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The Conversation
- “But he hit me back first!” (13)
- Siegfried: If it was a Russian or any other white man who told blacks”to go back to Africa”, it would...
- Raguel: I saw that Spike Lee film “Do the Right Thing” years ago but still can’t understand it.
- bigWOWO: Stele: “Care to qualify that statement? Even if that were true, you have to look at this case on its...
- Two podcasts that address racism in the military, and Danny Chen the person (9)
- Raguel: The origins of racism in the American military as described by loudestfuckingazns is accurate. Very recently,...
- bigWOWO: Sorry, Larry, just noticed that the spam robot junked your comment. Approved!
- bigWOWO: Agreed. It just has more weight if you include your name. Not that the ideas are any less valid, but it just...
- Facebook IPO (5)
- King: Actually WOWO, I bump into plenty of Asians up at the Art Center College of Design http://www.artcenter.edu/a...
- bigWOWO: Agree with King. This might not be a bad thing for Asian Americans to hear about. We can jump off the STEM...
- Raguel: People are too accustomed to thinking about value only in terms of money. Even artists are guilty of it. Some...
- Stop SOPA and PIPA (7)
- Raguel: Found a great website, take a look at this: https://www.cdt.org/ Why should privacy be important, in an age...
- Raguel: Following the temporary shelving of SOPA and PIPA in the long line of net neutrality battles, the feds and...
- Chr..: “Asian American men have to get more involved, not less. It’s a civic responsibility, and you have to...
- Activism is as activism does (10)
- trolldetector: Brooks also goes onto say ‘You should attach yourself to a counter-tradition and school of...
- bigWOWO: By the way, speaking of activism, there was a great David Brooks column recently. He talks about how people...
- Raguel: I have no experience whatsoever with activism. I simply do not feel safe participating in it. There is always...
- How to Win a Streetfight (18)
- bigWOWO: No worries. I feel the same way. Nothing against her, but just doubtful.
- Raguel: Hi Byron! I’ve been occupied doing a lot of reading and thinking recently. I suppose its just another...
- bigWOWO: Hey Raguel, What about your comments on ASSK?
I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
- What Cultures Value (19)
- UFC 117 Sonnen vs. Silva Recap (1)
- bigWOWO: I think Michael Bisping solved the Chael Sonnen puzzle today, even though he lost a controversial decision....
- 6 on 1 Beatdown of Asian Man (36)
- King: “I mean I look around me and 99% of the time there are no women that look like or dress like Adriana Lima...
- SWR: Apparently the girl in the second video was not the girl who filmed the fight. It was probably unwise of her to...
- Raguel: I mean I look around me and 99% of the time there are no women that look like or dress like Adriana Lima in...
- Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids by Bryan Caplan (Review) (6)
- bigWOWO: Jeff, You called it! They were (if I recall correctly) 7 (twins) and 2. He’s still in the honeymoon...
- jeffat8asians: “Overpaying?” With the possible exception of college tuition (and even that is arguable),...
- Hitler: Kids suck lol.
- The Asian Rock Thread (16)
- ben: I’ve been getting into Asian rock music recently so thank you all very much for uploading all these videos.
- Simple Pickup on ABC News (132)
- Tommy: I think I’m coming here more for Moro’s comments than BigWoWO’s posts.
- Moroboshi: I didn’t say that. All I said was guys who believe in HBD are the same guys who probably also follow...
- Chr..: Moro, I don’t want to argue with you anymore! You seem to think that AMs are just as popular as other...
- “Lazy” Americans and the Decline of the American Middle Class (6)
- bigWOWO: But kobu, how can we have literature and art without money to support artists and writers? About...
- kobukson: I don’t know why everyone seems to think the notion of the decline of the middle class is such a bad...
- bigWOWO: There are a lot of veterans (supposedly) on that site. I can kind of understand it–military guys are...
- Aung Sung Suu Kyi Movie with Michelle Yeoh (45)
- bigWOWO: Eurasian, Lee Kuan Yew has always been upfront about Singapore’s hybrid system. To the best of my...
