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.
Reena Dutt
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“…Or Die” | Friday May 3 | 9:45 pm | Directors Guild of America 2 | LAAPFF Page
“3 Puffs of Gold” | Monday, May 6| 9:30pm | CGV Cinemas 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was making up excuses to move back to LA from NYC. SO…I started creating project ideas that would “only make sense to do it in LA” – then I got on a plane, and here I am!”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“I went with a friend two years ago who had a film at LAAPFF and he introduced me to a couple of the Asian Film Festival programmers – and I was wow-ed by their classy, fun, laid back and super fashionable selves. Damn, South Asians need to catch up 
”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“Try me out on Friday night the 3rd – if you like fancy screenings like the DGA, go! If you absolutely hate me as a producer, give me a second shot, and attend my LA short film directorial debut on Monday night the 6th at CGV. If you hate me as a director too, just cast me in something and let’s be done with this relationship. Your parents loved me, and I thought we were gonna get married (insert tears here). ”
Gregory Bonsignore
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“… Or Die” | Friday, May 3 | 9:45pm | Directors Guild of America 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was in New York working on a Broadway musical.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“My friends Danny, Parv and I watching Fast Five together on the big screen, having a surprisingly ridiculously good time.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“It’s about the challenges facing Asian actors, and in many ways all actors, in Hollywood, so though it got laughs in San Fran and New York, the LA audiences often see it as much more tragicomic as what we’re portraying was often not so fictional, just their normal Tuesday. The cast is incredible, and it does elicit those uncomfortable laughs, the “I shouldn’t be laughing” laughs, which are my favorite.”
Eunsoo Jeong
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“A Knock On My Door” | Friday, May 3 | 7 pm | CGV Cinemas 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was a freshmen in high school, San Francisco, just immigrated from South-Korea.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“This is my first year attending, so I don’t really have any memory. However, the film lineup looks really exciting and can’t wait to attend the events to meet fellow filmmakers in LA.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“I helped my professor’s short animation film, “Knock on My Door.” It is such a sweet immigration story of his father through endearing animation. As an Asian immigrant myself, I could relate to many moments in the film. The film makes you to revisit immigration stories that you hear from your friends or family members. It’s clever, witty, and heartwarming father’s story retold by son and his students! It’s a beautiful film!”
Suju Vijayan
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“The Playback Singer” | Friday, May 3 | 9:30pm | CGV Cinemas 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“In 2003 I was day dreaming about making a movie, wondering if it would ever happen. I worked in reality TV as a writer, producer and director but didn’t know if I’d ever get a chance to make a movie of my own.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“My favorite memory is of my short film, Blessing, screening there. Sitting in the audience and hearing the reaction was the moment I believed I could be a filmmaker.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“You should watch my film because it will make you laugh and cry! Because it is a story about difficult people in difficult relationships that we can all relate to. And because it defies what many people think of when they think of Asian American cinema.”
Pollution from a factory in Yutian, 62 miles east of Beijing
The overwhelming cancer situation in China has been officially acknowledged as a major public health crisis. According to the 2012 China Cancer Census, six patients are diagnosed with cancer every minute- that’s 8,550 diagnosed everyday. Its no surprise that many people correlate the alarmingly high cancer rates to the equally high environmental pollution growth. China has confirmed the existence of over 400 “cancer villages” where the amount of diagnosed cancer patients reaches about 10% of the village. There are even worse cases such as Zhai Wan Cun in Hubei province where the cancer rate is 80 times higher than the national level.
Many people have begun to analyze their situation and question why these cancer villages are often located in rural areas. The citizens speak out in anger about their land being turned into cancer inducing machines. Upon examining their village and pointing out the various sources of pollution, some citizens bitterly remark “Of course we have cancer.” In desperation, many people have turned to the web and social media to voice their anger at their ill environmental circumstances:
“Our Tai’an city has been surrounded by factories. Our villages have been forced to move because of the construction of a aluminum factory. They tried to petition but were stopped. The television reporters have been pressed by government officials. Our land is no longer suitable for growing crops and can only be rented to factories. The number of cancer patients has increase in an explosive manner.”
- ‘Red leaves on the mountain’, from Tai An City in Shandong province“The head of Environmental Department in Cang County has finally been sacked because of netizens’ criticism. The report came out and the residue of chemicals has exceeded 70 times the safety standard. In the village, there are 30 diagnosed cancer patients and 26 of them have died. The villagers have been protesting but all these years, all the reports from the county to the province’s environmental departments said that the water quality is safe?! How can they pass the water quality test every year? Among 655 cities in China, 400 depend on underground water supplies, so what can we do? What can our kids do?”
-An investor, Charles Xue, speaking to the news
(Source)
(Image Source)
Back in January of this year, AKB48 member Minegishi Minami was demoted to trainee status after she was caught coming out of her boyfriend’s home the morning after she spent the night. Since then, she’s been seen less in the spotlight, although she was seen sporting a wig in a past public appearance. However, Minegishi finally has spoken up about her scandal in an in-depth interview with Japanese womens’ magazine Fujin Koron, but was met with criticism because the interview didn’t seem heartfelt.
Click on to see more pictures below the cut!
Vivien Ong walks along the line of menswear and womenswear – while playing with wild prints and bold colors in this fun editorial for Elle Italia. Check out the rest under the cut!
DEPT The Market
Issue Spring 2013
Author Paul Nakayama
In an age where “check her out” means online and not from across the room, columnist Paul Nakayama wonders if internet pre-screening makes for better and more efficient dating.

A lot’s changed in the dating scene in the 10 years I’ve been with Audrey Magazine. I was recently re- minded of how much that is true when my editors asked me if guys also engaged in Internet stalking, particularly prior to going on a date. I remember this little website called Asian Avenue where all of a sudden there was this tremendous pool of girls you could potentially date. I say “potentially” because there’s also this little thing called probability and the chances are that more girls just mean more “no’s.” But back then, if you put a person’s name in a search field, you didn’t get much. Whatever a girl wanted you to know, she herself had to plant. It was a tenuous representation at best and a case of Catfish usually. I mean, if you wanted to see some photos, you usually had to sift through fuzzy misrepresentations that had a lot of shadows or a conspicuous amount of floor plants covering her face. Or maybe it was just me, and I just happened to get IM’ed by girls that admired the style of Bigfoot photos. These days, it’s a wholly different battlefield.
LITTLE OSAKA
Story Kanara Ty
Illustration Inki Cho
Issue Spring 2013
From a cultural sanctuary for just-released internees, to a local college stomping ground, one street in Los Angeles, Sawtelle Boulevard, has transformed into one of the chicest and hippest Asian culinary neighborhoods.
Korean actress and model Park Han Byul shows us her glamorous side in this very unique Spring Photoshoot:
