Mochi Studios: Uber Cute Alert!

[Flickr/Ritapizza]

In honor of Black Friday – AKA national shopping day for crazy Americans who enjoy camping out in front of stores after eating their turkey dinners - I’m writing a five-part series dedicated to the cute stuff made by Asian/Asian American crafters that would make awesome gifts.

To kick off this series, this post is dedicated to my dear friend, Rita of Mochi Studios. I don’t know how she does it, but she comes up with the cutest plush (not to mention, green) toys. Case in point: check out the eco-friendly felt rice babies (e.g., they’re made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles). If you’re still not convinced, then I dare you to not say awe at these cutie patuties…

So where can I get my own ninja bean, shroom and pea pod you ask? Check out the Mochi Studio Etsy Store. You can also meet Rita when she makes her craft show debut next month:

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Craft Show
Sat., 12/12 to Sun., 12/13, from 12 to 6 p.m. daily
San Francisco County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park

Renegade Holiday Craft Show
Sat., 12/19 to Sun., 12/20, from 11 to 7 p.m. daily
Fort Mason Center Herbst Pavilion

Filed under: Crafts, Retail, Asian-American, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Designer, Event, Plush Toys, Retail, San Francisco Bay Area, Toys

Punk’d [WIRED.com Edition]

[Flickr/jacketseason]

Have you ever received an accidental SMS text from someone with the wrong number? While most people would ignore it or kindly let that person know that they’ve texted you by mistake, here is what happens when the text recipient is a tech reporter with a penchant for pranks and a huge Twitter following to egg him on.

Premise: This morning, Brian X. Chen over at Wired’s  Gadget Lab tweeted about a random text message that he got from a would-be “Romeo” who had the wrong number. At the suggestion of Macworld’s Roman Loyola via Twitter, Brian then proceeded to prank the poor guy by pretending to be “Juliet” and make a startling confession that “she” got knocked up. Hilarity ensues…

[Flickr/jacketseason/SMS prank set]

I wonder if “Romeo” ever figured out if he got punk’d or if Brian decided to put the guy out of his misery and say, “just kidding…tee-hee.” Either way, I was very entertained this morning and I hope you are too </3

Filed under: Breaking News, Social Media, @bxchen, @pinatubo2000, Asian-American, Brian X. Chen, Comedy, Prank, Punk'd, Roman Loyola, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0

“A wilderness explorer is a friend to all, be it bird or fish or tiny mole!”

[Flickr/Harvey-Harv]

This past weekend, instead of watching New Moon like everyone else, I watched Up on Blu-Ray. The first 12 minutes still makes me teary-eyed and Russell still puts a smile on my face. What I especially like about Russell is that he’s not an Asian caricature and that he’s a realistic portrayal of a kid.

I especially love the special features. Did you know that Russell – the first Asian American Pixar character – was based on of Pixar animator, Peter Sohn? Well, when you look at his picture (below), it’s not that hard to figure out.

The other cutie patuttie from this movie is voice actor, Jordan Nagai. He beat out 400 kids for the part, including his older brother. Check out this clip from the special features of Jordan doing the recordings.

Filed under: Film, Asian-American, Blu-Ray, Film, Jordan Nagai, Peter Sohn, Pixar, Up

Ching Chong Goes SNL’s Latest Racist Skit

[Saturday Night Live/vodpod]

While I loved the Taylor Swift Twilight parody that aired a couple of weeks ago, I can’t say the same for last Saturday’s cold opening on SNL. In trying to poke fun at President Obama’s U.S. policy and programs, SNL decided to do a ching chong skit based on the president’s recent trip to Asia.

Sorry Will Forte, but mumbling fake Chinese as President Hu JinTao did not make it any less offensive, nor was Nasim Pedrad‘s fake accent as his translator any more amusing. Of course, it’s hard to expect a higher standard for good taste when the actor playing the first black president is white. Really SNL? Really? Just because you got away with blackface doesn’t mean that yellowface is okay too. In fact, neither one with them was cool to begin with.

If you can afford to pay Amy Poehler and Tina Fey for guest appearances, couldn’t you have easily hired Ken Jeong for a one-time gig? There are really no excuses for not using an Asian/Asian American actor when you already have one on NBC’s payroll. Not to mention, he’s has a pretty impressive resume having been in almost every blockbuster bromance comedy since Knocked Up.

Filed under: Breaking News, Television, Asian-American, Racism, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Television, TV

Post-Valentine’s Day with Khalil Fong

[Flickr/Pryon]

So while I still haven’t figured out how to get tickets to the Utada concert in January, I’m all good to see Khalil Fong live in concert on the day after Valentine’s Day (special thanks to DL for taking me to the SF concert). W00T! W00T!

So who is this Chinese guy with the trendy/hipster glasses and emo hair? He’s an musician (piano/guitar) with an amazingly soulful voice. I’ll write more about the concert after it happens in a couple of months. In the meantime, if you haven’t heard his stuff yet, checkout these covers of Faye Wong‘s “Red Bean” and Ray Charles‘ “Georgia On My Mind.”

Filed under: Music, Asian-American, China, Concert, Khalil Fong, Music, San Francisco Bay Area