- Eurasian Sensation: @ BigWowo: New governments following independence or a major power struggle often have the sort...
- N: @bww And ironically, one of the rare democratic successes in the region that is Singapore behaves much closer to a...
- Paper Pushers by the Stunt People (4)
- Andre M. Smith: I divide my year annually between New York and Shanghai. One of my common visitations in the latter...
- Raguel: Smiley tests 8 )
8( - Raguel: ROFL! Thank you for thoroughly destroying Amy Chua, Andre. WELL SAID ^_^ You know the destruction is so...
- Amy Chua: Chinese Conceit, Chinese Ignorance, and the $24,000 question (245)
- Andre M. Smith: I believe some useful purpose will be served by offering here, what the lawyers might like to call,...
- N: What’s your opinion on Yundi Li and Yoyo Ma.
- Andre M. Smith: Amy Chua has never lived in China. Her understanding of its culture, that is, the culture as it’s...
- How to Finish Life With No Regrets (9)
- trolldetector: ^ i’d agree with that. but i wouldnt call them ‘idiots’, just misguided. crazy media...
- N: Agree with Jeff that not one regret is unlikely, the key is learn from it. Another way to look at it is that...
- American Jobs and India (14)
- lingyai: I am not sure what happen there with my name, that is not my email, so just ignore.
- lingyai@hotmail.com: @bigwowo Just because the average income in India is $2 a day doesn’t make a person...
- AM/AF couple: Nottyboy, Yes, just like every place of employment, upper management needs to do a better job in terms...
- Literary Fiction vs. Realistic Fiction and the Literary Hierarchy (6)
- Sana Rose: Well, now I am confused. I still can’t classify the novel I am writing.
I wouldn’t say...
- Sana Rose: Well, now I am confused. I still can’t classify the novel I am writing.
- National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2012 (32)
- Raguel: http://www.occupydream.org/ ^ I heard about this from Russell Simmons. I hope that things develop well to...
- Raguel: So is that the reasoning for why you don’t need the right to due process? Are you some kind of fucking...
- N: @King The constitution gave power to the states to benefit white america or the constitution gave benefitial power...
- When Your Fan Base is Full of Crazy People (24)
- N: @American girl Too be honest, I don’t really see why this video that ‘disgusting’ –...
- Mitt Romney and the Problem of Wealth (6)
- Raguel: Where do people get their information and knowledge from, though? Media, and education, word of mouth only...
- “But he hit me back first!” (13)
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Category Archives: Portland
The Slants and bigWOWO’s Support of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
People have been asking me about my opinion on the Slants, a local Portland rock band, so I figured I’d set the record straight. As some of you know, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register their name “The Slants,” stating the correct fact that it’s a racial slur. The Slants have been on the war path, blogging here, interviewing here, and going all slanty on the U.S. government.
Let me put this in clear terms: I agree with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Just as they wouldn’t register “n**ger” or “ch^nk,” they shouldn’t register “Slants.” It’s offensive.
Rich Cho at the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce
Since I rarely get out of the house outside of work hours, I should post a picture whenever I do. Rich Cho, the general manager of the Portland Trailblazers, spoke at the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce tonight, and I was there.
Man, the guy is really humble, really friendly, and an all around nice guy. He’s very soft-spoken, which I didn’t expect from someone in his position. He said that he was excited about speaking because he has always been proud of his Asian heritage. It’s nice hearing someone say this.
Oregon Bomb Suspect Goes to Court
Did anyone catch this story over the holidays? Apparently Mohamed Mahamud, a 19 year old naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, tried to take out Pioneer Courthouse Square with a car bomb. The FBI had set up a sting, giving him a fake bomb and money to do the “bombing.” When he tried to ignite the bomb with a cell phone, they arrested him. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) as they dragged him away.
