New York based Japanese Action Comic Punk band Peelander Z is my most favorite band in the entire universe. I've seen them bajillions of times and I've always left feeling awesome. There's a raw energy that they bring to every single show that just has to be experienced.
Here they are at a bowling alley in Detroit singing an unplugged version of their hit single, "Ninja High School." And wouldn't you know it, they're playing this Saturday in Arlington at Artisphere! I got a holiday party that night, but I think I might try to head out there afterwards since the show starts at 11pm. Gonna be a late ass night, but totally worth it.
This weekend and next weekend, the Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art, the Freer|Sackler, here in DC is presenting a number of fun Asian films. Tomorrow at 7pm, they'll be showing Linda Linda Linda which is an absolutely adorable film about four classmates at a Japanese high school who form an all-girl cover band to perform at the annual high school rock festival. Slight spoilers, here's them performing the title track of the movie.
I totally love this film. The music is great, the characters are all highschooly and awkward, and it's terribly fun. Even if you don't catch it at the Freer, you should Netflix this one. Oh, the drummer is the chick from Battle Royale, the guitarist was in the live action Death Note, and the lead singer was in The Host.
This Sunday, is The Harimaya Bridge which I haven't seen but from the description sounds like something right up my alley:
After an African-American painter dies suddenly in Japan, his estranged father travels from San Francisco to retrieve his belongings. When he discovers that his son had secretly married a Japanese woman, he is forced to confront his own prejudices and those of the tradition-bound community where his son lived. As more secrets from the painter's life emerge, his father learns to appreciate the unexpected legacy he left behind, and the strong ties he formed with his hosts. This moving drama about familial bonds and intercultural understanding features cameo appearances by Danny Glover and Peter Coyote. (Dir.: Aaron Woolfolk, United States, 2009, 120 min., English and Japanese with English subtitles)
I'm going to have to Netflix this one since I've got plans for Sunday. But if you're in the DC area, this looks like a good one to check out.
Finally, next weekend the Freer|Sackler pays homage to Bruce Lee presenting Enter the Dragon on Friday, December 10, and something called Power Moves: From Bruce Lee's Interrupting Fist to Hip Hop and Beyond on Sunday which is kind of a dance thing:
Choreographer/dancer Peggy Choy re-envisions the legacy of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee with a presentation of her recent work, which fuses Asian martial arts with diverse forms of dance—from Korean court dance to hip-hop. After an introductory talk, she and her dancers generate a vivid playing field of dynamic movement while exploring Lee's intentions behind creating Jeet Kune Do, or "the way of the intercepting fist."
This will be the world premiere of Choy's newest work, Jeet Kune Do, set to music composed by award-winning Asian-American jazz composer Fred Ho. Choy performs Yelllowwww Matriarch, Toni Renee Johnson performs Boxher, and Ze Motion and Rudy Reynon will perform Jeet Kune Do. Original costumes are by Jillian Maslow.
Choy's alchemy of focused mind and moving body is fueled by Korean, Javanese, and urban dance forms, as well as martial arts. Choy has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center and Dance Place in Washington, D.C.; Dance Theater Workshop and Danspace Project in New York; Honolulu's Kennedy Theater; the Seoul Art Center; and Jakarta's Utan Kayu. Her awards include Danspace Project's Commissioning Initiative, an NEA/Atlantic Center for the Arts fellowship, and Princeton and Cornell university commissions
Sounds like it could be cool.
I think all the events are free of charge so if you've got time to spare, head on down to DC this and next weekend and check out some fun Asian cinema. I think we may need to organize a big outing for Enter the Dragon next week. I've never seen it on a big screen.
So I missed the Cyber Monday hyper shopping DX GO yesterday, but I'm making up for lost time! From now until Sunday, December 5, you can get 5% off your total order from Shark Robot. So if you've been waiting to pick up some Yellow Peril goodies for the holiday season, now's your chance. Just enter the coupon code want2cyber to get the discount. We've got five wonderful flavors for you to choose from.
For you Gundam and Halo lovers out there, we've got our very own Master Chief flavored Haro:
Those who enjoy the cute yet terrifying antics of panda bears may enjoy our Panda flavored offering:
The many who enjoyed this quote from a while back may enjoy this cute little monster:
Lovers of bow ties, fez's, and sexy companions may treat themselves to this Dalek flavored item:
And for the lovers of the classics, there's this whimsical Love of the Worlds ditty:
All flavors are offered in a variety of sizes to fit all you shapely curves, nooks, and crannies! I have no idea where the food thing came from, but just go with it. So act now and remember the coupon code want2cyber to get your 5% off!
Oh man! This is so freaking awesome! One of my Angry Zen Master readers, Grandmaster Chu, is an MC living Beijing. He decided that I needed a proper theme song for everyday use like when I walk into a room or step out of the shower or sit down to eat something. And here it is!
Oh man, this is freaking UH MAY ZING!
Thank you so much, Grandmaster Chu, for making everything that much more awesome! I've posted the lyrics over here and be sure to check out Grandmaster Chu on Facebooks, YouTubes, and Tumblrs.
If you find yourself flying in the United States this holiday season, you will inevitably encounter the new security policies instituted by the TSA. They will give you a choice: the backscatter, a device that will attack your body with radiation thus upping your chances of gaining enhanced spider or hulk powers by 75%; or the enhanced pat down in which a TSA agent will attack your body with his or her hands thus upping your chances of getting groped by a total stranger who doesn't have the courtesy of buying you a drink first by 100%.
Should you opt for the enhanced pat down, before they strap on the gloves, pull out your iPod and blast this song by Davice Choi (which you can download here) as loudly as you possibly can.
I was really upset with the first season of "Glee" because Harry Shum never got any lines, ever. He was the silent Asian dude in the background dancing his ass off but saying absolutely nothing. I think he got name checked like twice the entire season, so if you missed those two episodes, you'd never know his character's name is Mike Chang.
Thankfully, the producers have listened to our cries as Harry Shum is all over Season 2, especially his abs. It's awesome to see him get some real development as a character this season and equally awesome to see him used as sexy man meat fanservice.
Apropos of absolutely nothing except that "Glee" is on tonight, I thought this clip featuring my two favorite actors on the show, Harry Shum and Heather Morris, teaching us how to "Dougie" was just too cute.
I'm pretty sure that fans of YP and food will absolutely love Today's Special, an indy film written by and starring Aasif Mandvi. The trailer alone makes me terribly hungry for some Indian food.
I'm so happy to see Aasif not in a shitty racebended sellout fest. This looks like a lot of fun. Check out the official site for showtimes. Today's Special opens in select theaters tomorrow. So check it out Saturday after you recover from seeing that other movie with the wizards and the horcruxes and the makings out and all that.
I would like to give George Takei a great big hug.
I'm so proud of the YouTube community for the It Gets Better Project. It warms my heart to know that the internet will stand together and support each other to foster love and hope.
Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.... I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.
Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.
My good friend and fellow Art Fighter Bryan Prindiville sent along this awesome fanart of Kane raging out at his machine with Bodie lurking in the background. The bastard has one of them giant, newfangled Cintiq things and drew this on his whizbang machine in Super Art Fight red and black colors. Freaking awesome!
This is the second piece of YP fanart that I've received. A girl I met as SPX drew me a fan comic, but in my excitement I forgot to ask permission to post it.
