When YouTube Videos Go Wrong: Creepy Asian Chiropractor Video
Picking up at nearly 3 million views, this video from Los Angeles based chiropractor Ryan Lee has gone viral over the past couple of days on the internet. While we're sure Ryan was very intentional on marketing the services of his clinic, we can't help but wonder if he bothered to show anyone else this video before allowing it to go live on the YouTube. In fact, he appears just tad bit creepy and this video might even turn away customers. But then again, he is receiving a lot of public attention (although we're sure he wasn't expecting this kind). Check out the video below!
Spring 2013 | Pop-arazzi: Prodigy (Review)
DEPT: Pop-arrazi AUTHOR: Kanara Ty ISSUE: Spring 2013 "Marie Lu is at her best in Prodigy, the sequel to her New York Times bestseller Legend, giving us the most exciting follow-up to a debut novel the young adult genre has seen in a long time."
Spring 2013 | Pop-arazzi: Marie Lu of Prodigy
DEPT: Pop-arazzi AUTHOR: Kanara Ty ISSUE: Spring 2013 "The NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the highly popular teen dystopian novel LEGEND and the sequel PRODIGY sits down with us to talk about who she thinks would make a great day and June in the film version, her next book in the series, due out in 2014, and the importance of (hot) asian american male leads in literature."
Asians in Fashion | Yue Ning & Xiao Wen Ju in (UK) i-D Magazine, Summer 2013
Hands down, my favorite editorial of the year so far. i-D once again, never disappoints. Click on for the rest of the editorial!
Tiger Moms vs Tiger Babies: Are Asian Parents Too Strict?
One of the biggest debates concerning Asian culture has been how Asian parent's raise their children. The phrase "strict Asian parent" has become a well-known stereotype and yet many of us can find some truth in this. It is said that Asians pride themselves in their academic achievements and are generally pushed towards a successful career. But what is the price for this success? How often do we hear of Asians who are allowed only a limited social life and pushed towards their books instead. How many times have we heard the story of an Asian forced to pursue a career their parents want...
Disappointed in Brenda Song’s New Comedy Series “Dads”
Last season, Fox had very few successful outcomes. While we had high hopes for their newest multi-camera comedy Dads, the excitement may be short-lived. The comedy stars Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi playing childhood friends (now in their thirties) whose lives are flipped upside down when their father's decide to move in with them. The cast will also include one of our favorites, Brenda Song. Unfortunately, the pilot preview fell short of our expectations. Aside from a few laughs, the preview began sounding problematic with Brenda Song forced into a schoolgirl outfit and performing a...
Video of the Week: Wong Fu Productions’ “To Those Nights”
It is said that people become brutally honest during times of intoxication. We allow ourselves to feel heartbreak that we try to hold back, we tell people the things we are most afraid to admit, we even make mistakes- lots of them. Watch Wong Fru's most recent short "To Those Nights" as a reminder that the heart and mind wander to interesting places when under the influence of alcohol.
Author: Eugene Sung
Raise your hand if you were under the impression that the majority of the products sold at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s is good for you. *Raises hand* Yes, I’ll admit it…I’m a Whole Foods whore. While there are a lot of healthy and nutritious items at these stores, don’t be so quick to believe that everything you’re buying is good for you. A perfect example of this is a common food additive called carrageenan, which can be found in items sold at ‘organic’ supermarkets.
To celebrate the theatrical release (opens today!) of Harry Shum Jr.’s new film White Frog , we’ve decided to make him our Daily S.H.A.G. (Smoking Hot Asian Guy). But make no mistake- this appreciation post is no ordinary one. This is Harry Shum Jr.’s Shirtless Megapost.
Click on for more pictures and be sure to check out our interview with Harry Shum Jr.!
Author: Eugene Sung
The average American eats approximately 2,000 pounds of food each year. Out of those 2,000 pounds, we consume 110 pounds of red meat, 62 pounds of beef, 46 pounds of pork and 73.6 pounds of poultry. Unfortunately, with large corporations controlling a vast amount of our food source, we need to be more diligent in educating ourselves about where our food is coming from and how it’s prepared. Below is a list of appalling facts regarding the meat industry that I hope will raise more awareness and assist you in being a smarter shopper.
Tao Okamoto, in another great fashion spread for Vogue Nippon – this time making spring basics, look, well – not so basic. Click on to see the rest of the spread!
The Audience Award for Best Documentary went to Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings.
Sadly, the 29th Edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival will be soon coming to a close (they finish out the festival this weekend in Long Beach), wrapping up with the Closing Night film Key of Life. Various awards were handed out before the closing night film in the narrative and documentary categories. Some big winners included Lee Issac Chung (for Abigail Harm), Kalyanee Mam (for A River Changes Course) and Tadashi Nakamura (for Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings). Click on for complete list of the winners!
Mother’s Day is this weekend – and to start off the weekend right, check out Mike Song’s ode to his mother, Linda Song. Of course, it’s in typical Mike Song fashion – it’s all done through dance. It’s quite possibly the coolest tribute dance video ever. Check it out!
Here at Audrey, we’ve come across quite a handful of racist videos. We’ve seen these videos come from fraternities, angry college students, and even people who simply want to share their dislike of a culture. Every single time, we wonder why they never stop and think that what they’re about to publish is controversial. Obviously, this thought doesn’t seem to stop them because racist videos continue to pop up on the web. Just as we had come to the conclusion that nothing would surprise us- something did. We definitely didn’t expect to see a racist video coming from the LA Department Of Public Works.
Using taxpayers money, the LA Department of Public Works put together a video showing a non-Asian man dressed as a geisha girl and sporting a mock Japanese accent. They claim that the video aimed to teach viewers about recycled water at the video’s location- the Japanese Garden at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. Though they claim that the short had good intentions, it was difficult to focus on anything they were trying to say. Instead, our attention was grabbed by the poorly done mockery of Japanese culture.
Greg Kimura, the head of the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles, voiced his anger towards the film. “It brings back all the worst stereotypes. The accents, the whiteface. I’m embarrassed for everybody who is involved in this. If there’s a remedy to this, it would be something like an apology and taking it down immediately.” says Kimura.
And that’s exactly what they did. The youtube video was removed and Cora Jackson-Fossett, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Public Works, released a public apology. “We apologize profusely that we missed the mark totally. We made a mistake. We’re extremely sorry. It was an attempt at humor that failed,” she said.
Watch the CBS News Report here.
Recently, Psy appeared on the music television network FUSE. The host brought up an insult towards the Korean artist made by Billie Joe Armstring -the lead vocalist and guitarist of American punk rock band, Green Day. Armstrong had tweeted a picture of Psy along with the caption “This dude is the herpes of music. Once you think it’s gone, it comes back. #herpes #flareup #pleasegoaway”
In his record breaking music video “Gentleman”, Psy is seen dancing in a vulgar manner, tripping women from their chairs, and essentially being the opposite of a gentleman. As it turns out, this is not how he handles his haters.
After the host explained to him that herpes is a sexually transmitted disease, Psy calmly thought it over. While many artists may have reacted in anger or given an insult back, Psy gave a classy response. He thanked Armstrong, said he thought it was pretty cool, and said he appreciated the comment.
Check it out below:
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Michael Jefferies
It goes without saying that we live in a society of bullying, peer-pressure, and overwhelmingly high expectations of appearance. Why? Well maybe its because of guys like Michael Jefferies, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch. The popular American retailer has over 300 locations in the US so you may have stumbled into their store during your trips to the mall. What you don’t know is that unless you fit a certain mold, they never wanted you entering the store in the first place.
In a 2006 interview, Jefferies confirmed that his primary target is attractive and “cool” people. “That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,” he said.
Jefferies admitted that certain people will never belong in their stores and their exclusivity is the very thing that makes their store exciting. To ensure that they are marketing to their targeted audience only, Abercrombie and Fitch does not carry XL and XXL sized clothing for women. Their reason? They believe overweight women will never be part of the “in” crowd and do not want their clothes on a “fat chick”. Even more appalling, Jefferies claims that he harbors absolutely no guilt from excluding his merchandise to plus-sized women. In fact, he believes this tactic will make his clothing more desirable to attractive and thin shoppers.
It is more than a little upsetting to witness a grown man acting in such a manner. A grown man who perpetuates stereotypes that larger women can never be considered cool or that one’s attractiveness some how measures a persons worth. Its understandable that companies need selling tactics, but it’s hard to see why they need one thats so insulting.
Let us know what you think.
While I’ll raise an eyebrow to the casting of a South Asian model for a character who is Middle Eastern, I definitely love the exposure of more South Asian models in major ad campaigns, especially for Indian/Spanish model Alyssah Ali (who interestingly enough, was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and raised in Canada). I’ll also highly suggest the collection for Sephora for any die-hard Disney fanatics.
To shop the collection, please go here.
