Transpacific articles from June 1994

Transpacific archives from June 1994

Clear signal to L.A. (Korean American radio broadcaster Clara Young)
June 1, 1994... Korean American Clara Young is winning over a multicultural audience with her landmark community affairs radio program. Rarely at a loss for words, radio talk-show host Clara Young was nonetheless speechless. She was rendered...

Visions of Asian America. ('Asia/America: Identities in Contemporary Asia American Art,' Asia Society, New York New York)
June 1, 1994... An adventurous new exhibition at The Asia Society in New York bares the spirits and souls of 20 Asian American artists. Long Nguyen fled Vietnam as a refugee in 1975, settling first in Memphis, Tennessee, and then relocating in Oakland,...

The king of baize. (three-cushion billiard player Sang Chun Lee)
June 1, 1994... Korean immigrant Sang Chun Lee came to America to prove he's the best three-cushion billiard player on the planet. His 1994 world title leaves no doubt about it. Sang Chun Lee is running an hour behind schedule. But with the calm and...

Media dar-ling. (Channel One news anchor Lisa Ling)
June 1, 1994... Lisa Ling is thirsty. "I would absolutely love a Diet Coke," she says as she sits down for an interview. Ling's just spent about two and a half hours taping a twelve-minute news show for Channel One, the satellite broadcast station that...

Spreading the news; a new U.S. based magazine bids to unite 2 million Vietnamese expatriates into a global village.
June 1, 1994... A new U.S.-based magazine bids to unite 2 million Vietnamese expatriates into a global village. Grand ideas sweep across the mind of 72-year-old Son Dien Nguyen Viet Khanh. Namely, he wants to unite the 2 million Vietnamese who have...

The cutting edge. (Japanese rock band Shonen Knife)
June 1, 1994... After years of paying its dues, the Japanese rock band Shonen Knife is beginning to slash its way into the American rock scene. The latest craze in alternative rock music--the sound that launched Nirvana, R.E.M. and Pearl Jam into super...

The fury. (Asian Americans stand up to aggression)
June 1, 1994... Characterized as the polite and courteous model minority, Asian Americans are shattering that myth with increasing acts of aggression and violence. Asian Americans have the long-standing reputation of being compliant and good-natured,...

Flamethrower from the Far East. (Dodger pitcher Chan Ho Park)
June 1, 1994... South Korean star Chan Ho Park and Japan's Makoto Suzuki are expected to infuse new blood--and lively fastballs--into the major leagues this season. For years American baseball players either past their prime or on the fringe have packed...

'Big Mac' attack. (Japanese baseball player Makoto Suzuki signs with the Seattle Mariners)
June 1, 1994... Jersey numbers for baseball players usually are limited to one or two digits, but relief pitcher Mac Suzuki may start a trend. When asked at the Seattle Mariners spring training camp what number he wanted, the young pitcher said, "911," the...

Diamond hunter. (baseball scout Eric Kubota)
June 1, 1994... Much attention has been focused this spring on the promising careers of hard-throwing hurlers Chan Ho Park and Makoto Suzuki, but neither pitcher has enjoyed the major league success of Eric Kubota. For the past seven years, Kubota has served...

Japan's sexy boom. (women who dance in lingerie at nightclubs)
June 1, 1994... Fueled by the strip-teasing 'Juliana's Girls,' a new exhibitionism is sparking a social crisis in Japan. It's Friday night, and the office ladies of Japan have finished another week of pouring tea, wiping desks and making copies. They've...

The prince of programming. (Henry C. Yuen, who invented VCR Plus)
June 1, 1994... After missing a ballgame because he couldn't recall how to program his VCR, a math expert vowed to simplify things--and made millions in the process. Despite holding a PhD in applied mathematics from Caltech, Henry C. Yuen couldn't...

The ABCs of Asian schools. (in the United States)
June 1, 1994... You don't have to live in Asia to receive an Asian education. Several private schools in the United States offer academic curriculums favored by Asian parents. Nine-year-old Toshio arrived in America about seven months ago after his...

Tube talk. (Christina Kishiyama) (Interview)
June 1, 1994... Sultry Christina Kishiyama says she'll make her living in front of the camera--as a newscaster. With her arched eyebrows and the mischievous glint never far from her large brown eyes, you might expect Christina Kishiyama to beguile you...

Censored! (Asian American artists)
June 1, 1994... Two New York artists cling to their creative freedom in the face of censorship from foreign authorities. I'm sick of hearing of the struggle of overseas Asian artists," says Dulcie Dee, moving about her tiny Manhattan apartment. Her...

Continental divide. (comparison of Beijing and New York City)
June 1, 1994... Two of the world's most vibrant cities--Beijing and New York--provide stark contrasts in architecture and lifestyle. But it's the spirit of the people that counts. New York is quite different from Beijing, and no place in New York...

Grace under fire. (magician Grace Chang)
June 1, 1994... Sultry magician-actress Grace Chang says she's just an old-fashioned girl with a peculiar knack for fiery illusions. She's the only one in America to perform it. Even David Copperfield hasn't learned this trick. Her grandfather...

Television's new wave. (Mark Foo produces program on surfing)
June 1, 1994... Former pro surfer Mark Foo is riding the airwaves as the producer of America's hottest surfing show. The only significant difference between Wayne and Garth of Wayne's World and Mark Foo and Mike Latronic of Hawaii's "H30" is that Wayne...

Razor-wire asylum. (Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong)
June 1, 1994... Just beyond Hong Kong's dazzling skyline 35,000 forgotten Vietnamese refugees languish in 13 grim detention camps. They wait to receive political asylum or deportation. The barbed-wire fences of 13 detention camps in Hong Kong harbor...

Here and Now. (Asian American theater troupe)
June 1, 1994... Combining a broad mix of satire and introspective drama, an Asian American theatrical troupe is entertaining and informing a growing college audience across the U.S. It's early Sunday evening, and a troupe of traveling players has...

Celluloid reality undone. (Japanese students in Honolulu)
June 1, 1994... They knew Hollywood's America, but Honolulu's underbelly shows Japanese students a complex society. I teach English to young adults from Japan, and I hear their sometimes offbeat views of America. Apparently, most of my students know our...

Smart card revolt. (new personal information cards)
June 1, 1994... Your personal, financial and medical history on a wallet-sized computer card? The smart card is coming. Smart cards" will revolutionize finance in the United States. But not all revolutions go as planned. Smart cards are coming, and they...

California's 'dating hell.' (reflections of an Asian American woman from Hawaii)
June 1, 1994... A former island girl discovers the cruel realities of the Asian dating scene in the Golden State. Forget the floods, the earthquakes, the riots and the fires. And don't even bother to mention the traffic and the smog. The toughest part...

Asian identity crisis.
June 1, 1994... The umbrella term Asian Pacific American easily passes the PC test, but does it fail all others? You may or may not have noticed but May is classified as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Three cheers for Asian Pacific American...

Our rightful place. (performance of Michelle Kwan in the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships) (Editorial)
June 1, 1994... I held my breath last night as I watched a 13-year-old Chinese American named Michelle Kwan give the performance of her life at this year's World Figure Skating Championships in Chiba, Japan. Nancy Kerrigan's no-show and Tonya Harding's ban...

Order & disorder. (Asian laws against graffiti) (Column)
June 1, 1994... Many of Asia's major cities are winning the war against graffiti--through judicial terrorism. I hate graffiti. Those wild, spray-painted scrawls of ugliness have become all-too-ubiquitous blights on the contemporary urban landscape....