Bollywood fans, rejoice! Karan Johar’s much-anticipated film My Name is Khan, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, is out in theaters today!
The long awaited indie film “Only the Brave” is finally out! The film with an all-star Asian American cast that has been making the rounds at various film festivals since 2006 (and is Pat Morita’s last film) is now out on DVD!
It’s an important film for Asian America. It tells the story of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated World War II unit, made up entirely of Japanese Americans.
The Olympics begin this Friday! We’ve been profiling some of the Asian Americans who will be heading to Vancouver over the past month, from ice hockey player Julie Chu to ice skater Mirai Nagasu to speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.
But for this post, we wanted to just give you a look back, to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. There, Chinese Olympian Peng Shuai, ranked in the top 50 in the world heading into the 2010 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season, wowed the crowd by beating Spain before losing to France.
Recently, renowned Chinese photographer Chen Xu Ren Ren took a series of photographs of some of women’s tennis’s greats, including Peng. Chen shot Peng at Beijing’s National Tennis Centre, a flower-shaped, 12-sided stadium. Here’s your exclusive look!
KidViskous "Heart" pin.
I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day. In fact, you may consider me a bit of a Valentine grinch. Maybe it’s the years of over-hyped expectations and the inevitable resulting disappointment. I mean, seriously, who can live up to the Hallmark-Godiva-De Beers hype ingrained into our young Cinderella-saturated brains?
Which is why I take not a small amount of pleasure in the slightly dark,self-deprecatingly humorous side of the holiday.
I like to think of these Valentine’s-themed accessories as the equivalent of crooning Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” to your loved one.
Like Tiffany Lee‘s graphic nod to Valentine’s for her accessories line KidViskous. The bleeding heart would look really cool pinned on a cardigan and boyfriend jeans. Continue Reading »
I innately hate waste. Growing up, that meant I sketched on the reverse side of my father’s junk mail. I created outfits out of my parents’ castoffs, wearing my dad’s oversized v-neck golf sweaters backwards as a dolman sleeve tunic, or dangling a broken brooch from my mother’s jewelry box on an old chain as a necklace.
Back then, that was just what I did. Now, my recycling nature fits quite nicely into the whole “green” movement. And what I love most about the green movement is the whole green art movement with what is called “found” media. (Essentially, that means castoffs incorporated into works of art — oh, what I could’ve created had I been more artistically inclined!)
Artist Truong Tran is so artistically inclined, with his amazing works of art using lots of “found” media. And now you can check out his work at his solo exhibition “lost and found” presented by the Kearny Street Workshop and Mina Dresden Gallery in San Francisco from today to February 26.
“Antlers” by Truong Tran, found mixed media.
Plush fleece-lined leggings.
If cold hands means warm heart, what do cold legs mean?
We here in SoCal are relatively lucky during these winter months. I mean, Old Man Winter’s got a serious beef with the East coast and mid-West this year apparently (40 below??? What does that even mean?).
And while we’re not anywhere near those kind of igloo-worthy temps, these past couple weeks have been a bit chillier than usual. (Yes, we actually had to pull out the gloves in L.A., and I don’t mean the be-studded cropped leather driving glove kind.)
Now, you have to understand. We’re Angelenos. The slightest raindrop or temps that don’t start with the number 7 and above throw us into a frenzy. We can’t drive in the rain. And we certainly don’t know how to deal with really cold weather like we’ve had these past couple weeks.
Fellow Angeleno Jennifer Kim thoroughly empathizes. That’s why she came up with Plush, a line of leggings lined with fleece, but without any of the added bulk.
A few weeks ago, we profiled speed skater J.R. Celski, known as the next Apolo Anton Ohno. To Olympics fans, Apolo needs no introduction. The five-time Olympic medalist (including golds in 2002 and 2006) not only dominates the world of sport with his speed skating prowess, for a while he also dominated the ballroom (and our Tivos!) as the champion of Dancing With the Stars.
Apolo Anton Ohno. Photo courtesy of NBC/USOC.
This will be the third Olympics for the 27-year-old. (He’s been captain of the U.S. Speedskating Team since he was 14!) In fact, if things go as planned in Vancouver, Apolo will become the most decorated athlete in U.S. Winter Olympic history. Continue Reading »
Celebrate the lunar new year (February 14!) with a little artistic appreciation.
Blanc de Chine is the first Chinese luxury brand to transform traditional Chinese culture into modern design. Past collections have drawn inspiration from the Sung Dynasty to the Naxi tribe. The design house’s spring 2010 collection draws from the Ming Dynasty, renown for their refinement in design, stripping away elaborate ornamentation and focusing on the raw material and its inherent beauty.
Blanc de Chine’s latest look draws from Daoism, appropriately called the Dao collection. Based on the ancient DuDou, a silk undergarment worn by both men and women in China as early as 200 B.C., the Dao collection reflects the Buddhist notion that truth and reality have more than one facet and are never absolute.
A bit too heady for you? Then just know that the collection is not only wearable, but works of art. Simple two-dimensional geometric forms in luxe leather silks transform on the body into edgy, avant garde, 3-D pieces easily incorporated into any wardrobe.
Something’s in the water …
Last year was the year of engagements. This year, everyone is getting married, it seems. So designer Yoo Lee of Saja fame has excellent timing — she’s launching Saja’s bridal line, Saja Wedding, this year.
Gorgeously simple yet luxe with to-die-for chiffons and silks. And I love the skintone-flattering hues of barely there creams to the palest of blushes, with the slightest accent of a dusty rose or pale gold band.
She’s quirky. She’s cute. She’s played at Carnegie Hall.
The Village Voice calls her piano technique “awe-inspiring.” And today her first solo piano CD, “Place To Be,” is out.
Hiromi Uehara. Photo by Muga Muyahara.
