian Pop.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/01/apop070110.DTL

Amongst other things, Jeff asked a bunch of us for our summer movie, music, and book lists. I got quoted under "Good Reads" as saying:
"I’m hoping to read ‘Delivering Happiness’ by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com. I love shoes. Oh wait, the book isn’t just about shoes? Oh well, I’ll probably still read it." — *JozJozJoz, 8Asians*

Ok, so it’s not much of a mention, but it’s there. And there’s a link back to 8Asians.

Read the full story at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/01/apop070110.DTL

Supposedly, there is more to come at his blog: originalspin.posterous.com/

Thanks for including me, Jeff!

Originally published at the San Francisco Chronicle (online)
on 7/1/2010.
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Thinking of Dad… 4 years after his passing…

Published
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on July 2, 2010
in :: dad :: and General
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Sometimes I get really sad when I look at old pictures of my Dad because I
love him and still miss him so much. I scanned this photo years ago and
have no idea when it was taken or what the occasion was. Store-bought cake
probably meant that it was someone’s birthday and my Dad is cutting an
Italian Rum cake with Baby Joz on his lap.

I love how young and happy my Dad looks in this picture. At this time in
his life, he would have been done with graduate school a few years prior,
moved from New York to Los Angeles after school, started working for a large
architectural firm, gotten married to my Mom, and had become a new Dad to
boot. The world and was still opening up to him– and I believe my
Grandparents (his parents) had also immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan,
bringing the people he most loved together in the United States– a land of
freedom, independence, and opportunity. I imagine that all areas of his
life were coming together at this time and I hope he got to enjoy it a bit,
seeing as he was the type of person who never took the time to "enjoy
himself."

I’m realizing that he was probably about my age (or maybe even younger than
I am now) when this picture was taken. We still have that table somewhere
in storage, I think. Some of that stemware is still around, too.

Oh and see how fascinated with the cake I am in the photo? I guess some
things never change.

From last year (2009): Thinking of Dad… 3 years after his passing…

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Picard Facepalm – Vuvuzela

Published
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on July 1, 2010
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Picard Facepalm – Vuvuzela, originally uploaded by @jozjozjoz.

I wish I knew the original source of this photo (I looked– let me know if
you know the source), but it is one of the best uses of Photoshop I’ve seen
this month. (Of course, the month is less than a day old, so I guess I
really mean "today.")

Patrick Stewart / Jean-Luc Picard + World Cup Vuvuzela + Facepalm? What’s
not to love?

See also:
www.jozjozjoz.com/2010/03/22/picard-facepalm-ascii-art/

The Intarwebs
7/1/2010.
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www.jozjozjoz.com

Four years passes quickly…

Published
by
jozjozjoz
on June 24, 2010
in :: dad ::
. 1 Comment

I miss my Daddy an extra lot today.

See: How do you start a post like this?

Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Custard filled malasada at Champion Malasadas

Published
by
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on June 13, 2010
in General
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This is my final installment of my Malasada Adventures in Honolulu. (We may
or may not have Malasada Adventures on Maui.)

This was the custard-filled malasada at Champion’s, which cost $1 and was
pre-fried and sitting in a chilled display case, so it wasn’t warm/freshly
fried. You know what? It was still good! It was admittedly different than
the guava-filled one that we tried at Leonard’s, not just because the
filling was a different flavor, but because this one was fried in advance,
the consistency was less airy and a little more doughy.

Honestly speaking, the guava filling at Leonard’s wasn’t as good as I’d
hoped and I actually liked the creamy filling at Champion better. But
because the filled malasada at Leonard’s was freshly fried, the malasada
dough itself was not as good at Champion. I’m going to declare this one an
official tie because the filling was better at Champion and the dough was
better at Leonard’s, but I’d have to have another round where BOTH were
freshly fried to be able to declare a winner.

So, what’s the verdict of Leonards vs. Champion?
With regard to the regular malasadas, while they are both really good (when
fresh out of the fryer), I personally have to give the slight edge to
Champion over Leonard’s because I liked the eggy flavor better– some people
may not like this like I do. That said, Yoshi thinks that Leonard’s is the
better of the two because of the texture and taste. In the car, @Scrivener
said it was a tough call because they were both good– the Leonard’s
suprising him because they were better than he had remembered because he
doesn’t usually have them fresh. I think @Scrivener is most accurate when
he says "they are quite different. hot out of the fryer, they’re both quite
wonderful."

So I guess between us, there was no winner. My recommendation is to go to
both and see for yourself. If you can’t decide, flip a coin. Either way,
you’re in for a treat.

Champion Malasada
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010.
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Regular Malasadas + Custard filled malasada (center) at Champion Malasadas

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I was trying to get my malasada photos up while we were waiting at Honolulu
airport to board our flight to Maui.

I had to stop blogging and put my laptop away because the flight suddenly
started boarding. I guess you call it postus-interruptus?

Anyway, continuing my dissemination of food porn pictures (and the
likelihood that my content will no longer pass through "safe" filters with
captions like this), here is part two of my Malasada Adventures with yoshi
and @Scrivener.

After we stopped off at Leonard’s, which is probably the best known malasada
place around, @Scrivener took us to Champion Malasada, which is what some
locals consider the "better" malasada place.

When we arrived, we were the only customers there. The owner, Joc Miw,
cheerily greeted us at the cash register and wanted to know how many
malasadas we wanted so he could fry them up freshly for us. Aside from
being 10 cents cheaper (60 cents at Champion’s versus
70 cents a Leonard’s), the regular malasadas at Champion were eggier than
those at Leonard’s, which I liked. While still airy, the Champion malasada
was slightly more dense (substantial?) than Leonard’s.

Champion Malasadas
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Guava-filled Malasada at Leonard’s

Published
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on June 12, 2010
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There is no photo of me with the guava malasada (flavor of the month)
because of the high probability I would spill it on myself.

Thus, this is unabashed food porn. Cover your eyes if you’re uncomfortable
looking at such oozy-goodness.

Leonard’s Bakery
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010.
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Malasada Adventures in Honolulu with Joz – Regular Malasada at Leonard’s

Published
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on June 12, 2010
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I’m sitting in Honolulu Airport waiting for our flight to Maui, so I only
have a few minutes to post up some pictures from this morning. Thanks to
@scrivener for driving us around and for taking us for yumz.

In honor of the upcoming Blogging.LA Donut Summit which is happening
tomorrow in L.A., we decided to go malasada taste testing. We started at
Leonard’s, arguably the best-known malasadas around. Here is me with the
first malasada– a regular one that just came out of the deep fryer and was
rolled in granulated sugar. It was warm, airy, and delicious!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malasada

Leonard’s Bakery
Honolulu, HI
6/12/2010
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Closest thing to a group pic from the #hijoz Tweetup at @Hailis808, taken by @Neenz http://yfrog.com/mis2vj

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So I was so busy eating and talking and eating and laughing and eating that
I didn’t take many photos. Thanks to the fabulous Neenz for taking this one
on her iPhone. Of course, that means that she & a few other folks didn’t
make it into this shot.

The Tweetup info is here: twtvite.com/hijoz

Photo taken by L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine and originally posted:
yfrog.com/mis2vj

Haili’s Hawaiian Foods
Honolulu, HI
6/11/2010
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