141 Eyewear and Entrepreneurship (Podcast)
Check out our awesome podcast with Kyle Yamaguchi and Shu-Chu Wu from 141 Eyewear, a local Portland company. It’s 38 minutes, 17.4 megs. Download it here, or listen to it here:
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Posted in Asian American, Podcasts, Portland
Tagged 411 Eyewear, business, entrepreneurship, Kyle Yamaguchi, Shu-Chu Wu
2 Comments
My Training Session with Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez
So on Wednesday night, my wife tells me that she heard on the radio that Urijah Faber, the former WEC Featherweight Champion of the World, was in town. I googled it but didn’t find much.
At work yesterday around noon, I googled again and found that he was at a gym in my town. I was even more surprised that it was at an old gym where I used to work out (before the location was bought out by a different company), just a few minutes away! I had never actually met an MMA world champion. It was just too much of an opportunity to pass up, especially since it was so close. I’m in the suburbs, so usually I have to drive twenty minutes to get anywhere.
Happy Valley Boy Lies About Hate Crime
So first, this story hit the blogs: Happy Valley Family Threatened With Hate Crimes.
A family moving into Happy Valley was threatened with racist graffiti and letters. Someone even threatened to burn down the house, leaving a bottle of gasoline.
I was a bit surprised given the fact that Happy Valley is a posh area. They’ve had a number of foreclosures, but overall, the houses are big and expensive, as you can see in the video above. I have a friend who lives in that area (who is also Vietnamese), and my ego suffers whenever I drive into that wealthy neighborhood.
John Lim supports the Arizona immigration law
We’ve got one Asian American candidate for governor in Oregon. His name is John Lim, and he’s a tough talking Republican who wants to rid our state of those illegal immigrants that Arizona has been struggling with. He supports Arizona’s new immigration law because “this is not about the racism” and “this is about the respecting our law and order.”
Arizona’s new immigration law allows law enforcement to detain anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant. If you’re a bad speller, does that count as a reason for suspicion? If so, it’s a good thing he doesn’t live in Arizona–the “imigration” police might go after him.
Ed Lin Event Recap

Byron, author Ed Lin, actress Cindy Cheung
Thank you Thymos, AAJA-Portland, Friends of Portland Chinatown, and Murder By the Book for the awesome Ed Lin event yesterday. Special thanks to Amy Wang, Ruth Liao, Elizabeth Suh from AAJA; Joann Le, Fai Chong, and Ivy Lin from Friends of Portland Chinatown, and Barbara Tom from Murder By the Book. I had a blast. Not only did we get to learn writing from an awesome author, but we also had a chance to hear Ed speak from the heart on his thoughts about the publishing industry and Asian American issues. What is super cool about Ed’s career is that he started from an Asian American perspective, writing about Asian American issues and participating in the Asian American Writers Workshop.
Posted in Activism, Portland, Writing
Tagged AAJA-Portland, Cindy Cheung, Ed Lin, Friends of Portland Chinatown, thymos
2 Comments
Dudescape to Dadscape

I caught this article linked by the fine people of BicoastalBitchin.
Alls I gotta say is that the writer hit the nail right flat on the head. This was my favorite sentence:
When baby makes three, the abrupt lifestyle change spells an end to these spontaneous expeditions.
Age three is the magic number, and it’s a dad thing, almost exclusively. Wives and women are cool checking with the singles, adjusting to the schedule, embarking on the same activities. But for guys, the party begins to end when the baby first comes, as you get used to changing diapers, feeding the baby, putting the baby to sleep, etc. The party completely ends at 3. You’re no longer the same person. Dude, meet yourself.
Assembling the Team and 2010 Resolutions
Last year I only had two resolutions. One was fitness. I think I achieved that. I trained and ran the Hood to Coast. I was at my lightest body weight in years. I can’t say that I’m a gym rat, but hey, that wasn’t the goal. My other resolution was to help improve this site. Whether I achieved that is debatable, as it always is. What is not debatable is that the readers and commenters of this site became closer and more active. We raised $250 for Sam Yoon and over $100 for the AALDEF. Good stuff. Thanks to you all.